Guest Stars
Baker was fond of granting requests to see show-business personalities. He reunited the Our Gang troupe of the 1920s (Johnny Downs, Joe Cobb, Mickey Daniels, Allen "Farina" Hoskins, and Jackie Condon), and staged encore performances by singers Gloria Jean, Nick Lucas and Arthur Lee Simpkins; comedians Buster Keaton, Eddie Gribbon, and El Brendel with his wife Flo Bert; European musical entertainer Yonelli; actor Bela Lugosi and cowboy bullwhip artist Whip Wilson, among many others.
Short film clips were also presented, with the selection based upon viewer requests. As a consequence, many of the clips were presented multiple times, Some of the more popular clips included a tour of the bizarre Winchester Mystery House and the collapse of the first Tacoma Narrows Bridge.
The program was named The Art Baker Show, after the series creator and host. In April 1951, the show's title was changed to You Asked for It. Originally airing on the DuMont Television Network from December 29, 1950 to December 7, 1951, it moved to ABC, where it remained until the end of its original run on September 27, 1959. The show was sponsored by Skippy Peanut Butter and Studebaker Automobiles.
Art Baker hosted the show, until early 1958, when Jack Smith took over for the remaining 20 months.
During the Smith years, memorable segments included a profile Dr. John Ott's elaborate automated time-lapse multiple camera greenhouse filming the growth of plants (plugging his 1958 book My Ivory Cellar), a man who wanted to see his bit part in a silent movie after 40-ish years, and how a dangerous fire collapsing building stunt sequence was filmed with stunt people rolling into a hidden pit at the last possible second.
Read more about this topic: You Asked For It
Famous quotes containing the words guest and/or stars:
“When mother’s relatives visited,
delicacies were cooked.
When father’s guest arrrived,
mother swelled and had a fit.”
—Punjabi proverb, trans. by Gurinder Singh Mann.
“Victorian sorrow: the stars are winking in the sky, but not for us.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)