Sam And Friends

Earlier in the week, I posted a photo of Jim Henson and Kermit. Someone mentioned remembering them from their first TV show, so here’s a photo. ‘Sam And Friends’ was a 5 minute weekday show produced in Washington, D.C. on WRC-TV in black-and-white, and later, color. There were 86 episodes and the show ran from May 9, 1955 to December 15, 1961.

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The Beautiful RCA TK11

I think this is one of the best looking cameras ever made. This is Home Ec class from the University of North Carolina’s WUNC. The TK11 is mounted on a Houston Fearless friction head and a Houston Fearless TD 3 counterbalance pedestal.

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30 Rock Set: Silvercup Studios

This is the studio set that stands in for NBC’s Studio 8H, home of ‘Saturday Night Live’. The main lot is at 4222 22nd Street in Long Island City. Other shows taping there are ‘White Collar’ and ‘Person Of Interest’. To see more, click the link. http://www.silvercupstudios.com/

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The One And Only…Paul Lynde!
50 Zingers here! Enjoy!

Peter Marshall: Will a goose help warn you if there’s an intruder on your property?
Paul Lynde: There’s no better way!

Peter Marshall: In “Alice in Wonderland”, who kept crying “I’m late, I’m late?”
Paul Lynde: Alice, and her mother is sick about it.

Peter Marshall: According to Tony Randall, “Every woman I’ve been intimate with in my life has been…” What?
Paul Lynde: Bitterly disappointed.

Peter Marshall: Diamonds should not be kept with your family jewels, why?
Paul Lynde: They’re so cold!

Peter Marshall: What is a pullet?
Paul Lynde: A little show of affection…

Peter Marshall: Paul, Snow White…was she a blonde or a brunette?
Paul Lynde: Only Walt Disney knows for sure…

Peter Marshall: Promethius was tied to the top of a mountain by the gods because he had given something to man. What did he give us?
Paul Lynde: I don’t know what you got, but I got a sports shirt.

Peter Marshall: When Richard Nixon was Vice-President, he went someplace on a “good will mission,” but instead wound up being stoned and shouted at. Where did this take place?
Paul Lynde: Pat’s room .

Peter Marshall: True or false, cow’s horns are used to make ice cream.
Paul Lynde: You mean those weren’t chocolate chips?

Peter Marshall: What are “dual purpose”cattle good for that other cattle aren’t?
Paul Lynde: They give milk and cookies…but I don’t recommend the cookies!

Peter Marshall: Paul, why do Hell’s Angels wear leather?
Paul Lynde: Because chiffon wrinkles too easily.

Peter Marshall: True or false…research indicates that Columbus liked to wear bloomers and long stockings.
Paul Lynde: It’s not easy to sign a crew up for six months…

Peter Marshall: Whose motto is “Do Your Best”?
Paul Lynde: I guess we can rule out Jimmy Carter…

Peter Marshall: According to the French Chef, Julia Child, how much is a pinch?
Paul Lynde: Just enough to turn her on…

Peter Marshall: It is considered in bad taste to discuss two subjects at nudist camps. One is politics. What is the other?
Paul Lynde: Tape measures.

Peter Marshall: True or false, the navy has trained whales to recover objects a mile deep.
Paul Lynde: At first they tried unsuccessfully with cocker spaniels…

Peter Marshall: It used to be called “9-pin.” What’s it called today?
Paul Lynde: Foreplay!

Peter Marshall: When you pat a dog on its head he will usually wag his tail. What will a goose do?
Paul Lynde: Make him bark.

Peter Marshall: Paul, in the early days of Hollywood, who was usually found atop Tony, the Wonder Horse?
Paul Lynde: My Friend Flicka.

Peter Marshall: During the War of 1812, Captain Oliver Perry made the famous statement, “We have met the enemy and…” What?
Paul Lynde: They are cute.

Peter Marshall: Burt Reynolds is quoted as saying, “Dinah (Shore)’s in top form. I’ve never known anyone to be so completely able to throw herself into a…” A what?
Paul Lynde: A headboard.

Peter Marshall: What is the name of the instrument with the light on the end, that the doctor sticks in your ear?
Paul Lynde: Oh, a cigarette.

Peter Marshall: In one state, you can deduct $5 from a traffic ticket if you show the officer…what?
Paul Lynde: A ten dollar bill.

Peter Marshall: Experts say you should avoid sex immediately after…what?
Paul Lynde: Surgery.

Peter Marshall: True or false, each generation of Americans has been about an inch taller than the previous generation…
Paul Lynde: That makes Robert Conrad an antique!

Peter Marshall: It’s well known that small amounts of female hormones are found in the male body. Are male hormones ever found in the female body?
Paul Lynde: Occasionally.

Peter Marshall: In the “Wizard of Oz,” the lion wanted courage and the tin man wanted a heart. What did the scarecrow want?
Paul Lynde: He wanted the tin man to notice him.

Peter Marshall: Billy Graham recently called it “our great hope in a confusing and ever-changing world.” What is it?
Paul Lynde: Pampers.

Peter Marshall: Paul, how many men are on a hockey team?
Paul Lynde: Oh, about half.

Peter Marshall: What should you do if you’re going 55 miles per hour and your tires suddenly blow out?
Paul Lynde: Honk if you believe in Jesus.

Peter Marshall: What do you call a man who gives you diamonds and pearls?
Paul Lynde: I’d call him “darling”!

Peter Marshall: True or false…a shipment of the Pill was recently recalled because they were actually sugar pills…
Paul Lynde: Does this mean all of the babies born in November will have pimples?

Peter Marshall: We’ve all heard the old phrase “A pig in a poke.” What is a poke?
Paul Lynde: It’s when you’re not really in love.

Peter Marshall: Paul, this is for 12 hundred dollars and the championship. Dale Evans recently revealed the three secrets behind her happy marriage with Roy Rogers. Now listen carefully…”We work together, we pray together and we’re darn good…” What?
Paul Lynde: In the saddle.

Peter Marshall: Paul, in what famous book will you read about a talking ass who wonders why it’s being beaten?
Paul Lynde: I read it, “The Joy of Sex.”

Peter Marshall: Is it normal for Norwegians to talk to trees?
Paul Lynde: As long as that’s as far as it goes.

Peter Marshall: Paul, can anything bring tears to a chimp’s eyes?
Paul Lynde: Finding out that Tarzan swings both ways!

Peter Marshall: Is it possible for the puppies in a litter to have more than one daddy?
Paul Lynde: Why, that bitch!

Peter Marshall: Fred Astaire says, his mother has been trying to get him to do this since he was 35. But he hasn’t done it and says he won’t do it until he’s ready. Do what?
Paul Lynde: Move out of the house!

Peter Marshall: It is the most abused and neglected part of your body– what is it?
Paul Lynde: Mine may be abused but it certainly isn’t neglected!

Peter Marshall: According to the old song, what’s breaking up that old gang of mine?
Paul Lynde: Anita Byant!

Peter Marshall: Paul, the Rio Grande River seperates Texas and Mexico. What does “Rio Grande” mean in Spanish?
Paul Lynde: El Washing Machine.

Peter Marshall: Paul,Zsa Zsa Gabor says she never ever swims with her face in the water. Why?
Paul Lynde: It clogs the drain.

Peter Marshall: Paul, Broderick Crawford says that he is often mistaken for….
Paul Lynde: A dump truck.

Peter Marshall: A current movie is being described as “the story of a love that changed the world forever.” What movie is it?
Paul Lynde: Oh, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

Peter Marshall: Lana Turner recently said, “I won’t do it because I haven’t stopped living my life by a long shot.” What won’t she do?
Paul Lynde: Oh, the Merv Griffin show.

Peter Marshall: Now listen carefully, Paul. If you have one it’s a moose. If you have two, it’s a….?
Paul Lynde: It’s a mess!

Peter Marshall: In the Bible, who was found in a basket among the bulrushes?
Paul Lynde: Colonel Sanders.

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If Only This Set Could Talk! Can you imagine the stories?

The Celebrity Game inspired Merrill Heatter to work overtime trying to develop another multi-celebrity game. One Sunday afternoon he suddenly hit on an idea…put the celebrities in a giant tic-tac-toe board. He brought in partner Bob Quigley and the two pitched the idea to CBS daytime chief Fred Silverman, who ordered a pilot. So, with Bert Parks emceeing in 1965, the two taped a pilot called The Hollywood Squares.

Silverman had a slot to fill and a choice to make between Squares and The Face is Familiar. He chose Face (anyone remember that one?). When the option expired Heatter and Quigley shopped the show to ABC and NBC and were turned down cold. But NBC at least agreed to take a second look, and bought it. Their only complaint was that they didn’t like host Bert Parks, so they searched for another host. Supposedly, someone saw a Kellogg’s ad featuring comedian and song-and-dance man Peter Marshall …and the rest was history.

The Hollywood Squares premiered on NBC on October 17, 1966, at 11:30 a.m. EST, opposite The Dating Game on ABC and reruns of The Dick Van Dyke Show on CBS. Ironicly, Van Dyke costars Morey Amsterdam and Rose Marie were guests on that first show, and in fact were regulars for years. Three more of those first squares–Abby Dalton, Wally Cox and Charley Weaver– were also regulars during the show’s first few years. The Hollywood Squares would hold onto that time slot for ten years; ABC would move The Dating Game to another time within a year.

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ESPN 3D Sideline Cart, View A

This is a modified Chapman Olympian base with 2 camera platforms. The lower one for the ‘human’ operator is a swivel turret that can go up about 20 feet. On the rear is an extendable boom arm that can go up another 20 feet above the operator when fully extended and has a robotic 3D camera on top. State of the art!

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ESPN 3D Sideline Cart, View B

This is a modified Chapman Olympian base with 2 camera platforms. The lower one for the ‘human’ operator is a swivel turret that can go up about 20 feet. On the rear is an extendable boom arm that can go up another 20 feet above the operator when fully extended and has a robotic 3D camera on top. State of the art!

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Heavy Metal!

Here is the illustrious Houston Fearless 30B Stage Crane. This one at Radio Canada is carrying an RCA TK42 and is a Deluxe model. Most did not have the boom arm operator platform like this one. I could be wrong, but I think the 30B could crab, as well as be steered from either the front wheels or the back wheels. I think this had battery powered assist on steering, but I think it could also done manually. Fully loaded with this camera and the lead counter weights, this weighs well over 2000 pounds, but the movement is silky smooth! This was the best ride in the business.

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In Remembrance of Jim Henson

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August 13, 1950: Hayloft Hoedown

Brand new in March of 1950, here’s real ingenuity at work at WHAS in Louisville, Kentucky. These Dumont 124s are shooting a Saturday night country music show and to get the great high shots without a crane, rolling scaffolding is pretty good alternative. Thanks to Craig Harper for the photo.

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Today is Philo T. Farnsworth Day!

Below, you’ll see a lot of historical photos in this salute to the father of electronic television. I hope you’ll enjoy them, but most of all, I hope you’ll remember his determination to do what no one had done before. Although this true pioneer did get a lot of “arrows in his back”, he kept on and eventually won the battle with Goliath…RCA. Thank you Philo and thanks to your wife Pem for sticking with you through the rough spots. This is a photo from the 1936 studio in Philadelphia. Enjoy!

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Philo Farnsworth, Box Camera, Model 1

This is the great granddaddy of all electronic television cameras! This is thought to be the first one Philo built and the date would be around 1926. I think the Smithsonian has this but I’m not sure. Anyone know?

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Philo Farnsworth, Box Camera, Model 2

Farnsworth associate, Cliff Gardner is shown here with the second ever electronic television camera. The lens is on the left side of the box and you can see the opening of the recessed lens. This was probably taken in 1930.

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Philo Farnsworth, Mountable Camera 1

This is Philo’s first camera capable of being mounted on a tripod. With an old, still camera as a model, we’ve graduated from wooden boxes to a more manageable style. This is probably from 1931.

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Philo Farnsworth, Mountable Camera 2

This is perhaps from around 1934, and is Philo’s second camera that could be mounted on a tripod. Notice now the camera has a gun site style viewfinder and a hard body, having left behind the adjustable, accordion focus lens. This is Philo with the camera.

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Farnsworth Camera, Image 1

Philo Farnsworth had built two or three cameras before this mid 1930s model, but all of the earlier cameras were either modeled after accordion lensed still cameras or box size table units. This is his first go at a commercial model. Operating the new camera is his associate, Don Pike and behind him is what could be the first version of this camera without the chrome striping.

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