CBS Studio 53…Inside Liederkrantz Hall, 1960

This was the smallest of the 4 studios which were numbered 53-56 with 1500 square feet of production space. Studios 53 and 54 were on the second floor and the only way to get props upstairs was via the building’s main “grand entrance” type stairway and big pieces either had to be assembled on the set or not used. More on the amazing history of Liederkarntz Hall in the next post.

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More Of The NBC Studio 6E “News Nooks”

Earlier in the week, we saw Lester Holt’s main ‘Nightly News, Weekend Edition’ location in 6E’s Media Room 1. Today, we’ll look inside the back up studio for that program…6E’s Media Room 2. This is a secondary production space used for interviews, and a times for live reporting. Thanks to Dennis Degan for taking these new pix earlier this week. We’ll see the other two rooms soon.

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‘The Actors Studio’, ABC’s First “Prestige” Drama Showcase

At 8:30 Sunday night, September 28, 1948, this half hour anthology series kicked off with ‘Portrait Of Madonna’, starring Jessica Tandy and Dick York. In the center photo, we see director David Pressman on the left, holding a mic as he talks to the studio during rehearsal. In January of 49, Marlon Brando would make his television debut on this show. The show was produced live each week by the The Actors Studio Inc. which was a nonprofit organization for actors and actresses in New York, and won a Peabody Award for it’s “uninhibited and brilliant pioneering in the field of televised drama”.

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Exclusive Photos From NBC Studio 8H: Apollo 8 News Headquarters
The First Moon Mission: Part 4

Tomorrow, we’ll see the last three photos from this set, but today we’ll start in the 8H control room on the left. This Polaroid was taken a few days after the mission ended. The control room was on the 9th floor and in those days could be accessed from the studio by a staircase we’ll see soon in 8H game show pix. Back then, there was a lot of use made of the stairs as there was a large bathroom next to the control room. In the center, we see proof that NBC News men did actually walk on water…as Frank McGee strolls over the “ocean”. The cameraman to his left is the great Ben Franklin who was a true color veteran. Bill Goetz is on the Chapman Electra and just under him is floor manager Ed Pendergast adjusting his glasses. On the right, we see Frank Mcgee reporting on the splashdown operations while Don Mulvaney shoots the location of the recovery area with this 60 pound Norelco PCP 70 rig. I think the camera weighed 25 pounds and the rest of the weight is in the backpack and support arm. As always, thanks to NBC’s Bob Batche for being there with his 35mm.

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Exclusive Photos From NBC Studio 8H: Apollo 8 News Headquarters
The First Moon Mission: Part 3

Above is NBC reporter Peter Hackes in front of the Apollo 8 capsule mock up, which is incredibly detailed inside and we’ll see that tomorrow. In the first photo below, the man at the podium is stage manager Bob Van Ry, one of the original SNL stage managers and classmate of SNL director Dave Wilson. Like some of SNL’s larger set pieces, this huge command module had to be brought up the freight elevator in pieces and assembled on stage. On the right, we see Frank McGee at this anchor position with Bill Goetz on the crane. The grey-haired man under the camera in the brown jacket is stage manager Ed Pendergast and the balding man in the brown suit is Ed Voss, a top-notch audio guy. Thanks to two 35-year NBC vets for their help on this…Bob Batche for the great photos and his friend Joel Spector for putting names with the faces.

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Interesting PCP 70 Docking Platform

Above, from Bob Batsche’s Apollo 8 photos is Don Mulvaney with the Norelco PCP 70 portable camera. Below, from Tom McKeever’s Apollo 9 pix is NBC engineering’s ingenious, “homemade” docking platform for the PCP 70 mounted on a pedestal. I don’t think the dock was made to operate from, but it’s a convenient place for Don to park his rig and give his knees a rest.

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YOU WILL NOT BELIEVE THIS, But It’s TRUE!

Amazingly, I have just received an entirely new set of 30 photos from the NBC 8H Apollo 8 set, TAKEN AT THE SAME TIME as Bob Batsche was taking his! Tom McKeever’s photo of the elapsed time clock is on the bottom…Bob Batsche’s photo is on the top! I’m buying a Lotto ticket today! Tomorrow, I’ll post the more of Bob’s photos, and start with Tom’s, Unbelievable! What a great crew we have here! Thanks to ALL! Bobby Ellerbee

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Exclusive Photos From NBC Studio 8H: Apollo 8 News Headquarters
The First Moon Mission: Part 2

As mentioned in the post just before this, the TK41 solo photo post, there was another anchor position which can be seen in the photo on the left. The darker space is a “green room” for guests, and in the lighted space, we can see what looks like Chet Huntley at the anchor desk. I think Huntley and Brinkley used this 9th floor space most, as John Chancellor and Frank McGee were usually posted at the anchor desk on the studio floor, but John and Frank would alternate up here too. I don’t think this was a permanent broadcast space, but with as many big missions as there were, it may have been kept available for several years. The middle photo shows the orbit map and elapsed time clock showing us that this whole set of 12 photos must have been taken at splash down on December 27, 1968. On the right is the studio’s “ocean floor” which shows the position of the recovery teams for several of the possible splash down points. Thanks to NBC’s Bob Batsche for being there and getting these great pictures.

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NBC Studio 6E, The “News Nooks” & Weekend Nightly News Studio

On the left is the entrance to NBC Studio 6E which has 4 small studios and control rooms. Others 6E studio photos will follow, but today we are looking at Media Room 1, which is where Lester Holt does the ‘NBC Nightly News, Weekend Edition’. The desk should look familiar as it from the main 3C ‘Nightly News’ set and was first used by Tom Brokaw, and later Brian Williams. It was used there from 1998 till 2008, when The Global Media Center in 6E came into being. As always, our thanks to our friend Dennis Degan for the new photos he took this week for this series on 6E.

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Exclusive Photos From NBC Studio 8H: Apollo 8 News Headquarters
The First Moon Mission: Part 1

Apollo 8, the second manned mission in the Apollo space program, was the first manned spacecraft to leave Earth orbit, reach the Moon and orbit it. This mission gave us the instantly famous “earth rise” photo. The three man crew was Commander Frank Borman, Command Module Pilot James Lovell, and Lunar Module Pilot William Anders. Their closely followed mission took place at Christmas time, launching on December 21, 1968 and returning on the 27th.

While on Christmas holiday, NBC cameraman Bob Batsche stopped in to wish some friends happy holidays and thankfully took his camera with him. These are the first three of a dozen that I will post here. More details are on the photos, so please click there and share these amazing, never before seen images.

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The History Of Live Pool Splashdown Coverage…Part 1A

Our friend Jodie Peeler has written a great three part story on this subject with lots of detail, linked video and photos that I am proud to present here. Unlike today, bringing live television pictures from a ship at sea was a whole new ballgame and in this series, we’ll learn how it was done. More details on the photos, so click on all four included this this post. Thank You Jodie! Bobby Ellerbee

As NASA committed to its manned spaceflights taking place in the open before the eyes of the world, there came the problem of how to cover each mission’s end. The earliest flights took place before commercial TV satellites were a reality, and the best the networks could do was station a reporter aboard the recovery ship to provide voice reports; later, film or videotape of the splashdown and recovery would be shown by the networks.

This changed in late 1965 when the networks, with the help of COMSAT and ITT, finally had the capability to beam live television from the recovery ship via Early Bird. The system was ready to go for the planned October 1965 flight of Gemini 6, and a large satellite dish was temporarily mounted on the flight deck of the prime recovery ship, the aircraft carrier USS Wasp. Gemini 6 was postponed, however, when its rendezvous target vehicle was lost after launch. Instead, NASA decided to launch Gemini 7 in December 1965 and send Gemini 6A to meet up with it, the first rendezvous by two manned American spacecraft and an important step on the way to the Moon. With USS Wasp still selected as prime recovery ship, the seagoing earth station got a spectacular debut: Gemini 6’s return on December 16, and Gemini 7’s two days later. Both splashdowns were carried live by the networks, with pool coverage from Dallas Townsend and Bernard Eismann.

Here’s the first moment when CBS carried live pictures from the recovery ship, during the Dec. 12, 1965 launch attempt of Gemini 6A:

http://youtu.be/E9QVgFCe4b4?t=4m13s

Here’s where the CBS splashdown coverage of Gemini 6A begins:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6L3idPfHsVc

And the moment when Gemini 6A astronauts Schirra and Stafford emerged from the spacecraft aboard USS Wasp:

http://youtu.be/ZGpAHvrap5M?t=5m01s

Although there were technical problems still to be resolved, and although the picture was lost at a few points, the first live “splashcast” demonstrated it could be done. The lessons learned will form the basis of the second part, as the historic Apollo missions to the Moon approached.

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