On Closer Examination…Something We All Missed Is Here!
On Closer Examination…Something We All Missed Is Here!
Last month, some collector friends and I were trying to put a date on the introduction of the Houston Fearless TD 3 pedestal. We all thought 1954 was probably the year the new lead counterweight pedestal debuted, but low and behold…look at this!
Just this morning, I was looking for photos of the RCA Electra Zoom lens for the next article I’m posting today, but look what I found. At least one TD 3 is in use here on the debut of ‘Today’ on January 14, 1952!
I think this is the prototype in a field test and where better to put it through it’s paces than this new morning show. Notice a silver band just under the lock ring…that’s where the access doors join to the column cover. That was never there on the production models.
We can see the TD 3 in two of these photos and in the third one, we see what the other cameras were mounted on…the old TD 1 crank up model. While you click through these, take a close look at the zoom lens and I’ll have more on that next, and look at that teleprompter. I think that may have been an RCA prototype too. I’ve never seen that anywhere else but here on ‘Today’, have you?
TD-3s met their match when the TK40 arrived, I think almost everybody went to pneumatic peds. Add enough lead to counter balance them and you’d need a crew made up of linemen.
Love the “Lav” mic!
Why do the cameras have WNBT on them when Today is a network show?
I still loved Dave Garroway’s mic!
Here’s the RCA Catalog listing from around 1955
…anticipating seeing info on the Electra Zoom lens if possible .. thanks, Bobby E. ! !
What was the turntable with two tone arms ( to allow looping of sound effects) doing on the set?
PEACE.