Cleavage, in addition to being the way rocks and ores are naturally split, came to have another reference in '50's television to which it still refers, i.e. the manner and depth of division in a woman's dress which displays rocks and ores to greatest danger of lumbar pneumonia.  The Network execs thought that the black and white screen would turn American males rabid and send them howling into the night.

   We didn't have any cleavage problems on the Gleason Show since Trixie and Alice never got out of bargain basement house dresses and the June Taylor Dancers had to jump and twist and whirl and kick.  Dancers exercise very hard and they certainly want to be sure that all important body parts stay within their clothing.
   However, our guest stars could and did have minds of their own.
   Hollywood actress Teri Moore appeared with Robert Wagner on one of our earlier shows to publicize their new movie, "Beneath The Twelve Mile Reef."   I was asked if I would let her share my dressing room.  Terri and her mother arrived.  She was obviously a dedicated stage mother because she was loaded down with camera equipment, looking like a Japanese tourist.
   Terri wore a lovely cocktail dress, but when I saw the neckline I knew trouble was ahead.  The low-cut neckline went way too far south for CBS.  I suggested meekly that wardrobe would undoubtedly want to place a large flower in the center of the neckline.
   If Terri was upset about how silly she would look, her mother was completely undone.  Seems she wanted Terri in her full natural bloom, not with any blooming flower.  What to do?  We yanked the dress up over her lovely attributes and with     the addition of a scarf, the problem was solved.  Sorry, guys, blame that stuffy censor.  He hated surprises.
   Abbe Lane (then Mrs. Xavier Cugat) was famed for her warm delivery and stunning stature, but when she was on our show, she'd also gone skimpy on fabric in the cleavage area.  Abbe had a gorgeous figure but the censor decreed and the wardrobe mistress applied a swath of material to disguise salient views of much more of Abbe.   Not trusting herself to speak, Abbe minded a temper unrenowned for serenity.   Came her entrance cue, and she made a grandiose lunge on stage to yells and applause.  Her fingers found the offending bit of material shielding the public from the real Abbe and it negligently floated over her shoulder and away.
   Censors are energetic and righteous people but they just couldn't work a room like Abbe Lane.