A Rare Look At NBC Studio 8H…1954
A Rare Look At NBC Studio 8H…1954
‘Saturday Night Live’ fans and staff will get a kick out of this too as this will look quite familiar. The opens with the studio doors of 8H bursting open and the singing cast making it’s way to the 8th floor elevators to welcome the show’s star, Dorothy Collins, back from maternity leave.
If you look closely, you can see the art deco page desk behind them just as they come out. I’ll post a photo of me at that desk in the comments section to refresh your memory. They have cleverly hidden the lights behind flats in the hallway scene.
Notice that when they come back into the studio, they go into the same kind of tunnel we see now on SNL, but it’s not the same.
The SNL “temporary” bleachers on the 9th floor are supported by scaffolding on the studio floor, and were not installed till 1975. At this time, I think the seating in 8H was all pull out bleacher seating, much like you see in high school gyms. I think what they are running through is a curtained pathway between two bleacher sections. This space would have to always be clear as this is how equipment and staff moved in and out of the studio.
By the way, Studio 8H did not go color until June 24, 1963. The color photographs I have posted showing Dorothy Collins with NBC TK41s were taken at Brooklyn II where the show moved in 1957.
See any familiar faces? I see Snooky Lanson, Russell Arms and a few more. Enjoy and share! -Bobby Ellerbee
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPzhhzkaT24&feature=youtu.be
Dorothy Collins is welcomed back to the Your Hit Parade show by the entire cast of the program. Dorothy took a leave of absence to have her first child and P…
And here’s the 2004 view towards the elevators, similar to what’s seen in the video:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/dennisdegan/531845882/
Here’s where this desk is now located in relation to the entrance to the studio on the 8th floor. This photo was taken in 2004, but it still looks like this:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/dennisdegan/557515291/
And almost 37 years later December 14, 1991
https://screen.yahoo.com/steve-martin-cold-opening-000000189.html
Nice find!!!
The Orchestra leader is Raymond Scott, who was Dorothy Collins husband. Some of his music was featured in the Warner Bros. Looney Tune cartoons, like Powerhouse.
Here is the 8H page desk they pass by in the video. It was a thrill to sit there!