MAGNIFICENT!
MAGNIFICENT!
Thanks to Glenn Mack for this fantastic photo taken during a rehearsal of ‘The Doctors’ around 1972. Although the RCA TK44A was introduced in 1968 and the better ‘B’ model in 1971, the TK41s could still hold their own and were still in service in some NBC NY studios as late as ’73 including studios 3A and 3B where this show came from. Originally, ‘The Doctors’ was not supposed to be a conventional soap opera. It first aired in 1963 for a trial run as an anthology series with self-contained episodes about medical emergencies. When the show was brought back in 1964, the show adopted a serial form of storytelling. NBC aired the show in the 2:30 p.m. Eastern slot in between ‘Days of our Lives’ and ‘Another World’, two highly rated shows. ‘The Doctors’ took over the time slot that had been used by Merv Griffin on his first daytime talk show, and remained in the 2:30pm timeslot for nearly sixteen years. This is an extraordinary feat for daytime shows of its day, especially since some of its victims in the ratings were long-running favorites such as CBS’ ‘House Party with Art Linkletter’ and ABC’s ‘Dating Game’. The longest-running soap opera in television history, CBS Daytime’s ‘The Guiding Light’, also competed against The Doctors on several occasions. The show went color in 1966. This show is not connected to the current ABC soap by the same name.
I’d like to add that I was told at the time, NBC would use the new cameras in high visibility situations, like if there was a studio audience. But, the old cameras still performed incredibly well.
Those look like RCA BK-5B’s on the booms, adding to the “vintage” feel of the photo.
From when Don Imus was actually funny. And a lift from “The Golden Years of Broadcasting: A Celebration of the First 50 Years of Radio and TV on NBC.” The WNNNNBC-am radio guy, Howard Stern’s nemesis.
The current program called THE DOCTORS is neither a soap nor on ABC…it’s a syndicated medical based talk show.
I was a camera op on “The Doctors”…what a hoot. The show was recorded in real time; the only time the the recording was stopped would be for an obvious technical glitch. To avoid edit room charges, the tape ops would playback the video of the segment just before the problem, then go into record mode in the blank commercial slots. The cast was wonderful, the rehearsals were frequently hilarious. The show had an informal studio party after every Friday show. For some reason, the show never faded to black, but dissolved to a blue screen instead.
I’ve always wondered who the actresses were in this shot. Any ideas ?