The Leslie Uggams Show
Encyclopedia
The Leslie Uggams Show is an American variety television series
starring actress/singer Leslie Uggams
. The series aired on CBS
as part of its 1969 fall lineup
, and was the second variety series to feature an African American
host since 1956's The Nat King Cole Show.
performers; unlike other early variety programs which were hosted by black entertainers but featured a large number of whites in the cast, only one of Uggams' regulars, comedian
Dennis Allen, was white. A recurring feature of the program was the ongoing series of sketches entitled "Sugar Hill", which dealt with the lives of middle class
black family in a large American city.
The series took over the time slot of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour that CBS pulled due to its controversial content. Scheduled against the venerable Western
Bonanza
, which was still a massive hit for NBC
, and a series of fairly recent (by the standards of the era) movies on ABC
, The Leslie Uggams Show had difficulty developing an audience and was cancelled in December 1969.
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...
starring actress/singer Leslie Uggams
Leslie Uggams
Leslie Uggams is an American actress and singer, perhaps best known for her work in Hallelujah, Baby! She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority.-Singing:...
. The series aired 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...
as part of its 1969 fall lineup
1969-70 United States network television schedule
This was the television schedule on all three networks for the fall season beginning in September 1969. All times are Eastern and Pacific.New fall series are highlighted in bold....
, and was the second variety series to feature an African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
host since 1956's The Nat King Cole Show.
Synopsis
The Leslie Uggams Show gave Uggams, who had first come to wide public notice as a singer on the early 1960s hit Sing Along With Mitch, her own program to showcase herself and other blackBlack people
The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
performers; unlike other early variety programs which were hosted by black entertainers but featured a large number of whites in the cast, only one of Uggams' regulars, comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
Dennis Allen, was white. A recurring feature of the program was the ongoing series of sketches entitled "Sugar Hill", which dealt with the lives of middle class
Middle class
The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....
black family in a large American city.
The series took over the time slot of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour that CBS pulled due to its controversial content. Scheduled against the venerable Western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
Bonanza
Bonanza
Bonanza is an American western television series that both ran on and was a production of NBC from September 12, 1959 to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 430 episodes, it ranks as the second longest running western series and still continues to air in syndication. It centers on the...
, which was still a massive hit for 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...
, and a series of fairly recent (by the standards of the era) movies 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...
, The Leslie Uggams Show had difficulty developing an audience and was cancelled in December 1969.
Cast
- Leslie Uggams.....Host
- Dennis Allen.....Regular
- Johnny BrownJohnny BrownJohnny Brown is an American actor and singer. Brown is a nightclub and stage performer as well as a comic actor, and a regular cast member of the television series Laugh-in. Brown is mostly remembered for his chubby physique, wide ingratiating smile, mobile facial expressions, and easy pleasant...
.....Regular - Lillian HaymanLillian HaymanLillian Irene Hayman was a Tony Award-winning African American actress and singer.-Career:Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Hayman graduated from Wilberforce University with a BA before she began her career in the Broadway theatre...
.....Regular - Lincoln KilpatrickLincoln KilpatrickLincoln Kilpatrick was an American film, television, and stage actor.-Career:Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Kilpatrick attended Lincoln University and earned a degree in drama before he began acting. Encouraged by Billie Holiday, Kilpatrick began his career in 1959 in the Broadway production of A...
....Regular - Allison Mills.....Regular
- Roger Carroll.....Announcer
- Nelson RiddleNelson RiddleNelson Smock Riddle, Jr. was an American arranger, composer, bandleader and orchestrator whose career stretched from the late 1940s to the mid 1980s...
.....Orchestra Leader
Episode list
| Ep # | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Episode 1 | September 28, 1969 |
| Guest stars: David Frye David Frye David Frye was an American comedian, specializing in comic imitations of famous political figures, most of which were based on notable Americans including, former U.S. Presidents Lyndon Johnson and Richard M... , Dick Van Dyke Dick Van Dyke Richard Wayne "Dick" Van Dyke is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer with a career spanning six decades. He is the older brother of Jerry Van Dyke, and father of Barry Van Dyke... , Marc Copage, Sly & the Family Stone Sly & the Family Stone Sly and the Family Stone were an American rock, funk, and soul band from San Francisco, California. Active from 1966 to 1983, the band was pivotal in the development of soul, funk, and psychedelic music... |
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| 2 | Episode 2 | October 5, 1969 |
| Guest stars: Glenn Ash, Don Knotts Don Knotts Jesse Donald "Don" Knotts was an American comedic actor best known for his portrayal of Barney Fife on the 1960s television sitcom The Andy Griffith Show, a role which earned him five Emmy Awards... |
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| 3 | Episode 3 | October 12, 1969 |
| Guest stars: John Banner John Banner John Banner , born Johann Banner, was an American film and television actor, who was born and died in Vienna, Austria.... , Robert Clary Robert Clary Robert Clary is a French-born American actor, published author, and lecturer, best known for his role in the television sitcom Hogan's Heroes as Corporal LeBeau.-Early life and career:... , Bob Crane Bob Crane Robert Edward "Bob" Crane was an American actor and disc jockey, best known for his performance as Colonel Robert E... , Larry Hovis Larry Hovis Larry Hovis was an American singer and actor best known for playing a fictional prisoner of war on the 1960s television sitcom Hogan's Heroes.-Early life and career:... , Werner Klemperer Werner Klemperer Werner Klemperer was a comedic and dramatic actor, best known for his role as Colonel Klink on the CBS television sitcom, Hogan's Heroes.-Early life:... |
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| 4 | Episode 4 | October 26, 1969 |
| Guest stars: Kaye Ballard Kaye Ballard Kaye Ballard is an American musical theatre and television actress, comedienne, and singer.-Life and career:Ballard was born as Catherine Gloria Balotta in Cleveland, Ohio, to an Italian American family, the daughter of Lena and Vincent James Balotta.Ballard established herself as a musical... , Raymond Burr Raymond Burr Raymond William Stacey Burr was a Canadian actor, primarily known for his title roles in the television dramas Perry Mason and Ironside. His early acting career included roles on Broadway, radio, television and in film, usually as the villain... , The Turtles The Turtles The Turtles are an American rock group led by vocalists Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman. The band became notable for several Top 40 hits beginning with its cover version of Bob Dylan's "It Ain't Me Babe" in 1965... |
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| 5 | Episode 5 | November 2, 1969 |
| Guest stars: Jim Nabors Jim Nabors James Thurston "Jim" Nabors is an American actor and singer. Born and raised in Sylacauga, Alabama, Nabors moved to Southern California because of his asthma. While working at a Santa Monica nightclub, The Horn, he was discovered by Andy Griffith and later joined The Andy Griffith Show, playing... , Smith Smith (band) Smith were an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1969. They had a blues based sound and had a Top 5 hit in 1969 with a cover of the song "Baby It's You", with the lead vocals sung by Gayle McCormick... , Jackie Vernon |
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| 6 | Episode 6 | November 9, 1969 |
| Guest stars: Bob Denver Bob Denver Robert Osbourne "Bob" Denver was an American comedic actor known for his roles as Gilligan on the television series Gilligan's Island and the beatnik Maynard G. Krebs on the 1959–1963 TV series The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.-Early life:Denver was born in New Rochelle, New York, and raised in... , David Frye, Robert Guillaume Robert Guillaume Robert "Bob" Guillaume is an American stage and television actor, best known for his role as Benson Du Bois on the TV-series Soap and the spin-off Benson, voicing the mandrill Rafiki in The Lion King and as Isaac Jaffe on Sports Night... , Johnny Mathis Johnny Mathis John Royce "Johnny" Mathis is an American singer of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standards, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum status, and 73 making the Billboard charts... |
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| 7 | Episode 7 | November 16, 1969 |
| Guest stars: Ken Berry Ken Berry Kenneth Ronald "Ken" Berry is an American dancer, comedic actor and singer. He began on stage as a dancer and later starred in television sitcoms.-Life and career:... , David Frye, Dick Van Dyke |
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| 8 | Episode 8 | November 23, 1969 |
| Guest stars: Sammy Davis, Jr. Sammy Davis, Jr. Samuel George "Sammy" Davis Jr. was an American entertainer and was also known for his impersonations of actors and other celebrities.... , Bobby Goldsboro Bobby Goldsboro Bobby Goldsboro is an American country and pop singer-songwriter. He had a string of Pop and Country hits during the 1960s and 1970s, including his signature #1 classic "Honey," which sold well over one million copies in the United States.-Early life:Goldsboro was born in Marianna, Florida... , Mitch Miller Mitch Miller Mitchell William "Mitch" Miller was an American musician, singer, conductor, record producer, A&R man and record company executive... , Sammy Shore |
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| 9 | Episode 9 | December 7, 1969 |
| Guest stars: Ruth Buzzi Ruth Buzzi Ruth Ann Buzzi is an American comedienne and actress of theatre, film, and television. She is especially known for her performances on the comedy-variety show Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In from 1968 to 1973.-Early life:... , Mike Connors Mike Connors Mike Connors is an American actor best known for playing detective Joe Mannix in the CBS television series, Mannix. Before that, he had played a crime-fighting investigator, wielding a .38 handgun hidden in his back, in another CBS series, Tightrope.-Early life:Connors was born Krekor Ohanian in... , Stevie Wonder Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist... |
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| 10 | Episode 10 | December 14, 1969 |
| Guest stars: Glenn Ash, Kaye Ballard, The Temptations The Temptations The Temptations is an American vocal group having achieved fame as one of the most successful acts to record for Motown Records. The group's repertoire has included, at various times during its five-decade career, R&B, doo-wop, funk, disco, soul, and adult contemporary music.Formed in Detroit,... |
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