Classic TV / TVparty!

New in the TVparty TV Blog
Bob Poole made no bones about being a small town boy at heart. In fact, he made it his schtick and paved the way for The Andy Griffith Show that came years later on television. Bob moved to New York in 1948 to join the Mutual network. Although his down-home program wasn't heard in The City Poole's Paradise was a nationwide smash hit. By the time he left in 1952 the Mutual network was beginning to unravel. Bob Poole imitators were flooding local radio markets all around the USA, eschewing expensive network programs. That's when Poole returned to his radio roots, WBIG.
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Rudolph:
The Untold Story: Part Three
Was Rudolph Butchered? Some fans are telling me that scenes have been deleted from the 2005 DVDs and the CBS broadcast this year (in so-called "High Definition"). The soundtrack to the song 'WE'RE A COUPLE OF MISFITS' was placed over the animated sequence for 'FAME & FORTUNE' and it didn't match up. The musical section of 'WE ARE SANTA'S ELVES' was missing again as well. Obviously, this restoration was done by people who didn't care and had no knowledge of this classic special.
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Classic Car Commercials
Cruise the digital highway TVparty style! Drop-top Fords, '66 Mustangs, '59 Chevys, '57 CHP cars, and those supercharged Mopars - with the 'realm of silence' ride! See for yourself the evolution of automotive advertising, from the fifties to the seventies. ALSO: the LA car dealer that was mauled by lions, tigers and bears - oh my!
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Dialing For Dollars?
Many a housewife in the 1960s, and well into the mid-1970s, would be sitting at home eating Bon Bons when the phone rang and a familiar voice asked, "This is Charlie Harville from Channel Eight's Dialing for Dollars calling. Do you know the count and the amount?" If fair maiden was watching the morning or afternoon movie she would know that the "count" was the number spun on the wheel early in the program, and the "amount" (what she could win) would be the money accumulated since the last winner.
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David Bowie on TV
Bowie made several but not many appearances on American TV during the 1970s, mostly on talk and variety shows. Here are a few examples.
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Short History of the Thanksgiving Day Parades Tradition
Thursday, November 28, 2015 marks the 56th anniversary of the CBS All-American Thanksgiving Day Parade Jubilees. On that date more than half a century ago the network and producer Mike Gargugilo broadcast four different parades from four different locales: The Gimbel's Thanksgiving Day Parade from Philadelphia; The J. L. Hudson Parade from Detroit; The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade from NYC; and The Eaton's Santa Claus Parade from Toronto, Canada. (Eaton's Parade was always pre-taped in advance for later broadcast).
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Disney's Merriest Christmas Special!
Glowing like a color console yule log and glistening not with tinsel but with animated delights, "From All of Us to All of You" was a not-quite-annual Yuletide TV gift, Disney style. Though many animated specials celebrated Christmas, this special-like 1958 episode of the Disney TV hour predated those cartoon extravaganzas by years (the first, Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol, debuted in 1962, while A Charlie Brown Christmas premiered in 1965). This specially-produced Disney program was the first to bring newly-produced, prime-time animated Christmas festivities to the electronic hearth.
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Alan Young, Mr. Ed & Marilyn Monroe?
On January 5, 1961, Alan Young was having dinner with friends, when they all stopped to watch the premiere of his new comedy, "Mr. Ed". Afterward, actor William Conrad (later, TV's "Cannon") said to Alan, "Congratulations, you've got a hit on your hands". Conrad was right, and today "Mr. Ed" is still in re-runs and celebrating its 50th anniversary. Next weekend, Alan Young celebrates his own personal milestone when he turns 92. I interviewed Alan by phone recently, and we talked about his life and career.
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Classic Commercials for Women
From the very beginning of the ad age, women became a key strategic focal point for advertisers. The polyester decade in particular played host to some of the most memorable and wildly successful ad campaigns of all time. All too often, early TV advertisements aimed at "the weaker sex" were condescending and simplistic. The women's movement in the sixties was one factor leading advertisers to rethink the methods they were using to reach an increasingly important market segment.
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The Dark Shadows Movies
House of Dark Shadows stands as perhaps the most effective TV adaptation to the big screen until Star Trek II the Wrath of Khan came along in 1982. The daytime soap opera Dark Shadows struggled to find an audience before Jonathan Frid joined the cast as Barnabas Collins. This happened in 1967 just after Batman ignited in primetime; both Frid and Adam West became instant pop icons. Perhaps it was the success of the Batman movie that prompted MGM to green light a film version of Dark Shadows four years later.
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Jack Sheldon!
Jack Sheldon - you may not recognize the name but you'll recognize his voice from those wonderful Schoolhouse Rock segments from Saturday mornings. My favorite of his was 'Conjunction Junction' but there were others - like perhaps the most well-known of the bunch, 'How a Bill Becomes a Law.'
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Sandy Becker / Classic TV Host / kid shows on TV

Sandy Becker!
"Anyone who grew up in New York in the 50's and 60's had to know Sandy Becker. He shaped a lot of our personalities. Along with Hambone, Norton Nork, and The Old Professor, I remember his lovable puppets, Geeba Geeba and Marvin Mouse. Sandy Becker was one of a kind. He really seemed to care about his audience and about the welfare of the younger generation. We could sure use a Sandy Becker today."
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Classic TV Shows on DVD?
An extensive catalogue of every classic program available on DVD! See what's available today - with big discounts for you!