Starlit Time
{{Short description|American variety TV series (1950)}}
{{distinguish|text=a similar 1950–51 DuMont series Star Time (TV series)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox television
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| genre = Music
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| starring = Cy Coleman
Gordon Dilworth
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| country = United States
| language = English
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| channel = DuMont
| first_aired = {{start date|1950|4|9}}
| last_aired = {{end date|1950|11|19}}
}}
Starlit Time is a variety series that was broadcast on the DuMont Television Network. The series aired from April 9 to November 19, 1950.{{cite book|last1=McNeil|first1=Alex|title=Total Television: the Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present |date=1996|publisher=Penguin Books USA, Inc.|location=New York, New York|isbn=0-14-02-4916-8|page=788|edition=4th}} It was also known as The S. S. Holiday.{{cite book |last1=Terrace |first1=Vincent |title=Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010, 2d ed. |date=January 10, 2014 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-8641-0 |page=1008 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YX_daEhlnbsC&dq=%22Starlit+Time%22+Dumont&pg=PA1008 |access-date=April 6, 2023 |language=en}}
This show aired Sundays at 7 pm ET{{cite news |title=Starlit Time |url=https://archive.org/details/rossreportstele09ross/page/n44/mode/1up?view=theater |access-date=April 7, 2023 |work=Ross Reports on Television including The Television Index |date=June 18, 1950 |page=14}} and replaced Front Row Center.
Format and personnel
Initially Starlit Time consisted of two distinct hours of programming with Minnie Jo Curtis linking the two segments in the role of a switchboard operator. Bill Williams was the master of ceremonies for the first hour, titled "Welcome Mat",{{cite book |last1=Brooks |first1=Tim |last2=Marsh |first2=Earle F. |title=The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present |date=June 24, 2009 |publisher=Random House Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-307-48320-1 |page=300 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w8KztFy6QYwC&dq=%22Starlit+Time%22&pg=PA1300 |access-date=April 6, 2023 |language=en}} which included Gordon Dilworth and the Sylvia Meredith puppets, dancers Sandra Lee and Sam Steen, and comedienne Bibi Osterwald, with Reggie Beane providing music. The second hour, "Phil Hanna Sings", starred Hanna. Other performers in that segment were singer Holly Harris, the dance team Roberto and Alicia, and comedienne Elaine Stritch. The Cy Coleman trio provided music.{{cite news |title=Radio and Television: DuMont Network to Unveil New 2-Hour Sunday Night Revue This Week-End |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1950/04/05/archives/radio-and-television-dumont-network-to-unveil-new-2hour-sunday.html |access-date=April 6, 2023 |work=The New York Times |date=April 5, 1950 |page=44|url-access=subscription}}
By the end of April 1950, the program had been cut to one hour, broadcast from 7 to 8 p.m. Eastern Time with Williams and Hanna as co-hosts.
Bela Lugosi made a rare TV guest appearance on May 21. Other guest stars who appeared on the program included Mildred Bailey.{{cite news |title=Paul Price |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/122403788/daily-news/ |access-date=April 6, 2023 |work=Daily News |date=August 22, 1950 |location=California, Los Angeles |page=40|via = Newspapers.com}}
Bob Loewi was the producer, and Pat Fay was the director.{{cite book |last1=Rhodes |first1=Gary Don |title=Lugosi: His Life in Films, on Stage, and in the Hearts of Horror Lovers |date=September 3, 2015 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1-4766-0077-2 |page=210 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eomACgAAQBAJ&dq=%22Starlit+Time%22&pg=PA210 |access-date=April 6, 2023 |language=en}} Fred Scott was the announcer.
==Critical response==
A review of the April 9, 1950, episode in the trade publication Billboard said of the two-segment episode, "their coupling remains somewhat of a mystery."{{cite magazine |last=Morse |first=Leon |date=April 22, 1950 |page=21 |title=Starlit Time |magazine=Billboard |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/50s/1950/Billboard%201950-04-22.pdf#page=21 |accessdate=April 7, 2023}} The second hour received more praise than the first, and the review complimented camera work and production.
Another review (of the August 13, 1950, episode) in Billboard said that the program "has some excellent, even if not socko, moments of entertainment."{{cite magazine |last=Chase |first=Sam |date=August 26, 1950 |page=10 |title=Starlit Time |magazine=Billboard |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/50s/1950/Billboard%201950-08-26.pdf#page=10 |accessdate=April 7, 2023}} The review commended the music of Beane's trio but said that the comedy "was decidedly negative, however, and could be dispensed with."
Episode status
As with most DuMont series, no episodes are known to exist.{{Citation needed |date=April 2023}}
See also
References
{{reflist}}
Bibliography
- David Weinstein, The Forgotten Network: DuMont and the Birth of American Television (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2004) {{ISBN|1-59213-245-6}}
External links
- {{IMDb title|tt0042149}}
- [https://dumonthistory.com/a2.html DuMont historical website]
Category:DuMont Television Network original programming
Category:1950 American television series debuts
Category:1950 American television series endings
Category:Black-and-white American television shows