In the fall of 1963, the big TV news was that three bonafide movie stars were going to host weekly variety shows — Judy Garland, Jerry Lewis and Danny Kaye. By the end of the season, only one of them would still be on the air — the other flamed out spectacularly and the third, after being wrecked by network interference, started again from scratch and found itself in its outstanding final episodes. Along the way, there were ego clashes, blown-out budgets, behind-the-scenes drama, creative upheaval, flat-out sexism and a final gesture of defiance centered around the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
Sources:
Rainbow’s End: The Judy Garland Show, by Coyne Steven Sanders
Television Variety Shows, by David Inman
“Over the Rainbow, and Then Some!,” James Kaplan, Vanity Fair, May 2011
” ‘The Jerry Lewis Show’ Was a $40M Flop, Despite Its Star,” Verne Gay, Newsday, August 21, 2017
“The Danny Kaye Show,” TCM.com
King of Comedy: The Life and Art of Jerry Lewis, by Shawn Levy
“The Danny Kaye Show,” Encyclopedia of Television, Museum of Broadcast Communications
JFK’s Final Days: November 19, 1963, Presidential History Geeks
“The Great Garland Gamble,” Dwight Whitney, TV Guide, October 19, 1963
“Judy Garland and the Show That Failed,” Vernon Scott, TV Guide, May 2, 1964
“Danny Kaye: Satisfied with Perfection,” Richard de Roos, TV Guide, February 1, 1964
“The Seven Faces of Danny Kaye,” Dwight Whitney, TV Guide, January 9, 1965
” ‘The Danny Kaye Show’ Is Not Returning in 1967 After 4 Seasons,” Richard K. Doan, TV Guide, December 17, 1966
“How Jerry Lewis Got What He Wanted,” Richard Gehman, TV Guide, June 15, 1963
“What Happened to Jerry Lewis,” Richard Gehman, TV Guide, December 14, 1963
