View source for Max Liebman Presents

{{Short description|American musical variety TV series (1954–1956)}}
{{Infobox television
| image                = 
| image_alt            = 
| caption              = 
| alt_name             = ''Max Liebman Spectaculars''
| country              = United States
| language             = English
| num_seasons          = 
| num_episodes         = 28
| network              = [[NBC]]
| first_aired          = {{Start date|1954|09|12}}
| last_aired           = {{End date|1956|06|09}}
}}
'''''Max Liebman Presents''''', aka '''''Max Liebman Spectaculars''''',{{Citation needed |date=April 2023}} is an American television musical variety series, presented monthly in a 90-minute format on NBC, beginning September 12, 1954, and ending on June 6, 1956. Throughout the show's run, episodes were broadcast on Saturdays beginning at 9 p.m. Eastern Time. In the second season, the same title was also used for a show with a different format on Sundays beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET.<ref name="brooks">{{cite book |last1=Brooks |first1=Tim |last2=Marsh |first2=Earle F. |title=The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present |date=June 24, 2009 |publisher=Random House Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-307-48320-1 |page=871 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w8KztFy6QYwC&dq=%22Max+Liebman+Presents%22&pg=PA871 |access-date=April 14, 2023 |language=en}}</ref>

== Overview ==
Saturday episodes consisted mainly of musical comedies,<ref name="brooks" /> the first of which was ''[[Satins and Spurs]]''.<ref name="bb" /> They included ''[[Babes in Toyland (operetta)|Babes in Toyland]]'', ''[[Best Foot Forward (musical)|Best Foot Forward]]'', ''[[Lady in the Dark]]'', and ''[[The Merry Widow]]''. Featured performers included [[John Conte (actor)|John Conte]], [[Robert Cummings]], [[Dennis Day]], [[Dave Garroway]], [[Edward Everett Horton]], [[Anne Jeffreys|Ann Jeffreys]], [[Jack E. Leonard]], and [[Marilyn Maxwell]].<ref name="brooks" />

Episodes on Sundays were musical revues. [[Bambi Linn]] and Rod Alexander formed a dance team that appeared regularly, and Charles Sanford's orchestra often provided music. Among the guest stars were [[Judy Holliday]], [[Steve Allen]], [[Frank Sinatra]],<ref name="brooks" /> [[Marcel Marceau]], [[Tony Randall]], [[Ann Sothern]] and [[Maurice Chevalier]].

[[Pat Weaver]], who was president of NBC then, considered "a string of high-profile ninety-minute spectaculars" as a way "to court the light viewer" of television.<ref name="bb" /> However, productions that cost $500,000 (''Lady in the Dark'') and $300,000 (''Satins and Spurs'') "were trounced in the ratings by much cheaper programming".<ref name="bb" />

== Production ==
[[Max Liebman]] produced and directed the program.<ref name="bb">{{cite book |last1=Kessler |first1=Kelly |title=Broadway in the Box: Television's Lasting Love Affair with the Musical |date=April 1, 2020 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-067404-5 |pages=39–40 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oR7ZDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22Max+Liebman+Presents%22&pg=PA39 |access-date=April 14, 2023 |language=en}}</ref> Authors included [[Billy Friedberg]], [[Will Glickman]], [[Al Schwartz (writer)|Al Schwartz]], [[Fred Saidy]], [[Neil Simon]],<ref>{{cite news |title=Other Network Changes & Additions |url=https://archive.org/details/rossreportstele47ross/page/n6/mode/1up?view=theater |access-date=April 14, 2023 |work=Ross Reports on Television including The Television Index |date=January 31, 1955 |page=1}}</ref> and [[Elmer Rice]]. [[Max Liebman]] produced and directed.  Choreographer [[James Starbuck]] was nominated for the [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography]] for his work on the program in 1956.<ref>{{cite book|title=Variety International Showbusiness Reference|first= Mike|last= Kaplan|year=1981|page= 781|isbn=9780824093419|publisher=[[Garland Publishing]]}}</ref> 

Sponsors included Oldsmobile<ref>{{cite news |title=NBC's Auto Presentation Puts Finger on 1/2-Hr. TV |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iRwEAAAAMBAJ&dq=%22Max+Liebman+Spectaculars%22&pg=PA4 |access-date=March 3, 2021 |magazine=Billboard |date=June 11, 1955 |page=2}}</ref> Hazel Bishop, [[Sunbeam Products|Sunbeam]], and [[Reynolds Group Holdings|Reynolds Metals]].<ref name=v>{{cite magazine |date=September 8, 1954 |page=24 |title=TV Network Premieres |magazine=Variety |url=https://archive.org/details/variety195-1954-09/page/n113/mode/1up |accessdate=April 14, 2023}}</ref>

==Related merchandise==
Capitol Records released a 10-inch long-playing original-cast album that contained eight songs from the show's ''Satins and Spurs'' episode.<ref>{{cite magazine |date=September 8, 1954 |page=50 |title=Cap Rides 300G NBC-TV Color Show With 'Satins and Spurs' Cast Album |magazine=Variety |url=https://archive.org/details/variety195-1954-09/page/n139/mode/1up |accessdate=April 14, 2023}}</ref> 

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Selected episodes of ''Max Liebman Presents''
|-
! Date
! Title
! Actors
|-
| November 7, 1954|| ''Fanfare''|| Steve Allen, Judy Holliday, Dick Shawn, Frank Sinatra, Jacques Tati<ref name="ts">{{cite book |last1=Terrace |first1=Vincent |title=Television Specials: 5,336 Entertainment Programs, 1936-2012, 2d ed. |date=June 6, 2013 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1-4766-1240-9 |page=150 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Of0QAAAAQBAJ&q=Fanfare&pg=PA249 |access-date=April 14, 2023 |language=en}}</ref>
|-
| January 2, 1955 || ''Good Times'' || Judy Holliday, Steve Allen, [[Dick Shawn]], the [[Ritz Brothers]]<ref>{{cite news |last1=Rich |first1=Allen |title=Listening Post and TV Review |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/72597182/valley-times/ |access-date=March 4, 2021 |work=Valley Times |date=January 1, 1955 |location=California, North Hollywood |page=18|via = [[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>
|-
| January 15, 1955 || ''Naughty Marietta'' || [[Patrice Munsel]],  [[Alfred Drake]]<ref>{{cite news |title='Yellow Jack' and 'Naughty Marietta' Are TV Features |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/72592625/the-kansas-city-star/ |access-date=March 4, 2021 |work=The Kansas City Star |date=January 9, 1955 |location=Missouri, Kansas City |page=89|via = [[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>
|-
| October 1, 1955 || ''Heidi'' || [[Wally Cox]], [[Jeannie Carson]],<ref>{{cite news |title=TV Schedules Are Loaded This Week |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/72591767/the-courier-journal/ |access-date=March 4, 2021 |work=The Courier-Journal |date=September 25, 1955 |location=Kentucky, Louisville |page=97|via = [[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> [[Elsa Lanchester]], [[Natalie Wood]]<ref name="brooks" />
|-
| January 21, 1956 || ''Paris in the Springtime'' || [[Dan Dailey]], [[Gale Sherwood]], [[Helen Gallagher]], [[Jack Whiting (actor)|Jack Whiting]], [[Carleton Carpenter]]<ref>{{Cite AV media notes |last= Altman |first= Allan |title= Paris in the Springtime |orig-year= 1956 |type= DVD liner notes |at= back cover |date= 2015 |publisher= Video Artists International, Inc. |series= DVD 4582 |location= Pleasantville, NY}}</ref>
|-
| April 14, 1956 || ''The Adventures of Marco Polo'' || Alfred Drake, [[Doretta Morrow]]<ref>{{cite news |title=Max Liebman Show, Baseball Will Highlight TV Offerings This Week |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/72594391/the-franklin-evening-star/ |access-date=March 4, 2021 |work=The Franklin Evening Star |date=April 7, 1956 |location=Indiana, Franklin |page=5|via = [[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|id=2276770}}
* [http://ctva.biz/US/Anthology/MaxLiebmanPresents.htm ''Max Liebman Presents'' at CTVA]

[[Category:1950s American anthology television series]]
[[Category:1954 American television series debuts]]
[[Category:1956 American television series endings]]
[[Category:Black-and-white American television shows]]
[[Category:NBC original programming]]
[[Category:Max Liebman Presents| ]]


{{US-tv-prog-stub}}