Wesley Hyatt

He entered TV an A list superstar in 1950 and maintained that status through his final special in 1996. Much of his work on TV still ranks among the top 100 highest rated shows of all time, from hosting the Academy Awards to his Christmas specials from Vietnam. Given all that, there has not been one book devoted to profiling and analyzing his amazing achievements--until now. Bob Hope on TV: Thanks for the Video Memories summarizes and reviews the television appearances by the man voted in 1985 America's favorite all-time entertainer--when he was 77 years old It profiles nearly 1,000 hours of national TV appearances by "Ol' Ski Nose" by virtually every genre in the medium, starting with all his comedy specials he headlined for almost half a century. Other appearances included are his acting guest shots ranging from I Love Lucy to The Simpsons; his work on close to 200 variety shows and specials; his memorable moments on talk shows, game shows, awards presentations and sporting events; and even his considerable contributions to documentaries and news programs.Laugh again to great jokes and get new insights as nearly forty interviewees share their recollections about working with Bob as guest stars, writers, producers and directors. Bob Hope on TV: Thanks for the Video Memories is a tribute to the impact of one of the brightest stars ever to shine on television.

He entered TV an A list superstar in 1950 and maintained that status through his final special in 1996. Much of his work on TV still ranks among the top 100 highest rated shows of all time, from hosting the Academy Awards to his Christmas specials from Vietnam. Given all that, there has not been one book devoted to profiling and analyzing his amazing achievements--until now. Bob Hope on TV: Thanks for the Video Memories summarizes and reviews the television appearances by the man voted in 1985 America's favorite all-time entertainer--when he was 77 years old It profiles nearly 1,000 hours of national TV appearances by "Ol' Ski Nose" by virtually every genre in the medium, starting with all his comedy specials he headlined for almost half a century. Other appearances included are his acting guest shots ranging from I Love Lucy to The Simpsons; his work on close to 200 variety shows and specials; his memorable moments on talk shows, game shows, awards presentations and sporting events; and even his considerable contributions to documentaries and news programs. Laugh again to great jokes and get new insights as nearly forty interviewees share their recollections about working with Bob as guest stars, writers, producers and directors. Bob Hope on TV: Thanks for the Video Memories is a tribute to the impact of one of the brightest stars ever to shine on television.

This is the complete history of Monday Night Football's 35-year run on ABC, from its inaugural 1970 season through 2005, when the network announced that its longest-running series would move to cable. Chapters cover Monday Night Football's inception, its many lineup changes in the announcers' booth, how it influenced sports coverage on other networks, and the relationship between the NFL and ABC. Appendices provide a list of Monday Night Football cast and crew and seasonal ratings.

Remember the finales of M*A*S*H, Cheers and Seinfeld? Do you know who shot J.R. on Dallas? This entertaining survey recounts these and other memorable events that generated some of American television's biggest audiences when they were first telecast from 1960 to the present. Here you will find the inside stories about the most popular specials, movies, miniseries and series episodes in television history, from Number 100 to the top of the list. Weekly series and recurring specials like the Super Bowl are represented by their highest-rated individual entry to allow a diverse selection. Included are appendices with facts and figures about the Top 100, and a chronological listing of these unforgettable programs.

The Red Skelton Show was on the air for 20 years, the longest-running primetime network comedy variety series on television. It was a top 10 series for nine years--an accomplishment surpassed only by Gunsmoke and Home Improvement. The series has a few unimpressive achievements too, such as becoming the first top 10 series to be cancelled by a network. Here is the history of The Red Skelton Show, beginning with its debut in 1951, one of the top five that year. The show then declined in popularity, moved from CBS to NBC in 1953, slowly rose back to the top. In its glory days of the 1960s it became an hour long show and finished at number two in two different years. The cancellation of the show by CBS in 1970 despite its place in the top 10 was a surprise; the last season back with NBC was a failure. Appendices list cast and crew credits and special guests by season, and offer information on the post-Red Skelton lives of many of the principal players.

Since the early days of television, well before most households had a set, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences has been handing out honors for the industry's best efforts. Now fans can read about their favorites--and perhaps rediscover some forgotten pleasures--in this reference to prime time and nighttime Emmy winners. Beginning with the heated charade contest known as Pantomime Quiz, which won Most Popular Program of 1948 in the first Emmy Awards ceremony (held in 1949), each of more than 100 winning shows gets star treatment with an entry that includes the year of award or awards, air times, hosts, guests, casts and a full discussion of the show's history and run. Many of the entries include original interviews with cast or crew members. With such rich information, each show's entry constitutes a chapter in the history of television through the story of the show and the people who made it happen. The best of variety, drama, game shows, comedies, adventures and many more categories are featured. An appendix offers interesting facts and figures and ranks shows according to such statistics as longest run, longest delay from debut to win, and most Emmys won.

Do you remember the 1959 game show where ABC cancelled a tape featuring a female impersonator (Across the Board)? Ever heard of Snip, the 1976 sitcom starring David Brenner that NBC canned just before it debuted? Almost everyone who has worked on a successful television series has also been on one that flopped. Even during the first thirty years of broadcasting, when NBC, CBS, and ABC were the only networks and not quite so quick to cancel unsuccessful programs, hundreds of shows lasted less than one year. This work tells the stories of those ill-fated series that were cancelled within one year after their premieres. The entries are arranged chronologically from the 1948-1949 through the 1977-1978 seasons, and provide brief descriptions of the shows along with such facts as the type of program each series was; its times, dates, and network; its competition on other networks; and the names of the cast, producer, director and writer. The book also includes information from more than 100 interviews with actors, writers, directors, and producers who worked on the short-lived television series.