TV History

Introducing The RCA TK30: Television’s First Workhorse Camera This is the entire edition of RCA’s October 1946 “Broadcast News” magazine that features this brand new camera in a very detailed, multi page story. One of many new Archive items in the new Eyes Of A Generation site, coming soon. The cover page photo is…

November 20, 1958…First Known Videotape Edited Show Airs Seated on the right is director John Frankenheimer watching Ross Murray edit “Old Man”, which was a ‘Playhouse 90’ presentation that aired November 20, 1958. This was the first time an entire production had ever been videotaped in advance and edited for air. The year before,…

November 19, 1959…America Meets Rocky And Bullwinkle Today is the anniversary of the debut of one of my all time favorite cartoon shows…probably one of yours too. The show debuted as ‘Rocky And His Friends’ on ABC and although done in color, it was broadcast in black and white. Before third season began in…

START SPREADING THE NEWS! NEW SITE COMING SOON! Stay tuned for more! -Bobby Ellerbee Source

FANTASTIC!…First TV Demonstration Of Multi Track Audio Tape Recording In this 1953 kinescope from “Omnibus”, Alistair Cooke hosts Les Paul and Mary Ford in a recreation of their 1951 hit “How High The Moon”. The song not only topped the ‘Top 40’ charts, but the ‘R&B’ charts too, which was another first. Although Les…

On November 18, 1928, ‘Steamboat Willie’, starring Mickey Mouse, was released and shown in theaters across the country. It was wildly popular. This was the first cartoon with synchronized sound and was the first cartoon to feature a fully post-produced soundtrack which distinguished it from earlier sound cartoons. Although animation filmmakers Dave and Max…

Happy Trails & Many Thanks To Bill Plante…. CBS News celebrates career of Bill Plante, retiring after 52 years Plante covered many major stories of the past half century, from the Civil Rights Movement to the Vietnam War Source

NBC’s “Star Time Magazine”…1963-64 Guide To The New Season This is full of great memories, but make sure you take a look at the last pages, where you’ll see NBC’s new ‘Color Girl’ and a few of the first ever TK40 prototypes at The Colonial Theater. In 1951, Marie McNamara became the first ‘Color…

November 13, 1976…Carol Burnett’s ‘Went With The Wind’ Sketch Debuted https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0dqnZ2qyj4&ab_channel=TimeLife One of the funniest and most memorable moments in American television came to us 40 yeas ago today. In the clip below, Carol talks about the sketch and the dress. In another interview, I’ve heard her say that only she and Harvey Korman…

November 11, 1967…ABC Debuts First Color Portable Camera Below is a clip from November 11, 1967 showing the camera in use by ABC at the UCLA – USC game in Los Angeles. ABC and Ampex worked together to come up with three configurations of the color portable unit. Shown here is the original cabled…

November 11, 1951…First Video Image From Magnetic Tape Believe it or not, Bing Crosby Enterprises engineers Jack Mullen and Wayne Johnson were the first to produce an image from video tape. What follows is a first hand account from BCE engineer Robert R. Phillips. Below that is a link to a much larger article…

November 10, 1938…First Ever Performance, “God Bless America” Tomorrow is Veterans Day in America, a tribute day that was originally called Armistice Day. It is still observed in many countries by it’s original name, and as Remembrance Day, which marked the end of World War I on November 11, 1918. From one veteran to…

November 10, 1969…”Sesame Street” Debuts On PBS Here is the full debut episode of the show. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9NUiHCr9Cs&ab_channel=Blue%27sClues%26TheWigglesFTW Since almost almost everyone in the world knows the show, since it’s now on in 123 countries, we’ll celebrate the anniversary with a look at the early production history. In the photos below, we see the original…

Election Day In Television Land…Special Coverage Sets In these photos from friends prepping now in New York, here is a look at some of the sets that will be used today, starting with MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” set being built in Studio 8H for a special live audience show tomorrow. There is more on each…

November 7, 1948…”Studio One” Debuts On CBS The first episode, brought with it another first…one of TV’s first live special effects shots. In the photo, we see star, Margaret Sullivan, “driving in the rain” on the first telecast. That first presentation was titled “The Storm” and originated from Studios 41 and 42 at Grand…

November 7, 1933…RCA/NBC Dedicates 30 Rockefeller Plaza Bldg. On November 7, 1933 NBC held dedication ceremonies and special programs at its new 30 Rockefeller Plaza head quarters at Radio City. Thus began a five day, round the clock, parade of movers from their 711 Fifth Avenue home to their new one at Radio City.…

November 7, 1954…”Face The Nation” Debuts On CBS Wait till you see this video of the first ever presentation of “Face The Nation”! The first thing you see is a closeup of a camera’s lens turret, in a widening shot, that would be the standard open for several years. The “guest” camera is behind…