FROM THE BOARDWALK TO AN EMPIRE- THE MARTIN & LEWIS SHOW - NBC-TV - CIRCA 5/2/54

In the early 1950's, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis did something of which  Hitler, Mussolini and Stalin only Dreamed:

They conquered the world.

Not a shot was fired and there were no casualties in a comic revolution
that captured most of the planet.

The unlikely paring  offered audiences a voluble and volatile mix
of slapstick antics and street-smart banter that was too big for
any 12 inch , TV screen to contain.

If you met them, before they were a team, you might wonder how they
could compliment each other in front of a camera or behind a microphone.

Martin, an alluring crooner with impeccable comic timing and Lewis,
a kinetic comedian , whose adolescent demeanor, on stage, belied
the burgeoning auteur within.

They liked each other personally and shared the same comic sensibility.

When the legendary Atlantic City nightclub impresario, Skinny D-Amato,
booked them  in his  renowned 500 CLUB as two single acts ... Martin singing and Lewis performing
a  record pantomime... it was clear that they needed each other.

After bombing, back to back, D'Amato, who was an entertainment visionary, told them that they could work the stage together or each could leave the club alone.

That was 1946 and in the turbulent decade that followed, they became the biggest stars on Film, in Nightclubs and on Television.

In 1956, they went their separate ways after making millions of people laugh and making show business history.

The story of their decision to "divorce " is a show business tragedy come true.

The act and their relationship succumbed to a lethal mix of ego and pride, jealousy and infighting.

Both went on to incredibly successful individual careers.

But together, they were invincible and incomparable.

They also made a lot of money for America's best nightclubs, the nation's largest theaters, Paramount Pictures, NBC Radio, NBC Television and their TV sponsor, The Colgate Palmolive Company.

While the wild physicality of their act didn't translate well to radio, their monthly, video adventures as part of the rotating constellation of stars on NBC-TV's expansive and expensive, COLGATE COMEDY HOUR, made for some of the most spontaneous moments in the mediums early years.

Here, from the DONAZIFY YOU TUBE site is the 5/2/54 episode of their Sunday night show, which celebrates the eighth anniversary of MARTIN AND LEWIS performing together.

Enjoy!!!!!

THE DAY TV NEWS SET ITS EYES ON THE SKIES - THE FIRST AMERICAN LAUNCHED INTO SPACE - NBC-TV - CIRCA MAY 5, 1961

It took less than 15 minutes for Astronaut Alan Shepard, supported by thousands of NASA technicians, government contractors and military personnel, to accomplish a daring dream of human adventure and scientific exploration, that would come to typify the baby-boom generation's sense of bravado : putting an American into space.

Shepard, a decorated Naval aviator and an accomplished engineer, was among the first class of 7 Astronauts who would risk
their lives to launch the America's manned-spaceflight program, NASA's Project Mercury.

<

On May 5th, 1961, in the face of uncooperative weather and technical challenges, Shepard's Freedom 7 capsule , mounted atop a Redstone guided missile, thundered into space from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

It was a sub-orbital flight of 15 minutes duration, but it was this country's first step into space.

It came at just the right time for a nation was that unsure it could find the footing to take its first steps toward the stars. The Soviets had just put Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin into Earth Orbit, while American missiles, designed by German scientists who had emigrated to the US after World War II, kept exploding on the launch pad.

Shepard's flight gave America the confidence to move forward and upward into space.

At NBC News, division president Robert Kitner had launched his own experiment in broadcast journalism, the INSTANT NEWS SPECIAL.

His innovative vision was to produce wide-ranging, LIVE, special coverage of major stories as they develped, that would culminate in a prime-time, news program.

The Race For Space Between the United States and what was then the Soviet Union, offered the perfect opportunity to test this new and vibrant form of journalism.

While the US and the Soviets battled for supremacy in space, NBC and CBS ran the race for ratings.

At NBC, the smart and savvy Frank McGee anchored the network's television coverage of Project Mercury with superlative support from radio correspondent Jay Barbaree, whose daily beat was the manned space flight program.

At CBS News, anchorman Walter Cronkite owned the story. In years to come, he would fly with Astronauts in simulated weightless conditions and is alleged to have inquired about the possibility of being the first Journalist in space.

This was also one of the few stories on whichthe fledging ABC News division would shine, based on the expertise of the late Jules Bergman, who was as knowledgeable about NASA and the science of space fight
' as any Astronaut.

Just as Project Mercury was a Templar for the missions to the Moon that followed, NBC's coverage of early space exploration laid the foundation for major, breaking news coverage at the network level and for cable news.

Below, from the MR. DAN BEAUMONT YOU TUBE site,is a rare excerpt from an NBC NEWS SPECIAL REPORT WITH FRANK McGEE on THE FLIGHT OF FREEDOM 7.

Enjoy!!!

LOOKING FOR LOVE ON LIVE TV - MARTY- NBC-TV - CIRCA 1953

The striking and evocative PHILCO-GOODYEAR TELEVISION THEATER production of MARTY, written by the prolific and profound Paddy Chayefsky for NBC,is truly a landmark in network drama.

The one hour episode of the renowned, award-winning anthology series was produced by the iconic Fred Coe and Directed ,LIVE, by video virtuoso, Delbert Mann on May24, 1953 in B&W, at NBC's 30 Rockefeller Center Studios.

Early television viewers and critics lauded this deftly woven story of an angst ridden , Italian butcher from Brooklyn, who is in search of love, while tormented by well meaning friends and family.

The Teleplay speaks for itself.It is a templar of Television's so-called GOLDEN AGE OF LIVE DRAMA.

While the video version starred Rod Steiger, it was Ernest Borgnine's portrayal of a middle-aged man who is struggling to find romance and self-esteem, in the film version that won an Academy Award.

From the OLD MOVES RADIO & TV YOU TUBE site, in its entirety , is MARTY. Enjoy!!!

THREE OF A KIND - FRANK, DEAN & BING - TIMEX PRESENTS THE FRANK SINATRA SHOW - CIRCA OCTOBER 19, 1958

Are there two words in all of show business that still signal electrifying entertainment more than "Frank Sinatra?"

Still holds true, long since his amazing voice was silenced.

On October 19 1958, Old Blue-eyes starred in one of a series of music and comedy specials on ABC-TV (referred to then, by some, as the Anemic Broadcasting Company:) he'd been hosting for Timex watches since the Fall of 1957.

The production values, were by 1950's standards, spartan in their elegance.

The music was vibrant and vital.

The hour is replete with favorites from the songbook of Sinatra standards.



The show credits are impressive, with iconic songwriters Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn serving as executive producers.

Be sure to check-out the LIVE commercial with spokesman John Cameron Swayze!!:)

Here, in LIVING MONOCHROME, from the VISO MUSIC YOU TUBE site is TIMEX PRESENTS THE FRANK SINATRA SHOW, a high voltage, Eisenhower- Era romp starring Frank, Dean Martin, Bing Crosby and Mitzi Gaynor.

Enjoy!!!!

SEE IT THEN - EDWARD R. MURROW TOURS CBS TELEVISION CITY - CBS-TV - CIRCA NOVEMBER 30, 1953

CBS TELEVISION CITY was, at the dawn of television, a brilliant solution to a daunting problem.

New York City studio space for local and network television was ,all but, maxed out in the early 1950's,as production for the nascent medium grew at an amazing pace.

20 hours per week of programming for the Tiffany Network was being produced by Philadelphia's WCAU-TV alone,plus a wide-range of shows that were originating from Chicago

As the coaxial cable connected America's East and West coasts, the opportunity to expand facilities presented itself.

CBS scion William Paley and his company's visionary president, Dr. Frank Stanton,crafted a plan to build a groundbreaking, vibrant, expansive Los Angeles facility that would not only meet current video needs, but offer options for growth in the years ahead.

CBS TELEVISION CITY opened on November 16th, 1952.

In the Fall of 1953, the legendary Edward R. Murrow and his SEE IT NOW documentary team prduced the rare look at CBS TELEVISION CITY that posted below.

The program is in two clips from the CBSMEDIA YOU TUBE site. Enjoy!!!!


PART ONE



PART TWO

WHEN POLISHED BRASS SHONE BRIGHT ON TELEVISION - HERB ALPERT & THE TIJUANA BRASS - CBS-TV - CIRCA APRIL 24,1967

The soundtrack of American Life in the 1960's and 70's is replete with musical performers who weren't into hard rock ,heavy metal, the Mersey Beat, Motown, R&B or, even bubblegum music, which was kind of pre-fab, top forty.

Their upbeat, energetic offerings  were more like cotton candy and comprised "The Sound of Today."

These artists included Glen Campbell , Bobbie Gentry and one of the most beloved, super - groups of the time,Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass.

Most of these performers crossed over to star in television specials or series.

Herb Alpert and his band were at the top of the popular music charts when they teamed with the incomparable creative of
Gary Smith and Dwight Hemion, the pair who had first brought Barbara Streisand to television.

They made beautiful music...and television...together.

On April 24th 1967, Alpert & company starred in SINGER PRESENTS HERB ALPERT AND THE TIJUANA BRASS, in Color , on CBS-TV.

It features an amazing (given the technology of the time) , airborn, opening sequence in  in a ground-breaking musical special, that took color cameras and the talent out of the studio and  on location. It also wove a linear, comic narrative about the group and its history to bring a filmic quality to the storytelling.

The effort was rewarded with high ratings and 4 EMMY noinations.

Here is a monochome version of the entire show, including commercials for sponsor Singer Sewing Machines, thanks to the FRANK DRACMAN YOU TUBE site.

You'll also see Alpert's second special, THE BEAT OF THE BRASS,  which aired on April 22, 1968.

Enjoy!!!!

THE BUTTON DOWN MIND IN PRIME TIME - BOB NEWHART DOES STAND-UP ON THE JACK PAAR SHOW - NBC-TV - CIRCA 5/29/65

In the late 1950's and early 1960's Jack Paar was network television's avatar of angst.

As the second host of TONIGHT on NBC (following Steve Allen and preceding Johnny Carson), each weeknight. Paar convened the smartest cocktail party that anyone ever watched between their feet on a portable tv in the bedroom.

A career broadcaster, who bounced from announcing in local radio to acting in a short film career and a then on to become the first king of late night TV,
Paar lived by his wits , and worked on an emotional high-wire.

Urbane and erudite, he introduced some of America's brightest comedians to an appreciative audience.

Bill Cosby, Jonathan Winters, Woody Allen Allan Sherman and so many more were guests on TONIGHT and his NBC prime time hour, THE JACK PAAR SHOW.

Here, on the THE JACK PAAR SHOW, and from the STANDAPARTCOMEDY you tube site, is the deft and daft humor of Bob Newhart.

Enjoy!!!!