The Jackie Gleason Show

The Jackie Gleason Show
Gleason and June Taylor dancer Margaret Jeanne (1955)
Also known as	'Cavalcade of Stars (DuMont)
Genre	Variety
Presented by	Jackie Gleason
Opening theme	"Melancholy Serenade" (CBS)
Composer(s)	Jackie Gleason
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	4
No. of episodes	156 (list of episodes)
Production
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	47–50 minutes
Release
Original network	DuMont (1949–1952) CBS (1952–1957)
Picture format	Black-and-white
Audio format	Monaural
Original release	DuMont: June 4, 1949 (1949-06-04) – September 26, 1952 (1952-09-26) CBS: September 20, 1952 (1952-09-20) – June 22, 1957 (1957-06-22)

DuMont:
June 4, 1949 (1949-06-04) – September 26, 1952 (1952-09-26)

The Jackie Gleason Show is the name of a series of American network television shows that starred Jackie Gleason, which ran from 1952 to 1970, in various forms.

Gleason's first variety series was aired on the DuMont Television Network under the title Cavalcade of Stars which first aired June 4, 1949. The show's first host was Jack Carter, who was followed by Jerry Lester. After Lester quit in June 1950 (soon to become the star of NBC's first late-night series, Broadway Open House), Gleason—who had made his mark on the first television incarnation of The Life of Riley sitcom—stepped into Cavalcade on July 15, 1950, and became an immediate sensation.

The show was broadcast live in front of a theater audience, and offered the same kind of vaudevillian entertainment common to early television revues. Gleason's guests included New York-based performers of stage and screen, including Bert Wheeler, Smith and Dale, Patricia Morison and Vivian Blaine. Production values were modest, owing to DuMont's humble facilities and a thrifty sponsor (Quality Drugs, representing most of the nation's drug stores).

In 1952, CBS president William S. Paley offered Gleason a considerably higher salary. The series was retitled The Jackie Gleason Show and premiered on CBS Television on September 20, 1952. Paley used the show's position on CBS to showcase artists like Frankie Laine, Frankie Avalon, Doris Day and teenage guitar prodigy Zane Ashton. A cameo appearance by CBS' own orchestral accordionist John Serry Sr. was also arranged in 1953.