|
 Circuses - The Ringling
Brothers, Barnum and Bailey were the first circus to be broadcast via the
medium of television. On April 25, 1940 a three-hour circus extravaganza was
televised by station W2XBS from Madison Square Garden, New York City to the
few existing television sets in the city.
One of the first regular circus programs to be telecast in
the 1950s was BIG TOP/CBS/1950-51. It featured live circus acts originating
from the Convention Hall in Camden, New Jersey. The program starred Jack
Sterling as the Ringmaster and was the proving ground for a young resident
clown later known as Ed McMahon of THE TONIGHT SHOW.
Other popular shows with circus themes in the 1950s were:
-
THE BUICK CIRCUS HOUR/NBC/1952-53 a musical drama starring
Joe E. Brown as "The Clown."
-
CIRCUS BOY/NBC/ABC/1956-58 the story of a frontier circus
traveling the American West with Noah Beery, Jr. as "Joey the Clown."
-
CIRCUS TIME/ABC/1956-57, a variety program with both circus
and traditional entertainment acts.
-
SUPER CIRCUS/ABC/1949-56 broadcast from Chicago (later New
York) hosted by ringmaster Jerry Colonna and starring the antics of three
clowns, Cliffy (Cliff Sobier), Scampy (Bardy Patton/Sandy Dobritch) and
Nicky (Nick Francis).
-
BOZO THE CLOWN created by Larry Harmon and played by Frank Avruch. In 1962 WHDH-TV in Boston produced 130 live-action syndicated
episodes with Bozo, a fun loving circus clown with large floppy collar,
round red nose and red hair sprouting from the side of his head like two
large horns.
External Links
Back to Top |
