Mohawk Showroom
Mohawk Showroom is an American musical television program that debuted on NBC on May 2, 1949 and ended on November 23, 1951. It was sponsored by Mohawk Carpet Mills Inc. In 1951, the program was one of several NBC-TV shows selected to be shown to United States military personnel overseas via kinescope recordings. The same title was also used for a similar radio program in 1951.
Overview
Morton Downey and Roberta Quinlan initially shared hosting duties on the 15-minute program, Carmen Mastren and The Chieftains provided music, and Bob Stanton was the announcer. Downey starred on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and Quinlan was the star on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Because of the alternating hosts, the series was sometimes referred to as The Morton Downey Show and The Roberta Quinlan Show. Downey left the show after the December 9, 1949, episode, and Quinlan became featured on each episode. At some point the Tuesday and Thursday segments were dropped, with broadcasts continuing at 7:30 p. m. Eastern Time on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Each of the program's episodes had a theme to which all of its songs related. Commercials were also tailored to the theme as much as possible.Production
Roger Muir was the producer; Clark Jones and Doug Rodgers were the directors. The show originated from WNBT.Critical reception
A review of Downey's show in The New York Times said that most episodes of the show provided "a program with both pace and variety". The review complimented Downey's performance but said that he should not "try to incorporate too much extraneous 'business'", because he came across better with a more relaxed approach.In September 1951, a review in the trade publication Billboard complimented Quinlan's performance and the show's visual presentation. It called the program "one of the really pleasant little musical quarter hours in television".