The Colgate Comedy Hour

Episode 1

'Revenge with Music' featuring host Eddie Cantor

Sun, Sep 10, 1950 35 mins

Eddie Cantor sings "This Is Broadway," "Now's the Time to Fall in Love," "Ain't She Sweet?," and "Waitin' for the Robert E. Lee." Yma Sumac sings "Hymn to the Sun." Cantor's guests were mostly Broadway stars from then-current productions. Robert Gari was his son-in-law.

Episode 2

Let's Face It with Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis

Sun, Sep 17, 1950

Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis host with guests blonde bombshell Marilyn Maxwell, comic dancers Barr and Estes, J.C.McCord, Frank Gallop, Jean Carson, William McCutheon, vocal group The Honeydreamers, with Dick Stabile and his Orchestra. Dean and Jerry disrupt a formal party, and do a stand-up as a man and woman reconciling after an argument. Maxwell performs "I Love the Guys" with dancers. Dean, a failing movie theater owner, forces a kid (played by Jerry) to buy a ticket. Backstage, Martin has a luxurious dressing room while Lewis has a janitor's closet. Dean sings "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter," "Frankie and Johnny," and "La Vie en Rose."

Episode 3

Host: Fred Allen; Guests: Monty Woolley, Rise Stevens, Peter Donald

Sun, Sep 24, 1950

Fred Allen hosts. His guests include actors Monte Woolley and Peter Donald, opera star Rise Stevens, ballet stars Sono Osato, Hugh Laing and Zachary Solov, Tony award winner David Burns, Fred Allen's radio co-horts Kenny Delmar, Minerva Pious, Parker Fennelly (supplying voices in a puppet version of "Allen's ALley") with Al Goodman and his Orchestra. Stevens joins Allen for a "Middle-town U.S.A." version of "Carmen." Wooley and Allen do a department store sketch. Burns follows Allen around and pre-tests his material for him.

Episode 4

Host: Bobby Clark; Guests: Joan Blondell, Sigmund Romberg

Sun, Oct 1, 1950

Bobby Clark hosts with songwriter Sig Romberg and actress Joan Blondell guesting. Clark plays a judge with a pea-shooter, and entertains snooty matrons at a Boston tea party. Romberg does a medley of songs he's composed.

Episode 5

Host: Eddie Cantor; Guests: Al Goodman & his Orchestra

Sun, Oct 8, 1950 46 mins

Eddie Cantor makes a second appearance as the Colgate show host and performs a skit playing 'Maxie the Taxi' and later sings 'Dinah'.

Episode 6

Hosts: Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis; Guests: Kitty Kallen; The Skylarks; Mayor Ralph Villani of Newark, N.J.; Mayor Walter Sterling of Steubenville, Ohio, Dick Stabile & his Orchestra

Sun, Oct 15, 1950 44 mins

Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis serve as the Colgate show's hosts for a second time and invite the mayors of their hometowns to appear on the show.

Episode 7

Host: Fred Allen; Guests: Portland Hoffa, Ella Logan, Parker Fennelly. Peter Donald, dancers Anthony, Allyn & Hodges; Mort & Art Havel

Sun, Oct 22, 1950

For Fred Allen's second time hosting the Colgate program, his guests include part of his regular radio program cast Peter Donald, Parker Fennelly and Portland Hoffa (Allen's wife). Other guests include the dancers Anthony, Allyn and Hodges and comedians Mort and Art Havel. Parker Fennelley plays his radio character Titus Moody in a sketch. Logan sings "Sunny Side of the Street" and joins Allen in a production take-off on "Brigadoon".

Episode 8

Host: Bobby Clark; Guests: Mel Allen, Frances Langford, Gussie Moran, The Peiro Brothers, The Albins

Sun, Oct 29, 1950 44 mins

Comedian Bobby Clark hosts "Michael Todd's Revue" sponsored by Frigidaire. Guests are singer Frances Langford, baseball announcer Mel Allen, tennis player Gussie Moran, Argentinian jugglers Atilio and Hector (The Peiro Brothers), and comedy act The Albins. Clark is judge in a courtroom sketch with Moran complaining someone had stolen her lacy underwear. Clark performs a comedy rendition of the poem "The Shooting of Dan McGrew." A stream of crazies keeps Clark from getting sleep in a hospital.

Episode 9

Host: Eddie Cantor; Guests: Ida Cantor, Charlie Cantor, Robert Gari, Fred & Sledge, Lesli Scott, Bil & Cora Baird Marionettes, Al Goodman & his Orchestra

Sun, Nov 5, 1950

Eddie Cantor hosts with guests actor Robert Gari, comedian Charlie Cantor (no relation), dancers Fred and Sledge, Leslie Scott, Bil and Cora Baird's Marionettes, show's choreographer Dick Barstow, his wife Ida Cantor, and Al Goodman and his Orchestra. Cantor plays cab driver "Maxie the Taxi." Eddie and Charlie are in drag as a couple of housewives at a laundromat. Scott sings "Basin Street Blues" with Fred and Sledge dancing. Cantor is joined by his wife, Ida, in a tribute to their recently deceased friend Al Jolson; Gari performs as Jolson singing "Swanee".

Episode 10

Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis; Guests: Kitty Kallen, Leonard Barr, Sammy Petrillo, Joyce Randolph, De May & Moore, The Skylarks, Dick Stabile & his Orchestra

Sun, Nov 12, 1950 40 mins

Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis host with guests Kitty Kallen, actress Joyce Randoph, comic dancers Leonard Barr and Virginia Estes, comic actor (and Jerry Lewis impersonator) Sammy Petrillo, ballroom dancers De May and Moore, singers The Skylarks, and Dick Stabile and his Orchestra. Kitty Kallen sings "Please Take Me Home" and "I Can't Give You Anything But Love". In a babysitting sketch, Joyce Randolph plays the mom, Jerry the dad, and Petrillo the baby. Another skit involves a dancing school.

Episode 11

Host: Fred Allen; Guests: H. Allen Smith, Sheila Bond, Billy Tabbert

Sun, Nov 19, 1950 43 mins

Fred Allen hosts with guests humorist/author H. Allen Smith; Tony award winning actress Sheila Bond; and Broadway performer Billy Tabbert.

Episode 12

host: Bob Hope; guest stars: Jimmy Wakely, Marilyn Maxwell, The Taylor Maids, the High Hatters, Judy Kelly

Sun, Nov 26, 1950 45 mins

Bob Hope hosts this Frigidaire-sponsored episode. Guests are singer Jimmy Wakely, actress Marilyn Maxwell, vocalists The Taylor Maids, dance duo High Hatters, dancer Judy Kelly, Les Brown and his Band of Renown, and pitchman Nelson Case. Performing to an all-military audience, Hope opens with his usual monologue. High Hatters tap dance to "Me and My Shadow". Wakely performs "Lonesome Train" and duets with Hope on "Tumbling Tumbleweeds". In comedy sketches, Hope plays a show-off test pilot. He and Maxwell, as Mata Hari, do a spy skit featuring Hitler and Stalin doubles. The two duet on "Darn It, Baby, That's Love". Taylor Maids sing "Orange Colored Sky". Les Brown's band plays "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm".

Episode 13

Host: Eddie Cantor; Guests: Joe Bushkin, Jack Albertson, Dick Van Patten, Connie Sawyer, June Keegan, Les Zoris, The Amadis

Sun, Dec 3, 1950 49 mins

Eddie Cantor hosts with guests singer June Keegan, pianist Joe Bushkin, actors Jack Albertson, Dick Van Patten and Connie Sawyer, teeter-board acrobats The Armandis, and dancers Les Zoris (Robert Gross and Claudine Baudin). Sawyer and Cantor stumble around as a near-sighted couple. Cantor is joined by Albertson and Van Patten in a "Maxi the Taxi" sketch. Cantor is accompanied by Bushkin on "Ballin' the Jack" and "Dust Off That Old Piano". The finale, based on "Babes in Toyland," features Keegan singing a holiday tune.

Episode 14

'Tickets Please!'

Sun, Dec 10, 1950 60 mins

Comics/dancers Paul and Grace Hartman host an abbreviated version of their recent Broadway revue. In highlights, Patricia Bright complains that TV has stolen her husband, and Dorothy Jarmac interprets an abstract painting via dance.

Episode 15

Host: Fred Allen; Guest: Doc Rockwell, Eileen Farrell, The Christianis, Minerva Pious, Kenny Delmar, Peter Donald, Parker Fennelly, Al Goodman & his Orchestra

Sun, Dec 17, 1950 49 mins

Fred Allen's guests are comic Doc Rockwell, acrobats the Christianis, opera singer Eileen Farrell, and, from Allen's radio show, Minerva Pious, Kenny Delmar, Peter Donald, and Parker Fennelly. With Al Goodman and his orchestra. Eileen Farrell performs a song from "Madame Butterfly". Sketches include Allen as Santa refusing to make his yearly rounds because of the state of the world. There's a murder trial involving hillbillies in rural Maine. Also, a sketch shows a nine-year-old who's gotten all his knowledge from television.

Episode 16

Host: Bob Hope; guest stars: Robert Cummings, Lily Pons, Eleanor Roosevelt

Sun, Dec 24, 1950 46 mins

Guests include opera star Lily Pons; Eleanor Roosevelt; Bob Cummings; harpist Robert Maxwell; New York Mayor Vincent Impellitteri; the Boys' Choir from the Cathedral of St. John the Divine; and Charles Sandford and his Orchestra.

Episode 17

Host: Eddie Cantor; Guests: Danny Thomas, Ed Wynn, Sigmund Romberg

Sun, Dec 31, 1950 45 mins

Danny Thomas, Ed Wynn and Sigmund Romberg.

Episode 18

Hosts: Abbott & Costello; Guests: Evelyn Knight, Hal Le Roy, Paul Remos & his Toy Boys, Jimmy Ford Four, Art & Mort Havel, Patricia Shea, Valerie de Cadenet, Al Goodman & his Orchestra

Sun, Jan 7, 1951

Bud Abbott and Lou Costello host with guests singer Evelyn Knight, dancer Hal Le Roy, specialty act Paul Remos and his Toy Boys, the Jimmy Ford Four, Art and Mort Havel, Patricia Shea, Valerie de Cadenet, and Al Goodman and his Orchestra. The boys do their "Hot dog and Mustard" monologue. As a sailor, Hal Le Roy dances and flirts while on liberty. At a carnival midway, Abbott fleeces Costello in their "Shell Game" routine. The Jimmy Ford Four lip sync comedy to "Cocktails for Two." Lou checks into Dr. Abbott's sanitarium for needed rest; instead he's harassed non-stop by a parade of lunatics.

Episode 19

Host: Jerry Lester; Guests: Joan Bennett; Fred Allen; Pat O'Brien; Kukla, Fran & Ollie; the cast of Broadway Open House: Dagmar, David Street, The Mello-Larks, Milton DeLugg, Wayne Howell, Jack Adrian

Sun, Jan 14, 1951 53 mins

Jerry Lester hosts with the regular cast of his series "Broadway Open House": David Street, Dagmar, Milton DeLugg, The Mello-Larks, and Wayne Howell. Guests are Kukla, Fran and Ollie, Fred Allen, and actors Pat O'Brien and Joan Bennett. Allen and Lester participate in one of Dagmar's plays. Lester does a take-off on radio giveaway shows.

Episode 20

Host: Bobby Clark; Guests: Julie Wilson; Willie West & McGinty; The Maxwells; Bobby Lane & Claire; Jack Mann; Dick Dana; Miriam Wakefield, Tom Jones & his Orchestra

Sun, Jan 21, 1951

Julie Wilson; Willie, West and McGinty; The Maxwells; Miriam Wakefield; Bobby Lane and Claire; Jack Mann; Dick Dana; and Tom Jones and his Orchestra.

Episode 21

Host: Eddie Cantor; Guests: Basil O'Connor, Estelle Sloan, Dave Powell, Lee Fairfax, Joe Marks

Sun, Jan 28, 1951

Lee Fairfax, Basil O'Connor, Dave Powell, Joe Marks, and Estelle Sloan.

Episode 22

Hosts: Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis; guest: Polly Bergen, Bob Fosse, Mary Ann Niles, Dick Stabile & his Orchestra

Sun, Feb 4, 1951 50 mins

Polly Bergen, Mary Ann Niles, Bob Fosse, and Dick Stabile and his Orchestra.

Episode 23

Host: Spike Jones; Guests: The City Slickers, Gale Robbins, "belly bouncer" Laverne Pearson, and a cameo by "Today"s Dave Garroway

Sun, Feb 11, 1951 60 mins

The City Slickers, George Rock, Sir Frederick Gas, Freddy and Dick Morgan, Bill King, The Wayne Marlin Trio, Lois Ray, Gale Robbins, and Laverne Pearson Note: There was also a cameo appearance by the Today Show's Dave Garroway.

Episode 24

Host: Bobby Clark; Guests: Basil Rathbone, Sarah Churchill, Walter Abel, Mary Boland, Fran Warren, Danny Scholl, Nelson Case

Sun, Feb 18, 1951

Bobby Clark hosts this episode which was based on a 1946 Broadway show called 'Would-Be Gentleman'. Clark adapted the book for the performance based on a play written by Moliere.

Episode 25

Host: Eddie Cantor; Guests: Lena Horne, Jack Albertson, Charlie Cantor, Bil & Cora Baird Marionettes, Landre & Verna, Phil Kramer, Marcia Walter, Al Goodman & his Orchestra

Sun, Feb 25, 1951

This was a Colgate-sponsored comedy hour that featured many notable comedians and entertainers of the era as guest stars.

Episode 26

Guest Host: Tony Martin; Guests: Milton Berle, the Andrews Sisters

Sun, Mar 4, 1951

Episode 27

Hosts: Abbott & Costello; guest stars: Lon Chaney, Jr., Jarmilla Novotna

Sun, Mar 11, 1951 59 mins

Bud Abbott and Lou Costello host with guests Lon Chaney, Jr., opera star Jarmilla Novotna, Sid Fields, Milton Frome, Gregg Sherwood, dancers Jesse, James and Carnell, and Al Goodman and his Orchestra. Abbott and Costello recreate some of their most famous skits including "Who's on First?" "The Telephone Booth," and "The Haunted Candle, and do a burlesque on the opera "Carmen," the last two featuring a cameo with former co-star Lon Chaney, Jr., as the Frankenstein Monster.

Episode 28

Host: Beatrice Lillie; Guests: Rex Harrison, Jean Sablon, Valerie Bettis, Wally Cox, Nelson Case

Sun, Mar 18, 1951 60 mins

Episode 29

Host: Eddie Cantor; Guests: Jimmy Durante, Eddie Jackson, Al Goodman & his Orchestra

Sun, Mar 25, 1951

Episode 30

Host: Eddie Cantor; Guests: Eddie Fisher, Evelyn Gould, Joel Grey, William Warfield

Sun, Apr 1, 1951

Host Eddie Cantor's celebrity guests are singers Eddie Fisher and Marion Colby. Eddie's spotlight on "future stars" features opera singer Evelyn Gould, young singer/dancer Joel Grey, actor/vocalist William Warfield, comics Tony and Eddie who lip sync to records, classical violinist Miche'le Auclair, and dancers Gehrig and Weismuller.

Episode 31

Host: Bob Hope; Guests: Rex Harrison, Lilli Palmer, Janis Paige, Arthur Treacher, Frank "Sugar Chile" Robinson, Sid Caesar, Imogene Coca, Tex & Jinx McCrary, Frank Sinatra, Eddie Cantor, Ed Wynn, Jimm

Sun, Apr 8, 1951 60 mins

The premise of this show's finale was that the "surprise" guest stars (Sid Caesar, Imogene Coca, Tex and Jinx McCrary, Frank Sinatra, Eddie Cantor, Ed Wynn, Jimmy Durante, Faye Emerson, Ken Murray, and Toots Shor) were dropping by to wish Bob well on his upcoming engagement at a London venue. But most of them appeared with him soon after at a Cancer Fund benefit at the Paramount Theater on Broadway. This episode was sponsored by Frigidaire.

Episode 32

Host: Tony Martin; Guests: Fred Allen, Celeste Holm, Kathryn Lee, Peanuts Hucko, Richard Loo, Lynn Loring, Art & Mort Havel, Joe Silver, Al Goodman & his Orchestra

Sun, Apr 15, 1951

Episode 33

Host: Eddie Cantor; Guests: Anne Jeffreys, Charlie Cantor, Robert Gari, Gehrig & Weismuller, Hal Loman & Joan Fields

Sun, Apr 22, 1951

Episode 34

Hosts: Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis; Guests: Helen O'Connell, Bob Fosse & Mary Ann Niles, Ladd Lyon, Dick Stabile & his Orchestra

Sun, Apr 29, 1951 50 mins

Episode 35

Host: Phil Silvers; Guests: Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis, Vivian Blaine, Joey Faye, Al Goodman & his Orchestra

Sun, May 6, 1951

Episode 36

Host: Beatrice Lillie; Guests: Victor Moore, Dick Haymes, Wally Cox, Harold Lang, Helen Gallagher

Sun, May 13, 1951 60 mins

Episode 37

Hosts: Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis; Guests: Jane Morgan, Bob Fosse & Mary Ann Niles, Dick Stabile & his Orchestra; Eddie Cantor

Sun, May 20, 1951 44 mins

Sketches include a hospital bit with Dean as the doctor and Jerry as his intern, and fancy dinner party with Dean and Jerry making a mess of things. Includes special guests Jane Morgan, Bob Fosse and Mary Ann Niles.

Episode 38

Host: Eddie Cantor; Guests: Connie Haines, Charlie Cantor, Joel Grey, Herbert Coleman, Monsieur Crayone, Lou Wills Jr., Joe Silver; cameo by Eddie Fisher

Sun, May 27, 1951

Episode 39

Hosts: Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis; Guests: The DeMarco Sisters, The Johnny Conrad Dancers, Sonny King, Tommy Farrell, Danny Arnold, Rosette Shaw, Dick Stabile & his Orchestra; cameo by Tony Curtis

Sun, Jun 3, 1951 46 mins

Episode 40

Host: Jackie Gleason; Guests: Fred Allen, Joan Carroll, Vivian Blaine

Sun, Jun 10, 1951

Episode 41

Host: Eddie Cantor; Guests: Milton Berle, Jack E. Leonard, Phil Foster, Dagmar, Junie Keegan

Sun, Jun 17, 1951

Episode 42

Hosts: Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis Guest: Janis Paige, The Johnny Conrad Dancers, Danny Arnold, Dick Stabile & his Orchestra; cameos by Tony Martin and Joe Louis

Sun, Jun 24, 1951 44 mins