Big Show, The

The Big Show was an American radio variety program featuring 90 minutes of comic, stage, screen and music talent. It was aimed at keeping American radio in its classic era and making it robust against the rapidly growing television tide. For its year-and-a-half run (November 5, 1950 – April 20, 1952), the show’s quality made their ambitions seem plausible.

The Stars

Hosted by stage actress Tallulah Bankhead, The Big Show began November 5, 1950, on NBC with a stellar line-up of guests: Fred Allen, Mindy Carson, Jimmy Durante, José Ferrer, Portland Hoffa, Frankie Laine, Russell Knight, Paul Lukas, Ethel Merman, Danny Thomas and Meredith Willson. To make sure no one missed the launch, NBC ran in Sunday newspapers across the country an illustrated advertisement displaying headshots of Allen, Bankhead, Carson, Durante and Merman.

Bankhead benefited from a first-class musical director in Willson. Ace’s staff writers included Frank Wilson (who adapted movie scripts and short stories for the dramatic segments), George Foster, Mort Greene and Selma Diamond. Fred Allen, a longtime friend of Goodman Ace, contributed as well and is considered (at least by historian Nachman) to have been the show’s unofficial script doctor.

The show’s success was credited to Bankhead’s notorious wit and ad-libbing ability in addition to the show’s superior scripting. She included renowned ad-libbers in the show—particularly Fred Allen (he and his longtime sidekick and wife, Portland Hoffa, appeared so often they could have been the show’s regular co-hosts) and Groucho Marx, both of whom appeared on the first season’s finale and appeared jointly on three other installments.

Key Dates

The Big Show premiered on November 5, 1950, and ran for a year-and-a-half until April 20, 1952. The show’s early episodes were successful, and the program stayed on Sunday nights from 6:00-7:30pm ET for its first season, shifting to 6:30-8:00pm ET in its second.

Other Information

NBC went full-throttle in an attempt to keep radio from its predicted death, and The Big Show was thought to be a key to that effort. Newsweek stated it was “the biggest bang to hit radio since TV started.” As if to prove big bang and big bucks were mutual partners, some $100,000 could be budgeted for a single installment.

However, the show’s failure to pull the audience needed to keep it alive longer than two years might also have been due to the former NBC hits now nestling on rival CBS, including The Jack Benny Program (directly opposite The Big Show), Amos ‘n’ Andy and Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy.

Three 30-minute programs replaced The Big Show: Dimension X at 6 p.m. Eastern Time, The Amazing Mr. Malone at 6:30 p.m. E.T., and You Can’t Take It With You at 7 p.m. E.T.

Despite its relatively short run, The Big Show is remembered as one of the great final stands, at its best, of classic American old-time radio and—for its wit, colorful music and dramatics—as good as broadcast variety programming got on either medium.