1945 Stars In The Afternoon
September 23, 1945.
CBS Hollywood
3:00 TO 4:30 P.M. EDT
Sustaining,
Director: William N. Robson
Announcers: Harry Von Zell, Del Sharbutt, Dan Seymour
Music: CBS Studio Orchestra
Conductors: Wilbur Hatch, Axel Stordahl
Piano: Robert Armbruster
Performers: Frank Sinatra, Ginny Simms, Jimmy Durante, Garry Moore
Gene Autry, Don Amerche, Claudette Colbert, Jack Carson, Ozzie & Harriet,
Jean Hersholt, Nelson Eddy, Agnes Moorehead, Penny Singleton, Edward
Arnold, Reginald Gardiner, Ann Sothern, Joan Davis, Verna Felton, Arthur
Lake, Lionel Barrymore, Andy Russell, Hanley Stafford, Marlin Hurt (as Beulah).
Frank Sinatra sang, "The House I Live In" (and forgot the words)
Stars In The Afternoon was an extravaganza entailing two months of planning,
two weeks of preparing the scripts and numerous rehearsals. All of the CBS
stars had their own shows so the rehearsals were basically a catch them when
you can. The show was broadcast from the CBS Radio Studio on Sunset Boulevard,
in Hollywood. A photo of the theater within shows a huge crowd eagerly awaiting
the star studded 90 minutes of entertainment.
Lionel Barrymore and Frank Sinatra were the co-hosts. William N. Robson was the
director. As the show got underway, CBS News broke in with a bulletin. "China
was
reporting that Japanese Emperor Hirohito had abdicated." Sinatra would perform
skits
with Barrymore and Ginny Simms. He would sing a parody of "Along The Navajo
Trail"
with Jack Carson. It was called a duet between "The Ham and The Voice." Frank
would also
sing "The House I Live In." Gene Autry, just out of the army, would sing "Rose
Of San Antone."
As each act finished, the ushers would politely escort them out of the theater.
There
simply wasn't enough room to contain the array of stars. Joan Davis and her
troupe
was asked not to arrive at the studio until one-hour prior to their time on
stage. They
were the closing act.
On the previous Sunday, 16, A New York City "Stars In The Afternoon" was
broadcast live from
Carnegie Hall. Show was aired from 3:00 P.M to 4:30 P.M. Norman Corwin
directed. Helen Hayes,
Bess Myerson (Miss America 1945), John Charles Daly and many others appeared.
The following year Frank and Dinah Shore would host the CBS introduction of
their fall lineup
on 9-22-46, in N.Y.C. The Hollywood show would be on 9/29 from the CBS Studio.
Here are some rare photos from the 9-23-45 rehearsals.
Ed
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