The networks were run by Jewish men, and many television shows were written by Jewish writers. But, there were few identifiably Jewish characters on television. There is evidence, during television's first thirty-five years, its Jewish power brokers actively suppressed Jewish characters and Jewish themes from appearing on the small screen.

At the same time, Jewish stars like Milton Berle, Jack Benny, Groucho Marx, and George Burns had shows that were among the most popular on TV.  Jack Benny was one of the first performers to cast a black man on his show when he hired Eddie Anderson to play his "chauffeur" Rochester. In 1950, Milton won an Emmy for "The Most Outstanding Kinescope Personality." Berle was the undisputed king of television in the early 1950s.

Included in this talk are great photos, memorabilia and actual videos of the original great shows.