Your Show of Shows
- For the 1929 movie, see The Show of Shows.
| Your Show of Shows | |
|---|---|
 Imogene Coca and Sid Caesar in a 1952 skit. |
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| Genre | Variety show |
| Created by | Sylvester L. Weaver Jr. |
| Directed by | Nat Hiken Max Liebman |
| Starring | Sid Caesar Imogene Coca Howard Morris Carl Reiner James Starbuck |
| Narrated by | Ed Herlihy (announcer) |
| Theme music composer | Mel Tolkin Clay Warnick Max Liebman |
| Opening theme | "Stars Over Broadway" |
| Composer(s) | Irwin Kostal Johnny Mandel Alex North |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 5 |
| No. of episodes | 160 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Max Liebman |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 90 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | NBC |
| Picture format | Black-and-white |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original run | February 25, 1950 – June 5, 1954 |
| Chronology | |
| Followed by | Caesar's Hour |
Your Show of Shows is a live 90-minute variety show that appeared weekly in the United States on NBC (Saturdays, 9:00-10:30 p.m. Eastern Time), from February 25, 1950, until June 5, 1954, featuring Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca.
Other featured performers were Carl Reiner, Howard Morris, Nanette Fabray, Bill Hayes, Judy Johnson, The Hamilton Trio and the soprano Marguerite Piazza. José Ferrer made several guest appearances on the show. The show was telecast from the now-demolished International Theatre (also known as the Park Theatre) at 5 Columbus Circle and the Century Theater now demolished in New York.[1]
In 2002, Your Show of Shows was ranked #30 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.[2]
Contents |
[edit] Production notes
The show was brought to television by Sylvester "Pat" Weaver and directed by Max Liebman who had been producing musical revues at the Taminant resort in the Poconos for many years prior. Caesar, Coca, and Liebman had worked on The Admiral Broadway Revue from January to June 1949. Writers for the show included Mel Brooks, Neil Simon, Danny Simon, Mel Tolkin, and Carl Reiner who, though a cast member, always sat in with the writers. A common misconception is that Larry Gelbart wrote for Your Show of Shows; he in fact wrote for its successor program, Caesar's Hour, which ran from 1954 to 1957.[3] Likewise, Woody Allen did not write for Your Show of Shows, as he only worked on several Sid Caesar TV specials that debuted after it.[4]
Carl Reiner has stated that the time he spent on Your Show of Shows was the inspiration for The Dick Van Dyke Show. Your Show of Shows also inspired the 1982 film My Favorite Year, produced by Mel Brooks, and the play Laughter on the 23rd Floor written by Neil Simon.
[edit] Ratings
- 1950-1951: #4
- 1951-1952: #8
- 1952-1953: #19
[edit] Episode status
Most of the kinescopes of the show were discarded by NBC, and so few copies of the show survive. A 1973 theatrical film titled Ten from Your Show of Shows featured ten sketches from the show edited together.
In 2000, original scripts from the show were found in a closet belonging to producer Max Liebman in the City Center building in New York City. The find made the front page of the New York Times. It is believed they were left there upon the death of Max Liebman in 1981.
After the program ended Imogene Coca starred in her own one-year NBC comedy and variety show, The Imogene Coca Show. Thereafter, Sid Caesar changed his format and launched Caesar's Hour.
[edit] Syndication and DVD release
Reruns of surviving kinescopes aired on Comedy Central in the early 1990s. Sketches from the show which are from Sid Caesar's personal collection are available on The Sid Caesar Collection DVD set.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Your Show of Shows at the Internet Movie Database
- Your Show of Shows at TV.com
- Ten From Your Show of Shows (1973) at IMDB
- The Sid Caesar Collection
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