On this day in 1956, musician Nat King Cole became the first Black American to host a nationally broadcast U.S. television show.
On air from 1956 to 1957, “The Nat King Cole Show” debuted on NBC initially as a 15-minute variety show. It held a primetime spot and eventually expanded to 30 minutes following its success.
Previously, Cole appeared on all the hit variety shows, including those led by Ed Sullivan, Perry Como, Milton Berle, and Dinah Shore. Throughout the 1950s, he dominated the charts and sold millions of copies. At the start of the decade, his song “Mona Lisa” hit number one on the Billboard charts, becoming one of the best-performing songs of his career. His other hits included “Unforgettable,” “Smile,” “If I May,” “Pretend” and “A Blossom Fell.”
After years of trying to break into television, NBC supported Cole’s idea for a variety show as his popularity grew. Orchestra leaders Nelson Ride and Gordon Jenkins directed the music, and some of the biggest performers of the time joined the show as guests. These artists included Mahalia Jackson, Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett, Sammy Davis Jr and Peggy Lee.
NBC sponsored most of the show alongside Cole, who contributed part of his salary. Eventually, however, the lack of sponsors became a larger issue. Although the show’s 64-episode run received largely positive reviews, it had no official national sponsor. Sponsors who supported the other big variety shows refused to back “The Nat King Cole Show” for fear that white audiences would boycott their products.
Combined with NBC’s request to move the show’s air time to a less desirable spot, Cole decided to end the show himself after a little over a year on air.
On Dec 17, 1957, the last episode of “The Nat King Cole Show” aired. After the show ended, Cole famously remarked, “Madison Avenue is afraid of the dark.”
Before Cole’s variety show, pianist and singer Hazel Scott became the first Black person to host her own TV series. Six years before “The Nat King Cole Show”, Scott hosted “The Hazel Scott Show.”
The 15-minute long program was supported by DuMont network and featured Charles Mingus and Max Roach as Scott’s backup musicians.
At the height of McCarthyism, Scott’s name appeared in the Red Channels. She appeared of her own accord before the House Un-American Activities Committee. About a week later, the show lost its sponsors and was canceled just a few months after it first aired.
No episodes of the show were archived and the show is generally considered lost media.
With the rise of Cole’s popularity and “The Nat King Cole Show”, however, Black-led talk shows and variety shows began to get more support. In 1969, Della Reese became the first Black woman to host a talk show. The show ran until 1970 and recorded almost 200 episodes in a year.
That same year, comedian and actor Flip Wilson debuted his own variety series, “The Flip Wilson Show”, on NBC. The show was critically acclaimed and reached number two in the Nielsen ratings.
The show featured guests such as Lena Horne, Muhammad Ali, the Jackson 5, the Supremes, Aretha Franklin, Bill Russell, Jerry Stiller, Burt Reynolds, George Carlin and Harry Belafonte.
Throughout its run, the series garnered 11 Emmy Award nominations, winning two. Wilson also received nominations for individual awards and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Television Series.
He was also inducted into the Official National Comedy Hall of Fame.
