The Garry Moore Show

The Garry Moore Show is the name for several separate American variety series on the CBS television network in the 1950s and 1960s. Hosted by experienced radio performer Garry Moore, the series helped launch the careers of many comedic talents, such as Dorothy Loudon, Don Adams, George Gobel, Carol Burnett, Don Knotts, Lee Goodman, James Kirkwood, Jr., Lily Tomlin, and Jonathan Winters. The Garry Moore Show garnered a number of Emmy nominations and wins. Origins The show originally started as a radio program; CBS eventually awarded Moore his own early-evening television show in its place. His radio partner since 1940, Durward Kirby, made the move to TV with him, and appeared throughout all three versions of the TV show. Original version (1950–1958) The first incarnation of the show began in June 1950 as a Monday-through-Friday, 30-minute evening series. It was also simulcast on radio. The show changed to a once-weekly, one-hour format by August. Another primetime edition, The Garry Moore Evening Show, alternated with The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show on Thursday nights from September through December 1951. In the fall of 1950, Moore moved to a daytime show on CBS, at first in the early afternoon and later in midmorning. The series featured a relaxed and flexible combination of comedy skits, monologues, singing, and interaction with the studio audience. It was an important commercial success for CBS, and ran in this format until mid-1958.