Picture Parade #1…ULTRA RARE! ‘Toast Of The Town’, CBS 1949

This is one of only four or five pictures of Ed Sullivan’s ‘Toast Of The Town’ show from CBS Studio 51, also known as The Maxine Elliott Theater at 109 West 39th Street.

Studio 51 is believed to the be the first theater CBS converted to television use, but when this show started here, I think it was covered as a remote for the first six months. After the show caught on, only then did CBS spend the money on the conversion by adding a control room. I’ll add two more pix from the Maxine Elliott years below in the comments section. Enjoy and share! -Bobby Ellerbee

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CBS NY Master Studio List, New And Updated…1937- Present

First compiled by David Schwartz in April 1999, here is the updated list from David with some revisions by Tom Coughlin. In the next few days, I will add the NBC and ABC studios list. Many thanks to David and Tom for this great outline of the CBS New York studios history. Enjoy, comment, share and SAVE! -Bobby Ellerbee

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CBS Studios 1937 – 1964

Radio Studios 1-9, 485 Madison Ave. Studio 21 to 28 CBS Radio Building, 49 East 52nd Street

Studio 31 & 32 485 Madison Ave., TV Studios 1948-1964. This is where ‘Douglas Edwards With The News’ originally began, them moved to Leiderkrantz Hall and later Studio 41.

Studio 41 to 44 Grand Central Studios, 15 Vanderbilt Avenue (3rd floor) used from the 1937 to 1964. Only 41 and 42 were production studios…43 and 44 were “control studios” used for switching, telecine and video tape.

Studio 50 (Ed Sullivan Theater) 1697 Broadway

Studio 51 (Maxine Elliott Theater) 109 West 39th Street. Used by CBS 1944-1959

Studio 52 (New Yorker Theater) 254 West 54th Street. Used by CBS from 1949 until 1975. Later became “Studio 54” nightclub.

Studios 53 to 56 Liederkrantz Hall, 111 East 58th Street. Used from 1950 to 1964.

Studio 57 (Peace Theater) 1280 Fifth Avenue

Studio 58 (Town Theater) 851 Ninth Avenue

Studio 59 (Mansfield Theater) 256 West 47th Street

Studio 60 (Lincoln Square) 1947 Broadway

Studio 61 (Monroe Theater) 1456 First Avenue CBS-Edge of Night (1956)

Studio 62 (Biltmore Theater) 261 West 47th Street

Studio 63-64 205 East 67th Street (DuMont /Metromedia Channel 5 studios 1 and 5) CBS. Shows from here were ‘First Hundred Years’ (1948), ‘Bilko’ (1955-56), ‘Edge of Night’ (1956 -1960) Wrestling show (studio 5) (Dumont, 1955),

Studio 65 (Hi Brown Studios) 221 West 26th Street

Studio 71 (Radio Studio 1) 485 Madison Ave.

Studio 72 (RKO 81st Street Theater) 2248 Broadway

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CBS TV Studios-1964 to mid 70’s

Studio 41-46 Broadcast Center. Began operation in 1964, radio on July 26; TV in August or September.

Studio 50 (Ed Sullivan) 1697 Broadway

Studio 51/54 (Hi Brown Studios) 221 West 26th Street

Studio 52 (New Yorker Theater) 254 West 54th Street. Used until 1975.

Studio 53 (Monroe Theater) 1456 First Ave

Studio 54 (Cort Theater). Used for the late night Merv Griffin show.

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CBS TV Studios Mid 70’s-present

Studio 41-46 Broadcast Center

Studio 50 Ed Sullivan Theater

Studio 51 New York Production Center, 222 East 44th Street (MPO, later EUE/Screen Gems)

Studio 52/53 Hi Brown Studios (also called Studio 51/54) unknown when numbering changed.

Studio 54 was originally a film studio. Patty Duke Show (ABC,1963-5) Bilko (CBS ,1956-9)

Studio 52 402 East 76th Street (used in the 1980’s)

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CBS Radio Playhouses

CBS Radio Playhouse #1 242 West 45th Street

CBS Radio Playhouse #2 251 West 45th Street

CBS Radio Playhouse #3 1697 Broadway (became Studio 50)

CBS Radio Playhouse #4 254 West 54th Street (became Studio 52)

CBS Radio Playhouse #5 109 West 39th Street (became Studio 51)

Notes:

CBS Studio 51 from the 1970s aka “The New York Production Center” at 222 East 44th Street, is EUE/Screen Gems (1973 to Present) Prior to 1973—it was used by MPO productions (as flim stage, though it was used sporadically for videotape work). EUE/Screen Gems purchased the studio from MPO, and installed Fernseh KCU-40 video camera chains early 1970s, and it has been used for video since then.

CBS and ABC studios located at 205 East 67th Street, were actually the Dumont (Metromedia) studios.

CBS studio based at 2248 Broadway ultimately became Teletape “Stage 2” early 1970s (Sesame Street, Electric Company).

Himan Brown Studios (W. 26th St.) was used for both film and video production at various times, the Patty Duke Show (ABC, 1963-5) was filmed there as well as Bilko (CBS, 1955-59-second season). Currently owned by All Mobile Video.

Biograph Studio NY (807 East 175th St, The Bronx) Studio had been abandoned, but was revived around 1967. Car 54 (NBC, 1961-3), East Side/West Side (CBS, 1963-4), and Naked City (ABC, 1958-63)—all are filmed shows. This studio was also known as “Gold Medal Studios” in the late 1950s. Studio was abandoned in the 1970s, and burned in 1980.

Filmways Studios NY (246 E. 127th St.–built in a former MTA transit garage building in the late1950s.) The Defenders (CBS, 1961-5), and The Doctors and the Nurses (CBS, 1962-5), Hawk (ABC 1966), and Trials of O’Brien (CBS 1965-6) (All filmed productions). Films shot there include Butterfield 8, The Godfather, The Wiz. Studio was demolished in the 1980s.

Fox Movietone studios (460 W. 54th St at 10th Ave.) Two sound stages—the large one with a cyclorama and swimming pool under the deck. Three small scoring stages. UPI Movietone News operated in upstairs offices into the 1980s. Stages on ground floor operated as Fox until 1964, Manhattan Sound Studios until about 1968. Operated by F&B/CECO and Camera Mart (film equipment rental companies) in the 1970s and 1980s. Norby (NBC,1955), (strangely, shot on color film. Kodak was a sponsor) Adams Chronicles (PBS, 1976, recorded by EUE Video Services), Best of Families (PBS, 1977, recorded by Reeves Teletape). Later Sony Music Studios, demolished 2008. The original ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire’ was shot there in 1999 (at the time, ABC was contemplating purchasing the building). Notable films shot there: The Exorcist (1972), Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), Starting Over (1979), Sophie’s Choice (1982).

The Town Theatre at (either 840 or 851) 9th Ave was converted to a television stage and used by CBS, WNET-13 in the 1970s, and Teletape in the 1980s, Later Unitel. It was demolished and replaced by the Alvin Ailey Citigroup theater a few years ago.

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Picture Parade #3…Another ‘Tonight’ Rarity, Two Birds…One Stone

It’s not often that we see the TK41s in NBC Studio 6B, but even more rare is this shot with band leader and Musical Director, Milton Delugg.

The band was formed in 1954 for the debut of ‘Tonight’ with Steve Allen by its first long-term director, Skitch Henderson. When Jack Paar, took over Jose Melis became the leader in late 1957.

Henderson returned in 1962 when Johnny Carson took over after Carson increased the band budget, which allowed Henderson to hire some of the best musicians from the touring big bands which were going out of business at the time. The new band included Clark Terry, Bobby Rosengarden, Doc Severinsen, Urbie Green, Ed Shaughnessy, and Ernie Royal, among others.

In 1966, Henderson left the show and was replaced by Milton DeLugg, who in 1967 was replaced by Doc Severinsen. Enjoy and share! -Bobby Ellerbee

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Picture Parade #2…Who Knew? Two Stunners From ‘Perry Mason’

Yes, it’s true. Hamilton Burger actually beat Perry Mason. Over the course of the nine year run of the show, it happened twice. While checking my facts, I came across this second stunner from the Associated Press.

“Williiam Talman was one of several arrested at a Hollywood party. Not only were drugs found in the house, but according to the raiding police officers, everyone including Talman was nude.” -Associated Press

Sheriff’s deputies, suspicious of marijuana use, raided a party on March 13, 1960, in a private home in Beverly Hills at which Talman was a guest. All were arrested for possession of marijuana (which was later dropped) and lewd vagrancy, but municipal judge Adolph Alexander dismissed the lewd vagrancy charges against Talman and the others on June 17 for lack of proof.

Despite this Talman was fired by CBS which refused to give a reason. Talman was later rehired after ‘Perry Mason’ producer Gail Patrick Jackson made a request to CBS following a massive letter-writing campaign by viewers. Enjoy and share! -Bobby Ellerbee

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Picture Parade #1…ULTRA RARE! ‘Peter Pan’, 1955 Backstage Shot

This is the only photo of it’s kind I have ever seen. Here is Mary Martin with Cyril Ritchard posing with Nana at NBC Brooklyn in 1955 during rehearsals for the original television presentation. Enjoy and share! -Bobby Ellerbee

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Now, For Something Completely Different! Audio Buffs Will Love This!

This is not just a tour of Atlanta’s Fabulous Fox…this is how these grand theaters worked in an electro-mechanical sense in the 1920s. Our friend Robert Foreman has covered everything from the live microphones to the marquee with some very interesting and rare history on the first talking movie and sound amplification systems.

At the time of its construction, the 4462-seat Atlanta Fox was the sixth largest theater in the world and counted among its original equipment a permanent public address or sound reinforcement system forty years before Broadway credited the first audio designer. Enjoy and share!

http://backstagefox1929.blogspot.com/2014/03/part-ii-audio-and-electro-mechanicals.html

BACKSTAGE AT THE FOX 1929: PART II: AUDIO AND ELECTRO-MECHANICALS

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A Rare Look At The WNEW Control Room…Sonny Fox ‘Wonderama’ Tour

This clip is from the early 1960s and was sent to us from Barry Mitchell with this interesting note. “I’ve had this rare clip for years: it was on a reel of 2” tape that had been donated to my college, most likely by WNEW-TV. ‘Wonderama’ host Sonny Fox guides us through the Channel 5 control room at the Metromedia Telecenter, 205 East 67th Street, New York City. Last time I passed by the studio a couple of years ago, the front door handles still bore the old “MM” emblems.”

Thanks for the clip Barry! Enjoy and share! -Bobby Ellerbee

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfo5wCwai2Q

Sonny takes his young viewers into the control room of his Sunday morning WNEW-TV program to see how a television show is made. Check out the 1950s DuMont br…

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You Mean That’s Not A Real Mountain There In Virginia City?

Nope. Hollywood and the ‘Bonanza’ producers have fooled us again.

The “mountain” at the rear of the Western Street was actually constructed of a chicken-wire framework covered over by plaster and was immobile. I have highlighted in purple where I think it was.

In March of 1959, ‘Bonanza’ producer David Dortort selected Paramount Studios in Hollywood to film the series. They had the largest soundstages and a good western street which was built for ‘Whispering Smith’ in 1947 starring Alan Ladd.

The reason the fake mountain was erected was to hide a construction mill and sawdust collection tower built by Desilu in 1957. Another painted backdrop was located near the Western Street, for other shots, of a blue sky, with clouds. In the large photo from the early 70s, you can see the “sky” behind the water set…the same one used in the parting of the waters in ‘The Ten Commandments’.

The Western Street was much smaller than seen on ‘Bonanza’; wide-angle camera lenses made it appear much larger than in real-life. The local pigeons would frequently land and perch atop the fake mountain, shattering the illusion of distance and filming would be stopped until one of the crew members scared them away.

Other TV series made at the Western Street for exterior filming while ‘Bonanza’ was being made there were ‘Have Gun-Will Travel’, ‘Branded’, and ‘The Guns of Will Sonnet’.

In 1979, a demolition team demolished the Western Street for an executive parking lot. The only building that was saved was the barn which was first seen in Cecil B. DeMille’s “The Squaw Man” the first feature film ever made in 1914. On the ‘Bonanza’ series it is infrequently seen as the freight station. Enjoy and share! -Bobby Ellerbee

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Laugh Tracks: RARE Black Box Found!

A couple of years ago, this piece of television history popped up on ‘Antiques Roadshow’. Here is the video of the Charlie Douglas ‘Laff Box’ which was discovered among the items sold in a storage locker sale. Thankfully the new owner was curious, other wise, it would have gone into the dumpster like so much other TV history has.

Back in the 50s and 60s, Charlie Douglas was ‘The Man’ for laugh tracks in Los Angeles and traveled with his top secret black box to sweeten the tracks on many famous shows. He would wheel his black box of pre-recorded laughs into the post audio room, plug in to the mixing console, and proceed to treat the soundtrack with everything from chuckles to knee-slapping fits to applause.

Understandably, Charlie and his son Bobby were very protective of the technology and the library of carefully categorized audience reactions inside that black box. Now remember, this was before cart machines, but when the close up comes, you’ll see the loops rotating and I think this technology was called the Mckinzie tape loop system. Enjoy and Share! -Bobby Ellerbee

Watch now: Antiques Roadshow | Appraisal: 1953 Charlie Douglass “Laff Box” | PBS Video

Appraisal: 1953 Charlie Douglass “Laff Box”, from San Diego Hour 2

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Classic Ed Sullivan…Zippy And The Cameramen

In this short but sweet piece from April of 1961, Zippy the chimp gives the Sullivan camera crew a workout as they try to follow him. Notice Camera 2 is Zoomar equipped. All are RCA TK11/31s. Typically, there were three cameras on stage, one at floor level at the edge of the stage and one in the balcony for long shots. Enjoy and share! -Bobby Ellerbee

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VW5gP25NBlE

http://goo.gl/n8f54 – Zippy The Chimp roller skating on the Ed Sullivan Show on April 9th, 1961.

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How NFL Games Are Covered…A Close Up Look At The Technology

This excellent video gives us a detailed look at what goes into bringing football to the nation, including a very good look at the aerial camera systems. Some of the processes mentioned in today’s first post, on ESPN’s college bowl game coverage, is shown in depth here. Enjoy and share! -Bobby Ellerbee

#t=739″ target=”_blank”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_V8IlitveE #t=739

The NFL’s most exciting game isn’t played on the field. It happens behind the scenes, as hundreds of cast and crew come together to turn a football game into…

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How ESPN Covered The Rose And Sugar Bowl…A Massive Effort

Amazingly, they used two separate aerial camera systems, 400 people, 5 Game Creek trucks and 32 cameras just at the Rose Bowl. In today’s next post, there is some great video of how all this gets done, although it is for NFL coverage. Enjoy and share! -Bobby Ellerbee

http://sportsvideo.org/main/blog/2014/12/espn-goes-all-out-in-surrounding-new-college-football-playoff-semifinals/

ESPN Goes All Out In Surrounding New College Football Playoff Semifinals : Sports Video Group

Bringing viewers extensive coverage of the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl is nothing new for production and operations crews at ESPN, but make no mistake about it; this isn’t just any other year in Pasadena and New Orleans for the “Worldwide Leader.”

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January 1, 1965…50 Years Ago Tonight! Television History Was Made!

At 6:55 PM, New Years Day night, Soupy Sales did a one minute adlib that is still talked about. It was the famous “Green Pieces Of Paper” incident. Here, thanks to Barry Mitchell, is Soupy telling the story of the gag that almost cost him his job, but earned him a place in television history. Enjoy and SHARE! -Bobby Ellerbee

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-OGy3Kh7yM&google_comment_id=z12swnshttztyxo2i23yebbjsoactji3m&google_view_type

Legendary TV host Soupy Sales tells a nightclub audience about the New Years’ Day 1965 ad-lib that got him kicked off the air for a week.

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Picture Parade #5…Ultra Rare Photo Of The First RCA TK60

This was taken at the NAB convention in early 1961 and shows the camera that was then known as the RCA TK12. It’s a little hard to see, but the side doors are made of the same ventilating metal mesh used on the top of the TK42s.

They were soon replaced with hard doors because these dented to easily. That created heat problems and the heat caused the IO sled to move when the camera was pointed up or down sharply. A top vent was added and the sled fixed for re release in 1963 as the TK60. It was named after the year it was created. Enjoy, share and Happy New Year! -Bobby Ellerbee

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Picture Parade #4…Commercial Television’s First News Program, 1941

This picture of Lowell Thomas looks a lot like the one in #3, but there is a big difference. WNBT began commercial television operations on July 1, 1941 as the first fully-licensed commercial television station in the United States. That day, the call letters were changed from W2XBS, and the first commercially sponsored program on the air was ‘Lowell Thomas With The News’ sponsored by Sun Oil.

There were three fifteen minute shows that night and the evening began with a spot announcement from Bulova Watches (below in comments) which was the face of a clock and a voice over. Other spot ads that evening were for Botany ties (a series of art cards featuring the cartoon lambs then featured in Botany’s print ads) and Adam Hats (a slow camera pan of a simulated window display). Enjoy, share and Happy New Year! -Bobby Ellerbee

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Picture Parade #3…Television’s First News Cast, 1939

W2XBS would not become WNBT until 1941, but in 1939, Lowell Thomas began to simulcast his NBC Radio news report there. Since sponsors were not allowed on experimental television, he continued with news stories on TV while radio inserted an ad in the middle.

This is in NBC’s experimental Studio 3H. Notice the pith helmet on the back of the center camera dolly, the hat on top of the right camera and the towel on top of the left camera…they were all used to protect the cameramen’s heads from the immense heat the lights generated. This show was not too bad, light wise, but dramatic productions had to have a lot more hot lights for the Iconoscope cameras. Enjoy, share and Happy New Year! -Bobby Ellerbee

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Picture Parade #2…Carol Burnett Accepting Her First Emmys

This is either 1962 or 1963, but either way, she won! In ’62 she won for her work on ‘The Gary Moore Show’ and in ’63, she won for ‘Julie And Carol At Carnegie Hall’, her special with Julie Andrews. Enjoy, share and Happy New Year! -Bobby Ellerbee

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Picture Parade #1…Classic! Behind The ‘Laugh In’ Joke Wall

If you ever wondered what was behind the wall, wonder no more. Enjoy, share and Happy New Year! -Bobby Ellerbee

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Everything Is Coming Up Roses!

At 4 AM Pacific Time, rehearsals for the opening numbers begin in Pasadena. At 8 the, 126th Rose Parade starts (11 Eastern) and will be broadcast live on ABC, NBC, HGTV, KTLA5, Univision, Red TV, Family Net, Sky Link, and the Hallmark Channel.

Below are a few shots from yesterday’s facilities check sent by ESPN/ABC Senior Video Engineer Roger Crawford. Hopefully, there will be more as the day progresses, but I know Roger will be busy in the truck which today is NEP SS 17. There is more on the photos, so click through and enjoy! -Bobby Ellerbee

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