The Human Test Patterns Who First Calibrated Color TV

On March 30, 2016 - TV History

A Wonderful Primer On Early Color Television…

Written around the story of the ladies that were “Miss Color TV”, NBC’s Marie McNamara, and CBS’s Patty Painter, this is a very well done article on the progressions and setbacks encountered by both networks, in their race to bring color to the small screen. Enjoy and share! -Bobby Ellerbee

The Human Test Patterns Who First Calibrated Color TV

The white women known in the 1950s as “Miss Color TV” reinforced longstanding hierarchies of gender and race that were built into generations of technologies.

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10 Comments

  1. Benjamin Gross March 30, 2016

    Thank you for sharing this again, Bobby! It was great chatting with you about the early days of color television as I was doing research for this piece!

  2. Harvey Acks March 30, 2016

    Back in the day when a SVO really earned his/her keep !

  3. Mike Delaney March 30, 2016

    RCA TK 44? ….IO tubes with orbitors.. Western had 4 or 5 of these..

  4. Michael Bruchas March 30, 2016

    I can remember the “set up girls” on ABC’s World News Tonight in the Howard K. Smith/Harry Reasoner/Frank Reynolds days of the 1070’s…

  5. Steve Dichter March 30, 2016

    CBS TV City’s color girl.

  6. Robert Barker March 30, 2016

    Has any one seen a demonstration of the CBS color system? It seems an awkward system mechanically.

  7. Mike Armatta March 30, 2016

    The first few models of Japanese cameras seemed to have a yellowish tint. Could it have been for the same reason?

  8. Marc Dacey March 30, 2016

    I’d like you to meet my friend, Al Bedo.

  9. Tom Williamson March 30, 2016

    I remember how we had to change the way we set up cameras when black women started to be more common on the air.

  10. Artie DeGennaro March 30, 2016

    i have to thank you for these great posts and stories