Remembering Old TV Programming

[Clipper]

Bobbbiez, the fishing show you were talking of on the other thread was hosted by Jack Fredricks. He went to school with my mother back in the 40's.

The show was called Jack Fredricks Outdoor Sportsman Show. Jack passed away last year at age 84.

[dgriffin]

Moving my post here from the After BeBop thread (copy/delete):


Jon, what year are the Christmas photos. One of the older girls looks familiar and might have gone to my high school.

Clipper, my early memories of WKTV were that the station didn't broadcast anything but a test pattern until around dinner time, maybe sometime after. That would have been possibly around 1952. Then 15 minute programs began and came from the network. Two I remember were a blonde woman singing to the piano accompaniment of Skitch Henderson, sponsored by Mohawk Carpets. And a 15 minute soap called Hawkins Falls, in which cast member Tom Postum made his TV debut as a young man who rented a room over someone's garage. Postum (sp?) had quite a stage career, I read, but wound up his TV career as the laughable old handyman in the version of the Bob Newhart show that took place in a Vermont B&B/hotel. (The show famous for 3 local yokels introduced as "Larry, Darryl and my other brother Darryl."
Other than news, sports and weather, I don't remember any local originated programming in that early era, with the possible exception of a fellow who did a handyman show on Saturday night. There was break in network programming from 9:30 to 10:00, and his show ran live after a dozen or more ads were run one after another. Each ad consisted of the camera stationary on a studio card (artwork/photo) while an announcer read the appropriate copy.
When the number of ads the WKTV marketing staff had sold that week ran out, the Handyman show began and it ran up to the network feed started around 9:59. So, if business was good, Mr. Handyman had to hurry through his material. As I say, I don't know if it was done locally.
I was 8 y.o. at the time, so I pieced some of this together in my mind later from my available memories.

Here's something else ... and I know we're off the Bands topic. Do you remember the first time you saw videotape on TV! I sat there flummoxed in 1957 or 58 one afternoon after school when Art Linkletter was magically transported in a matter of seconds from an exterior shot outside the studio near a swimming pool that had been described as being "a few blocks away" to the sound stage in front of his audience back in the studio. I couldn't figure how the hell he had done that, until I began to see more videotape and realized what was happening.

[dgriffin]

I do remember Jack Fredericks and the outdoor show. It came later, I'm not sure when.

I remember boxing on (I think) Friday night and wrestling on Saturday night. I remember The Big Story on Friday night and I remember the night the OD was featured on the show. I remember the early fifties version of Oprah. Her name was Kate Smith and she was on every late afternoon before Howdy Doody. She had a heck of a voice and her program fare was talk with her producer, Ted Collins, a few songs and probably a celebrity from time to time.

I didn't know until I just read up on her:
www.magiclink.com/web/lostheroines/webdoc5.htm

that she began her radio show in 1931. I don't ever remember hearing her on radio in Utica, and my mother and grandmother were radio addicts and the radio was on all day and half of the evening before the advent of television. I got a kick reading she owned (with Ted through their corporation) a basketball team, the Kate Smith Celtics. She was a hefty lady and overcame a lot of ridicule in the business.

She had the large arms of a heavy woman and always wore long sleeves to hide the flab. I laugh when I remember the kids in my neighborhood would say she wore long sleeves because her arms had been chewed up and scarred in an auto accident.

[Clipper]

I remember listening to her sing "when the moon comes over the mountain" at the beginning of her show.

My grandmother used to listen to all the soaps on the radio in the kitchen. She was thrilled when they began to show up on TV. When she got older I noticed that she always sat in a straight backed kitchen chair to watch TV. I asked her one time why she didn't sit in a more comfortable chair. She told me that when she sat in the overstuffed chair, she never got to see the end of a program because she would fall asleep, LOL. Her favorite show in later years was Concentration. She used to play a similar matching game with us kids on a board when we were little.

I vaguely remember a show with Groucho as MC, and the Ed Sullivan Show from it's beginnings. When we lived in Barneveld, we began to get one of the Syracuse channels. My dad would have to go out the guest room window onto the porch roof and turn the antenna while my mother hollered to him out the living room window until they had it tuned in. Heck that was high tech. Most of our neighbors had rabbit ears and could barely get Utica. Had to keep getting up and adjusting the vertical hold or horizontal hold back in those days.

Glad those days are gone. I kinda like 50 inch screen and all the latest features. Flat screens are great. Don't take up half the living room with a huge entertainment center anymore.

[bobbbiez]

I remember Kate Smith quite well. She was my parents favorite singer and her records were played constantly on our record player. Weren't they known as 78's back then?

I do remember Kate mostly for her version of "God Bless American." To this day no one sings it better then Kate did.

[drider]

I remember a radio program on Sat. mornings when I was pretty
young (early grade school). It began with "NO SCHOOL TODAY"!
It had Big John & Little Sparky and the theme song was
"The Teddy Bear's Picnic" It would have been in the early 50's.

[tonyj]

Kate Smith was my mom's favorite. Mom would watch her show and constantly play her albums. The greatest invention of all time was the tv remote control. Before the remote, my father would yell"Anthony,come change the channel". No matter if I was outside , or in my room, I would stand by the tv and turn the dial to one of the two stations we could get. The famous Al Eddo was my dad's buddy he would have supper at our house then we would watch him on the late nite news. Ahh the memories.

[bobbbiez]

Hey Tony, I do remember Kate Smith also. She was awesome and a mighty big lady with a bigger voice.

I didn't remember the "without a remote" deal till you brought it up. Your Dad must have known my Dad cause my Dad had me do the same thing. I cracked up when you mentioned that and jogged my memory. ;D

[Sonny]

How about those great westerns!! Roy rogers, gene autry, hopalong cassidy, and of course davy crockett.. {every one had a coonskin cap}.. remember the micky mouse club, and the ozzie and harriet show, not to mention, leave it to beaver, and also lucy, jackie gleason, and saturday morning cartoons, deputy dawg, ruff and reddy, mighty mouse, and the jetsons. The variety shows were just that variety, and all great shows. The steve allen show, ed sullivan, perry como, kraft music hall, your show of shows, and also medic, dr. kildare, ben casey, route 66, maverick, and on and on, good quality tv, no T and A , and no vulgarities. Can't bring them back, but the memories are still strong and great to have in today's inane society.

[dgriffin]

How could you forget ERNIE KOVACS? and that monkey bit. Hahahahaha!

Or Sid Ceasar and "Your Show of Shows", Red Skelton, etc. Your mention of Route 66 reminds me of the time I ran into their show crew on the road. They actually took Marty Milner and George what's his name on the road. The stars flew, but the crew and equipment went my buses and semi's with "Route 66" painted down the length of them. I watched them film a segment of a faked helicopter ride in the parking lot of a hotel in Toronto. I first noticed the two co-stars having breakfast together in the dining room just as I was sitting down to meet a business friend. There they sat in their makeup, which in 1963 was quite heavy and highly colored, making the two look like painted dolls, more so that day because the scene was staged a half hour later in natural light (sort of blue-ish) and lighted with reflectors, and I think they shot all those shows back then in a commercial version of Ektachrome which had a blue cast to it. The orange-y makeup may have been meant to overcome the double dose of blue from daylight and the film.
So after they shoot the copter taking off and landing a few times, with stand-ins wearing Marty and George's light jackets, the engine gets shut down and the two stars get out of the limo and climb in the plane. The cameras are then re-positioned so the landing struts are out of frame. I hear someone shout "Action" and we see Marty and George talking and gesticulating inside the copter while various crew members (also out of frame) grab the helicopter and vigorously rock it back and forth to simulate flight.

A couple of more takes, while a crowd of hundreds stand around and cars are having a problem getting in and out of the parking lot and we decide to leave before everyone else tries to exit the lot at the same time.
Some guy was inching into the lot in his Olds Toronado or Starfire with Power Ventipanes and a Guide-Matic Automatic Headlamp Dimmer and he rolled down his window and said to me, "What the hell is going on? I've been stuck here for twenty minutes!"
"Well," I said with obvious pride, "we just saw the guys from Route 66 shooting a scene for an upcoming episode!"
"Big F*cking Deal," he spits out, "tell 'em to go back to Route 66 in the States!'
We kept walking.
"Friendly Canadians," said my business pal.
"He right, though," I said.
"Yeah," we both laughed. "Big F*cking Deal."

[Sonny]

a lot of behind the scenes that people just don't understand, when they sit back, and enjoy the show.. Yeah, that does go back, and the corvette was the big star of that show, as well as the theme music. I bet you can still sing the ballad of davy crockett, as well as the micky mouse club theme song. some of those great old shows had the best theme music, "maverick", "twilight zone", "Bonanza", "howdy doody time", "the lone ranger", {Hi-yo silver!!}, "roy rogers" {happy trails to you}, "jim bowie", "alfred hitchcock presents" "perry mason" {never lost a case}, "highway patrol", endless great TV.

[jon hynes]

Frankie Laine sang the themes of Champion the Wonder Horse, Rawhide, Mule Train and a whole bunch of movies

[jon hynes]

Aug 30, 2010 21:37:21 GMT -5 @dgriffin said:

How could you forget ERNIE KOVACS? and that monkey bit. Hahahahaha!

The Nairobi Trio this was one of my all time favorites. I bought a rubber mask and wig in a novelty store on Columbia Square that we used in the band. It got left on a porch while packing and was never seen again.

[jon hynes]

Amos and Andy, The Life of Riley, George Burns Gracy Allen Show, Jack Benny, The Lone Ranger, Molly Goldberg Show, Dobie Gillis, Love That Bob, I Love Lucy Show, Petticoat Junction, Phil Silvers, Mc Hale's Navy, Honeymooners, The Rifleman, Rawhide, Death Valley Days, Hawaii Five-O, Have Gun Will Travel. Palladin, Gun Smoke, Dick Van Dyke Show, Mary Tylor Moore, That Girl, Beverly Hillbillies, Munsters, Adams Family, Carol Burnett Show, Brady Bunch, Captain Kangaroo, Science Fiction Theater, Lost In Space, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Twilight Zone, Andy Griffith Show, The Avengers, Bewitched, Cheyenne, Dennis the Mennace, The Flying Nun, Mitch Miller, Tom Snyder, You Bet Your Life, Ralph Edwards This Is Your Life, Car 54 Where Are You?, Green Acres, Bat Masterson, Bonanza, Dragnet, Perry Mason, Mister Ed, Gomer Pyle, Abbott and Costello, Winky Dink and You, Don Herbert Watch Mr Wizard, F-Troup, Hogan's Heroes, Gilligan's Island, Steve Allen Show,

Sorry for the repeats.

[dgriffin]

The Nairobi Trio! Thanks for the name, Jon. How could I forget it? Italiansinger, the Corvette rode along in one of the tractor trailers, we were told, and we were disappointed to be also told that they seldom got it out. But it's possible the car wasn't even on the trip with them. They may not have needed to very often and here's why.
I remember reading an interview of one of the stars of the TV show Bonanza. I think it was Pernell Roberts. He said when the show first went into production, they got all four male characters together, taught them to ride in a style that looked authentic, but was also camera-friendly. The they suited them up in their stage dress and shot them riding, individually, as a group, in different sets of two, then three, etc. He said they did nothing but ride for the cameras for two weeks, day and night to cover every possible situation they would ever need for the show. His story was that for the entire length of time the show was on television they never needed to film any of them on a horse again. You can see from that story why in most shows at that time the main players wore the same clothing for every episode. I never thought to ask myself back then why the father and sons on a successful ranch each had only one suit of clothes.

We accept things that we get used to, like the balloons over the heads of the character strips. Or the sunken living room in the sitcoms of the 1960's. I did some film work in grad school and wrote a paper on "devices" used in film and TV. From my memory of them, I wrote short-short a couple of years ago. It's called "Walk Like A Man" and it's here:

www.windsweptpress.com/walklike.pdf