September 30, 1951…First West To East Series Debuts On NBC+ Rare Color Film….
September 30, 1951…First West To East Series Debuts On NBC
+ Rare Color Film…5 “Colgate Comedy Hour” Stars At El Capitan
65 years ago today, NBC’s “Colgate Comedy Hour” became the first regularly scheduled program to originate on the west coast, to be broadcast to the entire network. Only 26 days before this, the first ever coast to coast television broadcast had occurred, when President Truman addressed The Japanese Peace Conference in San Francisco.
This was the second hit season of this Sunday night blockbuster (opposite Ed Sullivan, on CBS) and the New York host, Eddie Cantor was flown out to host this occasion. Soon, Abbott & Costello and Martin & Lewis would become the regular Hollywood hosts.
At the link, you will see Eddie Cantor, Bud Abbott & Lou Costello and Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis arriving at NBC’s El Capitan Theater in Hollywood in 1953.
This is a short, but sweet color home movie shot on the south side of the theater, as they arrive for rehearsal. Because the hosts rotated on a weekly basis, it would be rare for all of them to be there at the same time, but I looks like that may have been the case, and this is most likely from the 100th episode celebration on March 22, 1953.
If the building looks familiar, in ’63, ABC took over the lease and called this, The Hollywood Palace. The El Capitan is at 1735 North Vine Street, just a couple of blocks north of where NBC’s Radio City West was located, and was NBC’s first “spill-over” location for television once AT&T linked the coast with the rest of the country in 1951.
On April 1, 1951 the El Capitan Theatre was leased to NBC for fifteen years at a cost of $30,500 per year. On Sunday, September 30, 1951, “The Colgate Comedy Hour” became NBC’s first regularly scheduled west-to-east television broadcast, and it came from The El Capitan, on a bi-weekly basis, with the other weeks done in New York. Thanks to our friend Rick Scheckman for sharing this clip. Enjoy! -Bobby Ellerbee
We had six of these camera dollies and 165 First Class Engineers to ride them at WBBM TV. C B S Chicago. Now days the cameras are mounted on a remotely contrled dolly with joy stick control. I loved working in television back then. It was a ball. Remember CH. 9 Bandstand? Truly great camera people Steve!
Thanks again Bobby. You are the best. Keep them cards and letters rolling in.
Even back then Dean was “cool”. He just wreaks of being “cool”. He never lost that trait.