Broadway Open House began in the late 1940s as television's first late-night variety and talk show, hosted by Morey Amsterdam, on the DuMont Television Network. The program is considered a forerunner of The Tonight Show and some sources actually consider The Tonight Show to be a continuation of Broadway Open House. Morey Amsterdam (December 14, 1908 - October 28, 1996) was a veteran television actor and comedian, renowned for his large, ready supply of jokes. ... DuMont Televisions Logo The DuMont Television Network was the first licensed American television network, beginning operation in 1946 and predating CBS, NBC, and ABC as networks. ... The Tonight Show is NBCs long-running late-night talk and variety show, currently hosted by Jay Leno in Los Angeles. ... The Tonight Show is NBCs long-running late-night talk and variety show, currently hosted by Jay Leno in Los Angeles. ...

The host was Jerry Lester, not Morey Amsterdam, who was a guest at times. I watched it myself. Lester's sidekick was a blonde named Dagmar. The theme song was "It's almost like being in love.