Welcome to the Archives section. On these expanded and updated pages, you will read and hear untold stories and see unique images by the hundreds dating from the earliest days of television, to the present.

The content here was not widely available to the general public and contains a lot of information that was created for internal use, or as business-to-business material from broadcasters and affiliated industries. This is also home to unique, unpublished information contributed by authors, and a good example is the great AT&T Book…Connecting The Continent For Radio And Television by our friend Mark Durenberger and others.

Some of the other exclusive features of this page include my Total Color Camera Sales In The US, The Ellerbee Classic Camera Census, and First Person, An Oral History of Broadcast Television. Hundreds of new entries on a variety of television topics have been added, with more to come. -Bobby Ellerbee

Above, “Tonight” show in NBC Studio 6B at 30 Rockefeller Plaza circa 1963. 

NBC Tour Book: 1939 World's Fair...America's View of Television

NBC Tour Book: 1939 World’s Fair…America’s View of Television

The first big push to bring television to the public’s attention was mounted by RCA at the 1939 World’s Fair ...
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Studio 8H and the Chapman crane

Among the very few things that have not changed since Saturday Night Live debuted in 1975 are the studio it ...
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1931: Tour Of CBS Experimental TV Studio, W2XAB New York

1931: Tour Of CBS Experimental TV Studio, W2XAB New York

Complete with pictures and drawings, this 1931 article from Science and Mechanics takes us on a tour of CBS’s W2XAB ...
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A Production Primer By Television's First Cameraman

A Production Primer By Television’s First Cameraman

In a photo taken in NBC’s historic Studio 3H, we see Albert Protzman, the first camera person hired to operate ...
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Philips Norelco PC70 Catalog

Philips Norelco PC70 Catalog

From the early 1970s, here a copy the 31 page Norelco PC 70 catalog. This was television’s “new kid on ...
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The Rarely Seen GE PE 25 Color Camera

The Rarely Seen GE PE 25 Color Camera

Thanks to our friend Martin Perry, this catalog is the only piece of GE information we have ever seen on ...
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'Hour Glass'...A Television First

‘Hour Glass’…A Television First

This show was network television’s first rehearsed, non-reality program. It was a one hour variety/sketch comedy show hosted by Helen ...
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My Conversation with CBS VP Technology, Joe Flaherty...RARE HISTORY!

My Conversation with CBS VP Technology, Joe Flaherty…RARE HISTORY!

Dr. Joe Flaherty was the Senior Vice President of Technology at CBS and at the bottom of my story is ...
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CBS Broadcast Center...1964 Introduction Book

CBS Broadcast Center…1964 Introduction Book

This 60 page book was presented at the 1964 NAB Convention to introduce the new CBS Broadcast Center in New ...
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NBC's Legendary Technical Director...Heino Ripp

NBC’s Legendary Technical Director…Heino Ripp

FIRST, Don’t miss this!  The Television Legends Interview Series taped six half hour segments with Mr. Ripp and the first ...
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April 5, 1948, Chicago's WGN Signs On...Great Vintage Pictorial

April 5, 1948, Chicago’s WGN Signs On…Great Vintage Pictorial

Above is a shot of my RCA TK10 from WGN…one of the original eight TK10s the station had in their ...
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April 4, 1967...Johnny Carson Quits "Tonight"! Remember This?

April 4, 1967…Johnny Carson Quits “Tonight”! Remember This?

When people think about hosts quitting the “Tonight” show, Jack Paar’s famous walk off is the one that comes to ...
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February 25, 1950..."Your Show Of Shows" Debuts On NBC!

February 25, 1950…”Your Show Of Shows” Debuts On NBC!

February 25, 1950…”Your Show Of Shows” Debuts On NBC! To really appreciate the historical importance of “Your Show Of Shows” ...
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Rare Details Of RCA's First Reseach Lab...7 Van Cortlandt Park South

Rare Details Of RCA’s First Reseach Lab…7 Van Cortlandt Park South

Finally! The RCA New York Lab Address Was 7 Van Cortlandt Park South…. Since the first pictures of Felix The ...
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SPECIAL!! EARLY TELEVISION SURPRISES, Part 1 of 3

SPECIAL!! EARLY TELEVISION SURPRISES, Part 1 of 3

SURPRISE #1. If you always thought those were spotlights mounted in the black frame, you (and I) are wrong. They ...
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SPECIAL!! EARLY TELEVISION SURPRISES, Part 2 of 3

SPECIAL!! EARLY TELEVISION SURPRISES, Part 2 of 3

Surprise #1…THIS IS A PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN PHOTO OF THE WORLD’S FIRST TELEVISION REMOTE BROADCAST, three years before John Logie Baird’s ...
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SPECIAL!! EARLY TELEVISION SURPRISES...PART 3 of 3

SPECIAL!! EARLY TELEVISION SURPRISES…PART 3 of 3

With so many overlapping and similar events happening not only in the US and UK, but at RCA, Westinghouse, General ...
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The Early History of Howdy Doody...Television's First Hit Show

The Early History of Howdy Doody…Television’s First Hit Show

“The Howdy Doody Show” was network television’s first daily show, and later, the first daily color show. With the help ...
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"Big Bang Theory"....THE ANSWERS TO, The Stair Case Mysteries

“Big Bang Theory”….THE ANSWERS TO, The Stair Case Mysteries

This article and the two videos will answer three questions many of us have about the “Big Bang” set and, ...
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RCA Red Book, "The Equipment"...Holy Grail Of Early Color Television History, Part 1 of 2

RCA Red Book, “The Equipment”…Holy Grail Of Early Color Television History, Part 1 of 2

In 1953, RCA submitted 700 pages of documentation to the FCC as a “Petition For Approval of Color Standards for ...
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