Friday, December 08, 2023

TV Show Title Cards Part Three

This is part three of our look at some vintage hand-drawn TV Title Cards from the early 1950s. 

Part One is here.

Part Two is here

 

Tim McCoy's Wild West was a daily series (one of many of Tim McCoy's TV shows -- see the second title card) where he would talk about the history of the old west. More here.

 

 

Songs For Sale (1950-52) was hosted by Steve Allen and featured many musical acts.


Peter Potter hosted Jukebox Jury, first on radio and then, beginning in 1948, on television. 

"On 'Jukebox Jury', six young, glamorous late-Forties' B-movie stars and minor recording artists were on-hand to judge the latest record company releases. Celebrities like Barry Sullivan, Maureen O'Sullivan, Phyllis Winger, and Jane Powell form a six pack of stars who line up on either side of the host. Their job: to sit still and look cool while the three-minute single played and the TV camera probed them - then offer an opinion of the record." - TV Party



 

The Garry Moore Show was a chat/variety show that ran for eight years from 1950 to 1958. With his co-host Durwood Kirby, the program then moved to prime time where it ran for another four years.

 

I believe this Late Show title card to correspond with a late night movie series on a West Coast station.


If this was The Walt Disney Christmas Show of 1951, then it was essentially a promo for the company's new Peter Pan movie as well as the Snow White rerelease.

 

The Patricia Bowman Show was a one-season wonder. A musical variety program, the show was a "[L]ive variety series showcasing the dancing abilities of ballerina Patricia Bowman." - CTV

 

The Sammy Kaye Show was a mainstay for the the 1950s, running from 1950 to 1959. 

From Nostalgia Central:

"Bandleader Sammy Kaye first brought his swing-and-sway music to television in 1949, with two specials. He later appeared in several series during the 1950s, on various networks.

"Kaye’s most famous trademark was his 'So You Want to Lead a Band' audience-participation routine, which he had used for years in personal appearances and on radio, and it was also featured in most of his TV series.

"In it, Kaye chose half a dozen members of the studio audience to try their hands at band-leading. The band did exactly what the ‘leader’ indicated with their baton, sometimes to hilarious effect. The best bandleader was chosen by audience applause and awarded a prize.

"Kaye also provided straight entertainment with his orchestra, vocalists, and guests, and often led a community sing-a-long. He ended each show with an inspirational poem.

"The various Sammy Kaye series, though essentially similar in format, went under a number of titles over the years. The 1950 edition was called So You Want to Lead a Band. In 1951-1952 it was The Sammy Kaye Variety Show, in 1953 The Sammy Kaye Show, and in 1954-1955 So You Want to Lead a Band.

"The 1958 series was first called Sammy Kaye’s Music from Manhattan (the sponsor was Manhattan shirts), then in January 1959 switched to The Sammy Kaye Show and in April 1959 to Music from Manhattan. You would never have known the difference by watching them."

 

Ricky and the Magic Trolley was a Los Angeles-based puppet show, sponsored by Nesbitt's orange drink. Tom Scott, grandson of B.R. Murphy, President of Nesbitt Fruit Products Company from 1943 to 1959 has this to say on his Nesbitt's Fact Page:

"Nesbitt's was the sponsor of an early television show in Los Angeles called 'Ricky and the Magic Trolley. It was a puppet show that was done circa 1952-1953. I remember going to the set with my grandfather when I was 6 or 7 years old along with my two younger sisters. We went to do a live TV commercial with a couple of other kids who were the daughters of the Nesbitt ad agency guy. It was in the same studio as 'Space Patrol,' one of my favorite TV shows at the time. I was thrilled to sit in the cockpit of the space ship. The Ricky puppet show set was raised off the floor so the puppeteers could stand up under it."



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