Black First of the Day
Who was the first Black entertainer to host his own show on national television?
- He was born in Montgomery, Alabama and grew up in Chicago.
- He was one of the most successful singers of popular music.
- In 1948, he led the first black jazz group to have its own sponsored program on radio.
- "Straighten Up and Fly Right," his first record, sold more than five hundred thousand copies.
1956
Nat King Cole [Nathaniel Coles] (1919-1965)
Entertainer Nat King Cole (1919-1965) became the first major black performer to host his own television show, The Nat King Cole Show. The show was first aired on October 3 and ran for sixty-four weeks. The show received low ratings from the start. When no commercial sponsor could be secured, the show was canceled and went off the air in December 1957.
Sources: Bogle, Primetime Blues, pp. 75-77; Contemporary Black Biography, vol. 17, pp. 37-41; Smith, Notable Black American Men, pp. 215-17.
From Black Firsts: 4,000 Ground-Breaking and Pioneering Events by Jessie Carney Smith, © 2013 Visible Ink Press®. A celebration of achievement, accomplishments and pride.
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