Season 1
1950-51

The Colgate Variety Hour
Summer 1955

With comedy playing a smaller part in the show's mix, the name was changed to The Colgate Variety Hour in the summer of 1955. NBC had trouble finding a willing host but finally convinced Charlton Heston to take the job until a suitable regular could be hired. Other hosts included Edgar Bergen, Guy Lombardo, George Abbott, and Jack Webb, but none of them caught on.

Movie clips were often shown and the monthly pre-emptions continued.

Series
#
Season
#
Airdate
Host & Guests
001
VS-01
6/12/1955
Host: Charlton Heston
Guests: Sarah Vaughan, Vera-Ellen, comedian Johnny O'Brien, rock 'n rollers Billy Ward and his Dominoes, acrobatic cyclists The Chadulis, bagpipers The Dagenham Pipers, Frank DeVol and his Orchestra; interviews with Richard Arlen and Jimmy Stewart
Note: Heston was hired less then two weeks before this episode aired, after George Murphy and William Holden both turned down the job. TV Guide called it "a good, workmanlike job" of hosting, but Variety considered the show's debut "not auspicious." Featured is a salute to the air age as dramatized in motion pictures, with clips from Wings and Strategic Air Command.
6/19/1955
Pre-empted by "Remember 1938" with Groucho Marx, Ethel Barrymore, Oscar Levant
002
VS-02
6/26/1955
Host: Charlton Heston
Guests: Fred MacMurray, Louis Prima, mimic Dick Kerr, dancers Chiquita and Johnson
Note: This episode features a clip from The Far Horizons.
003
VS-03
7/3/1955

Host: Guy Lombardo
Guests: The Fontane Sisters, Sheree North, Morey Amsterdam
Note: The Fontane Sisters sing "Royal Garden Blues," and clips from We're No Angels and How To Be Very Popular are featured. This episode originated from Lombardo's Eastpoint House restaurant in Freeport, Long Island and his water spectacle show "Arabian Nights" in Jones Beach.

004
VS-04
7/10/1955
Host: George Abbott
Guests: John Raitt, Helen Gallagher, Eddie Foy Jr., Gwen Verdon, Stephen Douglass, Ray Walston, Jimmie Komack, The Four Aces, Fran Warren, Mary Stanton, The DeMarco Sisters, Abbe Lane, Hal Hastings and the Damn Yankees orchestra
Note: This episode is a tribute to Dick Adler and Jerry Ross, who wrote the songs for The Pajama Game and Damn Yankees (both directed by host George Abbott), and features members of the casts of those shows. Added to the festivities is a clip from The Seven Little Foys. Tony Bennett was slated to appear and sing "Rags to Riches," but rumor had it that Ed Sullivan vetoed it. Instead, a record of the song was played. Fran Warren was late due to a missed plane connection, so understudy Mary Stanton filled in for her on her first song.
7/17/1955
Pre-empted by "Meeting at the Summit," coverage of the Geneva conference between leaders of the U.S., Soviet Union, Britain and France
005
VS-05
7/24/1955
Host: Jack Webb
Guests: Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Anthony, The Big Eight jazz combo, dancers Miriam Nelson and Jack Regis, orchestra conducted by Ray Heindorf
Note: This is a thinly-veiled excuse to plug Webb's soon-to-be-released film Pete Kelly's Blues, and he uses the occasion to walk the audience through the filmmaking process. The Big Eight plays "Bye Bye Blackbird" and "Breezin' Along With the Breeze," Peggy sings "He Needs Me" and "Somebody Loves Me," and Ella sings "What Can I Say After I Say I'm Sorry." Ray Anthony, Ella, and the orchestra perform "Pete Kelly's Blues." Actress Janet Leigh was scheduled to appear but cancelled at the last minute under doctor's orders.
006
VS-06
7/31/1955
Hosts: Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy
Guests: Anna Maria Alberghetti and The Alberghetti Family, Mitzi McCall
Note: Mitzi introduces a clip from the Martin and Lewis movie You're Never Too Young and lip synches to a Jerry Lewis record.
007
VS-07
8/7/1955
Hosts: Edgar Bergen, Charlie McCarthy, and Mortimer Snerd
Guests: Hedda Hopper, The Vagabonds, The Dornan Brothers, The Merriel Abbott Dancers, singer Paule Desjardims; also Conrad Hilton, Earl Wilson, Bob Cummings
Note: Originating from a party thrown by Hedda Hopper at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, the gossip columnist chats with Charlton Heston, Art Linkletter, Irene Dunne, Thomas Mitchell, Charlotte Greenwood, Richard Egan, Walt Disney, Shelley Winters, Dan Dailey, Terry Moore, Mamie Van Doren, Ann Miller, Richard Boone, Celeste Holm, Audie Murphy, Ann Blythe, and Jim Backus. Also included is a clip from To Catch a Thief with Cary Grant and Grace Kelly. Paule Desjardims sings "Mon Homme" ("My Man").
8/14/1955
Pre-empted by "Tam O'Shanter Golf Tournament" and "Review of the News" with Chet Huntley
008
VS-08
8/21/1955
Hosts: Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy
Guests: Harry Belafonte with guitarist Millard Thomas, Carol Ohmart, Bob Williams and his dog Red Dust, dancers Augie and Margo
Note: This episode includes clips from Ulysses with Silvana Mangano and Kirk Douglas, followed by a re-staging of one of its scenes.
009
VS-09
8/28/1955
Host: Charlton Heston
Guests: Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy, The Marjorie Fields Moppets, Bob Williams and his dog Red Dust
Note: Included are live and filmed scenes from The Private War of Major Benson with Heston, Julia Adams, and Tim Hovey.
010
VS-10
9/4/1955
Host: Charlton Heston
Guests: The King Sisters, The Bob Hamilton Trio, Frank DeVol and his Orchestra
9/11/1955
Pre-empted by "The Skin of Our Teeth" by Thornton Wilder with Helen Hayes, Mary Martin, George Abbott, Florence Reed
     Continues as The Colgate Variety Hour