Your Show of Shows
| Your Show of Shows | |
|---|---|
Imogene Coca and Sid Caesar in a 1952 skit.
|
|
| Genre | Variety show |
| Created by | Sylvester L. Weaver Jr. |
| Directed by |
Nat Hiken Max Liebman |
| Creative director(s) | Charles Sanford (music) |
| Starring |
Sid Caesar Imogene Coca Howard Morris Carl Reiner James Starbuck |
| Narrated by | Ed Herlihy (announcer) |
| Theme music composer |
Mel Tolkin Clay Warnick Max Liebman |
| Opening theme | "Stars Over Broadway" |
| Composer(s) |
Irwin Kostal Johnny Mandel Alex North |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 4 |
| No. of episodes | 139 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Max Liebman |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 90 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Picture format | Black-and-white |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original release | February 25, 1950 – June 5, 1954 |
| Chronology | |
| Followed by | Caesar's Hour |
Your Show of Shows is a live 90-minute variety show that was broadcast weekly in the United States on NBC from February 25, 1950, through June 5, 1954, featuring Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca. Other featured performers were Carl Reiner, Howard Morris, Bill Hayes, Judy Johnson, The Hamilton Trio and the soprano Marguerite Piazza. José Ferrer made several guest appearances on the series.
In 2002, Your Show of Shows was ranked #30 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time. In 2013, it was ranked #37 on TV Guide's 60 Best Series of All Time.
The 90-minute live series was produced by Sylvester "Pat" Weaver and directed by Max Liebman, who had been producing musical revues at the Tamiment resort in the Pocono Mountains for many years prior. Caesar, Coca, and Liebman had worked on Admiral Broadway Revue from January to June 1949. The series originated as the second half of the two-hour umbrella show, Saturday Night Review, with the first portion hosted by comedian Jack Carter in Chicago, Illinois, and the remainder telecast from the since-demolished International Theatre (also known as the Park Theatre) at 5 Columbus Circle and the Century Theater in Manhattan, New York City. The Chicago portion was dropped at the end of the 1950-51 season, and the series became the 90-minute Your Show of Shows.
Writers for the series included Mel Brooks, Neil Simon, Danny Simon, Mel Tolkin, Lucille Kallen, Selma Diamond, Joseph Stein, Michael Stewart, Tony Webster (the only Gentile among the show's writers), and Carl Reiner who, though a cast member, also worked with the writers. (Larry Gelbart and Woody Allen joined the writing staff for later Caesar ventures.) The series is historically significant for the evolution of the variety genre by incorporating situation comedies (sitcoms) such as the running sketch "The Hickenloopers"; this added a narrative element to the traditional multi-act structure.
...
Wikipedia