am was a quarter-hour feature which aired on Mondays as a lead into the quarter-hour evening news with Chet Huntley and David Brinkley at 7:45 P.M. (EST). It was a spirited program with a mellow mixture of upbeat tunes and slower ballads. Cole was backed by first-rate orchestras—Gordon Jenkins when the show emanated from New York City, and Nelson Riddle when in Hollywood. An occasional guest bandleader, such as Count Basie, only enhanced Cole’s show.
Cole was aware of the significance of his program. He referred to himself as "the Jackie Robinson of television." In 1956, he defined his undertaking as a struggle against racism.
I have a fight right now in my own business in TV. I realize what 'TV is doing. I know they are freezing the Negro out. I know that no Negro has a TV show. I'm breaking that down. I'm fighting on the inside, without publicity."
That conviction stayed with Cole throughout his television career. In September 1957, he told TV Guide that his program was "a step in the right direction" toward allaying network fears about black shows being televised to prejudiced viewers.''
By any standard, The Nat King Cole Show was top-flight entertainment. Cole smoothly hosted this showcase for his musical talents. He sang his famous ballads and played piano in front of a first-rate orchestra. Sometimes, too, he exhibited the jazz dexterity that made him famous in the first place.
Unfortunately, however, the seeds of destruction were within the program from the beginning. First, the show was never popular with the mass audience. Opposite it on CBS was Robin Hood, one of the top-rated shows on TV, especially with youngsters still not ready for bed. This half-hour British import attracted over half the audience at 7:30 P.M. As Figure 5.1 attests, during the few times The Nat King Cole Show was rated by A. C. Nielsen, it failed to demonstrate a sizable following.
|Table 5.1 Comparative Ratings of|
The Nat King Cole Show and Robin Hood
|Date of Rating||% of Potential Audience||% of Sets-in-Use||Relative Ranking|
|Jan. 7, 1957|
|Jan. 21, 1957|
|Feb. 4, 1957|
|Feb. 18, 1957|
|March 4, 1957|
|March 18, 1957|
Coupled with poor ratings, the Nat King Cole Show suffered from lack of a consistent national sponsor. Occasionally the quarter-hour telecast was bankrolled by Arrid deodorant and/or Rise shaving cream. More often than not, the program was sustained by NBC. Cole seemed painfully aware of his tenuous predicament. The words with which he ended the program of February 11, 1957 were less than confident. With his theme song playing in the background, Cole told his viewers: "Well, I guess folks, that's about it for tonight. We expect to be around this same time next week—same station—same show, we hope. Until then, see you later."
Despite poor ratings and a sporadic pattern of sponsorship, NBC expanded The Nat King Cole Show to thirty minutes, raised its operating budget, and placed the program in prime time competition as a summer experiment. The revamped show premiered on Tuesday, July 2, at 10 P.M. (EST). It was suicidal scheduling. Opposite it was a formidable CBS rival, the formidable quiz show, The $64,000 Question—a glitzy give-away show and the fourth-ranking program during the 1956-57 season.
Cole and his friends seemed determined to save the series by showing its potential to win over viewers. More important, the show became a battlefield in the civil rights movement. To rescue this most dignified African American program in TV history, some of the biggest talents in show business volunteered to appear on Cole’s showcase for the union-approved minimum wage. Men and women whose energies commanded TV salaries in five figures now appeared with Cole for a few hundred dollars. Among them were Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Martin, Julius LaRosa, Peggy Lee, the King Sisters, Sammy Davis, Jr., Pearl Bailey, Robert Mitchum, Frankie Laine, and Mel Torme.
With a new time and an extended format, ratings of The Nat King Cole Show improved. When Harry Belafonte was a guest on the program of August 6, the show came within three Trendex rat