The Continental

The Continental was a 1952 CBS television series starring Renzo Cesana in the title role. The 15-minute program was shown on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 11:15pm, at the end of the night's prime time schedule. The series used a subjective camera, as Cesana spoke directly to women in the viewing audience in a suave manner, with each episode a different romantic rendezvous, accompanied by lounge music played on an electric organ. Occasionally, he would recite the lyrics to a song. In an era when advertisers and advertising agencies played major roles in program creation and sponsorship, the show began as a syndicated 15-minute radio show created, written and produced by agency owner Cesana on Los Angeles station KHJ in February 1951. It directly followed The Lonesome Gal, a nationally syndicated radio show in which host Jean King played records and spoke in a soothing monologue to male listeners. The Continental failed to attract an audience and was soon cancelled. Cesana convinced televi