The Kraft Music Hall with guest George Kirby (1963)

The Kraft Music Hall featuring Don Rickles (1968)

What a strange time capsule.

The Kraft Music Hall with Milton Berle - Clip (1959)

The Kraft Music Hall starring Milton Berle with guests Jack Benny and Lena Horne (1962)

The Kraft Music Hall Roast - Clips (1970)

The Kraft Music Hall with guest Richard Chamberlain (1965)

The Kraft Music Hall presents The Roast of Don Rickles with Johnny Carson, Dick Cavett, Milton Berle and George C. Scott (1970)

The Kraft Music Hall with host Eddy Arnold and guests Tom Seaver and The Letterman (1969)

Tom Seaver segmennt may make you go blind. Much, much more harmful than masturbating compulsively. Footage, in fact, may make viewer plain impotent. 

The Kraft Music Hall with host Johnny Cash and guests Peggy Lee and Carl Perkins (1969)

The Kraft Music Hall with Milton Berle and Andy Griffith (1958)

The Kraft Music Hall (1961)

The Kraft Music Hall with host Milton Berle and guest Harpo Marx (1959)

The Kraft Music Hall with host Milton Berle and guests Frankie Avalon, Ed Wynn and Billy May (1959)

The Kraft Music Hall with host Milton Berle and guests Jack Carter, Count Basie and Joe Williams (1959)

Kraft Music Hall with Perry Como and guests Dean Martin and Lena Horne (1965)

Kraft Music Hall with host Perry Como and guests Nat King Cole and Rosemary Clooney (1959)

Kraft Music Hall with host Perry Como and guest George Kirby (1963)

I'm posting this episode primarily because of the legendary impressionist and nightclub comedian George Kirby, one of the very neglected figures of 20th century showbiz history. I'll be uploading a very good LP by the man on Dooto Records in a couple months.

Kraft Music Hall: The Woody Allen Show (1969)

This sought after special was part of the weekly Kraft Music Hall that by this point had changed its format drastically from the way it was during the infancy of television and in radio.

Kraft Music Hall: The Woody Allen Comedy Show

This sought after special was part of the weekly Kraft Music Hall which by this point had changed its format drastically from the way it was during the infancy of television and in radio.

In the late sixties and early seventies the long running KMH had a different host each week (as opposed to a permanent Bing Crosby or Perry Como). Depending on who the host was the line-up and format of the show would change. The Woody Allen Comedy Special featured a strange array of guests cavorting with Woody Allen including The Fifth Dimension, Candace Bergen, Tony Randall, Jamie Farr, and as we will see in these two clips - an interview with the Reverend Billy Graham. You can download the entire special here for a price. Word has it that Allen has been embarassed about this special for several years, in particular his opening monologue at the start. I don't have footage of that part to post, but I've seen it before and, believe me, it is extremely funny - nothing to be embarassed about. Other one-time hosts of this incarnation of KMH included Milton Berle, John Davidson, Dolly Parton, Roy Rogers, Bobby Darin, and Rock Hudson.

Part Two: