To all of you who have been so kind as to visit KINESCOPE HD, we offer our best wishes for the Holidays and for the New Year ahead!
Thanks for your time, your interest and your commitment to classic television.
It is appreciated!!!
Our Holiday gift to you is a musical masterpiece that spans the decades from 1986 to 2010 and crosses network lines from NBC to CBS.
Here are two video versions of a virtuoso performance from 2011 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, the incomparable Darlene Love, singing her 1963 hit, CHRISTMAS BABY.
It has been a Letterman tradition since she first performed the seasonal, fan favorite on NBC-TV'S LATE NIGHT WITH DAVID LETTERMAN IN 1986. She reprised her rocking rendition for th 25th time on CBS-TV'S LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN on Friday , December 23, 2011.
We hope she's there to do it LIVE for another millennium or two!!!
First, from the BERNDIGGITYDOG YOU TUBE site, we have the "economy-sized" version from 1986 and then from BOYIN747 YOU TUBE site,the sprawling, brassy 2010 edition.
Have a wonderful Holiday, and Happy New Year and Enjoy!!!!!
For three decades, on two television networks,a Yuletide video visit from singing star Perry Como was an American Christmas tradition.
The affable , singing barber from Canonsberg, Pennsylvania was already a major recording artist when he began hosting THE CHESTERFIELD SUPPER CLUB, one of the first "simulcast" programs , that aired LIVE on both CBS Television and Radio.
His success on that fifteen minute program,which aired three nights a week , led him to his own one hour, weekly, variety program on NBC-TV. PERRY COMO'S KRAFT MUSIC HALL , which was produced in LIVING COLOR, was first broadcast from Broadway's Ziegfeld Theater and then moved to NBC's cavernous Brooklyn Studios. It was one of televisions most watched programs in the 1960's.
A reserved and reverent Holiday guest in millions of American homes, his Christmas specials were a warm and wholesome celebration of the season.
Here from the CUPASAURAS YOU TUBE site, is a rare recording of the entire Christmas Night edition of Perry Como's CBS-TV series, THE CHESTERFIELD SUPPER CLUB. Enjoy!!!!
One of television first heroes, world-weary, L.A.P.D detective Joe Friday, saw his world in black and white.
So did the millions of loyal viewers who followed his weekly adventures in crime fighting on the nascent NBC Television Network in the early 1950's.
They didn't just observe the absolutes of good and evil or right and wrong through Friday's eyes , but they watched television's first, true, police procedural,DRAGNET in silvery, shadowy, monochrome images transmitted by their friendly, hometown NBC station.
But, on Christmas Eve 1953, NBC network engineers and programmers joined with DRAGNET's producer-director-star, Jack Webb and his production company , MARK VII, to offer select viewers a holiday present that rivaled the lights and ornaments on their Yuletide trees in hue and palette.
The December 24, 1953 episode of DRAGNET,chronicled the theft of an aged, plaster statue of the infant Jesus in a Nativity scene, from a Los Angeles, Roman Catholic church. The show was consistent with the hit series production values in its use of tight shots, terse dialogue and, for the time, fast pace to convey the daily, methodical, and sometimes minute, challenges confronting a police officer investigating a case.
But this edition of DRAGNET, entitled THE BIG LITTLE JESUS, was different from all that had come before and none that would air until the second run of the durable series debuted on NBC-TV in 1967.
This episode aired on NBC in COLOR.
No, not LIVING COLOR.
That branding and it's attendant peacock animation would not be introduced until September of 1957, when NBC first gave viewers the 'bird' on YOUR HIT PARADE.
No,this Holiday special was broadcast in RCA COMPATIBLE COLOR.
That phrase assured the millions of video viewers with B&W receivers that they could also watch the tinted tale of the minature, missing Messiah without having to spend approx. $500,the 1953 equivalent of buying a late-model,used car or the down-payment on a middle class home, for the purchase of a color television set.
Plus,this program aired a scant, few weeks after the Federal Communications Commission endorsed the RCA ( then the parent company of NBC )system of electronic color television, over a mechanically driven color technology proposed by NBC's mortal, corporate rival,CBS. The timing of this broadcast brought, both, focus and immediacy to RCA and NBC efforts in color programming and receiver sales that could not be ignored.
The episode in question was the first episode of a regularly scheduled, network, filmed series to be photographed and broadcast in color.It was repeated often and re-produced for the second run of the DRAGNET series with many of the same cast members.
Re-titled as THE CHRISTMAS STORY,the Peacock Network aired it on December 21, 1967.In this version, veteran character actor, Harry Morgan played Webb's partner in crime-solving.
While the color negative of the 1953 version is , apparently, hard to find, we have posted , below, from theNOLOGORECORDS YOU TUBE site, the complete BIG LITTLE JESUS episode of DRAGNET. Enjoy!!!!
Multiple award winner and Broadway star Mary Martin was also one of television's earliest luminaries.
As incandescent and energetic on the small screen, as she was on the Broadway stage, Ms. Martin, may be best known to video viewers for her high wire performance as PETER PAN.
She achieved new, theatrical heights when NBC-TV brought J. M. Barrie's wondrous flight of fantasy to young viewers, LIVE and in LIVING COLOR in 1955 and again in 1960.
Here , in a raucous, rollicking , B&W clip from a 1953 revue on NBC, posted on the TOLDES YOU TUBE site, Ms. Martin makes a fast and furious fashion statement in song and dance with an able assist from the unseen Don Pardo. Enjoy!!!
Can you outrun a ticking clock? Even with your spouse throwing pies in your face, while you try to carry 10 boxes of cupcakes on a moving treadmill?
Well you might have won a walloping $100 on a classic, Eisenhower-era, game show.
Decades before superstar chef Guy Fierri became a primetime quizmaster on NBC's kinetic MINUTE TO WIN IT, affable Bud Collyer( network radio's voice of Superman ) was the genial gent who tasked comely contestants with complicated capers and diabolical deadlines on CBS-TV's BEAT THE CLOCK.
This high octane game show was a staple of the Tiffany Network's Saturday night schedule from 1951 until 1956. The eccentric fun-fest was so popular that The Great One , Jackie Gleason, satirized it on an episode of the iconic HONEYMOONERS.
Sponsored by Sylvania Electronics for five of it's six years on the network, the show helped bring new viewers to the nascent medium and even helped to sell them the sets with which to watch.
Here, from the FOXEMA YOU TUBE site, is a Fall 1956 episode of BEAT THE CLOCK.Enjoy!!!!!
Before we post more classic video from television's halcyon days, we 'll pause for these messages from our ... well... from two respected Philadelphia companies that have long histories sponsoring television and radio programs ,here, in the City of Brotherly Love.
These commercials appear to be from the the mid-to-late 1950's and were produced as LIVE elements of local programs on what was then WRCV-TV.For a decade WRCV-TV was Philadelphia's, NBC Owned and Operated Television station.NBC ran the television station, and it's AM radio outlet (which is now the mighty KYW NEWSRADIO 1060), from June of 1955 until a federally-mandated, station trade brought Group W's ownership and KYW-TV to Channel 3 in June of 1965.
Channel 3 has always been a kinetic place and an incubator of stellar talent. Video visionary ,Erine Kovacs, first stepped before a camera at what was then WPTZ-TV, for one of the mediums first wake-up shows, THREE TO GET READY. The hip, but wholesome MIKE DOUGLAS SHOWcame to town with Group W. Jessica Savitch, David Brenner and Tom Snyder all honed their considerable skills at the station.
The featured announcer is a kind and talented man with whom I had the good fortune to work at KYW, Gary Geers. He was one of those multi-faceted gems of early local broadcasting, who hosted and produced newscasts, comedy shows, children's programs.
Gary also served as host and producer for one of this market's longest running shows, FARM ,HOME & GARDEN, which focused on regional agriculture. We worked together, last, in the 1990's , when he was the station's morning weathercaster and only remaining, in-house, staff announcer.
For decades Gary was the voice of KYW-TV, which, today, is a CBS O & O. He, sadly , passed away at age 84, just over a year ago. Gary and his kind of talent are sorely missed in local television, today.
Posted below from the TINNKATYOU TUBE site, is a gauzy, monochromatic, video reminder of the contributions that staff announcers made to local television stations. The sponsors showcased here are a defunct, regional, financial institution, PNB Bank, and Philly's enduring, favorite, hometown snack, Tastykake.Enjoy!!!
Before we all tracked trends on Twitter or Facebook, Americans turned to television and radio to find out what tunes were at the top of the charts and top of mind.
Before MTV showcased videos that gave form to the music we love, a LIVE television show produced elaborate musical numbers on expansive sets with innovative imagery to depict the nation's favorite songs.
YOUR HIT PARADE debuted on NBC radio in 1935, moved to NBC television in 1950 and ran successfully on the Peacock Network until it transitioned to CBS-TV for it's final season in 1958-1959.
With the formidable financial support of sponsor Lucky Strike Cigarettes, the full commitment of a powerful network, a versatile cast, an agile production team, and a sense of adventure that took the show LIVE from the confines of vaunted Studio 8H to far-flung, remote locales that included the Rockefeller Center Ice Rink and the Deck of the S.S.United States, the weekly musical revue of the nations most popular music was an enduring,viewer favorite.
For amazing insight into YOUR HIT PARADE,I suggest you get a copy of Andrew Lee Fielding's meticulous profile of the program, entitled THE LUCKY STRIKE PAPERS (check it out at bearmanormedia.com). Andrew had a front row seat to the sprawling show, since his late Mother, the multi-talented Sue Bennett, was one of the stars of the effervescent revue.
In all transparency, while Andrew was kind enough to send me a copy of his book, many months ago,I have no financial participation in the book. I am simply a fan.
Here, posted below, from THEFILMARCHIVE YOU TUBE site, is the December 24, 1955 episode of YOUR HIT PARADE. enjoy!!!!
In October of 1968, there was a confluence of comedy stars in NBC's cavernous,Brooklyn, New York studios.
That's when and where THE PEACOCK NETWORK'S durable and docile KRAFT MUSIC HALL attempted to bring the ribald fun of a Friar's Club roast to television.
Producers of the lavish, long-running,variety show had decided to fete the King of Late Night Television, Johnny Carson, in a family-friendly version of the profanity-laced, showbiz tributes.
The Friar's Club is a fraternity of entertainers whose boisterous bacchanals were always off-color and off the record.
The dais was adorned with some of the biggest names in comedy. Ed Sullivan, Steve Allen, Flip Wilson ,Don Rickles , Dick Cavett, New York Mayor,John V. Lindsay, and Carson's straight man for all seasons,Philadelphia's own, Ed McMahon were among the lambasting luminaries. Stand-up specialist Alan King served as roast-master.
But, one comic contributor was in a class above and beyond all others. The iconic Groucho Marx brought a level of acerbic insult that yielded thunderous laughs.Marx had been Carson's first guest on the first TONIGHT SHOW he hosted in 1962. But Marx never let friendship stand-in the way of a punch-line.
Here , from the LAUGHVIDS YOU TUBE site, is Groucho Marx withering tribute to Johnny Carson on the October 23rd, 1968 episode of THE KRAFT MUSIC HALL.Enjoy!!!!
America's favorite television father, and Temple University's most illustrious alum, started his show business career as a stand-up comedian, working in bars, nightclubs and jazz joints.
Bill Cosby was more than a monologist.He was, and still is, a master storyteller.
A deft wordsmith weaving daft imagery for an appreciative audience that was convulsed by his every comic concept.
The pride of North Philadelphia, a committed educator,an unrelenting social critic, and a benevolent philanthropist, Dr. William H. Cosby Jr. was,seemingly,born to carry on a tradition as old as fire. The role of village observer. The keeper of a comic chronicle that detailed the absurdity in life, through an ironic filter.
In the mid-1960's, the former Temple athlete was emerging as America's crown price of comedy and an icon of television.
His hit record albums and appearances on almost every comedy,variety or talk show made him a hot property and a household name.
NBC and uber-producer Sheldon Leonard cast him ,with Robert Culp, in the landmark adventure series, I SPY.
In that show, Cosby became the first African-American cast as a lead actor in a network television series.
Emmy awards, untold honors and the incomparableCOSBY SHOW were still in the offing.
Posted below, from the KANEDA83 YOU TUBE site is a December 11, 1965 appearance the Cosby made on ABC-TV's signature variety show, THE HOLLYWOOD PALACE.
It is Bill Cosby in his element.
One man, one microphone and one spotlight, standing center stage, with all the cameras and every eye in the studio focused on the smart, funny, fascinating fellow from Philly, Enjoy!!!!
What happens when you mix the exuberant,comedic lunacy of Mel Brooks with the sly, ironic sensibilities of Buck Henry, then add an accomplished, stand-up comedian like Don Adams and the aquiline beauty of Barbara Feldon? But wait, you still have to blend-in rapid-fire dialogue, high-quality production values,a memorable theme song and a fusillade of comic catch phrases that captivated a nation.
What do you get?
GET SMART.
It was the hit, sixties spy spoof that left secret agents Bond, Flint and Solo out in the cold. Each week on NBC-TV ( and subsequently on CBS-TV), CONTROL Agent 86, Maxwell Smart, along with his favorite partner in espionage, the lovely Agent 99, and his exasperated Chief, saved the world from the villains,tyrants,and thugs who ran KAOS, a criminal cabal bent on global domination.
Here from the SNEAKY GUY 55 YOU TUBE site, is the pilot for GET SMART, which aired in Black & White on the PEACOCK Network on September 18, 1965. Enjoy!!!!
For viewers of NBC's, top-rated, Western drama, BONANZA, on a Sunday night in 1964, the most electrifying action sequence may actually have been in a commercial from the show's long-time sponsor, the Chevrolet Division of General Motors.
Clearly , there a backstory to this ground-breaking advertisement.
In the 1950's ,60's and 70's,network television and the automotive industry were dominated by their respective "BIG THREE."
In American living rooms, NBC, CBS AND ABC were the only true options for video viewers seeking the best in comedy, variety ,drama, news,sports and more.
In new car showrooms across the USA, General Motors, Ford and Chrysler were the preference of drivers seeking chrome-clad, high-performance, dream machines.
Those were truly halcyon days for two great,American industries that have confronted hard, economic times in the ensuing decades.
Here is a flashback to an epic commercial introducing the brand new, 1964 Chevrolet Impala, which also revolutionized television advertising. You will see spectacular imagery that was accomplished by a single , helicopter-mounted camera and without the contemporary benefit of computer generated graphics.
The woman you will see perched in the gleaming new convertible is a stunt specialist, who may bears a great similarity to Chevy's smooching spokeswoman of that time, singer Dinah Shore.
On the day after this ad premiered, people across America wanted to know how they captured the vivid and daring images that distinguished this commercial.
From the US AUTO INDUSTRY YOU TUBE site,here is a 2:00 minute commercial that opened new vistas for viewers and new creative options for real-life Mad Men. Enjoy!!!
As a bonus, here . also from the US AUTO INDUSTRY WEB SITE is a 1961 commercial that offers a musical introduction to the new, 1961 Chevrolet car line from the floor of the Detroit auto Show and featuring the effervescent and energetic Dinah Shore. Enjoy!!!
In what has been exalted as Television's Golden Age of LIVE drama, one weekly program was celebrated as the platinum standard in compelling, dramatic anthology:
WESTINGHOUSE STUDIO ONE on the CBS Television Network.
Airing LIVE, first, from the CBS studios in New York City, and later from CBS Television City in Hollywood, on Monday nights at 10PM Eastern Time, WESTINGHOUSE STUDIO ONE was the proving ground for a generation of electrifying young New York actors,writers, directors and producers.
Established guest stars brought stagecraft and considerable publicity to the award winning hour, which was rich with early television's most opulent production values, thanks to the sponsor support of a high ticket industrial conglomerate.
But, above all, for 10 seasons, from 1948 to 1958, on the Tiffany Network, this program was a crucible in which powerful, enduring stories were forged.WESTINGHOUSE STUDIO ONEbrought home the full dimension of theater to television viewers, each week.
One of the series most honored and respected original efforts was playwright Reginald Rose's searing look at the thin line of logic and tolerance which separates a jury of reasonable citizens from becoming a racist lynch mob in 12 ANGRY MEN.
Produced LIVE on Monday September 20, 1954, directed by Franklin J. Schaffner and produced by Felix Jackson, the taut,unadorned drama was the series 7th season opener.The provocative teleplay was shot in a grim, gritty, confining set and showcased film stars Bob Cummings, Franchot Tone and Edward Arnold in lead roles.
The raw and realistic story has resonated with audiences for decades. It was produced as a theatrical film starring Henry Fonda,Lee J. Cobb and E.G. Marshall in 1957.
Cable channel, SHOWTIME,produced a 1997 version that was headlined by Jack Lemmon,George C. Scott and Hume Cronyn.
The video posted was thought to be lost for over 50 years, until it was discovered in a private collectors home in 2003.
Here, from the CANTABRIDIGIAN YOU TUBE site, in one 50 minute, 42 second clip is the entire production of 12 ANGRY MEN fromWESTINGHOUSE STUDIO ONE. Enjoy!!!!
On a late summer night in 1955 , two talented men, who would soon become titans of television, were paired for a short comedy bit on a breezy, CBS-TV comedy show, that would, itself, last only a few more months in prime time on the Tiffany Network.
The host of the short-lived, comedy-variety show(it ran only two seasons) was the future king of of NBC late night, Johnny Carson.
His bigger than life guest star was six foot, seven inch James Arness, whose landmark, adult western, GUNSMOKE, was just two days away from debuting on CBS-TV.
GUNSMOKE , first aired as a CBS radio program, starring William Conrad , who was later the voice of a thousand commercials and who went on to be the falstaffian star of CANNONon CBS, in the lead role.
The hit series made the transition to video on Sept. 10, 1955.
It premiered with an introduction by John Wayne, who turned down the starring role of Marshall Matt Dillon and recommended Arness to CBS scion William Paley.
The anthology, which offered ensemble acting and mature story lines against the rustic canvas of the Old West, would endure as an audience favorite for 20 TV seasons.
THE JOHNNY CARSON SHOW was deemed a critical and ratings failure.
After it was cancelled,Carson took on hosting chores for a struggling ABC-TV game show, called WHO DO YOU TRUST?
It turned out to be the very showcase that brought him to the attention of Peacock Network executives, who recruited the mischievous mid-westerner to replace the controversial Jack Paar. Provocative and emotional,Paar was leaving THE TONIGHT SHOW and moving to a prime-time, NBC-TV variety show.
Carson ascended to become the brightest star in late night television for 30 years.
But, here from the VIDEOTIMEMACHNE YOU TUBE site, is a clip from THE JOHNNY CARSON SHOW, featuring two protean television performers in the formative stages of their careers.Enjoy!!!!!
When fledgling ABC-TV was viewed as 1/2 a network in the mid to late-1950's, programming and promotion executives decided that the best way to grow their audience was to entice new viewers into using television, in general.
To find those new patrons, they designed an affable, yet aggressive , on-air campaign.
They created an animated avatar dubbed Peter Rabbit Ears( named for the set-top antennas that helped bring home a weak broadcast signal in the Eisenhower-era ) who extolled the virtues of video in family-friendly,60 second adventures.
As always, the alphabet network was also cultivating a younger audience than the firmly entrenched competition at the NBC and CBS networks.
Peter Rabbit Ears was a memorable advertising icon of the time, who helped grow ABC-TV's audience, with a little assist from Mickey Mouse, Dick Clark, Frank Sinatra,The Maverick Brothers and a couple of hip Private Eyes who worked out of 77 SUNSET STRIP.
From the TVDAYS YOU TUBE site, meet Peter Rabbit Ears. Enjoy!!!
Imagine a time when television was young and LIVE technology was primitive, cumbersome and unreliable.
That time was 1955.
On a crisp October Sunday of that year, NBC's resident video visionary, network honcho Sylvester L. 'Pat" Weaver, created and launched a vibrant adventure in television called WIDE WIDE WORLD.
It was a LIVE television magazine designed to allow armchair explorers to meet interesting people,enjoy engaging experiences and sample the American landscape, without ever leaving their living rooms.
But in Weaver's comprehensive strategy, the 90 minute, B&W show was also the perfect vehicle to promote the wonders of the infant medium to a growing audience, in the face of intense competition from the movies.A master of media commerce, Weaver also knew it would help sell the TV receivers that NBC's parent company, RCA, manufactured and sold.
The understated Dave Garroway,first host of the TODAY program, anchored this show, which picked up almost every major award in television, as it meandered through American culture for three seasons on NBC-TV.
While it is now dated like a yellowed, old copy of the Saturday Evening Post in a curio shop, WIDE WIDE WORLD holds up for me, as sort of a rustic artifact of Eisenhower-era life in America. Like viewing a Norman Rockwell painting on the faded screen of a cathode ray tube.
Here , from the MUSICOM 67 YOU TUBE site,are 7 clips that constitute approx. 60 minutes from the 90 minute,debut episode ofWIDE WIDE WORLD,hosted by Dave Garroway and sponsored by General Motors.Enjoy!!!!!
Time for a sentimental journey of sorts to 1951 and NBC-TV's production of CHESTERFIELD SOUND-OFF TIME. The show was a comic review starring the urbane comedian Fred Allen,who, in a laugh-laced exchange with erudite broadcaster Dave Garroway, promoted a brand new show on NBC that was to premiere in a few weeks on January 14, 1952.
It was called TODAY.
Garroway,an affable, subdued broadcaster from the quirky Chicago school of television, was the first host of the first daily,morning show in network television history.
The two hour wake-up call for television viewers was devised by video visionary Sylvester L . "Pat" Weaver, who lead the nascent NBC network in the early 1950's. While critics , both internal and external, decried Weaver's wild-eyed notion of people watching a television show ( or, at least, listening to it in radio style)during the early morning hours, Weaver saw value and virtue in the concept. Labeled by nay-sayers as "Weaver's Folly," he pushed forward and put TODAYon America's breakfast-time, media menu.
The pioneering Weaver also launched THE TONIGHT SHOW and WIDE WIDE WORLD, which was also hosted by the omnipresent, multi-talented Garroway .
Today will turn 60,next January. Now a four-hour programming block on NBC, with the first 3 hours hosted by Matt Lauer and Ann Curry, it continues to hold a respected place in American pop culture and in the history of American broadcasting.
Here from the MR.JIMMYFINLAYSON YOU TUBE site is a short clip from the comic exchance between two titans of 1950's media.Enjoy!!!!
So much has been written in reflection of the late Ernie Kovacs' manifold, innovative contributions to television comedy, here and elsewhere, that at this point, you know I view him as an original video visionary.
Kovacs, who began his career in the early 1950's at Philadelphia's WPTZ-TV(now KYW-TV, AKA CBS3),like his comedic contemporary Steve Allen, used the primitive tools of pioneering television to construct multi-dimensional comedy that endures to this day.
Perhaps , it best just to watch this vibrant sequence of "blackouts" that I've posted below, from one of his many ABC-TV specials in the early 1960's.
With thanks to the Rolko52 YOU TUBE site, here is Ernie Kovacs' MACK THE KNIFE MONTAGE.Enjoy!!!!
What happens when the irascible icon of American comedy , Grouch Marx, host of NBC-TV's fast and furious YOU BET YOUR LIFE pays a visit to the genteel and genial I'VE GOT A SECRET ON CBS-TV?
Groucho not only stridently smoked a cigar on a show sponsored by Winston cigarettes, defying a commercial convention that wasn't challenged in 1950's network television, but he scorched the segment with rapid-fire ad-libs that were tinged with acidic wit.
Here, from the CLASSIC VIDEO STREAM YOU TUBE site, is Groucho's guest spot onI'VE GOT A SECRET.Enjoy!!!!!
On August 1, 1981,at 12:01AM EDT, a disenfranchised generation of adolescent rock fans found a vibrant, new voice and a vivid,new vision for celebrating the music they loved, and they found it by punching a button on their parent's cable box.
From the electronic haze,emerged "MTV-MUSIC TELEVISION."
It was the first ,24 hour, television channel ever devoted to airing the kinetic music young people listened to on vinyl, on cassette and on the radio. MTV also to showcased the musical artists to whom this audience was devoted, including some of those controversial performers whose work wasn't always welcome on AM or FM rock stations.
Commissioned by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment,and with a format designed by Robert W.Pitman , who became the C.E.O. of the music network,at its launch, MTV featured five Video Jockeys to interact with the audience, as Disc Jockeys did on radio stations. They were Mark Goodman, Alan Hunter, Martha Quinn, J.J. Jackson and Nina Blackwood.
It is almost impossible to chronicle MTV's electrifying history. From ground breaking, global coverage of the LIVE AID Concert in 1985, to embracing HIP Hop on YO!MTV RAPS!,MTV became a herculean force in rock music and youth culture.
It captured the passion and the power of the music. It overcame American television's barriers of tradition and cynicism. MTV went on to conquer the conventions of mass media around the world.
The debut of THE REAL WORLD launched the reality genre in TV,while MTV's various attempts at producing comedy and game shows launched talents like Jon Stewart,Julie Brown and Colin Quinn.
Some shows, like THE JERSEY SHORE, created controversy. Others, like TRL LIVE created careers for young performers like Brittany Spears and Justin Timberlake.MTV UNPLUGGED showed young viewers that innovative music and honest performance by a talented musician are more important than the Hollywood production values and the dramatic narratives that typified music videos.
ROCK THE VOTEis an initiative that has engaged and focused millions of young people to participate in the electoral and democratic processes.
The channel has pretty much abandoned it's mission of being the place you turn to watch music videos, 25/7. Reality shows abound. The sense of rebellion that radiated from the screen in the late 1980's through the 1990's seems to be a bit subdued.
But the 'Moon Man" logo endures,as it should.MTV's place in television history is undeniable. Video didn't kill the radio star,as the Buggles posited in the very first video shown on MTV, but it change they way we all listen to ...and watch ... the music we love.
Posted , below, from the DALEKENBUCK YOU TUBE SITE, Here is the very first ten minutes of MTV's debut, with links to the rest of it's first hour.Enjoy!!!
For a man whose creative reputation is rooted in light, wholesome, family entertainment,Walt Disney has always been a lightning rod for the darkest of urban myths.
I don't know if he was cryogenically frozen in death, was a fascist in life , or treated employees with an inhuman and icy dispassion.I would hope he was above the aberrant and abhorrent behavior attributed to him.
But,there are plenty of blogs to explore his politics and persona. This one is designed to examine his role in network television at its nascent stage.
In that environment, he's best described as a pioneer and a video visionary.
In 1954, ABC-TV was a network in search of an audience.
Any audience.
ABC enjoyed occasional spikes in viewership, thanks to fan-favorites like THE ADVENTURES OF OZZIE AND HARRIET and THE LONE RANGER, but the alphabet net wasn't in the same league with CBS AND NBC.
ABC-TV executives needed a hit and they were willing to pay a significant premium to get one.
They knew that the expertise to create top-rated programs resided in the Hollywood creative community. They approached major studio heads looking for partnerships that yielded hit TV shows. But the almost all of the movie moguls, from Mayer to Warner, viewed TV as a dangerous competitor. Their answer was a resounding "no."
Except for one major film producer.
In 1954,Walt Disney was a show business entrepreneur in search of financing for his most ambitious project.It wasn't to fund one of his hallmark,animated movies, like Fantasia. It wasn't to develop a new animated character, like the beloved Mickey Mouse or Daffy Duck. It wasn't even to support his more recent foray into live action films, like his grand scale, all-star adaptation of Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea.
Like so many in post World War II California, Disney needed capital to do a real estate deal. But,this wasn't about constructing tract homes in the San Fernando Valley or a shopping mall in Brentwood. He wanted to build an amusement park which embodied the family values Disney extolled on the silver screen, right in the Golden State.It would also leverage the vast array of Disney cinema characters and growing archive of film titles that had become a part of popular culture.
Disney would bring his rich talents and extensive collection of films, cartoons and original productions to ABC television, if ABC would bring cash to the table. The network did a multi-million dollar deal for Disney to produce a new one hour,family anthology series, called DISNEYLAND and in doing so, provided the financal support that allowed Disney to build and open a theme park that was unlike any that preceded it on the planet.It was also called DISNEYLAND.
From it's premiere episode,DISNEYLAND, the television show, was an immediate hit, debuting in 1954. His relationship with ABC resulted in other popular shows that brought ratings and revenue to the 3rd placed network, while leaving a major impression on the Baby Boom generation. The beloved programs included THE MICKEY MOUSE CLUB,DAVY CROCKETT AND ZORRO!.
Along the way , he made stars of Fess Parkey ( Davey Crockett ) , Guy Williams (Zorro ),Annette Funiclello ( Annette ) and a lot of Mouseketeers.
His anthology brought a vital mix of new productions and the best of his classic,cinema catalog to home audiences and lasted on ABC-TV until Disney was lured to NBC-TV in 1961. There,his films and animated shorts could be viewed in LIVING COLOR. WALT DISNEY'S WONDERFUL WORLD OF COLOROR went on to become a Sunday night tradition for years, pushing large ratings for the peacock network and selling legions of color television sets for NBC's parent company RCA.
Less than a year after his television show debuted on ABC-TV, Disney unveiled the real life DISNEYLAND in Anaheim, California.It was an amazing and innovative venue for families to vacation and celebrate American life. The ground-breaking theme park featured space age rides , a railroad and a small fleet of submarines,and when it was opened at 4:30pm EDT on July 17,1955, the star-studded and extravagant ceremony was carried by ABC-TV, in one of the most complex, remote broadcasts attempted to that date.
On that occasion Disney refereed to wondrous resort as the Happiest Place On Earth. As the television show grew,and cash flow with it, the executive suite at ABC-TV may have been the second happiest place on earth.
It seems that in real life as on celluloid,Disney specialized in weaving a happy ending. The series served as a foundation on which ABC could build auidience.Other studios followed. Both MGM and Warner Bros. looked at Disney's success and realized the potential from producing for ABC televison.
As for Walt Disney, DISNEYLAND the television show and the theme park embodied his vision as a filmmaker and his strategy as a entreprenuer.For his company, they were Adventureland,Fanatasyland and Tomorrowland, all rolled together. They provided the financial capital and the promotional propulsion that launched the Disney media empire and decades later allowed Disney's acquisition of ABC-TV, itself.
Here, posted below from the DISNEYTV4ME YOU TUBE SITE, here is the April 4, 1956 episode of DISNEYLAND.Enjoy!!!!
The Fall of 1967 in America preceded the Winter of our discontent.
It was a time of social upheaval and political turbulence. But it was only a prelude to 1968, the year that the very fiber of American culture was tested.
Save the violence that played out on network, evening newscasts at dinner time or the occasional documentary that focused on the political tumult that people confronted at home or those public television,talk programs that examined the determination and capabilities of our enemies, prime time programming was almost oblivious to the real life challenges that caused angst among the viewers.
Private eyes and gentlemen spies were played for satire and sex.Sitcoms focused on the mores of marriage and the amenities of small town life.
Long before the 1971 debut of Norman Lear's, groundbreaking ALL IN THE FAMILY, broadcast networks valued non-controversial programs above all.
In 1967,Tiffany Network executives would famously battle their own SMOTHERS BROS. COMEDY HOUR production team , over content felt to be ,both, lurid and seditious.
But,in the 1960's,the awful truth of America's social and political revolution never really penetrated network television's daytime diet of soap operas, game shows and tv chefs.
In syndication, Mike Douglas and Merv Griffin chatted with the towering figures of politics, arts and literature.But not on the networks, where daytime was still designed to be an idyllic fantasy land for the housewives and children.
CBS,whose network reached deep into rural America, while NBC cultivated urban viewers and ABC embraced the young audience , believed that a mature, engaging word game, showcasing stars of stage, screen and (CBS)television would score in a big way.
PASSWORD, produced by the Goodson-Todman game show factory,was elegant in its simplicity and fun for people at home,who would participate, just by yelling back at the screen.
Affable and Urbane and The late Allen Ludden was the ideal host for the smart and sophisticated game show.
It was all the better when he was given able support from his radiant wife,the vibrant and versatile Betty White. As you'll see below,their personal and professional chemistry was evident and alluring. NY Giants football legend and iconic sportscaster, Frank Gifford , brought a strong , yet stoic presence to the shows usual,but eclectic mix of stars and everyday people. In the clips below, you'll see a special edition of the show, featuring NFL players and performers from the Ice Follies.
Posted here from the INDY 7888 YOU TUBE site are three clips that constitute a special,Sunday,Prime Time, episode of PASSWORD. from 10/1/67. Enjoy!!!
Have you ever asked yourself what is unique about your life?
In the late 1950's, an accomplished , but unemployed comedy powerhouse was vacationing with his family on New York's Fire Island, and was searching for his next creative project.
A simple question helped to focus his formidable talents:
On what ground do I stand, that no other person occupies?
That thought, and the striking answer, became a comedy credo for the versatile and voluble Carl Reiner.
He knew that only a handful of people on Earth could claim to have been both a witness to, and a collaborator with, a true comedy genius. Reiner cherished the memories of his years as a performer and writer(without portfolio)working with Sid Caesar on NBC-TV's YOUR SHOW OF SHOWS and CAESAR'S HOUR.
From recollections of his kinetic experiences with comic comrades in the writers room at NYC's City Center to the respite he found with his family in his New Rochelle, NY home, came the stuff of which the vaunted DICK VAN DYKE SHOW was concocted. It was an Emmy Award winning, CBS-TV sitcom that turned the stories of Reiner's life, with help from some of televisions most agile writers, like Gary Marshall, Jerry Belson, Bill Persky & Sam Denoff, into a classic television show.
But, long before Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore, Rose Marie, Morey Amsterdam, Richard Deacon, Larry Matthews and ,yes, Carl Reiner, stepped before the film cameras on Stage 8 at Desilu Cauhengua Studios, there was a pilot for a sort of Dick Van Dyke Show, but without Dick Van Dyke.
The 30 minute test episode , commissioned by the Tiffany Network, was called HEAD OF THE FAMILY and it starred Carl Reiner as Rob Petrie , commercial spokeswoman/actress Barbara Britton as Laura, NY actress Sylvia Miles as Sally,comedian Morty Gunty as Buddy Sorrell and Gary Morgan as Ritchie.
In this B&W , single camera pilot, Reiner's Rob contended with a son who claimed not to like his Dad, a condescending wife and immature co-workers at the fictional Alan Sturdy Show.
Network executives and test audiences didn't think that Reiner was the right actor to play the lead in comic tales of Reiner's own life.
The show, which was produced in 1959 sat on the shelf, until it was played off,in 1960, by CBS-TV, as part of a comedy-anthology series calledTHE COMEDY SPOT, that served as a summer replacement for the RED SKELTON SHOW.
About a year later, Uber-producer Sheldon Leonard was asked to review the failed program. He re-envisioned ,recast and remounted the show.
Leonard, who was the creative force behind the top-rated,DANNY THOMAS SHOW and it's hit spin-off THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW, elected to produce the pilot at Desilu, to leverage their pioneering work with multi-camera, filmed shows that were staged in front of a LIVE, studio audience.
While it struggled in its debut season with a bad time slot, powerful competition, sponsor defection and character development, THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW was a critical success that recruited a large and loyal audience.
It ran from 1961 to 1966 on CBS and can still be seen in syndication, today.
Reiner was lauded as a genius for the substance and the style of a series that retained the ring of comic truth in most human terms. His work set the course for situation comedy that endures.
Here from the QUICKDOWNLOAD YOU TUBE site, here are two clips that constitute the pilot for HEAD OF THE FAMILY. Enjoy!!!!
Millions of American television viewers cherished their Friday's with Frank on ABC-TV in 1957 and 1958.
THE FRANK SINATRA SHOW also offered hope to ABC's management.
After all it was moderate hit on a third place network.
In a traditional, music/comedy/variety show, the Chairman of the Board convened a large and loving audience with a strategy of hip comedy, glittering guest stars and lush musical numbers.
Originating LIVE and in monochrome from The El Capitan theater in Hollywood , Young Blue Eyes sang the best of the Sinatra songbook and the audience swooned.
But, the weekly effort was designed to showcase more than Sinatra's stage presence and musical talents.
The versatile, if inconsistent, series format allowed Sinatra to alternate between performing in LIVE, variety episodes and filmed drama or comedy. William Self, produced the show and conductor Nelson Riddle, a long time, musical collaborator of Francis Albert, was EMMY nominated.
Fresh from PAL JOEY on film and only a few months away from taking the stage of the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas with showbiz pals and fellow rat pack-ers, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop,life on THE FRANK SINATRA SHOW was ring-a-ding-ding.
That was until rival CBS-TV moved beloved Top Banana,Phil Silvers, and his hit Army sitcom about a non-com,bunco artist named Sgt. Ernie Bilko into the same time slot. Under heavy fire from THE PHIL SILVERS SHOW ( originally titled, YOU'LL NEVER GET RICH ) , THE FRANK SINATRA SHOW was a battlefield casualty in the network ratings war.
But a year later, America deserted Sgt. Bilko and his show also went off the air.
In the end, I don't think it hurt Sinatra's career. You realize, of course, that understatement is our strong suit at KINESCOPEHD!
Here from the MRSHARRYSTREET You Tube Site, is Frank Sinatra swingin' COME FLY WITH ME.Enjoy!!!!
On Easter Sunday, April 9th , 1950, early television viewers received a holiday basket of video cheer from the nascent NBC television network, when it brought Bob Hope from silver screen to small screen in his TV debut, THE STAR SPANGLED REVUE.Airing LIVE along the Eastern Seaboard from 5:30PM to 7:00pm, the show reportedly reached almost 50 percent of the available television audience.
A resounding success, Hope's maiden,NBC effort was produced by the video visionary behind Sid Caesar's YOUR SHOW OF SHOWS, the venerable Max Leibman. Guest stars included respected comedienne ,Beatrice Lillie and movie, matinee-idol, Douglas Fairbanks Junior. The smart and sardonic scribe,Larry Gelbart, was among Hope's cadre of comedy writers.
The Frigidaire appliances division of General Motors sponsored the vibrant offering.
Hope was among the last of the great radio and film comedians, like Jack Benny and Red Skelton, to make the transition to television.Legend says he thought it was too hard to do a weekly television offering, while maintaining his top-rated radio show and starring in films.It is said that when NBC asked what it would take to move him into TV , he and agent Jimmy Saphier asked for $50,000. In 1950, that was an exorbitant fee, but it didn't give NBC pause. They wrote the check.
Here, posted below from THEFILMARCHIVE You Tube site,is a complete recording of Bob Hope , starring in THE STAR SPANGLED REVUE. Enjoy!!!!
In the turbulent sixties, a strident, satirical voice rose above the din of violent protest and acrid accusation that filled the streets of global capitals on both sides of Atlantic. As the norms and mores of western culture were tested by pacifists and anarchists, alike, in New York, Washington DC , London and Paris, a comedic revolution was being plotted in the spartan corridors of the venerable BBC.
Broadcaster David Frost , producer Ned Sherrin,a cadre of comedy writers that boasted future Python, John Cleese and future Knight, Clement Freud, plus a cast of multi-talented performers including Millicent Martin and Roy Kinnear were creating a volatile, voluble new genre for television: weekly satire.
If you worked in the laughter laboratory and choose to map the comic genome for SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, THE DAILY SHOW, THE COLBERT REPORT, ROWAN AND MARTIN'S LAUGH-IN, THE SMOTHERS BROS. COMEDY HOUR and more,you would find THAT WAS THE WEEK THAT WAS provides the Double Helix of articulate, acerbic satire from which those shows have evolved.
Funny and efficient,TW3 took less than one hour to spoof the absurd events of the previous seven days.
The LIVE, monochrome revue of politically and socially relevant sketches, songs and monologues ran for just two seasons in the UK, in 1962 and 1963, but it was an instant hit and a Saturday night television event on the BBC.
In 1964, the BBC passed on the show, concerned about the upcoming elections and the impact of,what it perceived to be, the show's provocative material.The production team thought that the series was over.
But across the Atlantic, in New York City a reprieve was in the making.Impressed with the show's topical humor and innovative production values, American Broadway impresario, Leland Hayward, brought the daring show, along with host David Frost, to NBC prime time.
While all involved in the program and approving critics saw great promise in the Amercian version of THAT WAS THE WEEK THAT WAS,it just didn't translate to large ratings.Even with a cast that included regulars Nancy Ames,Woody Allen and Alan Alda, plus major guest stars, the landmark show lasted only two seasons on the Peacock Network in 1964 and 1965.
Here from the UTUBESHERLOCK1111 You Tune site are six clips that constitute one, stinging episode of THAT WAS THE WEEK THAT WAS from the BBC in 1963.Enjoy!!!!
PART ONE
PART TWO
PART THREE
PART FOUR
PART FIVE
PART SIX
BONUS - IN 1963, Millicent Martin and David Frost released a novelty recording of the theme from THAT WAS THE WEEK THAT WAS in the UK. It was a hit. Here it is from the RAVES0FROM0THE0GRAVE0 You Tube site.Enjoy!!!
On Sunday night ( 6/12/11 ), the American Theater Wing will bestow it's coveted Antoinette Perry Awards to Broadway's Best. It is the 65th time that the Tony Awards will recognize excellence in theater. For most of those years television has brought this elegant event to homes that are thousands of miles off-Broadway.
This year, CBS-TV will carry the dazzling, 2011 TONY AWARDS SHOW, LIVE from NYC's Beacon Theater.
Television and Broadway have always, it seems to me, enjoyed a friendly partnership, since the dawn of video in the 1950's.That's when stage-trained, New York actors brought their protean skills to primitive television studios. These daring performers brought life to characters in the great , LIVE dramas, like CBS'S STUDIO ONE and NBC'S PHILCO PLAYHOUSE.
One of television' first and most celebrated variety revues, THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW on CBS-TV , brought Broadway excitement to American living rooms, by elaborately re-staging dramatic scenes and musical numbers from hit Broadway shows. The theatrical producers got incredible publicity for their offerings and Sullivan got to showcase the most respected talent on New York's Great White Way.
A few weeks ago, on the stage of the Ed Sullivan Theater, now home to THE LATE SHOW STARRING DAVID LETTERMAN, the tradition was rekindled as the accomplished and agile cast of HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING performed the energetic BROTHERHOOD OF MAN number for Letterman viewers.
As you'll see, the audience offered frenzied applause.
The vibrant revival of Abe Burrow's hit, 1960's satire of corporate culture is playing critical raves at NYC's Al Hirschfeld Theater and is Tony-nominated.
On a personal note, my wife and I saw the production and were blown away by the perfomances, the music and the staging, which offered a colorful take on the MAD MEN motif.
Posted below, from the SOPHIABPUENTES YOU TUBE site is that energetic, engaging performance , starring Daniel Radcliffe, John Larroquette and the cast.Enjoy this excerpt & THE TONY AWARDS, hosted by Neil Patrick Harris, this Sunday night on CBS-TV!!!!
As a bonus, from THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW YOU TUBE site, here are Carol Lawrence and Larry Kert from the Broadway cast of WEST SIDE STORY performing TONIGHT, on Sunday,November 2, 1958. Enjoy!!!!
My name is Paul Gluck ( aka PAGEONE ) and while I have been working in Television for over 30 years, I have watched Television for my entire life.From the very first, monochrome images of Dave Garroway on the TODAY SHOW that I saw flickering across the screen of my parents 21",blond wood, Zenith console TV, to the vibrant video of SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL blazing across the LCD flat panel in my living room, I have always loved television. I have worked as a production assistant,a writer, an assignment editor, a producer,an executive producer, an executive editor,a news director and a station manager. My fascination with the medium , the programs we create and the people who produce that content, grows with each & every day. KINESCOPE HD is a site dedicated to classic television, creative content production and vintage performances on video. I hope you share my love of television.If you do, share your thoughts on the programs we post.Enjoy!!!!!
(PHOTO BY OUR TV PAL,BRAD NAU)
