You Are There


The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation Presents

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About

The radio program made a transition to television in 1953, with Walter Cronkite as the regular host. Reporters included veteran radio announcers Dick Joy and Harlow Wilcox. The first telecast took place on February 1, 1953. The final telecast took place on October 13, 1957. Originally telecast live, most of the later episodes were produced on film. One of the episodes, for instance, features actor Pat Conway (1931-1981) as James J. Corbett, the boxer who fought champion John L. Sullivan in 1892.

The program was seen again on Saturday morning on videotape from 1971 to 1972. These programs were also hosted by Cronkite. Both series were produced by CBS News.

The series also featured various key events in American and World history, portrayed in dramatic recreations. Additionally, CBS News reporters, in modern-day suits, would report on the action and interview the protagonists of each of the historical episodes. Each episode would begin with the characters setting the scene. Cronkite, from his anchor desk in New York, would give a few words on what was about to happen. An announcer would then give the date and the event, followed by a loud and boldly spoken "You Are There!"

Cronkite would then return to describe the event and its characters more in detail, before shifting the attention to the event itself, saying, "All things are as they were then, except... You Are There."

At the end of the program, after Cronkite summarizes what happened in the preceding event, he reminded viewers, "What sort of day was it? A day like all days, filled with those events that alter and illuminate our times... and you were there."

The 1950s edition was briefly parodied in a Merrie Melodies cartoon, Wideo Wabbit, featuring Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd, as Fudd's pursuit of Bugs lands him in a re-enactment of Custer's Last Stand.

The series was parodied on The Electric Company in a sketch titled You Weren't There. "You weren't born yet, you were out of town, or you just weren't paying attention," says the narrator.

From 2000 to 2005, Cronkite presented a series of essays for National Public Radio, reflecting on various key events of his life, including his involvement in You Are There in the 1950s.

Created by Goodman Ace

Directed by

John Frankenheimer

Jack Gage

Bernard Girard

Sidney Lumet

William D. Russell

Presented by Walter Cronkite

Country of origin United States

Language(s) English

No. of seasons 5

No. of episodes 147

Production

Producer(s) James D. Fonda

Charles Russell

Running time 30 mins.

Broadcast

Original channel CBS

Original run February 1, 1953 – June 9, 1957

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Highlights
Walter Cronkite on his docu-drama You Are There, and his opinion of that genre
01:15
Walter Cronkite on some of the bloopers that happened when filming live television for the program You Are There
10:31
Walter Cronkite on how the Hollywood Blacklist affected him and the news industry; specifically the writers on the dramatic program You Are There
06:02
Who talked about this show

Walter Bernstein

View Interview
Walter Bernstein on writing for You Are There while blacklisted
06:06
Walter Bernstein on other writers on You Are There; on the show's correspondent/hosts and the show's veiled criticisms of McCarthyism
01:45
Walter Bernstein on the subversive subtext of You Are There
01:13
Walter Bernstein on CBS' loyalty oath, You Are There executive producer Bill Dozier, his favorite episodes, and the show's move from New York to Los Angeles 
02:47
Walter Bernstein on writing his first non-Blacklist television script -- possibly the reboot of You Are There
00:55

Walter Cronkite

View Interview
Walter Cronkite on his docu-drama You Are There, and his opinion of that genre
01:15
Walter Cronkite on some of the bloopers that happened when filming live television for the program You Are There
10:31
Walter Cronkite on how the Hollywood Blacklist affected him and the news industry; specifically the writers on the dramatic program You Are There
06:02

Robert Culp

View Interview
Robert Culp on his first work for television on You Are There and on how his being new to television during the Blacklist period got him started in television
03:27

Jamie Farr

View Interview
Jamie Farr on appearing on You Are There
00:50

John Frankenheimer

View Interview
John Frankenheimer on working on You Are There as Sidney Lumet's associate director
09:11
John Frankenheimer on working as associate director on You Are There
05:09
John Frankenheimer on his first directing gig on You Are There
11:51

Russell Johnson

View Interview
Russell Johnson on his work on You Are There
01:36

James Lipton

View Interview
James Lipton on appearing on You Are There as several historical figures
03:56

Sidney Lumet

View Interview
Sidney Lument on Danger and You Are There producer Charlie Russell, and on working with the network
04:13
Sidney Lument on how movie actors, including James Dean, adapted to television, and on directing You Are There
04:46
Sidney Lument on the correspondents of You Are There, and on their political affiliations and the Blacklist
10:52

Bob Markell

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Bob Markell on working on You Are There
19:48
Bob Markell on working on You Are There
14:21
Bob Markell on working with Hubbell Robinson on You Are There
01:57
Bob Markell on B-roll footage of production photos of the show You Are There
02:23

Abraham Polonsky

View Interview
Abraham Polonsky on the format of You Are There, on Walter Cronkite as the host, and on Bill Dozier
04:52
Abraham Polonsky on writing for You Are There
02:24
Abraham Polonsky on writing specific episodes of You Are There
06:15
Abraham Polonsky on writing You Are There while blacklisted
02:59

Maria Riva

View Interview
Actress Maria Riva on the enthusiasm for the work that director Sidney Lumet had when she worked with him on such TV series as Danger and You Are There in the 1950s
01:01

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