How Peter Pan Flew…On Broadway And In The TV Classic
Peter Foy was the man responsible for the “flying” effect that all of us, of a certain age, remember with great fondness. Flying one person gracefully is an art…flying four at a time is magic!
Thanks to Terry Wilkie, the TD at Caesar’s Entertainment in Las Vegas, here is an interview with Foy that discusses the finer points of how it is done. Enjoy! -Bobby Ellerbee
The Granddaddy Of Color Studios…The Colonial Theater I had given up finding a photo of the theater’s face when NBC and RCA owned it, but thanks to Lytle Hoover, we finally have it. This is where the fist production models of the RCA TK40 went into service in March of 1953. The first several months, […]
Elvis Presley’s Second Television Show…’The Milton Berle Show’ In the clip above, you can see the debut of “Blue Suede Shoes” that Elvis performed from the deck of the aircraft carrier, the USS Hancock in San Diego on April 3, 1956. Below is a picture of one of four RCA TK41s there to shoot it […]
The RCA TK30 Era Extends to Studio 50: This second TK30 part is to commemorate the move from CBS Studio 51 (The Maxine Elliott Theater at 109 W. 39th Street) to CBS Studio 50 (at 1697 Broadway) in January of 1953. The cameras were still RCA TK30s but it was a much larger venue. (THE […]
‘Saturday Night Live’…Me Behind The Guest Host Entrance Door In the photo, and in one of the video clips, you see the other side of the door that SNL guest hosts use to enter the stage. Yes, that’s me and I’ll tell you more about what’s there, but first here’s a clip of Ashton Kutcher […]
Mary Martin was nicknamed “Audition Mary” because she showed up for anything and everything she might be able to play. She didnt get a lot of parts but she nailed the part and was the perfect Peter Pan.
I had the pleasure of working with Peter Foy when I stage managed the 1976 TV production of Pinocchio starring Danny Kaye & Sandy Duncan. Foy staged all the flying sequences. Probably one of the most complex musical specials. I ever worked on. Here’s a clip that includes a short flying sequence (2:25):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qx76BDki64I