September 5, 1949-June 7, 1954 (NBC); June 14, 1954-June 16, 1963 (ABC). This was the first broadcast of the season. "Voice of Firestone," which began on radio in 1928, was a Monday-night perennial for more than two decades before coming to television in 1949; for the next five years it was simulcast on NBC radio and television, until a dispute between the sponsor and the network over the Monday time slot led Firestone to shift the program to ABC. The half-hour musical series presented all kinds of music, but emphasized classical and semiclassical selections. Each week a guest celebrity was featured, and for many years the principal guests came from the Metropolitan Opera Company. The Firestone Orchestra was conducted by Howard Barlow, and the show was hosted by John Daly during its years on ABC; Hugh James was the announcer. "Voice of Firestone" was seen as a series of specials from 1959 until 1962; it returned as a weekly series in the fall of 1962 for a final season (September 30, 1962-June 16, 1963). 

"Best Of Opera."      

Narrated By John Daly. 

Wilfred Pelletier Conducts The Firestone Orchestra.                           

September 24th, 1958-March 16th, 1959.

Live musical variety show hosted by singer Patti Page.                                                                             

Variety- NBC - 30 minutes, October 4th, 1956-June 29th, 1961.

Tennessee Ernie Ford was host, singer and comedian of this variety show. The musical portion of the program consisted mostly of Country and Western and Gospel music. 

                                                                                  

October 3rd, 1957-June 23rd, 1960.

Singer Pat Boone hosted this half-hour ABC variety series, featuring top-name guest stars. Sponsored by Chevrolet.                                        

September 12, 1955-June 12, 1963. In the fall of 1955 Perry Como returned to NBC where he hosted a weekly hour show. From 1955 to 1959 it was seen Saturday evenings and was titled "The Perry Como Show." From 1959 to 1963 it was seen Wednesday evenings and was titled "The Kraft Music Hall." Regulars included Frank Gallop and the Ray Charles Singers. After his final weekly June 12, 1963 broadcast Perry Como appeared in scores of specials, beginning October 3, 1963, airing on NBC, CBS & ABC, and concluding on December 6, 1986.                                                    

On September 22, 1958, John Zacherley came to New York to host WABC's late-night weekend entry "Shock Theatre." He replaced off-camera host Scott Vincent. Zacherley would wear ghoulish makeup and a long black coat as he performed various scientific experiments in his on-camera laboratory. He became beloved to viewers both young and old and continued his fame by also hosting "Zacherley At Large," the replacement title for Shock Theatre. In 1959, Zacherley came to local WOR-TV Channel 9 in New York City, hosting another late-night weekend horror entry, "Zacherley At 12."    

We hear the opening of the broadcast. Zacherley introduces tonight's film, "Werewolf Of London,"  which Zacherley states is pretty bad!                                         

Highlights: The US puts a monkey 600 miles up in space but is lost at sea, the first time a high order of animal is in space, Nato chiefs to meet in Paris concerning Berlin, four Britains sail in a balloon from the Canary Islands to the West Indies, Italian filmmaker Gillo Pontecorvo to get Lenin prize.          

Victor Borge spends most of his one-hour special at the piano not playing it, but generally pulling gags, sassing the audience and acting as thought he were going to touch the keyboard. 

Borge remembers when he was four-years old and how his mother and father predicted that he would be a great pianist. 

HIGHLIGHTS

"Moonlight Sonata,".........................................Victor Borge

Medley of songs orchestrated by Kurt Weill..............Andre Popp           

September 5, 1949-June 7, 1954 (NBC); 
June 14, 1954-June 16, 1963 (ABC)

This was the first broadcast of the season. "Voice of Firestone," which began on radio in 1928, was a Monday-night perennial for more than two decades before coming to television in 1949; for the next five years it was simulcast on NBC radio and television, until a dispute between the sponsor and the network over the Monday time slot led Firestone to shift the program to ABC. The half-hour musical series presented all kinds of music, but emphasized classical and semiclassical selections. Each week a guest celebrity was featured, and for many years the principal guests came from the Metropolitan Opera Company. The Firestone Orchestra was conducted by Howard Barlow, and the show was hosted by John Daly during its years on ABC; Hugh James was the announcer. "Voice of Firestone" was seen as a series of specials from 1959 until 1962; it returned as a weekly series in the fall of 1962 for a final season (September 30, 1962-June 16, 1963). 

"Music of Hollywood"

Academy Award winning songs from 1934-1957 are featured. 
Joined in progress, host, John Daly introduces   
Roger Williams on the piano who plays "Three Coins in the Fountain."

Tony Martin and Shirley Jones duet "Three Coins in the Fountain."
"Somewhere Over the Rainbow"................................Shirley Jones
"Night and Day"............................................................Tony Martin
"Let's Face the Music and Dance"..............................Chorus
 
From SHOWBOAT, Shirley Jones and Tony Martin sing,
"Only Make Believe."                                                                          

September 24th, 1958-March 16th, 1959.

Live musical variety show hosted by singer Patti Page.                                                                                                                                 

September 30th, 1958-June 16th, 1964

The Garry Moore variety series made a star out of Carol Burnett,brought back Allen Funt's Candid Camera and showcased many fine musical and comedic talents from 1958-1964.The highlight of most shows was "That Wonderful Year," consisting of film clips, comedy sketches and production numbers based on the events and styles of a given year.

Regulars: Garry Moore, Carol Burnett (1959-1962), Dorothy Loudon (1962-1964),Allen Funt (1959-1960, Durward Kirby (1958-1964)and Marion Lorne (1958-1962).                                                   

Variety- NBC - 30 minutes, October 4th, 1956-June 29th, 1961.

Tennessee Ernie Ford was host, singer and comedian of this variety show. The musical portion of the program consisted mostly of Country and Western and Gospel music. 

                                                                                               

A documentary tribute to freedom is the subject of this Special.
A portrait of the Jew as an American and as representative of our minority cultures. Includes interviews and various performances. Susan Strasberg does a scene from the play "Diary of Anne Frank."

Host: Jeff Chandler                                                   

June 24, 1956-December 27, 1961.
The multi-talented Steve Allen- musician, composer, singer, comedian,author- was the star of this live weekly variety series that bore a strong resemblance to his informal, late-night Tonight! Show. Although the program had elements of music and serious aspects, comedy was far and away its major component. Steve had with him one of the most versatile and talented collections of improvisational comics ever assembled. Among the features that were used at one time or another on a semi-regular basis were: "Letters to the Editor," "The Allen Report to the Nation," "Mad-Libs," "Crazy Shots," "Where Are They Now," "The Question Man," "The Allen Bureau of Standards," and "The Allen All Stars." The most frequently used feature, and by far the most memorable was the "Man on the Street Interview." It was here that the comics on the show developed their best-remembered characters: Louis Nye as suave, smug Gordon Hathaway, Tom Poston as the man who can't remember his own name, Skitch Henderson as Sidney Ferguson, Don Knotts as the extremely nervous and fidgety Mr. Morrison, Pat Harrington as Italian golf pro Guido Panzini, and Bill Dana as shy Jose Jimenez.    

Guests: Joan Davis, Sugar Ray Robinson, Leo DeLyon, Andre Previn, The Hi-Lo's.                                                                                                                        

TV special starring Sid Caesar.           

Show end.   

October 1st, 1957-March 17th, 1959

An hour-long variety series starring singer Eddie Fisher. It alternated bi-weekly with the George Gobel Show. During the 1957-58 season, Gobel was a permanent guest star on Fischer's show and Fisher did the same on Gobel's show. 

Guests: George Burns, Jane Powell, Dick Shawn. 

                                   

 A one-hour musical version adapted from the classic  O'Henry Christmas story, set in New York in1905, about an impoverished young couple who sacrifice their most precious personal treasures to buy Christmas gifts for the other. This early video taped musical contains seven original songs by Richard Adler.      

Narrated by Eli Wallach.   

SONGS:
"The Name's the Same"...............Howes, MacRae
"He's a Company Man".................Office Staff
"Christmas in Your Heart"..............Howes
"My Sugar is the Salt of the Earth"............Quartet
"A Better Worde Than Love"......................MacRae
"What to Do?".....................................Howes
"It's Much Too Nice to Cut"...................Howes, Osterwald   

NOTE:
This CBS TV musical broadcast was the very first to be presented on VIDEO TAPE. It remains a "lost" broadcast. 

A Sheaffer Pen Company Special Presentation.                        

September 30th, 1958-June 16th, 1964

The Garry Moore variety series made a star out of Carol Burnett,brought back Allen Funt's Candid Camera and showcased many fine musical and comedic talents from 1958-1964.The highlight of most shows was "That Wonderful Year," consisting of film clips, comedy sketches and production numbers based on the events and styles of a given year.

Regulars: Garry Moore, Carol Burnett (1959-1962), Dorothy Loudon (1962-1964),Allen Funt (1959-1960, Durward Kirby (1958-1964)and Marion Lorne (1958-1962).     

Guests: Mickey Rooney, Martha Raye, Joey Faye, Julius LaRosa.                                                          

October 3rd, 1957-June 23rd, 1960.

Singer Pat Boone hosted this half-hour ABC variety series, featuring top-name guest stars. Sponsored by Chevrolet.                                                     

September 12, 1955-June 12, 1963. In the fall of 1955 Perry Como returned to NBC where he hosted a weekly hour show. From 1955 to 1959 it was seen Saturday evenings and was titled "The Perry Como Show." From 1959 to 1963 it was seen Wednesday evenings and was titled "The Kraft Music Hall." Regulars included Frank Gallop and the Ray Charles Singers. After his final weekly June 12, 1963 broadcast Perry Como appeared in scores of specials, beginning October 3, 1963, airing on NBC, CBS & ABC, and concluding on December 6, 1986.




Guests: Kate Smith, Andy Williams, Joey Bishop, Harry Ruby.                       

Topics: Newspaper strike, US launches four-ton satellite into space. One hour, 40 minute orbit around earth. President Eisenhower's voice can be heard coming from satellite via a tape recorder. Hear voice transmission "America's wish for peace on earth, and goodwill toward men everywhere." 

The oldest surviving archived remnant of a David Susskind OPEN END television broadcast  is a WNTA TV  December 23,1958 kinescope 20 minute segment of a broadcast titled "Method or Madness?" The topic, "method acting" with guests Michael Benthal, Ben Gazarra,  Adolph Green, Betty Comden, Lawrence Harvey, Jule Styne , and Patricia Neal.                

NOTE: Archival Television Audio, Inc. has a rare 90 second pristine sound recorded excerpt air check representing this early earliest extant OPEN END broadcast.  

Originally scheduled to premiere on October 7, but delayed one week.
October 14, 1958 - August 13, 1961
OPEN END with David Susskind: (WNTA Channel 13 Television)

September 10, 1961-May 5, 1963
OPEN END with David Susskind (WNEW Channel 5 Television)

June 9, 1963 last show of the season broadcast on WPIX TV.

October 13, 1963-September 18, 1966
OPEN END with David Susskind (WPIX Channel 11 Television)

October 2, 1966-September, 1986
DAVID SUSSKIND SHOW (SYNDICATED, PBS, and COMMERCIAL STATIONS, including WNEW, New York). 

After an association of nearly three decades with Channel 5 in New York, the former WNEW-TV, later changed to WNYW-TV, David Susskind stopped producing the program in September 1986 because of its late-night time slot, from 1:30 to 3:30 A.M. Sunday nights. His audience like his iconic talk show dwindled not only in its following but in the ratings. Susskind knew when to quit. His last David Susskind Show aired only five months from the time of his death. 
            
Open End with David Susskind was a break through talk show which literally had no time limit. 

The premiere broadcast reviewed in Variety stated:
"In the blueprint stage, OPEN END was initiated on WNTA-TV on Tuesday October 14th the same night 'The World of Suzie Wong' premiered on Broadway. When the show is going slowly, then Susskind has the right to end it as soon as he likes; when it's going well , he can stretch it the night through since "OPEN END" is the last scheduled WNTA program of the night."

The show ended when host, moderator David Susskind, felt all conversation points were discussed. Some of these marathon telecasts lasted over four hours! Jean Kennedy was the producer during the 28 year run of the series.

The series premiered and aired on WNTA Channel 13 in New York for three years, an independent broadcast station, before it would become a Public Broadcast Station in 1962. A myriad of talk show guests, famous, infamous and unknown, found a forum on OPEN END. Subjects varied focusing on usually one topic...show business, politics, the economy, sex, education, crime, etc. Typically, many guests would discuss a subject sitting around a large table with David Susskind moderating, leading his guests with baited questions. On occasion a solo guest would highlight the show.

For the first three years, of its 28 year existence as a regular series, WNTA TV was home to OPEN END which originally began its broadcasts on Tuesday nights, switching on January 18, 1959 to Sunday nights...a future Sunday evening time slot of the week where it would remain until 1986, for the rest of its run.

After broadcasting with a two hour truncated format on WNEW form September 10, 1961 to May 5, 1963 a falling out and rift occurred between Susskind and WNEW management centered on WNEW's reluctance to air discussions regarding race relations in America. WPIX reacted with interest in bringing OPEN END to their flagship New York channel. For the last OPEN END show of the 1962-1963 season WPIX  TOOK LAST MINUTE EMERGENCY MEASURES TO CLEAR TWO HOURS ON SUNDAY NIGHT  June 9, 1963, featuring solo guest Dr. Martin Luther KIng, pre-empting regular scheduled programming (6:30-8:30 pm).

Open End was later cut by WPIX to one hour time slot. David Susskind not satisfied with the shortened format reconnected with WNEW where he returned to a two hour format with a changed  program name. 
THE DAVID SUSSKIND SHOW  had its return premiere on WNEW TV October 2, 1966. 
 
The David Susskind Show also found syndication across the country and each market would run the program at different times at their own discretion. 

Most all of the telecasts were recorded on video tape, 2" quadruplex. Most shows were kept for a year or two like THE MOVIE MAKERS broadcast which was re-run on August 6, 1961 almost a year after it was first telecast on October 2, 1960. By this time the show was no longer without a time limit. It ran for a finite three hours long. Thus the re-run of the MOVIE MAKERS had some footage deleted from its original run which aired for over three and half hours, including commercials. 

The re-run of "THE MOVIE MAKERS" was the next to last broadcast telecast on WNTA channel 13. On September 10, 1961 the show moved to WNEW Channel 5 METROMEDIA in New York.

Sadly, most all of OPEN END broadcasts (1958-1966), later re titled THE DAVID SUSSKIND SHOW (1966-1986), were wiped erased, destroyed, discarded...whereabouts unknown, representing most shows produced and telecast during the late 1950's, 1960's and early 1970's.   Only a handful of OPEN END / DAVID SUSSKIND  shows are known to survive from 1958 thru 1969. Hundreds of programs survive representing the middle 1970's thru 1986. 

                
Open End with David Susskind was a unique break through talk with no time limit, rare during any time in television broadcast history, and never to be replicated in the future of television broadcasting after 1960. 

On occasion only one guest would be profiled. Mostly shows were comprised of many individuals discussing one topic which  included race relations, the draft, organized crime, the Hollywood scene, the politics of the times, sex-change operations, divorce, clairvoyants, psychoanalysis, prostitution, etc.

Sadly, most all of OPEN END broadcasts, later re titled THE DAVID SUSSKIND SHOW, commencing with the Oct. 2, 1966 broadcast, were wiped (erased), destroyed, discarded...whereabouts unknown, representing most shows produced and telecast during the late 1950's, 1960's and early 1970's. Hundreds of broadcasts circa mid 1970's - 1986 have been archived and are extant. 

Rediscovering David Susskind
May 17, 2016 by Cary O’Dell

David Susskind was one of the most prolific yet overlooked producers in the history of American film and television. 

Eight years after OPEN END had changed its name to The David Susskind Show, it was videotaped weekly in New York City and then syndicated across the nation, most often over PBS stations. Each episode typically addressing two topics. Given the show’s 28 year run, a full list of David Susskind Show topics, airdates, and guests runs to a staggering 160-plus pages.

The depth and breadth of subjects discussed on Susskind—not to mention his star-studded guest lists—reads like an annotated history for the second half of the 20th century. A very small sample:

1959: “Words and Wit” with guests Truman Capote, Dorothy Parker, and Norman Mailer

1960: Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev

1963:“LSD: Madness or Miracle?”

1965: “4 Draftees in a Hot Debate on Going to Viet Nam”

1966: “Are Cigarettes a Killer?”

Unfortunately, the majority of Susskind talk programs from the late 1950's and 1960s do not survive—either lost, destroyed or taped over. But what remains makes for fascinating viewing. Consider:

1971: “What It Means to Be a Homosexual”

1972: “Nice White People Scream ‘Blacks Stay Out of Our Neighborhood!’”

1972: “Is A Woman’s Body Her Business?—The Abortion Battle”

1976: “Why the Rich Get a Kick from Cocaine”

1982: “Video Game Craze”

At the time of David Susskind’s passing in February 1987, his videotape archive (most of it on 2” Quadruplex) was so vast it was divided up between different institutions, including the Paley Center (then the Museum of Television & Radio) in New York, the Museum of Broadcast Communications in Chicago, and the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research in Madison.

But that wasn’t the end of the archive’s travels; only Wisconsin, whose collection includes most of Susskind’s fictional productions, has retained its holdings. The Museum of Broadcast Communications transferred its tapes to University of Southern California in the late 1990s. In 1992, the Paley Center—facing severe space issues—transferred their copies of Susskind’s talk show to the Library of Congress where they are now stored in Culpeper, Virginia.

We (The Library of Congress) hold almost 350 episodes of The David Susskind Show, the great majority of them unseen since their original broadcast. While some are still awaiting preservation—and, in some cases, identification due to insufficient labeling on the original tapes—a great many have been transferred, including a 1982 episode featuring Truman Capote, Norman Mailer, and Susskind’s wife Joyce Susskind, who occasionally served as co-host on the show. These shows are an extraordinary time machine, a fascinating glimpse into our culture, and featuring a very brave host and his often fearlessly candid guests.

NOTE:

Archived in the collection of Archival Television Audio, Inc. are 42 "lost" OPEN END broadcasts (1958-1966...some excerpt, some complete), including the very first extended talk show Woody Allen ever appeared (broadcast December 24, 1961). In 1997 Phil Gries, who personally audio recorded this complete program, gave a copy to Allen who had been searching for this broadcast for thirty years. It began a correspondence relationship with Woody Allen that continues to this day, having received 35 anecdotal letters from him during a span of 26 years. 

                                                 

Highlights: CBS reviews the top news stories of 1958 which include De Gaulle to power, Quemoy shelled, the Berlin Crisis, the voyage of Nautilus, missiles, and space, approaches to the summit, Sherman Adams-Bernard Goldfine scandal, integration problems, the 1958 elections, Vice-President Nixon in Latin America, Alaska becomes the 49th State, the Papacy, Boris Pasternak receives the Nobel Prize, the Middle East crisis.                          

September 24th, 1958-March 16th, 1959.

Live musical variety show hosted by singer Patti Page.                                                   

September 24th, 1958-March 16th, 1959.

Live musical variety show hosted by singer Patti Page.                                                   

January 12, 1959-April 26, 1968. This musical series ran semi regularly for almost ten seasons-sometimes weekly, sometimes biweekly, and sometimes as irregularly scheduled specials. All types of music were presented on the hour series; Donald Voorhees conducted the Bell Telephone Orchestra. 

This episode of The Bell Telephone Hour begins with George Gershwin's first song in 1918, entitled "The Real American Folk Song."

An hour of George Gershwin's music performed by singers Ella Fitzgerald, Polly Bergen, and Vic Damone. Also featuring the song and dance team of Marge and Gower Champion, and pianists Andre Previn and Teddy Wilson. Donald Voorhees conducts The Bell Telephone Orchestra.
Gershwin's "Just Another Rumba" is performed for the first time.

Early songs:

"Real American Folk Song"- Polly Bergen, Marge Champion 
"Do, Do, Do"- Marge Champion, Andre Previn 
"Swanee"- Vic Damone
"Lady Be Good"- Gower Champion, Vic Damone 
"Fidgety Feet"- Gower Champion 
"Strike Up The Band"- Champions, Polly Bergen, Vic Damone 
"Fascinating Rhythm"- Andre Previn 
"Clap Yo Hands" "Looking For A Boy"- Polly Bergen 

Love Songs:

"Man I Love"- "Embraceable You" Polly Bergen 
"Love Walked In"- Vic Damone
"Our Love Is Here To Stay"- Vic Damone
"Let's Call The Whole Thing Off"- Polly Bergen, Vic Damone
"They Can't Take That Away From Me"- Polly Bergen 
"Kiss And Make Up" "Mine"- Polly Bergen,  Vic Damone 

Music For The Piano:

Concerto in F (Second Mvt) Andre Previn
 
Modern Songs:

"Slap That Bass"- Ella Fitzgerald, Teddy Wilson Trio
"S Wonderful "- Ella Fitzgerald, Teddy Wilson Trio
"Lady Be Good" "Summertime"- Ella Fitzgerald 

Music For Dancing:

Variations on "I Got Rhythm"- Marge and Gower Champion 

New Song:

"Just Another Rumba"- Polly Bergen, Marge and Gower Champion. 

Narrated by Ira Gershwin. 




            

Highlights: The Russians send a rocket near the moon, it will orbit the Sun, Fidel Castro supporters in victory celebration over Batista, Batista in exile, Castro will be the new president of Cuba, President Eisenhower signs a bill making Alaska the 49th State.             

A statement from President Eisenhower on Alaska becoming the 49th State, a description of the 49-star flag.             

Russian rocket passes within 5,000 miles of the moon and will possibly orbit the Sun, President Eisenhower congratulates Khrushchev, Havana awaits Fidel Castro, provisional government to be established.             

Walter Cronkite reports on where the US stands in space, Nasa chief describes future US space plans.   

 Anchor: Walter Cronkite                        

January 4th, 1959-June 16th, 1963 (CBS) 
September 22nd, 1963-June 14th, 1970 (NBC)
September 13th, 1987- December 20th, 1987 (Disney Channel)  

The College Bowl also referred to as the GE College Bowl was a competition between various colleges and universities. Each week, two teams comprised of four members would attempt to answer difficult questions on a variety of subjects. Allen Ludden hosted this quiz show from 1959-1962 followed by Robert Earle (1962-1970). Dick Cavett hosted the Disney Channel version in 1987.    

In this episode, Northwestern meets Brown. 

Series premiere.                                          

September 24th, 1958-March 16th, 1959.

Live musical variety show hosted by singer Patti Page.                                      

July 2, 1955-September 4, 1971; 1971-1982 (Syndicated). "The Lawrence Welk Show" presented middle-of-the-road music for almost three decades. Numbers were performed by the members of Welk's television family. That large group included the Lennon Sisters (Dianne, Peggy, Kathy and Janet), Alice Lon, Norma Zimmer, Tanya Falan, Arthur Duncan, Joe Feeney, Guy Hovis, Jim Roberts, Ralna English, Larry Hooper, Jerry Burke and former Mouseketeer Bobby Burgess.                                                                                                        

October 8, 1958 - May 20, 1959

Return to television by Milton Berle after an absence of two years.

Milton Berle returns to television in a half-hour weekly series. He'll offer comedy, performances by guest stars and music by an orchestra under the direction of Billy May, sometime actor who will also do an occasional comedy turn with Berle.

Producing the series is Hal Kanter, creator-producer-writer of the first George Gobel TV show. 

  Only Harpo's guest appearance has been archived.                                          

TEX AND JINX Radio & Television BROADCAST HISTORY:

April 22, 1946- February 27, 1959. 

WEAF (WNBC, WRCA), New York weekdays at 8:30 A.M. until 1954; at 1:00pm,1954-1955; then at 6:30 and 10:35pm until July 31, 1958, moving briefly to WOR, broadcasting at 2:15pm.

 In addition to the Kollmars (Dorothy Kilgallen and husband Richard Kollmar) and  the Fitzgeralds (Pegeen and husband Ed Fitzgerald), another well-recognized New York couple, newlyweds Tex McCrary and Jinx Falkenburg, added their own bread-and-bacon banter to the local airwaves between 1946 and 1959. Their gabfest, initially Hi Jinx but later revised to Tex and Jinx, was beamed over WEAF which was subsequently re-lettered WNBC and later WRCA. In limited doses, the flagship outlet of the National Broadcasting Company transmitted Meet Tex and Jinx to the whole country during 1947 and 1948. 

Tex and Jinx devoted most of their airtime to lofty and noble concepts, visitors and sidebars. Tex and Jinx [on WEAF-WNBC-WRCA] were interviewing Bernard Baruch, Margaret Truman, or Ethel Waters…. McCrary built the show on the assumption that the early morning audience was not stupid, as programmers generally assumed; that people in general had fresher minds and were more open to serious topics at the beginning of the day.” 

Their joint radio venture began in April 1946 just 10 months following their nuptials (June 10, 1945). Launched as a breakfast feature, the series later shifted to afternoons and finally into the evening hours before departing the ether a dozen years afterward. They were branded by one journalist “Mr. Brains and Mrs. Beauty.” 

In early 1947 NBC put them on its television network as a portion of a Sunday evening quarter-hour dubbed Bristol-Myers Tele-Varieties. “The McCrarys were naturals for TV,” wrote a reviewer, “with their combination of friendly chatter, interviews, and features.” That summer the web awarded them an exclusive Sunday night half-hour format under the appellation At Home with Tex and Jinx. A decade later, in the 1957-58 season, the duo hosted a daytime NBC-TV showcase, The Tex and Jinx Show. 

When hepatitis sidetracked Falkenburg in 1958 from their broadcast commitments, McCrary carried on solo on their radio show for another couple of years. In the 1980s, however, the couple separated, remaining on genial terms. McCrary died in New York on July 29, 2003 and Falkenburg expired just 29 days later in the same city, on August 27, 2003. 

NOTE::
The scores of TEX AND JINK SHOWS archived by Archival Television Audio, Inc. were originally obtained as original 16" Electronic Discs from Barry Farber, producer of the show (1957-1959), in 1960 after he had begun his own career in front of the mike at WINS Radio. These discs  were subsequently transferred to 1/4" reel to reel tape, and then disposed. These broadcasts are rare and represent  the largest known collection of TEX AND JINX extant broadcasts in the world. 

Report on Fidel Castro continued from # 13320, Tex and Jinx producer Barry Farber interviews Castro, actor Errol Flynn comments on Castro's "Freedom Fighters", On the spot interviews with Castro followers, one claims that Batista castrated Castro's followers, a preview of military trial of Batista "killer", interview with a potential victim, a tour of one of Batista's torture chambers where mutilations occurred.   
 Report on Fidel Castro continued from # 13320, Tex and Jinx producer Barry Farber interviews Castro, actor Errol Flynn comments on Castro's "Freedom Fighters", On the spot interviews with Castro followers, one claims that Batista castrated Castro's followers, a preview of military trial of Batista "killer", interview with a potential victim, a tour of one of Batista's torture chambers where mutilations occurred.      

                                                                   

July 29, 1957- March 30,1962. 

Announcer Don Pardo substitutes for Hugh Downs.
Jack Paar's Monologue includes:
Zsa Zsa Gabor's engagement again...Jonathan  Winters on the show, funniest man I know...Bob Hope, not feeling well...
Jose Melis plays, "Serenade to a Wealthy Widow." 
Author Maury Scher discusses his book "Goldrick." 
Goldrick's ten rules...a potential officer in fatigues.

Jack introduces Betty White whose birthday is tonight. 
Paar remembers when he first drove in LA and in great panic...just staying in a lane was challenging, but not as challenging as driving in New York on the West Side Highway. 

Jack Haskell sings, "Love Look Away." Jack introduces Jonathan Winters, "One of the most creative extemporaneous wits I know."
Conversation between Jack, Jonathan and Betty who receives a birthday musical tribute from the band. Jonathan does a Maude Fricket airline hostess routine with Betty White who later remembers the first time she met Jonathan. 

Jack confesses that he doesn't usually meet his guests before the show goes on. 
Introduction of Elaine Stritch. Jack and Elaine talk. Betty White and Jonathan Winters join in and then suddenly, Jack Paar walks off the show, only to return two minutes later. 

Jack Haskell does another song, "Mr. Success."
Jack Paar signs off. Don Pardo announces who is on the next show. 

*Most of this series does not survive in any broadcast form. Kinescopes were discarded, burned, decomposed...whereabouts unknown. 2" Quadruplex Video Tape was expensive ($300 for a one hour reel), weighting 26 pounds, requiring great storage space. Video Tape could easily be erased and was used for new program recordings...retained briefly for a re-run and then erased or discarded. Legend has it that even Jack Paar himself hired a junk man to come to his home garage and paid to have JACK PAAR TONIGHT SHOW recordings discarded (reels of kinescopes and video tapes) that were now cluttering up his space. 

During this era in television history archiving television programming was not a primary concern or vision, and considered an arcane pursuit. 

ARCHIVAL TELEVISION AUDIO, INC. retains over 70 complete and excerpt JACK PAAR TONIGHT SHOW air checks (34 hours), including the complete Jack Paar's first anniversary telecast which was broadcast live from Havana Cuba (June 28, 1958). These originally recorded off the air pristine sound direct line 1/4" reel to reel audio tracks, recorded at the time of the original broadcasts, represent the only broadcast record of a "lost" visual telecast. ATA is the largest single repository (one collection), in the United Sates of Jack Paar Tonight Shows recordings. The combined archives of The Library of Congress, Paley Center for Media, and UCLA Film & Television retain a composite total of 13 hours of representative JACK PAAR TONIGHT SHOW broadcasts excerpts...none complete. 



 For four years and eight months Jack Paar reigned supreme as host of the TONIGHT SHOW with a crew of regulars, but only two stayed with him for the entire run; announcer Hugh Downs and band leader Jose Melis, a former army buddy. Familiar faces who appeared many times with Jack included Dody Goodman, Betty Johnson, Elsa Maxwell, Alexander King, Genevieve, Jack Douglas; and wife Reiko, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Hans Conreid, Peggy Cass, Cliff (Charley Weaver) Arquette, and Jonathan Winters.

 Hugh Downs substituted for Jack Paar 79 times, more than any other substitute host. There were 20 different substitute hosts for Paar over the period of the series run. Joey Bishop substituted for Paar 31 times. Arlene Francis, 30 times, Jonathan Winters, 26 times, Orson Bean, 21 times and Johnny Carson 15 times. All together there were 243 broadcasts which had substitute hosts filling in for Paar during Jack Paar's TONIGHT SHOW tenure. The title of the late night broadcast changed to THE JACK PAAR SHOW which took effect on February 3, 1958. The first video-taped broadcast aired on January 5, 1959. "Best of Paar " Re-runs began on July 10,1959. Beginning July 20, 1959 Jack Paar began taking off Monday nights & guest hosts would substitute for him (approximately on alternate Mondays). The first color broadcast aired on September 19, 1960.
Theme music, "Everything is Coming Up Roses" was first used beginning in the Fall of 1959. 

Location broadcast telecasts of the program telecast away from the Hudson Theater in New York City occurred 14 times during this series run. 

Jan. 13-17, 1958                     Miami Beach, Florida
July 28, 1958                        Havana,Cuba           
Nov. 3-21, 1958                      Hollywood, California
March 2-20, 1959                     Hollywood, California
Nov. 10-12, 1959                  Nassau, Bahamas (Video Tape)
Nov. 30- Dec. 10, 1959               Hollywood, California
March 28-April 1, 1960            London, England (Video Tape)
Nov.9-11, 1960                    Hawaii (Video Tape) - b&w
Nov.14-24, 1960                     Hollywood, California
March 21-24, 1961                 London, England (Video Tape)
Sept. 12-14, 1961                 West Berlin (Video Tape)
Nov. 14-17, 1961                  Hollywood, California (Tape)
Nov. 21-24, 1961                  Hollywood, California (Tape)
March 13-16, 1962                 London, England (Video Tape)




                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Argentina's President Arturo Frondizi to visit Washington, Castro has pneumonia, he will not attend rally which triggers off new military tribunals, more trials to continue. Castro invites US Congressmen to witness trials, Premier Anastas Mikoyanin Washington, doubts US friendship.                                   

September 15, 1958-january 30, 1959 

This short lived late night talk show aired on WABC Channel 7 television ONLY in New York. Produced by Mike Wallace. 

It occupied an unorthodox time slot, 25 minutes from 10:50pm to 11:15pm, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday evenings. On Wednesdays it would air for 15 minutes from 11:00pm to 11:15pm.

Ben Hecht, playwright, screen writer, novelist, presented this live 22 week nightly commentary show. The format included Hecht's airing his views on the world at large, chatting with guests from varied fields, including literature, politics, journalism. Topics covered included the influences of critics, the fate of the poet in America, and the Supreme Court. 

Host was author, journalist, screenwriter, director, and producer Ben Hecht.

His caustic comments would enrage some of the viewers while engaging others. In all, a total of 99 episodes were produced. 

NOTE: The four episodes of THE BEN HECHT SHOW, including the premiere (September 15, 1958) audio recorded at the time of the original broadcast and archived by Archival Television Audio, Inc. are the only extant examples in any broadcast form known representing this series with the exception of an uploaded to you tube audio only air check broadcast  October 17, 1958 with Jack Kerouac. 

No air checks exist in the Library of Congress, Paley Center for Media or UCLA Film & TV Archive. 

Ben Hecht welcomes guest Jimmy Durante in a two part broadcast, totaling 45 minutes combined, the first airing on January 19, and the second on January 20, 1959. Jimmy sits at the piano and converses with his old time pal Ben Hecht who interviews Durante who gives many anecdotes about his show business career and personal  life.

Jimmy plays many numbers he created over the decades. We feel we are in his parlor at home chatting and reminiscing with music, laughter and song. 

One of the most endearing, personal television appearances by Jimmy Durante.

A "lost" Television Broadcast. 
The only two part Ben Hecht Show broadcast in the series.   

NOTE: On February 15, 1958, writer Ben Hecht (1893-1964), a flamboyant and caustic social critic, appeared on
The Mike Wallace Interview. Wallace and his producer, Ted Yates, agreed that Hecht's personality was provocative
enough to be the basis of a television show. The Ben Hecht Show was born. For 22 weeks, Ben Hecht held forth on
a variety of subjects, enraging some, engaging many, in this short-lived television show.                                                                                                                                         

   The Ben Hecht Show September 15, 1958 - February 6, 1959 

Slotted in a most unusual time period by ABC television 
(10:50pm - 11:15pm, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and 11:00pm - 11:15pm Wednesday nights) this series of 25 minute and 15 minute broadcasts with Ben Hecht, ran only for 22 weeks. 
A little over 100 broadcasts were telecast  of which only one known episode survives as a kinescope. 

Ben Hecht whose motion picture and journalistic career brought him in touch with scores of celebrities in films, television, politics and the social set. Many of his guests are personal friends and that relationship provides for a very informal wonderful discourse during most interviews when discussing  a variety of subjects; often enraging some, engaging many. His comments were often entertaining, defiant, realistic and iconoclastic. A rare approach to a commentary / talk show for even the late 1950's. 

Two back to back broadcasts with Jimmy Durante are included in this archived series. The first program aired on January 19, 1959 followed by a follow up broadcast airing the following night, January 20, 1959. This very revealing special interview by Ben Hecht of his long time friend Jimmy Durante is a treasure. 
Durante sits at that piano discussing his career and recalling a myriad of anecdotes related to his life and times, and  plays melody's that personify the music he has been associated with during his long history in show business. 

One of the rare jewels in the archive of Archival Television Audio. 
                              

October 3rd, 1957-June 23rd, 1960.

Singer Pat Boone hosted this half-hour ABC variety series, featuring top-name guest stars. Sponsored by Chevrolet.  

Guests: Gisele Mackenzie, Mexican pianist, Juan Esquivel. Mort Lindsay orchestra.                                             

July 29, 1957- March 30,1962. NBC. 

Dick Van Dyke subs for Jack Paar. 

Guests: Disc jockey Ted Brown and wife Rhoda. ("Ted Brown and The Redhead".) Alan Drake, WMGM disc jockey Peter Tripp, who has stayed awake for 200 straight hours. 

Co-host: Hugh Downs. 


                                     

TEX AND JINX Radio & Television BROADCAST HISTORY:

April 22, 1946- February 27, 1959. 

WEAF (WNBC, WRCA), New York weekdays at 8:30 A.M. until 1954; at 1:00pm,1954-1955; then at 6:30 and 10:35pm until July 31, 1958, moving briefly to WOR, broadcasting at 2:15pm.

 In addition to the Kollmars (Dorothy Kilgallen and husband Richard Kollmar) and  the Fitzgeralds (Pegeen and husband Ed Fitzgerald), another well-recognized New York couple, newlyweds Tex McCrary and Jinx Falkenburg, added their own bread-and-bacon banter to the local airwaves between 1946 and 1959. Their gabfest, initially Hi Jinx but later revised to Tex and Jinx, was beamed over WEAF which was subsequently re-lettered WNBC and later WRCA. In limited doses, the flagship outlet of the National Broadcasting Company transmitted Meet Tex and Jinx to the whole country during 1947 and 1948. 

Tex and Jinx devoted most of their airtime to lofty and noble concepts, visitors and sidebars. Tex and Jinx [on WEAF-WNBC-WRCA] were interviewing Bernard Baruch, Margaret Truman, or Ethel Waters…. McCrary built the show on the assumption that the early morning audience was not stupid, as programmers generally assumed; that people in general had fresher minds and were more open to serious topics at the beginning of the day.” 

Their joint radio venture began in April 1946 just 10 months following their nuptials (June 10, 1945). Launched as a breakfast feature, the series later shifted to afternoons and finally into the evening hours before departing the ether a dozen years afterward. They were branded by one journalist “Mr. Brains and Mrs. Beauty.” 

In early 1947 NBC put them on its television network as a portion of a Sunday evening quarter-hour dubbed Bristol-Myers Tele-Varieties. “The McCrarys were naturals for TV,” wrote a reviewer, “with their combination of friendly chatter, interviews, and features.” That summer the web awarded them an exclusive Sunday night half-hour format under the appellation At Home with Tex and Jinx. A decade later, in the 1957-58 season, the duo hosted a daytime NBC-TV showcase, The Tex and Jinx Show. 

When hepatitis sidetracked Falkenburg in 1958 from their broadcast commitments, McCrary carried on solo on their radio show for another couple of years. In the 1980s, however, the couple separated, remaining on genial terms. McCrary died in New York on July 29, 2003 and Falkenburg expired just 29 days later in the same city, on August 27, 2003. 

NOTE::
The scores of TEX AND JINK SHOWS archived by Archival Television Audio, Inc. were originally obtained as original 16" Electronic Discs from Barry Farber, producer of the show (1957-1959), in 1960 after he had begun his own career in front of the mike at WINS Radio. These discs  were subsequently transferred to 1/4" reel to reel tape, and then disposed. These broadcasts are rare and represent  the largest known collection of TEX AND JINX extant broadcasts in the world. 

More interviews from Cuba, Barry Farber interviews several "Freedom Fighters" for Castro, many deny they are Communists, a tour of Castro's jail full of Batista prisoners awaiting trial, interview with Castro comments on relationship with Russia, invites US tourists to "happy and beautiful" Cuba where freedom and democracy are a reality, comments on Errol Flynn with rebels, interviews with exiles returning to Havana, description of victory parade by Castro and followers in Havana Barry Farber is completely duped by Castro.                                                                

Second half radio coverage of the 1959 NBA All-Star game. The West defeated the East 124-108. Elgin Baylor and Bob Pettit are co-MVPs for the West team.  

Announcers: Win Elliott and Don Dunphy.      

A series of specials broadcast on NBC-TV. 

The Pontiac Star Parade presents Phil Silvers in "KEEP IN STEP."

Phil Silvers is seen as himself and as Sgt. Bilko in a one-hour musical comedy. His is joined by Diana Dors and Sydney Chaplin, as well as the members of Bilko's platoon (The Phil Silvers Show).

The plot finds Chaplin arranging to use Bilko's life story as the theme of an Army musical. Bilko goes to Hollywood to look over the star who has been selected to play him - none other than Phil Silvers, himself. 

Original songs were composed by Ronnie Graham. 
They include:

"I've Got the World on a String"............................Sydney Chaplin
"Plea to Col Hall".............................................Bilko, Platoon
"Famous Beauties...........................................Bilko, Platoon
"Emma".................................................................Sydney Chaplin
"Freeze".........................................................................All                                                     

September 12, 1955-June 12, 1963. In the fall of 1955 Perry Como returned to NBC where he hosted a weekly hour show. From 1955 to 1959 it was seen Saturday evenings and was titled "The Perry Como Show." From 1959 to 1963 it was seen Wednesday evenings and was titled "The Kraft Music Hall." Regulars included Frank Gallop and the Ray Charles Singers. After his final weekly June 12, 1963 broadcast Perry Como appeared in scores of specials, beginning October 3, 1963, airing on NBC, CBS & ABC, and concluding on December 6, 1986.




Guest John Bubbles sings "Lady Be Good" and does dance steps while conversing with Perry.                  

The Arabs have more than 6,000 words to describe a camel and its trappings. Hopi Indians cannot grammatically express past, present, or future. All babies have a common language. Discover these facts, and many more in the fascinating story of how and why people speak as they do in the world's 5,000 languages. "The Alphabet Conspiracy," told as a delightful fantasy, stars, Dr. Frank Baxter, Hans Conried, with Cheryl Calloway, Dolores Starr, and Stanley Adams. Also starring Cactus Mack, Shorty Rogers and Daws Butler.

October 8, 1958 - May 20, 1959

Return to television by Milton Berle after an absence of two years.

Milton Berle returns to television in a half-hour weekly series. He'll offer comedy, performances by guest stars and music by an orchestra under the direction of Billy May, sometime actor who will also do an occasional comedy turn with Berle.

Producing the series is Hal Kanter, creator-producer-writer of the first George Gobel TV show. 

Guests are Joan Davis and Bob Crosby.
Host: Milton Berle.                                                                         

Highlights: Khrushchev attacks Senator Humphrey's remarks regarding his comments on the failure of Russian-Chinese communes, Humphrey detects possible Soviet-Chinese rift, President Eisenhower considers a visit to Russia, ICBM "Titan" missile is tested.                         

TEX AND JINX Radio & Television BROADCAST HISTORY:

April 22, 1946- February 27, 1959. 

WEAF (WNBC, WRCA), New York weekdays at 8:30 A.M. until 1954; at 1:00pm,1954-1955; then at 6:30 and 10:35pm until July 31, 1958, moving briefly to WOR, broadcasting at 2:15pm.

 In addition to the Kollmars (Dorothy Kilgallen and husband Richard Kollmar) and  the Fitzgeralds (Pegeen and husband Ed Fitzgerald), another well-recognized New York couple, newlyweds Tex McCrary and Jinx Falkenburg, added their own bread-and-bacon banter to the local airwaves between 1946 and 1959. Their gabfest, initially Hi Jinx but later revised to Tex and Jinx, was beamed over WEAF which was subsequently re-lettered WNBC and later WRCA. In limited doses, the flagship outlet of the National Broadcasting Company transmitted Meet Tex and Jinx to the whole country during 1947 and 1948. 

Tex and Jinx devoted most of their airtime to lofty and noble concepts, visitors and sidebars. Tex and Jinx [on WEAF-WNBC-WRCA] were interviewing Bernard Baruch, Margaret Truman, or Ethel Waters…. McCrary built the show on the assumption that the early morning audience was not stupid, as programmers generally assumed; that people in general had fresher minds and were more open to serious topics at the beginning of the day.” 

Their joint radio venture began in April 1946 just 10 months following their nuptials (June 10, 1945). Launched as a breakfast feature, the series later shifted to afternoons and finally into the evening hours before departing the ether a dozen years afterward. They were branded by one journalist “Mr. Brains and Mrs. Beauty.” 

In early 1947 NBC put them on its television network as a portion of a Sunday evening quarter-hour dubbed Bristol-Myers Tele-Varieties. “The McCrarys were naturals for TV,” wrote a reviewer, “with their combination of friendly chatter, interviews, and features.” That summer the web awarded them an exclusive Sunday night half-hour format under the appellation At Home with Tex and Jinx. A decade later, in the 1957-58 season, the duo hosted a daytime NBC-TV showcase, The Tex and Jinx Show. 

When hepatitis sidetracked Falkenburg in 1958 from their broadcast commitments, McCrary carried on solo on their radio show for another couple of years. In the 1980s, however, the couple separated, remaining on genial terms. McCrary died in New York on July 29, 2003 and Falkenburg expired just 29 days later in the same city, on August 27, 2003. 

NOTE::
The scores of TEX AND JINK SHOWS archived by Archival Television Audio, Inc. were originally obtained as original 16" Electronic Discs from Barry Farber, producer of the show (1957-1959), in 1960 after he had begun his own career in front of the mike at WINS Radio. These discs  were subsequently transferred to 1/4" reel to reel tape, and then disposed. These broadcasts are rare and represent  the largest known collection of TEX AND JINX extant broadcasts in the world. 

Tex McCrary and Barry Farber, producer of the show,  interview columnist Drew Pearson.
Pearson thinks Castro is "highly moral and honest." Pearson says he will be a great force in the  Caribbean area, comments on the future of Castro, power may or may not go to his head, he talks about Latin American problems, US security predicts Nixon will go to Russia.  Tex McCrary interviews movie director, Elia Kazan.                                                                    

One of the few Afro-Americans to host a variety series during the early days of television (Oct 5th-Dec 28th, 1959). This updated one hour series premiered on local Los Angeles television (KTLA), January 13th, 1959. 

George Jessel sings Al Jolson songs. Billy Daniels piano accompanist is Benny Payne.