Milton Berle

Here’s a clip I found that showcases a fun way of introducing the guests on a talk/variety show. At the start of Milton Berle’s colour prime-time special from 1963, instead of using an announcer, he sings the introductions of all his guests, and has each one of them sing a parody of a popular song to introduce themselves. (Laurence Harvey singing “Put On a Happy Face,” and so on.) It can’t be an original technique, because it’s Berle and nothing he ever did was original, but it’s so wonderfully full of the style, music and clothes of the era.