The Morey Amsterdam Show (1948–1950)

The show had two venues. In December 1948 to March 1949, Morey Amsterdam was the emcee at a small fictional nightclub in New York City's Times Square. Charlie the Doorman (later Newton the ... See full summary »

Stars:

Morey Amsterdam, Art Carney, Johnny Guarnieri

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Morey Amsterdam	...	Himself - Host (76 episodes, 1948-1950)
Art Carney	...	Newton the Waiter (76 episodes, 1948-1950)
Johnny Guarnieri	...	Himself - Orchestra Leader (75 episodes, 1948-1950)
Don Russell	...	Himself - Announcer (63 episodes, 1949-1950)

Storyline

The show had two venues. In December 1948 to March 1949, Morey Amsterdam was the emcee at a small fictional nightclub in New York City's Times Square. Charlie the Doorman (later Newton the Waiter) and Lola the cigarette girl were also employed at the club. Between April 1949 and October 1950, the show shifted to a different network and the scene shifted to the Silver Swan Cafe with Newton and Lola still employed.

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Plot Keywords:

sitcom | cello | early television | variety | late night

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Genres:

Comedy | Family | Music

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 December 1948 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

DuMont Television Network

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min 30 min (DuMont)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The series ran on CBS-TV without a regular sponsor for 13 weeks. Not willing to carry the series without a sponsor, the network canceled the series after the March 7 show. The DuMont network quickly worked out a deal with Morey Amsterdam and the series returned to the airways on DuMont six weeks after CBS pulled the plug.

User Reviews

The Tonight Show

Furb was wrong. The Tonight Show was called just that while Steve Allen was host from about 1954-57. After that Steve had his own show called the Steve Allen Show in prime time. Jack Paar called his show the Jack Paar Program although conversationally in his monologue he often said something like "welcome to the Tonight Show". When Johnny Carson took over the show in 1962 it was called the Tonight Show officially again. Jay Leno has now been host for over 14 years. Thinking back, Steve Allen did the best job. He had a company of performers that appeared regularly like Andy Williams, Steve Lawrence, Edye Gorme, Louis Nye, Tom Poston, Don Knots, Dayton Allen and others. What a cast. And all of them became stars with careers lasting decades.