The origins of
The Durante-Moore Show can probably be traced back to several radio stints that
Jimmy Durante had in the 1930s. On September 10, 1933, Durante appeared on
NBC radio's The Chase and Sanborn Hour which, at that time starred
Eddie Cantor. He continued to make recurring appearances on the program until November 12 of that year. When Cantor left the show, Durante took over as the host from April 22 to September 30, 1934. Durante then became a regular on NBC's
Camel Caravan. It was in 1943 when
Caravan producer
Phil Cohan decided to pair Durante with a young
Garry Moore. Moore was an announcer on the radio at the time. After that episode aired, Cohan decided to create a radio series for the two. The series was to be a summer replacement series for
The Abbott and Costello Show.
Lou Costello, however, suffered a heart attack which put
The Abbott and Costello Show on a short hiatus and, looking for a quick replacement, NBC put Durante and Moore on the air. On March 25, 1943,
The Durante-Moore Show premiered on NBC under the name
The Camel Comedy Caravan. The series was sponsored originally by
Camel cigarettes. This sponsorship concluded after Camel refused to renew the series after the end of its third season. The March 30, 1945 broadcast was the last show sponsored by Camel. The show continued on April 6, 1945, with
Rexall as its sponsor. The series had moved to
CBS in October 1943. ==Moore's departure==