© Fisher Media Productions
Gladys Knight, age 7, before her appearance on the ``Original Amateur Hour'' © Fisher Media Productions
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With talent shows popping up like toasters on television, whether it’s ``American Idol’’, ``America’s Got Talent’’, ``Top Chef’’, `` America’s Next Top Model,’’ or Simon Cowell’s latest mega-project, the ``X-Factor’’ waiting in the wings, it’s worth noting that when television was in its initial stages, ``Ted Mack’s Original Amateur Hour’’ was the only real game in town for amateurs to showcase their talent. Another talent show at the time, ``Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts’’, which ran on CBS from 1946 until 1958 would often book performers who previously earned money in their entertainment professions, distinguishing it from the pure amateur, non-professional status of Mr. Mack’s show.
This year, in fact, marks the 77th year when the ``Original Amateur Hour’’ hit the radio airwaves in 1934, and shortly after its debut; it was taken over by Major Edward Bowes, the show’s original creator. After his death in 1946, Bowes talent coordinator, Ted Mack became its permanent host.
The television debut came on January 18, 1948 on the DuMont Network; a year later it moved to NBC; and later both ABC and CBS carried productions of it. All together, the ``Original Amateur Hour ‘’continued on radio until 1952 and on television until airing its 1,651 episode, its last, on September 27, 1970, making it the longest-running variety program in the history of broadcasting and consistently one of the highest-rated programs on-the-air. ``The Original Amateur Hour ‘’was revived for one season in 1992 on the Family Channel network with Willard Scott as host.
The premise of the show pretty much stayed intact during its entire run. After talent scouts scoured the country looking for entertaining acts, they would then be brought to New York for auditions. If they made the cut, they performed on the show, while members of the audience would vote by phone calls or letters. Winners would then return and square off against a new crop of talent, leading up to the final competition at Madison Square Garden.
After reviewing the ``Amateur Hour’’ alumni, it’s truly stunning how many participants went on to fame and fortune after first being introduced to radio and television audiences. The list of graduates includes: Joey Bishop, Jack Carter, Robert Blake, Alan King, Red Foxx, Connie Francis, Robert Merrill, Beverly Sills, Paul Winchell & Jerry Mohoney (the ventriloquists), Jose Feliciana, Theresa Brewer, and Pat Boone, among many others.
In addition, a scrawny 21-year-old from New Jersey, Frank Sinatra, the lead singer of the ``The Hoboken Four'' first hit the airwaves back in 1937, in the radio version of the ``Original Amateur Hour.’’ At the tender age of 16, Ann-Margaret Olsson from Wilmette, Illinois, made her professional television debut on the Ted Mack Amateur Hour, losing to a man who played a tree leaf between his fingers; while comedian Robert Klein appeared with his singing group, the ``Teen Tones’’, only to lose to a one-armed piano player. Future R&B/soul singer-songwriter, and actress, Gladys Knight, as well, first appeared at age seven, distinguishing herself as a three-time winner. And Louis Wolcott, later known as the Rev. Louis Farrakhan, appeared in 1949 playing a violin.
But the ``Original Amateur Hour’’ did let a few would-be -stars slip through the cracks, such as when Elvis Presley, auditioning for the show in Tupelo, Miss., back in 1953, failed to make the cut. Wayne Newton’s family traveled to New York from Roanoke, Virginia when he was nine to audition him for the Amateur Hour, only to be turned away; the show also took a pass on a ukulele player named Herbert Khaury, who would later earn fame with his falsetto voice as Tiny Tim.
According to Albert Fisher, who was a 22-year old talent scout auditioning acts for “Ted Mack and The Original Amateur Hour’’, more than 50 amateurs who first appeared on the show went on to become top international stars; and of the more than 10,000 amateurs that appeared on the show, about 500 became professional entertainers.
When I asked how much the smash hit ``American idol’’ reminded him of the ``Original Amateur Hour’’, Fisher said he sees little similarity to the show he was a part of for so many years.
In Fisher’s opinion, most ``American Idol’’ contestants, at least those that advance to the semi-finals and finals, are so well polished, they’re not far from being considered professional singers. ``Ted Mack’s Original Amateur Hour’’, by comparison, was an amateur show in the truest sense of the word. While the show was noted for turning out a number of future stars, the ``Original Amateur Hour’’ was better known for showcasing obscure local talents from around the country who more than likely would never be heard from again, whether it was a yodeling duo (Smokie Ridge Boys) from New Jersey, the Ozark Square Dancers from Tuscumbia, Missouri, or Judy Kassouf, a two-baton twirling champion from Lakewood, Ohio.
A strict requirement before appearing on Ted Mack’s talent show was that no contestant was permitted to have earned money performing. No such requirement applies to either Fox’s ``American Idol’’ or NBC’s ``America’s Got Talent.’’ A representative from ``American Idol’’ said that a number of the Idol contestants’ appearing on the show, previously earned money in bands, playing at coffee shops, or performing at local festivals. NBC’s ``America’s Got Talent’’ also doesn’t place any restrictions on participants from having earned money performing before appearing on their talent show.
Another striking difference between ``Ted Mack’s Original Amateur Hour’’ and talent shows on television today is the grand prize for winning the contest. The winner of Ted Mack’s show was given a trophy and a check for a whopping $1500 before an audience at Madison Square Garden. The winner of ``American Idol’’, by contrast, receives a lucrative recording contract with 19 Recordings and a management deal with 19 Management; while the winner of ``America’s Got Talent’’ receives $1 million.
One way of measuring the success or originality of any popular show is observing how many steal from your act. `` The Original Amateur Hour’’ certainly had its fair share of copy cats. The famous "Wheel of Fortune"; the phrase: “‘round and 'round she goes ... and where she stops ... nobody knows" ... while the infamous "gong", which would later appear as a title of a show on NBC from 1976-1978 with Chuck Barris as host, were all devices that can be traced back to the ``Original Amateur Hour.’’ As comedian Fred Allen once said (Newsweek, January 14, 1980), ``imitation is the sincerest form of television.’’
As a way to ensure that episodes of the ``Original Amateur Hour’’ are properly archived and preserved in meticulous condition, Fisher has donated copies of the long running talent variety show to the Library of Congress . In addition, anyone who had a family member perform on the show, can contact him on the address listed on his Web Site and he will provide them (after charging a processing and handling fee) with a copy of the individual show. It’s Fisher’s way, he said over the phone from Los Angeles, of showing his appreciation for the way the show gave him his first start in the entertainment business at such a young age. Fisher is now a highly successful television executive with creative credits from all major networks.
So next time you plop yourself in front of the television to watch your favorite talent show, in whatever form it may take, it might be worth remembering it was Major Edward Bowes and Ted Mack who were instrumental in first moving this whistle-stop tour down the tracks.
Bill Lucey
[email protected]
June 14, 2011
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