Way long before "American Idol", there was a plethora of musical talent shows on radio and television from the '30s to the '50s of which this was one of them. Arthur Godfrey was one of the most popular personalities of both mediums in his height of fame during the decades I just mentioned. The one I'm reviewing here was one of several shows he had on the CBS network. Anyway, this particular ep that aired live on the above date had him presenting many acts represented by the scouts he would first interview before showcasing them. The first scout he talks to was a Stanford Baumstein from Washington, D.C. which was also where the act he brought in was from. They're the Blue Grass Champs consisting of brothers and sisters playing many instruments usually associated with Country-Western music while one male and one female sings. Quite entertaining though I couldn't completely understand the lyrics. After doing his first Lipton spot-which was quite humorous-Godfrey intros his next scout, a woman named Lee Caputi from Newport, Rhode Island, whose client was one Gino Sanbuco, a violinist from Hartford, Connecticut. Incidentally, both graduated from the Juliard school, Ms. Caputi as a pianist. Anyway, the number Gino plays is called "Banjo on the Fiddle" written by David Guion. Also, at that time Sanbuco was a 24-year-old that had been with the New Orleans Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra in my current home state for 3 years. That was another entertaining spot. After yet another Lipton sponsor plug, Arthur finally interviews an Alfonso Lavaluo (some of these names I'm guessing as to spelling, so bear with me) from Weehawken, New Jersey, who's representing a stunning young singer named Anna Leonardo from Fresno, California. She sings a very entertaining song about waiting for a sailor beau to come back to her as she imagines the wind doing just that for her! By the way, this Alfonso's occupation is a "banana messenger" which he explains-after Godfrey wisecracks if he "puts messages between them"-as someone who takes its temperature. Arthur then asks if he's "taken their pulse"! Then after one more Lipton spot, the host asks for the audiences' reactions as he brings the acts out on stage again to play part of their set as the applause meter measures the loudness of each clapping. It's by this method that the Blue Champs are declared the winners just before Arthur says goodbye and the CBS logo shows up ending the program. This was quite a fascinating document from an early live program and it is still quite entertaining today. By the way, I first saw this on WJXT-4 in 1989 when the Jacksonville, FL station was celebrating their 40th anniversary as an affiliate of the Eye network and was also airing other shows from that time that were broadcast on that channel (though some of them-like "The Howdy Doody Show"-was from NBC since at that time when WJXT was the only station in that area, it would occasionally show something from another network that was very popular in order to please the public). So on that note, this ep of "Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts" is highly recommended.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews