Broadway Open House, network television's first late-night comedy-variety series, was telecast live on NBC from May 29, 1950 to August 24, 1951, airing weeknights from 11pm to midnight. The show was one of the pioneering TV creations of NBC president Pat Weaver; it demonstrated the potential for late-night programming and led to the later development of The Tonight Show.
The show was originally to be hosted by comic Don "Creesh" Hornsby (so named...
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Broadway Open House, network television's first late-night comedy-variety series, was telecast live on NBC from May 29, 1950 to August 24, 1951, airing weeknights from 11pm to midnight. The show was one of the pioneering TV creations of NBC president Pat Weaver; it demonstrated the potential for late-night programming and led to the later development of The Tonight Show.
The show was originally to be hosted by comic Don "Creesh" Hornsby (so named because he yelled "Creesh" often), but he died of polio two weeks before the premiere broadcast. Hornsby's popularity at the time with celebrities who caught his act can be judged from this anecdote by Sharlotte Spencer (in her book From CIA Wife to Sobriety ):
Hornsby's replacements, hosting different nights each week, were Morey Amsterdam (Monday and Wednesday) and the raucous Jerry Lester (Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays), the brother of character actor Buddy Lester. However, Amsterdam soon exited the show, leaving Lester the sole host,...
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