Watch TV's Golden Age - The Colgate Comedy Hour

The Colgate Comedy Hour was a popular television program during the Golden Age of television broadcasting in the 1950s. The show was sponsored by Colgate-Palmolive and aired on NBC from 1950 to 1955. The show featured top comedians and entertainers of the era, including Abbott and Costello and Jane Russell. The program was hosted by several different comedians throughout its run, including Eddie Cantor, Martin and Lewis, and Jimmy Durante. However, the most successful and popular hosts were Abbott and Costello, who appeared regularly throughout the show's run. Their zany comedy sketches and classic routines, such as "Who's on First?" were a huge hit with audiences and helped cement their place in television history.

The Colgate Comedy Hour also featured a variety of musical guests, including jazz legend Louis Armstrong and singing sensation Dinah Shore. The show often included elaborate production numbers and dance routines, which were choreographed by some of the top dancers and choreographers of the era.

One of the most memorable episodes of the Colgate Comedy Hour starred Jane Russell, who was at the height of her fame in the early 1950s. Russell was a Hollywood bombshell known for her voluptuous figure and sultry screen presence. On the Colgate Comedy Hour, she showed off her comedic chops, performing in a variety of sketches that highlighted her wit and charm.

In one sketch, Russell played a glamorous movie star who arrives on the stage to promote her latest film, only to be upstaged by the bumbling Abbott and Costello. In another sketch, Russell played a seductive nightclub singer who tries to woo Costello away from his devoted girlfriend.

The Colgate Comedy Hour was a groundbreaking program that helped establish television as a major entertainment medium in the United States. It was one of the first shows to feature prominent Hollywood stars and top comedians, and it paved the way for later variety shows like The Ed Sullivan Show and The Carol Burnett Show.

The show was also notable for its use of live performances, which were a rarity in the early days of television. The cast had to perform skits and musical numbers without the luxury of multiple takes or post-production editing. This added an element of excitement and unpredictability to each episode, and made the show even more impressive to audiences.

Overall, The Colgate Comedy Hour was a landmark television program that showcased some of the biggest talents of the Golden Age of television. The show's blend of comedy, music, and live performance helped define the early days of television broadcasting, and its impact can still be felt today in the many variety shows that followed in its wake.

TV's Golden Age - The Colgate Comedy Hour is a 2012 comedy with a runtime of 59 minutes.