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Korean War 60th Anniversary-- First US War on TV

The Vietnam War is known as the "first televised war" due to the graphic nature of the images seen by American viewers. Chronologically, however, the Korean War, which began on June 25, 1950, was the first war of the TV era, when the medium was still in its infancy.

Just as the television networks were entertaining viewers with the likes of Milton Berle and "Marty" in the early days of TV, they also strove to fulfill the medium's potential for news. One of the most preeminent newsmen in television was CBS correspondent Edward R. Murrow, who built his reputation in radio during World War II. His signature TV documentary series See It Now ("Good night, and good luck") began in November 1951. This series is famed for Murrow's expose of Senator Joseph McCarthy in 1954; its first notable show was the "Christmas in Korea" broadcast in December 1952.

EDWARD R. MURROW: "This is Korea, where a war is going on. That's a Marine digging a hole in the ground. They dig an awful lot of holes in the ground in Korea. This is the front...."

***
MURROW: Who's the man first to be released from here? Who's got his points coming up first?
MARINE: Here he is. Corporal Black.
MURROW: How long do you have to go, Corporal?
CORPORAL BLACK: Well, I've got two months to go— if I stay here twelve months.
MURROW: Are you counting it by months or days?
BLACK: I'm counting it by hours. Never get home soon enough.
***
MURROW to MARINES: What would you fellows like to be doing if you were home right now?
MARINE: Are you kidding?

Variety described this See It Now broadcast as "an historic chapter on the new American journalism." The program was praised by Variety for allowing honest (occasionally negative) opinions about the war, including a Frenchman whose "shrug of shoulder and graphic facial expression spoke more than the words he uttered." The broadcast was most noted for giving voice to the American soldiers on the front lines, who described their circumstances and offered Christmas wishes to their families back home.

See it Now film editor Mili Lerner Bonsignori spoke about this classic broadcast in her Archive interview. Click here to watch her interview and an excerpt from "Christmas in Korea."

Anne Beatts' Archive Interview Now Online— Original "Saturday Night Live" Writer and Creator of "Square Pegs"

“I remember once at Saturday Night Live having spent the night in my office. There was a heavy snowfall overnight, and I looked out the window onto 5th Avenue and I saw that the entire street was covered with pristine fresh snow. I just felt very joyful and I thought the eight-year-old me always wanted to stay in the city— when you would be going to FAO Schwarz and the Museum of Natural History— and I was always like, ‘someday I’m not going to leave.’ I thought if someone had said to that eight-year-old well, yes you will do this, you will have this moment, I would have been just thrilled.”

Anne Beatts was interviewed by the Archive of American Television on May 7, 2009, click here to watch the entire interview.

Interview description:
Anne Beatts says of getting her break in comedy writing: “I always say very freely when people ask ‘how did you get into comedy?’ I say ‘the same way that Catherine the Great got into politics.’ It wasn’t like some Machiavellian scheme on my part, it was just that I was attracted to people who were doing things that I wanted to do.” Anne Beatts was among the original writers of Saturday Night Live and created and executive-produced the influential comedy series Square Pegs. Beatts talks about working on the "National Lampoon" magazine with then-boyfriend Michael O’Donoghue. She describes how the two of them were hired by producer Lorne Michaels for Saturday Night (Live). For SNL, she looks back on working with the original cast members, and describes sketches she wrote, several of which were problematic for the network’s Standards and Practices. She recounts how she left SNL and came to create and pitch Square Pegs to CBS. On Square Pegs, she describes the casting of the leads and gave insight into serving as the series’ executive producer, including hiring an all-female writing staff. On being one of television’s first female show runners, she admits that she was treated “with some degree of disbelief and disrespect. I don’t think it was easy.” She comments on her difficultly in producing the first season of A Different World, and her satisfying experience as executive producer/writer of The Stephanie Miller Show. Additionally, she relates how she came to write an episode of Murphy Brown and serve as one of the writers for the reunion special Saturday Night Live 25. Jim McKairnes conducted the two-hour interview.

Florence Henderson on "Coke Time with Eddie Fisher" in 1954

One of future "Mrs. Brady" Florence Henderson's earliest TV appearances was on Eddie Fisher's popular 15-minute music show Coke Time (sponsored by Coca-Cola). Appearing on Broadway at the time in "Fanny," she sang songs from that show.

Watch Florence Henderson on the show (from the internet archive) and hear her talk about her appearance (in her Archive interview) on the Archive's new show page for Coke Time with Eddie Fisher.

Also, find the answer to this trivia question: What currently popular morning talk show host made his TV debut when he was a page at NBC, opening an elevator on-screen for Eddie Fisher on Coke Time?

"Bewitched" Creator Sol Saks' Interview Now Online

“Writer’s block is when you think your ideas aren’t good and you get stumped. And I figured out… that you write it the way you would write badly, the way you wouldn’t turn it in. And as soon as you start, your writing becomes better. Because you‘ve tackled the subject.”



Sol Saks was interviewed by the Archive of American Television on May 21, 2009, click here to watch his entire interview.

Interview description:
Sol Saks learned early that “…with writing. When it ‘works’ you’re anonymous. When it doesn’t work you’re fired.” Sol Saks was a comedy writer during radio days (“Duffy’s Tavern”) and transitioned to TV (My Favorite Husband), best-known as the creator of the long-running and popular series Bewitched. In his Archive interview, Saks talks about his early years breaking into radio writing in Chicago and Los Angeles. He gives his impressions of such radio personalities as Dinah Shore, Ozzie Nelson, Fanny Brice and Hattie McDaniel. On “Duffy’s Tavern” he recalls the long workdays and his run-ins with head writer Abe Burrows and recites a memorable joke he wrote for the show. He describes breaking into TV with My Favorite Husband, and how the series cast actors, as opposed to comics, in the lead roles. He humorously recounts writing for seven weeks for the Joan Davis series I Married Joan, for the expressed purpose of paying for his swimming pool. He discusses in detail his work on the sitcom Mr. Adams and Eve, which starred Ida Lupino. Among the stories he tells are how he and Lupino would come up with show premises over martinis and when producer Fred De Cordova was hired, how he tried to throw out scripts Saks had written. He notes how he came to write the Bewitched pilot and why he felt the show was popular. Lastly, he outlines his short tenure as a CBS executive (in comedy development) and reminiscences about socializing with Cary Grant during the shooting of the feature film Walk, Don’t Run. He recalls: “my closet was in a dark corner and sometimes in the restaurant with Cary Grant I’d look down and I’d see I got the wrong pants with the wrong coat. And after I got to know him well, I said ‘Cary, do you notice that sometimes my coat doesn’t match my pants?’ He said, ‘Sol, on you, I only know notice when they do.’” Throughout the interview, Saks shared his thoughts on comedy writing, his disregard of writer’s block, and his belief in honesty in one’s writing and life in general. Bill Freiberger conducted the two-and-a-half-hour interview.

Here's Lucy: Season Three on DVD

The complete season three of Here's Lucy comes out on DVD tomorrow. This season featured some of the show's most well-known episodes, including "Lucy the Skydiver," "Lucy Cuts Vincent's Price," and "Lucy Goes Hawaiian, Parts One and Two." The third season opener, "Lucy Meets the Burtons" featuring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton was certainly the show's most famous— it was also the series' highest-rated episode. Variety called this episode "a fine example of situation comedy played to the hilt."

"We did Here’s Lucy with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. They said they wanted to be on, and Lucy thought they were kidding." — Madelyn (Pugh) Davis

The Archive interviewed several of the contributors to Here's Lucy, including writer Larry Rhine, who discusses the season three episode "Lucy the Skydiver."

"A-Team" Hits Theaters & DVD Shelves This Week

It's A-Team week, with the complete season now out on DVD and the feature film coming out tomorrow. The original series found the team of freelance soldiers-of-fortune succeeding in mission after mission from 1983-87 and landing in the top ten of the year-end Nielsens for its first two seasons.




Series creator Stephen J. Cannel talks about the genesis of The A-Team, from a seed idea of NBC executive Brandon Tartikoff in his Archive of American Television interview (see The A-Team under "shows discussed in this interview").

"Glee" Season Finale Tonight-- Check Out New Archive Show Page

As the first season of Glee comes to an end, the Archive posts its new show page on the series, chock full of clips from the press line as the series cast and stars appeared for the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences' event "An Evening with Glee" on April 28th.

Hear about the cast's first TV memories, their dream guest stars, and Jane Lynch on performing in the "Vogue" music video.

Happy 100th Arthur Gardner!

Noted producer Arthur Gardner (Rawhide, The Big Valley) turns 100 years old today. He becomes the Archive of American Television's first interviewee centenarian. Arthur Gardner's full Archive interview is currently posted on the emmytvlegends.org.




In this segment from his interview, Gardner talks about working with his producing partners Jules V. Levy and Arnold Laven (Levy-Gardner-Laven Productions) and with the stars of two of his most successful TV series: Chuck Connors (The Rifleman) and Barbara Stanwyck (The Big Valley).

Rue McClanahan, The Golden Girls' "Blanche" & Maude's Best Friend "Viv," Has Died

Rue McClanahan's forty year TV career began with a regular role on soap opera Another World and guest roles on such series as All in the Family and Mannix. She's best known for her work on the series Maude, Mama's Family, and The Golden Girls. She won the Emmy Award in 1987 for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as "Blanche Devereaux" on The Golden Girls.

Click here for Rue McClanahan's entire May 4, 2006 Archive of American Television interview.




Interview Description:
Rue McClanahan was interviewed for two-and-a-half hours in New York, NY. McClanahan talked about her acting start on the stage and touched on some of her feature films from the 1960s. She discussed her first regular role in television as scheming nurse “Caroline Johnson” on Another World. She recalled how, when her character tries unsuccessfully to poison the mother of the twins she is caring for, she received a fan letter recommending a better poison. She spoke in great detail about her role as “Vivian Cavender” best friend to Bea Arthur on the television sitcom Maude. She described her character, talked about working with the ensemble cast, and commented on memorable series episodes. She then talked about her work as series regular “Aunt Fran” on Mama’s Family. Lastly, she discussed at length the production of the classic 1980s sitcom The Golden Girls and her role of “Blanche Devereaux.” She talked about the casting process, working with the series production personnel, and the transition of the show into The Golden Palace. The interview was conducted by Jim Colucci.

In this excerpt from her interview, she discusses how different The Golden Girls actresses were from their characters:

This Is CNN's 30th Anniversary

The 24-hour news network began broadcasting at 5 PM EST on June 1, 1980. The network came into its own with the outbreak of the Persian Gulf War in January 1991, and has since become the go-to breaking news source. In his Archive of American Television interviewed Ted Turner talks about the "open newsroom" set of CNN, an idea he credits to founding president and CEO of CNN Reese Schonfeld.



Watch Ted Turner's entire Archive of American Television interview and look at highlights from CNN (link under "featured content") at Emmytvlegends.org

Art Linkletter, TV Legend and "Pied Piper to Kids" Has Died

Art Linkletter became a television icon in the 1950s, for his famed interactions interviewing children, and as the host of a string of successful series including Art Linkletter's House Party and People Are Funny. Linkletter has died at the age of 97.

Art Linkletter was interviewed by the Archive of American Television on September 15, 1997; his full interview can be viewed at emmytvlegends.org.

Interview Description:
Art Linkletter discusses his early years in radio and his business partnership with John Guedel which resulted in many popular programs including Groucho Marx's You Bet Your Life. He talks about his start, in 1950, in his first television series, Life with Linkletter. Linkletter then recounts some of his most memorable stories from the two television series he is most associated with, Art Linkletter's House Party and People Are Funny. For these series, he talks about the shows' universal appeal and his humorous interviews with over twenty-seven thousand children. He also discusses his notable appearance as host of the opening of Disneyland (Walt Disney was a family friend) on the live televised broadcast in July of 1955. The three-hour interview was conducted in Bel Air, California by Sam Denoff.

"The Adventures of Robin Hood" -- Classic 1950s TV, served Blacklisted Writers

With a new Robin Hood in theaters, the Archive has created a show page for the classic 1950s TV series The Adventures of Robin Hood. Produced in England, the series ran on CBS from 1955 to 1958 and starred Richard Greene in the title role. Harry and Wally's Favorite TV Shows describes the series as "a well-done staging of the familiar swashbuckling tale, with excellent performances from the central cast, an authentic setting, good guest stars, and reasonably clever plots [with] Richard Greene... an able champion of the people." Reviewing the series opener, Daily Variety raved: "the series... stacks up as one of the superior foreign TV pix imports.... producer Hannah Weinstein has given the vehicle fancy trappings production-wise [and] her choice of Greene for the lead was a good one."

What was not known at the time to American audiences was that producer Weinstein actively employed writers who had been blacklisted in the US. Among those writers was Archive interviewee and one of the famed "Hollywood Ten"— Ring Lardner Jr., who along with Ian McLellan Hunter, wrote under the pseudonym "Paul Symonds" for the series. When Lardner emerged from the blacklist, he was awarded the Academy Award for his screenplay of M*A*S*H (1970). Click here to watch The Adventures of Robin Hood (embedded from the Internet Archive) and watch Ring Lardner Jr. discussing how he and other blacklisted writers worked on the series.

"The Virginian" Season One on DVD

The Virginian was one of the last of the early classic adult TV westerns. Airing from 1962-71, the epic 90-minutes-per-episode color series starred James Drury as the mysterious defender of law and order. Although Variety's review of the series opener was unenthusiastic at best, particularly in regard to lead Drury ("If Drury didn't hurt, he certainly didn't help"), The Virginian became the third longest-running western series of all-time and peaked at #10 in the year-end Nielsen ratings in its 1966-67 season. Tomorrow, the "fully restored and digitally remastered" first season on The Virginian gets its DVD debut.


The premiere episode of The Virginian featured another iconic TV western star— The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp's Hugh O'Brian. O'Brian spoke about the fight scene he did with star James Drury in his Archive of American Television interview-- both the scene and O'Brian's interview are highlighted on the Archive's Virginian show page.

Bob Newhart Has a Dream: 20 Years Ago Today

Considered one of the finest moments in scripted TV history, Newhart ended its eight season run with a brilliant TV in-joke. TV Land to Go: The Big Book of TV Lists, TV Lore, and TV Bests by Tom Hill describes the episode as "a bizarre final chapter in the strange tale of Bob's life in Vermont, and an ending that immediately became a television legend."

The Archive of American Television celebrates the 20th anniversary of the Newhart finale two ways. Tune in tonight to the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric, which features a final segment with Bob Newhart himself (and a clip of our interview with Suzanne Pleshette) discussing the landmark show. Plus, see the Archive's new show page for Newhart: "The Last Newhart" featuring behind-the-scenes stories from Bob Newhart, Suzanne Pleshette, Tom Poston, and director Dick Martin.

"Law & Order" Ends its Long Run on May 24

NBC announced last week that Law & Order will end its 20-year run this season. Law & Order is the longest running crime drama on American prime time television and is tied with Gunsmoke for longest-running drama series. (Technically, Law & Order [Sept. 13, 1990 to May 24, 2010] outdistanced Gunsmoke [Sept 10, 1955 - March 31, 1975].)


Created by Dick Wolf, the series is known for its two-part narrative approach: in the first half-hour, the criminal investigation and in the second half-hour, the prosecution. Dick Wolf revealed why this approach was taken in his Archive of American Television Interview:

In 1990, there were virtually no hour shows in syndication. Syndication was sold in half hour blocks. There were comedies, comedies, more comedies. No hours. There was a decided interest on the part of Universal and me and everybody who was trying to make money in television to figure out a way to be able to split hour shows into half hours for syndication. Nobody had ever figured out, though, that since syndication was five days a week - if you started [splitting Law & Order episodes] on Monday, you'd have Monday, Tuesday; Wednesday, Thursday; Friday, Monday - you'd never have a week that worked. Luckily, we never had to go to that extreme. It never became an issue, the hour shows came back.... It was a decision that was pragmatic rather than creative, then it turned out to be a situation that was enormously creatively freeing.

Watch Dick Wolf's full Archive of American Television Interview to hear more about this landmark series that started a TV series franchise.

Don Knotts' Only Dramatic Role-- on '50s Soap Opera "Search for Tomorrow"

Don Knotts will forever be know as the comic sidekick "Barney Fife" on The Andy Griffith Show, as Mr. Furley on Three's Company, and as the star of a series of funny family friendly '60s films including The Incredible Mr. Limpet and The Ghost and Mr. Chicken. His first TV series role, however, may not be that familiar. From 1953-54 he played Wilbur Peterson on the soap opera Search for Tomorrow (which ran from 1951-84). His mostly-mute character has a rare few lines in an episode that is currently posted on the Internet Archive, with Wilbur in a dream-filled delirium.

This rare episode also features series star Mary Stuart, plus Coe Norton and Cliff Hall (unfortunately, Lee Grant who played Knotts' sister "Rose" on the soap doesn't make an appearance in this one). At the end is a commercial for Cheer with spokesperson Irene Manning (1912-2004), who appeared in Yankee Doodle Dandy with James Cagney.

Listen to Don Knotts talk about Search for Tomorrow and watch an episode in which he appears (SCROLL down to the "featured content") on his Archive of American Television interview page.


Don Knotts spoke about his stint on Search for Tomorrow in his Archive of American Television Interview:

"It was the only serious role I ever played professionally. I haven’t played on since. Wilbur was a very neurotic guy who wouldn’t talk to anybody. Very shy. He would only talk to his sister... we had an actor named Les Damon on the show, and I was sweeping up one day, had a broom and I was sweeping and he was ranting and raving about something and I wasn’t allowed to talk because I was supposed to be afraid, and suddenly he went off and I couldn’t help it. He looked at me and I’m like, I can’t help you. And he was totally gone. So I heard him say, 'What’s the line?' And I think the stage manager was terrified. He couldn’t imagine anybody asking for a line now on live TV. He sort of whispered and I knew he couldn’t hear him because I couldn’t hear him. Finally Les said, 'WHAT?' I thought, geez, are we on, or is this rehearsal?"

Betty White Triumphs on "SNL"

The reviews and ratings are golden for Betty White's turn as guest host on Saturday Night Live. With Betty's latest TV success, the Archive looks back on her Emmy-winning role as Sue Ann Nivens- the Happy Homemaker, on The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

Before her continued (and possibly greatest) fame as Rose Nylund on The Golden Girls, Betty White had a decades-long career that began in the early 1950s, with a high water mark as a semi-regular on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. When the producers of The Mary Tyler Moore Show sought to find a sickeningly sweet Betty White-type to play WJM's "Happy Homemaker," they cast the real McCoy. Sue Ann Nivens was introduced on the September 15, 1973 episode: "The Lars Affair," wherein she has an affair with Phyllis' (Cloris Leachman) husband. With White's great take on the Happy Homemaker, she soon became a fixture of the series. In reviewing this now-classic episode- the show's fourth season opener- Variety lauded Cloris Leachman's performance (she'd win the Emmy that year) and noted that Betty White satirized the TV homemaker "to a tee" furthering that this "preem's inventiveness indicates that the series is off and running for another successful year."

In ranking the top 100 sitcom episodes of all-time, TV Land To Go: The Big Book of TV Lists, TV Lore, and TV Bests by Tom Hill ranked "The Lars Affair" at #22; in 1997, TV Guide, in its ranking of the Greatest TV episodes, placed it at #27. Take a look at the Archive's new page on The Mary Tyler Moore Show: "The Lars Affair" to watch interview excerpts with Mary Tyler Moore and Betty White.

"Battlestar Galactica" Ended Its Run 30 Years Ago Today

Technically, the original Battlestar Galactica ended its run 31 years ago, when ABC pulled the plug on the show in 1979. But when the fans protested, a ten-episode version entitled Galactica 1980, resulted, with just Lorne Greene remaining from the original cast. However, for what would be the last series episode, Dirk Benedict (later "Face" on The A-Team) reprised his role as "Lt. Starbuck." This episode, airing on May 4, 1980, called "The Return of Starbuck" was the brainchild of series creator Glen A. Larson and featured Starbuck befriending one of the dreaded Cylons.

Larson spoke about this episode in his Archive of American Television Interview:

"I think one of the best episodes we made in all of them was the very last one, the ‘Starbuck’ episode. I said, 'I don’t care, we’re done anyway. So I’m going to do an episode I always wanted to do,' where Starbuck finds himself crashed on a planet with a Cylon and the two bond... They talked about doing that as a play on the West End in London. You know, sometimes you write one for yourself. If I could do it, I’d do a lot of them like this, this would be great. Didn’t require a lot of special effects and things. We had what we needed. And it was a great story."

Watch Galactica 1980: "The Return of Starbuck" (embedded from Hulu) on Glen A. Larson's Interview page, where in Chapter 3 he speaks extensively about this series.

Soap Star Helen Wagner, Matriarch of "As the World Turns," Dies at Age 91- Archive Interview Online

Helen Wagner, listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for her long-running performance as Nancy Hughes on As the World Turns since the show debuted in 1956, has died. She sadly misses the the series' final episode by just a few months-- its planned for a September 17th airdate. Her TV series career began with roles on several early-to-mid '50s shows, including soap The Guiding Light, sitcom The World of Mr. Sweeney, and soap Valiant Lady. Once she landed in Oakdale though, it became her mainstay for 54 years.

Helen Wagner was interviewed by the Archive of American Television on October 6, 2004, viewable in its entirety at emmytvlegends.org.

Interview description:
Helen Wagner was interviewed for nearly two hours in Mt. Kisco, NY. Wagner described breaking into acting on the New York stage and in experimental television. She talked about her appearance as a regular on the short-lived Charlie Ruggles sitcom The World of Mr. Sweeney. She then discussed the role for which she is most associated, that of “Nancy Hughes” on As the World Turns, a role she has played for nearly fifty years, the longest running character to date in the history of television. She described the production of As the World Turns including its transition from “live” to tape, story plot lines, and working with her longtime co-stars. She talked about various moments from the show from uttering the series very first line (“Good morning dear, what would you like for breakfast?”) to playing a scene “live” while unbeknownst to her CBS broke in to announce the shooting of President Kennedy. She talked about her continued work on the series and how the show has evolved over the years. The interview was conducted by Karen Herman on October 6, 2004.

Suzanne Pleshette Doubled her Double on "One Step Beyond"

Alcoa Presents will forever be known for its syndicated title, One Step Beyond. The series dramatized real-life case histories of various occult subjects, with Rod Serling-esque intros by distinguished-looking host, series director John Newland. Alcoa Presents ran just a few seasons, resulting in 96 episodes, many of which are currently posted on the Internet Archive.

This early filmed TV series is notable for featuring many up-and-coming stars. Among the young performers making appearances on the series in the early part of their careers, were: Pernell Roberts, Suzanne Pleshette, Louise Fletcher, Robert Loggia, Elizabeth Montgomery and William Shatner.

Suzanne Pleshette tells an amusing story about stunt work she performed in her Alcoa Presents episode (where she co-starred with future St. Elsewhere star Norman Lloyd), in her Archive of American Television Interview. Watch the Suzanne Pleshette/Norman Lloyd episode (embedded from the Internet Archive), listen to Pleshette talk about the show in her Archive interview, and find a link to more episodes from the Internet Archive at the Archive's new page for Alcoa Presents aka One Step Beyond.

Falcon Crest Debuts on DVD Today

Falcon Crest joins Dallas, Dynasty, and Knots Landing on DVD today-- the last of the long-running '80s prime time soaps to make the jump to home video. The series ran from 1981-1990, and starred Oscar-winning screen star Jane Wyman as villainess "Angela Channing," in her last major role, for which she won the Golden Globe. Wyman was no stranger to TV though, and, in fact, was a two-time Emmy nominee for her work on the classic anthology series Fireside Theatre (aka The Jane Wyman Show) in the 1950s.

Reviewing the sixth season's opener, Variety noted "the costumers, art director John P. Bruce and director of photography Ken Peach Jr. have conspired to give the series a glossy, elegant look." Harry and Wally's Favorite TV Shows acknowledges that all of the necessary soap elements are found on Falcon Crest, "incalculable wealth, an evil villain, good-looking young people, and sexual intrigue" yet in comparing it to Dallas and Dynasty comments that the show failed to achieve cult status because it was "too realistic" and didn't provide "what prime-time soap fans crave... opulence and exaggerated characters." That's up for debate!


Series co-creator Earl Hamner (who created The Waltons) said in his Archive of American Television interview: "Someone once said to me, how can you do Falcon Crest after The Waltons? And I said, everybody has a good side and a bad side. And this one comes from my wicked side. But I loved doing it." As an example, Hamner offers....

"One of my favorite moments on the series [was the wedding of the characters played by Lorenzo Lamas and Ana Alicia]. They’d just been married and they’d both led rather dissolute lives; and after the minister says, 'I now pronounce you man and wife,' she turns to him and says, 'I’m pregnant.' And he says, 'Oh?' And she says, 'but it’s not yours.' I mean, that’s a key to the wickedness that we did."

Earl Hamner outlines the creation of Falcon Crest and gives his impressions of the show's stars in Part 7 (see timecode 2:20) of his Archive of American Television interview.

Mel Brooks & Carl Reiner for Tax Day

Today is tax day, luckily there's classic TV to cheer us up. On a February 1965 episode of The Hollywood Palace, Carl Reiner interviews "tax expert" Mel Brooks' "Philip J. Heinker," who discusses his methods for filing, which includes claiming Romania ("I send them cottage cheese and Life magazine"). Look for newly Mrs. Mel Brooks- Anne Bancroft- cracking up in the studio audience.

"I don't sing, I don't dance, but if you've been watching my show, you know I'm one heck of a runner." - Hollywood Palace guest host, The Fugitive's David Janssen

This episode, too, features an admittedly out-of-his-element guest host, David Janssen (then lead of The Fugitive), who nonetheless manages his duties as emcee. The only moment where he trips up, is in playing straight man to Tim Conway- probably not the first person to fail in this task. Conway, who was appearing as Ensign Charles Parker on McHale's Navy at the time, performs his sketch "The Warden." Also among the show's guest stars are Edie Adams and Vic Damone. And don't miss the show's finale with the Harlem Globetrotters versus the Palace Dribblers (Janssen, Brooks [above, right, getting a little help with his dunk], Reiner, Conway, and Damone).

Click here for the Archive's Hollywood Palace page to watch this February 6, 1965 episode of The Hollywood Palace (embedded from the Internet Archive) and hear Archive interviewees including Tim Conway talk about guesting on the series.

Valerie Harper Wraps Up "Looped"

What's the opposite of Rhoda Morgenstern? Answer: Tallulah Bankhead. Valerie Harper is playing Tallulah Bankhead in "Looped" on Broadway, and, as noted by The Hollywood Reporter's Frank Scheck "effectively bury[s] her own persona," garnering "big laughs with her razor-sharp delivery of the endlessly profane dialogue."

Although she appeared on the Broadway stage as a dancer at the beginning of her career, it wasn't until of late that Harper's had major roles on Broadway, as she attests in her Archive of American Television interview:

"If God said you've got to choose one thing now, I think I would probably say: theater. Because it was my first love and — you’ll find this hard to believe — when I was five and six years old, I dreamed of being on Broadway. And it wasn’t until I was quite old, that I actually was on Broadway. And it was like going back to a part of my life that I’d almost forgotten about."

Valerie Harper discusses her career in the theater and her greatest fame on TV (an Emmy-winner as a supporting player and then lead as "Rhoda Morgenstern" on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Rhoda) in her Archive of American Television interview. She wraps up "Looped" this weekend at the Lyceum Theatre.

Leonard Nimoy in the 1950s & early '60s

Leonard Nimoy was living hand-to-mouth in the 1950s and early 60s, as a struggling actor in TV and movies, before his stardom on Star Trek and Mission: Impossible. He landed the leading role in the feature film Kid Monk Baroni (1952) (photo, left), but spent most of his early career in TV in small roles, in such series as Dragnet (photo, center) and The Twilight Zone (photo, right).

"The work that I was useful for when I was hired-- which was rare in those days-- were always offbeat nasty guys. Ethnic characters of one kind or another. Guys who beat up people and that sort of thing. They were always in trouble. The good guys were guys that looked like Tab Hunter. The look at that time was a look that wasn’t me. They say, you have small eyes, or you have a crooked nose, or, you know, 'No, no, no, no, no! Next. Next.'"

Several of Nimoy's early parts are now viewable on his Archive of American Television Interview page (see Featured Content)— watch these early roles and hear Leonard Nimoy discuss his early career here.

"Dynasty" Star John Forsythe Has Died-- Archive Interview Online

John Forsythe, best known as oil tycoon Blake Carrington on the '80s prime time soap Dynasty, has died at the age of 92. Forsythe's TV career dates back to the 1940s, and baby boomers will remember his first regular series role as the single dad on the series Bachelor Father (1957-62). Forsythe's other major TV claim-to-fame is providing the voice to the unseen "Charlie" in the '70s hit Charlie's Angels.

John Forsythe was interviewed by the Archive of American Television on July 24, 2000; his interview is currently available online.

Interview Description:
John Forsythe was interviewed for two-and-a-half hours in Los Olivos, CA. During his interview, Mr. Forsythe spoke of his extensive live television work and his series role as Bentley Gregg on Bachelor Father. He then chronicled his work on two other series, The John Forsythe Show and To Rome with Love, as well as numerous made-for-television movie roles. He also spoke about his voice-only role as "Charlie" on Charlie’s Angels and his role as Blake Carrington, the patriarch of the popular long-running series, Dynasty, opposite actresses Linda Evans and Joan Collins. The interview was conducted by Don Carleton.

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Classic "All in the Family" episode given the "Simpsons" Treatment

On the recent Simpsons episode "Stealing First Base" (airdate: 3/21/10) Sarah Silverman guest-starred as a girl who plants a kiss on Bart, leading to a Cinema Paradiso-inspired montage of famous movie & TV kisses. The last kiss seen in the montage is, unusually, and hilariously, from the All in the Family episode "Sammy's Visit" (in which the Bunker household welcomes Sammy Davis Jr., who gets the last laugh on Archie). The Simpsons' team brilliantly capture the look that Carroll O'Connor's Archie gave during this memorable classic TV moment.


Watch the Simpsons montage on the Archive's new page for All in the Family: "Sammy's Visit" and hear from the contributors of this classic episode including star Carroll O'Connor, writer Bill Dana, and director John Rich.

Chet Simmons, the First President of ESPN, Has Died

Chet Simmons, who served as ESPN's first President when the network started in 1979, has died at the age of 81. Simmons began in sports programming in the 1950s and was instrumental in the development of ABC's Wide World of Sports in the 1960s. He became the first President of NBC Sports in 1977. The Archive of American Television Chet Simmons on December 16, 2008; the interview is not yet available online, below is an excerpt.



Interview description:
Chet Simmons was interviewed for four hours in Atlanta, GA. Simmons spoke about his early interest in following sports, on radio and in print. He noted his work selling time to small radio stations in the Southwest, meeting Edgar Scherick at this job. He described working in television mentored by Scherick (who taught him the business) and Jack Loubelle (who taught him television production), for their company Sports Programs, Inc.— working as a jack-of-all-trades production assistant, at first on big ten basketball. He talked about the expansion of the company under their exclusive deal with ABC and spoke frankly about Scherick’s difficult personality (and abrupt depature from the company), yet complimented his successes. He related a story of how the company, under Scherick, was able to get the rights for college football away from NBC in the mid-60s. He also described the working methods of Roone Arledge and his growing stature as a legendary figure in television. He outlined the concept of ABC’s Wide World of Sports and described how the show launched Jim McKay as a major sports announcer. He recounted how he came to work for NBC, spoke about his colleagues, and acknowledged how he became the first President of NBC Sports— the title created in 1977 for the first time. He spoke about his disappointment in losing college basketball to CBS due to disinterest internally and how this was the beginning of NBC’s loss of dominance in sports. He recalled hearing about a “sports-all-the-time” network that was being bandied about and the call he received to hire him to run this new Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (EPSN). He outlined the idea of the network by Bill Rasmussen (and his embracing of newly developed satellite technology) and spoke openly about how he was responsible for Rasmussen’s leaving the network. He talked about the contribution of Getty Oil executive Stuart Evey to early ESPN as well as NBC veteran Scotty Connal’s contribution to getting the network on the air. He described getting the sports coverage necessary to fulfill the network’s (eventual) mandate of 24-hour sports. He looked back on the first day’s programming and the emotions he felt, comparing it to the birth of a child. He outlined the kinds of sports the network showed and noted their breakthrough in programming with college basketball. He commented on the network’s location in Bristol, CT; described his management style; spoke about the network’s Sportscenter; and described how he came to leave the network. Lastly, he talked about his appointment as the Commissioner of the United States Football League. The interview was conducted by Paul Leone.

Producer-director Ira Skutch ("Match Game," "Philco Television Playhouse") Has Died-- Archive Interview Online

Ira Skutch, a producer-director and a television historian, has died at the age of 88. Skutch worked as a stage manager on some of the earliest regularly scheduled shows on NBC, including the landmark variety series Hour Glass (1946-47), the first hour-long entertainment series produced for network television. Moving up the ladder, he became a director on Philco Television Playhouse (helming the live commercials, and a few of the full productions themselves) and a producer-director on such series as Disc Magic, which featured popular songs played "live." Ira Skutch is best known for his tenure at Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions, producing such series as Match Game. Skutch contributed to TV scholarship with The Days of Live and The Du Mont Television Network: What Happened? (co-written with Ted Bergmann) and worked with such directors as Delbert Mann on interview-style autobiographies.

The Archive of American Television interviewed Ira Skutch on January 29, 2004 and the interview is currently available online.

Interview description:
Ira Skutch was interviewed for nearly three hours in Los Angeles, CA. Skutch talked about his early years as a page and later manager of guided tours at NBC in the mid-1940s. He described in detail the layout of the NBC building, listing the various studios and the radio series that were produced in each, as well as which were modified to bring in television production. Skutch talked about his work as a stage manger on NBC’s earliest television series including NBC Television Theater, You Are an Artist, Face to Face, Kraft Television Theater, and the big budget variety series Hour Glass. Skutch discussed his work in technique and production as a director of “live” television commercials for television series as well as the 1952 political conventions. He chronicled his work as a director on such shows as Disc Magic (a 1946 precursor to music video), The Swift Home Service Club (one of network television first daytime series), and Philco TV Playhouse. Lastly Skutch talked in detail about his 26-year tenure as director, then producer at Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions, where he worked on such series as Beat the Clock, Play Your Hunch, and Match Game. The interview was conducted by Gary Rutkowski.

"I Spy" Star Robert Culp Has Died-- Archive Interview Online

Robert Culp, an Emmy nominee for both writing and starring in I Spy, has died at the age of 79. Culp's considerable TV credits include the classic sci-fi anthology The Outer Limits, the comedy-adventure series The Greatest American Hero, and the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond.

The Archive of American Television interviewed Robert Culp on November 6, 2007 and the interview is currently available online.

Interview description:
Robert Culp was interviewed for three hours in Los Angeles, CA. Culp talked about his childhood interests and how he aspired to be an animator for Disney when he grew up. He talked about his acting training and his move to New York City, breaking into theater and television. He explained how he was able to get work in television as an indirect result of the Hollywood Blacklist: since he was a newcomer, he had no affiliations. He talked about his early experiences in Los Angeles as a struggling actor and described his first role as a series regular on the series Trackdown, which he called a “western Dragnet.” He spoke fondly of working with Dick Powell, whose Four Star Productions produced this series. He described some of the roles he had in a variety of the popular TV genres of the day— western, detective, medical, sci-fi— including his memorable parts on the classic sci-fi anthology The Outer Limits. He then spoke in great detail about the role and the series for which he is most closely associated: “Kelly Robinson” on I, Spy. For this series he talked about the on-location shooting, working with co-star Bill Cosby (and the controversial casting of an African-American lead), and talked about some of the series’ episodes that he wrote as well as acted in. He then spoke about two other series for which he memorably appeared: The Greatest American Hero and Everybody Loves Raymond. The interview was conducted by Stephen J. Abramson on November 6, 2007.

"T.A.M.I. Show" on DVD-- Archive Interviewee Steve Binder Describes the Landmark Concert

1964's historic two-day rock/r&b concert, the T.A.M.I. Show, comes out on DVD today. Although the acronym T.A.M.I. was used inconsistently, it stood for either Teen Age Music International or Teenage Awards Music International-- with free tickets to the concert distributed to high school students. The concert, which took place at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, featured James Brown, the Supremes, and the Rolling Stones. Among the go-go dancers seen were a young Toni Basil and Teri Garr.

Steve Binder directed the concert and filmed it using "Electronivision," described by Wikipedia as "one of the first high-definition video camera [systems] that captured somewhere between 1000-1100 lines at 25fps." Herein lies the T.A.M.I. Show's connection to TV-- it was filmed with television cameras and crews (from The Steve Allen Show) and transferred to film for posterity. The concert has been shown on Canadian and American television in the years since, but has never had a fully authorized release on home video. It's now-authorized edition is released restored and digitally remastered for DVD.


Watch Archive interviewee Steve Binder discuss the technical know-how behind the T.A.M.I. Show and the experience of filming the concert in chapter two of his Archive of American Television Interview.

"Chicago Television"-- New Book from the Museum of Broadcast Communications

The Chicago-based Museum of Broadcast Communications recently released Chicago Television, a survey of the city's first fifty years of TV broadcasting. Chicago TV stations WBKB (now WBBM-TV), WENR (now WLS-TV), WGN, and WNBQ (now WMAQ-TV) began commercial broadcasting in the 1940s, launching Chicago as one of the first centers of TV production in the US. The broadcasting style in the early years, particularly at WNBQ, established the "Chicago School of Television," which compensated for a lack of resources with creativity. MBC's Encyclopedia of Television describes the "Chicago School" as "an almost totally scriptless-improvisational approach reliant on interpretive camera work and creative use of scenery, costumes, props, and lighting." In later days, Chicago made it's mark nationally with such shows as At the Movies (which began locally as Opening Soon... at a Theater Near You at WTTW in 1975) and The Oprah Winfrey Show (nationally syndicated since 1986).

With the release of Chicago Television, featuring over 200 photographs of TV in the Midwest metropolis, visit as well the Archive's pages on some of the shows that have defined the city's TV programming:


Kukla, Fran & Ollie (1947 WBKB; 1948-57, NBC, ABC)

Garroway at Large (1949-54, NBC)

Studs' Place (1949-1952, NBC, ABC)

Siskel & Ebert & the Movies (1980s-90s, syndicated)

TV's Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone— Fess Parker, Has Died— Archive Interview Online

Fess Parker became a TV star portraying "Davy Crockett" in a series of adventures that aired on the anthology series Disneyland, earning him an Emmy nomination as Most Outstanding New Personality in 1955. Parker had a rare second act in American TV stardom, as Daniel Boone, on the NBC series that ran from 1964-70.

The Archive of American Television interviewed Fess Parker on July 24, 2000, currently available online.

Interview description:
Fess Parker was interviewed for two-and-a-half hours at his inn in Los Olivos, CA. Mr. Parker talked about his childhood in Texas and his eventual journey to Hollywood after visiting there during his military service in World War II. He discussed his early roles in filmed westerns and his early television roles including Dragnet and Annie Oakley. In 1954, he was hired by Disney to play the lead in Davy Crockett, a limited series. The program was so popular, and spawned such a merchandising craze, that Parker’s Crockett was brought back for two more limited series. After the series ended, Parker worked on many other series as a guest star, before launching into the short lived 1962 series, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. In 1964, Parker triumphed as the lead in (and occasional director of) the series, Daniel Boone, which ran for six years. With his success with Daniel Boone, Parker semi-retired and acquired real estate, resorts and wineries. The interview was conducted by Don Carelton on July 24, 2000.