The Famous, ABC Made, Hand Held Camera, In Action!
On January 14, 2013
- TV History, Viewseum
The Famous, ABC Made, Hand Held Camera, In Action!
At the very front of this clip from ABC’s Silver Anniversary, Frank Gifford holds up and demonstrates the ‘Creepy Peepy’ camera and suggests it came into use in September of 1960 on the sidelines when ABC won the rights to televise college football.
It is actually made from the GE PE 7 that you see at the bottom of this page. Our friend Don ‘Peaches’ Langford tested and used this camera at the ABC Los Angeles campus and at west coast events, but I think there was more than one of these made. I recently saw the video of the log rolling event this camera is shooting below…it was on a Wide World Of Sports show and the picture looked as good as the big camera pictures. I’m trying to relocate it.
It’s Mike.
The Cameras were GE PC-7A’s
MORE news We had our monthly ABC-LA Luncheon today and I talked with Don McCroskey who was in on the design of the Press Orth camera. There were two GE cameras sent from ABC-NY in 1962 (Similar to a TK10). The yokes were taken out and put in a case built to hold it and a 50mm len’s was used. The first one had a round hole in a piece on metal for framing, as seen in my photo. It used a 50 ft. cable back to the GE camera case. ABC-NY built there own version and we think they used a small tube type viewfinder. I have another person I am trying to get in touch with that may remember the NY camera. Stay tuned for more info. Don (Peaches)
There were several versions of this camera and I think this was the last one, the one in my photo (With Bald Cap) was the first one and had no viewfinder just a round hole to look thru, you guessed at the focus according to how far away you were from the subject and it had a 50mm lens. the video man (Bob Blywiess) was in my ear helping with framing and focus as well as f stop. and if my memory serves me correct we had 100 ft. cable back to the camera housing that the yoke came out of.
the Camera in the video seems to have a longer housing than the one in the “dock Shot”
Sure looks like Mike.
Yes, the cable is there on the dock pix, but no cable in the video with Gifford that I can see.
I agree It is Mike and Jim McKay this Camera was a later version, and I see the cable as well. Don (Peaches)
If you look close the camera cable is there but it must be run in front of the dock. I am guessing Mike Freedman is the cameraman.