A Fuller History Of NBC Television News…Some New Surprises!

After further research, I now realize that last week’s story on this subject only scratched the surface or a much deeper history. Today, we set the record straight.

The most widely celebrated dates in NBC news history are February 16, 1948 and February 16, 1949. In ’48 “The Camel Newsreel Theater” debuted as a 10 minute weekday newsreel from Fox Movietone News which was narrated off camera by John Cameron Swayze.

The next year, Swayze moved in front of the camera and that began “The Camel News Caravan” as a live news show. CBS had put Douglas Edwards on camera May 3, 1948.

BUT…this was not the start of news at NBC. In fact, almost immediately after their first regular TV service began April 30, 1939, news had begun to be reported on W2XBS (WNBT).

Newscaster Lowell Thomas had occasionally simulcast his NBC Radio show locally from Studio 3H as early as December 1939 and from February till July of 1940, he regularly simulcast his “Sunoco News” show to New York viewers.

There was also the weekly “Esso Television Reporter” from March until May of 1940 hosted by William Spargrove, who narrated off camera. The Esso program used live organ music and on camera was a mix of newswire photos, maps and graphic miniature depictions of news event locations.

In the photo up top, we see one of those Esso mini sets in use and behind the camera is NBC’s second hire as a cameraman, Don Peek. This scene depicts the first use of aircraft to attack warships. Remember, although WW II had not come to our shores yet, Europe was fully engulfed in 1940. As we will see, the war severely curtailed television in every way, but there is more to the prewar story below.

From July of 1941 till May of 1942, Sam Cuff hosted a weekly news commentary called “Face The War”, but the show ended as RCA and NBC cut television operations down to next to nothing five months after Pearl Harbor.

On February 23, 1944, things started to stir a bit as “The War As It Happens” came to television, and NBC News has been on the air more-or-less continuously since then.

“The War As It Happens” began as a local program, but NBC records indicate that in April of 1944, it was fed to Schenectady and Philadelphia on the fledgling NBC Television Network and became the first news cast regularly seen in multiple cities.

At the time, even the great NBC Radio news department was tiny compared to the wire services and newspapers and newsreels. Television was even less able to gather news because they didn’t even have local film crews. The first breakthrough came in 1944 when John Royal, the first head of television at NBC, acquired the rights to Army Signal Corps film.

Using this footage, “The War As It Happens” followed what was basically a newsreel format, using the film with Paul Alley narrating and Ray Forrest in the studio with commentary, maps and wire photos.

In August 1945, the war was over and the Sunday “The War As It Happens” newscast was renamed “The NBC Television Newsreel”.

In mid 1946, it gained a sponsor and became “The Esso Newsreel” and was rescheduled to two nights a week, Monday and Thursday.

On February 16, 1948 Esso bowed out and a new sponsor came to the show which became “The Camel Newsreel Theater”. The next year, it went live with Swayze on camera, but surprisingly there are reports of background music throughout the broadcast until the early 1950s. That was a remnant of the old newsreel shows. In 1956, Swayze was replaced by Chet Huntley and David Brinkley. I think you know the rest of the story. Enjoy and share! -Bobby Ellerbee

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President’s Day Special…First President, Coast To Coast

Not only is President Truman the first President to be broadcast cost to coast, he was the first person to do this! The first coast to coast broadcast, September 4, 1951 was made by President Harry Truman who made the principal speech at the Japanese Peace Treaty Conference in San Francisco. The video is below.

AT&T was close to inaugurating their new cross country coaxial and microwave relay, but when it was announced that Truman would be the attending instead of his Secretary of State, AT&T pushed hard to get it finished and did, just in time. Enjoy and share! -Bobby Ellerbee

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President’s Day Special…First President On Television, FDR

Franklin Roosevelt was the first American President to appear on television at the dedication ceremonies of the New York World’s Fair on April 30, 1939.

When Roosevelt made history he was watched by a couple of hundred viewers in the RCA pavilion as well as a few dozen more back at the NBC in Manhattan. More people likely saw FDR live at the fair than in front of TV sets.

RCA president David Sarnoff actually beat FDR on TV by ten days as he dedicated the RCA Pavilion. Enjoy and share!

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SNL 40 Breaks Records And Millions Of Funny Bones! BRAVO!

STUNNING is about the only word that works to describe the show last night. The video montages, the opening, the presentation…everything was flawless! TD Steve Cimino and Director Don King did a great job, as did everyone behind the lenses last night.

And the live sketches…WOW! Jeopardy, Weekend Update, Chevy and Garret’s news for the deaf, Billy Crystal, Steve Martin, Bass O Matic, ALL OF IT was just amazing and had to be done in a much smaller space than usual.

Just look at the extra seating added here. That took up a lot of valuable floor space. I didn’t see a single camera last night and suspect the crane must have spent the week tucked away somewhere on the 8th floor.

I laughed all the way through and have never seen have never seen a show with more iconic moments! It was just Awesome! THANK YOU to all that helped bring this to us! There will be more as people decompress from this week’s activities and pictures and stories start to emerge. -Bobby Ellerbee

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An Exclusive Eyewitness Account…Billy Crystal & The Debut Of SNL

In an earlier post today, we looked at the history of the show’s missed start date and the first episode. As you know, Billy Crystal was scheduled to appear, but he didn’t.

You are about to learn the real story of why he didn’t from someone who was there…Joel Spector, who was on the audio crew for the first 17 years of SNL.

Many, including me, were curious about how this happened…was it a last-minute thing or did it come earlier in the week? Did he appear in the dress rehearsal? In later years, Billy had talked about the disappointment of being bumped but thanks to Joel, we’ll hear what really happened. Here is his account…

“This is the real story. Billy did indeed appear in the dress rehearsal and got big laughs. I was at the post-dress rehearsal production meeting. For this week only, every staff and crew member attended this meeting, held right in the middle of the studio.

There were three “new young comedians” scheduled to appear that week, in addition to host George Carlin. They were Andy Kaufman, Billy Crystal and Valri Bromfeld. Lorne announced that the show was very long and that only two of the three new comedians could be on the air show: Andy (with two spots) worked to recorded music, “which couldn’t be cut.”

“Billy was set to do his “Late Show” routine, in which he did all of he sounds for the typical late movie show on a local station, complete with badly spliced film hiccups. He said that he had been doing this routine for some time and that it had already been refined to be “just right.” “I understand that this might rule me out,” he said.”

“Valri piped up: “I can cut down my piece…no problem.” Lorne then wished Billy well and promised him a spot during the next few weeks. Soon after, he was cast on “Soap” and became a big star. Andy went on to the comedy stratosphere until his untimely demise. Valri did her shortened and not very funny routine and then resumed her career as a comic actor and writer.” – Joel Spector

To follow up on Joel’s account, as Lorne had promised, Billy returned on April 17, 1976, on Season 1’s 17th Episode, which was hosted by President Ford’s Press Secretary, Ron Nessen with musical guest Patti Smith.

Thanks to Joel, we now know that it was only after the dress rehearsal that Crystal was cut. Till now, that part had never been known. Many thanks to Joel for this missing piece of history and to the many that share similar first-hand information on this page.

In the photo below we see our friends Joel Spector (L) and Gady Reinhold (R)…friends since childhood and television veterans extraordinaire. Joel joined NBC in 1965 and Gady joined CBS a year later. Both have been a tremendous help to this site and their passion for television’s history and friendship is greatly appreciated! Enjoy and Share! – Bobby Ellerbee

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SNL Debut Show…The Opening Minutes With George Carlin

In case you missed the encore performance of the debut show on NBC last night, here is opening and Carlin’s monologue. I have been told that the original closing credits on this debut show listed all of the Not Ready For Prime Time Players as “Bud”.

It seems the sketch comedy didn’t get ramped up until the Candice Bergen episode, which I believe is the fourth. Lorne has said he considers that one to be the first episode of the show in what became its standard format. Even in the Richard Pryor episode, Don Pardo only announced them as a group.

Up next…AN EXCLUSIVE EYE WITNESS ACCOUNT OF THE DEBUT SHOW’S BILLY CRYSTAL CONTROVERSY! Enjoy and share! Bobby Ellerbee

Happy birthday, George Carlin. The late comedian would have turned 77 on May 12. To honor him, we take a look back at his historic ‘SNL’ monolgue — the show’s first ever. “Talk about a live show! It’s nice to see you, welcome, and thanks for joining us — live.” That’s how the comedy icon started t…

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The Television Debut Of The SNL Original Cast…Rare & Surprising!

As it turns out, “The Not Ready For Prime Time Players” were not even ready for late night television! Really! Here’s the story…

NBC’s new 90 minute, live comedy show “NBC Saturday Night” was scheduled to debut at 11:30 on October 4, 1975. The plane truth is, they just could not get the show ready in time for a number of reasons, with timing and blocking among the biggest hurdles to overcome.

Although Tom Snyder’s ‘Tomorrow’ show was a one hour, Monday – Friday production, NBC called on him at the last minute to do special 90 minute Saturday show to cover the SNL hole in their schedule. Fortunately, Jerry Lewis was in town and agreed to do the show. For the first 85 minutes, he was the single guest. The last five minutes were reserved for the introduction of the SNL cast and it’s producer Lorne Michaels.

In this clip, you will see the first ever network appearance of the original cast of “NBC Saturday Night”. Break a leg tonight SNL and happy 40th Anniversary! Enjoy and SHARE! -Bobby Ellerbee

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“Saturday Night Live”…Behind The Scenes Of A Typical Week

From a few months back, here is my article on some of the production detail of the show! Please remember to visit the EOAG page to see ALL today’s articles…just click on the blue text above! Enjoy and share. -Bobby Ellerbee

‘Saturday Night Live’…Behind The Scenes Of A Typical Week

This is the 8H studio map, the rehearsal and run sheets for the April 12, 2014 show with Seth Rogen as host. At the link above is a clip of the Undercover Sharpton sketch you should watch for context.

Notice on the map that sketch sets are often set in front of other sketch sets. For instance, in the Sharpton sketch, on the left in front of Stage 6 we see where the van was and across the floor in front of Stage 4B, we see the Sharpton Mob Bar interior location. As you can see on the blue sheet, some of the Sharpton effects shots were videotaped on Friday.

By having the 8H stage map we can more easily see the complexity of the production and the importance of camera blocking and rehearsals. The hand written notations from the cameramen show them where they need to be. TNG is the abbreviation for the retractable tongue on the front of the HB, or home base stage where the monologue and Weekend Update are done.

Stage 1 – 6 are constant week to week production areas. Stage 2 is always for musical guests only and homebase is for always for the house band, but everything else is always in flux.

As you can see on the white Thursday sheet, one of the first orders of business is loading in the guest band, sound check and then shooting promos. After that, camera blocking with the actors starts.

On the blue Friday sheet, you can see how the blocking and rehearsals continue with pre taping going on for scenes with a lot of effects.

The pink sheet is the Saturday dress rehearsal with the first audience entering around 7PM and the runthrough starts about 8 and runs till 10 or so. After that, Lorne Michaels and the writers huddle to cut the some sketches. They have been watching from Lorne’s perch under the bleachers near the center door.

On the green air rundown, you can see on the right which sketches were cut and how the order has changed from dress rehearsal. Remember…everybody has to be on the same page. Literally! The actors, the 30 or so stage hands moving scenery and the six cameras and two sound boom teams all have to be at the right spot at the right time.

I have had the pleasure to see this up close and personal and there is not a more impressive ballet of men and machines, art and artists and sets and scenery than at ‘Saturday Night Live’! This is a time lapse video of the show just two weeks before Seth Rogan hosted!

Thanks to ALL the SNL casts and crews for 40 year of unforgettable memories! Enjoy and SHARE! -Bobby Ellerbee

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An Updated Report On My Night At SNL…May 3, 2014

I’m re-posting my report from the next morning with some updates and added comments.

New: I originally only mentioned this is passing, but I was fortunate enough to spend six hours in 8H on Friday afternoon watching rehearsals. I had come directly from a two-hour tour of The Ed Sullivan Theater and at the end of my day in 8H, I went to dinner with a friend from the “Tonight” show. It was quite a day, as was each of my seven days in New York. I had wanted to see the 8 o’clock dress rehearsal (and I did) instead of the live show…it’s a half hour longer and I could go back to the hotel and watch the live version to see what was cut. This was the weekend the new Spider Man movie debuted, and the host was Andrew Garfield, the movie’s star with musical guest Cold Play.

At the dress rehearsal that night, there was a great “gotch ya” moment. Weekend Update host, Colon Jost did the warm up and said we (the audience) were going to play Stump The Band and he asked for someone to shout out an obscure song title. I couldn’t resist and shouted out “Boogaloo Down Broadway by the Fantastic Johnny C”. The band hit a few familiar notes like they were about to play it and then…they all shouted out “Yeah, we know it”, and that was it…it was funny.

One last thing. About 60 second before the show started, I turned to see Lorne Michaels standing next to me…two feet away. I knew he was deep in thought, and it was best not to bother him, but I was dying to say, “Excuse me but aren’t you Max Liebman?”. I wish I had said it. If you don’t know who Max is, read on in the original part below. Enjoy!

LIVE FROM NEW YORK, IT’S SATURDAY NIGHT!

Last night, I was an eyewitness to live television’s only living legacy of the art of live variety show production…”Saturday Night Live”.

I sat on the front row of the floor seats. Looking at the stage, I was on the left side in the corner seat…only three seats on the front row and to my left was the other half of the 8H floor space…the perfect place to see everything.

I’m going into some detail this morning but believe me…there will me much more on this! Before I go anywhere though, I must first thank the SNL crew for their incredible hospitality, especially John Pinto and Phil Pernice.

These are the pros that do the work: On Camera 1, our friend John Pinto. This is the Chapman Electra crane camera and his long-time driver is Phil Pernice, with Louis Delli Paoli and Robert Mancari handling the boom arm duties.

On Camera 2, Paul Cangialisoi. On Camera 3, Len Weshlel. On Camera 4, Carl Eckert. On Camera 5, our old friend Eric Eisenstein. These are pedestal cameras, but when a portable is needed, one of them will handle that.

These are two more men that need to be acknowledged…Ed Ruotolo and Pete Phrane. In a way, these two are “the last of the Mohicans”. Ed and Pete are the only two sound boom operators in live network television!

Knowing what I know now, we really have to thank Lorne Michaels too for keeping the show true to the way it would have been done when live entertainment television was in its heyday. Max Liebman and Lorne have a lot in common, and it seems that Mr. Michaels goes the extra mile to acknowledge that in a way.

Liebman produced NBC’s first ninety minute Saturday night hit… “Your Show Of Shows” with Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca. That show was done the same way, with ped cameras, a studio crane, two sound booms and a live audience.

To his credit, Michaels has taken this a step further. Like last night, I and forty or so others get to sit in the floor seats each week. This adds intimacy to the presentation, but also a few more degrees of difficulty for the crew and stage hands.

Sketches take place everywhere, on both ends of the studio and in the middle too, on all four walls, which means four ped cameras, the Chapman and two sound booms have to move there, set up and be ready for the start of each sketch. But remember…there’s scenery too and lots of it!

Sage hands are constantly in motion setting up the next scene and striking the last and some of the set pieces are quite large and elaborate, but everything has to move at the same time while staying quiet and out of each other’s way. This is a huge 3D chess game that is beyond fascinating to watch.

On top of all this is the Q card team which has to be in place with the cards over the lens of the correct camera. At times, the cards have to be held in three or four different places at once and kept in sync.

There are kings, and then there are Kings of Kings. The crews at “Saturday Night Live” are Kings of Kings, and then some! In each one of them, from the floor to the control room to the dressing rooms and beyond, both talent and technical…all of them are living legacies. The art of live variety show production, in all of the world, has only one true home; NBC Studio 8H!

With all due respect to all the other live network crews, especially the brilliant New York video artists behind the cameras at Jimmy Fallon, David Letterman and Seth Meyers, you are also Kings of Kings, but you have to admit that SNL is in a class by itself as the format and conditions are very different from any other show. It’s apples and oranges.

Now…to the dance. There is a magical coordination and flow of choreography that goes largely unseen that is absolutely stunning to watch in person. The great shots you see on screen are the product of the dance, but the dance itself is a true sight to behold!

One level of this dance is exclusive to SNL. All live shows have floor traffic, but SNL has overhead traffic too, and lots of it! Here, we have Louis and Robert swinging John Pinto’s crane camera overhead AND two sound booms! It was very interesting in Friday’s camera blocking rehearsal to hear a discussion of boom shadows. This is one of the elements exclusive to SNL that the pros there have to deal with, and they do it well.

Another part of this “level one” dance is the move…the migration of men and machines from one end of 8H to the other, or somewhere in between. There are utility men and women with each camera to handle the cable which is absolutely necessary, and when they move, it’s done with care, calm and efficiency and is a thing of beauty to behold in itself.

The second level of the dance is most pronounced during the musical guest performances.  During the musical performances, all four ped cameramen are peding up and peding down, trucking left and right, in and out, back and forth…all constantly in fluid motion. They trade places with each other on the in and outs and in the center, with Pinto and company booming up and down, and over the heads of the others the whole time.

This is true art and these are video artist at work!

Speaking of art… watching Phil, Louis and Robert handle the Chapman Electra is a thrill! Worldwide, this is the only true studio crane in operation in live television. Everything else that flies is a jib, and with all due respect to the jib operators…there is no comparison.

The Electra boom is in perfect balance on the up and down and should Louis and Robert turn loose of the boom arm, it will not move and is rock steady. Seeing Phil back the whole thing into the tunnel under the seats is a sight to behold.

In closing, my sincere thanks to everyone at SNL that have made me feel so welcome this week. I am deeply touched and truly honored to have been able to see all of you and be a witness to the extraordinary work you do.

8H IS the home of the Kings of Kings! Thank you all for continuing the legacy of live television at it’s best! -Bobby Ellerbee

Here’s a clip of the promos.

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Rare Video NBC Burbank Studio 1, Bob Hope Special

This is the opening of a 1963 “Bob Hope Chrysler Special”. As you will see, it was shot with RCA TK60 black and white cameras in the usually color, Studio 1. When you see the TK60, notice the TK41 color camera behind it.

Hope was the producer of his specials and resisted NBC’s request for a color production because of the extra added cost. Enjoy and share! -Bobby Ellerbee

Aliquippa • Behind the scenes at NBC Burbank, 1963.

Behind the scenes at NBC Burbank, 1963.

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February 11, 1960…Jack Paar Walks Off The “Tonight” Show

On February 11, 1960, Jack Paar turned television upside down with a remarkable act of integrity. That I know of, this short audio recording is the only version of the departure segment in its entirety, starting with the NBC announcement at the beginning of the show that was added for the tape’s broadcast that night.

What was the joke the NBC censor took out the night before? Here it is….

“An English lady, while visiting Switzerland, was looking for a room, and she asked the schoolmaster if he could recommend any to her. He took her to see several rooms, and when everything was settled, the lady returned to her home to make the final preparations to move. When she arrived home, the thought suddenly occurred to her that she had not seen a “W.C.”, (short for “water closet”, British for bathroom). So she immediately wrote a note to the schoolmaster asking him if there were a “W.C.” around.

The schoolmaster was a very poor student of English, so he asked the parish priest if he could help in the matter. Together they tried to discover the meaning of the letters “W.C.,” and the only solution they could find for the letters was “Wedding Chapel.” The schoolmaster then wrote to the English lady the following note:

Dear Madam: I take great pleasure in informing you that the W.C. is situated nine miles from the house you will occupy, in the center of a beautiful grove of pine trees surrounded by lovely grounds. It is capable of holding 229 people and it is open on Sunday and Thursday only. As there are a great number of people and they are expected during the summer months, I would suggest that you come early, although there is plenty of standing room as a rule. You will no doubt be glad to hear that a good number of people bring their lunch and make a day of it. While others who can afford to go by car arrive just in time, I would especially recommend that your ladyship go on Thursday when there is a musical accompaniment.

It may interest you to know that my daughter was married in the W.C. and it was there that she met her husband. I can remember the rush there was for seats. The newest attraction is a bell donated by a wealthy resident of the district. It rings every time a person enters. A bazaar is to be held to provide plush seats for all the people, since they feel it is a long felt need. I shall be delighted to reserve the best seat for you if you wish, where you will be seen by all. Hoping to have been of service to you, I remain, Sincerely, The Schoolmaster.”

On March, 7th 1960, Jack, having calmed down in Hong Kong for two weeks, returned to the show to the largest legitimate ovation any host of that show ever received. He came on stage, looked at the audience and stated, “As I was saying when I was interrupted….(Huge Laugh) “When I walked off I said that there must be a better way to making a living than this. Well, I’ve looked, (laugh builds), and there isn’t.” (Another huge laugh).

The night he walked out, the walked into Hurley’s Bar at the corner of 6th Avenue and 49th Street. While he was away, Hurley’s kept a picture of Jack in their window for the duration. I’ll add that rare photo in the Comment section below. Enjoy and share! -Bobby Ellerbee

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4mq19SYNoE

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Speaking Of Johnny Carson and Studio 1

Here’s a nice color shot of the set with an RCA TK44 in the shot, probably a tour group stopping in. Notice the star on the floor…Johnny’s monologue marker. I don’t think this is the ’72 set, so this pix may be from around ’76. Please remember to visit this page to make sure you see everything…just click on the blue text at the top of this post. -Bobby Ellerbee

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