TV History

CBS Broadcast Center Studios Here is the layout of the studios at the Broadcast Center in New York. This is a great mental guide when discussing where shows came from. In case you haven’t see my 126-page report called, The History of CBS New York Studios 1937-1965, just follow the link below for the…

In the video, notice that the tape reels are stacked on top of each other! One-reel spins one way and the other reel spins the other way! Amazing! There are some good war stories in the comments section below, but here is more on this unique machine. Being described as “portable” is fine, until…

MAGNIFICENT! Thanks to Glenn Mack for this fantastic photo taken during a rehearsal of ‘The Doctors’ around 1972. Although the RCA TK44A was introduced in 1968 and the better ‘B’ model in 1971, the TK41s could still hold their own and were still in service in some NBC NY studios as late as ’73…

CLASSIC! RCA TK41s In Action At NBC Brooklyn Studios At 12:58 and 23:35, you’ll see the great RCA TK41s in action at NBC Brooklyn. The date was March 13, 1966 and the production was ‘The Bell Telephone Hour’. That episode was ‘The Music Of The Movies’ and in the clip you’ll see (Oz scarecrow)…

’60 Minutes’ From Above…Glenn Mack Photo Taken on the catwalk, this shot is looking down on the ’60 Minutes’ green screen set that we saw yesterday. The camera may be a Norelco PC60 (instead of a PC70) as it looks like it has two cables going to it. How clever is that old TD…

Transcontinental Television History Here’s another great article from our friend Richard Wirth. The original “broadband” and much more are covered in this write up of how AT&T made coast to coast television possible. The videos are very good too, so take a look! Thanks Richard! http://provideocoalition.com/pvcexclusive/story/live-from-coast-to-coast Live – From Coast to Coast! Today, we…

The ’60 Minutes’ Set…Another Glenn Mack Photo At first glance, this looks like it could be a Betty White, Tim Conway sketch about a pregnant granny, but, it’s not. The is the famous green screen set on ’60 Minutes’ in the early 1970s. As you’ll see tomorrow, the camera is a Norelco PC70. According…

Another Great Glenn Mack Photo! From 1964 till 1975, Art Fleming hosted Jeopardy! in NBC Studio 8G at 30 Rock. The game board would be at the far right and it appears that the RCA TK44 on the left is shooting it from across the studio (you can see the layout in the clip…

‘Star Trek’…Intro To The Second Pilot, Unaired This may be the only show that had two different pilot episodes. This is the opening from the second pilot ‘Where No Man Has Gone Before’ and this segment was never aired, but, the rest of this pilot did air as the third episode that had the…

SUPER RARE! 3 ‘Tonight Show’ Hosts In One Minute Steve Allen and Johnny Carson pull a fast one on Jack Paar with a prank call. Carson was already hosting ‘Tonight’ and was taping for a week or so in Los Angeles when he appeared on ‘The New Steve Allen Show’ (1962-64) which was in…

Another Rarity: TK60s At NBC Burbank Compared to others, these cameras had a short life in Burbank. The earliest they could have been bought was late 1962 and with NBC taking the lead to go all color in 1965, they would have been obsolete and sold off. This shot is from a Bob Hope…

‘$64,000 Question’, 1st Anniversary Show, June 7, 1956 The $64,000 Question premiered June 7, 1955 on CBS-TV, sponsored by cosmetics maker Revlon and originating from the start live from CBS-TV Studio 52 in New York (later the disco-theater Studio 54). The first contestant on the show was Thelma Farrell Bennett, a housewife from Trenton,…

Super Rare…’Masquerade Party’, May 22, 1955 Only five episodes are known to exist of this show that I remember watching as a kid. From 1952-1960, the show aired on ABC, NBC and CBS at various times and had six different hosts. To my amazement, one host was none other than CBS newsman Douglas Edwards…

The Truth About Bert And Ernie! Ever wonder how Ernie could use both hands? Now we know! Here’s Jim Henson (center) with Ernie and Richard Hunt who’s working the right hand. Occasionally, Frank Oz (right) and Bert would use both hands which required another puppet. As always, they are watching the monitor in even…

The EMI 203 Camera In Action Although EMI cameras were ultra rare in the US, they were quite common many other countries, and staples at the BBC. Debuting in 1960, the 203 was a five lens monochrome camera that could use either 4.5 or 3 inch Image Orthicons and make pictures for 405, 525…

Poetry In Motion! Must See…RCA TK47s In Action Shot by an audience member in June of 1988 at PTL Club taping, you can see the fluid movement of these 4 cameras. 2 are mounted on Vinten Tern pedestals and 2 are on Vinten Fulmars. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsW4UUcH5S4 In this 3rd video I’ve uploaded which relates specifically…

Yes, Jim McKay Did Have A Sense Of Humor… Some thought ABC’s top sportscaster had no sense of humor, but as you can see with this ‘crew gag’, he did. This is from the 1984 Sarajevo Winter Olympics. I think everyone in the anchor booth and truck had a pair of these and the…

More From Glenn Mack Below is another photo from Glenn of NBC’s Studio 6B just after Johnny Carson had left for California. In the weeks ahead, there will be more but in the meantime, here is a little about Glenn and how these photos came to be in his own words. I grew up…

The Glenn Mack Photos…A Small Sample Of Things To Come This is a gorgeous photo of NBC Studio 6B taken by Glenn Mack shortly after ‘The Tonight Show’ moved to California. Just behind the RCA TK44, who’s tally lights are lit, would have been where Johnny’s desk and guests would have been. More on…