The Eddie Fisher Show

The Eddie Fisher Show is an American musical comedy/variety television series^[1][2] starring Eddie Fisher. The series alternated on Tuesday nights with The George Gobel Show with episodes running from October 1, 1957 – March 17, 1959 on NBC. George Gobel was a "permanent guest star" on Fisher's program, as Fisher was on Gobel's show. Debbie Reynolds, who was Fisher's wife at the time, occasionally was a guest star.^[3]

The Eddie Fisher Show
Genre	Comedy Music Variety
Written by	Mac Benoff Buddy Bregman Martin Ragaway
Directed by	Barry Shear
Starring	Eddie Fisher George Gobel Debbie Reynolds Gisele MacKenzie Mary Tyler Moore
Theme music composer	Jule Styne (music) Sammy Cahn
Opening theme	As Long as There's Music
Ending theme	As Long as There's Music (instrumental)
Composers	Buddy Bregman Johnny Mann
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	27
Production
Producers	Gil Rodin Berle Adams
Running time	60 minutes
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	October 1, 1957 (1957-10-01) – March 17, 1959 (1959-03-17)
Related
The George Gobel Show

Synopsis

Singer and entertainer Eddie Fisher had just concluded a four-year run on NBC with a 15-minute variety and musical comedy series Coke Time with Eddie Fisher in 1957.^[4] NBC premiered The Eddie Fisher Show on October 1, 1957. The show alternated on Tuesday nights with The George Gobel Show airing from 8:00-9:00 pm for its entire run.^[5]

Cancellation

Fisher was married to actress Debbie Reynolds. The two divorced in 1959 and Fisher went on to marry Elizabeth Taylor. Fisher and Reynolds' divorce was very much publicized and after several months of scandals and unflattering publicity for Fisher, NBC decided to cancel the show with its last episode airing on March 27, 1959.^[6]

Personnel and production

Buddy Bregman and his orchestra provided music on The Eddie Fisher Show In 1957-1958, The Bill Thompson Singers were on the show, as were The Johnny Mann Singers in 1959.^[5] Bregman also arranged music for the program.^[7] The theme song was "As Long As There's Music" by Sammy Kahn and Jule Styne.^[3] Jule Styne was the producer, and Barry Shear was the director. The writers were Herbert Baker, Harvey Orkin, and Joe Quillan.^[8]

Guest stars on the program included The Lennon Sisters, Charles Laughton,^[9] Mike Todd,^[10] Terry Burnham,^[11] and Betty Grable.^[12]

Critical response

A review of the premiere episode in the trade publication Variety said that Fisher was "still a lightweight" for an hour-long show (in contrast with his previous 15-minute program), but "the initial show indicates that he can grow into this mold".^[8] The review complimented Reynolds's performance and the Fisher-Gobel combination and said that overall the episode "gave a good measure of entertainment."^[8]

References

1. "Film, Video THE EDDIE FISHER SHOW". The Library of Congress. Retrieved April 3, 2015.
2. Spigel, Lynn (2008). TV by Design: Modern Art and the Rise of Network Television. University of Chicago Press. p. 198. ISBN 9780226769684. Retrieved April 3, 2015.
3. 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. 250. ISBN 0-14-02-4916-8.
4. Kaufman, Gil (September 24, 2010). "Eddie Fisher, Singer And Ex Of Elizabeth Taylor, Dies. 82-year-old was the father of 'Star Wars' actress Carrie Fisher". MTV News. Archived from the original on April 12, 2015. Retrieved April 3, 2015.
5. Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle F. (June 24, 2009). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present. Random House Publishing Group. p. 411. ISBN 978-0-307-48320-1. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
6. Grimes, William (September 24, 2010). "Eddie Fisher, Pop Singer, Dies at 82". The New York Times. Retrieved April 3, 2015.
7. "Bregman in line as TV show Star". The New York Times. September 11, 1958. p. 67. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
8. "Eddie Fisher Show". Variety. October 9, 1957. p. 28. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
9. "Tuesday". St. Louis Globe-Democrat. December 22, 1957. p. 45. Retrieved July 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Tuesday". The Central New Jersey Home News. New Jersey, New Brunswick. September 29, 1957. p. 39. Retrieved July 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Pig-Tailed Blonde Has Role as Lana Turner's Daughter". Long Beach Independent-Press-Telegram. March 1, 1959. p. A11. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
12. "Oct. 29 Highlights". The Central New Jersey Home News. New Jersey, New Brunswick. October 27, 1957. p. 21. Retrieved July 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.

External links

• The Eddie Fisher Show at IMDb
• The Eddie Fisher Show at The Classic Television Archive with a list of episodes