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The Emmy Awards…The Early Years, Rare Video And Photos

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Eyes Of A Generation.com

The Emmy Awards…The Early Years, Rare Video And Photos


Here is the first video we have of the ceremonies on February 11, 1954. Vivian Vance is shown winning Best Supporting Actress and notice just before the 1:00 mark, the two KHJ cameras she walks between. With those long lenses, they had to be careful not to bump into each other.

This was live from the Hollywood Palladium and Ed Sullivan hosted the ceremonies broadcast by KHJ TV. Starting in March 7, 1955, NBC took over, and the awards show has been seen nation wide ever since. In ’55, Steve Allen and Dave Garroway hosted via split screen from LA and NYC.

In the photos, we see the first ever awards on January 25, 1949 at The Hollywood Athletic Club. It was covered locally by Don Lee’s KTSL for the few thousand viewers in LA that had a TV set. At the time, there were fewer than a million sets in use in the US. More details on the photos. Enjoy and share! -Bobby Ellerbee


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3 responses to “The Emmy Awards…The Early Years, Rare Video And Photos”

  1. David Breneman

    In the clip, it looked like William Frawley reached across the table to shake her hand. That’s very gracious of him because all the folklore states they didn’t like each other at all.

  2. Clark Humphrey

    The early Emmys were an LA local affair. The first winners were a puppet show (“Judy Splinters”) and a game show (“Pantomime Quiz,” later revived as “Stump the Stars”).

  3. Brock Whaley

    Don Lee, who owned KTSL channel 1, latter channel 2 (and sold to CBS), also owned KHJ radio as his network’s key station. By 1955, KHJ and TV had been sold to RKO General, along with the Yankee Network (WNAC radio and TV) and WOR (radio and TV) all associated wtih Mutual radio.

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