Blog Post Yabba Dabba Doo! Fifty years ago today, The Flintstones debuted— the first made-for-TV primetime animated series in the US. A twist on modern society, the series followed two working-class couples who lived in the Stone Age (a premise not more than a stone's throw from The Honeymooners ). Featuring the voices of...
Blog Post A Conversation with Richard Chamberlain - Now Online Actor Richard Chamberlain sat down with the Archive of American Television for three hours and detailed his television work. The entire interview is now online . Below are some excerpts from this extensive interview: Richard Chamberlain on the wild popularity of Dr. Kildare . I think people are...
Blog Post ABC's Wide World of Sports debuted 50 years ago today "Spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of sports.. the thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat.. " ABC's Wide World of Sports debuted on April 29, 1961 as a summer replacement show with host Jim McKay . The show featured a wide variety of sporting events, introducing surfing,...
Blog Post Valerie Harper on "Rhoda", "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" & more! Wishing a very happy 72nd birthday to actress Valerie Harper! In her Archive interview, Harper describes starting her career as a dancer in New York, moving to Los Angeles, and getting her big break on The Mary Tyler Moore Show . She reminisces about Rhoda and Valerie and shares that she was once a...
Blog Post Noted Director Reza Badiyi Dies at 81 We're sad to report that director and main title visualizer Reza Badiyi has passed away on August 20th at age 81. The Archive interviewed him in 2003. Badiyi began his career in Iran, where he won awards for documentary filmmaking. He came to the United States to assist with low budget films,...
Blog Post Celebrating Gene Roddenberry's Legacy on his 90th Birthday Today marks what would have been Gene Roddenberry's 90th birthday. Best-known as the creator and executive producer of Star Trek , Roddenberry was born in El Paso, Texas on August 19, 1921 and grew up in Los Angeles. He became a Los Angeles police officer, but quickly transitioned to TV as a...
Blog Post 6 Things You May Not Know about Lucille Ball Tomorrow, August 6, 2011, marks Lucille Ball's 100th birthday! Sadly, Lucy passed away in 1989, before the Archive of American Television was founded. Fortunately, the Archive has captured many interviews with her friends and colleagues in its collection. Here are a few selections: LUCY'S HAIR DYE...
Blog Post From Killing Radio Stars to Smooshing Guidos: MTV Turns 30 On August 1, 1981 at 12:01 a.m., footage of Apollo 11 blasting off into space filled the TV screen, followed by that of man landing on the moon. Then a flag bearing colorful letters, not stars and stripes, pulsated within a black and white still-image of man on the moon. Instead of the anticipated...
Blog Post Norman Lear on comedy “Life is a serious matter, but I see it through a prism that finds comedy in anything.”- Norman Lear A very happy birthday today to TV writer, producer, and legend Norman Lear, who is 89! In this excerpt from his 1998 Archive interview, Lear addressed the question of how he uses humor to diffuse a...
Blog Post EMMYTVLEGENDS.ORG Wins Second Consecutive Interactive Media Award We're thrilled to announce that the Archive of American Television's website EMMYTVLEGENDS.ORG was named a recipient of the Interactive Media Awards’ (IMA) Outstanding Achievement in Website Development Award, honored specifically for Excellence in Arts/Culture ! The award recognizes the site’s...
