This week in TV Guide: May 14, 1955

It's been said that if you ever happen to find yourself in prison, the first thing to do to ensure your survival is to walk up to the biggest, toughest, meanest dude you can find in the prison yard and hit him as hard as you can. You may get the stuffing knocked out of you, but you'll have sent a message to the rest of the population that you're not going to take anything from anyone at any time. 

Now, I hope I never have to test this theory personally, but it occurs to me that the editors of TV Guide must have heard this advice themselves and taken it to heart, because this week see see them taking yet another poke at one of the biggest targets in the television world: Arthur Godfrey.

Most of you are probably aware of Godfrey's spectacular success on both television and radio, and how it all came crashing down, beginning with his on-air dismissal of Julius LaRosa in 1953. By 1955, most of Godfrey's original company of regulars, known as his "Friends," had been fired for one reason or another, often receiving prominent coverage in TV Guide. Observing this unraveling seems to have been too much even for the editors, and in this week's "As We See It" editorial, they provide a bold suggestion as to how Godfrey might be able to polish what is left of his reputation: not with new Friends, but "we rather believe that what’s really needed is a new Godfrey."

(Underlining this is an unrelated letter to the editor from Mrs. E. Gibbs of Chicago, voicing her opinion on Godfrey's recent spate of dismissals: Arthur Godfrey acted harshly in firing six of his entertainers and three writers: "I have never heard any complaints about Haleloke, Marion Marlowe or The Mariners. Could it be Arthur’s ratings have dropped because people are plain tired of him? I think The Mariners should start their own show and hire Haleloke, Marion Marlowe and Julius La Rosa.")  

As an example, they point to Milton Berle, Mr. Television himself, who arrested his sharp decline (temporarily, as it turned out), with the help of ace writer Goodman Ace and a new team of writers. Like Godfrey, Berle had been virtually a one-man show, the focal point of everything that unfolded on the tube. "But Berle had the humility to admit that he was losing his hold on the television audience. And he was willing to blame himself rather than his cast. So he had his personality changed by the writers." In real life, nothing's changed; Berle's still the boss, in charge of hiring, firing, and producing. "But on camera, he is the one who takes a ribbing, is bawled out, is made a fool of by his cast. He’s more of a fall guy than a top banana. And he’s more popular than ever."

Wouldn't it be great, the editors conclude, if Godfrey were to follow the same pattern, to hear his announcer, Tony Marvin, give him the business, or the McGuire Sisters pushing him around "instead of kowtowing?" In other words, to humanize Godfrey, to reclaim the folksy "Old Redhead" persona that people used to know and love. Today, this is probably exactly what would happen; the network would bring in a spin doctor to do emergency surgery on Godfrey's reputation, to inject him with a dose of humility (even if only for appearance's sake), to make it difficult for people to remember the headlines they read on an almost weekly basis in the pages of magazines such as TV Guide?

This didn't happen, of course, as if anyone expected it really would, and by the end of the decade Arthur Godfrey had faded to the status of a nostalgia figure, much like Milton Berle himself. It does make one wonder what if, though. But, as the editors conclude, "we can dream, can't we?"

l  l  l

Another of Goodman Ace's clients is a man who might be said to be the polar opposite of Arthur Godfrey, both in terms of talent and personality: Perry Como. "Though enormously successful," the unbylined article says, "he has managed to shield himself from success. Few members of the Broadway-Hollywood axis really “dig” that." While most stars are involved in life-or-death struggles to get to the top and stay there, Como "is an affable fellow with a happy marriage, a wife of long standing, three healthy kids and no known enemies. He used to cut hair in a small mining town in Pennsylvania, and still trots out his tonsorial technique as a gag. He has a pleasant voice and an ingratiating way of underplaying himself—on TV screens and off." 

And while he doesn't act like a star, his contract with NBC, a 12-year deal for $15 million, belies that. "Before the NBC deal, he earned a million a year —give or take $100,000—and could have earned even more. 'But,' he would ask, 'what else could I buy?'" Last year he turned down a two-week gig at one of the hotels in Las Vegas, saying "I couldn't be a shill." He scoffs at the idea that he's some kind of entertainment saint; "I get as mad as the next guy, but I don’t believe in sounding off. People would say, 'Look at the star! Who does he think he is?' When I get mad, I go off by myself." (Would that today's stars had that kind of attitude.)

Meanwhile, he goes on doing the kinds of things that generate precisely the kinds of stores he laughs at: fundraising for a stained-glass window in South Hackensack (the devoutly Catholic Como quips, "Food for the soul is important, too"), talking a doorman to let a young fan in to a sold-out show, and volunteering to be the last act of a long, star-studded concert at Soldier Field in Chicago, so that the restless audience would stick around to the end and see the other acts. He's admired by his contemporaries not only for his temperament but his talent; Eddie Fisher calls him "the greatest of them all. His personal life is conducted better than anyone else’s. He has found the secret of life," and Julius LaRosa, who knows a thing or two about men with egos, says that "He gives everyone the respect due all human beings." Como's explanation is a simple one. "A man has to be more than a singer. He has to learn to become a person, too."

And the only way to accomplish that is to know what you want out of life. "I don’t want to be the select singer; I’d rather be in the department store-basement class. My family life is the way I want it, too. I can do what I do because I have peace of mind." Maybe that's why Perry Como was a star for so long: why he was a regular presence on television for decades, why he could transition from the weekly grind to a series of specials, why he continued to record hits even when musical styles changed, why even the spoofs of his laid-back style were laden with affection. Perry Como knew what he wanted, and so did the audience. They wanted him.

l  l  l

Perry Como and Goodman Ace

Let's see if we can get in one more Goodman Ace anecdote. The New York Teletype reports that Ace is moving on from the Berle show, his mission to remake Berle having been accomplished. He'll move on to work with many entertainers over the years, including Perry Como. Something he doesn't receive credit for, according to the always-reliable Wikipedia, is having created the CBS News radio program You Are There. It appealed to his sense of the absurd, the article says, to combine historical events of the past with modern technology and coverage by real CBS News reporters. 

Meanwhile, The Milton Berle Show continues for another season before leaving the air in 1956. As Horace Newcomb writes in The Encyclopedia of Television, "Berle's persona had shifted from the impetuous and aggressive style of the Texaco Star Theater days to a more cultivated but less distinctive personality, leaving many fans somehow unsatisfied." Easy come, easy go. Berle would return to weekly television in 1958 as host of The Kraft Music Hall, but this gig lasts only a single season as well. His replacement, who would host the show from 1959 to 1967? Perry Como.

l  l  l

I've made this comment before, but I'll make it again, because 1) there is never a time when nostalgia is not in existence, and 2) it's perfectly appropriate for this story about the Little Rascals. You know, Our Gang. Well, of course you know what I'm talking about, else you wouldn't be reading here in the first place.

The Rascals have many fans, just like the Three Stooges and Laurel & Hardy, because they remind us of a simpler time, a time we like to think of as a better time, even if it wasn't. And like the Stooges and Stan and Ollie, they were the beneficiaries of a resurgence in interest in the 1950s and '60s, thanks to reruns on afternoon and weekend television. Hey that's where I learned about them. 

At this point in time, the Little Rascals are mostly all alive and well; according to Mrs. Fern Carter, who tutored them from 1921 to 1944 and kept tabs on them since, only three of thne 34 are dead: "Chubby" Chaney, Robert "Froggy" McLaughlin, and Bobbie "Wheezer" Hutchens. Meanwhile, Robert E. Johnson points out in his article, Scotty Beckett is still active, having played in Rocky Jones on television and The Jolson Story in the movies; Tommy Bond stayed in the industry and works as head property man at KTTV, Darla Hood was leading lady on The Ken Murray Show and is now a night club singer, Johnny Downs has a children's program on KFSD in San Diego, and Shirley Jean Rickert is a stripper, performing as "Gilda."* Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer is looking for roles, Nanette Fabray is a co-star on Sid Caesar's show, "Spanky" McFarland is an oil promoter in Dallas, and Jackie Condon is an IRS clerk. Jackie Cooper, who wasn't mentioned in the article, had a long and successful career as both an actor and producer; Mickey Gubitosi wasn't mentioned either, but he later changed his name to Robert Blake and was mentioned plenty, both on and off the screen. 

*Shirley Jean Rickert famously mentioned in an interview that "People are so amazed to hear I went from movies into burlesque. Well, I'll tell you, I prefer burlesque because it's not so immoral as the movie business."

Here are several of the members, in a then-and-now picture we would consider nostalgic from our point of view, and yet it was already nostalgia to those living in 1955. There's something poignant about seeing these little kids all grown up, and yet still in the bloom of life, don't you think?

l  l  l

Now, instead of talking about TV, let's talk about what's on TV. 

On Sunday afternoon, NBC Opera Theater presents Gian-Carlo Menotti's latest opera, The Saint of Bleecker Street (2:30 p.m.), which opened on Broadway last December and won the Pulitzer Prize for Music two weeks ago. It is the second Pulitzer for Menotti, who also won in 1950 for The Consul. These are both underperformed operas that would be completely at home in the theater today; it's a pity that Menotti is, for the most part, known today only for Amahl and the Night Visitors, a wonderful opera in its own right, but far from the only quality work he composed.

Also on Sunday afternoon, Dr. Frank Baxter presents the first of two programs on the Greek poet Homer on Now and Then (3:00 p.m., CBS). Relevant to today's headlines, part one is devoted to Homer's epics "The Odyssey" and "The Illiad" as translated by 19th and 20th century writers such as Tennyson, T.E. Lawrence, and R.L. Montgomery. One is tempted to think that Christopher Nolan might have profited from watching this episode. Of course, the episode probably doesn't exist anymore, but then, based on some of the stories I'm hearing, Nolan might wish his movie version didn't exist, either.

And, lest we forget, Ed Sullivan's Toast of the Town has a top-notch lineup tonight (7:00 p.m., CBS), featuring Louis Armstrong, the Will Mastin Trio with Sammy Davis Jr., English comedian Richard Hearne, and Senor Wences. Oh, and Bing's son Gary Crosby is on the show as well. Up against that is the Colgate Comedy Hour (7:00 p.m., NBC), hosted by Gordon MacRae from March Field in Riverside, California (celebrating Armed Forces Week); among the guests are Abbott and Costello.

Speaking of opera as we were, Caesar's Hour (Monday, 7:00 p.m, NBC) features the return of the Caesaro Opera Company with one of their periodic opera spoofs. You've probably seen me link to "Gallipacci," Sid's version of Pagliacci; this time out, Gounod's Faust is the target, with Nanette Fabray, Howard Morris, and Carl Reiner joining Sid. Too bad we don't have a link to that. 

On Wednedsay, Disneyland (6:30 p.m., ABC) has a repeat of two animated adventures based on delightful stories by Kenneth Grahame: "Mr. Toad," adapted from The Wind in the Willows and narrated by Basil Rathbone (you can see a clip from it here); and "The Reluctant Dragon," from the story of the same name (and a clip here). It's a delightful, and yet depressing, reminder of the greatness that was Disney once, and maybe will be again someday.

And the odd casting note of the week is also on Wednesday, as newscaster Eric Sevareid pinch-hits for vacationing Garry Moore as host of I've Got a Secret (8:30 p.m., CBS). In later years, panelist Henry Morgan would usually handle things when Moore was on vacation. But when you've got John Daly hosting What's My Line? and Mike Wallace doing the pilot for To Tell the Truth, why not?

By the way, Buzzy Ash, of La Porte, Indiana, asks, "Is Harry Morgan who plays in December Bride any relation to Henry Morgan who is on the panel of I’ve Got a Secret?" The answer, as the editor points out, is "no."

l  l  l

And here's something you'd never see in a contemporary issue of TV Guide: a guide to female singers appearing on this week's programs. Apparently there was a similar guide to male singers earlier, but the "girl singer" was always a feature of the early days of television. There are a lot of them out there; how many do you remember?

l  l  l

MST3K alert: Lost Continent (1951) A plane crew finds a lost continent. Cesar Romero, Hillary Brooke. (Sunday, 11:00 a.m., WGN) I kid you not; as I'm typing these words, I'm watching this movie on MST3K. A supporting cast that includes Whit Bissell, John Hoyt, Hugh Beaumont, and Sid Melton, plus the interstitial MST3K feature, with Mike Nelson portraying Beaumont as one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse! And did I mention rock climbing? Really, who could ask for anything more? TV

If you enjoy the content here and want to support my broader creative work, please consider leaving a tip at my Ko-fi page. Any amount you contribute helps me continue writing, researching, and sharing these articles and projects. Thank you!