The Continental (TV program of romantic readings, starring Renzo Cesana) Networks: CBS Primetime, 1952; ABC Primetime, 1952 - 1953 Length: 15 minutes. Frequency: The show aired two nights a week, moving to ABC before being canceled in 1953. First aired on a local station (KTLA in Los Angeles) before making its CBS network debut on Tuesday, January 22, 1952, following the 11:00 PM local news. A suave Italian-born actor Renzo Cesana sat in a living room set, wearing his dinner jacket, reading romantic poetry to the camera. He wooed his viewers, who presumably were love-starved housewives, with lines like, "Do not be afraid, darling, you are in a gentleman's apartment." The Continental was parodied a number of times. Besides Red Skelton in 1952 and Christopher Walken starting in 1990, others took
