The show was broadcast live, primarily on Sunday afternoons at 4:00pm EST, from November 9, 1952, until April 16, 1961. Omnibus originally aired on CBS, and later on Sunday evenings on ABC. The show was never commercially viable on its own, and sources of funding dwindled after the Ford Foundation ended its sponsorship in 1957.[1] That year, the program moved to NBC, where it was irregularly scheduled until 1961. The show's first season had an audience of 4 million, which grew to 5.7 million at its peak in 1957.[1] ABC aired a brief revival of the series in 1980-1981.[5]
The series won more than 65 awards, including eight Emmy Awards (it was nominated for thirteen)[6] and two Peabody Awards.[7] The series is held at the Library of Congress and Global ImageWorks, among other archives. The BernsteinOmnibus programs were released in a 4-DVD set for Region 1[8] and Region 2 in 2010.
ProgrammingEdit
The show, hosted by Alistair Cooke in his American television debut, featured diverse programming about science, the arts, and the humanities. The program featured original works by playwrights such as William Saroyan, interviews with public figures such as architect Frank Lloyd Wright, and performances by many of the most prominent entertainers of the day such as Jack Benny and Orson Welles. A heavily abridged version of Shakespeare's King Lear starring Orson Welles, staged by Peter Brook and directed by Andrew McCullough , was telecast on 18 October 1953 on CBS. Leonard Bernstein and Jonathan Winters made their first television appearances in the series. Bernstein gave his first televised music lectures on the program, and conducted one of the earliest telecasts of excerpts from Handel's Messiah on it. The best remembered episode featuring Bernstein was his first, transmitted on November 14, 1954: an analysis of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony in which the conductor demonstrated what the music might have been like if Beethoven had left some of his discarded music sketches in the symphony.
Hans Conried was featured in the 1958 episode "What Makes Opera Grand?", an analysis by Leonard Bernstein showing the powerful effect of music in opera.[9] Conried played Marcello in a spoken dramatization of act 3 of Puccini's La bohème. The program demonstrated the effect of the music in La bohème by having actors speak portions of the libretto in English, followed by opera singers singing the same lines in the original Italian.[10]
^ abcdeWilliam M. Jones; Andrew Walworth (13 December 1999). "Saudek's Omnibus: ambitious forerunner of public TV". Current. Retrieved 18 February 2019. During its eight-season run, Omnibus aired on all three commercial networks – four seasons on CBS, one on ABC and the last three on NBC.
^Robert Saudek, "Experiment in Video Programming", The New York Times, 9 November 1952, 13(X).
^Anna McCarthy, The Citizen Machine: Governing by Television in 1950s America, New York: The New Press, 2010, p. 18. "In statements such as this, Cold War liberals diagnosed the potential contradictions emerging from the postwar economy's emphasis on mass consumption in terms of the inadequate moral education of the populace; the cure was the administration of culture by an elite class immune to the seductions of the mass. Hence television programs such as Omnibus, sponsored by the Ford Foundation."
^Shales, Tom (1980-06-15). "TV's 'Omnibus' Returns -- Daring To Be Great?". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2023-07-12.
^"Omnibus (NBC) – Awards & Nomintions". The Emmys. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
^"Search results: Omnibus". The Peabody Awards. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
^Bernstein, Leonard. Omnibus: The Historic TV Broadcasts on 4 DVDs. E1 Entertainment, 2010. ISBN1-4172-3265-X.
^"What Makes Opera Grand? in Omnibus (script)". Leonard Bernstein. 23 March 1958. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
omnibus, american, program, omnibus, american, commercially, sponsored, educational, variety, television, series, omnibusleonard, bernstein, debut, appearance, 1954genrevarietydeveloped, byrobert, saudek, ford, foundationdirected, byandrew, mccullough, seymour. Omnibus was an American commercially sponsored educational variety television series OmnibusLeonard Bernstein s debut appearance 1954GenreVarietyDeveloped byRobert Saudek and the Ford FoundationDirected byAndrew McCullough 44 eps Seymour Robbie 24 Charles S Dubin 22 Bob Banner 16 Tad Danielewski 12 Elliot Silverstein 12 William A Graham 10 Presented byAlistair CookeCountry of originUnited StatesOriginal languageEnglishNo of seasons8 1 or 9 2 No of episodes152ProductionRunning time90 min in first five seasons or 60 90 min in later seasonsProduction companiesFord FoundationRobert Saudek AssociatesReleaseOriginal networkCBS 4 seasons 1952 1956 ABC 1 season 1956 1957 NBC 3 1 seasons 1957 1961 or 4 2 Original releaseNovember 9 1952 1952 11 09 April 16 1961 1961 04 16 Contents 1 History 2 Programming 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksHistory EditOmnibus was created by the Ford Foundation which sought to increase the education level of the American public The show was conceived by James Webb Young who hired Robert Saudek as producer Saudek believed that Omnibus could raise the level of American taste with educational entertainment 1 3 4 The show was broadcast live primarily on Sunday afternoons at 4 00pm EST from November 9 1952 until April 16 1961 Omnibus originally aired on CBS and later on Sunday evenings on ABC The show was never commercially viable on its own and sources of funding dwindled after the Ford Foundation ended its sponsorship in 1957 1 That year the program moved to NBC where it was irregularly scheduled until 1961 The show s first season had an audience of 4 million which grew to 5 7 million at its peak in 1957 1 ABC aired a brief revival of the series in 1980 1981 5 The series won more than 65 awards including eight Emmy Awards it was nominated for thirteen 6 and two Peabody Awards 7 The series is held at the Library of Congress and Global ImageWorks among other archives The Bernstein Omnibus programs were released in a 4 DVD set for Region 1 8 and Region 2 in 2010 Programming EditThe show hosted by Alistair Cooke in his American television debut featured diverse programming about science the arts and the humanities The program featured original works by playwrights such as William Saroyan interviews with public figures such as architect Frank Lloyd Wright and performances by many of the most prominent entertainers of the day such as Jack Benny and Orson Welles A heavily abridged version of Shakespeare s King Lear starring Orson Welles staged by Peter Brook and directed by Andrew McCullough was telecast on 18 October 1953 on CBS Leonard Bernstein and Jonathan Winters made their first television appearances in the series Bernstein gave his first televised music lectures on the program and conducted one of the earliest telecasts of excerpts from Handel s Messiah on it The best remembered episode featuring Bernstein was his first transmitted on November 14 1954 an analysis of Beethoven s Fifth Symphony in which the conductor demonstrated what the music might have been like if Beethoven had left some of his discarded music sketches in the symphony Hans Conried was featured in the 1958 episode What Makes Opera Grand an analysis by Leonard Bernstein showing the powerful effect of music in opera 9 Conried played Marcello in a spoken dramatization of act 3 of Puccini s La boheme The program demonstrated the effect of the music in La boheme by having actors speak portions of the libretto in English followed by opera singers singing the same lines in the original Italian 10 See also EditOmnibus British TV programme References Edit a b c d e William M Jones Andrew Walworth 13 December 1999 Saudek s Omnibus ambitious forerunner of public TV Current Retrieved 18 February 2019 During its eight season run Omnibus aired on all three commercial networks four seasons on CBS one on ABC and the last three on NBC a b Brooks Tim Marsh Earle F 2007 The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946 to 2007 Ballantine p 1014 need quotation to verify ISBN missing Robert Saudek Experiment in Video Programming The New York Times 9 November 1952 13 X Anna McCarthy The Citizen Machine Governing by Television in 1950s America New York The New Press 2010 p 18 In statements such as this Cold War liberals diagnosed the potential contradictions emerging from the postwar economy s emphasis on mass consumption in terms of the inadequate moral education of the populace the cure was the administration of culture by an elite class immune to the seductions of the mass Hence television programs such as Omnibus sponsored by the Ford Foundation Shales Tom 1980 06 15 TV s Omnibus Returns Daring To Be Great Washington Post ISSN 0190 8286 Retrieved 2023 07 12 Omnibus NBC Awards amp Nomintions The Emmys Retrieved 30 December 2018 Search results Omnibus The Peabody Awards Retrieved 30 December 2018 Bernstein Leonard Omnibus The Historic TV Broadcasts on 4 DVDs E1 Entertainment 2010 ISBN 1 4172 3265 X What Makes Opera Grand in Omnibus script Leonard Bernstein 23 March 1958 Retrieved April 6 2017 What Makes Opera Grand at IMDbExternal links EditOmnibus With Alistair Cooke s channel on YouTubeRSA Venture LLC Omnibus footage library Global ImageWorks dd Omnibus Encyclopedia of Television Museum of Broadcast Communications Omnibus at The Interviews An Oral History of Television Omnibus at IMDb Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Omnibus American TV program amp oldid 1173796632, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
