Hal Lashwood's Alabama Jubilee
Hal Lashwood's Alabama Jubilee was an Australian television variety series hosted by Hal Lashwood which aired from 1958 to 1961 on ABC. It was essentially a minstrel show, with some of the performers appearing in blackface makeup. In 1960, it was retitled "Hal Lashwood's Minstrels". Section::::"Hal Lashwood's Alabama Jubilee". "Hal Lashwood's Alabama Jubilee" began in Sydney on 6 March 1958. It aired in Sydney on Thursdays and Melbourne on Fridays. It was devised and prepared by Lashwood and produced by Harry Pringle. It aired fortnightly, alternating with "Cafe Continental", a variety  series featuring acts of diverse ethnic backgrounds. It sometimes aired after episodes of "Amos'n'Andy". The show was replaced by "Rooftop Rendezvous". Lashwood went into another variety show, "Shower of Stars". Various episodes. Other guests - Roy Giles, Noel Melvin, Babs MacKinnon, James Wilson, Nellie Small Section::::"Hal Lashwood's Minstrels". The show came back as "Hal Lashwood's Minstrels" which started in July 1960 and went until August 1961. It was replaced by "The Magic of Music". Paul Robeson Episode. Paul Robeson guest starred on a show in December 1960. He sang to children including two Chinese and two aboriginal. In 1961  an album called "Hal Lashwood's Minstrels" was released. Other guest stars included Al Kenny, Stan Penrose, Jimmy Haines, C. Ray Smith, Patti Markham. Reception. Writing in "The Bulletin" in 1963 Max Harris referred to the ABC commissioning variety shows: Even a modest weekly entry into the variety field is a dubious investment. Shows of the calibre of Cafe Continental, The Lorrne Desmond Show, and the dismal Hal Lashwood Minstrels, demonstrate the hopelessness of the A.B.C.’s half-baked amateur essays at glossy effects. Against the failure of such shows to attract viewers, the A.B.C. was shattered by the enormous  national success of “The Outcasts.” Public reaction itself confirmed the A.B.C.’s impulse to re-think programming at a loftier level.