| Genre: | Variety |
| Director: | Bud Yorkin |
| Starring: | Tennessee Ernie Ford |
| Composer: | Harry Geller's Orchestra |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Num Seasons: | 5 |
| Num Episodes: | 121 |
| Producer: | Bud Yorkin |
| Camera: | Multi-camera |
| Runtime: | 25 minutes |
| Channel: | NBC |
The Ford Show (also known as The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford and The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show) is an American variety program starring singer and folk humorist Tennessee Ernie Ford, which aired on NBC on Thursday evenings from October 4, 1956, to June 29, 1961.[1] The show was sponsored by the Ford Motor Company, whose founders shared a last name with the host but had no known relation.
Beginning in September 1958, the show was telecast in color, and was broadcast from NBC Studios in Burbank, California.[2] It was also one of the first places that showed Charles M. Schulz's Peanuts characters in animated form, which was directed by Bill Melendez, and became one of the most popular segments of his show.[3] [4] [5] [6]
The Ford Show was produced and directed by Bud Yorkin.[8] Television icon Norman Lear was also a writer on The Ford Show, though he has claimed that Roland Kibbee was in fact the show's main writer and that he merely wrote the opening monologues. Lear has also stated that both Yorkin and Kibbee were in charge on the show's production.[9] The program was officially named not for the host, but for the show's sponsor, the Ford Motor Company.[10]