BLACK HISTORY MONTH: Blues singer Ethel Waters paved the way for Black TV hosts

During the aboriginal improvement of television, and agelong earlier the Civil Rights Movement began successful the 1950s, Black entertainers had opportunities to big TV assortment shows. Several programs, including “The Bob Howard Show,” “The Nat King Cole Show” and Ellis Hazlip’s “Soul!,” were hosted by Black men.

However, a Black pistillate paved the mode for their achievements.

In 1939, Ethel Waters — a blues vocalist and histrion — became the archetypal Black idiosyncratic to big a amusement connected television. “The Ethel Waters Show,” arsenic described by the writer Donald Bogle successful his publication “Primetime Blues,” included a conception of Waters’ show successful the play “Mamba’s Daughters,” positive skits with different Black actors.

Ron Simon, curator of the Paley Center for Media, said that nary known recordings of “The Ethel Waters Show” beryllium from this experimental clip for tv networks specified arsenic NBC, CBS and DuMont.

“NBC was looking for each sorts of ideas, and they wanted to spot if Waters would beryllium a premier idiosyncratic to connection a assortment show,” Simon said. “It was a singular feat to big that show.” The experimentation worked, resulting successful numerous15-minute and sometimes longer assortment shows hosted by Black entertainers.

“In the precocious 1940s and ’50s, it was not antithetic to person 15-minute shows,” said Simon. “Television was inactive experimenting arsenic to what clip and however agelong shows should be. It was conscionable a mode of trying to recognize people’s habits of tv and much astir however the audiences would respond to television.”

In 1949, CBS launched “The Bob Howard Show,” a one-man amusement aired 5 days a week, with the big singing and playing the piano. It lasted for 13 episodes.

In 1948, singer-musician Bob Howard hosted “The Bob Howard Show” connected CBS. (CBS via Getty Images)

The aforesaid year, CBS broadcast “Sugar Hill Times” 3 days a week — a live, one-hour-long amusement hosted by Harlem’s Apollo Theater emcee Willie Bryant. Its guests included well-known stars specified arsenic Harry Belafonte and Pearl Bailey. The show’s sanction was changed to “Uptown Jubilee” and it yet became “Sugar Hill Times.” The show’s format besides changed — it became a bi-weekly, half-hour programme – but it was canceled aft 5 episodes.

“In television, truthful overmuch of primetime was a antheral domain,” said Simon. This changed concisely erstwhile Hazel Scott, a classically-trained euphony prodigy who studied astatine Julliard, made a sanction for herself successful New York nightclubs and aboriginal arsenic an actress. She became the 2nd Black pistillate to big a TV assortment show.

“The Hazel Scott Show,” a premix of jazz, classical, boogie-woogie and blues music, debuted July 3, 1950, connected the DuMont Television Network. The play section New York amusement was changed to 3 days a week.

Piano virtuoso Hazel Scott’s amusement premiered successful 1950 and was yet aired 3 times a week. (Musical America / James Kriegsmann / Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images)

At the time, Scott was joined to the Rev. Adam Clayton Powell Jr., a U.S. congressman and influential curate from Harlem. She became an planetary sensation due to the fact that of her virtuosity, specified arsenic the endowment to play 2 pianos simultaneously, and she was besides adored for her pleasant character. Reviewing her show, Variety mag said the “most engaging element” of the amusement “is the Scott personality, which is dignified, yet relaxed and versatile.”

Scott was besides an ardent activistic against radical discrimination. She often spoke retired against injustices wrong the euphony and movie industries. She was blacklisted due to the fact that her sanction had appeared successful the right-wing “Red Channels: A Report of Communist Influence connected Radio and Television” with different performers suspected of being communist sympathizers.

“She was listed successful Red Channel – antithetic performers were – and that possibly hampered her vocation successful television,” said Simon.

“The Hazel Scott Show” ended connected September 29, 1950, 3 months aft it began. But Scott’s acquisition did not impede the ambitions of aboriginal Black TV hosts. In 1952, “The Billy Daniels Show,” premiered connected ABC. The Sunday nighttime amusement lasted 13 weeks.

“He was a truly bully entertainer,” Simon said. “He was the archetypal 1 to really person a sponsor for his show. One occupation with truthful galore antithetic shows, particularly for Black entertainers, was getting sponsorship that would let the amusement to beryllium underwritten from amusement to show, twelvemonth to year.”

Early networks lone sponsored a caller amusement until a firm sponsor could beryllium found. In the aboriginal days of television, advertisers were hesitant astir being associated with Black entertainers.

In 1956, during the 2nd twelvemonth of the Civil Rights Movement, “The Nat King Cole Show ” – a play primetime amusement by the fashionable vocalist and pianist – appeared connected CBS.

Cole’s guests included an array of Black and achromatic entertainers, from Mahalia Jackson to Mel Torme. J.P. Shanley of The New York Times said Cole was offering “a refreshing philharmonic diversion.” Shanley wrote, “The premiere made it look similar a astir charismatic investment.”

CBS canceled the amusement successful 1957 due to the fact that of debased ratings and deficiency of a sponsor. Cole told Jet Magazine that “Madison Avenue was acrophobic of the dark.”

At the extremity of the Civil Rights Movement successful 1968, the Black-hosted assortment amusement recovered their mode backmost connected television. That year, Ellis Hazlip became the archetypal Black shaper connected a nationalist tv presumption and helium introduced “Soul!,” his variety-talk show.

Aired connected WNDT-TV, which was rebranded WNET during the tally of Soul!, Hazlip’s critically acclaimed amusement featured guests specified arsenic Nikki Giovanni, Earth, Wind, and Fire, and Muhammad Ali, among others. Soul! secured nationalist and backstage funding, on with a start-up assistance from the Ford Foundation, and became a palmy Black taste show. When the amusement ran retired of backing the adjacent year, the Ford Foundation provided the programme with a three-year, $3.5 cardinal grant.

In 1973, Soul! was cancelled owed to debased backing and unit from authorities and different extracurricular forces who sought to integrate the show’s all-Black contented which they viewed arsenic divisive.

Although galore of the Black assortment shows broadcast betwixt 1939 and the mid-1970s were short-lived, they near an indelible content connected audiences, proving that Black entertainers earned a spot successful tv history.

“It truly showed the creativity and conscionable adventurousness of immoderate of our Black entertainers,” said Simon. “If lone determination could person been immoderate benignant of sponsorship to unrecorded retired and turn connected television, whether it beryllium Billy Daniels oregon Nat Cole oregon Hazel Scott. It would person been bully to spot however they could person developed.”