The Vincent Lopez Show

*The Vincent Lopez Show*
The Vincent Lopez Show
Also known as	Vincent Lopez Speaking
Starring	Vincent Lopez (conductor); Ray Barr; Lee Russell; Barry Valentino; Ann Warren
Country of origin	United States
Production
Running time	15 minutes (approx. 12 minutes minus ads, 1949-1950); 30 minutes (approx. 25 minutes minus ads, 1957)
Original release
Network	DuMont (1949-1950); CBS (1957)
Release	March 7, 1949 –; March 9, 1957

The Vincent Lopez Show, also known as Vincent Lopez Speaking, is a 1949-1957 American musical television program hosted by Vincent Lopez and broadcast on the DuMont Television Network, and later on CBS Television. The latter title is a take-off on Lopez's introduction on his longtime radio show: "Lopez speaking!"^[1]

Broadcast history

The series ran from 1949 to 1950 on DuMont and from February to March 1957 on CBS. Lopez also hosted a 30-minute DuMont series Dinner Date, which aired live from the Grill Room at the Hotel Taft in New York City, Saturdays at 8pm ET from January to July 1950.

From March to May 1949, the show aired from 6:45 to 7pm ET every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday on most DuMont affiliates.^[2] From May to July 1949, the series aired Monday through Friday in the same time slot. From July 1949 to June 1950, the series aired Monday through Friday from 7:30 to 7:45pm ET. Music programs aired in a 15-minute time-slot were common at the time.

According to the book What Women Watched: Daytime Television in the 1950s (University of Texas Press, 2005) by Marsha Cassidy, Vincent Lopez Speaking also aired from 3:15 to 3:30pm ET on DuMont. According to the book, the DuMont daytime schedule beginning in January 1949 was:

10-10:30am Johnny Olson's Rumpus Room
10:30-11am Welcome, Neighbors
11am-12noon The Stan Shaw Show
12noon-12:15pm Amanda
12:15-12:30pm Man in the Street
12:30-12:45pm Camera Headlines
12:45-1pm Fashions in Song
1-1:30pm Okay, Mother
2:30-3pm Inside Photoplay (The Wendy Barrie Show)
3-3:15pm The Needle Shop
3:15-3:30pm Vincent Lopez Speaking (The Vincent Lopez Show)

CBS Television version

Six years later, Lopez hosted a similar program on CBS Television. The DuMont version featured notable performers including Ray Barr, Lee Russell, Barry Valentino, and Ann Warren, all series regulars. Dinner Date also featured guest stars such as Cab Calloway, Arthur Tracy, and Woody Herman.^[3]

Lopez's show went on CBS's nationwide network after it debuted as a local program in New York City. Performers included Judy Lynn, Teddy Norman, Eddie O'Connor, Johnny Messner, Johnny Amorosa, and Danny Davis. The half-hour program was broadcast from New York at 7 p.m. Eastern Time on Saturdays.^[4]

Episode status

A single kinescope of a 1950 episode survives at the UCLA Film and Television Archive.

References

^ Hyatt, Wesley (1997). The Encyclopedia of Daytime Television. Watson-Guptill Publications. p. 454. ISBN 978-0823083152. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
^ McNeil, Alex (1980). Total Television (4th ed.). New York: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-024916-8.
^ * Brooks, Tim & Marsh, Earle (1964). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows (3rd ed.). New York: Ballantine. ISBN 0-345-31864-1.
^ "Vincent Lopez Show". Variety. February 13, 1957. p. 30. Retrieved June 2, 2023.

Bibliography

David Weinstein, The Forgotten Network: DuMont and the Birth of American Television (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2004) ISBN 1-59213-245-6
Alex McNeil, Total Television, Fourth edition (New York: Penguin Books, 1980) ISBN 0-14-024916-8
Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows, Third edition (New York: Ballantine Books, 1964) ISBN 0-345-31864-1

External links

[Daytime-1] Hyatt, Wesley (1997). The Encyclopedia of Daytime Television. Watson-Guptill Publications. p. 454. ISBN 978-0823083152. Retrieved 22 March 2020.

[McNeil-2] McNeil, Alex (1980). Total Television (4th ed.). New York: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-024916-8.

[BM-3] * Brooks, Tim & Marsh, Earle (1964). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows (3rd ed.). New York: Ballantine. ISBN 0-345-31864-1.

[4] "Vincent Lopez Show". Variety. February 13, 1957. p. 30. Retrieved June 2, 2023.

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