Chance of a Lifetime is an American television competitive talent show that began on ABC on September 6, 1950,[1] and aired on ABC and DuMont between 1952 and 1956.
Three professional performers, usually singers, dancers or instrumentalists, competed. In the early version of the show, there were four contestants with the winner chosen by votes tallied by attendants in the audience.
In the later version, the winner of the first half, determined by an audience applause meter, then competed against a returning champion in the second half. After both champion and challenger, in that order, have performed, the audience applause meter determines the champion, who receives $1000 cash, the opportunity to return the following week, and a week's engagement at a popular nightspot.
Broadcast historyedit
John Reed King was the host of the 1950 version of the show,[1] which debuted on ABC on September 20, 1950. Dennis James replaced King in 1952, and that version ended on August 20, 1953.[2] King returned to host the DuMont version, which ran from September 11, 1953, to June 17, 1955.[citation needed] The show moved to ABC on July 3, 1955, with Dennis James as host.[3] It ran until June 23, 1956. In 1954, comedian Jonathan Winters made his TV debut on the DuMont version of the show. Also in 1954, Diahann Carroll appeared on the show as a contestant four weeks in a row.
Productionedit
The 1950 version of the program originated at WJZ-TV, with Bendix as the sponsor. Robert G. Jennings was the producer, and Charles Harrell was the director.[1]
Episode statusedit
One episode of the DuMont version is held in the J. Fred MacDonald collection at the Library of Congress. Another episode, from the ABC run, is linked below.
Fifteen episodes are held by the UCLA Film and Television Archive. These include two episodes from 1951, eight from 1953, two from 1954, and three from 1955.[4]
^ abc"Debuts, Highlights, Changes (Continued)". Ross Reports on Television including The Television Index. September 3, 1950. p. 2. Retrieved September 17, 2022.
^McNeil, Alex (1996). Total Television: the Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present (4th ed.). New York, New York: Penguin Books USA, Inc. p. 154. ISBN0-14-02-4916-8.
^"'Chance' Exits DuM In Shift to ABC-TV". Variety. June 1, 1955. p. 24. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
^"UCLA Library Catalog - Titles". cinema.library.ucla.edu. Archived from the original on 11 July 2012. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows, Third edition (New York: Ballantine Books, 1964) ISBN0-345-31864-1
External linksedit
Chance of a Lifetime at IMDB
DuMont historical website
October 28, 2023
chance, lifetime, series, other, uses, chance, lifetime, disambiguation, chance, lifetime, american, television, competitive, talent, show, that, began, september, 1950, aired, dumont, between, 1952, 1956, chance, lifetimepresented, bydennis, james, john, reed. For other uses see Chance of a Lifetime disambiguation Chance of a Lifetime is an American television competitive talent show that began on ABC on September 6 1950 1 and aired on ABC and DuMont between 1952 and 1956 Chance of a LifetimePresented byDennis James ABC John Reed King DuMont Country of originUnited StatesProductionRunning time 25 minutesReleaseOriginal networkABC 1952 1953 and 1955 1956 DuMont 1953 1955 Original release1952 1952 June 23 1956 1956 06 23 Contents 1 Format 2 Broadcast history 3 Production 4 Episode status 5 See also 6 References 7 Bibliography 8 External linksFormat editThree professional performers usually singers dancers or instrumentalists competed In the early version of the show there were four contestants with the winner chosen by votes tallied by attendants in the audience In the later version the winner of the first half determined by an audience applause meter then competed against a returning champion in the second half After both champion and challenger in that order have performed the audience applause meter determines the champion who receives 1000 cash the opportunity to return the following week and a week s engagement at a popular nightspot Broadcast history editJohn Reed King was the host of the 1950 version of the show 1 which debuted on ABC on September 20 1950 Dennis James replaced King in 1952 and that version ended on August 20 1953 2 King returned to host the DuMont version which ran from September 11 1953 to June 17 1955 citation needed The show moved to ABC on July 3 1955 with Dennis James as host 3 It ran until June 23 1956 In 1954 comedian Jonathan Winters made his TV debut on the DuMont version of the show Also in 1954 Diahann Carroll appeared on the show as a contestant four weeks in a row Production editThe 1950 version of the program originated at WJZ TV with Bendix as the sponsor Robert G Jennings was the producer and Charles Harrell was the director 1 Episode status editOne episode of the DuMont version is held in the J Fred MacDonald collection at the Library of Congress Another episode from the ABC run is linked below Fifteen episodes are held by the UCLA Film and Television Archive These include two episodes from 1951 eight from 1953 two from 1954 and three from 1955 4 See also editList of programs broadcast by the DuMont Television Network List of surviving DuMont Television Network broadcastsReferences edit a b c Debuts Highlights Changes Continued Ross Reports on Television including The Television Index September 3 1950 p 2 Retrieved September 17 2022 McNeil Alex 1996 Total Television the Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present 4th ed New York New York Penguin Books USA Inc p 154 ISBN 0 14 02 4916 8 Chance Exits DuM In Shift to ABC TV Variety June 1 1955 p 24 Retrieved September 20 2023 UCLA Library Catalog Titles cinema library ucla edu Archived from the original on 11 July 2012 Retrieved 27 January 2022 Bibliography editDavid Weinstein The Forgotten Network DuMont and the Birth of American Television Philadelphia Temple University Press 2004 ISBN 1 59213 245 6 Alex McNeil Total Television Fourth edition New York Penguin Books 1980 ISBN 0 14 024916 8 Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows Third edition New York Ballantine Books 1964 ISBN 0 345 31864 1External links editChance of a Lifetime at IMDB DuMont historical website episode of Chance of a Lifetime Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Chance of a Lifetime TV series amp oldid 1176176888, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
