The Kate Smith Evening Hour

I was too young to remember much about "The Kate Smith Evening Hour," but I do remember her daytime show that ran from 1950 until 1954. The evening hour opened with the stout lady with the beautiful yet booming voice belting out "God Bless America." The daytime show opened with her magnificent rendition of "When the Moon Comes Over The Mountain." I can see her now standing beside the piano, her voice reaching for the heavens, dressed as if at a recital. The evening show produced a spin-off, the popular "Ethel and Albert" (Peg Lynch & Alan Bunce) TV series. Like the "Kate Smith Evening Hour," "Ethel and Albert" had also been a favorite of radio audiences for years. I usually watched Kate Smith in the afternoon as a prelude to all the kid shows that followed, "Pinky Lee," "Gabby Hayes," and "Howdy Doody."