4.8 /10 1 Votes
Directed by Byron Paul Original language(s) English Camera setup Multi-camera Final episode date 11 September 1956 Producer Irving Mansfield (1956) Language English | 4.7/10 TV Country of origin United States No. of seasons 6 First episode date 15 July 1949 Number of seasons 6 Genre Talk show | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Starring Clifton Fadiman
Sam Levenson
Abe Burrows
George S. Kaufman
Walter Slezak
Jacqueline Susann Similar Arthur Godfrey and His F, The Name's the Same, Garroway at Large, The Frank Sinatra Show, Mr Halpern and Mr J | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This Is Show Business is an American panel discussion program about the entertainment industry, hosted by Clifton Fadiman, which aired on CBS Television from July 15, 1949 to March 9, 1954, and then again as a summer series on NBC Television from June 26 to September 11, 1956.
Contents
Overview
Guest celebrities, such as Billie Burke, Merv Griffin, or Dave Garroway dropped by to visit the panel of intellectuals and humorists, including Sam Levenson, Abe Burrows, and playwright George S. Kaufman. In September 1951, This Is Show Business entered television history as the first CBS program to have been televised live from the Atlantic to the Pacific coasts. Kaufman, who was Jewish, was suspended due to viewer complaints after the December 21, 1952, Christmas broadcast in which he said, "Let's make this one program on which no one sings "Silent Night"!"
On September 29, 1953, Jackie Gleason, Phil Foster, and John Raitt were This Is Show Business guest stars.
After its five-year run on CBS, the series resumed for the summer of 1956 on NBC. This time the panel consisted of Burrows, Walter Slezak, and actress Jacqueline Susann, future author of the novel Valley of the Dolls. Susann's husband, Irving Mansfield, was the producer of the later episodes. Byron Paul was the director.
Scheduling
In its first season, This Is Show Business preceded Toast of the Town, later The Ed Sullivan Show, on the CBS Sunday lineup. In the 1950-1952 seasons, This Is Show Business alternated with The Jack Benny Program preceding Ed Sullivan.
In the last full season on CBS, the series followed The Red Skelton Show on Tuesday evenings and faced competition from Danny Thomas, then on ABC with his Make Room for Daddy and Fireside Theater, an anthology series on NBC.