The Leslie Uggams Show

The Leslie Uggams Show is an American variety television series starring actress/singer Leslie Uggams. The series aired on CBS as part of its 1969 fall lineup, and was the second variety series to feature an African American host, the first since 1956's The Nat King Cole Show.

The Leslie Uggams Show
Dick Van Dyke as the guest for the show's premiere in 1969.
GenreVariety
Written byErnest Chambers
Frank Shaw
Presented byLeslie Uggams
StarringJohnny Brown
Lincoln Kilpatrick
Narrated byRoger Carroll
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes10
Production
ProducersErnest Chambers
David Winters
Running time45–48 minutes
Release
Original networkCBS
Audio formatMonaural
Original releaseSeptember 28 (1969-09-28) –
December 14, 1969 (1969-12-14)

Synopsis

The Leslie Uggams Show gave Uggams, who had first come to wide public notice as a singer on the early 1960s hit Sing Along With Mitch, her own program to showcase herself and other black performers; unlike other early variety programs which were hosted by black entertainers but featured a large number of whites in the cast, only one of Uggams' regulars, comedian Dennis Allen, was white. A recurring feature of the program was the ongoing series of sketches entitled "Sugar Hill", which dealt with the lives of middle class black family in a large American city.[1][2]

The series was given the challenging time slot of 9:00 P.M. on Sunday nights which in the early to mid 60's had proven to be unsuccessful for such variety shows as The Judy Garland Show and The Garry Moore Show since the chief competition for both programs was the venerable western series Bonanza. When Moore's show was cancelled in January, 1967, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour[3] premiered and immediately became a huge hit for CBS managing to more than hold its own against Bonanza. However, in the spring of 1969, CBS pulled that variety series due to its controversial content and scheduled Uggams's show for the 1969-1970 fall season. Scheduled opposite Bonanza, which was still a massive hit for NBC, and a series of fairly recent (by the standards of the era) movies on ABC, The Leslie Uggams Show had difficulty developing an audience[4] and was cancelled in December 1969.[1][5] The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour took over the Sunday night slot on CBS starting on 21 December 1969,[6] with Hee Haw taking over Campbell's vacated Wednesday night slot.[7]

Cast

Episodes
No.TitleOriginal air date
1"Episode 1"September 28, 1969 (1969-09-28)
Guest stars: David Frye, Dick Van Dyke, Marc Copage, Sly & the Family Stone
2"Episode 2"October 5, 1969 (1969-10-05)
Guest stars: Glenn Ash, Don Knotts
3"Episode 3"October 12, 1969 (1969-10-12)
Guest stars: John Banner, Robert Clary, Bob Crane, Larry Hovis, Werner Klemperer
4"Episode 4"October 26, 1969 (1969-10-26)
Guest stars: Kaye Ballard, Raymond Burr, The Turtles
5"Episode 5"November 2, 1969 (1969-11-02)
Guest stars: Jim Nabors, Smith, Jackie Vernon
6"Episode 6"November 9, 1969 (1969-11-09)
Guest stars: Bob Denver, David Frye, Robert Guillaume, Johnny Mathis
7"Episode 7"November 16, 1969 (1969-11-16)
Guest stars: Ken Berry, David Frye, Dick Van Dyke
8"Episode 8"November 23, 1969 (1969-11-23)
Guest stars: Sammy Davis, Jr., Bobby Goldsboro, Mitch Miller, Sammy Shore
9"Episode 9"December 7, 1969 (1969-12-07)
Guest stars: Ruth Buzzi, Mike Connors, Stevie Wonder
10"Episode 10"December 14, 1969 (1969-12-14)
Guest stars: Glenn Ash, Kaye Ballard, The Temptations

References
  1. "The Leslie Uggams Show". museum.tv. Retrieved 2008-11-03.
  2. Benigno, Scotti (9 December 1969). "Keys & Cues: Tucker's Television Appearance Recalls His Sarasota Concert". Sarasota Journal. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  3. Carrol, Gretchen (21 August 1969). "Pre-Series Work Tires Leslie". The Pittsburgh Press. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  4. Blank, Edward L. (15 January 1970). "Her Show Least Liked: Leslie Wins Wrong Poll". The Pittsburgh Press. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  5. Gould, Jack (16 November 1969). "Uggams show cancellation protested for wrong reasons". Eugene Register-Guard. New York Times. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  6. Smith, Cecil (27 January 1970). "On 'Mission: Impossible'—British Actress Loves American TV". Toledo Blade. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  7. Gaver, Jack (12 December 1969). "Television Highlights". The Dispatch. Lexington, NC. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
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