Let There Be Stars

Country

United States

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

This 1949 variety show showcased up-and-coming Broadway talent discovered by a scout. It originated from Hollywood and used experimental visual techniques for its time.

nostalgicambitiousshort-livedpioneeringlightheartedretrohopefuleducational

What happens

Let There Be Stars is a variety television series that was broadcast on ABC in 1949, the first program to originate in Hollywood for a major TV network. It debuted on September 21, 1949, and ended on November 27, 1949. It was a high-budget show for its time, and used new production techniques such as "Teleparencies", transparencies which could be displayed in the background, faded in or out or dissolved, and changed on the fly. The idea of the program was to highlight up-and-coming actors and actresses who had been found by a talent scout working to cast new performers in Broadway shows. Variety magazine praised the premiere episode in a review, but the program's success did not last. The first seven episodes are stored at the Paley Center for Media. The archive also has a "rough rehearsal kinescope" of episode 5. Peter Marshall was the host. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

• The Admiral Broadway Revue (1949)
• Inside U.S.A. With Chevrolet
• Tonight on Broadway
• Fireball Fun for All (1949)
• Holiday Hotel
• 54th Street Revue
• Hollywood Premiere Theatre (1950)
• The Chesterfield Supper Club (1956)