January 12, 1949…’Kukla Fran And Ollie’ Debuts On NBC Network
On January 12, 2015
- TV History
January 12, 1949…’Kukla Fran And Ollie’ Debuts On NBC Network
Before we get to the history, a comment on this rare kinescope.
KFO actually started on Chicago’s WBKB around 1948 but moved to NBC owned WNBQ later in 48 and was a huge Chicagoland hit. The NBC network heard about it and decided to air it afternoons nationwide and the first network broadcast, live from Chicago, was on this day in 1949.
What we see here is a month before they made their network debut, so this is just for Chicago.
FYI, when the show was at WBKB, they were the ones that began shooting it with the Zoomar Field Lens…it looked so good, NBC continued with it. -Bobby Ellerbee
When my father was going to medical school in Chicago, one of the puppeteers lived down the hall from us .
WRC-TV was WNBW in 1949 and for most of the time it was at the Wardman Park.
I first saw,KF&O on our 6 inch Motorola TV it was was broadcast on Channel 4.WBKB in 1946. As a gift to me my Mother took me down to their studio at 190 North State. While the program was being broadcast we sat in a viewing room to the left of a small studio where KF&O was produced. In the viewing room we watched the show on a 24 (plus) inch Projection receiver. After the show we were let into the studio where I saw my first TV Camera. It was an Iconascope. That’s where I first fell in love. 69 years later I still love TV !
“How Does Your Garden Grow?” with John Ott. Some interesting stories about its live Sunday production. In later years, he was a regular guest on Carson.
I’ve said before, but I’ll say again: As good as the Kuklapolitians were on the air, they were killers with the crew prior to air. Burr made it lots of fun to work on his projects, despite any puppetier’s need to control the world.
Jame Patterson is remembering the work of John Ott, who did a program featuring time lapse of flower growing… ideal for selling color TV sets.
Growing up in suburban Chicago, I always watched KFO! I seem to remember it followed by (or preceeded by) a program that featured time lapse film of flowers blooming, set to music.
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