TV History

“Game Of Thrones” Video Effects…TV’s Ultimate Techno Tapestry It literally boggles the mind to see the depth of video effect detail that goes into each season of this show, but believe it or not, HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire” was just as jam packed with VFX. Costume dramas, from bygone eras, are hard to make believable…

June 21, 1948…First TV Network Pool Event & Debut Of RCA Kinescope The first official use of kinescope recording would come on June 21 at the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia, but it was not used in the way we generally think of kinescopes, which is recording programs to film and expressing them to…

June 20, 1948…Ed Sullivan Comes To Television On this day in 1948, CBS debuted “Toast Of The Town” from The Maxine Elliott Theater (CBS Studio 51). In the first photo, you see what looks like a set for a puppet show…it is not. When you watch the opening of the show at the link,…

June 19, 1946…1st Image Orthicon Cameras & Network Sponsorship In the photos, you see the first RCA TK30s ever used anywhere. The introduction date was officially set for October of ’46, but the Lewis-Conn rematch was such a big deal that RCA rushed a few into production for the fight. Four to six TK…

June 18, 1949…Dave Garroway & “The Chicago Style” Debut On NBC On this day in 1949, “Garroway At Large” debuted on the NBC television network, live from their WMAQ studios in Chicago. Originally airing at 10 PM EST on Saturday nights (and later Sunday nights), this one hour experimental musical variety show brought two…

June 16, 1930…The First Ever “Soap Opera” Debuts On WGN Radio https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWH8Xo6FclU “Clara, Lu ’n Em” is thought to be the first soap opera ever to appear on radio in the US. It started as a local Chicago evening show on WGN on June 16, 1930, and moved to NBC Blue Network on Jan.…

June 16, 1959…Remember This Headline? I guess we’ll never know if it was suicide or murder, but I remember the day the news broke…you too? It was a sad day for all of us kids of the ’50s, but it would have been worse had the news come while the series was still in…

June 14, 2014…NBC’s Last Live Show Airs From Burbank I got this note the evening of June 13, 2014 from our friend Bob Meza, who’s worked for at NBC Burbank for nearly 40 years. “Bobby: Just so you know, tomorrow, June 14, NBC Burbank will broadcast it’s last live show, which is on Telemundo,…

June 13, 1925…First US TV Demonstration 91 years ago today, Charles Francis Jenkins presented the first public demonstration of television in America, with a synchronized transmission of images and sound. Using an electro-mechanical Nipkow spot scanner, the silhouetted image of a toy windmill was broadcast wirelessly over a five mile path from a naval…

Exclusive! CBS Electronic Camera History Update…September 24, 1937 These two just found photos, taken at RCA’s Camden plant on September 24, 1937 show CBS brass on hand to inspect their first RCA Iconoscope camera, before taking delivery (details on the photos). THIS IS THE FIRST HARD DATE for CBS to own Electronic Television Cameras.…

June 9…A Big Day For Media History…6 Event Stories And Video June 9, 1948…WBZ Becomes New England’s First TV Station… In Boston they called it T Day…the first day of television for the area. Remember, back then, stations only came on in the evenings because there was no daytime programming, and precious little at…

More Answers To Some Early Iconoscope Camera Questions… With close scrutiny to dates, and with new images in hand from the early days at CBS Studios at Grand Central, I think we can conclusively say that the switch from the dark umber gray color to the silver body came in May of 1941. It…

California Primary June 4, 1968: Robert Kennedy Assassination With the California Primary underway today, this sad occasion came to mind. The Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles was the scene of the crime that so many of us saw unfold on television that night. These are rare photos from the Los Angeles Fire Marshall’s office…

Remembering Muhammad Ali…With A Special Video Clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxTcopk_-wg&feature=youtu.be&ab_channel=GlennMack2Night Thanks to Glenn Mack, here is The Champ, with Johnny Carson on November 13, 1972. This was Carson’s first return to New York, and Studio 6B, since the show moved to California, so the full monologue and full Ali interview is included. -Bobby Ellerbee Source

Another Fine Piece On Television’s History From Richard Wirth… My only problem with Richard’s article, is that I am ready to read Part 2 now. Hopefully, it will come soon. Thanks for the always great effort Richard Wirth! Enjoy and share! -Bobby Ellerbee Remote Broadcasts: Television’s Traveling Roadshow by Richard Wirth – ProVideo Coalition…

NBC Studio 6A…Newly Redone & Proud As A Peacock With New Feathers! Here is the first look at the newly revamped studio, that is now the home of “Maya & Marty”. Shortly after “The Meredith Vieira Show” wrapped earlier this year, the set was struck and the studio underwent a major remodeling, for the…