# Way before Dianne Carroll and Nat King Cole, This African American was the first to have a tv show **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** talk-variety-show\ **Created:** [June 19, 2023, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-before-dianne-carroll-and-nat-king-cole-this-african-american-was-the-first-to-have-a-tv-show/985786 "2023-06-19T20:02:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2023, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-before-dianne-carroll-and-nat-king-cole-this-african-american-was-the-first-to-have-a-tv-show/985786/1 "2023-06-19T20:02:29Z")
I am referring to Hazel Scott, who had her own show on the DuMont Television Network back in 1950, and she was a lifetime activist for African-American causes also. She was a hell of a classical and jazz pianist- [Bing Videos](https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?q=youtube+hazel+scott&mid=4E3D532D4FC7D78C9D214E3D532D4FC7D78C9D21) and: [Bing Videos](https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?q=youtube+hazel+scott&mid=7BA4F9955C6A6078218B7BA4F9955C6A6078218B) Before the Red Scare took her show off the air it aired three times a week, which was quite the accomplishment. On this Juneteenth, I thought highlighting this incredible woman would be most appropriate. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2023, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-before-dianne-carroll-and-nat-king-cole-this-african-american-was-the-first-to-have-a-tv-show/985786/2 "2023-06-19T20:48:08Z")
Cool, thanks for this. DuMont TV was innovative in many ways — not just the racial diversity of its programming (Asian American as well), but in things like the first shows with multiple commercial sponsors, and the first simultaneous broadcasts in the East and the Midwest: > **[DuMont Television Network](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/DuMont_Television_Network)** > > The DuMont Television Network (also known as the DuMont Network, DuMont Television, simply DuMont/Du Mont, or (incorrectly) Dumont\[a\] /ˈduːmɒnt/) was one of America's pioneer commercial television networks, rivaling NBC and CBS for the distinction of being first overall in the United States. It was owned by Allen B. DuMont Laboratories, a television equipment and set manufacturer, and began operation on June 28, 1942. > The network was hindered by the prohibitive cost of broadcasting, a freeze o... ---
**Author:** ![Jaycat.again](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat.again/32/11525_2.png) [@Jaycat.again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaycat.again)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2023, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-before-dianne-carroll-and-nat-king-cole-this-african-american-was-the-first-to-have-a-tv-show/985786/3 "2023-06-19T21:16:42Z")
I have her record. I think it’s called ‘Relaxed Piano Moods.’ On Charles Mingus’ Debut label, IIRC. It’s pretty good too. I don’t know if she ever made any others. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2023, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-before-dianne-carroll-and-nat-king-cole-this-african-american-was-the-first-to-have-a-tv-show/985786/4 "2023-06-19T21:20:17Z")
She did a bit more than that. Here is her discography from her Wiki entry: [Hazel Scott - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hazel_Scott#Selected_discography) ---
**Author:** ![Jaycat.again](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat.again/32/11525_2.png) [@Jaycat.again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaycat.again)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2023, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-before-dianne-carroll-and-nat-king-cole-this-african-american-was-the-first-to-have-a-tv-show/985786/5 "2023-06-19T21:22:24Z")
Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2023, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-before-dianne-carroll-and-nat-king-cole-this-african-american-was-the-first-to-have-a-tv-show/985786/6 "2023-06-19T22:14:32Z")
Thanks for posting this. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-before-dianne-carroll-and-nat-king-cole-this-african-american-was-the-first-to-have-a-tv-show/985786/7 "2023-06-20T17:44:25Z")
It nudges out the _Amos ‘n’ Andy_ TV show which started in 1951. While the show itself should be forgotten the actors who appeared in it should not. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-before-dianne-carroll-and-nat-king-cole-this-african-american-was-the-first-to-have-a-tv-show/985786/8 "2023-06-20T17:53:54Z")
I read an interesting book published in 2021 which discusses the TV careers of Hazel Scott and three other women in detail: _When Women Invented Television: The Untold Story of the Female Powerhouses Who Pioneered the Way We Watch Today_, by Jennifer Keishin Armstrong. I recommend it. ---
**Author:** ![toml12953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6bbea6/32.png) [@toml12953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toml12953)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-before-dianne-carroll-and-nat-king-cole-this-african-american-was-the-first-to-have-a-tv-show/985786/9 "2023-06-21T09:59:45Z")
Ethel Waters also had a TV series in 1950-1953 called Beulah in which she played the title role as a maid. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2023, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-before-dianne-carroll-and-nat-king-cole-this-african-american-was-the-first-to-have-a-tv-show/985786/10 "2023-06-22T07:03:04Z")
Just as I was reading the OP, listening to the breakfast programme on the BBC 's classical music station, they had a segment on [Winifred Atwell](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winifred_Atwell) who had a similar success over here at about the same time: though, despite her classical training and performance of the classical repertoire, she was best known for playing honky-tonk style.