The Duke (TV series)

The Duke is an American comedy series that aired on NBC from July 2 to September 3, 1954. The series was broadcast live^[2] on Fridays from 8 to 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time.^[3]

The Duke
Genre	Comedy
Written by	Charles Issacs Jack Elinson[1]
Starring	Paul Gilbert Phyllis Coates Allen Jenkins
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	13
Production
Producer	Bill Harmon[1]
Running time	24 mins.
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	July 2 (1954-07-02) – September 3, 1954 (1954-09-03)

Synopsis

Duke London a/k/a Duke Zenlee^[4] was a professional boxer who was also an accomplished painter. Through his artwork he met Rudy Cromwell, who offered to teach him to live a more cultured life.^[5] Duke left the boxing ring and opened a nightclub called The Duke's, but both his former promoter and trainer kept trying to persuade him to make a prize-fighting comeback.^[2]

Cast

• Paul Gilbert as Duke London^[6]
• Allen Jenkins as Johnny, Duke's former trainer^[6]
• Phyllis Coates as Gloria, his girlfriend^[6]
• Rudy Cromwell as Claude Stroud, Duke's business partner^[6]
• Sheldon Leonard as Sam Marco, Duke's former fight promoter

Critical response

A review in The New York Times said that The Duke "trudges along with log-grade comedy and some silly situations".^[3]