In one of his innovative ABC-TV specials, and speaking from the recesses of a darkened control room, video visionary and satirist superlative, Ernie Kovacs, took laser-accurate aim on the the dearth of westerns that flooded network television as America entered the space-age.
Kovacs, who was candid in his comic commentary,shot holes in the sometimes simplistic, sometimes saccharine tales of the old west that popped up in prime time.When every cathode ray cowboy had a "gimmick" that ranged from hidden derringers to sawed-off shotguns, and wore everything from buckskin chaps to bowler hats, Kovacs gunned down the genre and blasted the network executives,who then, as now,copied every successful horse opera on the air in hopes of a hit.
Here, from the ROLKO52 YOU TUBE site, is a fast and funny clip of Ernie Kovacs showdown at the sixties corral. Enjoy!!!!!
Steve Austin, astronaut. A man barely alive. Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to build the world's first bionic man. Steve Austin will be that man. Better than he was before. Better stronger,faster. Opening narration from the SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN
One of the most successful and bizarre science-fiction, television series of the 1970's was based, loosely, in science fact. ABC-TV's The SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN was predicated on a novel called CYBORG, written by respected aviation, journalist Martin Cadin. Like the book, the series incorporated then-current research into cyber technology and human tissue regeneration. How that factual data was applied in the fictional storyline is where the broad fantasy came to play.
THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN was produced by UNIVERSAL STUDIOS for ABC-TV, and aired from 1974-1978. It was the story of Astronaut Steve Austin, played by Lee Majors, who had achieved star status on ABC-TV's THE BIG VALLEY. Austin nearly dies in the crash of an experimental aircraft he was testing. A covert, government, espionage agency,called the Office of Scientific Intelligence, saves his life and implants high-tech, nuclear powered prosthetics to replace missing limbs, plus a miniature camera in the place of a damaged eye. In return, he became America's most effective, and most expensive ,secret agent. Before the series would end,Steve Austin would battle Russian spies, aliens and Sasquatch.
The show was a runaway hit for ABC-TV. In its third season, THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN, along with CHARLIE'S ANGELS,HAPPY DAYS,PLUS LAVERNE & SHIRLEY helped to propel the ABC television network to first place in the national ratings for the first time in history.
The success of this show resulted in a spin-off series called THE BIONIC WOMAN starring Lindsay Wagner, as a tennis star, who suffered a catastrophic sky diving accident. Her character, Jamie Sommers,was rescued, bionically enhanced and deployed as an O.S.I. agent.
Millions of dollars in SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN merchandise was sold and is now in demand as memorabilia. From lunchboxes to action figures, the show's youngest viewers wanted to show their loyalty to Steve Austin.
Below is a short montage of clips from THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN, set to the serie's original. up-tempo, theme song, performed by 60's folk/rock icon, Dusty Springfield. ENJOY!!!!!
The world premiere and grand opening of Disneyland, the Southern California tourist attraction, where vacation dreams have come true for almost 54 years,where the concept of a theme park was created and , some might say, perfected, was truly a made for television event.
Super-showman and master marketer, Walt Disney, was the first movie mogul to create original content for network television. His family anthology series, entitled Disneyland,, and named for the family recreation park he dreamed of building in Anaheim,Orange County, California, debuted on Wednesday,October 27, 1954 and was broadcast by the nascent ABC-TV network.
The 60 minute, weekly series, telecast in black and white, was a major hit with viewers young and old. It ran on ABC until 1961, when Disney struck a deal to move the show to NBC,to re-title it as Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color and to produce the program in LIVING COLOR.It was a Sunday night institution for family viewing over the decades to follow.
Over the years , the series would offer original animated programs, multi-episode scripted series, like Davy Crockett, re-edited versions of Disney's vaunted, theatrical films, and nature documentaries , shot around the globe. Not only did he use the television show to create a pristine, family oriented brand for Walt Disney Studios, but he leveraged it as a mass platform to market his theme park, preview his studio's new,film releases, and to sell untold millions of dollars in merchandise.
On July 17, 1955 Walt Disney studios and ABC-TV joined to produce an ambitious, LIVE television special, called DATELINE: DISNEYLAND ( no relation to the NBC News magazine series). This program celebrated the opening of what could only be viewed as Disney's greatest achievement , to date: the opening of his wholesome, multi-theme,multi-venue, adventure theme park.
Anyone in America who could tune their television to the local ABC-TV station was invited.This was no easy feat in 1955 , when so many of them were UHF stations, and televisions required set-top adaptors to receive their signals.
The clips posted below show the showbiz luminaries of the time, ranging from Art Linkletter to Fess Parker to Danny Thomas, who joined Disney, along with thousands of opening day patrons to open the gates to the happiest place on earth. The logistics of doing this vast, sprawling , LIVE program with 1955 technology is impressive.Enjoy!!!!!!!!
Here is a bonus clip: Art Linletter brings you a commercial for Kodak cameras and film that aired during an ABC-TV special entitled Kodak presents Disneyland' 59.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!!!!!
