Speaking Of Bob Hope…NBC Burbank Studio 1, Behind The Scenes

Short but sweet. Here is a 2 minute video clip from what I think is the beginning of an episode of ‘Bob Hope Presents The Chrysler Theater’ from 1963. We’ll see great shots of Studio 1 (Carson’s home base) and oddly, a TK60 with a TK41 behind it.

Studios 1 and 3 are next to each other in the front of the building (the two original studios) and 2 and 4 were on the right side of the building. 1 and 3 were built as black and white studios (for later color conversion) and 2 and 4 were built as color studios. I think by ’63, Studio 3 had gone color, leaving 1 as a black and white studio.

I think the TK60 scene actually inside Studio 3 and is being taken with a Studio 1 TK60 (next door) for live insert. I don’t know why, but maybe the Studio 1 opening had a lot of intense set changes that made it necessary. I don’t know how else to explain it. do you?

This ‘Bob Hope Presents The Chrysler Theater’ show ran from ’63 till ’67 inside various formats. Usually, Hope introduced the show which was either a video tape or film drama anthology type presentation and was paid $25,000 for the intro. Other versions include ‘Chrysler Presents A Bob Hope Special’ in which Bob starred with guests and was paid $500,000 to produce. To save money, Hope usually opted for a black and white show, unless NBC was pressing him for a color show, which they began doing in ’64.

http://aliquippa.tumblr.com/post/34261758536/behind-the-scenes-at-nbc-burbank-1963

Aliquippa • Behind the scenes at NBC Burbank, 1963.

Behind the scenes at NBC Burbank, 1963.

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Happy Birthday WQED TV…Born April 1, 1954

WQED was the first community-sponsored television station in the United States as well as the fifth public television station. They were the first station to telecast classes to elementary school classrooms when Pittsburgh launched the Metropolitan School Service in 1955. WQED has been the flagship station for ‘Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood’ and ‘Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?’. Below is a nice shot from the 1960s of a WQED RCA TK60 with a Zoomar outboard lens created for the TK60 and Marconi Mark IV, which both had turret mounted auto iris hubs in the center of the turret making the side mount necessary.

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Joan Rivers Follow Up…1986 Joan & Johnny Remember Her Debut

Joan’s first ‘Tonight’ appearance was February 17, 1965…exactly 49 years later to the day, she made a cameo appearance on the debut of ‘The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon’. In this clip from ’86, she and Johnny discuss those early days. Here you get a feel for her material, that is still quite similar as you can see in today’s earlier post of her first appearance as a guest since Carson banished her 28 years ago for not telling him about her Fox show, while still a guest host for him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lEX6HI4Mew

Joan Rivers and Johnny Carson reminisce about their early careers and she tells hilarious jokes about the Royal Family and Madonna’s wedding. Joan Rivers dis…

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Hang Onto Your Hat! Joan Rivers Returns To ‘Tonight’!

In case you missed it, here’s Joan’s return that’s almost “too hot to handle”. The pro that he is, Jimmy handles this with grace (and a red face). The band and Russel Crowe, not so much…they’re in hysterics. This is true must see TV! After 28 years of banishment, it’s good to see her back again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srtES-HebG0

Jimmy welcomes Joan Rivers, who made her first appearance on The Tonight Show 49 years ago, and Joan explains why she was a little late. Subscribe NOW to The…

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The Great Kate Smith…Some Unusual Video Clips

In two of these, she performs with cameras as props, including a TK41. In the third…a real rarity, Jackie Gleason conducts the orchastra as Kate sings his theme song “Melancholy Serenade” which he also wrote. FYI, these are not from her NBC days, but from the early 60s when she had a show on CBS. The color clip with a real TK41 (and a fake TK11) is from a 1969 Screen Gems special which was shot at NBC as you can tell by the NBC exclusive sound baffle mod on the top of the small high voltage door. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aU-LCbNhULg (color)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMGp6Cfa1Jk (CBS TK30)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rpYzWxam8o (Gleason)

Songs include: I’ll Be Seeing You / Fine and Dandy / How Deep is the Ocean / The Last Time I Saw Paris / Please Don’t Talk About Me When I’m Gone / Didn’t We…

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A Game Show Debut 50 Years Ago Today? What is Jeopardy!?

Below left is a very rare photo of Jeapordy’s first birthday. Bringing the cake is creator Merv Griffin. On the left, announcer Don Pardo is shaking hands with host Art Fleming (who bears a striking resemblance to Hugh Downs). On the right, a shot of the game in play from the early 70s. I think the show started in 8G and later moved to 6A.

The original daytime version aired on NBC from March 30, 1964 to January 3, 1975, then spawned a weekly nighttime syndicated edition that aired from September 9, 1974 to September 5, 1975, and was later revived as ‘The All-New Jeopardy!’, which ran from October 2, 1978 to March 2, 1979. The program’s most successful incarnation is the daily syndicated version, which premiered on September 10, 1984.

Both NBC versions and the weekly syndicated version were hosted by Art Fleming. Don Pardo served as announcer until 1975, and John Harlan announced for the 1978–79 show. Since its inception, the daily syndicated version has featured Alex Trebek as host and Johnny Gilbert as announcer. Trebek is expected to retire from the program in 2016, at which point his tenure as host will have lasted for 32 years.

With close to 7,000 episodes aired, the daily syndicated version of Jeopardy! has won a record 30 Daytime Emmy Awards and a Peabody Award. Game Show Network (GSN) ranked the show number 2 on its 2006 list of the 50 greatest game shows, and TV Guide ranked it number 1 in its 2013 list of the 60 greatest game shows ever. The program has gained a worldwide following with regional adaptations in many foreign countries. The 30th season of the daily syndicated version of Jeopardy! premiered on September 16, 2013. Thanks to David Schwartz and Glenn Mack for the photos.

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Just For Fun…Bob Newhart Roasts Don Rickles

It’s hard to believe that Don Rickles had any friends, but in real life, he and Newhart were indeed dear friends and, with their wives took many trips abroad. This is funny! Enjoy and share.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MCdlgPZFJ4

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The History Of Clarabell

Even after all these years, this picture is still a shocker for all of us that grew up watching ‘Howdy Doody’. To see Clarabell (Bob Keeshan) taking off his makeup is like “seeing mommy kissing Santa Claus”. I can’t imagine what that little boy is thinking but feel fairly sure that he grew up to be a mass murderer ;>).

Being born in 1950, the only Clarabell I would have seen would have been Lou Anderson who played the roll from ’54 till the sign off September 24, 1960. I remember I cried when Clarabell said ‘Goodbye kids’.

Between Keeshan, who left in ’52 and Anderson, was Robert “Nick” Nicholson, who also supplied the voice of Cornelius J. Cobb. Both Anderson and Nicholson were jazz musicians.

Our friend Frank Merklein who was a cameraman on the show, from the first day till the last, told me how Keeshan came to be Clarabell. Although the show debuted December 27, 1947 in 3H as ‘Puppet Playhouse’, Clarabell did not become a character till a few weeks later when the show changed it’s name to ‘Howdy Doody’, which is also when Smith started wearing his Buffalo Bill inspired wardrobe.

Keeshan was the NBC page assigned to the show and had a habit of using hand signals he had picked up the service. Smith quickly realized he needed a sidekick but there was no money for another speaking role so he hired Keeshan to be his “silent partner”. After a few days as Clarabell, Keeshan came up with the idea of a belt box with two horns, one for yes and one for no. The rest, as they say, is history.

Whether Keeshan was let go or quit remains a mystery as there are several versions, but by September 21, 1953, Keeshan was back on the air on WABC-TV, in a new children’s show, ‘Time for Fun’. He played Corny the Clown, and this time he spoke. Later that same year, in addition to Time for Fun, Keeshan began ‘Tinker’s Workshop’, a program aimed at preschoolers, with him playing the grandfather-like Tinker.

Developing ideas from ‘Tinker’s Workshop’, Keeshan and his long-time friend Jack Miller submitted the concept of ‘Captain Kangaroo’ to the CBS network, which was looking for new approaches to children’s television. CBS approved the show, and Keeshan starred as the title character when it premiered on CBS on October 3, 1955. The show was an immediate success, and he served as its host for nearly three decades leaving nine months shy of the 30th anniversary in December of ’84.

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Behind ‘The Admiral Broadway Revue’ Debacle…

Yesterday, in discussing the history of NBC’s International Theater, we discovered that despite high ratings, Admiral had pulled the plug on it’s own ‘Admiral Broadway Revue’ starring Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca which debuted on January 29, 1949.

Out of curiosity, I dug a little deeper into Admiral and now I better understand their position. It seems that the show’s popularity had generated too much demand for their factory to keep up with. Admiral’s reputation was based on quality…not low prices and quantity. In order to maintain that quality, they took more time in crafting their lines of radio and televisions.

Below are two 1948 ads that show what we would now call a home entertainment center with a phonograph, a radio and what looks like a 12 or 14 inch television receiver. This unit was priced at around $390, which is equivalent to around $3,920 today.

Continental Radio and Television in Chicago was the maker of the Admiral band and to them, speeding up production meant sacrificing quality. To keep up with the demand the show had created, they would have had to build a new plant, but although doing well, were not willing to do that. The only other option was to pull the plug on the show.

Congratulations to Continental and Admiral! It’s not often that corporations take the high road of quality at their own expense. Admiral remained a top electronics brand until the flood of mass produced appliances from Japan hit in the late 1960s.

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‘The Price Is Right’…Come On Down!

Late last year, we discovered that the cameras in CBS Television City Studio 33 are now wireless…no more cables there. An interesting experiment that seems to be working. This photo, sent by our friend David Mackey, shows Drew Carey’s ‘Dancing With The Stars’ professional dance partner Cheryl Burke as a guest model on the show. Notice the great extra program monitor and the blocking sheets on the camera. On each side are blocking sheets from a January 2001 edition of the show.

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NBC 6B, Nat King Cole Nexus of “Unforgettable’ Duet By Natalie

Earlier I mentioned Nat King Cole’s ground breaking show from NBC’s 6B. Even with no sponsors due to “Madison Avenue’s fear of the dark”, NBC carried the show for over a year. In this clip, you will see the start of a project 33 years in the making. Here, Cole, an avid audiophile, records himself on audio tape and plays it back live while singing along on the second pass.

Nat’s daughter Natalie remembered this occasion and always wanted to do something similar. In 1990, she recorded his famous hit “Unforgettable” using Cole’s original voice tracks to come up with the record of the year. The multi media live performance she created for the song is as incredible as it is unforgettable.

Nat’s September 3, 1957 clip is the top link. Natalie’s live, crystal clear performance is at the bottom link. Enjoy and share!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJuWdJNamUk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKCyUe4syc4

American singer, songwriter, and jazz pianist. the first black musician to ever have a weekly radio and television show. The first episode of the Nat King Co…

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Here’s Something You Don’t See Every Day…

While posting the Studio 3A and 3B story, I thought about our friend Frank Merklien (right) who worked with the author of the first hand story in that post, Frank Vierling. It’s not often that cameramen have their own pictures taken, but this is one of those rare times. This photo is actually Paul Wenchell’s first television appearance, two years before ‘The Paul Wenchell, Jerry Mahoney Show’ debuted on NBC. This shot was taken on the set of ‘Lights Out’ at NBC’s Uptown Studios (106 Street) September 23, 1949.

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