John Gunther's High Road
John Gunther's High Road is an American television travelogue series that was broadcast on ABC from September 7, 1959, through September 17, 1960.
Format
Author John Gunther, who traveled the world, was host of this series and narrated it. The show ranged "from Manhattan to the Himalayas in search of program material". Subjects of episodes went beyond geographic locations to include topics such as jazz music and space travel, leading Gunther to summarize the series as "inside everywhere". Producer Jerry Stagg said the main theme of the series was "the story of man, or men, in the never-ending struggle to conquer obstacles in his environment or relations with other people." Guest hosts on episodes included Cesar Romero, Herb Shriner, and Walter Winchell.Production
Stagg and Blue J. Productions produced John Gunther's High Road, which was sponsored by the Ralston-Purina Company. John Greene and Phillip Shuken were the writers. Some of the films shown in the series were made on Gunther's trips. Most were made by others, but they showed places that he had visited. Those other sources included the Soviet Union and the United Nations.The show was initially broadcast on Mondays from 8:30 to 9 p.m. Eastern Time, replacing Bold Journey. Beginning with the September 26, 1959, episode, it was moved to Saturdays from 8 to 8:30 p.m. E. T., where it remained until the series ended. Bourbon Street Beat took over the Saturday slot, and Jubilee, U. S. A. vacated the Monday slot to make room for John Gunther's High Road.