Celebrity Secrets with guests Robert Reed, Lee Meriwether, Charles Nelson Reilly and Arthur Godfrey (1978)

I've Got a Secret with guests Arthur Godfrey and Phyllis Diller (1966)

BONUS:

Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts (1953)

Classic Television Showbiz's Late Late Show: The Great Man starring - and directed by - Jose Ferrer (1956)

We mentioned A Face in the Crowd the other day. Here is its rarely seen cinematic cousin with likewise Arthur Godfrey metaphors in play. And also excellent.

The Arthur Godfrey Show (1953)

BONUS:

Candid Camera with host Arthur Godfrey and special guest Buster Keaton (1961)

The Julius LaRosa Show with guests The Everly Brothers - Clip (1957)

The Arthur Godfrey Show with guests The Wilburn Brothers (1957)

Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts with guest Lenny Bruce (1949)

The first national appearance of Lenny Bruce was on this episode of Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts, originally broadcast on April 18, 1949. A perfect example of how a comedian evolves. Bruce was a rookie, in the game for about eighteen months. No hint of subversion, commentary or brilliance here - just a moderately talented mimic. Whether you're Lenny Bruce, George Carlin, Richard Pryor or Louis CK - everyone has gotta start somewhere - and that somewhere is usually the vista of the lousy. A fascinating nugget of history.

Listen to Lenny Bruce on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts.

Password with celebrity conetestant Arthur Godfrey (1964)

Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts (1956)

The Ed Sullivan Show wth guests Arthur Godfrey and The Muppets (1967) - Footage Offline - 10/12/10

The Mike Douglas Show with guests Sid Caesar, Arthur Godfrey and The Cavemen (1966)

Wanna know more about The Cavemen? Go here.

The Bob Smith Show (1949)

Here is Buffalo Bob before he was Buffalo Bob doing a pleasant morning show on Radio WNBC that was very much a response to the popularity of Arthur Godfrey's format. Special guest star on this episode is Clarence "Voice of Donald Duck" Nash! Listen up.

Arthur Godfrey and His Friends (1953)

The Arthur Godfrey Show (1957)

George Kirby: A Night in Hollywood

George Kirby is one of the great mimics in the history of stand-up comedy. He was quite famous throughout the fifties and sixties, known best to regular viewers of The Ed Sullivan Show. He had a remarkable voice that allowed him to impersonate voices in a variety of ranges. His most impressive feats were his bang-on impression of Ella Fitzgerald and what is probably his most famous bit, a perfect vocal impersonation of Pearl Bailey. Both of those are on display on this, his first comedy LP, as well as takes on Marlon Brando (perhaps the earliest of all the Brando impressions), Louella Parsons, Arthur Godfrey, Johnny Mathis and several more. This record was recorded in the late fifties but I can not give you a specific year.

Kirby also drops the name of his contemporary Moms Mabley on this album and does an extended version of a joke about pot smokers that appeared on the Chess LP Moms Breaks Up the Network. This record was pressed by the Dooto outfit. 

Dooto Records was known best as the label that released tons of Redd Foxx material, but they also showcased doo-wop groups like The Penguins and The Medallions and up and coming African-American comedians like Don Bexley and a young kid billed as Rudy Moore.

Listen to the whole LP - George Kirby - A Night in Hollywood

What's My Line with guest Arthur Godfrey (1951)

Arthur Godfrey Time (1955)

Talent Scouts with guest George Carlin (1962) - Footage Offline 2/01/08

You need to cue this video clip to the 2:45 mark to watch the footage in question. It's a recently 'gone-solo' George Carlin, fresh from his split with comedy partner Jack Burns, on an episode of Talent Scouts, the television spin-off of the long-running radio program. Arthur Godfrey was actually gone by this point, replaced by a different flash-in-the-pan celebrity guest host each week for this short lived incarnation of Godfrey's concept. In this clip we see Carlin do an impression of the pre-Rickles insult comic Jack E. Leonard followed by the only Mort Sahl impression I have ever seen... and a very good one at that. He finishes with a JFK take and an added comment on the dynastical aspect of his presidency. Some good, but less fascinatng, footage follows.