Lucy and Snoopy of the comic strip “Peanuts”

From left: Guest star Douglas Fairbanks and show host Bob Hope.
Other guests included Dinah Shore, and the Mexico City Boys Choir
singing the Hallelujah Chorus.

It was Easter Sunday, April 9, 1950 and the national TV debut of Bob
Hope on NBC in a 90 minute variety extravaganza called The Star
Spangled Review. He had previously appeared on a 1947 West
Coast broadcast, but this was a Big Deal, his first national television
appearance.

The TV special, produced by Max Liebman who was also responsible
for Sid Caesar & Imogene Coca’s “Your Show of Shows” at the time.

The show was a ratings success and Hope agreed to become the host
on a regular basis. It was much like Hope’s radio show, a mixture of jokes,
skits, and musical quest stars. It was eventually renamed the Bob Hope
Special and aired as a staple on NBC until 1997.

The first issue of TV Guide, still the largest circulating weekly in the
U.S., featured Lucille Ball’s newborn son Desi Arnaz, Jr. on the cover.

Desi Arnaz, Jr. turned 61 in January