In this CBS publicity photo of Arthur Godfrey Time, vocalist Patti Clayton is seen at the far right
and Godfrey sits in the foreground. Clayton, the original 1944 voice of Chiquita Banana, was
married to Godfrey's director, Saul Ochs


Arthur Morton Leo Godfrey (August 31, 1903 – March 16, 1983) was an
American radio and television broadcaster and entertainer who was sometimes
introduced by his nickname, The Old Redhead. He was strongly identified with
one of his sponsors, Lipton Tea.

Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts (also known as Talent Scouts) was a radio and
television variety show which ran on CBS from 1946 until 1958. Sponsored by
Lipton Tea, it starred Arthur Godfrey, who was also hosting Arthur Godfrey and
His Friends at the same time. The concept for the show was that Godfrey had
several "talent scouts" who brought their discoveries onto the program to showcase
their talents. The winner of each show was determined by a meter which judged the
audience's applause.

The radio series began July 2, 1946, and was heard on CBS Tuesday evenings at 9pm.
The winner on October 1, 1946, was pianist José Melis, who later became a familiar
late night television personality as the orchestra leader on Jack Paar's Tonight show.

Godfrey was married to the former Mary Bourke from 1938 until his death in 1983.
They had three children. Emphysema, resulting from the radiation treatments for Godfrey's
cancer, became a problem in the early 1980s, and he died of the disease in New York City
on March 16, 1983. Godfrey is buried at Union Cemetery in Leesburg, Virginia, not far from
his farm in Waterford, Virginia.

As much as the termination of any live anthology drama from New York, Godfrey's end
symbolized the close of the era of experimental, live television. But Arthur Godfrey should be
remembered for more than his skill in performing for live television. Perhaps even more
significant is that he taught the medium how to sell. In terms of the forces of that have shaped
and continue to shape the medium of television, Arthur Godfrey's career perfectly illustrates the
workings of the star system. Here was a person who seemed to have had "no talent," but was
so effective that through most of the 1950s he was "everywhere" in the mass media. In the end
times and tastes changed. In 1951 that Arthur Godfrey stood as the very center of American
television. Eight years later he was back on radio, a forgotten man to all but the few who
listened to the "old" medium.