The Jonathan Winters Show (1956 TV series)
Encyclopedia
The Jonathan Winters Show is the first of two American
television network
Variety show
television program
s to be hosted by comedian
Jonathan Winters
. The television series was broadcast from October 1956 to June 1957 on NBC
.
, from 7:30 to 7:45 PM Eastern time
on Tuesday nights, to round out the half hour containing NBC
's evening newscast, which was at the time, like all similar programs, likewise only 15 minutes long. This program replaced the Tuesday night broadcast of The Dinah Shore Show
, which had since 1951 been broadcast on both Tuesday and Thursday night but was reduced in October 1956 to Thursday nights only. Although network evening newscasts were not expanded to a half hour until 1963, the 1956-57 season was the last one in which the American networks aired 15 minute long entertainment programs to complete filling the time slot.
by Winters, a musical number by a guest star, and a closing comedy sketch
by Winters, which might also include the guest star.
was also on the program through March 1957, frequently appearing with Winters in the sketches also. In that month, he was replaced by Wayne Howell in this role. Regular musical support was provided by the Eddie Safranski Orchestra.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television network
Television network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
Variety show
Variety show
A variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts, especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère or host. Other types of acts include magic, animal and circus acts, acrobatics, juggling...
television program
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
s to be hosted by comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
Jonathan Winters
Jonathan Winters
-Early life:Winters was born in Bellbrook, Ohio, the son of Alice Kilgore , a radio personality, and Jonathan Harshman Winters II, an investment broker. He is a descendant of Valentine Winters, founder of the Winters National Bank in Dayton, Ohio...
. The television series was broadcast from October 1956 to June 1957 on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
.
Synopsis
This Jonathan Winters Show was aired at the beginning of prime timePrime time
Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...
, from 7:30 to 7:45 PM Eastern time
Eastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
on Tuesday nights, to round out the half hour containing NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's evening newscast, which was at the time, like all similar programs, likewise only 15 minutes long. This program replaced the Tuesday night broadcast of The Dinah Shore Show
The Dinah Shore Show
The Dinah Shore Show is an American variety show which was broadcast by NBC from November 1951 to January 1956, sponsored by General Motors' Chevrolet division...
, which had since 1951 been broadcast on both Tuesday and Thursday night but was reduced in October 1956 to Thursday nights only. Although network evening newscasts were not expanded to a half hour until 1963, the 1956-57 season was the last one in which the American networks aired 15 minute long entertainment programs to complete filling the time slot.
Format
This early Jonathan Winters Show consisted of an opening monologueMonologue
In theatre, a monologue is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts aloud, though sometimes also to directly address another character or the audience. Monologues are common across the range of dramatic media...
by Winters, a musical number by a guest star, and a closing comedy sketch
Sketch comedy
A sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...
by Winters, which might also include the guest star.
Cast
In addition to host Winters, announcer Don PardoDon Pardo
Dominick George "Don" Pardo is an American radio and television announcer. He is best known as the voice of the long-running late night sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live....
was also on the program through March 1957, frequently appearing with Winters in the sketches also. In that month, he was replaced by Wayne Howell in this role. Regular musical support was provided by the Eddie Safranski Orchestra.