[Dixielandjazz] Dorsey's and Gleason

[Hal Vickery]

A couple of more points.  

1) "Stage Show" was *not* a summer replacement for the Gleason show.
Gleason's Saturday night variety show was replaced by it and "The
Honeymooners.  From the Web site of the Museum of Broadcast Communications:

"Attempting to make time for new ventures, he came up with a radical format
for retaining his CBS Saturday night hour in the 1955-56 season. Gleason
repackaged the most popular feature of his show, The Honeymooners, into a
30-minute sitcom, while the second half of the hour was contracted to the
Dorsey Brothers for a big-band musical program. The best of the old Ralph
Kramden sketch material was reworked into the thirty-nine Honeymooners
episodes that have run in continuous syndication ever since."

Gleason went back to the variety format from 1957-59.  At least one season
(if not both) of that run was a half-hour long.

2) Back to Ray Bloch.  A few sources I've looked at credit Bloch as the
orchestra leader on Gleason's show through 1959.  Sammy Spear became the
leader when Gleason started his "American Scene Magazine Show in 1962.

Hal Vickery

-----Original Message-----
From: dixielandjazz-bounces at ml.islandnet.com
[mailto:dixielandjazz-bounces at ml.islandnet.com] On Behalf Of Steve barbone
Sent: Friday, April 28, 2006 9:34 AM
To: DJML
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Dorsey's and Gleason

There seems to be some confusion about the Dorsey Brothers being the band on
the Jackie Gleason Show. That was not the case. Sammy Spear and his
Orchestra was the Gleason show band from 1952 on, when the show began.

The Dorsey's hosted "Stage Show", the summer replacement for the Gleason
show. Gleason was the producer of "Stage Show". Elvis Presley made his TV
debut on "Stage Show" in 1954. See below for Gleason apology for producing a
show that featured a "porno act". And Ed Sullivan's affirmation that he
"would never have anything like that on his show." Yeah right. :-) VBG.

Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey did not reunite until 1953, when they reformed an
orchestra. The final years of their lives were spent co-hosting a musical
variety show, which introduced Elvis Presley to TV for the first time (he
sang "Heartbreak Hotel").

The first variety show on which Elvis Presley appeared was "Stage Show"
(1954), a summer replacement for "The Jackie Gleason Show" (1952), hosted by
Dorsey and his brother Jimmy Dorsey. Jackie Gleason, the show's producer,
later apologized for putting on "a porno act" and Ed Sullivan said he would
never have anything like that on his show. Sullivan later changed his mind
after Elvis made another appearance on a rival TV show.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone


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