| 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 – April 28, 1964 |
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 April 28, 1964. It was produced by Desilu, the production company founded by Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, Sr.
Plot[edit]
Guest stars[edit]
- Don Ameche
- John Astin
- Lucille Ball
- Edgar Bergen
- Joan Blondell
- 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
- Nina Foch
- Anthony Franciosa
- Annette Funicello
- Billy Gray
- Dabbs Greer
- Dwayne Hickman
- Dennis Hopper
- Betty Hutton
- Buster Keaton
- Ruby Keeler
- Russell Johnson
- Jack Lord
- Dorothy Malone
- Ricardo Montalbán
- Joanna Moore
- Agnes Moorehead
- Bill Mumy
- Barry Nelson
- Julie Newmar
- Sheree North
- Edmond O'Brien
- Cliff Robertson
- Ruth Roman
- Dean Stockwell
- Russ Tamblyn
- Russell Thorson
- Brenda Vaccaro
- Deborah Walley
- Tuesday Weld
- James Whitmore
Episodes[edit]
| No. | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Lion on Fire" | September 17, 1963 |
| 2 | "Silent Love, Secret Love" | September 24, 1963 |
| 3 | "No Middle Ground For Harry Kyle" | October 1, 1963 |
| 4 | "Don't Look Down, Don't Look Back" | October 8, 1963 |
| 5 | "Garve" | October 15, 1963 |
| 6 | "The Loser" | October 22, 1963 |
| 7 | "Uncaged" | October 29, 1963 |
| 8 | "The Circus Never Came To Town" | November 5, 1963 |
| 9 | "An Echo of Faded Velvet" | November 12, 1963 |
| 10 | "The Hanging Man" | November 19, 1963 |
| 11 | "Leaves In the Wind" | November 26, 1963 |
| 12 | "The Wrecker" | December 3, 1963 |
| 13 | "Lady in Limbo" | December 10, 1963 |
| 14 | "A Black Dress for Gina" | December 17, 1963 |
| 15 | "Where the Wire Ends" | January 7, 1964 |
| 16 | "Corsicans Don't Cry" | January 14, 1964 |
| 17 | "Big Man From Nairobi" | January 21, 1964 |
| 18 | "The Show Must Go On – To Orange City" | January 28, 1964 |
| 19 | "A Place to Belong" | February 11, 1964 |
| 20 | "Man In a Hole" | February 18, 1964 |
| 21 | "Clancy" | February 25, 1964 |
| 22 | "The Last of the Strongmen" | March 3, 1964 |
| 23 | "The Night the Monkey Died" | March 10, 1964 |
| 24 | "Of Blood, Sawdust, and a Bucket of Tears" | March 17, 1964 |
| 25 | "Rosetta" | March 24, 1964 |
| 26 | "The Glorious Days of the Used to Be" | March 31, 1964 |
| 27 | "Love the Giver" | April 7, 1964 |
| 28 | "This Train Don't Stop Till It Gets There" | April 14, 1964 |
| 29 | "There Are No Problems, Only Opportunities" | April 21, 1964 |
| 30 | "You're All Right, Ivy" | April 28, 1964 |
Reception[edit]
The Greatest Show on Earth faced competition from two comedy programs on CBS: Petticoat Junction, Bea Benaderet's burgeoning spin-off of The Beverly Hillbillies (which was in its first year of a successful run), and the long-running The Jack Benny Program. NBC aired The Richard Boone Show at the same 9 p.m. Tuesday slot. The series was canceled after one season.
