The Colgate Comedy Hour
The Colgate Comedy Hour is an American variety show that aired from 1950 to 1955 on NBC, sponsored by Colgate-Palmolive. The series featured a rotating roster of hosts including Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, Abbott and Costello, Eddie Cantor, Jimmy Durante, and Fred Allen, presenting comedy sketches, musical performances, and variety acts in a live weekly broadcast. The show was NBC's answer to CBS's Toast of the Town (The Ed Sullivan Show) and was notable for launching Martin and Lewis as television superstars. Several episodes are in the public domain.
This series is:Lighthearted
Season 1
Eddie Cantor
The legendary entertainer Eddie Cantor hosts an evening of comedy, music, and variety on the Colgate Comedy Hour, bringing his trademark
Let's Face It
Hosted by Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, has Dean and Jerry alongside gorgeous Marilyn Maxwell ("The Lemon Drop Kid") and comedian Leonard Barr. Sketches include a backstage bit with Martin and Lewis goofing around in their dressing room, and another with Jerry playing a little kid who goes to the movies with grown up Dean.
Martin & Lewis: Anything Goes
Kitty Kallen; The Skylarks; Mayor Ralph Villani of Newark, N.J.; Mayor Walter Sterling of Steubenville, Ohio; and Dick Stabile and his Orchestra.
Martin & Lewis
Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis return with guests singer/actress Kitty Kallen; future 'Jackie Gleason Show' co-star Joyce Randoph; comic dancer Leonard Barr; comic actor Sammy Petrillo; the dance team of De May and Moore; singers The Skylarks; and Dick Stabile and his Orchestra.
Bob Hope
Bob Hope hosts this episode, sponsored by Frigidaire. His guests include: His guests include: opera star Lily Pons; Elanor Roosevelt; Bob Cummings; harpist Robert Maxwell; New York Mayor Vincent Impellitteri; the Boys' Choir from the Cathedral of St. John the Divine; and Charles Sandford and his Orchestra.
Abbot & Costello
Abbott and Costello's first time as hosts. Several comedy routines including their classic: "Who's On First".
Martin & Lewis
Polly Bergen, Mary Ann Niles, Bob Fosse, and Dick Stabile and his Orchestra.
The Spike Jones Show
The City Slickers, George Rock, Sir Frederick Gas, Freddy and Dick Morgan, Bill King, The Wayne Marlin Trio, Lois Ray, Gale Robbins, and Laverne Pearson
Martin & Lewis
Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis host this telecast from Chicago. Their guests include: singer Helen O'Connell; dance team Bob Fosse & Mary Ann Niles; Ladd Lyon; announcer Mike Wallace; and Dick Stabile and his Orchestra. Martin's songs include 'I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now.'
Martin & Lewis
Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis host this week's show. Their guests include: singer Jane Morgan; the dance team of Bob Fosse & Mary Ann Niles; a cameo by Eddie Cantor; and Dick Stabile and his Orchestra.
Martin & Lewis
Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis host this week's episode. Their guests include: The DeMarco Sisters; comedian/singer Sonny King; actor Tommy Farrell; Rosette Shaw; comic actor and 'Colgate' writer Danny Arnold; The Johnny Conrad Dancers; cameo by Tony Curtis; and Dick Stabile and his Orchestra.
Martin & Lewis
Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis host this first season closer. Their guests include: singer Janis Paige; comic and show writer Danny Arnold; The Johnny Conrad Dancers; cameos by Tony Martin and Joe Louis; and Dick Stabile and his Orchestra.
Season 2
Abbott and Costello with George Raft and Louis Armstrong
Abbott and Costello host an evening of comedy with special guests including film star George Raft and jazz legend Louis Armstrong, who
Jane Morgan 1951
An evening of comedy and music from the Colgate Comedy Hour, featuring singer Jane Morgan and a lineup of comedy sketches and variety acts
Abbott and Costello with Errol Flynn
Abbott and Costello host an evening of comedy with special guest Errol Flynn, the swashbuckling film star who proves he can take a
Abbott & Costello
Abbott & Costello — season 2, episode 7 of The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950).
Jack Carson
Jack Carson — season 2, episode 8 of The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950).
Martin & Lewis
Martin & Lewis — season 2, episode 10 of The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950).
Abbott & Costello
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello host with guests actors Errol Flynn and Bruce Cabot, actress Rhonda Fleming, A C stalwarts Sid Fields and Joe Kirk, The Pied Pipers, Al Goodman and his Orchestra, and a cameo by George Raft. On the way to work on Fleming's ranch, the boys encounter berserk Flynn doing the classic "Niagra Falls" routine ("Slowly I turn, step by step..."). Lou attempts to milk a cow, and he and Bud get the giggles, start ad libbing, and start spitting milk at each other. Sheriff Lou battles bad guy Flynn in a saloon. Rhonda Fleming performs "Don't Blame Me" and "I'm in Love With a Wonderful Guy."
Martin & Lewis
Martin & Lewis — season 2, episode 18 of The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950).
Martin & Lewis
Martin & Lewis — season 2, episode 24 of The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950).
Martin & Lewis
Martin & Lewis — season 2, episode 30 of The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950).
Martin & Lewis
Martin & Lewis — season 2, episode 35 of The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950).
Season 3
Jimmy Durante and Frank Sinatra
The great Jimmy Durante teams up with Frank Sinatra for an unforgettable evening of comedy and song on the Colgate Comedy Hour,
Abbott & Costello
Lizabeth Scott, Gisele macKenzie, The Four Pipers, Les dassie, Dudley Dickerson, Milt Bronson, Bobby Barber, Sid Fields and Al Goodman and his Orchestra
Martin & Lewis
Martin & Lewis — season 3, episode 11 of The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950).
Abbott & Costello and Victor Borge
Victor Borge, Gisele MacKenzie, Grace Hartman, Allan Jones, Sid Fields, Harry Lang, The Four Pipers, Bobby Barber, R. J. Otis and Abner, The Hollywood Stunt Group
Martin & Lewis
Martin & Lewis — season 3, episode 19 of The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950).
Martin & Lewis
Martin & Lewis — season 3, episode 33 of The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950).
Martin & Lewis
Martin & Lewis — season 3, episode 37 of The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950).
Season 4
Martin and Lewis Last Appearance
The historic final television appearance of the comedy duo Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, broadcast on the Colgate Comedy Hour in 1956.
Martin & Lewis
Martin & Lewis — season 4, episode 15 of The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950).
Martin & Lewis
Martin & Lewis — season 4, episode 30 of The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950).
Eddie Cantor
Eddie Cantor — season 4, episode 32 of The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950).
Abbott & Costello
One in this comedy/variety series with rotating hosts. The comedy team of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello star in this live episode. Highlights include the following: Bud and Lou get fired from their jobs at a department store after attempting to sell nylons; Abbott and his friends sucker Costello out of his pay, but Lou gets his revenge; Hoagy Carmichael sings and is visited by child actor Ricky Vera; Costello and Vera try to tell each other the tale of Little Red Riding Hood and crack each other up in the process; Abbott cons Costello out of his money, but Vera gets the last laugh; Peggy Lee sings "Johnny Guitar," "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered," and the "Halo Shampoo" song; Costello gets appliances with meters and has to pay a quarter every time he uses one, prompting a lot of mayhem as he attempts to try each one out; the Sauter-Finegan Orchestra plays "Midnight Sleigh Ride" and "Holiday"; and Costello attempts to dance with a woman who is almost twice his height.
Martin & Lewis
Martin & Lewis — season 4, episode 34 of The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950).
The Colgate Summer Comedy Hour ★ Sammy Davis Jr , Singer Connie Russell, Gene Sheldon, Comedian Jay Lawrence, 8 August 1954
The Colgate Summer Comedy Hour ★ Sammy Davis Jr , Singer Connie Russell, Gene Sheldon, Comedian Jay Lawrence, 8 August 1954 — season 4, episode 44 of The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950).
Season 5
Martin & Lewis
Skits: Jerry serves spaghetti at Dean's diner. Dean and Vera adopt Jerry. Songs: "Longface", "Without a word of warning", "Mambo Italiano", "Every street's a boulevard"
Martin & Lewis
Martin & Lewis — season 5, episode 17 of The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950).
Martin & Lewis
Martin & Lewis — season 5, episode 26 of The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950).
Arm Forces Week
Recorded at March Air Force Base in California.
Martin & Lewis
Martin & Lewis — season 5, episode 29 of The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950).
Season 6
Martin & Lewis
Martin & Lewis — season 6, episode 1 of The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950).
Martin & Lewis
Dean Martin sings "It Must Be True" and "Memories Are Made of This". He and Jerry Lewis sing "Two Lost Souls" and "Sometimes I'm Happy". Jerry a Japanese actor in Martin's Mighty Midnight Matinee Movie "Eggroll is a Many Splendored Dish."
Details
- Years
- 1950–1955
- Seasons
- 5
- Episodes
- 44
- Genres
- Comedy, Variety
- TMDB Rating
- 6.9/10 (13 votes)
- Maturity Rating
- NR
- Quality
- SD
- Audio
- English
- Status
- Public Domain Mark 1.0
- Studio
- NBC
