Max Liebman Presents
Also known asMax Liebman Spectaculars
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes28
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseSeptember 12, 1954 (1954-09-12) –
June 9, 1956 (1956-06-09)

Max Liebman Presents, aka Max Liebman Spectaculars, is an American television musical variety series, presented monthly in a 90-minute format on NBC, beginning September 12, 1954, and ending on June 6, 1956. Throughout the show's run, episodes were broadcast on Saturdays beginning at 9 p.m. Eastern Time. In the second season, the same title was also used for a show with a different format on Sundays beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET.[1]

Overview

Saturday episodes consisted mainly of musical comedies,[1] the first of which was Satins and Spurs.[2] They included Babes in Toyland, Best Foot Forward, Lady in the Dark, and The Merry Widow. Featured performers included John Conte, Robert Cummings, Dennis Day, Dave Garroway, Edward Everett Horton, Ann Jeffreys, Jack E. Leonard, and Marilyn Maxwell.[1]

Episodes on Sundays were musical revues. Bambi Linn and Rod Alexander formed a dance team that appeared regularly, and Charles Sanford's orchestra often provided music. Among the guest stars were Judy Holliday, Steve Allen, Frank Sinatra,[1] Marcel Marceau, Tony Randall, Ann Sothern and Maurice Chevalier.

Pat Weaver, who was president of NBC then, considered "a string of high-profile ninety-minute spectaculars" as a way "to court the light viewer" of television.[2] However, productions that cost $500,000 (Lady in the Dark) and $300,000 (Satins and Spurs) "were trounced in the ratings by much cheaper programming".[2]

Production

Max Liebman produced and directed the program.[2] Authors included Billy Friedberg, Will Glickman, Al Schwartz, Fred Saidy, Neil Simon,[3] and Elmer Rice. Max Liebman produced and directed. Choreographer James Starbuck was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography for his work on the program in 1956.[4]

Sponsors included Oldsmobile[5] Hazel Bishop, Sunbeam, and Reynolds Metals.[6]

Capitol Records released a 10-inch long-playing original-cast album that contained eight songs from the show's Satins and Spurs episode.[7]

Selected episodes of Max Liebman Presents
Date Title Actors
November 7, 1954FanfareSteve Allen, Judy Holliday, Dick Shawn, Frank Sinatra, Jacques Tati[8]
January 2, 1955Good TimesJudy Holliday, Steve Allen, Dick Shawn, the Ritz Brothers[9]
January 15, 1955Naughty MariettaPatrice Munsel, Alfred Drake[10]
October 1, 1955HeidiWally Cox, Jeannie Carson,[11] Elsa Lanchester, Natalie Wood[1]
January 21, 1956Paris in the SpringtimeDan Dailey, Gale Sherwood, Helen Gallagher, Jack Whiting, Carleton Carpenter[12]
April 14, 1956The Adventures of Marco PoloAlfred Drake, Doretta Morrow[13]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle F. (June 24, 2009). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present. Random House Publishing Group. p. 871. ISBN 978-0-307-48320-1. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Kessler, Kelly (April 1, 2020). Broadway in the Box: Television's Lasting Love Affair with the Musical. Oxford University Press. pp. 39–40. ISBN 978-0-19-067404-5. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  3. ↑ "Other Network Changes & Additions". Ross Reports on Television including The Television Index. January 31, 1955. p. 1. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  4. ↑ Kaplan, Mike (1981). Variety International Showbusiness Reference. Garland Publishing. p. 781. ISBN 9780824093419.
  5. ↑ "NBC's Auto Presentation Puts Finger on 1/2-Hr. TV". Billboard. June 11, 1955. p. 2. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
  6. ↑ "TV Network Premieres". Variety. September 8, 1954. p. 24. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  7. ↑ "Cap Rides 300G NBC-TV Color Show With 'Satins and Spurs' Cast Album". Variety. September 8, 1954. p. 50. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  8. ↑ Terrace, Vincent (June 6, 2013). Television Specials: 5,336 Entertainment Programs, 1936-2012, 2d ed. McFarland. p. 150. ISBN 978-1-4766-1240-9. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  9. ↑ Rich, Allen (January 1, 1955). "Listening Post and TV Review". Valley Times. California, North Hollywood. p. 18. Retrieved March 4, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "'Yellow Jack' and 'Naughty Marietta' Are TV Features". The Kansas City Star. Missouri, Kansas City. January 9, 1955. p. 89. Retrieved March 4, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "TV Schedules Are Loaded This Week". The Courier-Journal. Kentucky, Louisville. September 25, 1955. p. 97. Retrieved March 4, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ Altman, Allan (2015) [1956]. Paris in the Springtime (DVD liner notes). DVD 4582. Pleasantville, NY: Video Artists International, Inc. back cover.
  13. ↑ "Max Liebman Show, Baseball Will Highlight TV Offerings This Week". The Franklin Evening Star. Indiana, Franklin. April 7, 1956. p. 5. Retrieved March 4, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.


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