Ah, we have here a complete episode of The Steve Allen Show from June 29, 1958. When I see shows like this, I'm struck by how much TV has changed in the following way. Today, if you went to any network and suggested a prime-time series that would open with the host and guest stars just standing around and largely ad-libbing for ten minutes, you'd find yourself out in the parking lot within moments. Actually, proposing a variety show at all might do the trick…but to suggest putting something this casual on the air would certainly end the meeting. Even The Jay Leno Show, which was about as close as they've come to that in the evening, opened with carefully prepared material.
This episode is most notable for the guesting by Don Adams, Tony Bennett and Oscar Levant. Mr. Levant was a delightful snide presence on a lot of TV shows of the fifties and early sixties. Professionally, he was a pianist but he wasn't always asked to play the piano as he was on this program. People just liked hearing him talk and complain about his health and make scathing sarcastic remarks about famous people. His sit-down chat with Steverino about halfway-through was staged to seem ad-libbed but obviously scripted as you can tell by the way Levant rarely takes his eyes off his cue cards. Still, I believe a lot of the lines on those cards are things he said on other shows in more spontaneous appearances.
That aside, there's really only one fully-written and staged comedy piece in this hour — a sketch that doesn't commence until almost 43 minutes into the hour. There's also an interesting musical number with Tony Bennett at the end that spills out into the streets of New York. Take a peek…
