The Greatest Show on Earth (TV series)

*The Greatest Show on Earth*
The Greatest Show on Earth
	Jack Palance as Johnny Slate
Genre	Drama
Written by	Neil Bernstein; Calvin Clements; Meyer Dolinski; Fenton Hobart, Jr.; Paul Mason; Bob Rafelson; Jason Wingreen; William Wood
Directed by	Arthur Hiller; Leslie H. Martinson; Vincent McEveety; Jack Palance
Starring	Jack Palance; Stuart Erwin
Theme music composer	Richard Rodgers
Opening theme	"March of the Clowns"
Composer	Jeff Alexander
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	30
Production
Producer	Stanley Colbert
Camera setup	Single-camera
Running time	48 mins.
Production companies	Cody Productions; Desilu Productions; Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Television
Original release
Network	ABC
Release	September 17, 1963 –; April 28, 1964

The Greatest Show on Earth is an American drama series starring Jack Palance about the American circus, which aired on ABC from September 17, 1963, to April 28, 1964. It was produced by Desilu, the production company founded by Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, Sr..

Synopsis

Palance portrayed Johnny Slate, the circus manager, who became involved in the personal lives of the circus performers.^[1]

Episode #	Episode title	Original airdate
1-1	"Lion on Fire"	September 17, 1963
1-2	"Silent Love, Secret Love"	September 24, 1963
1-3	"No Middle Ground For Harry Kyle"	October 1, 1963
1-4	"Don't Look Down, Don't Look Back"	October 8, 1963
1-5	"Garve"	October 15, 1963
1-6	"The Loser"	October 22, 1963
1-7	"Uncaged"	October 29, 1963
1-8	"The Circus Never Came To Town"	November 5, 1963
1-9	"An Echo of Faded Velvet"	November 12, 1963
1-10	"The Hanging Man"	November 19, 1963
1-11	"Leaves In the Wind"	November 26, 1963
1-12	"The Wrecker"	December 3, 1963
1-13	"Lady in Limbo"	December 10, 1963
1-14	"A Black Dress for Gina"	December 17, 1963
1-15	"Where the Wire Ends"	January 7, 1964
1-16	"Corsicans Don't Cry"	January 14, 1964
1-17	"Big Man From Nairobi"	January 21, 1964
1-18	"The Show Must Go On - to Orange City"	January 28, 1964
1-19	"A Place to Belong"	February 11, 1964
1-20	"Man In a Hole"	February 18, 1964
1-21	"Clancy"	February 25, 1964
1-22	"The Last of the Strongmen"	March 3, 1964
1-23	"The Night the Monkey Died"	March 10, 1964
1-24	"Of Blood, Sawdust, and a Bucket of Tears"	March 17, 1964
1-25	"Rosetta"	March 24, 1964
1-26	"The Glorious Days of the Used to Be"	March 31, 1964
1-27	"Love the Giver"	April 7, 1964
1-28	"This Train Don't Stop Till It Gets There"	April 14, 1964
1-29	"There Are No Problems, Only Opportunities"	April 21, 1964
1-30	"You're All Right, Ivy"	April 28, 1964

The Greatest Show on Earth faced competition from two comedy programs on CBS: Petticoat Junction, Edgar Buchanan's burgeoning spin-off of The Beverly Hillbillies, and the long-running The Jack Benny Program. NBC aired The Richard Boone Show at the same 9 p.m. Tuesday slot.^[2] The series was canceled after one season.

^ Oliver, Myrna via the Los Angeles Times. "Jack Palance—bad guy of Westerns also poet, painter", San Francisco Chronicle, November 11, 2006. Accessed October 29, 2008. "He had lead roles in "The Greatest Show on Earth" (ABC, 1963–64), in which he played hard-driving circus boss Johnny Slate..."
^ 1963–1964 American network television schedule