Television

Photoplay magazine     October 1937

Miss Ginger Rogers made a lot of television appearances in the 1950's and 1960's but I haven't found many in the public domain.   Here are a few to check out from archive.org


She was on The Bob Hope Chevy Show, December 28, 1956, aired (or taped) from a US military base in Alaska.  Ginger makes an appearance as "Ginger Peachy" in a sketch with Bob and sings and dances with Bob near the end of the show too.  Peggy King, Mickey Mantle, Jerry Colonna, Hedda Hopper, Carol Morris, Miss Universe at the time; the Del Rubio Triplets, the Purdue University Glee Club, and Les Brown and his band of Renown also appear on the show:

• http://archive.org/details/TheBobHopeChevyShow-28december1956

The Steve Allen Show had the addition of the lovely and talented Miss Rogers on more than one occasion.  One of these performance from October 1957 where Ginger imitated different kinds of female singers is available.  It is funny and it shows just how versatile her singing was:

• http://archive.org/details/SteveAllenShowSingers1
• http://archive.org/details/SteveAllenPlymouthIntro

The second URL has clips from a few shows including the singers sketch.  The quality isn't the best but it shows off Ginger's talents.


She appeared as a guest on the Jack Benny Show, November 3, 1957.   Funny lines and a funny dance with Ginger and Jack make up the show:

• http://archive.org/details/GingerRogersAsGuest

She appeared as a guest on the Dinah Shore New Years Eve, taped December 29, 1961 but you can guess when it aired.   Ginger sings and dances to "I Could Have Danced All Night" (you have to wait until 20:41 in the show), appears in a sketch with a song with Dinah and George Burns, and again in song with Dinah, George Burns and Nat King Cole.  The other guests get their turns as well during the hour long show:

• http://archive.org/details/DinahShoreNewYearsEve1961

Ginger made a pilot for a television series called The Ginger Rogers Show, where she played twins Margaret and Elizabeth Harcourt.  It also starred Charles Ruggles.  It wasn't picked up, which is surprising and disappointing to me.  However, according to IMDb.com, it was part of Vacation Playhouse, Season 1, Episode 1, called "A Love Affair Just for Three", and aired July 22, 1963. (updated May 13, 2013)

• http://archive.org/details/GingerRogersShowPilot

A big favorite for lots is Rogers and Hammerstein's made-for-tv musical of Cinderella.  Ginger played the Queen with Walter Pidgeon as the King, Celeste Holm as the Fairy Godmother, Leslie Ann Warren as Cinderella and Stuart Damon as the Prince.  IMDB.com lists the release date as February 22, 1965.

• http://archive.org/details/RogersampHammersteinsCinderella

Ginger sang "I Used To Be Colorblind" and danced with Jean-Pierre Cassel on a French television special Palmares 80, Mireille Mathieu Hommage.  Ginger appears early in the show at 6:20.  The description is: Guy Lux hosts this program that pays tribute to Mireille Mathieu, Claude Francois and Ginger Rogers.
According to IMDB.com, it aired May 1, 1980 and Ginger was able to appear on the show because she was in France rehearsing for an engagement at the Olympia:

• http://archive.org/details/1980MireilleMathieuHommagePalmares80

Photoplay magazine image above available at:
http://archive.org/stream/photoplayvolume551chic#page/n43/mode/2up