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<\/a><\/p>\nDecember 6, 1948…CBS Studio 50’s Television Debut<\/p>\n
On this day in 1948, what had been the CBS Radio Theater #3 since 1936, became CBS Television Studio 50. At 8:30 that Monday night, “Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts” became the first program to be televised from the studio we now call The Ed Sullivan Theater, at 1697 Broadway.<\/p>\n
This was the second CBS radio theater to be converted to television. In order to get the new \u201cToast of the Town\u201d show with Ed Sullivan on the air on June 20, 1948, The Maxine Elliott Theater was the first transformation. Sullivan\u2019s show, still titled \u201cToast of the Town,\u201d moved from Studio 51 to Studio 50 in January of 1953. Sullivan got to move in when \u201cThis Is Show Business\u201d moved to another night.<\/p>\n
The first TV show to come from Studio 50 was actually a holdover from the radio days. When LIFE profiled Arthur Godfrey in 1948, his voice was ubiquitous on the American airwaves, reaching 40 million listeners each week on three different CBS Godfrey shows.<\/p>\n
The \u201cTalent Scouts\u201d radio show started in 1946 and was a sort of amateur hour for young professionals. It ran for 25 minutes on Monday nights with the sponsorship of Lipton tea. During the show, the \u201cscouts\u201d\u2014who could be anyone from a manager to a parent\u2014brought out their \u201ctalent\u201d to perform in front of a live audience. Winners were decided by an old-fashioned applause meter, with a new star declared each night. Here is a rare surviving clip of the show, with the applause meter at the end.<\/p>\n
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\u201cHe will probably be on television very shortly,\u201d LIFE predicted, and the prophecy came true on December 6, 1948. After two years on the radio, \u201cArthur Godfrey\u2019s Talent Scouts\u201d became a regular show on CBS-TV. It was simulcast on radio from the studio it had been in those two years\u2026CBS Radio Theater #3 which, when converted to television became Studio 50. This was the first television show to originate from Studio 50.<\/p>\n
Ironically, the first radio show from CBS Radio Theater #3 in 1936 was the “Major Bowes’ Amateur Hour”, which the Godfrey show’s format was based on. Below, in comments, is a photo of the new TV control room. -Bobby Ellerbee<\/p>\n