"The Merman and Martin sequences from television's first special."15 June 1953Comedy, Music120 mins
The program was the first so-called "Television Spectacular". Ford presented the show without commercial interruption. It is believed to be the first time that Edward R. Murrow appeared on NBC in a professional capacity. Also, in 1953, it was necessary for Ford to buy time on two networks to ensure maximum coverage of US TV households - at the time, neither CBS nor NBC reached 100% of them. The famed 1953 television special celebrating the Ford Motor Company's 50th anniversary brought together two of the greatest leading ladies Broadway has ever known. The highlight of the program is Merman and Martin’s 13-minute duet medley, where they sing the songs that made them famous, plus much more. On their own, Merman sings “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” and “Mademoiselle from Armetières” and Martin performs a brilliantly comic routine about changes in fashion over the first half of the 20th century.
At the height of his KOJAK TV series fame, Telly Savalas starred in this variety special that was sponsored by Kraft Foods and shown without commercial interruption.
A TV special aired on February 17, 1969 (the star’s birthday was February 14), featuring Benny’s long-established persona and several celebrity guest stars.
Swindler in jail devises a scheme to blackmail the family of recently deceased people, threatening to tell supposedly incriminating facts about their dead relatives' lives.
A sheep rancher entrusts his goofy sheepdog Dizzy to guard his herd one night. The dog is told to blow a whistle when he sees a wolf, but he spends his time fooling his master by "crying wolf," and he proceeds to blow the whistle for no reason other than to excite the farmer.
While Ludovic Dubois, a young summer camp monitor in Saint-Benoît, entertains the children by playing Robin Hood, the lord's niece is kidnapped by her uncle, in the castle next door.
On an African safari with his friend Grant, Clyde Beatty plans to buy some black-maned Numbian lions from Jo Carter but her animals are wiped out by a fire.
In the spring of 1945, World War II is coming to a close. Roger Halyard, a dignified, strait-laced Englishmen, lives on a South Sea atoll with his three daughters, Gloria, Hester and Violet, along with the housekeeper, Thelma, who has raised the girls since childhood.
Engineer Adel's journey from Europe ends and he returns to Cairo. He begins searching for his beloved Wedad, whom he had proposed to the wealthy lady, Nemat.
Comments
Have you watched The Ford 50th Anniversary Show yet? What did you think about it?
