SUNDAY SPECTACULAR, THE: ATLANTIC CITY HOLIDAY (TV)
Summary
One in this series of special presentations. This musical variety special opens with Bill Haley and His Comets singing "Hot Dog, Buddy, Buddy" as dancers lindy to the rock 'n' roll number. Highlights of the program include the following: host Jack Carter tells Polly Bergen that he's just come down to Atlantic City from New York, where he's co-starring in the Broadway musical "Mr. Wonderful," to present Miss Universe (Carol Morris) with the key to the city; after a bit of comic banter, Carter and Bergen sing "Without You I'm Nothing" from "Mr. Wonderful"; later while looking through the boardwalk telescope, Carter spies the planet Venus and also spots the voluptuous Venusian Jayne Mansfield lounging in a tub of bubbles and singing "Heat Wave"; Mansfield plays a brainy Venusian named Galatea, who complains she's never been appreciated by men; she and Pygmalion (played by former prizefighter Rocky Graziano) decide to visit Earth to find Miss Universe and tell her that there's more to the Universe than the planet Earth; when they arrive on Earth, they join sunbathers Jack Carter and Polly Bergen, who offer to show them the popular sights; they are drawn to a commotion and find a crowd surrounding pop crooner Pat Boone, who sings "I Almost Lost My Mind" and "Tutti Frutti"; then they visit a movie theater where Rocky Graziano's film biography "Somebody Up There Likes Me" is playing and all (including Graziano) attempt to imitate Graziano's distinctive style of speech; next Carter does a comedy routine about the popularity of horror films and takes Mansfield to the 500 Club where Polly Bergen is the star attraction; Bergen sings "That's Entertainment," "Another Opening, Another Show," and "It All Depends on You"; then they all go to the Rock 'n' Roll convention where the "King of Rock 'n' Roll," Bill Haley and His Comets perform "Shake, Rattle, and Roll" and back up Jack Carter who sings and dances to "Rip It Up"; the program switches to a live pick-up from Atlantic City's Steel Pier where emcee Jack Montez presents the Dutch Dreschler family performing an aerial balancing act, Aquatic clowns doing a comic bathing beauty routine, and the Carver's Steel Pier diving horse Diema jumping forty feet into a pool of water; the program then returns to the 500 Club where Polly Bergen sings and dances to "I Could Have Danced All Night"; next, back on the boardwalk Galatea is introduced to the American staples hot dogs and soda pop; Jack Carter's assertion that one meets everyone one knows on the boardwalk is borne out when they encounter a talkative woman named Frieda (played by Jean Stapleton); next Jonathan Winters interviews (and portrays) the following people on the boardwalk: Elwood P. Suggins, who describes his Atlantic City vacation; Grandma Maude Frickert, who is suffering from a bad sunburn; and a blowhard conventioneer; next there is a comic bathing beauty dance number which traces the evolution of the bathing suit from the turn-of-the-century garb to the 1920s and the bikini while the chorus sings "Don't Put a Tax on a Beautiful Girl"; finally, Jack Carter presents the Iowa-born Miss Universe, Carol Morris, with the key to Atlantic City (and the key to his car); the story concludes with a happy ending in which everyone gets married and Pygmalion and Galatea return to Venus; Carter then introduces guest stars Rocky Graziano and Jayne Mansfield; and for the finale, Bill Haley and the Comets perform the hit song "See You Later, Alligator" assisted by Carter, Bergen, Mansfield, Graziano, and Boone. Includes commercials and promos. (This is a black-and-white copy of a color telecast.)
Cataloging of this program was made possible by the Verizon Foundation, 2002.
Details
- NETWORK: NBC
- DATE: August 12, 1956 Sunday 7:30 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:29:29
- COLOR/B&W: B&W
- CATALOG ID: T:02218
- GENRE: Music/Variety
- SUBJECT HEADING: Circus; Comedy; Horses; Music, popular (songs, etc.)
- SERIES RUN: NBC-TV series, 1955-1956
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Commercials - Maybelline automatic eyebrow pencil
- TV - Commercials - Maybelline cosmetics products
- TV - Commercials - U.S. Keds sneakers
- TV - Commercials - U.S. Royal Master tires
- TV - Commercials - United States Rubber products
- TV - Promos - "Frontier" (voice-over only)
- TV - Promos - "The Steve Allen Show" (voice-over only)
- TV - Promos - NBC's coverage of the 1956 Democratic Political Convention (voice only)
CREDITS
- Ernest D. Glucksman … Producer, Produced and Staged by
- Tony Charmoli … Production (Misc.), Musical Numbers Produced and Staged by
- Irving Rosenblum … Associate Producer
- Frank Bunetta … Director
- Garry Simpson … Director (Alantic City Location)
- Lamar Caselli … Direction (Misc.), Associate Director
- Mort Green … Writer
- George Foster … Writer
- Harry Sosnik … Conductor, Music by
- Rouben Ter-Arutunian … Sets designed by
- Jack Carter … Host, Performer, Singer
- Bill Wendel … Announcer
- Polly Bergen … Performer, Singer
- Jayne Mansfield … Performer, Singer, Cast, Galatea
- Pat Boone … Performer, Singer
- Rocky Graziano … Performer, Cast, Pygmalion
- Jonathan Winters … Performer
- Bill Haley … Performer, Singer, Instrumentalist, Guitarist
- Bill Haley and His Comets … Music Group
- Jean Stapleton … Cast, the Screaming Theater Patron and Frieda
- Miss Universe (Carol Morris) … Guest