City Lights continues its centennial celebration of the birth of Nat King Cole with WABE’s Jazz Host, H. Johnson.
In this segment, Johnson and “City Lights’” host Lois Reitzes spoke about the Nat King Cole Show. Cole was the first black man to host a nationally televised variety show and he has been called “the Jackie Robinson of TV.” The show aired on NBC from 1956 to 1957, despite the fact that the program hosted some of the biggest stars at the time.
NBC was unable to secure national sponsors for the show due to fear that their products would be boycotted by disgruntled Southerners. It was a brief, yet important event in modern American history. Cole was not only the highest paid black person in America of the time, but he was also one of the most successful entertainers in the world.
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