The Greatest Show on Earth (TV series)

The Greatest Show on Earth is an American drama series starring Jack Palance about the American circus, which aired on ABC from September 17, 1963, to September 8, 1964.^[1][2] It was produced by Desilu, the production company founded by Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz^{[citation needed]}

The Greatest Show on Earth
Jack Palance as Johnny Slate
Genre	Drama
Written by	Neil Bernstein Calvin Clements Meyer Dolinski Fenton Hobart, Jr. Paul Mason Bob Rafelson Jason Wingreen William Wood
Directed by	Arthur Hiller Leslie H. Martinson Vincent McEveety Jack Palance
Starring	Jack Palance Stuart Erwin
Theme music composer	Richard Rodgers
Opening theme	"March of the Clowns"
Composer	Jeff Alexander
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	30
Production
Producer	Stanley Colbert
Camera setup	Single-camera
Running time	48 mins.
Production companies	Cody Productions Desilu Productions Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Television
Original release
Network	ABC
Release	September 17, 1963 (1963-09-17) – April 28, 1964 (1964-04-28)

Plot

The show was based on the 1952 film of the same name.^[1] Palance portrayed Johnny Slate, the boss of a circus. Stu Erwin played Otto King, whose money financed the circus. Episodes focused on various kinds of performers from week to week, with Slate trying to maintain peace among the different groups.^[2]

Guest stars

Guest star Lucille Ball whose company Desilu Productions produced the series), and Jack Palance in the episode "Lady in Limbo"

• Don Ameche
• John Astin
• Lucille Ball
• Edgar Bergen
• Joan Blondell^[3]
• Patricia Breslin
• Geraldine Brooks
• Joe E. Brown
• Ellen Burstyn
• Red Buttons
• Spring Byington
• Rory Calhoun
• James Coburn
• Yvonne De Carlo
• William Demarest
• Bruce Dern
• Brandon deWilde
• Tony Dow
• Bill Erwin
• Stuart Erwin
• Fabian
• José Ferrer^[4]
• Nina Foch
• Anthony Franciosa
• Annette Funicello
• Billy Gray
• Dabbs Greer
• Dwayne Hickman
• Dennis Hopper
• Betty Hutton
• Buster Keaton^[1]
• Ruby Keeler^[1]
• Russell Johnson
• Jack Lord^[5]
• Dorothy Malone
• Ricardo Montalbán
• Joanna Moore
• Agnes Moorehead
• Bill Mumy
• Barry Nelson
• Julie Newmar
• Sheree North
• Edmond O'Brien
• Cliff Robertson
• Ruth Roman^[6]
• Dean Stockwell
• Russ Tamblyn
• Russell Thorson
• Brenda Vaccaro^[1]
• Deborah Walley
• Tuesday Weld
• James Whitmore

Episodes

No.	Title	Original release date
1	"Lion on Fire"	September 17, 1963 (1963-09-17)
2	"Silent Love, Secret Love"	September 24, 1963 (1963-09-24)
3	"No Middle Ground For Harry Kyle"	October 1, 1963 (1963-10-01)
4	"Don't Look Down, Don't Look Back"	October 8, 1963 (1963-10-08)
5	"Garve"	October 15, 1963 (1963-10-15)
6	"The Loser"	October 22, 1963 (1963-10-22)
7	"Uncaged"	October 29, 1963 (1963-10-29)
8	"The Circus Never Came To Town"	November 5, 1963 (1963-11-05)
9	"An Echo of Faded Velvet"	November 12, 1963 (1963-11-12)
10	"The Hanging Man"	November 19, 1963 (1963-11-19)
11	"Leaves In the Wind"	November 26, 1963 (1963-11-26)
12	"The Wrecker"	December 3, 1963 (1963-12-03)
13	"Lady in Limbo"	December 10, 1963 (1963-12-10)
14	"A Black Dress for Gina"	December 17, 1963 (1963-12-17)
15	"Where the Wire Ends"	January 7, 1964 (1964-01-07)
16	"Corsicans Don't Cry"	January 14, 1964 (1964-01-14)
17	"Big Man From Nairobi"	January 21, 1964 (1964-01-21)
18	"The Show Must Go On – To Orange City"	January 28, 1964 (1964-01-28)
19	"A Place to Belong"	February 11, 1964 (1964-02-11)
20	"Man In a Hole"	February 18, 1964 (1964-02-18)
21	"Clancy"	February 25, 1964 (1964-02-25)
22	"The Last of the Strongmen"	March 3, 1964 (1964-03-03)
23	"The Night the Monkey Died"	March 10, 1964 (1964-03-10)
24	"Of Blood, Sawdust, and a Bucket of Tears"	March 17, 1964 (1964-03-17)
25	"Rosetta"	March 24, 1964 (1964-03-24)
26	"The Glorious Days of the Used to Be"	March 31, 1964 (1964-03-31)
27	"Love the Giver"	April 7, 1964 (1964-04-07)
28	"This Train Don't Stop Till It Gets There"	April 14, 1964 (1964-04-14)
29	"There Are No Problems, Only Opportunities"	April 21, 1964 (1964-04-21)
30	"You're All Right, Ivy"	April 28, 1964 (1964-04-28)

Production

Stanley Colbert was the producer.^[1] Don Richardson was the director, and William Wood was the writer.^[7] Members of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus performed regularly on the show.^[2] Sponsored by Kaiser, American Tobacco, and Alberto-Culver,^[8] the program was Desilu's first color series.^[9]

The Greatest Show on Earth faced competition from two comedy programs on CBS: Petticoat Junction and The Jack Benny Program. NBC aired The Richard Boone Show at the same 9 p.m. Tuesday slot.^[7] The series was canceled after one season.

Critical response

The trade publication Sponsor said that although The Greatest Show on Earth had "great dramatic possibilities", it was "really a simple adventure yarn if you strip the three rings away".^[10]

A review of the premiere episode in the trade publication Variety said that the circus aspect was secondary "while a somewhat unbelievable drama hogged the center ring spotlight".^[11] The review added that the episode's acting was implausible, with "hardly a person present one would readily identify as a circus character".^[11]