First episode date 1950 Genre Musical | Final episode date 1951 | |
Stairway to Stardom was an early United States television series which aired 1950 to 1951 on New Jersey station WATV. It is notable as being among the first with an African-American host, though it was not a network series. Bill Cook, a radio disc jockey, was the host. According to an article titled Bill Cook Sparks New Video Show in a 1950 edition of newspaper The Pittsburgh Courier, Bill Cook had stated that talent on the program would be "selected on the basis of ability and without regard to race, color or religion". As a local show of the early 1950s, the series is likely lost, though this is not confirmed.
Other early TV series with African-American hosts included two DuMont Television Network series, Elder Michaux (network 1948-1949, then continued as local series) and The Hazel Scott Show (1950), very short-lived CBS series Uptown Jubilee (1949), and WABD local series titled Amanda (1948-1949).
Cook was also host of a radio program called Musical Caravan.