Nelson Riddle
Orchestra Leader
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The Nat King Cole Show: With Nat 'King' Cole, Nelson Riddle, The Randy Van Horne Singers, The Cheerleaders. The popular singer hosts a muscial variety show.
- (68)
- 1956-11-05
- Music
- 15
- The Nat King Cole TV Show
- Top Quality TV That Could Never Find A Sponsor
- From Jazz Pianist to Million-Selling Singer
- Superstardom & More Hits
- The Nat King Cole Show Goes on The Air
- A High Quality Show Gets Even Better
- The Impact of Racial Prejudice
- Advertisers Remain Unimpressed
- The Jackie Robinson of Television
Old King Cole was a merry old soul, and a merry old soul was he. But in December of 1957, his namesake, Nat King Cole, was anything but merry. Nat was a superstar singer whose records were selling in the millions all around the world. That stardom had landed him his own television variety program, which had been broadcast nationwide for the past 13...
The program had seemed to have all the ingredients necessary for success. It had top notch production values, booked the very best musical and variety talent in the land as guests, and in Nat had a host who was one of the most popular and personable singers in the world. But the one thing it did not have, and was never able to get, was a national s...
Born in Montgomery, Alabama, on March 17, 1919, Nathaniel Adams Coles was the son of a Baptist pastor. He started learning to play the piano at the age of 4, taught by his mother, the choir director at his father’s First Baptist Church. Nat quickly revealed an extraordinary talent on the keyboard. He was so good that he left school at the age of 15...
By the mid 1950s Nat King Cole was a worldwide superstar due to a string of hits, such as "Mona Lisa," "Nature Boy," "(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66," and "Unforgettable." He was a frequent guest star on a number of TV variety programs of the time, including The Ed Sullivan Show, The Jackie Gleason Show, The Red Skelton Hour, Cavalcade of Stars, and ...
The Nat King Cole Showpremiered on NBC on November 5, 1956. Initially, it was a 15-minute program broadcast on Mondays from 7:30 pm to 7:45 pm. That was a prime timeslot, indicating that NBC had high hopes for the show. But, there was a major problem from the very beginning. When that first broadcast of Nat’s show hit the airwaves, it did so withou...
NBC was just as dedicated. In the absence of a national sponsor, they were able to cobble together a group of around 30 local advertisers who provided some revenue. When the initial ratings for the show were mediocre, instead of backing away, NBC actually increased it from a 15-minute to a half hour broadcast, and gave it a bigger production budget...
Nat and his production team were committed to removing every obstacle they could to the show’s acceptance. Well aware of the prevailing racial prejudices of the time, Nat was very careful about how he interacted with his guest stars – particularly white females. As is common in show business, Nat was used to exchanging hugs and kisses with other pe...
None of this made any difference to advertising agencies terrified of Southern reaction to a black man hosting his own television show, and being shown as equal to whites in the process. Even though none of the 30 local sponsors ever reported any problems, trepidation among the advertising executives of Madison Avenue kept them from even attempting...
Part of Nat’s bitterness at the ad men’s timidity arose because he was well aware of the importance of his history-making effort. In his Ebony magazine article, which was entitled "Why I Quit My TV Show," he spoke of how he viewed the significance of his pioneering program.
Mar 28, 2011 · The conventional wisdom about The Nat King Cole Show is that it was the first network TV program hosted by an African American, that NBC cancelled it after it failed to attract a sponsor, and that potential advertisers were reluctant to sign on for fear that their products would be boycotted by disgruntled Southerners. While based in fact, none ...
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Apr 19, 2024 · Cole’s popularity allowed him to become the first African American to host a network variety program, The Nat King Cole Show, which debuted on NBC television in 1956. The show fell victim to the bigotry of the times, however, and was canceled after one season; few sponsors were willing to be associated with a Black entertainer.
Feb 15, 2011 · Today, iTunes will begin to release a set of remastered show episodes from the Cole family vault. Apple says 25 shows in groups of four will be offered over the next six months. Cole's...
