October 4, 1956 (1956-10-04) – June 29, 1961 (1961-06-29)
The Ford Show (also known as The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford and The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show) was an American
variety program starring singer and folk humorist
Tennessee Ernie Ford, which aired on
NBC on Thursday evenings from October 4, 1956, to June 29, 1961.[2] The show was sponsored by the
Ford Motor Company, whose founders
shared a last name with the host but had no known relation.[3]
Beginning in September
1958, the show was telecast in
color, and was broadcast from NBC Studios at 3000 W. Alameda Avenue in
Burbank, California.[4] It was also one of the first places that showed
Charles M. Schulz's Peanuts characters in animated form, which was directed by
Bill Melendez, and became one of the most popular segments of his show.[5][3][6][7]
Jo Stafford in 1946, who was working on The Ford Show at the time, was a favorite of servicemen. She went to the dock to meet the Queen Mary to welcome the men back to the U.S., where they nicknamed her "GI Jo".
Photo of Shari Lewis and her puppets Lamb Chop and Charlie Horse from The Ford Show in 1960.
Production notes
The Ford Show was produced and directed by
Bud Yorkin.[9] Television icon
Norman Lear was also a writer on The Ford Show,[1] though he has claimed that
Roland Kibbee was in fact the show's main writer and that he merely wrote the opening monologues.[10][1] Lear has also stated that both Yorkin and Kibbee were in charge on the show's production.[10] The program was officially named not for the host, but for the show's sponsor, the
Ford Motor Company.[11]