TV Show Title Cards 1952 Part One

Here are some vintage television show title cards from 1952 -- all hand-drawn and hand-lettered by anonymous toilers. 

 

I like this cartoon of poor weatherman Robert Hudson getting rained on by "The Weather." Like some of these old TV shows, The Weather with Robert Hudson is lost to history -- at least that was the result of my cursory internet search.

This kiddie show, Alibi's Tent Show, was hosted by Western movie actor Max Terhune, who was also known for his ventriloquism skills according to the Hollywood Hoosiers site.

Love their hair. The Web showcased stories by members of The Mystery Writers of America. This live television series aired for four seasons (1950-54). Source: IMDB.

Nothing about this specific TV show, America's Fighting Champions, on the web. The fighter and his manager sure look happy, though. Fighting and wrestling matches were a big hit in early TV.

Police Story was a 30 minute Live TV anthology series produced live in NYC. Twenty four episodes were produced from April to September 1952. Of course, the title was revived for another series some years later.

The Stork Club was a Manhattan-based talk show hosted by Sherman Billingsley that ran for five years beginning in 1950.

The Buddy Ebsen Show with Sam Hearn sure didn't last long enough to make Buddy's Wikipedia page, but Buddy sure did a lot of other movies and TV shows.

A great title card from the long running What's My Line game show. What's My Line would be in its third year when this 1952 title card was made.

Studio One (1948 - 1958): "Created by Fletcher Markle. With Betty Furness, Paul Branson, Charlton Heston, Mary Sinclair. A pinnacle of the Golden Age of Television, 'Studio One' presented a wide range of memorable dramas and received eighteen Emmy nominations and five wins during its prestigious nine-year run on CBS." - IMDB

Tele-Sports Digest is a lost television show.

The Frank Sinatra Show (also known as Bulova Watch Time) was a variety series hosted by Sinatra. It ran for two years beginning in 1950.

Where Do You Stand? certainly sounds like a serious show but there is nothing about it to be found in my brief internet search.

Watch and Win with Ben Alexander has a lovely title card with the cartoon TV viewer with dollar signs in his eyes. I'm not sure, but this may be the same Ben Alexander who was a child star beginning in 1915, and was in the 1930 version of All Quiet On the Western Front. Ben Alexander then went to be an early partner of Jack Webb's Joe Friday on Dragnet.

Nothing about the 1952 "USHO" Cormorant Fishing in Japan TV show, but I did find out that

"Cormorant fishing is an unusual ritual practised in Japan. These aquatic birds are expert fish catchers with razor sharp beaks. Fishermen, called ‘usho’ in Japan, use the birds to catch fish, tying strings around their throats to stop them eating their catches. Once the birds surface on the water with a fish, the ‘usho’ removes it from their gullet. The ritual takes place in the evenings and fishing boats are hung with flaming lamps to attract the fish." Video of this is here.

The Bert Parks Show was a musical comedy series from 1950 to 1952.

The Sports Spot title card lets you know about the popular sports of the day. No other information at hand.

"Man Against Crime starring Ralph Bellamy, one of the first television programs about private eyes, ran on CBS, the DuMont Television Network and NBC from October 7, 1949, to June 27, 1954, and was briefly revived, starring Frank Lovejoy, during 1956. The show was created by Lawrence Klee and was broadcast live until 1952." - Wikipedia

Alternate titles are Man Against Crime and Follow That Man.  Some episodes are online.

Journalist Ed Murrow's See It Now ran from 1951 to 1958 on CBS stations.

"The most significant show was on 9 March 1954 during the McCarthy Era. Murrow showed a series of film clips of Senator Joseph McCarthy and revealed how shallow he was and how he lied to promote his programs. Other major shows were: 20 October 1953: 'The Case Against Milo Radulovich, AO589839' that revealed how the US Air Force was trying to discharge Lieutenant Radulovich because it was suspected that his Serbian father and sister were Communist sympathizers; after the show, the Secretary of the Air Force, Harold E. Talbott, reviewed the case and Radulovich was reinstated." - IMDB

The content of Saddle Tales is lost now. This sure is a bleak drawing.

A nice cartoony Pick The Winner title card from 1952 - although the GOP elephant doesn't really "read" for me.

KNXT TV Channel 2's Thrifty Theater has a mention in this April 1, 1952 PDF of TV-Radio Life magazine.

Toast Of the Town, a title card for a show that would change its name to The Ed Sullivan Show.

Information on any TV series that begins with "Thrifty" is scant or, in this case, nonexistent.

That's Arlene Francis getting ghostly inky hands over her face in this card for Who's There? It was a

"[S]ummer replacement show with the three panelists attempting to guess a celebrity's name after viewing articles of clothing or props associated with him or her." IMDB

More anon.

 - Edited from an October 6, 2021 blog entry.