The Many Shows of Chevrolet

I don’t give two hoots in hell about cars or car companies, but it just so happens that Chevrolet did sponsor some great radio and television variety shows and that IS our bailiwick, so we thought we’d shine our headlights on the company a minute.

Some sources say that the Chevrolet Motor Company was founded on November 3, 1911; the incorporation papers were filed on November 8. Both may be true at the same time. There were three Chevrolet brothers: Louis (1878-1941), Arthur (1884-1946), and Gaston (1892-1920). The sons of a Swiss watchmaker, the older two were initially interested in bicycle racing, but rapidly upgraded to automobiles as the technology emerged. All were car racers and mechanics as well as inventors and finally manufacturers. Louis immigrated to Montreal first, then moved down to the States. The older two brothers (with others) actually founded the company, after working for Buick. Gaston, a little younger, joined them afterwards. He died in an automobile race at the age of 28.

The firm was 20 years old when they decided to begin getting their name out there over the airwaves. These are some of the shows that promoted them.

Presenting Al Jolson (1932)

Al Jolson was at the peak of his movie fame when he agreed to star on this, his first weekly radio program. The following year he began to appear regularly on Kraft Music Hall, the program he is better remembered for.

The Chevrolet Program (1933-34)

This was Jack Benny’s show, when Chevy briefly sponsored him in the period between between Canada Dry and Jello! At this early juncture he was already developing his famous cast of characters.

Chevrolet Musical Moments (1935-37)

This pre-recorded, daily 15 minute show was apparently heavy on the advertisements and contained strictly music, no comedy/variety . It showcased such talents as David Rubinoff, Hugh Conrad, opera singer Josephine Antoine, Gus Haenschen/Carl Fenton and his orchestra; the Song Smiths; and jazz harp player Casper Reardon.

Chevrolet’s first tv show was The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre (1948-50), an anthology show of dramatic plays, sometimes called Chevrolet on Broadway. Later a 15 minute segment called Chevrolet on Broadway ran in the summer of 1956, starring Snooky Lansen and The Mello-larks, with Bill Wendell as announcer. As for the Chevrolet TV variety shows, they were:

Your Chevrolet Showroom (1953-54)

Cesar Romero (who originally started out as song and dance man in night clubs), hosted this show, and guests included Morey Amsterdam, the Demarco Sisters, Connee Boswell, Polly Bergen, Sid Stone, and about a hundred others.

The Bob Hope Chevy Show (1955-56)

One tends to think of Bob Hope as too big for a weekly TV variety show, and for the most part he was. After his long association with Pepsodent on radio, he tended to restrict himself to periodic specials. He did just four shows under this banner, and Betty Hutton guest hosted one. Gloria Talbott and Lori Nelson were introduced on the shows as “Deb Stars of 1955”. Guests included Shirley MacLaine, Jane Russell, James Mason, Jonathan Winters, The Nick Castle Dancers and dozens of others.

The Dinah Shore Chevy Show (1956-1963)

Easily the most significant and best remembered of the variety shows sponsored by Chevy, this one starred the beloved Southern singer and was mostly focused on music, song, and dance, and was where Dinah first learned the interview skills she bought to her later talk shows. She sang the jingle “See the USA in your Chevrolet” every week, and just about everyone in show business came on as a guest. Among those who appeared most frequently were Carl Reiner (who also wrote for the show) Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, Edie Adams, Art Carney, Shirley MacLaine, Rowan and Martin, and Nanette Fabray. Janet Blair and John Raitt were among those who substituted as host during summer months.

The Pat Boone-Chevy Showroom (1957-60)

This one was a starring vehicle for the squeaky clean pop singer. As it was on at the same time as The Dinah Shore Chevy Show, the company was getting a LOT of network exposure during those years. Woody Allen was briefly head writer on this show! Andy Williams was Boone’s summer replacement in 1958, a kind of warm up for his own tv variety series a couple of years later. Guests who appeared more than once included Joel Grey, Jaye P. Morgan, Jackie Cooper, Shirley Jones, and The McGuire Sisters.

Changing Scene (1970-71)

As you can see the scene really was changing, as Chevrolet didn’t even include their name in the title program anymore, though they were the sponsor. The show consisted of four, groovy, mod specials designed to reflect contemporary tastes (and thus instantly dated!) Gene Kelly hosted the first two, followed by Engelbert Humperdinck, then Robert Culp! Typical musical selections (from the first program) included Kelly singing Simon and Garfunkle’s “Feelin’ Groovy” and Barbara Eden singing “Windmills of Your Mind”. Guests included James Garner, Arte Johnson, Lee Marvin, Marty Allen, The Osmonds, Don Adams, Robert Goulet, John Denver, Johnny Brown, Bernie Kopell, Jud Strunk, Yvonne Wilder, and The Mike Curb Congregation.

For more on show business history, please see No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, and keep an eye out for my upcoming Electric Vaudeville: A Century of Radio and TV Variety.