TV Shows Photo Addendum

Picking which TV show to watch in the 1940s and ‘50s was so much easier than today. Unlike the 290 channels in last Friday’s TV Tribulations, in Upstate New York, we had one channel, which eventually grew to three.

The first show I ever saw was a hand puppet--only a puppet, but I can’t remember the show’s or puppet’s name. Here’s a sample of shows from those years, whose names I can remember, some because they were on radio before TV.

Do you remember them? Any of them? Not even Ed Sullivan? His Sunday evening variety show hosted every talent, from comedians to jugglers to opera stars to Elvis (from the waist up), not to mention Señor Wences (1950s and ‘60s), the Beatles (1960s) and, of course, Topo Gigio, another puppet (1960s).

Kukla, Fran and Ollie, 1947-57. (kukla.tv/kfo7.html)

Buffalo Bob Smith, Howdy Doody and Clarabell the Clown on the Howdy Doody Show, 1947-60. (broadcastarchive-umd.tumblr.com)

Ed Sullivan with June Taylor Dancers on The Ed Sullivan Show (Toast of the Town), 1948-1971. (broadcastarchive-umd.tumblr.com/post/25513550411/the-ed-sullivan-show-then-known-as-toast-of)

Milton Berle Show (Texaco Star Theater), 1948-56. (www.pbs.org/wnet/pioneers-of-television/photo-galleries/variety-shows/)

Sid Caesar (clown) with Howard Morris, Carl Reiner and Imogene Coca on Your Show of Shows, 1950-54. (www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20712079_20711820_21225093,00.html)

George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, 1950-58.
(tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Creator/GeorgeBurns)

Groucho Marx with George Fenneman on
You Bet Your Life, 1950-1961.
 (www.radiospirits.info/2012/10/27/the-secret-word-is-anniversary/)

Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance and William Frawley
on I Love Lucy, 1951-57.
(ilovelucyandricky.wikia.com/wiki/I_Love_Lucy_Wiki)

Ozzie, Harriet, David and Ricky Nelson on
Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, 1952-66.
(americanprofile.com/articles/quotes-famous-tv-dads/)