By Sylvia Gurinsky
Television critics, viewers, etc. have marked the 25th anniversary of the Fox network. (Frankly, except for about a half-dozen shows and baseball, the less said about Fox, the better.)
It gives a good opportunity to go back and look at another network that once battled CBS, NBC and ABC: Du Mont, which bowed in 1946.
Du Mont was actually the second network that went on the air, behind NBC. The company was already well known for the electronic products - including television sets - it produced. The idea, according to a website about the network, was probably to sell more television sets.
The network managed to have some prominent shows, such as "Ted Mack's Amateur Hour," - Think "American Idol" without the nastiness - and "Calvacade of Stars," which gave birth to "The Honeymooners." Jackie Gleason originated Ralph Kramden, while Pert Kelton played Alice:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2JUV7zA1NQ
It also featured Bishop (later Archbishop) Fulton Sheen in "Life Is Worth Living," as well as the children's show "Captain Video and His Video Rangers."
It featured the first live television, including the first live prime-time football, and the first prime-time soap opera.
Most importantly, Du Mont made early efforts to feature black and Asian actors and actresses in prominent roles at a time when the Big Three did not. Check out this anti-racism public service announcement from 1949, at a time when McCarthyite sentiments had already started bubbling up:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Bj5Rfs-6I0
But Du Mont was hindered by a number of issues. CBS, NBC and ABC all had strong radio show connections. The company had a battle with Paramount Pictures, which owned a piece of Du Mont. And various FCC rules limited Du Mont to lower-power UHF stations. Add to that the lack of money to create quality programming, and Du Mont went off the air in 1956.
The memories live on, as do about 300 kinescopes of Du Mont shows and the website:
http://www.dumonthistory.tv/index.html
See you next week. Until then, Happy Viewing!
Friday, April 27, 2012
Friday, April 20, 2012
Week of April 20: The Versatile Dick Clark; Mike Wallace's Best
By Sylvia Gurinsky
While YesterTube has been on spring hiatus, the television world lost two giants in Mike Wallace and Dick Clark.
Clark came to national prominence as the host of ABC's "American Bandstand." But he didn't stop there. He was successful as the host of various forms of the "Pyramid" game, and with Ed McMahon of "TV Bloopers and Practical Jokes." By the way, Clark wasn't afraid to poke fun at himself: Here are a couple of his "Pyramid" bloopers:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzsOYtGNHtk
He may have been the most prolific producer in television history, with credits including "Bandstand," the American Music Awards, the Golden Globe Awards and television movies such as 1979's "Elvis," with Kurt Russell as The King, and 1985's "Copacabana," which starred Barry Manilow and was based on Manilow's 1978 hit song.
From time to time, he even acted. One of his appearances, in 1966, was in the final CBS episode of "Perry Mason," called "The Case of the Final Fade-Out" (SPOILER ALERT IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE EPISODE!!!!):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zJP7I0sp6U
And there was New Year's Eve.
Here, again, is Clark from his last countdown, just more than four months ago:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIsvm-hI_P4&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PL0DC19402CB22BBF7
Clark had been a part of all but one of his "New Year's Rockin' Eve" programs - that, of course, was in 2004, after he suffered a stroke. But his last seven, done after the stroke, were his most inspiring to fellow stroke survivors and their families.
Without him, now, to quote his friend Barry Manilow, "It's just another New Year's Eve."
But there won't be another Dick Clark.
**********************************************************************
Mike Wallace, probably the greatest interviewer in television history, could have fun, too. Here he is with Franz Liszt - actually comic pianist Victor Borge, who would later appear on "60 Minutes":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlPguBcwLIQ
The "60 Minutes" web site features the best of Wallace during his 40 years as a correspondent:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8334-504803_162-57413924-10391709/our-favorite-mike-wallace-stories/?tag=cbsnewsMainColumnArea.1
The best of the best:
*Johnny Carson, 1979: Wallace's interview did more than any other to draw out the private side of the longtime "Tonight Show" host.
*"Secret Service Agent #9," 1975: The Secret Service agents currently in trouble should study this Wallace interview with Clint Hill, who blamed himself (wrongly) for not saving President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963.
*Ayatollah Khomeni, 1979: Wallace asking Iran's leader about Anwar Sadat's labelling of Khomeni as a "lunatic" was one of the great- and gutsy - moments in television interviewing.
*Barbra Streisand, 1991: The musical legend and Oscar and Tony winner has been called a control freak, and she proves it in this revealing interview.
*Nancy Reagan, 1989 and 2002: Wallace and the former First Lady were almost lifelong friends. The tense 1989 interview tested that friendship, as Wallace grilled Mrs. Reagan about the problems she and President Ronald Reagan had during his presidency. But the 2002 interview, done eight years after Reagan revealed his Alzheimer's diagnosis publicly, was emotional; it was in that interview that Nancy Reagan referred to "the long goodbye."
*Vladimir Putin, 2005: A good one to rewatch now that Putin is once again becoming president of Russia. Once again, Wallace pulled back the curtain, and what he showed through his questions was quite revealing.
*Vladimir Horowitz, 1977: It's not on the "60 Minutes" website compilation, but Wallace's favorite interview was with the legendary pianist:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZm7OW3ufbc&feature=related
When Steve Kroft, Morley Safer and Scott Pelley led the tribute on "60 Minutes" last Sunday, they made the point that Wallace, along with producer Don Hewitt, had shaped everything the news program was.
And one gets the feeling that, as Wallace joins Hewitt, Harry Reasoner and Ed Bradley in the Great Beyond, "60 Minutes" will, indeed, go on forever.
See you next week.
While YesterTube has been on spring hiatus, the television world lost two giants in Mike Wallace and Dick Clark.
Clark came to national prominence as the host of ABC's "American Bandstand." But he didn't stop there. He was successful as the host of various forms of the "Pyramid" game, and with Ed McMahon of "TV Bloopers and Practical Jokes." By the way, Clark wasn't afraid to poke fun at himself: Here are a couple of his "Pyramid" bloopers:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzsOYtGNHtk
He may have been the most prolific producer in television history, with credits including "Bandstand," the American Music Awards, the Golden Globe Awards and television movies such as 1979's "Elvis," with Kurt Russell as The King, and 1985's "Copacabana," which starred Barry Manilow and was based on Manilow's 1978 hit song.
From time to time, he even acted. One of his appearances, in 1966, was in the final CBS episode of "Perry Mason," called "The Case of the Final Fade-Out" (SPOILER ALERT IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE EPISODE!!!!):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zJP7I0sp6U
And there was New Year's Eve.
Here, again, is Clark from his last countdown, just more than four months ago:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIsvm-hI_P4&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PL0DC19402CB22BBF7
Clark had been a part of all but one of his "New Year's Rockin' Eve" programs - that, of course, was in 2004, after he suffered a stroke. But his last seven, done after the stroke, were his most inspiring to fellow stroke survivors and their families.
Without him, now, to quote his friend Barry Manilow, "It's just another New Year's Eve."
But there won't be another Dick Clark.
**********************************************************************
Mike Wallace, probably the greatest interviewer in television history, could have fun, too. Here he is with Franz Liszt - actually comic pianist Victor Borge, who would later appear on "60 Minutes":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlPguBcwLIQ
The "60 Minutes" web site features the best of Wallace during his 40 years as a correspondent:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8334-504803_162-57413924-10391709/our-favorite-mike-wallace-stories/?tag=cbsnewsMainColumnArea.1
The best of the best:
*Johnny Carson, 1979: Wallace's interview did more than any other to draw out the private side of the longtime "Tonight Show" host.
*"Secret Service Agent #9," 1975: The Secret Service agents currently in trouble should study this Wallace interview with Clint Hill, who blamed himself (wrongly) for not saving President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963.
*Ayatollah Khomeni, 1979: Wallace asking Iran's leader about Anwar Sadat's labelling of Khomeni as a "lunatic" was one of the great- and gutsy - moments in television interviewing.
*Barbra Streisand, 1991: The musical legend and Oscar and Tony winner has been called a control freak, and she proves it in this revealing interview.
*Nancy Reagan, 1989 and 2002: Wallace and the former First Lady were almost lifelong friends. The tense 1989 interview tested that friendship, as Wallace grilled Mrs. Reagan about the problems she and President Ronald Reagan had during his presidency. But the 2002 interview, done eight years after Reagan revealed his Alzheimer's diagnosis publicly, was emotional; it was in that interview that Nancy Reagan referred to "the long goodbye."
*Vladimir Putin, 2005: A good one to rewatch now that Putin is once again becoming president of Russia. Once again, Wallace pulled back the curtain, and what he showed through his questions was quite revealing.
*Vladimir Horowitz, 1977: It's not on the "60 Minutes" website compilation, but Wallace's favorite interview was with the legendary pianist:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZm7OW3ufbc&feature=related
When Steve Kroft, Morley Safer and Scott Pelley led the tribute on "60 Minutes" last Sunday, they made the point that Wallace, along with producer Don Hewitt, had shaped everything the news program was.
And one gets the feeling that, as Wallace joins Hewitt, Harry Reasoner and Ed Bradley in the Great Beyond, "60 Minutes" will, indeed, go on forever.
See you next week.
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