January 25, 1961…The First Live Presidential Press Conference

Instead of presenting the historical footage, I’ve included a short compilation that reminds us of JFK’s easy style in these press conferences. He was the first American president to really understand television and how to use it to his advantage, which started during the campaign.

Fifty four years ago today, President Kennedy held the first ever live presidential news conference. It originated from the auditorium of the State Department and was carried live on both radio and television. It was the first of sixty three he would give.

Prior to this, live radio broadcasts by a President were scripted speeches. In press conferences prior to Kennedy, questions were submitted in advance and were not asked by reporters nor broadcast live, but were recorded on film for television and on audio tape for radio news. Enjoy and share! -Bobby Ellerbee

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

The wit and humor of President John F. Kennedy is revealed in this series of clips from his various press conferences.

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By Request…A Wonderful Minute From NBC NY and Burbank & Good Comments

Thanks to our friend John Schipp, we are able to see a little over a minute’s worth of rare footage inside 30 Rock and Burbank.

This is from a behind the scenes episode of NBC’s ‘The Go Show’ which aired briefly around 1973. It was a unique show, shot mostly in the field with RCA TK 76 ENG cameras and recorded on Ampex VR-3000 VTRs, a portable 2-inch quad machine.

With a little help from NBC’s Dennis Degan, here’s what we are seeing. “The first two shots look like Studio 5H Control Room, originally built in 1954. The TCR-100 (tape cartridge machine) shown in the clip was Machine #31, the one furthest to the left in a line of six TCR-100’s at NBC-NY. My maintenance shop was on the other side of the wall seen in the shot. The clip jumps to Burbank and Studio 4’s elephant doors, then home to ‘The Flip WIlson Show’ and ‘Midnight Special’. You can also get a glimpse of the set for ‘Sanford & Son’ which I think was in Studio 3. Then we flip back to NY for a shot of Frank Blair at his news desk, most likely Studio 3K and I think the closing moments are in Studio 4 again. I believe the clip was probably made in 1973. The TCR’s were first brought to market no earlier than 1972.” Comment, enjoy and share! -Bobby Ellerbee

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This Just In! Ultra Rare Photos Of The Colonial Theater Marquee

Thanks to Tom Gauer, here are two rare photos of The Colonial with “The Price Is Right” on the marquee. These are the first, and only two images I have ever seen of the outside during the NBC/RCA color years which began in early 1952.

Before this, the only outside shot we had of The Colonial was this 1936 photo when it was an RKO movie theater. Here’s the history of the building that housed NBC’s first ever commercial color television facility.

The Charleston (dance) was born here…at 1887 Broadway.

The theater was built in 1905 as the Colonial Music Hall by Fred Thompson and Elmer Dundy, the same duo behind the Hippodrome Theater and Luna Park at Coney Island, as a venue for musicals and vaudeville acts.

Designed by architect George Keister, the Colonial Theater was designed in the style of a Victorian London music hall. The interior had a wide yet not very deep auditorium, which brought the balcony much closer to the stage than many other theaters and could seat nearly 1,300.

In 1912, B.F. Keith took over the Colonial Theater, altering its name to Keith’s Colonial Theater, and when E.F. Albee took over from Keith five years later, it became the New Colonial Theater.

In the early-1920’s, black-themed musical comedies came to the New Colonial Theater, with such now-racist sounding names as “Little Sambo” and “Chocolate Dandies”. It was during this time that a 1923 show, “Runnin’ Wild” introduced the dance craze called the Charleston to America from the stage or The New Colonial.

In 1932, RKO took over, and, as the RKO Colonial Theater, began showing movies. After years of second-run and double features, RKO sold the theater to NBC in early 1952.

RCA and NBC remodeled the theater, added 4 live TK40 color prototypes and a color film chain. By November of ’52, the theater was ready to go live and did so with an experimental broadcast of “Your Show Of Shows” with the color burst removed for the network audience. Color testing continued until the FCC approved the RCA Dot Sequential System and commercial colorcasts began from here.

A decade later, ABC took over, and used the Colonial Theater mainly for taping game shows until 1971. Today, it’s all gone, but not forgotten. Enjoy and share! -Bobby Ellerbee

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Once, This Was The Heart Of KNBC News

Thanks to Chuck Snitchler, here is a shot of the KNBC news room at the old Burbank location as it appears today. This is where the reporters, editors and producers desks were. Enjoy and share! -Bobby Ellerbee

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By Request…Historic Kinescope Footage & The Machine Itself

Several people asked to see more on the kinescope process, so here from NBC’s KNBH in Hollywood, is a look at some early kine images starting with some of the first Iconoscope images from 1938. I think this report was probably done in early 1949.

Also seen here, the kine recordings of the first broadcast using the RCA TK30 Image Orthicon cameras in June of 1946 at the Joe Lewis – Billy Conn rematch at Yankee Stadium. Near the end, we’ll get a look at RCA’s latest Kine in action. Videotape couldn’t come soon enough. Enjoy and share! – Bobby Ellerbee

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=0HbODxTSDmM

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TeleTales 26…The Gray Research Sound Effects Console

This is kind of a followup to posts earlier in the week that showed portable turntables from the 1930s, This was the big boy unit and CBS had a lot of these in their radio studios across the country. RCA had a similar model.

These were originally used for sound effects playbacks, but some of the first disc jockey shows were done on these machines as well. Enjoy and share! -Bobby Ellerbee

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TeleTales 25…My How Thing$ Have Changed

As you look at these numbers, consider this. What cost $100,000 in 1975 dollars now costs $440,030. If you remember from a few days back, “Miami Vice” cost almost $1.3 million per episode when it debuted in 1984. Anyone have a chart like this for today’s shows? Enjoy and share. -Bobby Ellerbee

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TeleTales 24…Just For Fun!

Here’s great shot of Mitch Miller dropping his pants as part of a practical joke during rehearsal at NBC Brooklyn Studio 2. Enjoy and share! -Bobby Ellerbee

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January 22, 1947…KTLA Becomes The 1st Commercial Station In The West

THIS IS A MUST SEE HISTORY OF EARLY LOS ANGELES TELEVISION!
I’ve put up only two stories today so you can have the time to see them. This amazing video is packed with ultra rare historical footage of not only KTLA, but from the early days of all the Los Angeles television stations!

You’ll hear from Bob Hope, Betty White, Steve Allen, Dinah Shore, Dick Enberg and MANY more! This 40th Anniversary broadcast posting even has a very good timeline of what comes where on the video, but if you can, make the time to see it ALL! It is one of the very best historical presentations you will ever see! ENJOY AND SHARE! -Bobby Ellerbee

http://mediaburn.org/video/ktla-anniversary-show/

[KTLA anniversary show] — Media Burn Archive

Anniversary show for the station with clips from classic programs.

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The Adelphi Theater…By Request, A Replay Of The Famous Theater’s History

Adelphi Theater Stage Is Now…New York Hilton’s Grand Ballroom

If you ever want to conjure up the ghosts of ‘The Honeymooners’, make your way to the Grand Ballroom of the New York Hilton as that is where the stage of the Adelphi Theater was located.

After I posted the rare new photo from Peter Katz yesterday of the ‘Honeymooners’, our friend Howie Zeidman from ABC called me with this interesting information. In the color photo, you see on the left what I think is the Hilton’s ballroom entrance which is directly across from the (new) Ziegfeld Theater at 144 W. 54 Street. The Adelphi was at 152 W. 54.

In the second photo, we see a long shot up 54th from 6th Ave. By the time this photo was taken, Dumont had moved out (1957) and the theater was renamed The 54th Street Theater. It was torn down in 1970 to make way for the Hilton.

Speaking of The Ziegfeld Theater, the one shown here is not the original theater where NBC did ‘The Perry Como Show’, but it is very close. That theater was on the corner of 6th Avenue and 54th street and this new Ziegfeld movie theater was built right behind where the original was.

By the way, CBS Studio 50 (Ed Sullivan Theater) is only a couple of blocks from here. Gleason started there with CBS in 1952 and had offices in the Park Sheraton Hotel which was only a block from Studio 50. When he decided to do the half hour ‘Honeymooners’ on film, he wanted something close and choose Dumont’s Adelphi which Dumont had just equipped with their new Electronicams. Enjoy and share!
-Bobby Ellerbee

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TeleTales #22…A True Classic

Here’s Jackie Gleason at CBS Studio 50. Behind him is legendary cameraman Pat McBride. Enjoy and share. -Bobby Ellerbee

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TeleTales #20…A True Rarity. Television’s Only Six Shooter

This is the six lens EMI Emitron camera from 1951. That I know of, no other camera had a six lens turret. There were a couple of five lens turrets over the years, but I think this is the only six shooter. This is a monochrome studio camera used by the BBC. Enjoy and share. -Bobby Ellerbee

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TeleTales #19…”Captain Kangaroo” Debuts On CBS From Dumont

When the show debuted on October 3, 1955, CBS was in a crunch for studio space and for several years rented studio space at The Dumont Telecenter at 205 East 67th Street. Notice the Dumont cameras in this photo from the first month of the show.

As mentioned here recently, other CBS shows that were done there include “Love Of Life”, ‘The Verdict Is Yours”, “The Edge Of Night” and “As The World Turns”, which all eventually moved to Leiderkrantz Hall. Enjoy and share! -Bobby Ellerbee

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TeleTales #18…CBS Studio 59, Gary Moore’s Second Home

256 W 47th Street is the location of what was The Mansfield Theater and later, CBS Studio 59. Now, this is the Brooks Atkinson Theater.

CBS used the theater from 1950 till 1960 and this was the home of both “I’ve Got A Secret” and “The Garry Moore Show”, daytime edition.

When Steve Allen came to television in New York, he was first on CBS and was one of the first shows done here after the conversion. Allen was here from 1950 – 52. Other shows that came from Studio 59 were “The Sam Levinson Show”, “The Robert Q. Lewis Show” and Jimmy Dean’s daytime show. Enjoy and share! -Bobby Ellerbee

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