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The Comedy Spot

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American television anthology series
The Comedy Spot
Also known asComedy Spotlight
GenreAnthology series
Presented byArt Gilmore (in 1960)
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons3
No. of episodes31
Production
Running time30 minutes
Original release
NetworkCBS
ReleaseJune 28, 1960 (1960-06-28) –
September 18, 1962 (1962-09-18)

The Comedy Spot is an American anthology television series that aired on CBS in the summers of 1960, 1961 (when it was known as Comedy Spotlight), and 1962. The 30-minute episodes consisted of a combination of unsold television pilots and repeats of episodes aired previously on other anthology series.

Background

By the mid-1950s, the practice of television executives of ordering dozens of pilots for proposed television series each year – far more than their networks could possibly broadcast as series – had created a sizable body of unsold pilots that had never aired. By 1954, the American television industry had begun to consider the idea of packaging these unsold pilots in anthology series and airing them during the summer, providing television networks with a way of both providing fresh programming during the summer rerun season and recouping at least some of the expense of producing them. ABC and NBC pioneered the concept in the summer of 1956, simultaneously premiering G.E. Summer Originals (on ABC) and Sneak Preview (on NBC), but CBS did not air its first two such series, The Comedy Spot and New Comedy Showcase, until the summer of 1960.

Production and content

Art Gilmore hosted The Comedy Spot in 1960. Its name and content changed from year to year. In the summer of 1960, it consisted of a combination of unsold pilots and reruns of episodes of General Electric Theater and NBC's Colgate Theater. It was retitled Comedy Spotlight for the summer of 1961, and that year was composed entirely of reruns of General Electric Theater episodes. For its final run in the summer of 1962, it returned to the name The Comedy Spot and consisted entirely of unsold pilots, one of them a repeat of an episode aired in 1960 on New Comedy Showcase.

On July 19, 1960, The Comedy Spot aired the unsold pilot "Head of the Family," which told the story of Robbie Petrie, a writer for a comedy television show who has trouble explaining to his son Ritchie what he does at work. With a revamped cast but largely the same characters, a reworked version of "Head of the Family" became the successful situation comedy The Dick Van Dyke Show, which aired from 1961 to 1966, and the plot of "Head of the Family" served as the basis of The Dick Van Dyke Show′s February 1962 episode "Father of the Week."

CBS filmed "A Pony for Chris," a pilot for a proposed series titled Medicine Man, starring Ernie Kovacs and Buster Keaton, in which Kovacs played Dr. P. Crookshank, a traveling medicine salesman in the 1870s who was selling "Mother McGreevy's Wizard Juice," also known as "man's best friend in a bottle." The day after filming some of the scenes for the pilot, Kovacs died in an automobile accident on January 13, 1962. CBS made plans to broadcast the pilot for Medicine Man as an episode of The Comedy Spot in 1962, but dropped the idea after encountering problems with Kovacs's estate.

Broadcast history

The Comedy Spot ran for 11 episodes over the course of 13 weeks in the summer of 1960, airing on CBS from 9:30 to 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday evenings. It premiered on June 28, and its last episode aired on September 20. It returned in the summer of 1961 with the title Comedy Spotlight and moved to the 9:00–9:30 p.m. time slot on Tuesdays, premiering on July 25, running for nine consecutive weeks, and concluding its season on September 19. Reverting to the name The Comedy Spot but remaining in the 9:00–9:30 p.m. time slot on Tuesdays, it had its last run in the summer of 1962, premiering on July 3 and airing on 11 of the next 12 weeks. Its final episode aired on September 18, 1962.

Episodes

Season 1 (The Comedy Spot, 1960)

SOURCES

No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
1"Ben Blue's Brothers"Norman Z. McLeodRussell Beggs & Marion HargroveJune 28, 1960 (1960-06-28)
A vaudevillian and his three brothers – a wealthy snob, a tramp, and an average guy – interact in a box at the opera. Ben Blue, appearing as himself in portraying the vaudevillian, played all four brothers. Also starring Ruth McDevitt, Barbara Heller, Robin Raymond, Lillian Culver, Yvette Vickers, Jane McGowan, and Fred Essler. An unsold pilot filmed in 1958.
2"McGarry and Me"UnknownUnknownJuly 5, 1960 (1960-07-05)
A romantic comedy about an errant policeman. An unsold pilot starring Michael O'Shea and Virginia Mayo.
3"Head of the Family"Don WeisCarl ReinerJuly 19, 1960 (1960-07-19)
After Robbie Petrie, a writer for a television series, is asked to write an amusing bulletin for a parent–teacher association function, he has trouble explaining to his son Ritchie what he does at work, so his wife Laura talks a skeptical Robbie into taking Ritchie to work for a day to see what he does. Starring Carl Reiner, Barbara Britton, Morty Gunty, Sylvia Miles, Gary Morgan, Jack Wakefield, Milt Kamen, Jean Sincere, Nancy Kenyon, Joey Trent, and Mannie Sloane. An unsold pilot which was reworked with a new cast to become The Dick Van Dyke Show of 1961–1966, which used the pilot's plot as the basis for its 1962 episode "Father of the Week."
4"I Was a Bloodhound"Sidney LanfieldLaurence Marks & Milton PascalAugust 2, 1960 (1960-08-02)
A private investigator with an unusually good sense of smell takes on a case in which a baby Indian elephant disappears from a hotel room and its owner receives a ransom demand. Starring Ernie Kovacs, Lawrence Dobkin, Shirley Mitchell, Bart Bradley, Robert Nash, Michael Garrett, Yvonne White, Joseph Mell, Frank Sully, Phil Arnold, and Tony Michaels. A repeat of an episode of General Electric Theater that originally aired on February 15, 1959.
5"The Incredible Jewel Robbery"Mitchell LeisenDallas Gaultois & James EdmistonAugust 9, 1960 (1960-08-09)
In an episode performed in pantomime, two inexperienced safecrackers plan the perfect crime, involving one dressed as a police officer and driving up to "arrest" the other in a car marked as a police car and both of them disguising themselves as Groucho Marx. Starring Chico Marx, Harpo Marx, Benny Rubin, Joy Rogers, Russell Custer, Charles Fogel, and Hans Moebus, with a cameo appearance by Groucho Marx. A repeat of an episode of General Electric Theater that originally aired on March 8, 1959.
6"The Sky's the Limit"Paul HarrisonBerni Gould & Paul HarrisonAugust 16, 1960 (1960-08-16)
Originally titled 'Now Hear This." Three young United States Navy officers have misadventures while undergoing naval aviation training at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida. An unsold pilot starring Doug McClure, Ross Martin, Joey Forman and Ralph Dumke.
7"Welcome to Washington"Norman TokarInez Asher & Whitfield CookAugust 23, 1960 (1960-08-23)
After a newly elected congresswoman arrives in Washington, D.C., she discovers that there is a lot more to representing her legislative district than merely passing legislation — including, as one of her first challenges, house-hunting with her husband. Starring Claudette Colbert, Elvia Allman, Florenz Ames, Eric Anderson, Herb Butterfield, Malcolm Cassell, Herb Ellis, Leif Erickson, Shelley Fabares, Tony Henning, Doris Packer, Maudie Prickett, and Paula Winslowe. An unsold pilot for a proposed series, The Claudette Colbert Show, which previously aired on NBC on Colgate Theatre on September 30, 1958.
8"Meet the Girls"Charles BartonRoger ClayAugust 30, 1960 (1960-08-30)
Three young women from small towns who styled as "The Brain," "The Face," and "The Shape" move to New York City in search of fame, fortune, and marriage – to rich husbands. An unsold pilot starring Mamie Van Doren, Gale Robbins, Virginia Field, John Bryant, Darlene Fields, Cynthia Leighton, and Ralph Sanford.
9"Adventures of a Model"Norman TokarSidney SheldonSeptember 6, 1960 (1960-09-06)
A fashion model who uses her wits to hold off wolfish suitors and dislikes athletics must endure an agonizing series of athletic challenges to please a Texas sportswear manufacturer. Starring Joanne Dru, Roxanne Arlen, Phil Arnold, Jimmy Cross, John Emery, Bob Jellison, William Kendis, Nancy Kulp, William Redfield, Charles Wagenheim, and Roland Winters. A repeat of an episode which previously aired on NBC on Colgate Theatre on August 19, 1958.
10"Full Speed Anywhere"Don TaylorJack Elinson & Charles IsaacsSeptember 13, 1960 (1960-09-13)
After the bored crew of a United States Coast Guard cutter finally receives orders for some action – participation in fleet maneuvers – a yeoman comes down with the mumps, and the ship's commanding officer and crew conspire to get him ashore unnoticed. An unsold pilot starring Stubby Kaye, Conrad Janis, George Dunn, Glen Turnbull, Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez, Edwin Bruce, and Jonathan Hale.
11"Tom, Dick and Harry"Oscar RudolphBen StarrSeptember 20, 1960 (1960-09-20)
Newly discharged from the United States Army, three war buddies decide to abandon their individual civilian careers and open a restaurant together – and decide that the best way to get a free lease on a restaurant is for one of them to marry the owner's daughter. An unsold pilot starring Gene Nelson, Joe Mantell, Marvin Kaplan, Cheryl Calloway, Pamela Dean, Howard McNear, Hazel Shermet, Irene Ryan, and Mavis Davenport.

Season 2 (Comedy Spotlight, 1961)

SOURCES

No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
1"Bachelor's Bride"Michael LeisenMortimer Braus & Joseph HoffmanJuly 25, 1961 (1961-07-25)
When a confirmed bachelor visits Vermont to write a book, he meets a young woman who falls in love with him. Starring Fred MacMurray, Patricia Crowley, Virginia Field, Lawrence Keating, and Sarah Selby. A repeat of an episode of General Electric Theater that originally aired on February 20, 1955.
2"Love Came Late"Robert B. SinclairRobert Carson & Leon GordonAugust 1, 1961 (1961-08-01)
When a United States Army veteran and father attending college and struggling to adjust from military to civilian life has poor grades, his professor is unsympathetic toward him until the veteran's mother intervenes and uses her feminine charm to show the professor that there is more to higher education than passing grades. Starring Melvyn Douglas, Darryl Hickman, Myrna Loy, David Armstrong, Jack Chefe, Alan DeWitt, Robert Ellis, Joseph Kearns, Jennifer Lea, Ted Mapes, Harry Strang, Max Power, and Frank Tweddell. A repeat of an episode of General Electric Theater that originally aired on November 17, 1957.
3"Blaze of Glory"Don WeisJames B. Allardice & Paul W. FairmanAugust 8, 1961 (1961-08-08)
A meek plumber responds to a late-night call and experiences various misadventures, including finding himself involved with a gang of jewel thieves. Starring Lou Costello, Jonathan Harris, Joyce Jameson, Lurene Tuttle, Joseph Martorano, Herman Rudin, Olan Soulé, and Phil Arnold. A repeat of an episode of General Electric Theater that originally aired on September 21, 1958.
4"A New York Knight"James NeilsonJameson Brewer & Richard ConnellAugust 15, 1961 (1961-08-15)
A lone derelict who finds sympathy from no one buys an equally friendless horse and finds himself in the unaccustomed position of having to earn a living for them both. Starring Charles Laughton, Gavin Gordon, Nestor Paiva, Irving Bacon, Anthony Eustrel, Earle Hodgins, Addison Richards, Bartlett Robinson, Ted Wedderspoon, Norma DeHaan, Gil Donaldson, Boyd "Red" Morgan, and John Ayres. A repeat of an episode of General Electric Theater that originally aired on March 2, 1958.
5"The World's Greatest Quarterback"Ray MillandThomas Nord RileyAugust 22, 1961 (1961-08-22)
A former American football star on the skids returns to his home town and discovers that he still is a hero there. He decides to take advantage of that, because he and his ex-wife got a very good deal when they bought a rare Picasso painting on their honeymoon – and he needs cash. Starring Ronnie Burns, Ernie Kovacs, Suzanne Pleshette, Roger Til, and Audrey Totter. A repeat of an episode of General Electric Theater that originally aired on October 19, 1958.
6"The Glorious Gift of Molly Malloy"Herschel DaughertyJameson BrewerAugust 29, 1961 (1961-08-29)
An Irish schoolteacher refuses to follow the stringent principles a professor has set up as the foundation of modern education, and her actions almost disrupt the entire country. Starring Greer Garson, John Abbott, Jimmy Fields, John Gallaudet, Charles Herbert, John Hoyt, J. M. Kerrigan, and Ludwig Stössel. A repeat of an episode of General Electric Theater that originally aired on September 23, 1956.
7"Miracle at the Opera"Mitchell LeisenFrank GabrielsonSeptember 5, 1961 (1961-09-05)
A lonely flutist and music teacher is devoted to his dog, in whose company he finds great comfort. Starring Ed Wynn, Barbara Morrison, Sig Ruman, Fortunio Bonanova, Maggie Pierce, Cyril Delevanti, Fritz Feld, Paul Frees, Robert Nash, and Jack Rice. A repeat of an episode of General Electric Theater that originally aired on September 20, 1959.
8"The Incredible Jewel Robbery"Mitchell LeisenDallas Gaultois & James EdmistonSeptember 12, 1961 (1961-09-12)
In an episode performed in pantomime, two inexperienced safecrackers plan the perfect crime, involving one dressed as a police officer and driving up to "arrest" the other in a car marked as a police car and both of them disguising themselves as Groucho Marx. Starring Chico Marx, Harpo Marx, Benny Rubin, Joy Rogers, Russell Custer, Charles Fogel, and Hans Moebus, with a cameo appearance by Groucho Marx. A repeat of an episode of General Electric Theater that originally aired on March 8, 1959 and then later on The Comedy Spot on August 9, 1960.
9"Platinum on the Rocks"Sidney LanfieldDonn Baylor, Laurence Marks, & Milton PascalSeptember 19, 1961 (1961-09-19)
In search of excitement, an ex-vaudevillian ends up facing a false robbery charge, allowing him a taste of the life of a gentleman thief in the mold of the fictional A. J. Raffles. Starring George Burns, Eleanor Audley, Fred Beir, Kaye Elhardt, Milton Frome, Jonathan Hole, Betsy Jones-Moreland, Joanne Lee, Charles Tannen, and Frank Wilcox. A repeat of an episode of General Electric Theater that originally aired on November 29, 1959.

Season 3 (The Comedy Spot, 1962)

SOURCES

No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
1"The Soft Touch"Sidney SalkowDon Nelson & Jay SommersJuly 3, 1962 (1962-07-03)
A beautiful but rather scatterbrained young woman believes that intuition is a better method than collateral for determining which loans her father's finance company should make, and she tries to loan $300 to a neighbor seeking to glamorize herself and trap a man. An unsold pilot starring Marie Wilson, Charles Ruggles, Madge Blake, Charles Lane, El Brendel, Nancy Kulp, James Flavin, Hayden Rorke, Jack Straw, and Claude Stroud.
2"For the Love of Mike"UnknownUnknownJuly 10, 1962 (1962-07-10)
A newly married couple has money problems, so the bride takes a job as a vocalist for a dance band to bring in more income. An unsold pilot starring Shirley Jones, Burt Metcalfe, and Gale Gordon.
3"Octavius and Me"Don TaylorDon Taylor & George TibblesJuly 17, 1962 (1962-07-17)
A retired couple buys a mobile home in which to tour the United States and pays a return visit to a trailer park, where they help another couple they meet patch up their marriage. An unsold pilot starring Dub Taylor, Lois Bridge, Grace Albertson, George O'Hanlon, James Douglas, Kaye Elhardt, Louise Lorimer, and Walter Stocker.
4"Maggie"Rod AmateauBill ManhoffJuly 24, 1962 (1962-07-24)
When a famous and sophisticated Broadway husband-and-wife acting team moves from Manhattan into a staid old town in suburban Connecticut and tries to fit in, their rambunctious, scatterbrained, but clever and imaginative teenage daughter tries to undermine them with journalists and their new neighbors — including making an effort to convince the elderly woman next door that her hired man is in love with her. Starring Margaret O'Brien, Fay Baker, Leon Ames, Jeanne Tatum, Charles Cantor, Jesslyn Fax, Edwin Bruce, Michael Emmet, and Mona Knox. Narrated by Art Gilmore. A repeat of an unsold pilot previously aired as an episode of New Comedy Showcase on August 29, 1960.
5"Poor Mr. Campbell"David SwiftDavid SwiftAugust 7, 1962 (1962-08-07)
A nagging wife makes life unbearable for her husband – and drives him to murder. An unsold pilot starring Agnes Moorhead, Edward Andrews, Ruta Lee, Mary Grace Canfield, Barbara Pepper, and Harry Landers.
6"I Love My Doctor"David ButlerEverett FreemanAugust 14, 1962 (1962-08-14)
A young physician and his wife and two children move from the big city to a small rural community, where he struggles to get his practice started. An unsold pilot starring Don Porter, Phyllis Avery, Rickey Kelman, Terry Burnham, Helen Kleeb, Eleanor Audley, Frances Helm, Michael Garth, Todd Farrell, George Calliga, and Harry Mayo. Based on the works of Evelyn Barkins.
7"The Mighty O"UnknownBill BrennanAugust 21, 1962 (1962-08-21)
The misadventures of two chief petty officers aboard a United States Coast Guard cargo ship. An unsold pilot starring Craig Stevens, Alan Hale, Jr., Lola Albright, Whit Bissell, Jane Easton, Jamie Farr, Don Garner, Richard Jaeckel, Tom Monroe, and Dick Wessel.
8"Charlie Angelo"Don McGuireDon McGure & Richard MichaelsAugust 28, 1962 (1962-08-28)
Alternative title "Charley Angelo." A misfit angel charged with keeping a man from burning down his own nightclub for the insurance money must do battle with the Devil, who is trying to get the man to do the wrong thing. An unsold pilot starring James Komack, Larry Storch, and Bernard Kates.
9"His Model Wife"Norman TokarBarbara AvedonSeptember 4, 1962 (1962-09-04)
A married couple – a former model and a magazine publisher with two children – does not know how to fire their housekeeper. An unsold pilot starring Jeanne Crain, John Vivyan, Jimmie Lee Gaines, Alice Frost, Jack Mullaney, Jerry Barclay, Frances Robinson, Annelle Hayes, and Larri Thomas.
10"You're Only Young Once"Richard L. BareNorman RileySeptember 11, 1962 (1962-09-11)
A young married couple attending the University of Southern California faces problems when their precarious finances force them to live in a college dormitory. An unsold pilot starring Lynn Alden, Phillip O'Hanlon, Patricia Blair, Charlie Briggs, Ann Morgan Gilbert, Gary Hunley, Jim Hutton, Frank Killmond, and Dorothy Provine.
11"Time Out for Ginger"Andrew McCulloughRonald AlexanderSeptember 18, 1962 (1962-09-18)
Alternative title "Life with Virginia." When her older sister needs a car for a date, a boisterous and feisty teenage girl tries to buy one for her. An unsold pilot starring Candy Moore, Maggie Hayes, Karl Swenson, Roberta Shore, Margaret Hamilton, Peter Leeds, Harry Bellaver, Hugh Sanders, John Rockwell, Robert B. Williams, Rickie Sorensen, and Johnny Eimen.

References

Citations

  1. ^ "UNSOLD PILOTS ON TELEVISION, 1956–1966". tvobscurities.com. Television Obscurities. 15 August 2019. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
  2. ^ Brooks & Marsh 2007, p. 276.
  3. ^ Cullum, Paul. "The Dick Van Dyke Show". The Museum of Broadcast Communications. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
  4. ^ Terrace 1976, p. 165.
  5. Spiro, J.D. (February 8, 1962). "Ernie Kovacs' Last Interview". The Milwaukee Journal.
  6. Du Brow, Rick (July 18, 1962). "'Octavius' Cute to Point of Nausea". Sarasota Journal. Retrieved September 12, 2010.
  7. "Ernie Kovacs: Medicine Man (Pilot)". Paley Center for Media. 1962. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
  8. "Medicine Man (Pilot)". Paley Center for Media. 1962. Retrieved July 11, 2010.
  9. Terrace 1976, pp. 164–166.
  10. Terrace 1976, pp. 164–165.
  11. Schenectady Gazette, June 28, 1960, p. 12.
  12. Schenectady Gazette, July 5, 1960, p. 6.
  13. Schenectady Gazette, August 2, 1960, p. 6.
  14. Schenectady Gazette, August 9, 1960, p. 6.
  15. Schenectady Gazette, August 23, 1960, p. 5.
  16. Schenectady Gazette, August 30, 1960, p. 11.
  17. Schenectady Gazette, September 6, 1960, p. 8.
  18. Terrace, Vincent (2008). Encyclopedia of Television Shows 1925 through 2007 Volume I. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Company, Inc. p. 81. ISBN 978-0-7864-3305-6.
  19. Schenectady Gazette, September 13, 1960, p. 7.
  20. Schenectady Gazette, September 20, 1960, p. 21.
  21. Schenectady Gazette, July 26, 1965, p. 16.
  22. Terrace 1976, pp. 165–166.
  23. Schenectady Gazette, July 25, 1961, p. 11.
  24. Schenectady Gazette, August 1, 1961, p. 10.
  25. Schenectady Gazette, August 8, 1961, p. 13.
  26. Schenectady Gazette, August 15, 1961, p. 21.
  27. Schenectady Gazette, August 22, 1961, p. 19.
  28. Schenectady Gazette, August 29, 1961, p. 7.
  29. Schenectady Gazette, September 12, 1961, p. 10.
  30. Schenectady Gazette, September 19, 1961, p. 20.
  31. Schenectady Gazette, July 3, 1962, p. 13.
  32. Schenectady Gazette, July 10, 1962, p. 13.
  33. Schenectady Gazette, July 17, 1962, p. 9.
  34. Evening Independent, July 17, 1962, p. 3-B.
  35. Schenectady Gazette, July 24, 1962, p. 11.
  36. Schenectady Gazette, August 7, 1962, p. 15.
  37. Schenectady Gazette, August 14, 1962, p. 19.
  38. Toledo Blade, August 14, 1962, unpaginated.
  39. Schenectady Gazette, August 21, 1962, p. 9.
  40. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 21, 1962, p. 39.
  41. Schenectady Gazette, August 28, 1962, p. 9.
  42. Schenectady Gazette, September 11, 1962, p. 22.

Bibliography

External links

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