How long was this show on for?

[Will]

How long was this show on for?

[DJM77]

Originally posted by Will
How long was this show on for?

Amos and Andy had a two year run.
June 28, 1951 - June 11, 1953

[W.J. Griffin]

Actually, "Amos 'n' Andy " began as a fifteen-minute radio serial in 1928, at first broadcast locally in the Chicago area on WMAQ, then syndicated to various radio stations around the country, one of the first programs to be distibuted thusly. Becoming something of a regional hit, the show was picked up by the fledgling National Broadcasting Company, which began airing the show at 11:15 pm in March, 1929. It continued as a nightly fifteen-minute serial until early 1943 when, due to declining ratings the show was transformed into a once-a-week self-contained situation comedy. In 1948 the show's creators---Freeman F. Gosden (Amos, Lightnin' and Kingfish) and Charles J. Correll (Andy, Henry van Porter) sold the show to the Columbia Broadcasting System, which began immediate plans to turn the property into a tv program. After two years of extensive searching, "The Amos 'n' Andy Show" premiered in June of 1951...the same week the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was holding their annual convention. To say the fat hit the fire would be an understatement; the NAACP launched a nationwide boycott of the program, which garnered a lot of negative publicity for the producers and sponsors of the show but, ultimately, had little effect. Eventually, after two seasons the "Amos 'n' Andy" show was cancelled by the network, who immediately put the show into syndication, where it ran continuously until, in the midst of the civil-rights movement, it was removed from syndication forever.

[W.J. Griffin]

If anyone on this message board wants to know more about the long history of "Amos 'n' Andy", I know of a couple of resources you might want to consider:

Amos 'n' Andy In Person by Elizabeth McLeod (http://www.midcoast.com/~lizmcl/aa) A thoroughly complete dissertation of the origins of the radio show and television series, including complete scripts, rare photos, and personal details about the show's creators, Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll, as well as a discussion on the series' impact on 20th century America and its attitudes on race.

A related link is the Amos 'n' Andy Discussion Group (http://disc.server.com/discussion.cgi?id=8108) an EXTREMLEY lively message board where all things relevant to the "A&A" show (and some things that AREN'T) are discussed, debated, and cussed over by knowlegeable fans of the series in all its incarnations (did you know there were "Amos 'n' Andy" animated cartoons? Or that some of the more popular sitcoms of the 1950's, like "The Honeymooners" and "Leave It To Beaver" were inspired by this show?) It's a page not for the weak of heart.

ALSO...all the various search-engines on the web will lead you to a variety of links that will give you audio clips, lost videos, Amos 'n' Andy memorabelia and other miscellaneous data that'll make your head explode!!

Good Luck!

[Fan of old shows]

wow 1928... man thats a long time...

[W.J. Griffin]

Yes, "Amos 'n' Andy" ran on the radio as a nightly fifteen-minute serial from 1928 to 1943; as a weekly radio sitcom from 1943 to 1954; and as "The Amos 'n' Andy Music Hall", a musicla variety program, from 1954 to 1960. All in all, the radio version was on the air for 32 years. By contrast, the tv show only ran on CBS for two seasons (1951-1953), plus an additional thirteen episodes made for first-run syndication. And the syndicated version ran until 1966, when CBS pulled it from distribution (The official reason is the show was getting played out, but you also have to consider the then-current civil-rights movement may have had something to do withits withdrawal.) Currently, the only way to see "Amos 'n' Andy" is on poor-quality bootleg vhs tapes, many of which you can find online. And many old-time radio clubs can offer access to the old serials and sitcom episodes.

[Twilight_Trekker]

Theres about 12 episodes that are not perfect & it doesn't matter where you get them from. These tapes are very good in overall quality. If you're looking for Columbia House quality videos, you can forget it.