Shower of Stars
| Shower of Stars | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | ''Chrysler Shower of Stars'' |
| Genre | Variety |
| Presented by | William Lundigan |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 4 |
| Production | |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 48 mins. |
| Production company(s) | Desilu Productions |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBS |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original release | September 30, 1954 – April 1, 1958 |
Shower of Stars (also known as Chrysler Shower of Stars) is an American variety television series broadcast live in the United States from 1954 to 1958 by CBS. The series was broadcast in color which was a departure from the usual programming broadcast by CBS.
Shower of Stars is typically composed of musical comedy revues with an occasional straight play. It was shown on approximately a monthly basis during its run (1954-1958), and was designed to contrast with the heavy dramatic content of the program with which it shared its timeslot, Climax! Both programs were sponsored by Chrysler Corporation, and both were hosted by William Lundigan.
Famous entertainers of the era who appeared multiple times on Shower of Stars included Jack Benny, Bob Crosby, Betty Grable, Van Johnson, Shirley MacLaine, Fredric March, Frankie Laine, Ethel Merman, Basil Rathbone, Red Skelton, Mario Lanza and Ed Wynn. March and Rathbone were starred as Ebenezer Scrooge and Jacob Marley, respectively, in a 1954 musical adaptation of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol, with songs by Bernard Herrmann and Maxwell Anderson. This was the first musical version of the story to be televised, and the first in color. Rathbone would go on to play Scrooge himself, in another TV musical adaptation of the story, the 1956 version of The Stingiest Man in Town. (Rathbone would again play Scrooge in a 1958 non-musical British half-hour television version of the story, with ironically enough, Fredric March as narrator.) The most frequently-appearing artist, however, was Jack Benny, who appeared in one role or another in a majority of the program's broadcasts.
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