Easter Parade of Stars Auto Show (1954) (TV)

Release Date:

11 April 1954 (USA)

Genre:

Talk-Show

Plot:

A musical review featuring many of the new 1954 models of American automobiles including Chrysler, De Soto...

Plot Keywords:

TV Special | New Automobile

Cast

  (Credited cast)

Irene Dunne	...	Hostess
Rex Marshall	...	Announcer
Royce G. Martin	...	Host
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Air Force Symphony Orchestra
Evelyn Ay	...	Herself
Clare E. Briggs	...	Himself - Packard representative
Robin Chandler	...	Herself
Buff Cobb	...	Herself
Lester Lum 'Tex' Colbert	...	Himself - Chrysler Corporation representative
H. Clay Doss	...	Himself - Nash representative
Eva Gabor	...	Herself
Edgar Kaiser	...	Himself - Kaiser-Willys representative
K.T. Keller	...	Himself - Chrysler Corporation representative
Phyllis Kirk	...	Herself
Lloyd Lindroth	...	Harpist
Denise Lor	...	Herself
William Newberg	...	Dodge representative
Nancy Olson	...	Herself
Edward G. Quinn	...	Chrysler representative
Dolores Rosedale	...	Herself (as Roxanne)
Ann Rutherford	...	Herself
Vice Admiral Arthur D. Struble	...	Himself
Norman K. VanDerzee	...	Himself - Hudson representative
James B. Wagstaff	...	Himself - De Soto representative
Ruth Warrick	...	Herself
John Yesulaitis	...	Conductor

Runtime:

30 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS)

Quotes:

Hostess: We have the very fine Air Force Orchestra...
Announcer: Oh, Colonel Howard's symphony.
Hostess: Yes, but tonight it's going to be under the direction of a man named Mr. John...
Announcer: Yesulaitis.
Hostess: Yesulaitis.
Announcer: Yes.
Hostess: Now you see, you know these Lithuanians better than I do.
Announcer: Well, let's say you have a lot more to remember about this program than I do.
Hostess: You're very sweet. Mr. Yesulaitis is a very accomplished man. He shouldn't have such a difficult name.

The last of its kind.

The last of a TV revolution.The 1st installment of the Auto-Lite Parade of Stars Auto Show(1952) televised live from the Waldorf Astoria Hotel was the first live car show ever attempted in the short life of TV then.The brainchild of Auto-Lite head Royce G Martin,he made sure he was the star of the program appearing front and center with his announcer co-host.The 2nd installment featured Irene Dunne as a car shopper,shopping the new 1953 models (that used Auto-Lite electrical components).The last installment (1954)was revamped heavily with Dunne and Martin sitting at table where car company execs would sit and chat with Dunne before allowing a super model to show off their new car offering.The show went smoothly and with few errors.The weakest part of the show was Royce Martin himself,by this time in poor health and seemingly in near Alzheimers,saying little,being easily confused,and with little energy.Sadly,Martin would pass away a mere couple weeks later after the running of the Kentucky Derby after his horse lost the race.Thus ended the yearly tradition that Auto-Lite would sponsor.Auto-Lite was placed in turmoil after Martin's demise,and it would be sold off to Ford in controversial manner in the early 60s.After lawsuits,Ford was forced to sell off Autolite to an aftermarket company (Bendix)due to lack of fair competition. The New York International Auto Show would replace Auto-Lite's Parade of Stars show for the next 50+ years.