The Dennis Day Show

The Dennis Day Show is an American comedy/variety show that aired from 1953 to 1954 on NBC. The series stars singer and radio and television personality Dennis Day, whose career otherwise was rooted as a supporting cast member of the long-running The Jack Benny Program on CBS and later NBC.[1]

The Dennis Day Show
Day with Cliff Arquette and Jeri Lou James, 1953
Also known asThe RCA Victor Show
The RCA Victor Show Starring Dennis Day
GenreVariety show
Written byPaul Henning
Roland MacLane
Dick Conway
Directed byRod Amateau
StarringDennis Day
Cliff Arquette
Country of originUnited States
Original language(s)English
No. of seasons2
Production
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time25 mins.
Release
Original networkNBC
Picture formatBlack-and-white
Audio formatMonaural
Original releaseFebruary 8, 1952 (1952-02-08) –
August 2, 1954 (1954-08-02)

Overview

From 1952 to 1953, Day hosted the related RCA Victor Show Starring Dennis Day,[1] which on February 8, 1952, included the first episode of Day's own subsequent series. The RCA Victor Show aired at 8 pm Fridays. In the spring of 1952, the RCA Victor Show alternated with The Ezio Pinza Show, starring Italian opera singer Ezio Pinza, also sponsored by RCA.[2]

In the revamped The Dennis Day Show, Day portrays a single bachelor who lives in a Hollywood apartment priced above his income level, but considers this arrangement essential to his hopes of succeeding in show business. Cliff Arquette portrays Charley Weaver, a name he later adopted for his own show business career. This Charley Weaver is the custodian in Day's building.[3] Other supporting cast members were Hal March and Jeri Lou Jones.[2] One of the writers for the Day series was Paul Henning, later with The Real McCoys and The Beverly Hillbillies.[4]

On April 12, 1954, one of the last episodes of the series was entitled "The Party Pooper", with Elisha Cook, Jr. as a guest star. Among Day's directors was Rod Amateau, later in the same role with CBS's The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. Other occasional cast members were the comedian Billy Barty, who plays a leprechaun in one segment, Parley Baer, also a regular on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet and subsequently The Andy Griffith Show, and George O'Hanlon, later the voice of George Jetson on ABC's The Jetsons.[4]

The Dennis Day Show aired at 9 pm ET on Mondays opposite the third season of CBS's I Love Lucy, starring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. It preceded Robert Montgomery Presents on NBC.[5]

References
  1. "Dennis Day". parabrisas.com. Retrieved January 21, 2011.
  2. Alex McNeil, Total Television, p. 211
  3. "The Jack Benny Show; The Dennis Day Show". lifeisamovie.com. Retrieved January 22, 2011.
  4. "The Dennis Day Show". Internet Movie Data Base. Retrieved January 21, 2011.
  5. Alex McNeil, Total Television, 1953-1954 network television schedule, appendix
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.