Vintage WGN-TV — Chicago Tribune
April 1948, Chicago’s WGN-TV Sings On…Vintage Photo Album
WGN, Channel 9, is one of the nations first and only enduring independent stations, but it wasn’t always that way. In the beginning, they dual network affiliations with both CBS and Dumont, which early on wasn’t that uncommon in new TV markets, or markets with only one station.
The interesting part is, they shared that dual affiliation with WBKB, Channel 4, there in Chicago…until CBS bought WBBM. After that, WGN became one of Dumont’s strongest affiliates, as well as a major production center for that network.
Several Dumont programs were produced from the station’s facilities, including “The Al Morgan Show”, “Chicago Symphony”, “Chicagoland Mystery Players”, “Music From Chicago”, “They Stand Accused”, “Windy City Jamboree” and “Down You Go”.
The station lost the Dumont affiliation when the network ceased operations on August 6, 1956; at that point, WGN became an independent station. The rest, as they say, “is history”. -Bobby Ellerbee
April 11, 1966…The Last Episode of “Hullabaloo” Airs On NBC
April 11, 1966…The Last Episode of “Hullabaloo” Airs On NBC
This is a rare color clip from that final show, with Leslie Gore. Paul Anka was the host for this last show, which featured songs from the 1965 Oscar nominees. “Hullabaloo” was directed by the first director known for his music specials, like The TAMI Show, Steve Binder.
Although all of the shows were shot and videotaped in color, very few of the color shows are left. Somehow about 45 black and white renditions survive, that I suspect were dubs made for the production company.
The show started in a one hour format, and ran in pirmetime from January 12, 1965 through April 11, 1966, but three months in it was cut to thirty minutes, and went to a 7:30 Monday night slot. It was replaced by “The Monkees”, and was taped mostly at NBC Brooklyn, but was also done in Studio 8H and at NBC Burbank. Below is the line up for that final night. Enjoy and share! -Bobby Ellerbee
1) Paul Anka – “What Now My Love”
2) The Cyrkle – “Red Rubber Ball”
3) Lesley Gore – “Young Love”
4) THE HULLABALOO DANCERS (choreographed by David Winters)
5) Peter and Gordon – “Woman”
6) ACADEMY AWARD Medley – Nominees for Best Song of 1965:
6a) Paul Anka and Lesley Gore – “You’re Gonna Hear From Me” (from “Inside Daisy Clover”)
6b) Lesley Gore – “I Will Wait for You” (from “Umbrellas of Cherbourg”)
6c) Peter and Gordon – “Ballad of Cat Ballou” (from “Cat Ballou”)
6d) Paul Anka – “The Shadow of Your Smile” (from “Sandpiper”)
6e) The Cyrkle and other guests – “What New Pussycat?”
7) Peter and Gordon – “Wrong From The Start”
Stunning Animation Technique Brings Antique Photographs To Life….
Stunning Animation Technique Brings Antique Photographs To Life….
Like so much of the new software advances in animation, I don’t know how this is done, but this is pure magic. Take a look and keep the sound up. Thanks to “Tonight” show cameraman Rich Carter for sharing this. -Bobby Ellerbee
A New DANGER To Credibility And News? Yes…This Is Scary!
A New DANGER To Credibility And News? Yes…This Is Scary!
Without as much real news, from real journalists these days, it is already hard enough to know what the truth is, but now…the anti has been UPPED!
Although the original software was developed several years ago for CGI facial animation in motion pictures, now, several inexpensive versions of this kind of software are available to the public. With this, and a good sound-alike voice actor, you can make anybody, say anything, and it would look and sound like it was real. Here is how it is done. The technical part is in the last half. What are your thoughts on this? -Bobby Ellerbee
CVPR 2016 Paper Video (Oral) Project Page: http://www.graphics.stanford.edu/~niessner/thies2016face.html IMPORTANT NOTE: This demo video is purely research-f…
“That Thing You Do”… The Secret Gene Pitney Connection
“That Thing You Do”… The Secret Gene Pitney Connection
For a number of reasons, this is one of my favorite movies, but did you know that “Mr. Downtown”, and the fictional character that sings it, Freddie Fredrickson, is based on Gene Pitney and his “Town Without Pity”?
Hear; Gene Pitney “Town Without Pity”…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7BRraVMZzc
Hear; Freddy Fredrickson’s “Mr. Downtown”…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqzkWSz1Onk
By the way, the Norelco cameras were all from History For Hire, LA’s top prop shop for cameras. There are lipstick cameras under the lenses, and LCD displays in the viewfinder hole. -Bobby Ellerbee
More Rare NBC Color Caravan Photos! St. Louis, July 9-10 1954
More Rare NBC Color Caravan Photos! St. Louis, July 9-10 1954
This is most likely one of the 25 RCA TK40s built in April of ’54. Later in the year, the TK41 debuted. The lens is a design originally known as the Walker Electra Zoom, built by famed Paramount cinematographer Joseph Walker, but bought by RCA and Zeiss in 1952. Love the rails.
This was the first stop on the 10 week tour of the midwest and east. The lady is Eve Hunter from the “Home” show, where this was shown on NBC. Notice the zoom demand box on the left pan handle, focus demand was in the right pan handle.
Live color feeds were sent to NY to air in 15 minute segments in either the “Today” show, or the mid morning, Arline Francis hosted “Home” show.
The Busch Estate is locally known as Grant’s Farm, it was owned by former President US Grant.
Notice that the Zoom focus has been rigged on these cameras to use the right pan handle, which was the focus control. The zoom control box is mounted on the left pan handle, as can be seen in other shots. 3 of these cables are for the red, blue and green channels, and the others are intercom. There are also vent holes on the black bottom frame which I must have only been on the TK40s…never saw these on a TK41.
I just noticed the cool NBC logo on the crest of the trucks. Would love to see the inside of these.
Four Generations Of The Experimental RCA Color Cameras…
Four Generations Of The Experimental RCA Color Cameras…
The 1st generation of RCA’s simultaneous color television system cameras (shown above), is generally referred to as the Wardman Park cameras. They were in NBC’s Wardman Park Hotel studio in Washington DC, but just recently, we have learned that RCA’s called these “The Princeton Cameras” as that is were they were built and developed.
RCA began live camera development there as early as 1946-47, and at least three finished studio cameras of this type were built by the Television Research Group of RCA Laboratories, and two were installed there. The third one may have been kept in Camden, and later used in mobile trials.
The cameras were used for the demonstrations of the RCA Dot-Sequential Color Television System to the F.C.C. during the color television hearings in 1949 through 1950.
After the FCC rejection of the RCA Dot Sequential Color System, further color camera development responsibility was transferred from RCA Laboratories, to the RCA Engineering Products Department (Broadcast Equipment Group) in Camden. Studio development activity was moved from Washington to the RCA building in New York City. The Wardman cameras went to Camden.
The 2nd generation of RCA color cameras were installed in NBC Studio 3H at 30 Rock, and are generally referred to as the “Coffin Cameras”. The joke was, they were so big, you could bury someone in one of these. They were the first to have the rounded viewfinder. The 3H cameras were in use for about two years, until The Colonial Theater came on line in late 1952.
Even after camera testing left 3H, color component testing continued there, because quality color monitors were a must.
The 3rd generation of cameras came with the opeining of The Colonial. These were the RCA TK40 prototype cameras. Remote testing with the Coffin Cameras had taught them the the dark umber color in the sun was not a good idea, and these TK40 prototypes came in a cooler silver color to reflect the sun’s heat.
Speaking of heat, these TK40 prototypes did not have vented viewfinder covers, but by the time the TK40 went into production in 1954, they were beginning to figure this out.
The 4th generation, was the RCA TK40 which began being delivered in April of 1954. Only 25 TK40s were built, and they all had the unvented viewfinder cover, like the prototypes, but vented covers were sent to TK40 customers once the RCA TK41 began production later in 1954.
The TK40s had also been shipped with panheads that were either friction or single wide cradle types. Once the TK41 began shipping, the new double wide cradle head was included and shipped to TK40 owners too.
The RCA TK41 also had four generations, the TK41, TK41A, TK41B and TK41C. There is more on the photos. -Bobby Ellerbee
New, Ultra Rare! Color Shots Of Early NBC Mobile Color Tests…
New, Ultra Rare! Color Shots Of Early NBC Mobile Color Tests…
On January 1, 1954, two NBC Color Mobile Units telecast The Rose Parade from Pasadena, to the nation, in color. Very few saw it in color, but that was the first use of these trucks.
As you will see in the attached “NBC Chimes” magazine article, the NBC Color Caravan set out on a 10 week journey, with dozens of color remote stops along the way. The caravan started June 10 in St. Louis and ended in Maryland August 11.
On July 15 and 16, the 18 man crew was in Washington DC for a look at the nation’s shrines, but before the left, that is where they “rehearsed” a few things.
These photos are from April of 1954, and show the trucks and crew testing some new remote innovations, like this this cool dolly track, before they hit the road. You can tell by the trees, this was around cherry blossom time.
These rare images are from NBC Washington TD Bill Wells, who was there from 1947 till the mid 70s. Thanks to Tom Buckley for sharing these with us. -Bobby Ellerbee
In April of 1954, color is so new, the camera is mounted on a friction type pan head…the new double wide cradle heads were not available until the first shipments of TK40s went out in later that month, but this TK40 does have the vented viewfinder hood that the factory began to make for the TK41 which debuted later in ’54.
You have to admit, this track idea is pretty cool. I’ve never seen one of these before or since. Anyone ever seen these in use for television remotes? The movie guys used them all the time, but this is quite unique.
OK, now we see the single wide cradle heads, but not the double wide for the TK40. Houston Fearless made the first single wide prototypes in 1953 for the TK40 at The Colonial Theater. They were better than the friction heads for these 350 pound cameras, but the double wide was needed. HF had designed the cradle for the , b/w cameras, and thought they may work with the color version, but the weight and width demanded more.
Wouldn’t you love to see the inside of this? I don’t think I’ve ever seen pix of the inside, have you?
Classic
ULTRA RARE! New, Unseen Early RCA Color Trials Photos
ULTRA RARE! New, Unseen Early RCA Color Trials Photos
These first 2 images are from the personal collection of long time NBC Washington TD Bill Wells, who was there from 1947, until his retirement in the mid ’70s. I have added 3 others to help support what we are seeing in the Wells photos, and there is text on each.
RCA began live camera development for its simultaneous color television system as early as 1946-47 at the Wardman Park Hotel in Washington DC. At least three finished studio cameras of this type were built by the Television Research Group of RCA Laboratories, and two were installed there. The third one may have been kept in Camden, and later used in mobile trials.
The cameras were used for the demonstrations of the RCA Dot-Sequential Color Television System to the F.C.C. during the color television hearings in 1949 through 1950. After the FCC rejection of the RCA Dot Sequential Color System, further color camera development responsibility was transferred from RCA Laboratories, to the RCA Engineering Products Department (Broadcast Equipment Group) in Camden. Studio development activity was moved from Washington to the RCA building in New York City.
These cameras did not go to Studio 3H at 30 Rock…they stayed in Camden. The second generation of color cameras went to 3H, and those “coffin cameras” looked a lot like what would be the third of four generations of experimental color cameras, the TK40 prototypes, used at The Colonial Theater. The fourth generation was the RCA TK40 released for use in April of 1954. In early 1955, the RCA TK41 was put into service and also had four generations, the TK41, TK41A, TK41B and TK41C.
Thanks to Tom Buckley, custodian of Mr. Wells’ collection, we are able to see these rare images of the men that were part of this early color history, and these are the first of many more yet to come. In today’s next post, ultra rare color photos of the 1954 NBC Color Caravan, and also today, a primer on the color camera generations! Enjoy! -Bobby Ellerbee
Marilyn Monroe….’Person To Person’ April 8, 1955
Marilyn Monroe….’Person To Person’ April 8, 1955
http://youtu.be/L05TYBXwU3A?t=4m12s
At the clip above, we start with photographer Milton Green walking through the living room we see in the photos. While he’s walking toward the kitchen where Marilyn is waiting, he is talking live with Edward R. Murrow via the new Shur “Vagabond” wireless microphone.
The Vagabond was the first broadcast quality wireless mic and you can see Marilyn holding the unit in her hand before the CBS technician helps her put hide it under her clothes.
In the second photo, we see another rare sight. As she poses with the “Person To Person” crew, there are two new RCA TK11/31s behind them. The rarity is the striped banding around the top. Usually, this was only done with the TK10 and TK30.
In case you don’t know, the banding is actually a very clever grayscale camera chart. Early on, the settings on the black and white cameras tended to drift and some “on the fly” adjustments were needed, but that required a test pattern or grayscale chart. As a quick fix, the CBS NY engineering department came up with these grey and white alternating bands and put them on all their cameras so that all you had to do for a quick alignment was shoot the camera next to you.
This worked well on the TK10s and TK30s because they didn’t have handles like the TK11/31. With the handles in the way, the shot was blocked and effectiveness of this arrangement was diminished. When the new TK11s arrived, they put the banding on but after a few months, stopped adding it, so only a few of the new TK11s were banded and actually, with the new updates onboard, drifting was not as much of a problem as it had been with the older TK10s and 30s. – Bobby Ellerbee
SNL Classic! Behind The Scenes Of “The Continental” Sketches
SNL Classic! Behind The Scenes Of “The Continental” Sketches
Whenever Christopher Walken hosts SNL, he does a recurring character…”The Continental” which is always shot from the woman’s Point Of View by a hand held camera.
Here is “The Continental” sketch from February 22, 2003. This special video shows us what the studio audience is seeing as well as the home audience by way of a box insert. I think the cameraman is Michael Bennett, and Wally Feresten is the Q card man. Enjoy! -Bobby Ellerbee
The Making Of S*N*L’s “The Continental” – enjoy!
The Masters Of Stage Craft Magic…IATSE Local 1, New York
The Masters Of Stage Craft Magic…IATSE Local 1, New York City
Before videotape came along in 1956, live television was very dependent on skilled stage hands to move scenery in and out during the broadcasts of everything from comedies like “Your Show Of Shows” to dramatic anthologies like “The Kraft Playhouse”, and all the rest.
Videotape brought in “time shifting”, and once it became widely used at the networks, a lot of stage hands lost their jobs, because now, game shows for instance could be set up, a weeks worth of shows taped, and the set struck in just one day. Before this, each set had to be set and struck for every show, which was of course live.
When production started to move from New York to Los Angeles, east coast people were struck by the difference between how the stage crews worked on each coast. In New York, stage crews usually had Broadway experience, and sets were flown in and out and moved quickly.
In LA, the stage crews had motion picture experience and were used to a slower pace, because they always did their work between takes.
When CBS produced a second live performance of “Cinderella” in color in 1965 at Televison City, it cost twice as much as the original, live color presentation in 1957 at their Studio 72 in NYC. The cost difference was mostly due to the speed of the New York stage hands. -Bobby Ellerbee
April 7, 1927…Two Firsts In Long Distance TV Transmission
April 7, 1927…Two Firsts In Long Distance TV Transmission
On this day in 1927, then Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover’s image was transmitted via AT&T from Washington to New York using a mechanical system developed by Herbert E. Ives. This is the first time television was sent on long distance wires.
In the photo above, Dr. Ives is on the far right, watching AT&T president Walter Gifford, in New York, speak with Secretary Hoover in Washington. The conversation, in which both men could see and hear each other, was a two way television/telephone hookup, which is also a first.
At the link above, is a story and pictures, from an August 1930 issue of “Modern Mechanics” that discusses this, and some other interesting developments from 1929 television tests, like color.
Although this is the first time a television signal was sent over long distance lines, it was not the first time pictures were sent on a telephone line. That occurred Oct. 3, 1922, as Charles Francis Jenkins, transmitted “shadowgraph” images from his studio in a Washington DC suburb to the main post office there, via telephone wires, some five miles away. -Bobby Ellerbee
A Fuller History Of NBC Television News…
A Fuller History Of NBC Television News…
After posting today’s first story on CBS’s Douglas Edwards, as television’s first live, daily network anchor, I mentioned – but barely scratched the surface, on NBC’s part in this deeper history, so, here is a more detailed account.
The most widely celebrated dates in NBC news history are February 16, 1948 and February 16, 1949. In ’48 “The NBC Television Newsreel” debuted as a 10 minute weekday newsreel which was narrated off camera by John Cameron Swayze.
The next year, Swayze moved in front of the camera and that began “The News Caravan” as a live news show. CBS had put Douglas Edwards on camera May 3, 1948.
BUT…this was not the start of news at NBC. In fact, almost immediately after their first regular TV service began April 30, 1939, news had begun to be reported on W2XBS (WNBT).
Newscaster Lowell Thomas had occasionally simulcast his NBC Radio show locally from Studio 3H as early as December 1939 and from February till July of 1940, he regularly simulcast his “Sunoco News” show to New York viewers.
There was also the weekly “Esso Television Reporter” from March until May of 1940 hosted by William Spargrove, who narrated off camera. The Esso program used live organ music and on camera was a mix of newswire photos, maps and graphic miniature depictions of news event locations.
From July of 1941 till May of 1942, Sam Cuff hosted a weekly news commentary called “Face The War”, but the show ended as RCA and NBC cut television operations down to next to nothing five months after Pearl Harbor.
On February 23, 1944, things started to stir a bit as “The War As It Happens” came to television, and NBC News has been on the air more-or-less continuously since then.
“The War As It Happens” began as a local program, but NBC records indicate that in April of 1944, it was fed to Schenectady and Philadelphia on the fledgling NBC Television Network and became the first news cast regularly seen in multiple cities.
At the time, even the great NBC Radio news department was tiny compared to the wire services and newspapers and newsreels. Television was even less able to gather news because they didn’t even have local film crews. The first breakthrough came in 1944 when John Royal, the first head of television at NBC, acquired the rights to Army Signal Corps film.
Using this footage, “The War As It Happens” followed what was basically a newsreel format, using the film with Paul Alley narrating and Ray Forrest in the studio with commentary, maps and wire photos.
In August 1945, the war was over and the Sunday “The War As It Happens” newscast was renamed “The NBC Television Newsreel”.
In mid 1946, it gained a sponsor and became “The Esso Newsreel” and was rescheduled to two nights a week, Monday and Thursday.
On February 16, 1948 Esso bowed out and a new sponsor came to the show which became “The Camel Newsreel Theater”. The next year, it went live with Swayze on camera, but surprisingly there are reports of background music throughout the broadcast until the early 1950s. That was a remnant of the old newsreel shows.
Swayze’s live nightly news was initially called “News Caravan”, as Camel had not immediately followed along in its sponsorship, but a few months in, they came back and the show became “The Camel News Caravan”.
In 1956, Swayze was replaced by Chet Huntley and David Brinkley. I think you know the rest of the story. Enjoy and share! -Bobby Ellerbee
GE PE 250 & 350 Catalog
Here is the 24 page GE PE 250 catalog, followed by the 8 page introduction of the GE PE 350 color cameras. ABC used a lot of these, and so did stations in the southeast and southwest as GE offered heavy discounts to try and get a bigger piece of the markets. Thanks to Scott Baker for the use of his copies.
-NOTE: This is a High-Resolution document and may take a moment to load.
Brief History of CBS And The Masters Tournament…
When CBS televised its first Masters in 1956, the network used seven cameras and covered action from the final four holes.
This week at Augusta National, for the 61st consecutive year, considerably more personnel and technology will be in place. CBS will offer nine hours of live coverage this weekend, and it can show action from all 18 holes.
The Augusta National Golf Club, and network partner CBS have a unique relationship. CBS operates on one-year contracts and pays far less than market value for the rights. In return, Augusta National insists on approval of all announcers and dictates terms of the coverage, and as you’ll see in the yearly history below, they take this coverage seriously, and breaking the rules get announcers kicked off the show. Among the rules, no mention of prize money, plenty of references to “patrons”, no promotions for other TV programs, etc., and as always, the tournament has been presented with minimal commercial interruption.
Augusta National has always limited the amount of coverage by its TV partners. While it has allowed the number of TV hours to increase in recent years, it still lags significantly behind the other golf majors in this area.
Here is a look at how the coverage has evolved over time beginning with the first televised Masters in 1956.
Chronology of Masters TV coverage
1956 – CBS provided a half hour of coverage on Friday with one hour each on Saturday and Sunday. Chris Schenkel and Bud Palmer manned the microphones. CBS only covered holes 15-18 with all of its cameras stationary and most of them pointed at the greens.
1957 – Jim McKay became the lead announcer.
1958 – CBS expanded its Sunday coverage to 1.5 hours and eliminated the Friday coverage.
1959 – Frank Chirkinian produced his first Masters. CBS added cameras to cover more fairways and tees.
1961 – The tournament concluded on Monday due to weekend rain and CBS added an hour of Monday late afternoon coverage.
1962 – Schenkel resumed the lead broadcast role as McKay had moved to ABC. The Masters had an 18-hole playoff on Monday and CBS provided one hour of coverage.
1965 – Jack Whitaker took over the lead announcer role.
1966 – The Masters was televised in color for the first time. An 18-hole playoff was needed and CBS televised the end of it on Monday afternoon. This was the year that Whitaker made an on-air comment referring to the gallery surrounding the 18th green as a “mob”. For this, he was banned from the telecasts by Augusta National chairman Clifford Roberts for the next several years. Henry Longhurst called his first Masters for CBS.
1967 – A strike by the American Federation of Radio and Television Artists (AFTRA) impacted the coverage. With the regular CBS golf broadcasters honoring the strike, some CBS management personnel handled the telecast along with two top amateur players who were Augusta members.
1968 – Pat Summerall broadcast the Masters for the first time and anchored the coverage at hole 18. Frank Glieber also made his Masters TV debut.
1969 – Ray Scott joined the CBS telecast crew. So did Frank Gifford who worked golf for CBS for a few years before moving to ABC.
1970 – Scott took over as the 18th hole announcer. The final 18-hole playoff took place this year and CBS added late Monday afternoon coverage for that.
1973 – CBS expanded to 2 hours on Sunday. CBS added late afternoon coverage on Monday after rain necessitated a Monday finish. Ben Wright joined the CBS crew for the first time.
1974 – This was the last year that Scott served as lead announcer.
1975 – Vin Scully worked his first Masters and assumed the 18th tower announcer role.
1977 – CBS expanded to 2 hours on Saturday.
1980 – CBS increased the Sunday coverage to 2.5 hours.
1982 – This year saw a major change as the USA Network provided Thursday and Friday coverage (2 hours live each day along with a prime time replay). This was the first ever cable coverage for one of the golf majors. The USA coverage used the CBS production crews and CBS announcers.
1983 – Summerall took over the 18th hole tower role as Scully had moved to NBC. Verne Lundquist made his debut on the Masters. So did Brent Musburger who was stationed in Butler Cabin for the first of 6 consecutive years. CBS increased the Saturday coverage to 2.5 hours and Sunday to 3 hours. Due to rain, the tournament did not finish on Sunday, so CBS added late afternoon Monday coverage.
1986 – Gary McCord and Jim Nantz joined the CBS crew. Bob Carpenter hosted the USA coverage.
1988 – CBS shifted the Sunday TV window to end at 7 pm ET where it remains to this day.
1990 – Bill Macatee hosted the USA coverage and would do so for all subsequent years that USA had the TV rights.
1994 – McCord made the infamous on-air “bikini wax” reference while describing the speed of the Augusta greens and remarked that mounds behind the 17th green resembled “body bags”. These comments did not go over well with Augusta officials and despite still being a member of the CBS golf team, McCord has not worked the Masters since. That was also the last Masters tournament (and final CBS assignment of any kind) for Summerall who moved to Fox.
1995 – USA expanded the Thursday/Friday coverage to 2.5 hours each day. Nantz took over the lead announcer role.
1996 – Chirkinian produced the CBS telecast for the final time.
1997 – David Feherty called his first Masters on CBS as did Peter Oosterhuis.
2000 – Dick Enberg started a 7-year run of hosting the Masters from Butler Cabin. The Masters was televised live in HDTV for the first time.
2002 – Another major milestone took place this year as CBS increased the Sunday coverage to 4.5 hours and showed the leaders for all 18 holes. CBS had wanted to do this for a number of years, but tournament officials had always denied these requests in the past. This was also the last Masters in the TV booth for longtime lead analyst Ken Venturi.
2003 – Lanny Wadkins became the lead analyst and CBS expanded the Saturday coverage to 3.5 hours ending at 7 pm ET. The SD and HD productions of the event were unified. In the wake of the controversy over the Martha Burk protest regarding Augusta membership practices, the Masters chose to drop its sponsors. Both CBS and USA televised the event commercial-free. The same was true in 2004.
2005 – USA increased the Thursday/Friday coverage to 3 hours.
2006 – CBS added a one-hour special Jim Nantz Remembers Augusta which led into the Sunday coverage. That show looked back on the 1986 Masters using original CBS footage. This series has become an annual Masters Sunday tradition featuring vintage CBS telecast clips being rebroadcast for the first time.
2007 – Nick Faldo took over as CBS lead analyst joining Nantz in the 18th hole tower.
2008 – ESPN took over the Thursday/Friday coverage with Mike Tirico anchoring the action.
2009 – ESPN increased the Thursday/Friday coverage to 3.5 hours each day. CBS expanded the Sunday coverage to 5 hours.
2011 – ESPN expanded the Thursday/Friday coverage to 4.5 hours each day.
2013 – CBS increased the Saturday coverage to 4 hours. For both of the weekend rounds, CBS Sports Network aired a same-day prime time replay of the CBS network coverage.
This week’s weather here in Georgia looks great and the dogwoods and azaleas are busin’ out all over! -Bobby Ellerbee
Take Me Out To The Ballgame…With 13 Cameras!
Take Me Out To The Ballgame…With 13 Cameras!
On Opening Day, we’ve got some baseball stories for you, starting with this one. If you’ve ever wanted a really in depth look at how major league baseball is done, here you go! This three part, behind the scenes, tour in Cleveland shows us how this days game with Atlanta is done from start to finish on June 15, 2007.
This Cleveland setup is a bit different from the usual because at home, they can direct the game from a control room a few blocks away instead of from the truck. Links to all the parts are below and total time is about a half hour. Best viewed with a hotdog and beer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrDF-9GwgIs Part 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyuaKx2sjvM Part 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ho09S_RmcvE Part 3
A Behind The Scenes look at a SportsTime Ohio Broadcast between the Indians and the Atlanta Braves on June 15, 2007. I was one of the shooters at the ballpar…
The Night RFK Was Shot…Inside The Ambassador Hotel, Part 1 of 3
Rare Photos Of The Television Coverage…June 4, 1968
This is behind the hotel and shows a makeshift cable bridge between the two NBC trucks.
Here are the two NBC trucks and the “cable bridge” made from a ladder. It may be that NBC had three trucks and a utility trailer there…see my comment and photo below.
Here’s the ABC black and white truck.
KTTV’s utility truck and ABC’s black and white truck.
Final Rare Photos Of The Television Coverage…June 4, 1968
Thanks for all the descriptive comments on the first two sets of photos. Hopefully these will answer some questions raised there, and thanks to Martin Perry for finding these Los Angeles Fire Department photos. More detail on the photos so click though them. Enjoy and share.
The Night RFK Was Shot…Inside The Ambassador Hotel, Part 2 of 3
Rare Photos Of The Television Coverage…June 4, 1968
I have had several request to repost these photos, so here is the second of three sets of photos taken the afternoon that Senator Robert Kennedy was killed at The Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. There is more on the orignal post text, quite a bit of detail on the photos, as well as some instructive comments from the first posting, so be sure and click on each image. -Bobby Ellerbee
This is in the Max Rafferty for Senate HQ in one of three ballrooms that were active that night with election activity. The camera on the left is from ABC and I think it is a black and white…maybe a TK30. CBS is in the middle with what looks like a Marconi Mark VII. The right cam is an NBC Norelco. I can see this at a different angle in another picture.
Here you can see both NBC trucks behind the hotel wth KTLA’s unit in the background.
This is the KTLA unit behind the hotel. They were using black and white RCA TK30 cameras.
Also behind the hotel, the ABC truck and KTTV’s utility truck, ABC was broadcasting in black and white. KTTV was using Norelco color and we’ll see their big trucks with CBS at the front of the building in a click or two.
I’m not sure where this is, maybe the Allan Cranston for Senate ballroom, but it is not The Embassy Room where the RFK HQ was that night as the ceiling is quite different. The camera on the far left is a Norelco from CBS and on the right is a KTLA TK30 and behind it, a Norelco PC60 from KTTV.
This the front of the Ambassador Hotel with two CBS trucks on the left and I think the trucks on the right belong to KTTV as they were covering this with Norelco color just like NBC and CBS.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsYLelmN6BA&ab_channel=ABCNews
I have added the ABC coverage from the next day with Frank Reynolds reporting. In it, you can see ABC’s video from the night before was shot in black and white. Also included in this clip is the voice of the Mutual reporter, Andy West who had live audio in the kitchen. It is quite chilling.
Today’s images include the network and local trucks from KTLA and KTTV and more photos from inside The Ambassador. I think it is best if I include the details of this set of photos on the pictures themselves, so please make sure you click on them individually. This is the only time and place these have been seen with any narration, so remember to share these. -Bobby Ellerbee
Many thanks to Martin Perry for finding these photos taken by the Los Angeles Fire Department. Six more pictures coming tomorrow!
The Night RFK Was Shot…Inside The Ambassador Hotel, Part 3 of 3
Rare Photos Of The Television Coverage…June 4, 1968
I have had several request to repost these photos, so here is the first of three sets of photos taken the afternoon that Senator Robert Kennedy was killed at The Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. There is more on the orignal post text, quite a bit of detail on the photos, as well as some instructive comments from the first posting, so be sure and click on each image. -Bobby Ellerbee
The Embassy Room was where the Kennedy party was. Notice the sign…Alan Cranston was running against Max Rafferty for the Senate seat and his election night HQ was also in the hotel. Kennedy was in the Embassy Room, Rafferty in a second ball room and Cranston was in a third ballroom. It was a busy night for the press.
This is a CBS camera in the Kennedy HQ ballroom. Notice the Norelco camera is using an adapter to go from a twin cable output to a single cable. In a minute, you’ll see a CBS Norelco on this same wall…to the right of this.
Here is yet another shot of the lobby cameras taken from the entrance of the Embassy Room. I think the men at the platform are local CBS and NBC reporters.
Here’s a CBS camera on a great little Baughman pedestal. I think the NBC location is to the left of this position.
The Night RFK Was Shot…Inside The Ambassador Hotel, Part 1 of 3
Rare Photos Of The Television Coverage…June 4, 1968
We have all have scenes of that tragic event in our heads…the optimistic victory speech and then the horrific events in the ballroom kitchen where Sirhan Sirhan waited. I have often wondered about what else was going on in that room that night…where were the cameras, who covered this and more. Now, we’ll finally see.
Thanks to Martin Perry, I’ve located these photos taken by the Los Angeles Fire Department that night and they are quite interesting. I’m breaking these up into three parts and will post the other two parts Saturday and Sunday. There will be some interesting shots coming of all three network trucks as well as the KTLA and KTTV vans. I am still researching the events of that night and along the way, will include some of the back story in separate articles.
I think it is best if I include the details of this set of photos on the pictures themselves, so please make sure you click on them individually. This is the only time and place these have been seen with any narration, so remember to share these. -Bobby Ellerbee