Ted Mack (television host)
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Ted Mack (February 12, 1904 - July 12, 1976) (born William Edward Maguiness in Greeley, Colorado) was an American television host, best remembered for Ted Mack and the Original Amateur Hour. The program, a hit in the early days of television, set the stage for numerous programs seeking talented stars, from The Gong Show to Star Search to American Idol.
The Original Amateur Hour began on radio in 1934 as Major Bowes' Amateur Hour, and ran until 1946 when Major Bowes, the creator, died. Mack, a talent scout who had directed the show under Bowes, revived it in 1948 for ABC Radio and the DuMont Television Network.
It lasted on radio until 1952 and until 1970 on television, where it ran on all four major networks, ending as a Sunday afternoon CBS staple.
The show was generally held in New York's Radio City Music Hall, featuring amateurs whose performance were judged by viewers, voting via letters and phone calls. Contestants who won three times earned cash prizes, scholarships, or parts in a travelling stage show associated with the program.
Winners who went on to show business careers included singers Gladys Knight, Pat Boone, Teresa Brewer, The Rock and Roll Trio, and Los Concertinos from Puerto Rico. A winner from Puerto Rico in June of 1962 was Raul Julia who went on to successful Broadway and Hollywood careers.
Ted Mack and producer Lewis Graham (the former Lou Goldberg) programmed something for everybody. A single broadcast featured an opera singer, a trumpet sextet, a dulcimer player, a kiddie dance troupe, a young vocalist, a rhythm-and-blues combo, a barbershop quartet, and mother-and-son Irish step dancers. Mack's relaxed demeanor on camera belied a razor-sharp mind that coped with the problems of live television and amateur talent. He kept the show running briskly -- sometimes too briskly, when he would find himself having to fill two or three minutes of unscheduled air time at the end. Always professional, Mack would effortlessly ad-lib a public-service announcement and thank the viewers for their continued support.
