You Asked For It
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
between 1950 and 1959. Later versions of the series were seen in 1972, 1981, and 2000.
On the show, viewers were asked to send in postcards describing something that they wanted to see on television, such as the reenactment of William Tell
William Tell
William Tell is a folk hero of Switzerland. His legend is recorded in a late 15th century Swiss chronicle....
shooting an apple off his son's head. (1950 US national archery
Archery
Archery is the art, practice, or skill of propelling arrows with the use of a bow, from Latin arcus. Archery has historically been used for hunting and combat; in modern times, however, its main use is that of a recreational activity...
champion Stan Overby performed the feat, shooting an apple off his assistant's head.)
The show was originally broadcast live
Live television
Live television refers to a television production broadcast in real-time, as events happen, in the present. From the early days of television until about 1958, live television was used heavily, except for filmed shows such as I Love Lucy and Gunsmoke. Video tape did not exist until 1957...
, so some of the riskier propositions took on added elements of danger and suspense. A segment where animal trainer and stuntman
Stuntman
A stuntman or stunt performer is someone who performs dangerous stunts.Stuntman may also refer to:*The Stunt Man, a 1980 film starring Peter O'Toole*Stuntman , a 2002 video game**Stuntman: Ignition, its sequel...
, Reed Parham wrestled a huge, deadly anaconda
Anaconda
An anaconda is a large, non-venomous snake found in tropical South America. Although the name actually applies to a group of snakes, it is often used to refer only to one species in particular, the common or green anaconda, Eunectes murinus, which is one of the largest snakes in the world.Anaconda...
, for example, nearly became disastrous until assistants interceded with guns drawn, visibly unnerving host Art Baker.
Guest stars
Baker was fond of granting requests to see show-business personalities. He reunited the Our GangOur Gang
Our Gang, also known as The Little Rascals or Hal Roach's Rascals, was a series of American comedy short films about a group of poor neighborhood children and the adventures they had together. Created by comedy producer Hal Roach, the series is noted for showing children behaving in a relatively...
troupe of the 1920s (Johnny Downs
Johnny Downs
Johnny Downs was an American actor. Son of a Naval aviator, he was taken to Hollywood in 1921 when his father was transferred to the San Diego naval base. He began his career as a child actor, most notably playing Johnny in the Our Gang short series from 1923 to 1926...
, Joe Cobb
Joe Cobb
Joe Frank Cobb was a former American child actor, most notable for appearing as the original "fat boy" in the Our Gang comedies from 1922 to 1929...
, etc.), and staged encore performances by singers Gloria Jean
Gloria Jean
Gloria Jean is an American singer and actress who starred or co-starred in 26 feature films between 1939 and 1959. She also made radio, television, stage, and nightclub appearances.-Career:...
, Nick Lucas
Nick Lucas
Nick Lucas born Dominic Nicholas Anthony Lucanese was an American singer and pioneer jazz guitarist, remembered as "the grandfather of the jazz guitar", whose peak of popularity lasted from the mid-1920s to the early 1930s.-Career:In 1922, at the age of 25, he gained renown with his hit renditions...
and Arthur Lee Simpkins; comedians Buster Keaton
Buster Keaton
Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton was an American comic actor, filmmaker, producer and writer. He was best known for his silent films, in which his trademark was physical comedy with a consistently stoic, deadpan expression, earning him the nickname "The Great Stone Face".Keaton was recognized as the...
, Eddie Gribbon
Eddie Gribbon
Eddie Gribbon was an American film actor. He appeared in 184 films between 1916 and 1951.He was born in New York, New York and died in Hollywood, California from cancer...
, and El Brendel
El Brendel
El Brendel was a vaudeville comedian turned movie star, best remembered for his dialect schtick as a Swedish immigrant. His biggest role was as "Single-0" in the sci-fi musical Just Imagine , produced by Fox Film Corporation...
with his wife Flo Bert; European musical entertainer Yonelli; actor Bela Lugosi
Béla Lugosi
Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó , commonly known as Bela Lugosi, was a Hungarian actor of stage and screen. He was best known for having played Count Dracula in the Broadway play and subsequent film version, as well as having starred in several of Ed Wood's low budget films in the last years of his...
and cowboy bullwhip artist Whip Wilson
Whip Wilson
Whip Wilson was an American cowboy film star of the late 1940s and into the 1950s, known for his roles in B-westerns....
, among many others.
Short film clips were also presented, with the selection based upon viewer requests. As a consequence, many of the clips were presented multiple times, Some of the more popular clips included a tour of the bizarre Winchester Mystery House
Winchester Mystery House
The Winchester Mystery House is a well-known mansion in California. It once was the personal residence of Sarah Winchester, the widow of gun magnate William Wirt Winchester. It was continuously under construction for 38 years and is reported to be haunted. It now serves as a tourist attraction...
and the collapse of the first Tacoma Narrows Bridge
Tacoma Narrows Bridge (1940)
The 1940 Tacoma Narrows Bridge was the first incarnation of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, a suspension bridge in the U.S. state of Washington that spanned the Tacoma Narrows strait of Puget Sound between Tacoma and the Kitsap Peninsula. It opened to traffic on July 1, 1940, and dramatically collapsed...
.
The program was named The Art Baker Show, after the series creator and host. In April 1951, the show's title was changed to You Asked for It. Originally airing on the cash-strapped DuMont Television Network
DuMont Television Network
The DuMont Television Network, also known as the DuMont Network, DuMont, Du Mont, or Dumont was one of the world's pioneer commercial television networks, rivalling NBC for the distinction of being first overall. It began operation in the United States in 1946. It was owned by DuMont...
from December 1950 to December 1951, it moved to 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...
, where it remained until the end of its original run in September 1959. The show was sponsored by Skippy Peanut Butter and Studebaker
Studebaker
Studebaker Corporation was a United States wagon and automobile manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana. Founded in 1852 and incorporated in 1868 under the name of the Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Company, the company was originally a producer of wagons for farmers, miners, and the...
Automobiles.
Art Baker hosted the show, until early 1958, when Jack Smith took over for the remaining 20 months.
During the Smith years, memorable segments included a profile Dr. John Ott's elaborate automated time-lapse multiple camera greenhouse filming the growth of plants (plugging his 1958 book My Ivory Cellar), a man who wanted to see his bit part in a silent movie after 40-ish years, and how a dangerous fire collapsing building stunt sequence was filmed with stunt people rolling into a hidden pit at the last possible second.
Later versions
After ABC canceled the original show in 1959, various revivals have aired in the decades since:- An all-new version of You Asked For It began to air in syndication in 1972, and was also hosted by Jack Smith.
- In 1981, another syndicated version went on the air as The New You Asked For It, with impressionist Rich LittleRich LittleRichard Caruthers "Rich" Little is a Canadian-American impressionist and voice actor. He has long been known throughout the world as a top impersonator of famous people, resulting in his nickname, "The Man of a Thousand Voices"....
as the host and Jayne KennedyJayne KennedyJayne Kennedy is an NAACP Image Award-winning American actress, model and sportscaster.-Miss Ohio USA:...
as co-host. Jack Smith served as a narrator on this version, voicing the clips from the older shows. In the show's second season he took over as host. This incarnation lasted until the summer of 1983. - In spring of 2000, a short-lived version, hosted by comedian Phil Morris, aired on NBC.
In popular culture
In the Happy DaysHappy Days
Happy Days is an American television sitcom that originally aired from January 15, 1974, to September 24, 1984, on ABC. Created by Garry Marshall, the series presents an idealized vision of life in mid-1950s to mid-1960s America....
episode "Fearless Fonzarelli" (aired September 30, 1975), Fonzie (Henry Winkler
Henry Winkler
Henry Franklin Winkler, OBE is an American actor, director, producer, and author.Winkler is best known for his role as Fonzie on the 1970s American sitcom Happy Days...
) jumps his motorcycle over fourteen garbage cans. The feat attracts the cameras of the fictional (though thinly-veiled) You Wanted To See It, with the real Jack Smith playing himself. You Wanted To See It shows up again in the Weezer
Weezer
Weezer is an American alternative rock band. The band currently consists of Rivers Cuomo , Patrick Wilson , Brian Bell , and Scott Shriner . The band has changed lineups three times since its formation in 1992...
video "Buddy Holly
Buddy Holly (song)
"Buddy Holly" is a song by the rock group Weezer, written by Rivers Cuomo. It was released as the second single from the band's debut album Weezer in 1994. The single was released on what would have been Buddy Holly's 58th birthday. The lyrics reference the song's 1950s namesake and actress Mary...
" which shows the band playing at Arnold's Drive-In, a popular diner in the Happy Days
Happy Days
Happy Days is an American television sitcom that originally aired from January 15, 1974, to September 24, 1984, on ABC. Created by Garry Marshall, the series presents an idealized vision of life in mid-1950s to mid-1960s America....
sitcom.
A parody of the show called You're Asking for It was featured in the Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny is a animated character created in 1938 at Leon Schlesinger Productions, later Warner Bros. Cartoons. Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray rabbit and is famous for his flippant, insouciant personality and his portrayal as a trickster. He has primarily appeared in animated cartoons, most...
cartoon Wideo Wabbit
Wideo Wabbit
Wideo Wabbit is a 1956 Warner Bros. cartoon featuring Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd. The voice of Bugs Bunny and other characters are played by Mel Blanc while the voice of Elmer Fudd is played by Arthur Q. Bryan...
(1956).