Perry Como television and radio shows

Perry Como was an American singer, radio and television performer whose career covered more than fifty years. He is probably best known for his television shows and specials over a period of almost thirty years. Como came to television in 1948 when his radio show was selected by NBC for experimental television broadcasts. His television programs were seen in more than a dozen countries, making Como a familiar presence outside of the United States and Canada.

He received five Emmys from 1955–1959, a Christopher Award (1956) and shared a Peabody Award with good friend Jackie Gleason in the same year. Como was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame in 1990 and received a Kennedy Center Honor in 1987. Como has the distinction of having three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in radio, television, and music.

Perry Como began performing on radio in 1936 when he became a member of the Ted Weems Orchestra. The band had its own weekly radio show on the Mutual Broadcasting System from 1936 to 1937. They were also part of the regularly featured cast of Fibber McGee and Molly. Ted Weems and his Orchestra were cast members for the first season of the radio show Beat the Band, which was a musical quiz show; they were weekly performers from 1940 – 1941. Como left the Ted Weems Orchestra for his home in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania with the intention of returning to his trade as a barber in late 1942. Before he could sign a lease for a barber shop, Como was offered an opportunity to host his own sustaining (non-sponsored) radio show on CBS from New York City. He began working for CBS March 12, 1943.

Doug Storer, then an advertising executive with the Blackman Company, was a listener of Como's CBS radio show. Storer believed Como's ability and style would be ideal for a new radio variety program he was planning. He created an audition recording of the proposed program with Como and the Mitchell Ayres Orchestra and brought it to the advertising agency that handled the Chesterfield cigarettes account. The agency liked the concept of the radio show, but had someone else in mind as its host. The singer of their choice was under contract with someone else, so the agency asked Storer to obtain a release from his contract for their new program. Storer believed that Perry Como was the right host for the new radio show and did not do anything about the singer's release from his contract. Weeks later, he received a call from Chesterfield's advertising agency, asking about the status of the singer's contract, since the show was scheduled to begin on NBC in about one week. Storer told the agency that the right person for their new program was the man on the audition recording. The agency had no time to spare and agreed to sign Perry Como. At the end of 1944, Como became the host of The Chesterfield Supper Club.

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