{{Short description|American variety TV series (1950)}} {{distinguish|text=a similar 1950–51 DuMont series Star Time (TV series)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}} {{Infobox television | image = | caption = | alt_name = | genre = Music | creator = | writer = | director = | developer = | presenter = | starring = Cy Coleman<br>Gordon Dilworth | voices = | narrator = | theme_music_composer = | open_theme = | end_theme = | composer = | country = United States | language = English | num_seasons = | num_episodes = | list_episodes = | executive_producer = | editor = | location = | cinematography = | runtime = | channel = DuMont | first_aired = {{start date|1950|4|9}} | last_aired = {{end date|1950|11|19}} }}
'''''Starlit Time''''' is a variety series that was broadcast on the DuMont Television Network. The series aired from April 9 to November 19, 1950.<ref name=tt>{{cite book|last1=McNeil|first1=Alex|title=Total Television: the Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present |date=1996|publisher=Penguin Books USA, Inc.|location=New York, New York|isbn=0-14-02-4916-8|page=788|edition=4th}}</ref> It was also known as ''The S. S. Holiday''.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{cite book |last1=Terrace |first1=Vincent |title=Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010, 2d ed. |date=January 10, 2014 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-8641-0 |page=1008 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YX_daEhlnbsC&dq=%22Starlit+Time%22+Dumont&pg=PA1008 |access-date=April 6, 2023 |language=en}}</ref>
This show aired Sundays at 7 pm ET<ref name="ross">{{cite news |title=Starlit Time |url=https://archive.org/details/rossreportstele09ross/page/n44/mode/1up?view=theater |access-date=April 7, 2023 |work=Ross Reports on Television including The Television Index |date=June 18, 1950 |page=14}}</ref> and replaced ''Front Row Center''.<ref name=tt/>
==Format and personnel== Initially ''Starlit Time'' consisted of two distinct hours of programming with Minnie Jo Curtis linking the two segments in the role of a switchboard operator. Bill Williams was the master of ceremonies for the first hour, titled "Welcome Mat",<ref name="brooks">{{cite book |last1=Brooks |first1=Tim |last2=Marsh |first2=Earle F. |title=The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present |date=June 24, 2009 |publisher=Random House Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-307-48320-1 |page=300 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w8KztFy6QYwC&dq=%22Starlit+Time%22&pg=PA1300 |access-date=April 6, 2023 |language=en}}</ref> which included Gordon Dilworth and the Sylvia Meredith puppets, dancers Sandra Lee and Sam Steen, and comedienne Bibi Osterwald, with Reggie Beane providing music.<ref name=":0" /> The second hour, "Phil Hanna Sings",<ref name="brooks" /> starred Hanna. Other performers in that segment were singer Holly Harris, the dance team Roberto and Alicia, and comedienne Elaine Stritch. The Cy Coleman trio provided music.<ref name=":0">{{cite news |title=Radio and Television: DuMont Network to Unveil New 2-Hour Sunday Night Revue This Week-End |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1950/04/05/archives/radio-and-television-dumont-network-to-unveil-new-2hour-sunday.html |access-date=April 6, 2023 |work=The New York Times |date=April 5, 1950 |page=44|url-access=subscription}}</ref>
By the end of April 1950, the program had been cut to one hour, broadcast from 7 to 8 p.m. Eastern Time with Williams and Hanna as co-hosts.<ref name="brooks" />
Bela Lugosi made a rare TV guest appearance on May 21.<ref name=tt/> Other guest stars who appeared on the program included Mildred Bailey.<ref>{{cite news |title=Paul Price |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/122403788/daily-news/ |access-date=April 6, 2023 |work=Daily News |date=August 22, 1950 |location=California, Los Angeles |page=40|via = Newspapers.com}}</ref>
Bob Loewi was the producer, and Pat Fay was the director.<ref name=":1">{{cite book |last1=Rhodes |first1=Gary Don |title=Lugosi: His Life in Films, on Stage, and in the Hearts of Horror Lovers |date=September 3, 2015 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1-4766-0077-2 |page=210 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eomACgAAQBAJ&dq=%22Starlit+Time%22&pg=PA210 |access-date=April 6, 2023 |language=en}}</ref> Fred Scott was the announcer.<ref name="bb" />
==Critical response== A review of the April 9, 1950, episode in the trade publication ''Billboard'' said of the two-segment episode, "their coupling remains somewhat of a mystery."<ref name=bb1>{{cite magazine |last=Morse |first=Leon |date=April 22, 1950 |page=21 |title=Starlit Time |magazine=Billboard |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/50s/1950/Billboard%201950-04-22.pdf#page=21 |accessdate=April 7, 2023}}</ref> The second hour received more praise than the first, and the review complimented camera work and production.<ref name="bb1" />
Another review (of the August 13, 1950, episode) in ''Billboard'' said that the program "has some excellent, even if not socko, moments of entertainment."<ref name=bb>{{cite magazine |last=Chase |first=Sam |date=August 26, 1950 |page=10 |title=Starlit Time |magazine=Billboard |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/50s/1950/Billboard%201950-08-26.pdf#page=10 |accessdate=April 7, 2023}}</ref> The review commended the music of Beane's trio but said that the comedy "was decidedly negative, however, and could be dispensed with."<ref name="bb" />
==Episode status== As with most DuMont series, no episodes are known to exist.{{Citation needed |date=April 2023}}
==See also== *List of programs broadcast by the DuMont Television Network *List of surviving DuMont Television Network broadcasts *1950–51 United States network television schedule
==References== {{reflist}}
==Bibliography== *David Weinstein, ''The Forgotten Network: DuMont and the Birth of American Television'' (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2004) {{ISBN|1-59213-245-6}}
==External links== *{{IMDb title|tt0042149}} *[https://dumonthistory.com/a2.html DuMont historical website]
Category:DuMont Television Network original programming Category:1950 American television series debuts Category:1950 American television series endings Category:Black-and-white American television shows Category:Lost television shows Category:Bela Lugosi Category:1950s American music television series