
Web series
The Bell Telephone Hour
“The Bell Telephone Hour” was a musical variety show that aired on “NBC” TV from 12 January 1959 to 14 June 1968 that showcased the best in Broadway, Classical, Concert, Jazz and Popular music each week. The series had its’ own house band appropriately named the “Bell Telephone Orchestra”. The show also had its’ own theme song being the “Bell Waltz” composed by “Donald Voorhees” who was also the show's Orchestra conductor. Some of the greatest violinists of the 1960’s performed on this show that aired in the old “Black & White” format. Some of these great violinists included “Erica Mornin”, “Isaac Stern", "Michael Rabin", "Ruggiero Ricci", "Yehudi Menuhin" and "Zino Francesacatti". From time to time some of the great singers and bandleaders of the 1960’s would perform on the show as well. Some of these were “Bing Crosby”, “Gordon MacRae”, “John Gary”, “Leslie Uggams”, “Mary Martin”, “Nelson Eddy”, “Patti Page” and “Roy Rogers”. The TV show followed on the heels of its’ predecessor with the same name on “NBC” radio that aired from 29 April 1940 to 1958 on Monday nights at 8 PM. The name of the show was derived from its’ Major sponsor “Bell Telephone Laboratories”. The TV version began airing on Friday nights at 8:30 PM once a month. It later was given it’s same time slot now airing every other week alternating with another show on the other weeks such as News shows and specials. The show time slot changed quite often over the years. In September 1960 it aired at 9 PM and in September 1961 it moved to 9:30 PM. In October 1963 it moved to Tuesday nights at 10 PM, September 1965 it moved to Sunday night at 6:30 PM and in September 1967 it made its' final move back to Friday night at 10 PM.
- Status
- Ended
- Type
- Scripted
- Last aired
- 1968-05-17
- Language
- English
NBC
- classical music
- broadway
Seasons
Season 1
4 episodes · 1959
No season synopsis available yet.
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Season 2
13 episodes · 1959
No season synopsis available yet.
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Season 3
15 episodes · 1960
No season synopsis available yet.
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Season 4
14 episodes · 1961
No season synopsis available yet.
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Season 5
8 episodes · 1962
No season synopsis available yet.
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Season 6
19 episodes · 1963
No season synopsis available yet.
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Season 7
15 episodes · 1964
No season synopsis available yet.
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Season 8
16 episodes · 1965
No season synopsis available yet.
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Season 9
3 episodes · 1966
No season synopsis available yet.
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Season 10
13 episodes · 1967
No season synopsis available yet.
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Top billed cast

















Behind the camera
Produced in
United States of America
Air dates
- First aired
- 1959-01-12
- Latest episode
- 1968-05-17
- Status
- Ended
- Next release
- Completed
- Season 112 Jan 1959
- Season 29 Oct 1959
- Season 330 Sept 1960
- Season 429 Sept 1961
- Season 524 Sept 1962
- Season 68 Oct 1963
- Season 76 Oct 1964
- Season 826 Sept 1965
- Season 918 Dec 1966
- Season 108 Sept 1967
Frequently asked questions
- Where can I watch The Bell Telephone Hour?
- Streaming availability for India is not yet confirmed.
- How many seasons does The Bell Telephone Hour have?
- 10 seasons · 120 episodes · Ended.
- What is the rating of The Bell Telephone Hour?
- 8.0/10 from 4 TMDB votes.












