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<\/a><\/p>\nSPECIAL NBC NY STUDIOS HISTORY…FIRST HAND ACCOUNT <\/p>\n
This article includes A MUST READ, FIRST HAND ACCOUNT from one of NBC’s veteran cameramen, Frank Vierling. His story starts 68 years ago today, on his first day, January 6, 1949, and gives us details of the little known NBC mobile camera units used INSIDE 30 Rockefeller Plaza, in studios that were still radio studios! <\/p>\n
The Birth and Rebirth of Studio 3A <\/p>\n
By Frank Vierling, with thanks to Joel Spector<\/p>\n
I was hired and reported for work on January 6, 1949. All new engineering hires had to pass through Whitney Baston\u2019s studio audio operations class. I was assigned to Kinescope Recording, for about a month, waiting for a new class opening. Following Mr. Baston\u2019s class I worked a few studio shows before being assigned to the TV Field group where the mobile units were, garaged in Long Island City.<\/p>\n
Field had two mobile units, each equipped with three camera chains. Unit 1A\u2019s gear was color coded blue and Unit 1B\u2019s was Yellow. (These units covered sports, but were mostly used to televise shows from the theaters NBC was acquiring, but had not yet equipped permanently). <\/p>\n
A third set of cameras (the Green Gear) was stored in Rock Center and moved to different studios as programming required. <\/p>\n
Only two studios, 8G and 3H had their own cameras. The Green Gear covered the NBC Symphony from 8H, Perry Como in 6A and Milton Berle in 6B, among others. <\/p>\n
On a 1949 Saturday, still a member of TV Field, I was part of a crew assigned to work in NBC Studio 3B. We moved the Green Unit (in house) equipment to 3B and set up for Jon Gnagy\u2019s show \u201cYou Are an Artist\u201d. John hosted the very first \u201clearn to draw\u201d show on TV.<\/p>\n
Following Gnagy, one camera was pushed across the hall into Studio 3A for \u201cStory Book Time.\u201d An actress, dressed in a Little Bow Peep costume, read and turned pages of a giant story book. (This was TV\u2019s first use of 3A although technically it was just an extension of 3B.)<\/p>\n
Before we broke for lunch, Leon Pearson did a noon news spot. While we were on our lunch break, Studio 3B was set up for the prime time \u201cPhil Silver\u2019s Arrow Shirt Show,\u201d which was followed by a Pearson news spot at 11. <\/p>\n
After the Pearson news spot, we moved the gear and set up Studio 6A for Sunday morning\u2019s Horn & Hardart \u201cChildren\u2019s Hour,\u201d hosted by Ed Herlihy. With little sleep and short turnaround we were back in for the Sunday broadcast day. In addition to the \u201cChildren\u2019s Hour,\u201d we did \u201cLeave It to the Girls,\u201d with Maggi McNellis in 6B (cameras pushed across the hall). The cameras returned to 6A for the \u201cThe Meredith Wilson Show\u201d and sign off news with Leon.<\/p>\n
The Birth of TV in 3A.<\/p>\n
Sometime in 1949 Field received three new camera chains. At first, it was thought they were to replace or add to our Field equipment. We soon found they were bound for studio 3A. The gear was coded RED. With the Red Gear, 3A became the third TV Studio. A variety of shows originated from 3A, a few I worked were \u201cMorton Downey\u2019s Mohawk Rug Show\u201d and \u201cThe Roberta Quinlan Show\u201d, the sitcom \u201cHenry Aldrich\u201d (\u201cComing Mother\u201d), \u201cWho Said That?\u201d and \u201cDate in Manhattan\u201d. – Frank Vierling <\/p>\n
Many thanks to Frank for capturing that great history and Joel Spector for sharing it. This photo shows the NBC Green Unit in use on one of the first “Texaco Star Theater” broadcasts from Studio 6B. Notice they lit the show with only a dozen scoops. The Green Unit’s camera control units were mounted on rolling carts and were always set up in the sound lock hallways of each studio. <\/p>\n
The signals eventually wound up in Master Control, but just where the director, TD and switcher was is not known. I know that later, but still before TV control rooms were added, some TV people were in the radio control rooms of these studios. Perhaps they had a portable video board, or the signals went to the control rooms of either Studio 3H or 8G which were real TV studios. I’ll try to find out from Mr. Vierling, who’s in his 90s now. -Bobby Ellerbee<\/p>\n