The show premiered on
September 30, 1959. Cliff Arquette, in his Charley Weaver persona, hosted the show
throughout the run of the series. For the first two months, the show was called Charley Weaver's Hobby Lobby, but on November 25, 1959, the name of the show was changed to The Charley Weaver Show.[2][3]
The first episodes essentially followed the same format as the Hobby Lobby radio interview show hosted by Dave Elman and broadcast from 1937 to 1949: people, both celebrities and not, were interviewed about their hobbies, both unusual and not.[4] However, at the end of November (and perhaps earlier),
"variety and comedy sketches" had been added,[2] and hobby discussions were dropped.[3] Charley Weaver's "Letters from Mama" monologues concerning daily life in the fictional town of Mount Idy were always part of the show, with the other members of the cast playing characters referred to in the letters.[3]
^Young, William H. and Young, Nancy K. (2007) The Great Depression in America: A Cultural Encyclopedia, Greenwood Publishing Group, p. 235, ISBN0-313-33520-6
^Shepard, Richard F., "NEWS OF TV AND RADIO — Season's Newcomers: How They Did", (March 20, 1960), New York Times, p. X13