(NBC Primetime, 1948 - 1953) [aka: "The Milton Berle Show"; The first mega-hit TV show, which caused sales of TV sets to take off, proving that television was not just a passing fad... derived from a radio show of the same name on NBC and CBS from 1932 - 1948 which featured hosts other than Berle sponsored by the Texaco Oil Company. This is the FIRST of 4 comedy-variety shows which were hosted by Milton Berle (known as "Mr. Television" because of the way his first show caught the public's imagination and influenced the growth of the medium in the late 1940s and early 1950s); Although we may remember "Uncle Miltie" as being the first big comedy TV star, he had a 13-year career on network radio that began a dozen years before his first TV series -- his radio series was heard from 1936 - 1949; And a fact that not many people know was that he was supposedly the first person ever seen on a US TV transmission of an "all-electronic system" as opposed to a mechanical TV system; This was an experiment that took place in 1928. (Lights for television in those days were so hot that they used a toy "Felix the Cat" figurine most of the time instead of a real person for testing the RCA-Victor system...but somehow Milton withstood the heat, and went on to the bright lights of fame some 20 years later on TV.) His SECOND series was the "The Buick-Berle Show" (NBC, 1953-56), which see... The THIRD was "Milton Berle Starring in The Kraft Music Hall" (NBC, 1958-59), which see...and The FOURTH series was "The Milton Berle Show" (ABC, 1966-67) which got slaughtered in the ratings by The Man From U.N.C.L.E.]
[Texaco Oil Co. jingle, used as an opening, aka: "The Texaco T.V. Star Theatre Theme Song", aka: "The Texaco Star Theme". NOTE: Although written in the late 1940's, the registration below for the TV version of this jingle wasn't filed until April of 1976.] Composers: music by Bernard ("Buddy") Arnold (ASCAP), and words by Heywood ("Woody") Kling (ASCAP) 1978 Publishers: B. Arnold and H. Kling (ASCAP) 1998 Publishers: Milbud Music (ASCAP) of Los Angeles, CA; and Heywood Kling Publisher (ASCAP) of Los Angeles, CA [Registered under the following title -- "We Are The Men of Texaco; or, The Texaco T.V. Star Theatre Theme Song"]: Copyright Date: April 23, 1976; EU 672 692. Renewal Date: Recordings: CD - "TeeVee Toons: The Commercials" TVT Records TVT 1400 CD (1989)
[New Copyright application states "portions derived from the 'Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2' by Franz Liszt"; also references "We Are the Men of Texaco", aka "Texaco Star Theatre T.V. Theme Song", listed above...] Composer: Franz Liszt (predates ASCAP & BMI), and Adapter: Allen Roth (not affiliated) Orig. Publisher/Claimant: Texaco, Inc. 1998 Publisher: [no publisher listed in ASCAP or BMI] Original Version Creation Date: 1948 [new words, some music]: Revision Copyright Date: July 10, 1981, PAu-359-618. Revision Renewal Date: Recordings:
[a 1947 pop song, which became Milton Berle's signature theme, for many years to come.] Composers: music by Francis Craig (ASCAP), with lyric by Kermit Goell (ASCAP) 1978 Publisher: Supreme Music Corp. (ASCAP) 1998 Publisher: Warner Bros., Inc. (ASCAP) (Warner Bros Music Division) c/o Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., of Los Angeles, CA Copyright Date: (1947, on sheet music) Renewal Date: Recordings: 78 and 45rpm singles by Francis Craig and his Orchestra, with vocal chorus by Bob Lamm (78rpm) Bullet 1001 (45rpm) Dot 45-16038 (1947) (45rpm) MCA 2710
[above is the title as listed in the 2001 ASCAP ACE Repertoire Database; apparently these were variations on a short phrase used as an introduction to the show] Composer: William Strickland (ASCAP) 1978 Publisher: [not listed in the 1978 ASCAP Index of Performed Compositions] 2001 Publisher: [listed without publisher in the 2001 ASCAP ACE Repertoire Database] Copyright Date: Renewal Date: Recordings:
[above is the title as listed in the 2001 ASCAP ACE Repertoire Database; most likely this is a new arrangement of the New Sponsor Logo #4 above in combination with other THEMEs for the show...arranged by Roy Eaton] Composers: William Strickland (ASCAP) and Roy Felix Eaton (ASCAP/BMI) 1978 Publisher: [not listed in the 1978 ASCAP Index of Performed Compositions] 2001 Publisher: Rhahm Music, Inc. (ASCAP) of Roosevelt Island, NY Copyright Date: Renewal Date: Recordings: