Blog Post The Fonz Jumps The Shark! 35 years ago today, on September 20, 1977, Happy Days aired an episode in which the gang travels to California for Fonzie's screen test. The Fonz is challenged to waterski over a shark, and dressed in swim trunks and his trademark leather jacket, he accepts the challenge: Here's the pivotal "jump...
Blog Post Sid Caesar Turns 90! He double talks, he pantomimes, and he plays a mean saxophone. Today, Mr. Sid Caesar , the man who gave us "The Professor," "The German General," and "From Here to Obscurity," turns 90! Born Isaac Sidney Caesar on September 8, 1922, Caesar grew up in Yonkers, New York. His father owned a restaurant...
Blog Post Remembering William Asher The Archive is sad to report that director/producer William Asher passed away on Monday, July 16, 2012 at the age of 90. Asher got his big break at Desilu, first directing episodes of Our Miss Brooks , and then becoming a regular director of I Love Lucy (he directed the famous "Job Switching"...
Blog Post Remembering Garry Simpson The Archive just learned the sad news of director Garry Simpson 's passing. NBC television's first stage manager passed away at his home in Middlebury, Vermont on November 19, 2011. Simpson was an instrumental part of the NBC television demonstration at the 1940 World's Fair, and directed multiple...
Blog Post TV Academy Announces 21st Annual Hall of Fame Inductees The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences' Hall of Fame Committee has selected performers Vivian Vance and Bill Frawley, executive Michael Eisner , show creator-producer Chuck Lorre, executive producers Mary-Ellis Bunim and Jonathan Murray, actor Sherman Hemsley , host Mario Kreutzberger (aka...
Blog Post "It's Time to Play the Music..." Again! The Archive Celebrates the Return of the Muppets! "My sister wants to see the world the way John Lennon saw the world. My nephew wants to see the world the way Kermit saw the world." - Sonia Manzano , "Maria" on Sesame Street A child of the '80s, I was one of those kids who wanted (and still wants) to see the world as Kermit sees it. He believes...
Blog Post Saw It Then: Murrow's "See It Now" Turns 60 On November 18, 1951, journalist Edward R. Murrow united the states of America. On the premiere episode of See it Now , Murrow showcased technology made possible by the recently completed transcontinental coaxial cable, which linked the East and West Coasts of the United States and made live video...
Blog Post A Curtain Rod on a Sassy Broad: Burnett's "Went with the Wind!" Turns 35 "I saw it in the window and I just couldn't resist it." That plush green velvet, those stringy gold tassels, that sturdy curtain rod... "Starlet O'Hara's" make-shift drapery dress is one of THE most recognizable ensembles in all of television. And Starlet sashaying down the grand staircase, proud...
Blog Post Legendary Comedy Writer Hal Kanter Dies at 92 The Archive of American Television is sad to report that writer/producer Hal Kanter passed away on Sunday, November 6th of complications from pneumonia. He was 92 years old. Kanter started in radio as a comedy writer and transitioned to television writing for The Ed Wynn Show . He wrote for The...
Blog Post Remembering Andy Rooney CBS News has announced that legendary journalist Andy Rooney died today, November 5th, at the age of 92. He had recently suffered complications from a "minor surgery" done shortly after he stepped down from 60 Minutes last month. The Archive of American Television interviewed Andy Rooney in 1999...
