The Alan Young Show


The Alan Young Show is an American radio and television series presented in diverse formats over a nine-year period and starring English born comedian Alan Young.

Radio

The series began on NBC Radio as a summer replacement situation comedy in 1944, featuring vocalist Bea Wain. It then moved to ABC Radio with Jean Gillespie portraying Young's girlfriend Betty. The program was next broadcast by NBC for a 1946-47 run and was off in 1948. When it returned to NBC in 1949, Louise Erickson played Betty and Jim Backus was heard as wealthy and snobbish playboy Hubert Updike III, a character he later adapted as Thurston Howell III in Gilligan's Island.

Television

In 1950 The Alan Young Show moved to CBS television as a variety, sketch comedy show. Each program typically contained a monologue, one or two songs by a vocalist and two skits. Regulars included Polly Bergen, Ben Wright, Joseph Kearns, Mabel Paige, Phillips Tead and the Lud Gluskin Orchestra. Nina Bara was also a featured comedienne. The show finished at No. 22 in the Nielsen ratings for the 1950-1951 season.
The show went on hiatus in March, 1952. When it returned for its final season in February, 1953, the tone and format of the show changed into the more conventional sitcom, with Young playing a bank teller with Dawn Addams cast as his girlfriend and Melville Faber portraying his son. The show alternated weeks with Ken Murray's The Ken Murray Show under the title Time to Smile. In the last two weeks of the season, the format returned to its earlier style, but it was cancelled at the end of the season. The Alan Young Show received two Emmy Awards during its run.

Cast

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