The Morey Amsterdam Show

You heard it right, folks! This may be the only blog on the planet that has TWO posts about tv comedian Morey Amsterdam (the previous one is here) and we’ve even got a third one planned! Watch this space!

Readers of a certain age may recall comedian Morey Amsterdam (no relation to Jack London, Jerry Paris or Jeannie Berlin) as the comedy writer Buddy Sorel on The Dick Van Dyke Show, which was shown in reruns for decades. Forgotten is the fact that over a decade prior to that show’s launch, Amsterdam had starred in his own TV variety program The Morey Amsterdam Show (1948-50). This adds, or should add, levels of appreciation to his casting on the later sit-com. Carl Reiner had based The Dick Van Dyke Show on his experiences working for Sid Caesar – Amsterdam had been one of Caesar’s competitors. A vaudeville veteran with a brash comedy style that occasionally reminds one of Jerry Lewis, he also sang, danced, and even played the cello. His show had an interesting gimmick. It was set in a fictional nightclub, with Amsterdam hosting the floor show. And there were, other characters, plants, in the cast, including Art Carney (prior to playing Ed Norton on Gleason’s The Honeymooners) as Newton the Waiter, and Jacqueline Susanne (later famous for her novel Valley of the Dolls) as a Cigarette Girl. Performers like Rosemary Clooney and tap dancer Honi Coles performed in the floor show, which changed week to week.

More background on Morey Amsterdam here.

For more on show business history,please see my book No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous; and keep an eye out for my upcomingElectric Vaudeville: A Century of Radio and TV Variety.