| The Hollywood Palace | |
|---|---|
Opening logo from Don Rickles/ Phyllis Diller Episode |
|
| Genre | Variety |
| Directed by | Grey Lockwood |
| Narrated by | Dick Tufeld Ernie Anderson |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 7 |
| No. of episodes | 192 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Nick Vanoff |
| Producer(s) | William O. Harbach |
| Location(s) | Hollywood Playhouse near Hollywood and Vine in Hollywood |
| Running time | 45–48 minutes |
| Production company(s) | United Artists Television Zodiac Enterprises |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ABC |
| Picture format | Black-and-white (1964–1965) Color (1965–1970) |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original run | January 4, 1964 – February 7, 1970 |
The Hollywood Palace is an hour-long American television variety show that was broadcast weekly (generally on Saturday nights) on ABC from January 4, 1964 to February 7, 1970. It began as a mid-season replacement for the short-lived Jerry Lewis Show, another variety show which had lasted only three months. It was staged in Hollywood at the former Hollywood Playhouse (where Lewis' series had originated, temporarily renamed "The Jerry Lewis Theater" from September through December 1963) on Vine Street, which was renamed The Hollywood Palace during the show's duration and is today known as Avalon Hollywood. A little-known starlet named Raquel Welch was cast during the first season as the "Billboard Girl," who put the names of the acts on a placard (similar to that of a vaudeville house).
Contents |
Unlike similar programs such as The Ed Sullivan Show, guest hosts were used instead of a permanent one. Among the performers and hosts on the show were Bing Crosby (who made the first and the most appearances as guest host: 31 in all, including several of the annual Christmas shows), Dean Martin, Bette Davis, Frank Sinatra, Milton Berle, Sammy Davis Jr., Sid Caesar, The Rolling Stones, Groucho Marx, Joan Crawford, Tony Bennett, Judy Garland, Jimmy Durante, The Supremes, Ginger Rogers, The Temptations, Dusty Springfield, Phyllis Diller, Elizabeth Montgomery, and many other famous faces. The off-screen announcer for each program was Dick Tufeld.
A number of popular music performers got their start on the show. For example, The Rolling Stones made their first US television appearance June 6, 1964, and The Jackson 5 made their first national television appearance on the October 14, 1969 episode. The folk-rock group We Five performed their hit "You Were on My Mind" within a few weeks of its release in 1965.
In a famous June 1964 telecast, The Rolling Stones were repeatedly ridiculed by host Dean Martin when they did two songs "I Just Want To Make Love To You" and "Not Fade Away." Later, when the Stones proved popular, reruns of their performance were shown with the current host and the original Martin comments edited out.
The show was televised in black and white until the fall of 1965, when color telecasts were begun. Among the hosts of the early color telecasts was Judy Garland.
The February 25, 1967 edition featured the American television debut of the Beatles' music videos for "Penny Lane" and "Strawberry Fields Forever", introduced by guest host Van Johnson.
Like the Sullivan show on CBS, all of the episodes of The Hollywood Palace were taped before a live audience, however, a laugh and applause track was also used for "sweetening" purposes.
For most of its run on television The Hollywood Palace enjoyed consistently respectable ratings, although it never made the list of top 30 programs. By the start of the 1969-1970 season (its seventh year), the ratings had slipped and ABC canceled the series in February, 1970. Bing Crosby hosted the final episode, which consisted of clips from previous shows.
In 2004, Hollywood Palace returned to television, produced by Margate Entertainment Company, the trademark owner of Hollywood Palace. The first episode starred TV icon Peter Marshall and featured guests Marty Allen, a regular on the earlier version, and 1950s singer Don Cherry.
|
|
|