TV History

The FIrst Color Picture I Ever Saw Of An RCA TK41 I was almost 13 when I first saw this photo and for a long time, I thought TK41s were light green. This was the front cover of an NBC magazine called ‘Star Time’ that introduced the 1963-64 fall lineup. If you sent them…

You Mean Godzilla Was Just A Guy In A Rubber Suit? Yes, but not just any guy! It was Haruo Nakajima who’s now 85. He was considered by most to be the best “suit actor” in Japanese monster movie history. He started in 1954 with ‘Godzilla’ and played the role, and many other monsters…

‘ The Dean Martin Show’…September 16, 1965 – April 5, 1974 If you watch this two minute clip, you’ll get the attitude of the show’s 9 year, 264 episode run, plus…a BIG surprise at the end! An important key to Dean’s, and the show’s, popularity was the spontaneous, unrehearsed feel of each week’s production.…

History With A Twist…Dick Clark Debuts A Landmark Song This video opens with Dick doing the intro in front of an RCA TK10 at ABC New York. This is August 6, 1960 and this is the first time ‘The Twist’ was performed on television, but this is not ‘American Bandstand’. It’s ‘Dick Clark’s Saturday…

Now This Is Interesting…. In all the photos I’ve seen of CBS Studio 50, I’ve never seen these “Stand By” and “Applause” signs on the proscenium as we see in the Western Union ad photo. Nor have I ever seen the audio control booth this close to the stage. There is a wide shot…

Here is the final article of the Apollo 11 series written for Eyes Of A Generation by Jodie Peeler on this historic event, complete with videos. Our thanks to Jodie for a job well done! Enjoy and share! ______________________________________________________ The conclusion of what was not only the most elaborate flight ever undertaken by humans,…

This was the space formerly occupied by CBS Studios 41 and 42. I think this photo is from the early 80s and was probably taken when Donald Trump took over this space and re built two tennis courts here as the Vanderbilt Athletic Club. In 1966, a man from Hungary took over this space…

JUST IN! CBS/Colbert To Keep ‘Late Show’ At Sullivan Theater First Story http://variety.com/2014/biz/news/stephen-colbert-to-keep-late-show-in-new-york-1201267630/ Second Story http://www.thewrap.com/colberts-late-show-staying-at-lettermans-ed-sullivan-theater/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=contactology CBS to Keep Colbert’s ‘The Late Show’ in New York CBS’ “Late Show” will remain in New York at the Ed Sullivan Theater with Stephen Colbert takes over hosting of the show next year, under an agreement announced…

Follow Up…The CBS Mini Camera Strikes Again Here’s Walter Cronkite in a great 1957 publicity photo related to the upcoming inauguration of President Eisenhower. CBS would be deploying several of it’s new Intercontinental Electronics mini cameras at the event. As we saw yesterday, CBS first used these cameras for floor interviews at the 1956…

Classic! ‘Sammy Davis Jr. Show’ With TK41s From NBC Brooklyn, here’s a clip from April 26, 1966 that opens with Sammy in front of a crane mounted RCA TK41. Behind the camera is NBC veteran Frank Gaeta. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXjKNl0C-AU from April 22, 1966. thanks to fromthesidelines and wmbrown6 for the great comments and info on…

Merv Griffin Gets A Ride On A Marconi Mark IV This fun clip is from November 8, 1965. This was the first year of Merv’s Group W, syndicated daytime show and was done at The Little Theater at 240 West 44th Street in New York. This is now known as The Helen Hayes Theater.…

July 23, 1962…First World Wide Television Broadcast Via Telstar On Monday afternoon on this date, 52 years ago, CBS News anchorman Walter Cronkite entered NBC’s studios at 30 Rockefeller Plaza to co-host this historic broadcast with NBC’s Chet Huntley. ABC’s Howard K. Smith was at the UN Building. The twenty minute broadcast from the…

45 Years Ago Today…Apollo 11 On The Way Home: Day 8 Here is the eighth of nine daily articles written for Eyes Of A Generation by Jodie Peeler on this historic event, complete with videos. Enjoy and share! ______________________________________________________ Apollo 11’s Television Cameras: As discussed in yesterday’s post, television cameras were carried by the…

Ultra Rare And HILARIOUS! This Is A LOL RIOT! Thanks to our friend David Crosthwait at DC Video in Los Angeles, here is a clip from a recently discovered reel of tape in Nevada. Jerry Lewis is guest hosting for Johnny Carson and…well…you’ll just have to watch this to see one of the funniest,…

Above is a shot of then Senator John F. Kennedy at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago being interviewed by CBS in August of 1956. Although RCA made a great mini cam which NBC used in the 1952 conventions, CBS would not buy them, and we all should now know by know about all…

Must See! ‘Let’s Make A Deal’ Pilot…Many Points Of Interest This was shot May 25, 1963 in Studio 1 at NBC Burbank and the first minute is quite interesting! It opens with a long shot of Monty Hall introducing the show’s concept as a pitch to advertisers with an RCA TK41 in the foreground.…

45 Years Ago Today…Apollo 11 Begins The Trip Home: Day 7 Here is the seventh of eight daily articles written for Eyes Of A Generation by Jodie Peeler on this historic event, complete with videos. Enjoy and share! ______________________________________________________ While television from Earth orbit had been demonstrated as early as Gordon Cooper’s May 1963…

‘Adventures Of Superman’… Behind The Scenes Treasure Chest! Everything you could want to know about the costumes, filming, stunts, color problems and more are all here on this great 3 page site from Jim Nolt. It’s filled with rare photos and great narration. We thank Jim and his editor Lou Koza for this rare…

‘NCIS’…Did You Know “Abby’s” Neck Tattoo Is Really A Decal? Just for fun, here is actress Pauley Perrette in the makeup trailer having her neck tattoo applied as she transforms into her on screen character, Abby Sciuto. Enjoy and share! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98b7U6M9ecM&feature=youtu.be&t=6m5s This Special Feature from NCIS Season 5 shows how Pauley Perrette gets her…

45 Years Ago Today…Apollo 11 Lands On The Moon: Day 6 Here is the sixth of eight daily articles written for Eyes Of A Generation by Jodie Peeler on this historic event, complete with videos. Enjoy and share! ______________________________________________________ In yesterday’s post, you saw the moment when ABC News covered the Apollo 11 lunar…