Film producer Mike Todd and his wife, Elizabeth Taylor, on the first anniversary of Todd's film, "Around The World In Eighty Days," invited 18,000 of their close friends to a Madison Square Garden extravaganza.
Personalities on hand include George Jessel, Elizabeth Taylor (Mike Todd's wife), Elsa Maxwell, Walter Cronkite, Senator Hubert Humphrey, Hedda Hooper, Charles Boyer, Ginger Rogers, Joe E. Lewis, Bill Leon. and Garry Moore. It was estimated that a crowd of 18,000 filled the arena to witness the event.
Jim McKay is the host.
NOTE: Mike Todd conned the CBS program PLAYHOUSE 90 into covering the spectacle, live. But when the crowd got out of control, a bland publicity stunt turned into a giant food fight.
News Anchor Walter Cronkite covers the event.
NOTE: Five months later, on March 22, 1958, Mike Todd died in an airplane crash.
