March 1, 1988…It Was “Camera Night” On The Letterman Show…
March 1, 1988…It Was “Camera Night” On The Letterman Show
Just for fun, here is NBC Studio 6A packed with 13 cameras, mostly RCA TK47s, plus a few had helds. When announcer Bill Wendell called it “Camera Night” in the intro, he wasn’t kidding!
This was about the half way point in Dave’s NBC run from 1982 till 1993 and he was as fresh as ever. The Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canada had just ended the day before, NY Mayor Koch had just called President Reagan a “wimp” in the war on drugs, the Chicago Cubs had just gotten permission to install lights and play night games and Jimmy Swaggert had just confessed his sins live.
Bruce Springsteen’s “Tunnel Of Love” tour had just started, and two days later at the Grammy show Dave mentions, he won best male vocal performance. U2 won album of the year for “Joshua Tree”, “Somewhere Out There” was song of the year and Paul Simon’s “Graceland” was record of the year.
QUESTION: Would you give up all you have now to go back to that point in time for a redo of these past 29 years, if you could know all that you know now and…best of all, be the age you were in 1988?
I would! Enjoy! -Bobby Ellerbee
Source
Four cameras for late night shows like Letterman and Carson would later become six or seven, including a jib and a Steadicam.
Wow, I ran that episode working at KRON in San Francisco–I definitely remember that show.
Bill Wendell was progosticating the future when he says “All TV shows will look like this”. In many ways, he was right.
No, I don’t think so. I was about to get fired by the new station owners at a place where I had worked for nine years.
Oh Bobby just to go back for a day and change a few things and talk to a few people!!!!
TK 47s were the first brand new, out of the box cameras I got to use. What an upgrade from the TK 43 hand me downs we had previously.
I’d go back provided I could have the winning Lotto numbers. That would be a party.
I would in a heartbeat!
I loved working with Dave and the staff of that show when they were in Las Vegas for a week. It was an all night every night edit job.
I was at that show. One and only NBC show I had tix for.
Yep, sure would, Bobby! Always loved Dave both on NBC AND CBS!!
Duct Tape holding the “camera on a stick!” That’s hi-tech stuff.
I remember it well. This and the LNMCII were the best gags ever.
One of my favorites.