Happy New Year 2008!

Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve reaches its 36th annual edition with the Dec 31, 2007-January 1, 2008 special.

Dick Clark spoke about his first New Year's special in 1959 and his inaguaration of New Year's Rockin' Eve in 1972, when he was interviewed by the Archive of American Television (scroll to 24 minutes into the segment below) on July 29, 1999.




To access Dick Clark's entire Archive intervew, click here.

Dick Clark and Ryan Seacrest will host the special starting at 10:00 p.m. (ET & PT) from New York.

Link to Official ABC site.

"Howdy Doody" Celebrates 60 Years

On December 27, 1947 one of TV's first success stories debuted, Howdy Doody, which began as Puppet Playhouse, seen three times a week on NBC. Through 1948 and 1949, with its title change to Howdy Doody, and now airing five times a week, every child with a television set knew the answer to "Say kids! What time is it?!"

Host "Buffalo Bob" Smith sang the theme song "It's Howdy Doody Time" which was sung to the melody of "Ta-ra-ra Boom dee-ay." Howdy began as a long faced cowboy puppet but got a make-over in June 1948 to the now-familiar-looking freckled-face one. In addition to Bob and Howdy, there was a cast of characters now well known to every baby boomer— there was Phineas T. Bluster, and Chief Featherman (who uttered "Cowabunga!"-- one of writer Eddie Kean's many inventions) and Princess Summerfall Winterspring (played by Judy Tyler) and then there was "Clarabell," the clown. "Clarabell," with seltzer bottle in hand, spoke no words and would communicate by blowing a horn.

Seats for the Peanut Gallery (the show's all-child studio audience) became a hot-ticket item as the show's popularity skyrocketed. During the height of the show, in September of 1954, Bob Smith suffered a heart attack and to cover, the children were told that Buffalo Bob was off on a secret mission, until his return in 1955.

On September 24, 1960 the show ended with Clarabell's famous silence-breaking moment, "Goodbye, kids."

The Archive interviewed many of the talented creators behind the series, including Bob Smith and first Clarabell, Bob Keeshan. Producer/director E. Roger Muir's interview has now also been posted, click on the link below.

E. Roger Muir's three hour interview can be found at this link.

Interview description:

Muir detailed his early television directing experiences, on such shows as James Beard's cooking show I Love to Eat and Perry Como's The Chesterfield Supper Club. He later became the producer of The Howdy Doody Show, which he produced throughout the program’s run. He also spoke about the creation of “Gumby,” which debuted on the program. He later went on to head children’s programming at the network.

An Archive Christmas Special: Andy Williams

To celebrate the season, the Archive has posted our interview with Andy Williams. Williams hosted his network primetime variety series from 1958-71. The best-known version ran on NBC from 1962-71 and featured "Moon River" as its theme song. Through his variety series, Williams began hosting a series of Christmas specials. From these specials and his many renditions of Christmas standards, he's become closely associated with the holiday.

Listen to Andy Williams talk about his work in television in his 3-part Archive Interview. And be sure to visit this link to TV Land to see a special video, Andy Williams and America's Favorite Christmas Show, featuring excerpts from the interview.

....AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM EVERYONE AT THE ARCHIVE OF AMERICAN TELEVISION!

Interview Description:
Andy Williams discusses his early career working in his brothers’ singing group on stage and in radio, before embarking on a solo career. He spoke about his early appearances on television, including being cast as a regular singer on Steve Allen’s Tonight show. He then spoke in great detail about hosting his own series The Andy Williams Show. For this series he talked about the production schedule, some of his favorite guest stars (including the Osmond Brothers, whom he is credited with discovering), and the show’s segue into a series of Christmas specials. In conclusion, he discussed the establishing of his own theater in Branson, Missouri.

Archive's interview with Patricia Heaton featured in Emmy magazine

The latest issue of Emmy magazine (Issue No. 6, 2007, with Law & Order: Special Victims Unit's Mariska Hargitay on the cover) includes selections from our Archive of American Television interview with actress Patricia Heaton, star of Everybody Loves Raymond and the current hit series Back to You. Heaton was interviewed in October, 2006. The interview is not online, but can be viewed at the Archive's headquarters in North Hollywood, CA.

Here are some excerpts from the article:

Q: What was your first professional job?
A: It was a commercial for Pabst Blue Ribbon beer. Jason Alexander was in it. I was a waitress serving beer. I was moving through the bar with the cameras following me, just serving people — all happy, young people having a good time. I made a lot of money because they ran it during the Olympics.

Q: What was your first television work in Los Angeles?
A: My strategy was not to try to get an agent, but rather to get casting people to see me. Casting people can hire you whether you have an agent or not. So I got a lot of casting people to come to a play. I was very businesslike about it. I called people on a regular basis; I sent out flyers with the reviews from my shows. The first thing I did was an episode of Alien Nation. My first ongoing gig was on thirtysomething. I still didn’t have an agent or a manager. At that time, that was the hottest show on TV, and it was miraculous that I got on without any representation. I used to go to agents and say, “I’ve now done my fifth episode of thirtysomething. Would you like to represent me?”

Q: Was that role a turning point?
A: It was the driest role. I played the ob-gyn to Patricia Kalember and Patricia Wettig. The storyline ended up that Patricia Wettig’s character was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. In every episode, I was looking up her gown. There was no emotional arc — I was just a device. But everybody watched that show, and that opened doors. It got me an agent. Soon after, I auditioned for a pilot called Room for Two with Linda Lavin. It really clicked. It’s funny, because they said, “She just came off the drama thirtysomething. Can she do comedy?” At Bill Esper’s class, almost everything I did was comedy or turned into comedy. I knew I could do it. I got the part, but it only went for, maybe, twelve episodes.

Q: How did you hear about Everybody Loves Raymond?
A: I had read for a couple things, and nothing was quite right. When I read the pilot for Raymond, I thought, “This is a beautifully written script.” I didn’t think my character was that interesting, but the script was so good, I thought, “They’re very good writers, they’ll figure it out.” The day I went to the audition, I was really harried and had a babysitting issue and had to get in and out fast. I ran in and they talked and talked and talked. I was thinking, “I have got to get out of here. I need to just read and go!” So I finally said, “Can we just go ahead and read?” And they said, “You’ll read for us?” My agent had said, “She’ll meet, but she won’t read,” because I was such a star — yeah, sitting in my backyard clip- ping coupons, trying to save fifty cents on two packs of Ballpark franks. I said, “Yes, I’ll read, and then I’ve got to go.” I was in this mode, which was exactly where Debra was in the scene. I didn’t really have to do anything. She was angry with Ray — I’m always angry with my husband. Initially, I’d never heard of Ray — he was a big deal in the standup world. He was sitting by the door when I walked in. I saw him and I thought, “Hmm, I’m not going to put the addition on my house yet, ‘cause I don’t think it’s going.” But we really hit it off. He also says I’m the only actress who would kiss him in the scene when it was required. None of the other actresses who did the scene would kiss him.

Q: What made Debra funny?
A: I think it was her ability to put up with certain things and then just fall apart. She really tried all the time. What was really interesting were the silences. Debra got to just stare at Ray or Marie when they said or did something that was so over-the-line — she couldn’t believe what she was hearing and seeing. The writers allowed you to just have those moments, and the audience would go crazy. You wouldn’t have to say a word, but the audience was laughing because they knew what Debra was thinking.

Q: What advice would you give aspiring actors?
A: Try to create your own work. The business is changing; television is changing. Nobody knows where it’s going, and it seems a little tough right now. They’re doing more reality shows and fewer scripted shows and cutting back on money, so you need to create product for yourself. Get together with your actor friends and write stuff and film it or pro- duce it or put it on stage. Use YouTube and MySpace to put your product out there — and to put yourself out there.

Emmy magazine is available at some newsstands or can be ordered directly online here.

Blast from the Past: Electronic TV Inventor Philo Farnsworth on "I've Got a Secret"

Here's a little 8-minute gem we found on YouTube -- electronic television inventor Philo Farnsworth's full 1957 appearance on the panel show I've Got a Secret.



Here's what his widow, Elma "Pem" Farnsworth, said about that historic appearance in her 1996 Archive of American Television interview:

Q: Phil’s contributions, to television had been somewhat forgotten by then. It was driven home by an appearance on, I’ve Got A Secret.
Elma Farnsworth: Oh dear. (laugh) You know, a lot of programs like What’s My Line had wanted him to be on television. And actually, he’d been very ill. They approached him about [host] Garry Moore’s show, and I don’t know, it just hit him right I guess and so he agreed. That was a very great experience because that night, he had Buster Keaton on [as a guest]. As well as a fellow that had something like 22 snakes on his person (laugh).

Q: And Phil’s secret was?
Elma Farnsworth: Okay, his secret that Gary showed the the audience, was the that he had invented television, when he was 15. Of course they addressed him as Doctor Farnsworth and so they, were thinking a medical doctor.

Q: I recall they didn’t guess it.
Elma Farnsworth: No they didn’t. So Gary said, I’d like this to go on and on and it could very easily but he says it’s your baby and we have to stop here .... and so they gave him something like, a check for $80 and a, carton of Chesterfields or whatever they were advertising.

Q: What did Phil think of commercial television towards the end?
Elma Farnsworth: He, (sigh) he could see the potential for television. He felt that it wasn’t being used. He said, the public will get what they demand. And that’s the way it’s been.

TV Exec Roger King Dies - Interview Online

Roger King, CEO of CBS Television Distribution, has died at the age of 63. King was interviewed by the Archive of American Television in 2004. His interview is now online. Click here to access his 3-part interview.






Interview description:
King talked about his early years in television, including his position as general manager of Fort Lauderdale station WKID. He discussed the founding of the family business, syndication company “King World,” by his father Charles King, and his later association as an executive with the company. He talked about some of the first shows that “King World” syndicated and the transition to syndicating their own properties that started with the game show Wheel of Fortune. He detailed the continued success of the company with such popular programs as Jeopardy, The Oprah Winfrey Show, and Dr. Phil. Additionally, he talked about the merger between “King World” and CBS, and his subsequent role as CEO of CBS Enterprises.

The Man From U.N.C.L.E.: The Complete Series DVD Set Released

Just released: the much-anticipated The Man From U.N.C.L.E. The Complete Collection DVD set. It's a definitive, 41-disc set that includes the entire run of the series plus over 10 hours of bonus material, including interviews with stars Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, commentaries, home movies from the U.N.C.L.E. set, and rare promos and TV appearances.

This DVD release features footage from the Archive of American Television's interview with series executive producer Norman Felton.

The completely remastered set has all 105 episodes of the show and is packaged in a special collector’s U.N.C.L.E. attaché case.





SPECIAL BONUS FEATURES include:
- Featurette—The Cloak & Swagger Affair: The Untold History of The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
- "Solo"—The Original Color U.N.C.L.E. Pilot
- Bonus Feature: U.N.C.L.E. V.I.P.S.—A Celebration of U.N.C.L.E. Guest Stars!
- Featurette—The Spy-Fi Tour: Archives, Art and Artifacts- U.N.C.L.E. Feature Film—One Spy Too Many
- Interview—Double Agents: The Robert Vaughn and David McCallum Reunion
- The Secret Tapes of Illya Kuryakin: Home Movies from the Set of The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
- Featurette—MGM’s Secret Operations
- Featurette— Cold War, Hot Spies: U.N.C.L.E. and the Cold War
- Featurette— Guns, Gizmos, Gadgets, and Garb
- Featurette— Behind the Wheel: U.N.C.L.E.'s Piranha Fandemonium
- Featurette— The Music From U.N.C.L.E.
- Featurette— The Girls of U.N.C.L.E.
- The Man From U.N.C.L.E. Show Promo - Summer, 1964
- The Man From U.N.C.L.E. Show Promo - 1966-1967
- The Man From U.N.C.L.E. Show Promo - Spring, 1967
- The Man From U.N.C.L.E. Show Promo - "The Test Tube Killer Affair" (9/18/67)
- The Man From U.N.C.L.E. Show Promo - Fall, 1967
- The Man From U.N.C.L.E. Feature Film Trailer - To Trap A Spy (First U.N.C.L.E. movie - - released overseas, 1964; released in the U.S., 1966
- The Man From U.N.C.L.E. Feature Film Trailer - The Spy With My Face (Second U.N.C.L.E. movie - released overseas, 1965; released in the U.S., 1966
- The Man From U.N.C.L.E. Feature Film Trailer - One Spy Too Many (Third U.N.C.L.E. movie - released overseas and in the U.S., 1966)
- The Man From U.N.C.L.E. Feature Film Trailer - One of Our Spies is Missing (Fourth U.N.C.L.E. movie - released overseas, 1966)
- Interview: Dean Hargrove - Writer, The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
- Interview: David McCallum - Illya Kuryakin
- Interview: Richard Donner - Director, The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
- Interview: George Lehr - Assistant Producer, The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
- Interview: Joseph Sargent - Director, The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
- Interview: Robert Vaughn - Napoleon Solo
- The Golden Globe Awards for 1965, aired live on The Andy Williams Show, 1/31/66 (NBC - Winner, Best TV Show)
- 1965 Emmy Broadcast, 9/12/65 (Robert Vaughn & David McCallum, Presenters)
- David McCallum on The Andy Williams Show, 9/20/65
- Tom & Jerry Cartoon - "The Mouse From H.U.N.G.E.R." - MGM, 1967
- Behind the Scenes: Designs and Blueprints From the Set of U.N.C.L.E
- Hidden Camera: An U.N.C.L.E. Photo Gallery
- Classified Files: Network and Studio Documents Image Gallery
- For Collectors Only: U.N.C.L.E. Memorabilia Image Gallery
- Top Secret: U.N.C.L.E. Motion Picture Advertising and Publicity Image Gallery