| Hour Glass | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Ed Sobol |
| Presented by | Eddie Mayehoff Helen Parrish |
| Country of origin | USA |
| Language(s) | English |
| Production | |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | NBC |
| Original run | 9 May 1946 – March 1947 |
Hour Glass is the first regularly scheduled variety show shown on American network television. It ran on NBC from 9 May 1946 until March 1947.
Hour Glass was sponsored by Standard Brands. The program included comedians, musicians, entertaining films (such as a film of dance in South America), and long, live commercials for the sponsor's products.
Such famous names as Doodles Weaver, Bert Lahr, Dennis Day, Anton Reiter, Jerry Colonna, Peggy Lee and Lee Besser appeared on the program.
On November 14, 1946, Edgar Bergen brought his ventriloquism act to the show. It was the first time that a major radio performer had appeared on television.
The show was co-hosted by Eddie Mayehoff and Helen Parrish.
Audio-only recordings of Hour Glass from 1946 - 1947, including the inaugural show, are known to exist in the Library Of Congress archives. Photos of the first live Hour Glass broadcast taken from a TV monitor during the live telecast, along with a program review, appear in the May 27, 1946 issue of Life.[1]