A Story Of TV History Treasure…LOST
A Story Of TV History Treasure…LOST
For a year and a half on what was then WRCA, Bill Cullen hosted a local (New York) fifteen minute television show called ‘Inside NBC’…here is a description of just a few of the shows. It would be fantastic to see all of this backstage stuff, BUT…sadly, as far as I know, all of this is gone. If you know more, please tell us.
Monday, December 12, 1955 [DEBUT] Bill Cullen hosts this 15-minute program which spotlights NBC’s personnel, history, features, and entertainment. NBC cameras pick up rehearsals in progress, previewing shows to appear the same evening or later that week.
Monday, December 19, 1955 Viewers see a Playwrights 56 rehearsal in action. Bill Cullen interviews producer Fred Coe, director Arthur Penn, and stars Kim Stanley and Louis Jean Heydt.
Friday, December 23, 1955 Bill Cullen visits David Aiken as he is made up for his role in Sunday’s Alcoa Hour production of Amahl and the Night Visitors. The cameras also pick up a rehearsal of Babes in Toyland to be seen on Max Liebman Presents.
Monday, December 26, 1955 Bill Cullen tours the Home studios. Guest: Dick Linkroum, Home’s exec. producer.
Friday, December 30, 1955 Bill Cullen’s guest, Mary Martin, discusses the forthcoming Peter Pan.
Friday, January 6, 1956 The operation of the NBC news department is explained through interviews and films. The cameras pick up a rehearsal Ken Banghart’s news program.
Monday, January 9, 1956 Bill Cullen visits NBC’s special effects dept. to show how fog, rain, snow, etc. are made for TV.
Friday, January 13, 1956 Les Colodny, director of NBC’s comedy development program, explains and tells of plans for ’56. He introduces an act by some new talent.
Monday, January 16, 1956 Richard Linkroum, executive producer of Home, conducts a tour of the Home studios.
Monday, January 23, 1956 Tex Antoine explains the preparation of his weather programs. Bill Cullen interviews Henry Salomon, producer of Circle Theater’s Nightmare in Red, to be repeated tomorrow evening.
Friday, January 27, 1956 Bill Cullen takes viewers behind the scenes of radio’s Monitor. Guest will be Gene Rayburn.
Monday, January 30, 1956 The NBC Technical Operations Department demonstrates the transmission of a TV picture from coast to coast. Cameras pick up a rehearsal of Milton Berle’s show from Hollywood, Cal. Bill Cullen.
Friday, February 3, 1956 Host Bill Cullen and Maurice Evans discuss this Sunday’s Hallmark Hall of Fame production of The Good Fairy, starring Julie Harris. Chet Huntley of the NBC News Department previews Outlook, a news program which debuts this Sunday. Special guest: J. Fred Muggs.
Monday, February 6, 1956 Bill Cullen visits Sid Caesar at his office and studios.
Friday, February 10, 1956 Bill Cullen reviews the first NBC telecast, April 30, 1939. This was the NBC special events pickup of the opening of the World’s Fair at Flushing Meadows.
Monday, February 27, 1956 The cameras switch to Hollywood to pick up a rehearsal of Tuesday’s Matinee Theater production, A Tall Dark Stranger. Its star, Zsa Zsa Gabor, and host John Conte are guests. Bill Cullen, in New York, does a feature on the early days of NBC news coverage.
Friday, March 2, 1956 The cameras switch to the RCA Hall of Progress in Camden, N.J., which holds electronics equipment developed during the past century. Bill Cullen hosts.
Monday, March 5, 1956 Guest: Stockton Hellfrich of NBC’s Continuity Acceptance Dept. Bill Cullen shows Martha Raye Show in rehearsal, via film.
Friday, March 9, 1956 Host Bill Cullen highlights NBC’s coverage of the Presidential campaign. He also interviews Laurence Olivier.
Monday, March 12, 1956 Ike Kleinerman, film editor of Wednesday’s Project 20 production, explains how the film was procured and edited.
Friday, March 16, 1956 Host Bill Cullen discusses the presentation of the TV “Emmy” Awards.
Monday, April 16, 1956 Bill Cullen conducts a remote program with WRCA-TV’s new mobile unit.
Monday, May 7, 1956 Host Bill Cullen and his special guest, Lee Ann Meriwether, conduct a quiz show. Contestants are the five finalists of the “Miss NBC” contest.
Friday, May 18, 1956 Bill Cullen is host to Thomas B. McFadden, general manager of WRCA-TV and Ray Owen from the reporting staff of WRCA’s Pulse. Owens discusses Pulse’s technique for covering news.
That is a pretty amazing trove of treasure…and only a small sample of the ‘Inside NBC’ shows Cullen hosted. I think these are all gone but hope someone knows if they survive. – Bobby Ellerbee
If I recall, it was all loaded on a barge and dumped in the East River. Great loss.
If NBC couldn’t be bothered to archive their World Series telecasts prior to 1969, what chance would Bill Cullen’s “Inside NBC” have of surviving?
It’s a good read, Wally. Seems like Cullen would have beena good guy to work with.
…way too many of the ” new guard ” of people come in and feel archive materials is simply trash and it makes me sick ! ..this is our heritage and these people have no respect for that ..it’s very similar to what happened to the late Ernie Kovacs when much of his fabulous programs done on ABC in the early 60’s were tragically taped over and his wife, Edie Adams. was very p.o’d ..it’s like with me trying to locate archive photos of our local stations in San Antonio and these new people in charge tell me they discarded them ..makes me sick ! !
In honor of this program, my photo collections on Flickr are named ‘Inside NBC’:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/dennisdegan/sets/72157600587940970/
A few years back, I was doing research, regarding the whereabouts of all the kinescopes from the weekly series Wide, Wide World. There was a single still image from Washington, showing a live camera, as the NBC Management, in a ceremony, donated them to either to the National Archives or the Library of Congress. Yet, I contacted both organizations, and their people have not recorded knowledge of ever having the kines.
I just started Bill Cullen’s Biography, it is on Kindle.
having worked in the NBC Burbank VT library, you would be appalled at the shows etc that were erased, dumped, recorded over… all by order.