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Next » Eyes Of A Generation Exclusive! ABC’s Disneyland Opening Behind The Scenes
On June 1, 2014
- TV History
An Ultra Rare, Eyes Of A Generation Exclusive! Please SHARE!
Disneyland Opening Day…Behind The Scenes Of The ABC Coverage
First, this is an upload and not a link, so please share this as it is the only way to let others see this rare look at ABC’s preparation and coverage of the July 18, 1955 opening day ceremonies at Disneyland. The network brought in 29 cameras, 85,000 feet of cable and audio equipment and engineers from ABC Radio. There was enough equipment to furnish 12 television stations. Most of the equipment was theirs, but some had to be rented from NBC so don’t be surprised when you see that logo.
This is the in house documentary ABC made for use at their affiliates and sponsor meeting in the fall of 1955. The next post today will be the full broadcast of the program produced by this assemblage of men and machines.
At the time, this was the largest remote ever done by anyone. As you’ll see, rehearsal was a mammoth task in itself with last minute construction making it nearly impossible, but…they pulled it off, and in grand style! Enjoy!
Rare! ‘Hullabaloo’ Color Footage…November 29, 1965
On May 31, 2014
- TV History
Rare! ‘Hullabaloo’ Color Footage…November 29, 1965
This was done in NBC Burbank’s Studio 1 with ‘Bonanza’ star Michael Landon as host and, sometimes, Go Go dancer. ‘Hullabaloo’ began as a half hour in black and white on January 12, 1965 and the first season ended August 31, 1965.
The second season brought an hour long color show that ran from September 13, 1965 till August 29, 1966. Only a few episodes have survived in color. All the rest of the episodes, including the first season, have survived only as black and white kinescopes. This is because NBC destroyed the tapes in the 1970s once Smith-Hemion Productions turned down the offer to take them into their possession. A sadly familiar story.
This is the show’s close, complete with credits and Johnny Holiday announcing. Paul Revere And The Raiders close out a the show that had featured The Byrds, Jackie DeShannon and David Winters.
#t=196″ target=”_blank”>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lohb-4Gc-I #t=196
Lyrics: http://easylyrics.org/?artist=Paul+Revere+And+The+Raiders&title=Steppin%27+Out Thanks for checking out our videos and site!
You Won’t Believe THIS! Magic…Steve Martin Style! Hilarious!!!
On May 31, 2014
- TV History
You Won’t Believe THIS! Magic…Steve Martin Style! Hilarious!!!
In May of 1992, Johnny Carson, whose own career started in magic, presented “The Great Flydini” on ‘The Tonight Show’. For your entertainment, here’s one of the most unique acts in magic history!
Here is some background from our friend Mark Evanier: When Johnny Carson announced his retirement, we were saddened but there were consolation prizes. His last few months of shows were wonderful as performer after performer came by and made a little extra effort for his or her farewell appearance with Johnny. For Steve Martin’s last turn, which was on May 6, 1992, Johnny prevailed upon him to do The Great Flydini. This was a routine Martin had developed years earlier and performed here and there, mostly for personal appearances and charity affairs. As I understand it, he hadn’t done it in years, in part because of the long prep time involved and in part because he’d pretty much quit performing in front of live audiences. (He did the routine again at least once. A year later, there was a big charity concert at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in downtown L.A. where Neil Young and The Great Flydini opened for Simon and Garfunkel. Bet that was an evening.)
By the way, as a teenager, Martin worked at The Magic Store on Main Street in Disneyland. There’s a photo of him at the store in the comment section below. Enjoy and share!
By Request…The ABC Pebble Beach Display
On May 30, 2014
- TV History
By Request…The ABC Pebble Beach Display
These photos were taken in 1967 at Pebble Beach, California. For the first time, the 26th Annual Bing Crosby Classic was broadcast live and in color over ABC, Saturday, Jan 21 (6:00-7:30 PM., EST and Sunday, Jan 22, (5:00-7:00 PM,.EST).
Arnold Palmer and 168 other top pros were there for the event. Before the cameras were taken to their locations on the course, ‘ABC’s Wide World Of Sports’ did a piece on how they were covering the tournament in color and these shots are from the set up of that piece. Wish the video was available!
There are 25 camera here. 12 are Norelcos and 12 are RCA TK41s, which all of course all color, but there was 1 RCA TK60 too. The TK60 was the graphics card camera and would shoot the black and white text overlays in the days before computer graphics came along.
Usually the trucks could only handle four camera and if that is the case, this is six trucks of equipment. If they could handle six, this is four trucks worth. The TK41s are brand new and these are the dozen that RCA built for them in the final special order run done in 1966 when the last 24 TK41s were made. 12 for ABC and 12 for stations with a back order, including KTLA. My TK41 was among this last two dozen.
‘Today’ Show…Recycling At It’s Best!
On May 30, 2014
- TV History
‘Today’ Show…Recycling At It’s Best!
Dave Garroway was not the only one that needed a little optical help. News man Frank Blair needed some help too, but his reading glasses were useless when it came to reading the prompter.
In search of a solution, the engineering department went digging for a fix. They found it on the front of a 1948 Pilot Model 37 home television receiver. The tiny picture tube in the Pilot looked a lot bigger with the aid of the magnifying glass accessory available for an additional $11. If it worked there, it should work on the teleprompter, and it did.
On the left is the modified glass on Blair’s news camera. In the center, the Pilot set with magnifier, and on the right, the original ‘Today’ team. In that photo, Blair is on the left, Garroway and J. Fred Muggs are center and Jack Lescoulie is on the right.
Bill Cullen’s & Goodson -Todman’s First Television Show… ‘Winner Take All’
On May 29, 2014
- TV History
Bill Cullen’s & Goodson -Todman’s First Television Show…
‘Winner Take All’ began on CBS Radio on June 3, 1946. Original emcee Ward Wilson stepped down after just three months at the helm, and announcer Bill Cullen stepped in as a temporary host on September 9. Cullen’s work on the show stunned executives, who made his hosting job permanent.
CBS, noting the show’s popularity on radio, added the series to television on July 1, 1948 with Bud Collyer as host. The radio series continued with Cullen for another two years, with Collyer taking over radio in August 1950. The televised show, while popular, bowed on October 3, 1950.
Over the next couple of year, the show came and went on CBS Television several times in different day parts.
Meanwhile NBC was looking for a show to replace its faltering game ‘It’s In The Bag’ at 10:30 AM. They struck a deal with the new Goodson-Todman partnership to air a daytime version of ‘Winner Take All’ with Cullen returning as emcee.
Debuting on February 25, 1952, the series originally went against ‘Arthur Godfrey Time’ on CBS. On April 7, CBS permanently slotted another program at 10:30 to provide a new network opponent to Winner – ‘Bride and Groom’. Winner ended on April 25 after just nine weeks. The announcer was Don Pardo.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KinmXi2lF_0
After uploading Bill’s final TJW, it made sense to go back to the beginning and focus on Bill’s first TV game show, Winner Take All. Similar in structure to …
The “Other” Me…Me As The Sheriff On ‘Squidbillies’
On May 29, 2014
- TV History
The “Other” Me…Me As The Sheriff On ‘Squidbillies’
Most of you may not know this, but I am a cartoon voice actor too. It occurred to me that I had not mentioned this here in quite a while, so, since I’m going into Atlanta this morning to record another ‘Squidbillies’ episode, now seems to be a good time to let you in on our little secret. Here’s another clip of me “in uniform”.
The embedded video clip of me in the booth is from a couple of years back but the “bulldog” joke shot was from one of our first sessions in 2006. I was forty pounds heavier then. Our 8th season debuts in September and thankfully, we are received each year with open arms and ratings that top all the other Adult Swim shows. We’re quite well known in the younger demos.
‘Squidbillies’ is a legacy show of sorts. We are the third longest running show on Adult Swim, just behind ‘Space Ghost’ and ‘Aqua Teen Hunger Force’. Hopefully we’ll have another eight years on the air. You can’t imagine how much fun doing this show is. I laugh till I cry most days and my ribs are sore from laughing for a few days after each session.
I was not the original Sheriff, but was chosen to replace the great character actor Charles Napier after the first few episodes of season one were recorded. I was shocked to hear how similar we sounded in tone and timber. As a real Georgia boy, the accent comes naturally but I do add just a tad extra. Enjoy and Share! Bobby Ellerbee
This Is Fun! Raw Footage ’30 Rock’ Live Rehearsal 10/14/10
On May 28, 2014
- TV History
This Is Fun! Raw Footage ’30 Rock’ Live Rehearsal 10/14/10
Shot from the 8H balcony seats, here is raw footage of the afternoon rehearsal of the live show. This is a follow up to today’s earlier produced piece. This is natural room sound so you’ll have to turn your volume up. Enjoy and Share!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6M1iWT16lo
Rehearsal for “30 Rock” live.
AS RARE AS IT GETS! The State Of Color 1966…ABC, CBS, NBC
On May 28, 2014
- TV History
AS RARE AS IT GETS! The State Of Color 1966…ABC, CBS, NBC
Copy And Save This Link! This is the most detailed and in depth report on the start of colorizing that you will ever see. These four pages from a Broadcasting Magazine special report from January 1966 lay out exactly who had what, where!
At the time, ABC had a total of 10 TK41s and was adding color telecine and tape.
CBS had a total of 18 color cameras…split evenly between the Broadcast Center and Television city were 6 RCA TK41s and 12 Norelco PC 60s. They had placed an order for 50 cameras with Norelco in 1964 and those were coming in with no problem. The real problem was a “reel” problem…getting color tape machines and telecine. RCA could have helped, but as we all know, CBS would rather take a sharp stick in their “eye” than buy from them.
It’s interesting to note that at the CBS Broadcast Center, which opened in November of 64, Studios 41 and 46 were color capable. Although equipped with black and white Marconi Mark IV cameras, the other studios were designed for color and the lights were already there and were just basically waiting to be upgraded. Television City had two color studios as well…33 and 41 and both TVC and BC had a third color capable studio.
It’s no surprise that NBC lead the way in color. By the time this story was published, the only black and white show in prime time was ‘I Dream Of Jeannie’ which colorized the next season.
Between New York and Burbank, NBC had 47 TK41s in use with 8 more inbound to 30 Rock and 5 more headed for a third new mobile unit. 6 more TK41s were headed to Washington for a total of 10 there.
Thanks to this article, we now know that NBC’s 8H was colorized in June of 1963. These were the cameras that were used on ‘The Perry Como Show’ from the Zeigfeld Theater, which tells us when Perry’s show moved to Brooklyn.
NBC 8G and 3A were colorized by the summer of 1966. Here’s a surprise…NBC’s Studios 3K, the first color studio in the building, shared 4 cameras with 6A until the summer of ’66.
There is a lot more very interesting information here, so please read this, share this and SAVE this!
Confirmation! CBS Buys Marconi Color Cameras…October 31, 1966
On May 28, 2014
- Archives, TV History
It was always my opinion that CBS only kept the Norelco PC60s at Studio 50 (The Ed Sullivan Theater), for eighteen months or so. Now that is confirmed with this article that appeared on my sixteenth birthday in Broadcasting Magazine.
In another Halloween quirk, it was October 31, 1965 when the ‘Ed Sullivan Show’ went color in Studio 50 with the Norelcos. The show had actually been broadcast in color the prior three weeks, but those shows came from Television City while the New York studio was being finished.
As stated in the article, the five Mark VIIs would arrive in the summer and that makes eighteen months. As we’ve learned, Studio 50 had big magnetic field problems caused by the subway generators just behind the backstage wall. In field tests of a prototype Mark VII, that was not much of a problem but it was for the Norelcos. As Paul Harvey would say, “Now we know…the rest of the story”.
Censored! The CBS And ABC “Programs & Practices” Kill Buttons
On May 27, 2014
- TV History
Censored! The CBS And ABC “Programs & Practices” Kill Buttons
On the left is the CBS censor box with a “Video Delete” button. On the right is the ABC version with an audio and video delay option. They are used differently on live and taped shows. I’m sure CBS would have loved to have had this box handy in 2004 for Janet Jackson’s wardrobe malfunction. See it crystal clear in this clip…
On a pretaped show, after the show is taped and delivered to the network for air, it has to be viewed for quality control as it is played into the servers where it is archived and made ready for real time playback. This is when the censors take a look too. The editors at the show have probably already edited out any of the “7 Forbidden Words”, but if not, the censor would hit the button and mark the tape with a tone and further editing would be done.
If there was a live event, like a big football game where the fans and players were intense rivals, they may choose to run the show with a delay of a 5 to 7 seconds. Should someone give the finger to the camera or call someone an A hole, they could hit the button and go back to live coverage instantly, by which time the “obscene” event would have passed.
By the way, “Nipplegate” caused CBS to be fined $550,000 but the fine was appealed and never paid to the FCC, but you and bet that about ten times that much was spent on lawyers.
The Wayback Machine…Fall Television Lineup 1959
On May 27, 2014
- TV History
The Wayback Machine…Fall Television Lineup 1959
Just like Mr. Peabody and Sherman, we’re stepping back in time to look at the Thursday night line ups on ABC, CBS and NBC. This should bring back a few memories! Remember getting up to change the channel?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8frXe7eM4g4
What you would’ve watched on a typical Thursday night on ABC, CBS and NBC in the fall of 1959. Gale Storm, Donna Reed, Real McCoys, Pat Boone, Untouchables, …
First Ever Emmy Winning Show…’Pantomime Quiz’
On May 27, 2014
- TV History
First Ever Emmy Winning Show…’Pantomime Quiz’
‘Pantomime Quiz’, was a game show produced and hosted by Mike Stokey. Running from 1947 till 1959, it has the distinction of being one of the few television series—along with ‘The Arthur Murray Party’, ‘Down You Go’, ‘The Ernie Kovacs Show’, ‘The Original Amateur Hour’, and ‘Tom Corbett, Space Cadet’ to air on all four TV networks in the US during the Golden Age of Television.
Based on the parlor game of Charades, Pantomime Quiz was first broadcast locally in Los Angeles from November 13, 1947 to 1949. In that format, it won an Emmy Award for “Most Popular Television Program” at the first Emmy Awards ceremony.
‘Pantomime Quiz’ was picked up by CBS Television in October 1949 and ran on that network, usually during the summers, until August 28, 1951. After this, NBC Television took it as a midseason replacement from January 2 to March 26, 1952. CBS then took back the series from July 4 to August 28, 1952.
The DuMont Television Network took the series from October 20, 1953, to April 13, 1954, after which it went back to CBS from July 9 to August 27, 1954.
ABC finally took the charades game for a mid-season slot much like NBC, airing the durable quiz from January 22 to March 6, 1955. After CBS took it back they ran it for three more summers (July 8 to September 30, 1955; July 6 to September 7, 1956; July 5 to September 6, 1957) before the network dropped the program altogether.
The First Emmy Winners….January 25, 1949
On May 27, 2014
- TV History
The First Emmy Winners….January 25, 1949
The first ever Emmy Awards came just three short years after the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences was founded by Syd Cassyd on November 14, 1946. TV sets in private homes were still something of a novelty and only 4,000 homes in Los Angeles had televisions.
The show was telecast on KTSL, which was owned by Don Lee, and the awards were for local shows only, but that would soon change. Here is a list of the six awards presented that night…
Most Outstanding Television Personality: Twenty-year-old Shirley Dinsdale and her puppet sidekick “Judy Splinters” for ‘The Judy Splinters Show’.
The Station Award for Outstanding Overall Achievement: KTLA, which was the first commercial television station west of the Mississippi River.
Technical award: Engineer Charles Mesak of Don Lee Television for the work in TV camera technology.
The Best Film Made for Television: ‘The Necklace’, which was a half hour adaptation of Guy de Maupassant’s classic short story.
Most Popular Television Program: ‘Pantomime Quiz’.
A special Emmy is presented to Louis McManus for designing the statuette. Syd Cassyd had originally wanted to call the award the “Ike”, which was a tip of the hat to the Iconoscope tube, but that name that was to closely associated with the soon to be President, Dwight “Ike” Eisenhower. Instead, the award was named the “Immy” in honor of the Image Orthicon tube and quickly feminized to “Emmy” to complement the design chosen for the statuette, which depicted a winged, idealized woman holding an atom.
Her wings represented the muse of art, and the atom and its electrons the science and technology of the new medium. The Television Academy rejected 47 proposals before accepting the statuette designed by television engineer Louis McManus, whose wife served as its model.
Up top, Shirley Dinsdale and her puppet sidekick “Judy Splinters”. In the center is Los Angeles Mayor Fletcher Bowron opening the ceremonies and on the bottom, the first six Emmy winners.
For a more in depth read on the history of the Emmy, go here…
http://www.emmys.com/academy/about/history
David Letterman’s 5th Anniversay Show, Studio 8H (In Full)
On May 26, 2014
- TV History
Afternoon Delight! Now That You Have Time…Take A Look!
Here’s the whole Letterman 5th Anniversary Show from NBC Studio 8H in 1987. You won’t believe who’s in the band tonight, and Joe Cocker and Wilson Pickett do a mean version of “Midnight Hour”. There are favorite clips, stupid pet tricks, thrill cams and more! Visit the Eyes Of A Generation page, enjoy and share!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iu5W3L0w3w
Letterman’s 5th anniversary show from 1987 featuring Jay Leno, Chris Elliot, Carol Leifer, Wilson Pickett, Joe Cocker, and many others. Copyright NBC.
One “Result” Of The 1987 NABET Strike At NBC…The Robots
On May 26, 2014
- TV History
One “Result” Of The 1987 NABET Strike At NBC…The Robots
In the photo below, we see one of the first uses of robotic pedestals at NBC on the WNBC News set. This came shortly after the strike.
In 1986, GE bought RCA for 6.4 billion dollars. That was quite a deal considering RCA had 3 billion in the bank! Part of the RCA package of course was the acquisition of NBC. Some will be surprised to know that, in the beginning, GE owned RCA and NBC from 1926 till 1930 when new antitrust laws forced the sale.
When GE took over, there was pandamonium. GE head, Jack Welsh and his merry band took the job of destroying NBC’s culture to heart and things got pretty nasty everywhere…from the executive suites to the studios. One of the big pushback efforts came from NABET. As you can read in the Chicago Tribune article below, not a lot was accomplished in the strike and a lot of hard feelings came out of it…especially on the GE side. This brought on the first wave of “bean counters” in broadcasting and nothing has been the same since. Comments are welcome!
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1987-10-29/features/8703210494_1_nbc-strike-nabet-job-security
50 Years From CBS Television City…Part 7, The Game Shows
On May 25, 2014
- TV History
50 Years From CBS Television City…Part 7, The Game Shows
The Game segment has two parts and this is the link to the second part. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5p9Tr9bfbIo
In the first segment, Art Linkletter is our host and takes us through a long string of historic game shows. Ever see Walter Cronkite or Mike Wallace host a game show? You are about too!
In the second segment, Bob Barker takes us behind the scenes of ‘The Price Is Right’ and in both segments, you’ll see more famous people, including two US Presidents, than you can count. Steve Allen playing a flying piano, Johnny Carson is in two segments shooting an apple of Gary Moore’s head and giving Lucy an answer only he could give. From ‘Beat The Clock’ to ‘Hollywood Squares’…it’s all here. Enjoy and share!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mf-MIdwJb0w
Art Linkletter looks at some of the panel and quiz shows shown on CBS. Through the magic of television, he appears on the sets of “Match Game” and “The Price…
50 Years From CBS Television City…Part 6, The Dramas
On May 25, 2014
- TV History
50 Years From CBS Television City…Part 6, The Dramas
Beau Bridges host this segment on some of the great dramatic presentations from here, and the list is quite long, but here’s an interesting side note on the first clip you’ll see from ‘Playhouse 90’.
‘The Old Man’ was staged live in Studio 31. A huge set was built that included a tremendous canvas water pool, that was about 18 inches deep. It was so heavy that after they took it up, they noticed the floor sloped and inch and a half in the pool area.
‘Climax’, ‘The Twilight Zone’ and a lot more is here. Enjoy and share!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5LHN93EnQY
Beau Bridges hosts a segment on CBS 50 Years from Television City, focusing on Drama Shows. Special aired 4/27/02.
50 Years From CBS Television City…Part 5, The Sitcoms
On May 25, 2014
- TV History
50 Years From CBS Television City…Part 5, The Sitcoms
The Sitcom segment has two parts and this is the link to the second part. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htyaNaWa5vA
John Ritter hosts this segment from Studio 31, home of ‘All In The Family’ and spends most of the first segment on this historic show.
In the second segment, we’ll go from the first TVC sitcom, ‘My Friend Irma’ to ‘The Steve Harvey Show’, with clips from 16 shows in between. Enjoy and share!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQ6AEFxXWXA
John Ritter hosts a segment on CBS 50 Years from Television City, focusing on Sitcoms. Special aired 4/27/02.
50 Years From CBS Television City…Part 4, The Specials
On May 25, 2014
- TV History
50 Years From CBS Television City…Part 4, The Specials
Carol Burnett walks us through time with a who’s who list of stars that have done specials at CBS and starts with the first one…’Stars In The Eye’, from 1952 hosted by Jack Benny. We’ll also see clips from ‘The Edsel Show’ with Bing Crosby and shows by Sid Ceasar, Ann Margret, Danny Thomas, Kate Smith, Doris Day, Lilly Tomlin, Shirley MaClaine, Johnny Cash, George Burns, Elton John and more. Enjoy and share!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3_M2EoUcpE
Carol Burnett hosts a segment on CBS 50 Years from Television City, focusing on Specials. Special aired 4/27/02.
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