The Colgate Comedy Hour
Martin & Lewis
TV Flash files “Martin & Lewis” as a desk essential hour — The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950–1955) on NBC, season 3, episode 1, aired 1952-09-21, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S03E01: listed hour 58 of 102 in the The Colgate Comedy Hour guide, first listed hour of season 3. It aired 1952-09-21 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “May 11, 1952” (S02E37). Next is “Abbott & Costello” (S03E04).
Essential hour: “Martin & Lewis”. Martin & Lewis — season ignition on the pairing, living-room evidence of a chemistry that still photographs as a riot.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Martin & Lewis sit in the The Colgate Comedy Hour guide?
S03E01 is listed hour 58 of 102 — first listed hour of season 3, season 3 episode 1.
When did The Colgate Comedy Hour S03E01 air?
Martin & Lewis aired 1952-09-21 and is listed at 60 minutes.
Where should I start?
Start with Martin and Lewis nights if you want the addiction-level chemistry, then sample Cantor or Abbott and Costello weeks for the rotating-summit form.
In the series
Why this series still plays
The Colgate Comedy Hour was Sunday-night mayhem as a rotating comedy summit: Martin and Lewis, Abbott and Costello, and a direct rival to Ed Sullivan's variety night. Watch it for the chemistry of 1950s comedy teams in live explosion mode — including the living-room evidence of a famous split coming.
Sunday night on NBC was not a single desk. It was a rotating comedy summit with toothpaste money, 1950–1955, *The Colgate Comedy Hour* as a high-budget alternative to single-host formats and a direct rival to Ed Sullivan's night: Martin and Lewis as a national addiction, other weeks Eddie Cantor, Abbott and Costello, and more. One hundred two episodes, six seasons. Sunday-night mayhem as a comedy showcase. NBC spent the sponsor to steal Sunday from Sullivan; the rotating kings were the weapon. Patterns, not…
Filed against
- Dean Martin as Host / performer
Dean Martin turned The Colgate Comedy Hour into Sunday-night mayhem with a drink in his voice — rotating comedy summit, Martin and Lewis, Abbott and Costello, a direct rival to Ed Sullivan’s variety night. Live explosion mode. TV Flash…
- Jerry Lewis as Host / performer
Jerry Lewis detonated The Colgate Comedy Hour as Sunday-night mayhem — Martin and Lewis, Abbott and Costello, a rotating comedy summit and a direct rival to Ed Sullivan’s variety night. 1950s teams in live explosion mode. TV Flash files…
- Eddie Cantor as Host
Eddie Cantor hosted The Colgate Comedy Hour as Sunday-night mayhem — a rotating comedy summit, Martin and Lewis in the blast radius, and a direct rival to Ed Sullivan's variety night. Live explosion mode. TV Flash files him as 1950s…