The Duke was an NBC

NBC

The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

 series with an unusual plot: an artistic boxer

Boxing

Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...

 suddenly leaves the ring to open up a nightclub

Nightclub

A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...

. This summer show was run from July 2 - September 10, 1954, starring television newcomer Paul Gilbert

Paul Gilbert

Paul Brandon Gilbert is an American guitarist. He is well known for his technical guitar work with Racer X and Mr...

 as the creative boxer, Duke Zenlee.

Cast

• Paul Gilbert (actor)
  Paul Gilbert (actor)
  Paul Gilbert was an American film and television actor. Born in New York City as Ed MacMahon, Gilbert played various roles and appeared as himself from The Spike Jones Show in 1954 through Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In in 1973...
  
   as Duke Zenlee
• Allen Jenkins
  Allen Jenkins
  Allen Jenkins was an American character actor of stage, screen and television.-Early life:He was born David Allen Curtis Jenkins in Staten Island, New York on April 9, 1900.-Career:...
  
   as Johnny; Johnny was Zenlee's trainer when he boxed.
• Phyllis Coates
  Phyllis Coates
  Phyllis Coates is an American film and television actress. She is perhaps best known for her portrayal of reporter Lois Lane in the 1951 film Superman and the Mole Men, and during the first season of the Adventures of Superman television series.-Early life and career:After graduating from high...
  
   as Gloria, his girlfriend; Coates later had her claim to fame, co-starring in Superman
  Superman
  Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
  
  .
• Rudy Cromwell as Claude Stroud; Stroud partnered with Zenlee in managing the club.

This show is not related to the The Duke (TV miniseries)

The Duke (TV miniseries)

The Duke was a TV series shown on NBC from April 5 - May 18, 1979,This mini-series was about an aging boxer who became a private investigator. This Chicago, Illinois-set series starred Robert Conrad as Oscar "Duke" Ramsey; Conrad was actually a professional fighter in his own early years.The...

aired in 1979, nor The Dukes

The Dukes

The Dukes is an animated series which ran on CBS in 1983 based directly on the popular live-action television series The Dukes of Hazzard.-Plot:...

, an animated direct spin-off of The Dukes of Hazzard

The Dukes of Hazzard

The Dukes of Hazzard is an American television series that aired on the CBS television network from 1979 to 1985.The series was inspired by the 1975 film Moonrunners, which was also created by Gy Waldron and had many identical or similar character names and concepts.- Overview :The Dukes of Hazzard...

.