The Continental was a short-lived TV show that
debuted in 1951 on KNBH Los Angeles and aired nationally on ABC and CBS during the 1952-1953 TV season. Sponsored by
Cameo Stockings, the show featured Italian actor
Renzo Cesana (who got discovered when Robert Rossellini produced a play Cesana wrote when he was 16!) purring seductively into the camera, while offering "sham-pan-ya" to an offscreen lady friend. Best known for inspiring a series of
Saturday Night Live sketches starring
Christopher Walken, the show inspired parodies in its own era, such as this
Popeye cartoon (where Bluto tries to seduce Olive Oyl by posing as "The International"), a
Jerry Lewis skit on the
Colgate Comedy Hour that imagines the Continental as played by Marlon Brando, and a Pepe Le Pew cartoon where our amorous skunk attempts to seduce the feline object of his affection in
The Cat's Bah. Unfortunately, Internet footage of the real show appears to be nonexistent, although you can buy some
love songs recorded by the Continental off EBay.
posted by jonp72
on Aug 14, 2007 -
25 comments
