The Horn and Hardart Children's Hour
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Horn and Hardart Children's Hour (later known as The Children's Hour) was a variety show with a cast of children, including some who later became well-known adult performers.
Launched in 1927, the program was initially broadcast on WCAU Radio in Philadelphia, hosted by Stan Lee Broza, and was later aired on NBC Radio in New York during the 1940s and 1950s. The original New York host was Paul Douglas, followed by Ralph Edwards and finally Ed Herlihy.
The television premiere was on WCAU TV in Philadelphia in 1948, followed by WNBT(TV) in New York in 1949, telecast on Sunday mornings. The hosts were Broza in Philadelphia and Herlihy in New York.
The program was sponsored by Horn & Hardart, which owned automats in New York and Philadelphia. A number of performers became quite successful after their work on the Philadelphia TV series, including Ted Arnold (musical director for Glenn Yarbrough and José Feliciano), Frankie Avalon, Rosemary Clooney, Buddy DeFranco, Eddie Fisher, Kitty Kallen (1940s-1950s vocalist), Ann Sheridan, comedy actor Arnold Stang and Ezra Stone (radio's original Henry Aldrich).
