// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did the clock say at Circus Time? It's a big top hour.
Circus Time is a variety program presented in the United States by television network ABC on Thursday evenings from October 4, 1956, to June 27, 1957.[1]
Circus Time was not an actual circus broadcast but rather a circus-themed program, in which both traditional circus acts and more traditional mainstream forms of entertainment were presented. The host, or "ringmaster" in the show's parlance, was ventriloquist Paul Winchell, who was "assisted" by his dummies Jerry Mahoney and Knucklehead Smiff.[2] Mainstream musical guests appearing on the program at times included; The Diamonds, Mickey and Sylvia, the Dell Vikings and Charlie Gracie.
Martin Stone Associates produced the program. Hartz Mountain Products and Bauer & Black were sponsors.[3]
References
[edit]- ↑ Woolery, George W. (1985). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981, Part II: Live, Film, and Tape Series. The Scarecrow Press. pp. 120–121. ISBN 0-8108-1651-2.
- ↑ Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle (2007). "Circus Time (Variety)". The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946–Present (9 ed.). New York: Ballantine Books. p. 255. ISBN 978-0-345-49773-4. Retrieved September 20, 2026.
- ↑ "'Circus Time' Gets Additional Sponsor". Variety. January 23, 1957. p. 19. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
Bibliography
[edit]- Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946–Present, Ninth edition (New York: Ballantine Books, 2007) ISBN 978-0-345-49773-4
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- 1956 American television series debuts
- 1956 English-language television series debuts
- 1957 American television series endings
- 1957 English-language television series endings
- 1950s American variety television series
- American Broadcasting Company original programming
- American circuses
- Circus television shows
- American non-fiction television series stubs