The Jimmy Durante Show
Encyclopedia
The Jimmy Durante Show is a 51-episode half-hour comedy
/variety
program presented live on NBC
from October 2, 1954
to June 23, 1956
.
's long nose, piano, and broken vocabulary were the mainstays of the program, which aired at 9:30 p.m. Eastern on Saturdays. In the first 1954-1955 season, Durante alternated with The Donald O'Connor Show
, both sponsored by Texaco
.
After his starring role on the NBC sitcom Dear Phoebe
ended and before he garnered the lead in the NBC drama The Thin Man
, Peter Lawford
, a brother-in-law of U.S. President John F. Kennedy
, was a Durante regular, having appeared in six episodes from 1955-1956. Dancer Eddie Jackson (1896–1980), a Durante partner along with the late Lou Clayton from their vaudeville
days, appeared four times on the series. Pianist Jules Buffano and drummer Jack Roth, former Durante associates, also guest starred on the program. He also had singers known as the Durante Girls.
Flamboyant pianist Liberace
was a guest three times. Brazil
ian singer Carmen Miranda
appeared twice on the show with Durante. During the August 4, 1955 broadcast, Miranda suffered a heart attack
. Miranda fell to her knees while dancing with Durante, who instinctively told the band to "stop da music!" while helping her to get up. Miranda laughed "I'm all out of breath!", Durante replied, "Dat's OK, honey, I'll take yer lines." Miranda laughed again, quickly pulled herself together, and finished the show. However, the next morning, Miranda died at her home from heart failure.
Others who appeared with Durante were Pat Carroll
(later a regular on CBS
's The Danny Thomas Show
), Marilyn Maxwell
(Grace Sherwood on ABC
's 1961-1962 drama Bus Stop
), George Jessel
, George Raft
, and The Borden Twins
. The series was filmed at RKO Studios in Hollywood.
The program was televised at Club Durant. Each episode usually ended with Durante's catchphrase, "Good night, Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are!", an apparent reference to Durante's deceased first wife.
In the first season, Durante followed The Imogene Coca Show
, which premiered on the same night on the NBC Saturday schedule. His competition was My Favorite Husband
on CBS
and Saturday evening boxing
on ABC
. In its second season, Durante faced opposition from Janis Paige
's new CBS situation comedy
, It's Always Jan
, about a young widow with two female roommates. Paige's attempt at network television failed after twenty-six weeks. Oddly, Bob Schiller
was the principal writer on both the Durante and Paige series.
Certain Durante episodes ran on NBC as a 1957 summer replacement series. With his 1954 debut, Durante took over the second half of the Your Show of Shows
time slot. In 1957, Caesar's Hour
, another version of the Sid Caesar
program, moved into the time slot that Durante vacated.
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
/variety
Variety show
A variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts, especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère or host. Other types of acts include magic, animal and circus acts, acrobatics, juggling...
program presented live on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
from October 2, 1954
1954 in television
The year 1954 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1954.-Events:*January 1 – NBC broadcasts the Rose Parade in NTSC color on 21 stations.*January 3 – RAI launched in Italy....
to June 23, 1956
1956 in television
The year 1956 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1956.-Events:*January 28 – Elvis Presley makes his national television debut on CBS on Stage Show, the first of six appearances on the series....
.
Production background
Several guest stars on the program later developed successful show business careers of their own. Jimmy DuranteJimmy Durante
James Francis "Jimmy" Durante was an American singer, pianist, comedian and actor. His distinctive clipped gravelly speech, comic language butchery, jazz-influenced songs, and large nose helped make him one of America's most familiar and popular personalities of the 1920s through the 1970s...
's long nose, piano, and broken vocabulary were the mainstays of the program, which aired at 9:30 p.m. Eastern on Saturdays. In the first 1954-1955 season, Durante alternated with The Donald O'Connor Show
The Donald O'Connor Show
The Donald O'Connor Show is an American musical situation comedy television series starring singer/dancer Donald O'Connor...
, both sponsored by Texaco
Texaco
Texaco is the name of an American oil retail brand. Its flagship product is its fuel "Texaco with Techron". It also owns the Havoline motor oil brand....
.
After his starring role on the NBC sitcom Dear Phoebe
Dear Phoebe
Dear Phoebe is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from September 1954 to April 1955. The series stars Peter Lawford, and was created and produced by Alex Gottlieb.-Synopsis:...
ended and before he garnered the lead in the NBC drama The Thin Man
The Thin Man (TV series)
The Thin Man is a half-hour weekly television series based on the mystery novel The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett. The 72 episodes were produced by MGM Television and shown on NBC for two seasons from 1957–1959 on Friday evening.-Overview:...
, Peter Lawford
Peter Lawford
Peter Sydney Ernest Aylen , better known as Peter Lawford, was an English-American actor.He was a member of the "Rat Pack", and brother-in-law to US President John F. Kennedy, perhaps more noted in later years for his off-screen activities as a celebrity than for his acting...
, a brother-in-law of U.S. President John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
, was a Durante regular, having appeared in six episodes from 1955-1956. Dancer Eddie Jackson (1896–1980), a Durante partner along with the late Lou Clayton from their vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
days, appeared four times on the series. Pianist Jules Buffano and drummer Jack Roth, former Durante associates, also guest starred on the program. He also had singers known as the Durante Girls.
Flamboyant pianist Liberace
Liberace
Wladziu Valentino Liberace , best known simply as Liberace, was a famous American pianist and vocalist.In a career that spanned four decades of concerts, recordings, motion pictures, television and endorsements, Liberace became world-renowned...
was a guest three times. Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian singer Carmen Miranda
Carmen Miranda
Carmen Miranda, GCIH was a Portuguese-born Brazilian samba singer, Broadway actress and Hollywood film star popular in the 1940s and 1950s. She was, by some accounts, the highest-earning woman in the United States and noted for her signature fruit hat outfit she wore in the 1943 movie The Gang's...
appeared twice on the show with Durante. During the August 4, 1955 broadcast, Miranda suffered a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
. Miranda fell to her knees while dancing with Durante, who instinctively told the band to "stop da music!" while helping her to get up. Miranda laughed "I'm all out of breath!", Durante replied, "Dat's OK, honey, I'll take yer lines." Miranda laughed again, quickly pulled herself together, and finished the show. However, the next morning, Miranda died at her home from heart failure.
Others who appeared with Durante were Pat Carroll
Pat Carroll
Pat Carroll may refer to:*Pat Carroll *Pat Carroll *Pat Carroll *Pat Carroll *Pat Carroll *Pat Carroll...
(later a regular on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
's The Danny Thomas Show
The Danny Thomas Show
The Danny Thomas Show is an American sitcom which ran from 1953-1957 on ABC and from 1957-1964 on CBS...
), Marilyn Maxwell
Marilyn Maxwell
Marilyn Maxwell , born Marvel Marilyn Maxwell, was an American actress and entertainer.Noted for her blonde hair and sexually alluring persona, she appeared in several films and radio programs, and entertained the troops during World War II and the Korean War on USO tours with Bob Hope.-Career:She...
(Grace Sherwood on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's 1961-1962 drama Bus Stop
Bus Stop (TV series)
Bus Stop is a 26-episode drama which aired on ABC from October 1, 1961, until March 25, 1962, starring Marilyn Maxwell as Grace Sherwood, the owner of a bus station and diner in the fictitious town of Sunrise in the Colorado Rockies...
), George Jessel
George Jessel (actor)
George Albert Jessel was an American illustrated song "model," actor, singer, songwriter, and Academy Award-winning movie producer. He was famous in his lifetime as a multitalented comedic entertainer, achieving a level of recognition that transcended his limited roles in movies...
, George Raft
George Raft
George Raft was an American film actor and dancer identified with portrayals of gangsters in crime melodramas of the 1930s and 1940s...
, and The Borden Twins
The Borden Twins
The Borden Twins , Rosalyn Borden and Marilyn Borden, were twin sisters who acted together in numerous television programs from the 1950s until the 1980s. They were best remembered as "Teensy" and "Weensy" in a classic episode of I Love Lucy entitled "Tennessee Bound"...
. The series was filmed at RKO Studios in Hollywood.
The program was televised at Club Durant. Each episode usually ended with Durante's catchphrase, "Good night, Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are!", an apparent reference to Durante's deceased first wife.
In the first season, Durante followed The Imogene Coca Show
The Imogene Coca Show
The Imogene Coca Show is a half-hour NBC television series starring Imogene Coca in both situation comedy and variety show formats. The program debuted on October 2, 1954, after the ending of Sid Caesar's Your Show of Shows, on which Coca had been a popular regular performer.The first two episodes...
, which premiered on the same night on the NBC Saturday schedule. His competition was My Favorite Husband
My Favorite Husband
My Favorite Husband is the name of an American radio program and network television series. The original radio show, co-starring Lucille Ball, was the initial basis for what evolved into the groundbreaking TV sitcom I Love Lucy. The series was based on the novel Mr. and Mrs...
on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
and Saturday evening boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
. In its second season, Durante faced opposition from Janis Paige
Janis Paige
Janis Paige is an American film, musical theatre and television actress. Born Donna Mae Tjaden in Tacoma, Washington, she began singing in public from the age of five in local amateur shows...
's new CBS situation comedy
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
, It's Always Jan
It's Always Jan
It's Always Jan is an American situation comedy starring Janis Paige, which aired on CBS in the 1955-1956 season. It was the lead-in program at 9:30 p.m...
, about a young widow with two female roommates. Paige's attempt at network television failed after twenty-six weeks. Oddly, Bob Schiller
Bob Schiller
Bob Schiller is an American screenwriter, most notably for the television series I Love Lucy and All in the Family . For the latter series, he received an Emmy Award in 1978 as one of the writers of the episode "Cousin Liz".Schiller, born in San Francisco, California, began writing for television...
was the principal writer on both the Durante and Paige series.
Certain Durante episodes ran on NBC as a 1957 summer replacement series. With his 1954 debut, Durante took over the second half of the Your Show of Shows
Your Show of Shows
Your Show of Shows is a live 90-minute variety show that appeared weekly in the United States on NBC , from February 25, 1950, until June 5, 1954, featuring Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca....
time slot. In 1957, Caesar's Hour
Caesar's Hour
Caesar's Hour is a live, hour-long American sketch comedy television program that aired on NBC from 1954 until 1957. The program starred, among others, Sid Caesar, Nanette Fabray, Carl Reiner, Howard Morris, Janet Blair and Milt Kamen, and featured a number of cameo roles by famous entertainers...
, another version of the Sid Caesar
Sid Caesar
Isaac Sidney "Sid" Caesar is an Emmy award winning American comic actor and writer known as the leading man on the 1950s television series Your Show of Shows and Caesar's Hour, and to younger generations as Coach Calhoun in Grease and Grease 2.- Early life :Caesar was born in Yonkers, New York,...
program, moved into the time slot that Durante vacated.