Blog Post Silver Anniversaries of "The Golden Girls" and "227" When The Golden Girls debuted on September 14, 1985, Variety called it "a funny, fast-paced, well-written sitcom with all the earmarks of a potential hit." They called it. The series was a top ten hit for nearly its entire run and won Emmy Awards for each of its four leading players— Beatrice...
Blog Post 60 Years Ago Today, "The Hank McCune Show" Debuted on NBC-- Ushering in the Laugh Track on Network TV Hank McCune is a forgotten name in TV comedy. His TV series, The Hank McCune Show , however, has found its way into the history books. This filmed series was the very first to use a laugh track. The series aired locally in 1949 and may or may not have already incorporated the use of a laugh track...
Blog Post "Bonanza" Producer David Dortort Has Died-- Archive Interview Online David Dortort , executive producer of the classic TV westerns Bonanza and The High Chaparral , has died at the age of 93. When asked in his Archive of American Television interview how he'd like to be remembered, he said: "as a man who brought the message of love, peace, and harmony to television...
Blog Post Archive Interviewee Jerry Lewis Discusses the MDA Telethon The 45th annual Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon to benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association will be broadcast live from the South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa in Las Vegas, beginning at 9 p.m. ET Sunday, September 5th. In a press release, MDA President & CEO Gerald C. Weinberg noted: “Major...
Blog Post Legendary KTLA Newsman Stan Chambers Retires After 63 Years Stan Chambers started in television at the dawn of the medium. He's been a fixture of KTLA's news team and its historic coverage of breaking news since he first reported on the tragedy of Kathy Fiscus in 1947— a three-year-old girl who fell down piping of an abandoned water well. Stan Chambers'...
Blog Post "Howdy Doody" Writer Eddie Kean Has Died Eddie Kean , the sole writer for the first seven years of the classic children's show Howdy Doody , has died at age 85. Kean also wrote the songs for the show. Out of Howdy Doody comes one of Kean's most lasting contributions to pop culture — the creation of the word "cowabunga" (also spelled...
Blog Post Humphrey Bogart on '50s TV— "Jack Benny," "Person to Person," and "Producers' Showcase" Humphrey Bogart was one of the screen's biggest stars in the 1950s, when TV was considered a rival medium. Bogart made relatively few appearances on TV before his death in January 1957. According to sources (such as David M. Inman's Performers' Television Credits ), Bogart made a few appearances on...
Blog Post EMMYTVLEGENDS.ORG Wins Top Honors at 2010 Interactive Media Awards The TV Academy Foundation's Archive of American Television website EMMYTVLEGENDS.ORG has won an Outstanding Achievement in Website Development Award from the Interactive Media Council's 2010 Interactive Media Awards! The honor, granted by the Interactive Media Awards, recognizes that the site met...
Blog Post Producer David Wolper ("Roots") has Died -- Co-Founder of the Archive of American Television Legendary producer David Wolper , whose many documentaries and notable TV projects include Roots and The Thorn Birds — has died at the age of 82. Wolper was one of the co-founders of the Archive of American Television and was interviewed about his career on May 12, 1998. His full Archive interview...
Blog Post John Langley's Interview Is Now Online-- Created "Cops" " Cops is an existential variety show, with a criminal accent, and real décor." John Langley was interviewed in North Hollywood, CA on May 22, 2009; Karen Herman conducted the two-hour interview. Interview Description: John Langley says of his background: “I’m a kid of the 60’s. I’m sort of anti-...
