Charlotte Peters

Charlotte Peters (died December 28, 1988), née Wiedmann, was a television show host based in St. Louis, Missouri.[1] She was the first woman in St. Louis to have a live talk show.[2]

Charlotte Peters
Born
Charlotte Wiedmann
Died(1988-12-28)December 28, 1988
Northwoods, Missouri
OccupationTelevision show host
Known forThe Charlotte Peters Show
RelativesMike Peters

Early life

Peters attended school through eighth grade.[1]

She was a housewife in Webster Groves, Missouri when she made appearances on To The Ladies, a midday St. Louis talk show.[2] Her entertainment career developed further when she heard an advertisement for auditions for amateurs for television; she won the contest. She contacted impresario Billy Rose and auditioned for him. He offered her a one-year contract, but she did not want to go to New York, so she declined.[3]

The Charlotte Peters Show

The Charlotte Peters Show was a weekday live variety television show.[3][4][5] It aired at noon on KSD-TV from 1956-1964 and then on KTVI until 1970. It was unrehearsed and much audience participation was involved.[1]

While the show focused on local personalities, Peters had celebrities on the show occasionally, including Eddie Fisher, Bob Hope, Minnesota Fats, and Alfred Hitchcock.[2] Jonathan Winters said it was the fastest-moving television show he had ever seen.[1]

Stan Kann served as musical director and co-host of the show.[6] Phyllis Diller substituted for Peters in 1963.[7]

When the show's run ended, it was one of the few remaining daytime variety shows still on the air.[1] The final episode aired on July 10, 1970. Peters had urged viewers not to attend the Festival of Life that yippies were hosting in Forest Park. Some one hundred protesters showed up at KTVI. Peters was informed of her show's cancellation that day. Station management said that viewership had been down.[8]

Personal life and death

Peters' husband, William Peters, died in 1974.[1]

Her son, Mike Peters, is a Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist of Mother Goose and Grimm fame.[9] Her daughter Patricia's Schwarz's family operates Charlotte's Rib, a barbecue restaurant named after Peters, in Ballwin, Missouri.[10][11]

Peters died in 1988 in Northwoods, Missouri, at a nursing home where she had lived for several years. She was buried at Resurrection Cemetery in Affton, Missouri.[1]

References
  1. "Charlotte Peters, St. Louis Pioneer on TV, Dies". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 1988-12-30. Retrieved 2020-12-21.
  2. Hurley, Sue (1995-02-03). "Memories of Charlotte: Daughter's Book Remembers Popular St. Louis Talk Show Host". Alton Telegraph – via NewspaperArchive.
  3. Keasler, John (1956-05-20). "Away from Frying Pan into TV: Charlotte Peters Crashed Slam-Bang into Show Business after Years as Housewife". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 106. Retrieved 2020-12-21.
  4. Billboard Inc. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 1957-11-25.
  5. Murray, Michael D.; Godfrey, Donald G. (1997). Television in America: Local Station History from Across the Nation. Iowa State University Press. ISBN 978-0-8138-2969-2.
  6. Merkel, Jim (2007-12-12). "Bumbling debut led Stan Kann to fame: St. Louisan had national comedy career after initial appearance with Johnny Carson". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved 2020-01-03.
  7. Rackwitz, James (2017-02-02). "Comedienne Phyllis Diller". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved 2020-01-03.
  8. "Miss Peters Is Dismissed by TV Station". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 1970-07-11. p. 3. Retrieved 2020-12-21.
  9. Holleman, Joe (2013-01-14). "Cartoonist Peters named grand marshal of Soulard Mardi Gras parade". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved 2020-01-03.
  10. Bonwich, Joe (2008-10-23). "Charlotte's Rib heads to Jack Daniel's Barbecue championship". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved 2020-01-03.
  11. Uptergrove, Kate. "Charlotte's Rib BBQ – 'the place you come home to'". West Newsmagazine. Retrieved 2020-03-31.

Further reading
  • Charlotte! The First Lady of Saint Louis Television by Patricia Peters Schwarz. Triangle Publishing Co., 1994.
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