Jack, Phil, CBS, and Television!

[Gerry O.]

After a couple of seasons of the Heidt program, NBC began Tallulah Bankhead's "THE BIG SHOW", which started at 6:30 PM on Sundays. Since the show ran 90 minutes, the last half-hour of "THE BIG SHOW" ran opposite the Benny program.

OOOPS...I have to correct that. "THE BIG SHOW" started at 6:00, not 6:30...Sorry about that!

[LLeff]

Y'know, I think I forgot to say this...just the other day I copied a two-page draft of a radio show proposal. It was called "Meet Phil and Alice". I haven't had a chance to read it yet, but it appears to be the first rough-out for the Harris-Faye series.

[shimp scrampi]

From this good website: http://www.dg125.com/Gazette/BestOfTheB ... INMENU.htm

1945-1946 Season

Jack Benny #6 - 24.1 Hooper
Fitch Bandwagon (Cass Daly - pre Phil & Alice) #19, 18.0

1946-1947

Benny #3 - 27.0
Fitch Bandwagon (Phil & Alice) #10, 21.0

1947-1948

Benny #4 (Fred Allen was #1!) 26.0
Fitch Bandwagon (Phil & Alice) #8 22.2

1948-1949 (Jack's first year on CBS)

Benny #3, 26.4
A Day in the Life of Dennis Day #11, 17.7
Phil & Alice #17 (Tied with Burns and Allen & This is Your FBI), 16.1

Thereafter, Phil & Alice fall out of the Top 20 shows. Still a respectable showing in 1948-1949 with that lame lead-in!

[Roman]

Listening to the CBS shows in 1949, I noticed that Don continued to do plugs for Dennis's show, along with Amos & Andy, etc. Does that mean that Dennis's show also moved to CBS (I can't imagine that CBS would have permitted Don to plug Dennis's show if it was still on NBC)? Perhaps this may explain some of the apparent hurt feelings that Phil had toward Jack. The explanation that Phil couldn't have the time slot following Jack's because of A & A doesn't really answer why CBS couldn't have found SOME time slot for Phil. Surely not every CBS show was a ratings powerhouse. Whether Jack could have used his influence to bring Phil to CBS is not clear; but it does seem that Phil felt that Jack could have done more than he did.

[bboswell]

Listening to the CBS shows in 1949, I noticed that Don continued to do plugs for Dennis's show, along with Amos & Andy, etc. Does that mean that Dennis's show also moved to CBS (I can't imagine that CBS would have permitted Don to plug Dennis's show if it was still on NBC)?

According to my sources, it looks like Dennis's show continued to be on NBC for its entire run.

I don't know specifically about Dennis's show, but it's not uncommon to hear: "Be sure to tune in to ... show on another network."

The first thing that comes to my mind is: IF the sponsor of, say, the Jack Benny Show, sponsored another show on another network, say, the Lucky Strike Hit Parade, they might do this because they're paying a shload of money, and they can say whatever they want during their 28 1/2 minutes.

I don't know if this would be the case in a plug for another cast member's show, unless it would be in their contract. Something like: "Dennis will continue to appear in Jack's show each week, but in return Don Wilson must plug Dennis's show one out of every four weeks."

[David47Jens]

I don't know specifically about Dennis's show, but it's not uncommon to hear: "Be sure to tune in to ... show on another network."

The first thing that comes to my mind is: IF the sponsor of, say, the Jack Benny Show, sponsored another show on another network, say, the Lucky Strike Hit Parade, they might do this because they're paying a shload of money, and they can say whatever they want during their 28 1/2 minutes.

I don't know if this would be the case in a plug for another cast member's show, unless it would be in their contract. Something like: "Dennis will continue to appear in Jack's show each week, but in return Don Wilson must plug Dennis's show one out of every four weeks."

Really! As the late Johnny Carson would have said, "I did not know that." I thought networks were very paranoid about acknowledging each other's existence back in the old days! I recall reading about Red Skelton's becoming upset at the time of a network TV switch (from -- IIRC -- NBC to CBS), when his old network wouldn't allow a joke about the one he was moving to, and his new network censored a joke about the one he'd just left!

Or were things more relaxed on radio? Maybe it was only during the earlier days of TV that each network employed such cut-throat (albeit childish) tactics, as they struggled to make their mark in the new medium.

Hmm. Kinda reminds me of the old W.C. Fields bit, where the sponsor, Lucky Strike, eventually caught on to the fact that Fields' occasional references to his son "Chester" was actually a sneaky mention of a rival brand!

Oh, and by the way, bboswell... "Shload?" Cute.

[Maxwell]

I can remember TV to some extent as far back as maybe 1954. I do remember that sponsors would plug their other shows on other networks, but the network was never identified. Usually viewers were just told to be sure to watch such-and-such "on another network," or to "check your local listings for time and channel."

[bboswell]

If I may quote a Fibber McGee and Molly joke:

"... it's as easy as ABC, If NBC will excuse the reference. And if they give me 'hail Columbia' I'll give it right back to them which will make it Mutual."

[Roman]

Regarding Phil Harris's disappointment at the supposed failure of Jack to go to bat for him when Jack moved to CBS, there's, of course, one obvious point that no one's mentioned. Jack was able to work it out so that Phil remained a member of the cast for several years afterwards until Phil himself decided to end his participation. Given the fact that Amos & Andy were Phil's competition for his NBC show, I can't imagine that the A&A actors, writers, and producers were all that thrilled with Phil's continued role on Jack's program since it amounted to free advertising for the Harris-Faye Program (after all, how hard was it to change the radio dial at 7:30?).

It seems to me that Phil was reluctant to take too many career chances during this period when his marketability was probably at its pinnacle. It's been discussed on another post how Phil turned down the lead in Meredith Wilson's The Music Man because he wasn't sure it would be a hit (and he was apparently fearful of taking the plunge on Broadway). But Phil also chose not to pursue a television career at a time when TV was most receptive to all kinds of talents. I realize that it's possible that Phil wasn't offered any good TV roles but I seriously doubt that given his dynamic personality and well-known showmanship (as reflected in NBC's decision to give him his own radio show). No, if Phil was disappointed in his career after Jack's move to CBS (and I'm not sure he was), it would mostly be due to his own decisions.

Of course, the ultimate irony is that, despite his apparent career caution, Phil may be the best remembered of all of Jack's cast today, with the exception of Mel Blanc, because of his voice work for Disney in the 1960s and 70s.

[Gerry O.]

It seems to me that Phil was reluctant to take too many career chances during this period when his marketability was probably at its pinnacle. It's been discussed on another post how Phil turned down the lead in Meredith Wilson's The Music Man because he wasn't sure it would be a hit (and he was apparently fearful of taking the plunge on Broadway). But Phil also chose not to pursue a television career at a time when TV was most receptive to all kinds of talents. I realize that it's possible that Phil wasn't offered any good TV roles but I seriously doubt that given his dynamic personality and well-known showmanship (as reflected in NBC's decision to give him his own radio show). No, if Phil was disappointed in his career after Jack's move to CBS (and I'm not sure he was), it would mostly be due to his own decisions.

Good point. In her later years, Alice Faye was interviewed on American Movie Classics. She mentioned how she and Phil were offered the chance to bring their "Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show" sitcom to television in the early 50's, but Phil declined. Alice was ready and willing to star in a TV version of their show, but Phil told her, "Nah, we don't want to do that....there are too many of those husband-and-wife comedies on TV already!". After Alice told the interviewer this, she added "It's too bad....I think it would have been a cute show".

In many instances it seemed as if Phil was being TOO cautious and conservative in his career decisions.

[TimL2005]

That is too bad..Harris-Faye on TV would have been a long running hit in my opinion..at least 5 years..