The Hank McCune Show
American television sitcom
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The Hank McCune Show is an American television sitcom. Filmed without a studio audience, the series is notable for being the first television program to incorporate a laugh track.[1]
| The Hank McCune Show | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Directed by | Charles Maxwell |
| Starring | Hank McCune |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Producers | Samuel Z. Arkoff Dick Farrell Hank McCune |
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 25 minutes |
| Production company | United Television Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
| Release | September 9 – December 2, 1950 |
The series began as a local program in New York in 1949.[2] NBC placed it on its national primetime schedule at the start of the 1950–51 season. It debuted at 7:00pm Eastern Time on September 9 and was cancelled three months later. It was briefly resurrected as a syndicated program in 1953–54,[3] but without a laugh track.[4]
Overview
The premise foreshadowed that of The Larry Sanders Show in that it contained a show within a show. Former radio comedian McCune portrayed a television variety show host named after himself, and each week the character managed to blunder his way into a variety of comic predicaments.
The supporting cast included Larry Keating, Charles Maxwell, Frank Nelson, Arthur Q. Bryan, Sara Berner, Tammy Kiper,[5] and Florence Bates.
Production
United Television Productions produced the show,[2] and Harold Schuster was the producer.[6] Mort Lachman and Cy Rose were the writers.[5]
Although ratings "weren't terrible", the sponsor left after the then-minimum 13 weeks of shows.[7]
Syndicated version
Bing Crosby Enterprises produced the syndicated version of The Hank McCune Show. It was distributed by CBS's TV film sales division.[8]
