King Cole's Birthday Party Explained

Alt Name:	Birthday Party
Genre:	Children's
Presenter:	Bill Slater (1947) Ted Brown (1949)
Country:	United States
Language:	English
Runtime:	22 - 25 minutes
Channel:	DuMont

King Cole's Birthday Party (also known as Birthday Party)^[1] was an early American children's television series which aired on the DuMont Television Network. The program was broadcast from May 15, 1947, to June 23, 1949.^[1]

Little is known about the series. Each 30-minute episode featured the real birthday of a child. The series was sponsored by the Jay Day Dress Company of New York.^[2]

The program was first broadcast locally over DuMont's WABD in New York City. By early 1948, King Cole's Birthday Party was aired nationally on DuMont's chain of stations. Among the people to have hosted the program include Bill Slater and Ted Brown.^[3]

George Schreck produced the show.^[1]

The concept was revived from 1963-1966 as Birthday House, which aired locally on WNBC in New York.^[4]

Episode status

As with most DuMont programs, no episodes are known to survive.

See also

• List of programs broadcast by the DuMont Television Network
• List of surviving DuMont Television Network broadcasts

Bibliography

• David Weinstein, The Forgotten Network: DuMont and the Birth of American Television (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2004)
• Alex McNeil, Total Television, Fourth edition (New York: Penguin Books, 1980)
• Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows, Third edition (New York: Ballantine Books, 1964)

External links

• • DuMont historical website

Notes and References

1. Book: Fischer. Stuart. Kids' TV: The First Twenty-Five Years. 2014. Open Road Media. 9781497633902. 13 September 2017. en.
2. Bergmann, Ted and Ira Skutch (2002). The DuMont Television Network: What Happened? p. 23. Scarecrow Press, Lanham, Maryland.
3. Brooks, Tim and Earle Marsh (1985). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows 1946 to Present p. 98. Ballantine: New York. .
4. Book: Woolery . George W. . Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981, Part II: Live, Film, and Tape Series . 1985 . The Scarecrow Press . 0-8108-1651-2 . 265–266.