Stars of Tomorrow
KPTV November 3, 1953
KLOR +/- November 6, 1955 - April 27, 1957
KPTV May 4, 1957 - March 8, 1964+

A televised talent contest, which aired on both KLOR and KPTV.

Stars of Tomorrow: Oldest Talent Show in U.S.A.

If you asked how many personalities have appeared on his Stars of Tomorrow show, Nate Cohn would have to talk in terms of thousands. In its 30th sponsored year, this outstanding program---which is currently carried over KLOR, Channel 12 each Saturday at 6:30---has appeared on most Portland radio stations as well as network outlets. During that time, the show has received well in excess of a quarter of a million fan letters. For 15 Years, the program was regularly carried on KGW [radio; After 1950, the show aired on KEX radio.]

For many years, the show was presented in the window of the Star Furniture Company. However, police found it increasingly difficult to control the traffic-stopping throngs that gathered in the vicinity, and for this reason the show was moved to the station studios. Even then, eager crowds spilled out into hallways and stairways.

Stars of Tomorrow is actually the result of the thinking and planning of three men. Originated by Uncle Nate, who has acted as MC from the initial program, the show is sponsored by the Star Furniture Company, owned by Harry Zavin and Dave Light.

Although Uncle Nate loves all his kids without partiality, he is naturally proud of the ones who have made the big-time. Kay St. Germain, Jane Powell and Nora Maxtin are only a few of his protégés who have skyrocketed to fame and fortune.

It is only natural that Uncle Nate should feel a profound sympathy for the wide-eyed youngsters who hope an appearance on his show may spring-board them to eventual stardom. When most kids were playing cowboy and Indian, he traveled the Sullivan-Considine circuit as Harold Hoff, "The Boy Wonder." During those sometime meager years, he developed a sure showman's instinct for spotting a "comer." However, even Uncle Nate can make an occasional mistake, which he freely admits. Here's how he himself describes one such error of judgment: "He was a Franklin High School student, about 16 or 17 years old, not too good looking, and he said he was a singer who accompanied himself on the piano. When the audition was over, I informed the boy that I'd be glad to have him appear on the show, but that didn't mean he was the greatest thing I'd ever heard " I explained that his voice was only fair, that his piano playing was about average, and that I wasn't too impressed with his style of singing. However, I did like his personality and his desire to join our Stars of Tomorrow. Then I asked, 'What's your name, son?'

"His smile was genuinely warm as he shook my hand and answered, 'Thanks for everything, Uncle Nate. 'My name is Johnny Ray'."

Article in TV-Radio Prevue, October 14, 1956.
 

Uncle Nate took a group of us out to do stage shows from time to time and we were paid $2 - $5 per performance. In those days, that was pretty good money and beat doing a paper route. 

In 1956 when Lawrence Welk and his Orchestra came to Portland, I was a soloist on Stars of Tomorrow on KPTV. Welk was immensely popular at the time and came over to KPTV and did a guest appearance on our show. When he came on camera, I played his theme song: "Bubbles in the Wine," to his enjoyment. When we were off the air, Welk presented me with his personal pen (it had a miniature champagne bottle on the top) and told me to bring it to the back stage door at the Civic Auditorium that night (the concert had been sold out for weeks and no tickets were available) and I would be his back stage guest for the concert. Obviously, I did as I was told and met Myron Floren, the Lennon Sisters, Alice Lon, among the other regulars on his show. After intermission, Welk invited me on stage, introduced me to the audience and handed me his baton to direct the band playing "South Rampart Street Parade." To this day, it remains a highlight of my career as a professional accordionist and entertainer. 

KPTV, KEX and Stars of Tomorrow remain fondly in my memory. Because of the entertainment opportunities that these programs afforded me, today I still keep my skills honed and play professional accordion in my spare time. To find out what I've been doing for the past 27 years since I left Portland, and what I'm currently doing, I invite anyone interested to visit my web site: www.bobcantinentertainment.com.

Bob Cantin
Phoenix, AZ

My family owned the Star Furniture Company which sponsored Stars of Tomorrow and which employed Nate Cohn as our sales manager.  Nate kept a regular stock of Johnnie Ray pictures which he passed out to customers who visited the store primarily to see Nate.  However, once they were in the store he, and our sales staff, talked them into buying furniture.  Though I wasn’t alive at the time, my grandfather told me that when the show broadcast from our store window on 4th avenue the crowds would be so large that traffic would be stopped on 4th.  Because of this, the city council passed an ordinance forbidding live entertainment in store windows, and that is why the show moved into a studio.  I do remember visiting Nate and the show in the mid-1950s to watch the Mouseketeers, from the Mickey Mouse club.  My siblings and cousins and I got to meet several of the Mousketeers who were about our ages.  This was the highlight of my 1950s and probably of my brother’s and sisters’ also.  My father told me that after the transition to television, Stars of Tomorrow was, at one point, the longest running show on radio and television.  It eventually might have been eclipsed by the Ted Mack amateur hour, and it was surely bested by the radio broadcasts of the Metropolitan Opera, but at one time Nate held the record.   

Rick Poplack
 

This page last updated on August 25, 2025