The Garry Moore Show
The Garry Moore Show was the name for several separate
American variety series on the
CBS television network in the 1950s and 1960s. Hosted by the genial and experienced
radio performer,
Garry Moore, the series helped launch the careers of many comedic talents, such as
Don Adams,
George Gobel,
Carol Burnett,
Don Knotts and
Jonathan Winters.
The first incarnation of the show began in June,
1950 as a Monday-through-Friday 30-minute evening series. The show changed to a once-weekly one-hour format by August. In the fall of 1950 CBS rescheduled the show each weekday in the afternoon, and it ran in this format until mid-1958. The series featured a relaxed and flexible combination of
comedy skits,
monologues,
singing, and interaction with the
studio audience. The show became an important commercial success for CBS.
In 1958 Moore ended the show because of his demanding work schedule, but he returned in the fall of the same year with a once-weekly hour-long evening series, with the same title and pretty much the same format.
Allen Funt's Candid Camera segments became a regular feature of this series, along with a lengthy recap segment called "That Wonderful Year." Moore again decided to end the series in 1964 to enjoy some rest and relaxation away from a radio and television career that had lasted three decades.
Moore returned with yet another version of the show in the fall of 1966. Due to very tough competition from
Bonanza on
NBC, the show was cancelled after only five months.
The Garry Moore Show garnered a number of
Emmy nominations and wins, and is now generally considered one of the classic variety series of the early days of American television.
*
Museum of Broadcast Communications page for Garry Moore*
IMDb page for the 1958-64 and 1966-67 versions of The Garry Moore Show*
Summary web site for the 1958-64 and 1966-67 versions of The Garry Moore Show
