JFK IN COLOR

[davalvideo]

I was wondering if anyone has ever seen color videotape of President (or Senator) John F. Kennedy. I mean an actual color television broadcast with TV cameeas...and not color film as the source material? The JFK Library in boston, near where I live, has no such material in its archives. I'm asking because I know that WRC-TV in Washington at that time and that at the time of his appearance3s on Meet The Press in 1960, the show was being broadcast in color. Of course, whenever they show clips, they're always from black and white kinescope recordings. Also, it's possible that during his administration, he might have visited a city where his appearance was broadcast locally in color. Boston (WHDH-TV Ch. 5) had color back then, but no videotape of those early days, except for a few Bozo episodes from the mid-60s exist today. Just curious.

 

[searadiofreak]

Great question! I don't know the answer.

However, somewhat related, the NBC coverage of his assasination is in B&W, except for a brief minute or two when they go to the Dallas NBC affiliate, who was in color.

 

[searadiofreak]

A 2nd question that I have always been interested in, is how did the networks decide which programs to broadcast in color, and which to keep B&W? What were the last network primetime shows that were still B&W? I was just a small child in the 60's so I don't remember much, but I do remember that for many years it was about 50/50 whether the show would be color or B&W. And of course, who could forget the tv listings and promos that added the line, "in color"? Oh, and how about shows that changed during their run? Gilligan's Island, Andy Griffith,and The Beverly Hillbillies come to mind.I'm sure there were many others. Sorry for somewhat of a hijack of this thread...the JFK question is fascinating as well.

 

[oldiesfan6479]

Predating JFK in the White House, there is color videotape footage of Ike in 1958
at a WRC-TV Washington (NBC O&O) ceremony:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKqHZcXvUAs

What were the last network primetime shows that were still B&W?

'66-'67 season: all prime time on all three nets was in color. '65-'66: all of NBC prime
except Jeannie and Convoy was in color; less color percentage on ABC and CBS.

 

[oldschooler1]

NBC allegedly/supposedly carried his inauguration in color on 1/20/61. Good luck finding the videotape.

 

[searadiofreak]

NBC allegedly/supposedly carried his inauguration in color on 1/20/61. Good luck finding the videotape.

I think most of us have seen this particular event in color, but I've always seen the filmed version. Are you saying there may be videotape of this event in color? You imply there was...wonder what happened to it.

 

[anotherguyTN]

Even something this historic probably met the same fate as so many other taped programs from that time in either being taped over or trashed. :-\

 

[firepoint525]

A 2nd question that I have always been interested in, is how did the networks decide which programs to broadcast in color, and which to keep B&W? What were the last network primetime shows that were still B&W? I was just a small child in the 60's so I don't remember much, but I do remember that for many years it was about 50/50 whether the show would be color or B&W. And of course, who could forget the tv listings and promos that added the line, "in color"? Oh, and how about shows that changed during their run? Gilligan's Island, Andy Griffith,and The Beverly Hillbillies come to mind.I'm sure there were many others. Sorry for somewhat of a hijack of this thread...the JFK question is fascinating as well.

And at some point, they flipped that, and started putting the BW symbol by all of those shows that were still in black and white. I believe, in the case of TV Guide, this was sometime in the early 1970s.

And of course, we TV geeks know that that wasn't "black and white;" it was "monochrome"! ;D

 

[Corky Marlowe]

A 2nd question that I have always been interested in, is how did the networks decide which programs to broadcast in color, and which to keep B&W?

The 2 biggest factors were cost, and in the case of CBS, the last network to jump into color, the fact that all the equipment used to produce color TV was made by RCA, then NBC's parent company. RCA's system had gotten approval by the FCC over CBS's in the early-mid 50's, and CBS was pi##ed about it for years.

NBC's last B/W show was "Concentration", ABC's was "American Bandstand", and I'm guessing CBS's was either "The Guding Light" or "Search For Tomorrow".

Back to topic: I think I also remember hearing that NBC carried kennedy's inauguration in color. Had Jackie's 1962 White House tour been on NBC, it probably would have been in color, too.

 

[Cincinnati Kid]

Had Jackie's 1962 White House tour been on NBC, it probably would have been in color, too.

Jackie's White House tour was shown on all three networks. NBC & CBS showed it live on Wednesday night, February 14, 1962 and ABC aired a video tape of that program the following Sunday. As Charles Collinwood hosted the program, it was probably a CBS production since he was employed by that network.

 

[oldschooler1]

NBC allegedly/supposedly carried his inauguration in color on 1/20/61. Good luck finding the videotape.

I think most of us have seen this particular event in color, but I've always seen the filmed version. Are you saying there may be videotape of this event in color? You imply there was...wonder what happened to it.

Here is my information source:
http://novia.net/~ereitan/rca-nbc_firsts.html#yr62

So, maybe not his speech or the oath of office, but at least the parade.

Boy, that would be some tape to see, wouldn't it?

One can only assume strongly that NBC would have videotaped it. Again, early tape was not meant as an archival medium. It was meant to be re-used.

 

[mbayus]

I remember a VHS tape I use to have of a compilation of his press conferences some of witch were in color. I don't remember the label, but I think that it was one of those old TV video things.

 

[Ultimajock]

Jackie's White House tour was shown on all three networks. NBC & CBS showed it live on Wednesday night, February 14, 1962 and ABC aired a video tape of that program the following Sunday. As Charles Collinwood hosted the program, it was probably a CBS production since he was employed by that network.

...interestingly, I think CBS handled most of the White House-based radio and TV broadcasts of the '50s and '60s, going all the way back to FDR's first radio "Fireside Chat" (the term allegedly being applied to the series by CBS' Bob Trout), despite the fact that CBS hadn't owned a Washington TV station after selling its share in WTOP-TV/9 in 1954, and NBC has always maintained ownership of WRC-TV/4 since it was first licensed...

 

[davalvideo]

Thanks everyone for your replies....to answer the JFK Inauguration question, NBC did indeed broadcast the inaugural parade in color and Chet Huntley made an announcement of it just before the switch was made. Unfortunately, as was mentioned earlier, the network reused its inaugural coverage videotapes (according to Reuven Frank) and only kept black and white kinescopes...too bad as that was an historical broadcast. It was also Frank who ordered the WBAP-TV Dallas-Fort Worth feed to be carried in black and white about an hour into the JFK assassination coverage. He said he and other NBC brass were actually embarrassed that their affiliate had color capability...but they didn;t...at least not for news. WBAP executives called NBC and demanded their feed be shown in color...as they were proud of their capability...but Frank said no. I've seen the Eisenhower appearance at WRC-TV's event in 1958....looks great after all these years. That's why i thought that somewhere...there might be videotape in color of JFK....oh well...maybe it'll turn up someday.

 

[searadiofreak]

Thanks everyone for your replies....to answer the JFK Inauguration question, NBC did indeed broadcast the inaugural parade in color and Chet Huntley made an announcement of it just before the switch was made. Unfortunately, as was mentioned earlier, the network reused its inaugural coverage videotapes (according to Reuven Frank) and only kept black and white kinescopes...too bad as that was an historical broadcast. It was also Frank who ordered the WBAP-TV Dallas-Fort Worth feed to be carried in black and white about an hour into the JFK assassination coverage. He said he and other NBC brass were actually embarrassed that their affiliate had color capability...but they didn;t...at least not for news. WBAP executives called NBC and demanded their feed be shown in color...as they were proud of their capability...but Frank said no. I've seen the Eisenhower appearance at WRC-TV's event in 1958....looks great after all these years. That's why i thought that somewhere...there might be videotape in color of JFK....oh well...maybe it'll turn up someday.

That is interesting that WBAP was told to feed in B&W as to not embarrass the network. You'd think nobody would have cared on a historic day like this, but nothing surprises me much anymore. But I have the original video where they WERE in color, atleast in the first hour of the ordeal. What is so interesting about the JFK Kennedy assassination is network TV was just starting to change. Whether or not the JFK event sped up the change is open to debate, but I believe that to be true.
Live, on the spot reports suddenly became more important to all the networks. Live, satellite feeds were in place within the decade. The JFK assassination certainly added to the urgency, but we can't discount the technology improvements as well. Perhaps those two go hand in hand.

 

[mleach]

NBC's last B/W show was "Concentration", ABC's was "American Bandstand", and I'm guessing CBS's was either "The Guding Light" or "Search For Tomorrow".

With AB, wasnt this more of a Dick Clark thing than ABC as to why AB stayed in B/W for so long? In one of those American Bandstand books ( which my late wife had but can no longer find )..I believe Clark had made some comment abiout ABC had wanted to air AB in color almost as soon as they got their first color cameras but Clark felt the American Bandstand had looked better in B/W and that he had "issues" when Philly's WFIL had aired at least one 50's AB in color. Actually there was a photo in the book of a color camera on the AB set from the 50's.

 

[wbhist]

NBC's last B/W show was "Concentration", ABC's was "American Bandstand", and I'm guessing CBS's was either "The Guding Light" or "Search For Tomorrow".

With AB, wasnt this more of a Dick Clark thing than ABC as to why AB stayed in B/W for so long? In one of those American Bandstand books ( which my late wife had but can no longer find )..I believe Clark had made some comment abiout ABC had wanted to air AB in color almost as soon as they got their first color cameras but Clark felt the American Bandstand had looked better in B/W and that he had "issues" when Philly's WFIL had aired at least one 50's AB in color. Actually there was a photo in the book of a color camera on the AB set from the 50's.

ABC, well into the early 1960's, had no money whatsoever for color broadcasting, and their facilities were slow to convert to color for those very financial reasons. It was that factor (at least in part) why WFIL's use of one color camera for AB was short-lived. The stage where Mr. Clark based AB after he moved the show to the ABC Television Center at Prospect and Talmadge in Hollywood in 1964 was one of the last to be converted to color, in 1967. (And ABC didn't even air any studio-based color shows until 1965, when The Hollywood Palace and The Lawrence Welk Show aired with hues for the first time.) Indeed, it wasn't until the 1967-68 season that all ABC's daytime programming (that is, in terms of their game shows and soaps, if not necessarily daytime reruns of old shows) was in color.

As for CBS . . . another latecomer to the color parade was The Secret Storm.

 

[pqgeorge]

NBC's last B/W show was "Concentration", ABC's was "American Bandstand", and I'm guessing CBS's was either "The Guding Light" or "Search For Tomorrow".

With AB, wasnt this more of a Dick Clark thing than ABC as to why AB stayed in B/W for so long? In one of those American Bandstand books ( which my late wife had but can no longer find )..I believe Clark had made some comment abiout ABC had wanted to air AB in color almost as soon as they got their first color cameras but Clark felt the American Bandstand had looked better in B/W and that he had "issues" when Philly's WFIL had aired at least one 50's AB in color. Actually there was a photo in the book of a color camera on the AB set from the 50's.

TV was in a flux at the time. First impressions mean a lot. For the 33% of people who had a color set in 1963, most of them in higher income brackets (with the most money to spend), those viewers would notice the difference between a color program and a black and white program immediately. NBC was slowly becoming THE color network at the time. When NBC got the first video from WBAP-TV (in color) and with the network switching between NYC and Dallas, there was no comparison. WBAP-TV's video in full-color was rather good with NBC's New York video (black and white) looked grainy in comparison. Most NBC affiliates were able to pass-through color from the network and thus were able to see the color signal from WBAP-TV clearly at the time. Today, considering the gravity of the situation with our President at the time, the color issue would be insignificant. But I'm sure the NBC exec's wanted to take no chances in letting a local affiliate of the network shine in color and the network origination video looking kind of bleak. After all, this WAS a national audience. For the hour that WBAP-TV's color signal was available, the Dallas affiliate looked quite good. You'd think that WNBC-TV would have color cameras ready at the time. After all, NBC had already gone NTSC color almost 9 years prior. They should have let the color feed from Dallas stay as it was on the entire network.

As for "American Bandstand", produced at WFIL-TV (Channel 6 in Philadelphia), it was probably the same issue, not to upset the network (ABC) in "allowing" a local affiliate look better than the network itself. Dick was still an "up-and-coming" star at the time and probably didn't want to upset the ABC brass. ABC was basically 4th in a market of three networks at the time. They didn't start running any color shows until 1962 when "The Flintstones" and "The Jetsons" aired in prime time. So, I DOUBT that Dick was actually saying that AB looked better in black and white for the sake of the way it looked on the screen. The black and white sets would still look the same with a few subtle differences. It would still be in black and white. Color sets would see color. He probably did not want to upset Mr. Goldensen for the same reason NBC turned off WBAP's color feed.

 

[mleach]

it was probably the same issue, not to upset the network (ABC) in "allowing" a local affiliate look better than the network itself. Dick was still an "up-and-coming" star at the time and probably didn't want to upset the ABC brass. ABC was basically 4th in a market of three networks at the time. They didn't start running any color shows until 1962 when "The Flintstones" and "The Jetsons" aired in prime time. So, I DOUBT that Dick was actually saying that AB looked better in black and white for the sake of the way it looked on the screen. The black and white sets would still look the same with a few subtle differences. It would still be in black and white. Color sets would see color. He probably did not want to upset Mr. Goldensen for the same reason NBC turned off WBAP's color feed.

Then again with Dick Clark, you may be right but by the 70's and 80's Dick was saying quite a bit of stuff in his books and interviews to make HIMSELF look good, like for example taking credit for the American TV debut of the group ABBA but thats for a different post.

 

[stevezodiac]

That is interesting that WBAP was told to feed in B&W as to not embarrass the network. You'd think nobody would have cared on a historic day like this, but nothing surprises me much anymore. But I have the original video where they WERE in color, atleast in the first hour of the ordeal. What is so interesting about the JFK Kennedy assassination is network TV was just starting to change. Whether or not the JFK event sped up the change is open to debate, but I believe that to be true.
Live, on the spot reports suddenly became more important to all the networks. Live, satellite feeds were in place within the decade. The JFK assassination certainly added to the urgency, but we can't discount the technology improvements as well. Perhaps those two go hand in hand.

This is giving me a headache... I live(d) in Dallas back then with a b&w tv. Did the network kill the color after they recieved it or did WBAP send it out in b&w? In other words...Could we have still seen it (WBAP) in color locally until they switched to the network through master control? Or were we seeing WBAP's send to the network after MC? Did that make any sense?