A Whole Vault of Shows Not Being Aired

[Markxxx]

One show that has gotten minimal air-play since the late 1960's is "Father Knows Best".

They play that show on WWME-CA ME-TV Chicago. And that show is hard to take. It is bad, I can see why it gets low airplay. Another show ME-TV shows on Sunday is "One Day At A Time," how Bonnie "I'm not an actor but an overactor" Franklin managed to keep that show alive for nine years is beyond me. Funny thing is I liked it at the time.

I have heard the radio version of "Father Knows Best," and that is 100 times better. Of course it's Robert Young with a different cast, but the father is allowed to be a lot more sarcastic (and funny) with the kids on radio.

Now I always liked "My Three Sons." That was on for awhile on ME-TV.

I would like to see 50s shows that were on CBN in the early 80s

 

[Corky Marlowe]

I have heard the radio version of "Father Knows Best," and that is 100 times better. Of course it's Robert Young with a different cast, but the father is allowed to be a lot more sarcastic (and funny) with the kids on radio.
The radio versions of "Gunsmoke" and "Dragnet" are fascinating to listen to as well...The acting on "Gunsmoke" has such an amazing natural quality, and "Dragnet" on radio has a real noir feel to it. I've never seen the 50's "Dragnet", but I hear it's much closer to the radio version. Speaking of topic, neither incarnation of "Dragnet" seems to be on anywhere, certainly not on TV Bland.

 

[LKellerIII]

"The radio versions of "Gunsmoke" and "Dragnet" are fascinating to listen to as well...The acting on "Gunsmoke" has such an amazing natural quality, and "Dragnet" on radio has a real noir feel to it. I've never seen the 50's "Dragnet", but I hear it's much closer to the radio version. Speaking of topic, neither incarnation of "Dragnet" seems to be on anywhere, certainly not on TV Bland."

I've never heard the radio version of Gunsmoke - I understand that Marshall Dillon was played by William Conrad (Cannon, Jake & the Fatman). I've always assumed that Conrad wasn't considered for the TV show because they wanted a more handsome actor in the role. I remember seeing him in small supporting roles in 40s and 50s films - because of his looks, he always played heavies...no pun intended

RE: the original TV Dragnet - I stumbled into a DVD with 4 episodes from the early 50s - in the $1.00 section of Target! Given the price, I assume that it's now in the public domain. I can confirm that it is somewhat noir-ish...shot in black and white, or course, but also shot rather darkly. They did a fair number of exterior shots on the actual streets of LA - but it was all just silent footage of of cops standing around next to their cars talking - with Jack Webb's narration overlayed. Shockingly low-budget, even for that era.

If you ever get a chance to see the Dragnet movie (release in theatres) from the 50s - check that out. They went a different direction, and there are a lot of action scenes with Webb and Ben Alexander in fist-fights.

 

[Corky Marlowe]

I've never heard the radio version of Gunsmoke - I understand that Marshall Dillon was played by William Conrad (Cannon, Jake & the Fatman).
Yes...Doc was played by Howard McNear (Floyd from "The Andy Griffith Show"), and Chester was played by Parley Baer (the veteran character actor who at one point played the mayor on "TAGS", and was for many years the voice of Ernie Keebler, the elf who supervised all that elfin magic at Keebler.)

Back to topic...The B/W Gunsmokes (30 and 60 minute versions) never see the light of day anymore. As we used to say in Indiana, "Howscome?"

 

[Ultimajock]

The late Mike Douglas has told the story a number of times about an early co-hosting appearance by Barbra Streisand on the Mike Douglas Show when it originated at KYW-TV 3 Cleveland (proobably late 1961-early 1962) This was before she became nationally known..She was paid $1,000 a week to co-host 5 90-minute shows..KYW arranged for her to sing at a local nightclub that week so she could earn a little more money..

Douglas relates that the tapes of those 5 shows were erased by Westinghouse management-To put station editorials on!

...Merv Griffin claimed the same thing happened to both his Westinghouse and CBS shows, although a couple of clips did pop up on CBS' Television City 50th Anniversary special five years ago...

 

[LKellerIII]

"Merv Griffin claimed the same thing happened to both his Westinghouse and CBS shows, although a couple of clips did pop up on CBS' Television City 50th Anniversary special five years ago..."

And the first decade or so of the Johnny Carson Tonight Show. It's why you see so very few Tonight clips from the 60s. If I remember, when Carson found out (in the late 70s, perhaps), he was royally POed. Some of the famous clips that did survive (Ed Ames & the hatchet, etc.) came from other sources - not NBC.

 

[Cincinnati Kid]

I heard Carson, himself, say that there was no known recording of his first show on October 1, 1962.

 

[anotherguyTN]

On Carson's final show all they had from the first show were an audio clip and some still photos.

 

[Ultimajock]

I heard Carson, himself, say that there was no known recording of his first show on October 1, 1962.

...there does exist the Armed Forces Radio Service audio-only version of the first show, and some still photographs. And, on occasion, individual guests -- most notably Dr. Frank Field, then the meteorologist for WNBC/4 New York -- would have kinescopes made of their appearances. I believe the clip of Carson cracking up to a Flip Wilson punchline circa '65 was found in the holdings of Wilson's estate...

 

[LKellerIII]

"..there does exist the Armed Forces Radio Service audio-only version of the first show, and some still photographs. And, on occasion, individual guests -- most notably Dr. Frank Field, then the meteorologist for WNBC/4 New York -- would have kinescopes made of their appearances. I believe the clip of Carson cracking up to a Flip Wilson punchline circa '65 was found in the holdings of Wilson's estate..."

It seems to me that a few of those 60s clips were also video-taped, presumably by some technician in studio, but on-the-sly, so they are not tapes that ended up in the NBC archives, but in private collections. The clips I've seen re-broadcast were in black and white. I believe the Carson Tonight Show was broadcast in color from day one.

 

[Ultimajock]

"..there does exist the Armed Forces Radio Service audio-only version of the first show, and some still photographs. And, on occasion, individual guests -- most notably Dr. Frank Field, then the meteorologist for WNBC/4 New York -- would have kinescopes made of their appearances. I believe the clip of Carson cracking up to a Flip Wilson punchline circa '65 was found in the holdings of Wilson's estate..."

It seems to me that a few of those 60s clips were also video-taped, presumably by some technician in studio, but on-the-sly, so they are not tapes that ended up in the NBC archives, but in private collections. The clips I've seen re-broadcast were in black and white. I believe the Carson Tonight Show was broadcast in color from day one.

...those would be the kinescopes I referenced in my comment. "The Tonight Show" has been broadcast in color since Jack Paar's days at the desk, with the exception of the occasional times Paar took the show to London, Hawaii and West Berlin for broadcasts. But the kinescopes were almost always in black&white; the only exception I can recall seeing was a Dr. Frank Field appearance that popped up in Field's restrospective special on WWOR-TV circa 2001. The only other color kinnie I can recall seeing was also Carson-related: the time his then-wife Joanne appeared on Dick Cavett's morning chat show on ABC in 1968, which is an extra on one of Cavett's DVD sets...

 

[Tim L]

"..there does exist the Armed Forces Radio Service audio-only version of the first show, and some still photographs. And, on occasion, individual guests -- most notably Dr. Frank Field, then the meteorologist for WNBC/4 New York -- would have kinescopes made of their appearances. I believe the clip of Carson cracking up to a Flip Wilson punchline circa '65 was found in the holdings of Wilson's estate..."

It seems to me that a few of those 60s clips were also video-taped, presumably by some technician in studio, but on-the-sly, so they are not tapes that ended up in the NBC archives, but in private collections. The clips I've seen re-broadcast were in black and white. I believe the Carson Tonight Show was broadcast in color from day one.

...those would be the kinescopes I referenced in my comment. "The Tonight Show" has been broadcast in color since Jack Paar's days at the desk, with the exception of the occasional times Paar took the show to London, Hawaii and West Berlin for broadcasts. But the kinescopes were almost always in black&white; the only exception I can recall seeing was a Dr. Frank Field appearance that popped up in Field's restrospective special on WWOR-TV circa 2001. The only other color kinnie I can recall seeing was also Carson-related: the time his then-wife Joanne appeared on Dick Cavett's morning chat show on ABC in 1968, which is an extra on one of Cavett's DVD sets...

I've referenced in the past that ABC affiliate WEWS-TV 5 in Cleveland (rather than KYW-3) carried Tonight! from the early days of Jack Paar through early fall 1965. Though the entire broadcast day of TV 5 was in Black and White, "Tonight!" was always shown in Color..Most days the only show on 5 in color..