The Jimmy Dean Show is the name of several similar music and variety series on American local and network television between 1957–75. Each starred country music singer Jimmy Dean as host.
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The Jimmy Dean Show, initially called Country Style, aired live on WTOP-TV in Washington, DC in early 1957.[1] It was picked up by the CBS-TV network from April 8–December 13, 1957 under the name The Morning Show from 7–7:45 a.m. ET Monday–Friday (CBS News provided a newscast from 7:45–8 a.m.). Guests included Chet Atkins, Billy Walker, Little Jimmy Dickens, George Hamilton IV, and the Country Lads; Mary Klick was a regular. The producer was Connie B. Gay.
CBS then carried The Jimmy Dean Show on its daytime schedule from September 14, 1958–June 1959 from New York, airing from 2–2:30 p.m. ET Monday–Saturday. Guests on the variety program included Hans Conried and Jaye P. Morgan.
The Jimmy Dean Show aired as a live half-hour summer series from Washington, DC on CBS-TV from June 22–September 14, 1957 from 10:30–11 p.m. on Saturday nights. Guests included Johnny Cash, Jim Reeves, the Andrews Sisters and Gene Austin.[2]
The Jimmy Dean Show is also an hour-long weekly series carried by ABC-TV for three seasons from September 19, 1963–April 1, 1966 from New York. Although the variety program featured country performers such as Charlie Rich and Roger Miller, more popular music artists appeared. Guests included Eddy Arnold, Connie Smith, Vikki Carr, Buck Owens, Jim Reeves, Red Buttons, Johnny Cash, Edie Gorme, Carl Smith, Jerry Vale, Gene Pitney, The Four Seasons, Patty Duke, Bobby Rydell and SSgt. Barry Sadler. Molly Bee was a regular, and comics Jackie Mason, Don Adams and Dick Shawn appeared. The show included Dean's duets with Rowlf the Dog, a piano-playing Muppet, one of the first national television appearances by a creation of puppeteer Jim Henson. On the show's 1963 premier, Dean interacted with an animated Fred Flintstone. The series began in black-and-white but switched to color for the fall 1965 season.[3] Executive producer was Bob Banner.
On October 14, 1966, the program videotaped the Country Music Hall of Fame inductions from the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee of Eddy Arnold, Uncle Dave Macon, Grand Ole Opry founder George D. Hay and music publisher Jim Denny.[4] The program aired October 22.
The Jimmy Dean Show is also the name of a half-hour television program syndicated to stations from 1973–75.