TV Cooking Shows between James Beard and Julia Child
Part 9
In continuing to post about all the TV Cooking shows from 1946-1963; this probably will be one of the last two-three posts before summing up everything we have learned thus far. It will totally depend on how much we can include before we exceed the length limits for a specific post.
The Alice Weston Show - Alice Weston (1911-2007)
Alice Weston was an accomplished reporter and interviewer. She grew up Michigan and earned a degree in Journalism at the University of Michigan and went on to obtain a Masters in Communication from Kent State. In 1950, only .02% of women obtained a Master’s Degree!1 She married Aaron Schowalker and they subsequently had 2 children. She became a lecturer for the Detroit Free Press who then sent her to cooking school. When her husband was transferred to Ohio ( he was in the steel industry); she hosted first a radio cooking show and then became the host of the first TV Cooking Show for WEWS in Cleveland, Ohio. She was convinced to change her name to Alice Weston by the TV station for greater acceptance.
She was once quoted: “ When I was beginning, there was only one path available for women in the new medium (TV) and that was the discussion of food. We’ve come a long way since then.”2
In 1968, she moved to WJUB and stayed there 26 years as a public service director and co-host of a TV show called 43 AM.
She was later inducted into the Press Club of Cleveland’s Journalism Hall of Fame.
Lady’s Day and Woman’s World - Kay Russell
Prior to doing her show on WSYR-TV in Syracuse which included cooking but also women’s issues more broadly; Kay Russell was primarily focused on a career in fashion. She worked for Macy’s, Sak’s and the Tailored Woman Store ( all in NYC) as well as serving as a fashion consultant for Lever Brothers. Ladies Day was launched in 1952 and continuously was on the air for a record-breaking 25 years.
Lady’s Day had varied content ranging from recipe contests for listeners to driving around Syracuse on the search for witnessing courteous drivers at the wheel of their cars.
Paul Abbott assisted her on the program and was written up in the Syracuse Post-Standard (8/30/1954 - page 18) where he was asked “what is it like to be the man on a woman’s show”.
An example of the recipe contest for readers is below:
Finally, after Lady’s Day went off the air, Kay Russell continued with a radio show called Woman’s World.
Features for Women - Deborah Adams
Deborah Adams hosted a show called Features for Women in Philadelphia for WFIL-TV from 1952 until about 1964. It was a melange of different aspects for improving the daily life of homemakers, including cooking.
Vey little else can be found about the show or Deborah Adams herself, despite the show’s longevity.
Television Kitchen - Florence Hanford
Florence Hanford was involved in one of the more successful TV Cooking shows. Sponsored by the Philadelphia Electric Company, it first went on the air in 1947 and went through more than 15 seasons and over 700 episodes. More than 100,000 viewers would watch an episode. Her focus was typically to show how to prepare and cook a complete dinner. An estimated 1,350,000 requests were made for her recipes.
Florence Hanford first started preparing and making dishes in her High School Home Economics class; went on to Temple University to obtain her Home Economics degree, and subsequently taught at the University. She joined the Philadelphia Electric Company in 1943 and became its Supervisor of Home Economics in its advertising department.
Cooking Tips, Now You’re Cooking and Fun House - Pete Boyle
Pete Boyle was a jack of all trades TV regular who hosted two TV Cooking Shows in the 1951-1955 era for WFIL-TV in Philadelphia, Pa.
His nickname was “Chuckwagon” which he earned for his appearances on a later non-cooking show called FunHouse.
Chef Lorenzo - Lorenzo Simonetti
Born in the Piedmont region of Italy, he emigrated to the United States at the age of 15 and settled in Cleveland, Ohio. His first job was as an ice cream mixer at the Cleveland Athletic Club but then took on a wide range of employers - pastry chef at the Hotel Statler; Hotels Carter and Hollenden; then chef at the Netherland Plaza Hotel in Cincinnati (1931-1946) before returning to Cleveland to become the chef at Broglio’s restaurant.
Chef Lorenzo appeared on WNBK -TV in Cleveland 5 days a week starting in 1952 for 18 months and then WAKR-TV in Akron for three years. Following that, he became the head chef at Ottino’s restaurant in Cleveland. Finally, he decided to run for City Council in 1957 as a Democrat.4
Kay’s Kitchen - Kay Neuman
Kay Neuman was an extremely popular TV Cooking Show host on WDTV and KDKA in Pittsburgh, Pa. from 1950-1960. Below is a interesting article where it is suggested that children wanted to lick the TV screens.
Below is an interesting document. It is the actual script used by Kay Neuman to follow as she presented an episode:
She also had her recipes published weekly in the newspaper for general use - another concept not generally followed by other TV Cooking Shows of this era.
Prior to her stint on TV; she obtained a degree in Home Economics from Columbia University and her first employment was demonstrating mangles ( a device dating back to the 17th century using rollers to iron sheets and linens).
Pots, Pans and Personalities - Mary Wilson
Mary Wilson performed on this TV Cooking Show from around 1952-1955 on WPTZ, Philadelphia. The concept was to prepare the favorite dishes of prominent people and carry on conversations as they completed the effort.
Surprisingly, there is very little documentation about the show or, for that matter, Mary Wilson herself.
Chat GPT
https://bjretirees.blogspot.com/2007/01/tv-personality-alice-weston-dies.html
Philadelphia Inquirer; 2/8/1959; page 206
The Cleveland Press, 9/06/1957 page 18
Pittsburgh Post Gazette, 9/11/1960
Internet Archive