TV History

The Wildest Camera Hustle You Have EVER SEEN! Just in case you missed it, here’s ‘Tonight’ camera man Kurt Decker handling his pedestal camera like a jitterbug partner! The action starts as 1:09 and is frankly, amazing. This was posted in the comment section on the earlier story on Kurt. Thanks to Andy Rose…

Truly Classic! In Jackie’s dressing room at The Miami Beach Convention Center, “Ralph and Ed” watch a playback of that night’s show. Source

Under Construction…NBC Studio 6B Thanks to our friend Dennis Degan, here are a couple of photos of 6B undergoing a massive face lift. In the October 20 photo on the left we see the curved steel platform under the audience riser start to take shape. In the November 23 picture on the right, you…

‘The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon’ Debut In case you missed it, you can see the kick off above.  HOW ABOUT THAT SET? Cool! It’s huge…tall and rich looking with all that wood. I like the new theme song too! WHAT DO YOU THINK? Source

New Taping Schedules…’Tonight’ And ‘Late Night’ Today at 5PM, taping starts for ‘Tonight’ as it returns to NBC’s Studio 6B at 30 Rock, and that will be their regular schedule. Next Monday, Seth Meyers starts as the host of ‘Late Night’, and their schedule for taping starts at 6:30 in Studio 8G. Source

Little Known Facts Of Ed Sullivan’s Start With CBS… in 1948, Ed Sullivan was hired by CBS as a counter to the soon to debut ‘Texaco Star Theater’ starring Milton Berle on NBC. $375 a week was the shows production budget! In today’s money, that’s about $3,700 but that’s still barely a drop in…

‘Tonight’…From Allen To Fallon This is a pretty good lay out of the who and when of the ‘Tonight’ show history, including the periods between hosts. Please share. Source

50 Years Ago Tonight! The Beatles, live on ‘Ed Sullivan’ from The Deuville Hotel in Miami Beach. Thanks to Gay Linvill, here is a brand new photo…one I had never seen until today. This is the first time ever that the CBS/Ikegami hand held prototype ENG camera had been used on an entertainment show.…

Just For Laughs…Paul Lynde From ‘Hollywood Squares’, here are a couple of dozen of Paul’s classic reply’s to Peter Marshall’s questions. Enjoy! Peter Marshall: Will a goose help warn you if there’s an intruder on your property? Paul Lynde: There’s no better way! Peter Marshall: In “Alice in Wonderland”, who kept crying “I’m late,…

An Exclusive From The Eddie Brinkmann Archives…Part 5 Aside from the Duke Ellington autograph, there is plenty more of interest on this show rundown sheet. Notice this is from Monday, February 23, 1970. This would be a day after the live show, and is probably day one of a two day schedule for a…

‘Tonight’…The Jack Paar Era Location wise, the ‘Tonight’ show with Jack Paar started where Steve Allen left off…in the Hudson Theater but the final show from there came the week the 1950s ended. The first week of January 1960, the show’s new home would be NBC’s Studio 6B. In the photo below (and at…

An Exclusive From The Eddie Brinkmann Archives…Part 4 As you will see in the post below this one, Ed Sullivan had a largely unknown soft side. To most, he seemed temperamental and easily angered and frankly, the best advice for staff and crew was to keep your distance. As stage manager, Eddie Brinkmann was…

A Side Of Ed Sullivan We Never Knew… In the photo is Barbara Smith Forster with Ed and his two grandsons. They are on stage at the Deuville Hotel in Miami where the Beatles performed live 50 years ago on Sunday, February 16, 1964. Barbara was secretary to the show’s producer, and Sullivan son-in-law…

An Exclusive From The Eddie Brinkmann Archives…Part 3 Written by Sullivan himself, here is the 1953 ‘Variety’ 5th Anniversary article. In his own words, Ed tells us how the show came to be, but near the end, Sullivan talks about hosting a 1947 charity event that he says was the first CBS remote and…

THIS Is Where Late Night Television Starts… The man circled in this photo is Don “Creesh” Hornsby. NBC’s Pat Weaver choose Hornsby to host network television’s first late night show called ‘Broadway Open House’. In the book “Fight for Tonight,” by Ronald L. Smith, he writes: “Hornsby was the ‘wild and crazy’ man of…

All Hail Caesar! Sadly, the father of television sketch comedy is no longer with us. From 1950 till 1957, Sid Caesar was one of the biggest names in television. The link above is to one of my favorite sketches from the show. Below left, is Sid’s first television project, ‘The Admiral Broadway Revue’ in…

Dave Puts An Audience Member Behind A Camera… It’s been a year since I first posted this, but now seems a good time for us to take another look. NBC’s ‘Late Night With David Letterman’ debuted at 12:30 AM, Monday, February 1, 1982 replacing Tom Snyder’s ‘Tomorrow’ show. This clip is from his second…

Remembering Shirley Temple… There is just too much to say except Thank You! She made more than one generation smile. It just so happens that this photo is one she autographed to Sullivan stage manager Eddie Brinkmann on one of her many appearances on the show. Source