Search - Lee, Pinky Show - Volume 1 on DVD

The Talented Mr. Leff

Robert Huggins | Suburban Philadelphia, PA United States | 04/21/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The Pinky Lee Show was a children's television show originating from Los Angeles in 1954-56 and starred Pinky Lee (real name: Pincus Leff), a talented performer who started his early career in burlesque to become one of the most recognized hosts in early children's television programming. In two words, "The Pinky Lee Show" can be described as "high energy." Once Mr. Lee starts, he doesn't let up until the end of the show with his own brand of humor, song and dance. He's only interrupted once each show with a musical interlude from young songstress Molly Bee. Mr. Lee collapsed on the set of the show in 1955 due to an infection, but the show continued without him until 1956.

"The Pinky Lee Show" was broadcast live by NBC and saved only through the kinescope recording process. Apparently, most of the kinescopes are gone; this release from Alpha Video contains two shows that appear to be mostly complete. As one might expect, the visual quality from the kinescopes leaves a lot to be desired, but the two episodes are very watchable, particularly the second episode. Alpha also includes five cartoons from the early 1930s featuring the characters "Tom and Jerry" to round out this release. "The Pinky Lee Show," along with the The Howdy Doody Show - Clarabell Speaks & Other Episodes are two of the most important early children's television shows to have surfaced on DVD. A single episode of "The Pinky Lee Show" also appears on Shout! Factory's Hiya Kids! A 50's Saturday Morning Box, a nostalgic look back at children's programming from television's first decade.
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