The Martha Raye Show
| The Martha Raye Show | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Comedy/Variety |
| Written by | Billy Friedberg |
| Directed by |
Nat Hiken Billy Friedberg |
| Starring |
Martha Raye Rocky Graziano |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 29 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) |
Norman Lear Ed Simmons Karl Hoffberg |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 48 mins. |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Picture format | Black-and-white |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original release | January 23, 1954 – May 29, 1956 |
The Martha Raye Show is an hour-long comedy/variety show which aired live on NBC from January 23, 1954, to May 29, 1956. The series was hosted by Martha Raye, a Montana native, who often called herself "The Big Mouth." Her boyfriend on the program and a foil for her humor was portrayed by retired middleweight boxer Rocky Graziano.Nat Hiken, her writer and director, went on to create the military comedy The Phil Silvers Show and the police sitcom Car 54, Where Are You?. One of the producers, Norman Lear, went on to produce All in the Family and The Jeffersons.
TV Guide, which placed Raye on its cover for its January 15, 1954, edition, described Raye's comic antics as "boisterous, rowdy affairs, full of slapstick, wild plot lines and fantastic mugging - with appropriate crossed eyes, crooked arm and other contortionist business. But she's one of only a handful of clowns who can pull it off."Variety called Raye "the funniest femme in television," at a time when her competitors included Lucille Ball, Eve Arden, Gracie Allen, and Joan Davis. Raye would be less remembered over the years than the other comedians because their work was shown in repeated rebroadcasts of their television series.
Most Martha Raye Show episodes opened with a song-and-dance number performed by the Danny Daniels Dancers and later the Herb Ross Dancers. Known thereafter as Herbert Ross, the choreographer would later be involved in such pictures as The Sunshine Boys and Steel Magnolias. Hiken and writer Billy Friedberg left at the end of the 1953-1954 transitional season, and were replaced by Norman Lear and Ed Simmons, formerly of the Colgate Comedy Hour. Lear, who also held the title of producer, went on to create CBS's All in the Family and its successful spin-offs. Lear and Simmons largely followed the route that Hiken had blazed, and The Martha Raye Show lasted for two additional seasons.
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