Faulty TV Memories

[Stanislav]

What about the 1974 TV suicide of Chris Chubbuck?

I was only 7 when this happened but I do remember hearing from those who SWEAR that the actually saw the suicide on TV and this was in MARYLAND !! I know the national networks did a story on this but I can't find anything at all online that says the networks actually showed her suicide.

I wonder if this is case of people talking about it for so long that in their minds they believed that they did see it but really didn't.

Exactly. Even if the tape were available to the networks, they wouldn't have shown something that sensational and gruesome. Even more recently, something that graphic would be hard to pass muster (recall the controversy over replays of the Budd Dwyer suicide). The tape, from what I understand, was very quickly impounded (and later returned to and destroyed by her family) and never shown publicly. However, if you've ever read Sally Quinn's article in the Washington Post about Chubbuck (written not long afterwards), she writes about the incident with details I've never seen anywhere else, leading me to believe that someone arranged for her to watch the tape.

Interesting that you bring this up now, as the anniversary of that incident is in about a week. That date's "This Day in TV History" post will have links for both the very well-written Wikipedia page, as well as the Sally Quinn article.

 

[mleach]

What about the 1974 TV suicide of Chris Chubbuck?

I was only 7 when this happened but I do remember hearing from those who SWEAR that the actually saw the suicide on TV and this was in MARYLAND !! I know the national networks did a story on this but I can't find anything at all online that says the networks actually showed her suicide.

I wonder if this is case of people talking about it for so long that in their minds they believed that they did see it but really didn't.

Exactly. Even if the tape were available to the networks, they wouldn't have shown something that sensational and gruesome. Even more recently, something that graphic would be hard to pass muster (recall the controversy over replays of the Budd Dwyer suicide). The tape, from what I understand, was very quickly impounded (and later returned to and destroyed by her family) and never shown publicly. However, if you've ever read Sally Quinn's article in the Washington Post about Chubbuck (written not long afterwards), she writes about the incident with details I've never seen anywhere else, leading me to believe that someone arranged for her to watch the tape.

Interesting that you bring this up now, as the anniversary of that incident is in about a week. That date's "This Day in TV History" post will have links for both the very well-written Wikipedia page, as well as the Sally Quinn article.

Somewhat along the lines of those who "claim" to have seen Chubbuck's suicide but really didn't reminds me of the death of long-time popular Denver radio announcer Paxton Mills. Back in 2002 ( give or take a year or two ), Paxton was part of the morning team at Denver's oldies station known as "KOOL 105". One morning at the end of the show someone says to Paxton live on the air "..well I hope you have a good weekend Paxton". Then Paxton says "..ah no..I am going to kill myself". Then someone says to Paxton "..ok then..have fun doing it" ( then they laugh ). However soon after than boradcast Paxton DID DIE !! That night Paxton's body was found in a cheap motel west of Denver...he died alone. But did Paxton announce his suicide on the air like Chubbuck did in 1974? A lot of people SWEAR they heard it though I have heard from others say that was an urban legend. I don't believe KOOL 105 ever said one or the other. I would call up KOOL 105 and ask but I am sure they would slam the phone down on me and frankly...I wouldn't blame them.

 

[RicoGregg]

I don't mean to list this one in a mean spirit, but I always laugh when people say they saw Undbridled's Kentucky Derby win in 1990 and an ABC announcer telling the horse's owner live on national TV how the horse was doing. Unbridled owner Francis A. Genter was about 92, had been in the horse race business for ages, and for the first time had a horse qualify for the Kentucky Derby. As they approached the finish line, emotions went overboard, creating one of sports' "magic moments", if you will.

I guess this shows that myths are relatively easy to create, but the fact is, it was never shown live. So many people think it was. Only after the race had been run did ABC Sports discover the video gem they had on their hands.

 

[Ultimajock]

...along the same lines, of course, is the radio coverage by Herbert Morrison of WLS Chicago of the May 1937 Hindenburg disaster. It was a recording that WLS had planned to play back on its morning program locally as a courtesy to American Airlines, which was the carrier the Hindenburg passengers were to use after departing the zeppelin at Lakehurst, New Jersey. After the disaster, Morrison and his engineer, Charlie Nehlsen, smuggled the recording discs past German intelligence agents (the Lakehurst airfield was apparently crawling with them) and, when they made it to Philadelphia, tried to contact NBC in New York (WLS was one of three NBC Blue Network affiliates in Chicago at the time). The telephone operator at Radio City hung up on their call, reasoning a Chicago radio station would never cover an event in New Jersey. It wouldn't be until the following afternoon that Morrison and Nehlsen would play (only part of) the recording on the air at WLS and over both the Red and Blue Networks of NBC, but you can probably still find old-timers who claim they heard the broadcast the night thdisaster took place...

 

[firepoint525]

What about that old stupid urban legend that just refuses to go away, that the president of Proctor & Gamble supposedly appeared on (insert name of talk show here) and claimed to be a "satanist." Only problem with this (other than that no one has ever been able to provide a tape to prove it!) is that the name of the talk show has changed over the years as talk shows have come and gone. It was Phil Donahue at first, then Sally Jessy Raphael, and who knows who now! : The only way such urban legends are able to persist at all is because almost no one has seen every episode of such shows, so the rumor-mongers are able to say, "well, this was the episode you didn't see!" : I believe this stupid, persistent rumor was why Proctor & Gamble finally dropped the moon and stars logo from the backs of tubes of Gleem toothpaste, which come to think of it, I don't think I've seen on store shelves lately!

 

[RicoGregg]

How in the Sam Hill could we forget the big one? - The perpetually dubious Bozo the Clown incident, where a child, supposedly cussing after losing at one of Bozo's games, yells "CRAM IT CLOWN!" after Bozo tells him it's a Bozo no-no.

I have heard this story since Vance Colvig hosted the Los Angeles version in the 50s live on KTLA when I was a kid; I heard it when Boston's Frank Avruch became the main Boze nationwide in the 60s; When Superstation WGN dominated Bozophiles everywhere in the 80s (notice my viewing habits as I get older, or not), and when the recently-departed Larry Harmon, who did NOT create Bozo as he claimed several times but held creative and marketing rights to the Capitol Clown, kept spreading the myth, even to adult magazines.

Is it me, or is there something terribly wrong when the man who heads all things Bozo The Clown is talking to adult magazine interviewers? I digress, sorry.

I've heard people claim they saw it just last week in all decades, how it's on YouTube (where?), That their cousin Marky was the little boy in question, how the little boy on Bozo was also Mikey in the He Likes It! commercial, etc, ad nauseum.

With the recent passing of proven liar Larry Harmon, wouldn't this be an apropos time to bury this story, once and for all?
:-\

 

[Stanislav]

How in the Sam Hill could we forget the big one? - The perpetually dubious Bozo the Clown incident, where a child, supposedly cussing after losing at one of Bozo's games, yells "CRAM IT CLOWN!" after Bozo tells him it's a Bozo no-no.

.....

With the recent passing of proven liar Larry Harmon, wouldn't this be an apropos time to bury this story, once and for all?
:-\

Urban legends never die, my friend. Growing up, I was told of the same alleged incident by classmates, but in reference to our own local Bozo the Clown clone. It was never someone who actually claimed to have seen it, though -- it was always "Someone told me they once saw...." and that is how legends propagate. Same thing with Uncle Don and his alleged "That oughta hold the little bastards for awhile" remark. These legends persist because they involve things that are funny and/or bizarre enough that they fall into the category of "If it didn't really happen, it should have." And humans are very adept at believing exactly what they want to believe; facts, logic, and common sense be damned. You would think that with the ubiquitous Internet, and the availability of such great and thorough "debunking" sites as snopes.com that these legends would be put to rest, but instead they spread even wider and farther. Just browse Snopes sometime and look at how long some of these urban legends have been around, and yet they still turn up in our inboxes and on countless websites today.

 

[newsmark]

You're right, there was very little coverage of the Challenger launch. However, those of us who were tuned in to CNN (including me), did see the launch and the explosion, as CNN did give it live coverage.

This was also in the early days of the Discovery Channel. They hadn't started their regular broadcast day yet and were simulcasting NASA Select. I saw (and recorded) it live with only NASA audio. A few minutes in, I switched to CNN to see what was happening.

I gotta dig up that VHS. I hope it hasn't turned to dust yet.

 

[bk77]

How in the Sam Hill could we forget the big one? - The perpetually dubious Bozo the Clown incident, where a child, supposedly cussing after losing at one of Bozo's games, yells "CRAM IT CLOWN!" after Bozo tells him it's a Bozo no-no.

.....

With the recent passing of proven liar Larry Harmon, wouldn't this be an apropos time to bury this story, once and for all?
:-\

Urban legends never die, my friend. Growing up, I was told of the same alleged incident by classmates, but in reference to our own local Bozo the Clown clone. It was never someone who actually claimed to have seen it, though -- it was always "Someone told me they once saw...." and that is how legends propagate. Same thing with Uncle Don and his alleged "That oughta hold the little bastards for awhile" remark. These legends persist because they involve things that are funny and/or bizarre enough that they fall into the category of "If it didn't really happen, it should have." And humans are very adept at believing exactly what they want to believe; facts, logic, and common sense be damned. You would think that with the ubiquitous Internet, and the availability of such great and thorough "debunking" sites as snopes.com that these legends would be put to rest, but instead they spread even wider and farther. Just browse Snopes sometime and look at how long some of these urban legends have been around, and yet they still turn up in our inboxes and on countless websites today.

The same thing applies to those "half-truths" too !!!

About 15 years ago I was working at a Top Forty FM station in West Virginia. Just before one book our consultant did a report on our format and airstaff to make us sound better. Everything was cool in his report, that is until he brings up one of our part-timers. "...this guy SOUNDS like he has AIDS and I am willing to bet that he enjoys having a c*ck in his mouth !!!. Fire this man and get some syndication !!!"

Within a few days after the release of this report, my station fired that consultant due to his AIDS remark even though we did lose a sales chick because she felt his free speech was violated. However our PD and GM did follow his advice and got some syndication for the weekends. Now for that part-timer, within a few months that syndication did replace his show and everyone else on the weekends. however all were offered jobs at other radio stations within our company so all was cool. The part-timer in question decided to take another job outside of radio. In other words..he QUIT !!

All of this was 15 years ago and to this day every once in awhile I still see the "story" online about how my old radio station had fired someone who was "gay" and/or "..had AIDS". Of course neither were true...somethings never die.

 

[Davros2006]

I don't think this counts as a "faulty TV memory", but more of a "faulty movie on TV memory" that I think only resonates with me, but one that stuck with me when seeing it on TV a few times... I thought I heard the line "Prepare to meet your doom, Luke Skywalker" but I don't think it was ever said. (I could start a spin-off thread about faulty movie memories but where would it be placed is the question.)

 

[Corky Marlowe]

What about that old stupid urban legend that just refuses to go away, that the president of Proctor & Gamble supposedly appeared on (insert name of talk show here) and claimed to be a "satanist." Only problem with this (other than that no one has ever been able to provide a tape to prove it!) is that the name of the talk show has changed over the years as talk shows have come and gone. It was Phil Donahue at first, then Sally Jessy Raphael, and who knows who now! The only way such urban legends are able to persist at all is because almost no one has seen every episode of such shows, so the rumor-mongers are able to say, "well, this was the episode you didn't see!" I believe this stupid, persistent rumor was why Proctor & Gamble finally dropped the moon and stars logo from the backs of tubes of Gleem toothpaste, which come to think of it, I don't think I've seen on store shelves lately!
Seems like this topic has come up somewhere else on this site...Wasn't it Amway that started the P&G rumor?

 

[mleach]

What about that old stupid urban legend that just refuses to go away, that the president of Proctor & Gamble supposedly appeared on (insert name of talk show here) and claimed to be a "satanist." Only problem with this (other than that no one has ever been able to provide a tape to prove it!) is that the name of the talk show has changed over the years as talk shows have come and gone. It was Phil Donahue at first, then Sally Jessy Raphael, and who knows who now! The only way such urban legends are able to persist at all is because almost no one has seen every episode of such shows, so the rumor-mongers are able to say, "well, this was the episode you didn't see!" I believe this stupid, persistent rumor was why Proctor & Gamble finally dropped the moon and stars logo from the backs of tubes of Gleem toothpaste, which come to think of it, I don't think I've seen on store shelves lately!
Seems like this topic has come up somewhere else on this site...Wasn't it Amway that started the P&G rumor?

That rumor was indeed started by Amway, well two employees who worked for them anyway and yes P&G did sue them for starting that rumor too.

Its because of this that some websites are getting picky about postings and rumors even if the rumor does turn out to be true. For example in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia the webmaster of their local media website ( now defunct BTW ) a few years back appeared in the gay porn flick called "Bear Voyage" or something like that. At first it was thought to be a silly rumor however one of the local Virginia radio stations ( Winchester, VA ) did some checking around and discovered that the webmaster did in fact appeared in that movie. However even today some websites like Washington DC's www.dcrtv.com will NOT post any emails about this subject.

 

[bpatrick]

Who knows how many people claim they saw the
episode of "You Bet Your Life" where Groucho
interviewed a woman who had nineteen children.
He's supposed to have asked her why she had so
many children. "Because I love my husband," she
replied. "I love my cigar but I take it out of my
mouth once in awhile," Groucho is said to have
retorted.

First of all, the incident (if it happened) took place
in 1948, two years before "YBYL" moved from radio
to television. Groucho alternately confirmed and denied
that it happened, director Bob Dwan claimed he deleted
it from the show tape, and Hector Arce, who co-wrote
"The Secret Word Is Groucho," quotes Groucho as saying
it did happen, but Arce pulled his material from several
sources.

So it's still a mystery, but one thing's for certain: it did
not happen on television.

One that was thought to be a faulty memory but was
confirmed on one of NBC's game-show retrospectives was
the 1977 "Newlywed Game" episode where Bob Eubanks
asked a woman the strangest place she'd ever wanted to
"make whoopee." "That would be in the butt, Bob," she
answered. Eubanks denied the story for years but was
forced to 'fess up when the tape was shown.

And about the LaRosa incident: Godfrey's show aired on
CBS Radio from 10 to 11:30 AM; the television version
(at least in 1953, when the incident took place) ended at
11 AM. So only radio listeners got to hear Godfrey say
that LaRosa's song was his "swan song" and wish him
"Godspeed" and good luck on his career before signing off.
The point is that there was no "third hour" of the Godfrey
show, just a third half-hour.