TV History

Zoomar 1 In early 1947 the Zoomar lenses became available with the Field Zoomar being the first of the three sizes to be offered. It was a 27 element lens designed for outside broadcasts, but the crew at Chicago’s WBKB had a different idea and began using it on a new puppet show which…

Zoomar 2 After seeing the results of the use of the Field Zoomar on NBC’s Kukla, Fran and Ollie, CBS began to use the outdoor lens on some inside productions as well. Source

Zoomar 3 This image from the June 1949 issue of American Cinematographer, shows Zoomar lens creator Dr. Frank Back (pointing) with Kukla, Ollie and puppeteer Burr Tilstrom. Zoomar lenses first appeared in 1947. This is the Zoomar Field Lens. Source

Re Posting: NBC Sports Video This was posted Wednesday, but the next day the link went dark so here is a new link. Thanks to John Boeddeker, veteran NBC cameraman, here’s a great look behind the scenes of the 2013 Players Championship. This 7 minute clip includes five of the key cameramen on this…

A Genuine Rarity! This is the only photo I have ever seen that shows part of the regular ‘Huntley-Brinkley Report’ individual studio sets. All the other “set” photos I’ve seen of them show them together on sets at special events like space shots or political conventions. This is David Brinkley at his WRC-TV Washington…

Goodbye Stefon! At the end of the season, Bill Hader is leaving SNL after eight years on the show. I love his Stefon character and Hader’s great voice and range. We’ll miss him. Source

The All Important “Wings”: Studios 33 and 31, TVC The side stage wings of CBS Television City’s Studio 33 and 31 were great ideas that helped greatly in production. The designers wanted to create a theatrical feeling, but needed to accommodate cameras, so the wings were built into their design. Many times, when live…

CBS Television City: Original Configuration Of Studio 33 When Television City was first built, the center camera ramps went all the way to the control room in both 33 and 31. The ramp actually has a T shape to it, as there is room for cameras on each side of the ramp at the…

Did You Know? Lorne Green & Michael Landon Lorne Green: He is the original inventor of the count-down clock and his patent was the source of some of his personal wealth. He founded Toronto’s Academy of Radio Arts and was commemorated on a stamp in Canada. He was invited to play Ben Cartwright after…

NBC’s ‘All Star Review’: 1950-1953 This show began as ‘The Four Star Review’ and later became ‘The Martha Raye Show’. When it started, this weekly variety show was hosted on a rotating basis by Jimmy Durante, Ed Wynn, Jack Carter and newcomer Danny Thomas, thus the “four star” name. In 1951, other hosts were…

‘Hallmark Hall Of Fame’ NBC Brooklyn This is from ‘The Hallmark Hall of Fame’ presentation of ‘Eagle In A Cage’. The actors pictured are Trevor Howard and Pamela Franklin. The photo was taken in the Brooklyn studios in 1965. The series started in December of 1951 and was done at NBC Hollywood as Burbank…

The Shure ‘Vagabond’ #1 This is from the 1953 Shure Brothers catalog and show the first wireless mic. In ’53, the Vagabond 88 cost $700…in today’s dollars, that’s over $6000. Source

The Shure ‘Vagabond’ #2 Below, Marilyn Monroe is introduced to the first wireless mic at CBS in 1954. She is actually holding two body transmitters with the one on the right connected to a black mic (pinned to her sweater) that is also a ‘hands free’ version. As you see in the next post,…

Confused? I was too… Having been a staple of ABC for so long, I was a bit confused when I first saw this photo but the fact is, Welk did record the syndicated show for two seasons from Television City. The Lawrence Welk Show started in 1951 as a local program on KTLA-TV in…

Clarabell #3, Lew Anderson This is the man most of us remember as Clarabell. Lew took over the roll in 1954 and was the one that delivered the famous “Good bye kids” line on the last show in 1960. Although Howdy Doody had been on since 1947, most of us never saw the show…

Clarabell #2, Robert ‘Nick’ Nicholson This is Buffalo Bob Smith with Nick Nicholson in the 1980s. Nick had been with the show since early on because he was the voice of Cornelius J. Cobb. When Keeshan left in 1952, Nick stepped in as Clarabell for two years. Interestingly, he and his successor were also…

Clarabell #1, Bob Keeshan As we all know, Keeshan later became Captain Kangaroo, but few knew that he was a decorated marine in WWII. Keeshan met Bob Smith at NBC radio where he was a page and came with Smith as a page/assistant to the Howdy Doody Show and wore his NBC page blazer…

WPIX, New York City June 15, 1948 was the sign on day for WPIX. Welcoming viewers for the first month or so of operations to this independent station was done with the help of famous radio comedian Fred Allen (left). Like it’s sister station, WGN in Chicago, WPIX was owned by The Tribune Company.…