The Hard-Working Italian Origins of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree

On November 30, 2016 - TV History

TONIGHT! Tree Lighting At 30 Rockefeller Plaza + Some Surprises

From 8 – 9 tonight, NBC carries the holiday tradition nation wide, live from Rockefeller Plaza…well…almost live. I have been told that Dolly Parton’s performance was done months ago, but great care was taken to make it a seamless fit into tonight’s show, so keep a sharp eye out.

As for the first ever 30 Rock Christmas tree…we can thank Cesidio Perruzza, an Italian excavation worker who helped dig the foundation in 1931. Merry Christmas! -Bobby Ellerbee

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/02/nyregion/the-hard-working-italian-origins-of-the-rockefeller-center-christmas-tree.html?smprod=nytcore-iphone&smid=nytcore-iphone-share&_r=2

Nearly lost to history are the tree’s origins with men who worked in construction, most of them Italian immigrants, who were glad for a job during the Depression.

Source

7 Comments

  1. Bob Sewvello December 3, 2016

    You can see St. Patrick’s Cathedral in the baxkground.

  2. Dennis Degan December 1, 2016

    A correction: Parton’s performance and that of Tony Bennett as well were shot on the Roof Garden atop the British Empire Building, not the International Building. Though the International Building’s Roof Garden had been used in the past, this year for some reason the British Empire Building’s Roof garden was chosen instead.

  3. Eyesofageneration.com December 1, 2016

    With the rain in NYC last night, it was pretty easy to see which segments had been taped in advance…the dry ones, and there were a lot more dry ones than most would have thought!

  4. Scott W Millard November 30, 2016

    Dolly Parton was pre-taped August 23. This picture was posted by one of the folks who worked on it.

  5. Tom Williamson November 30, 2016

    And Dolly’s Christmas movie is on right afterward.

  6. Dennis Degan November 30, 2016

    Here’s another surprise for you: In addition to Dolly Parton, some other performances are recorded as well. In the past, performances from the International Building’s Roof Garden (which has a direct view of St. Patrick’s Cathedral) have been recorded the day before (or possibly even earlier). On occasion, performances from stages other than the main one on the ice rink are recorded the day before as well. Be on the lookout for changes in rainy weather between performances, as it poured steadily yesterday.

  7. Jason Wentworth November 30, 2016

    One of the many reasons I miss being able to get east coast and west coast affiliates (back in the dish days) is that WNBC always aired two hours of this show–but I believe the full network is only one hour. Perhaps my local afil just doesn’t want the first hour…