R. Hill Historical Society Revisits TV’s Early Days

College professor Brian Rose spoke about the early stages of television, while also showing slide shows of the bygone era last Friday at the Richmond Hill Historical Society’s February meeting held at the Leonard Center in Richmond Hill. Members of the Richmond Hill Historical Society were treated to a trip down memory lane focused on the beginnings of television and how the industry has changed throughout the years during a Friday, Feb. 19 lecture at the Leonard Center.

Fordham University professor Brian Rose clued in listeners on some of the obstacles television had to overcome before turning into the popular medium it grew into in years later.

The first-ever telecast was reportedly scheduled to take place at New York’s World’s Fair in 1939, but never materialized due to the outbreak of World War II, when all electronics companies were mandated to manufacture military equipment.

It wasn’t until 1946 that the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) marstory keted the first television set. The 10- inch black-and-white contraption went for a lofty $385, preventing most people from purchasing a new TV.

Because only 200,000 sets were initially sold, RCA targeted the wellto do in their printed ads, featuring men in tuxedos and women in evening gowns enjoying the product.

“The Golden Age lasted from 1949 through 1959. What was so different about the era? TV was just not new and innocent; it was something unique and special,” described Rose.

Large groups of people would soon begin to gather at bars and other public establishments to view the same programming that was being broadcast on radio.

In the early stages, NBC’s Arturo Toscanini and his superstar symphony orchestra were a crowd pleaser, as well as CBS’ televised plays, which aired after they stopped playing on Broadway.

A variety of sports, including professional wrestling and roller derby competitions were also quite popular in the late 1940s.

“Early on, some would install antennas on their roofs just to pretend they had TVs,” added the professor.

By 1951, 10 million people owned their own television sets, and four years later, that number would increase to 30 million.

During that era, Milton Berle, better known as “Uncle Miltie,” became everyone’s favorite showman, although he was much more of a hit on the east coast.

Other radio stars, such as Bob Hope, Jack Benny and Groucho Marx would follow in “Mr. Television’s” footsteps, as networks simultaneously broadcasted radio and television programming.

“TV was live with lots of mistakes and no do-overs,” explained Rose. “Videotape didn’t come into use until 1956. ... [The networks] would air live theater. Paul Newman, James Dean all had their beginnings on live TV.”

In fact, the New York-based Kraft TV and Ford Four-Star theaters would hire writers to write their weekly plays.

As television was growing by leaps and bounds with a variety of quiz shows and variety programs, such as Sid Caesar’s Your Show of Shows, radio and Hollywood were both struggling.

In response to their new competition, Hollywood filmmakers used widescreen technology and 3-D visual effects. In addition, movies were also starting to release films dealing with more risqué and serious content that TV shied away from.

The 1950s were a time of great fear brought about by U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy, who set out to identify Americans in the entertainment industry who affiliated themselves with the Communist Party during a period of major tension between the United States and the former Soviet Union.

The Wisconsin legislator added the names of entertainers Burl Ives, Orson Wells and Leonard Bernstein to his list of dissenters due to their involvement with civil rights or antiwar movements.

As a result, numerous stars were blacklisted, including Philip Loeb, who wound up committing suicide when he was unable to find any work on stage or screen.

“Writers gave their scripts to friends, who submitted work under their own names,” said Rose of those who were villified by McCarthy.

McCarthy’s blacklist paranoia came to an end once he lost public support following Edward R. Murrow’s scathing report of the senator in a Mar. 9, 1954 episode of See It Now. Murrow’s battle versus “Mc- Carthyism” was later portrayed in the 2005 movie Good Night, and Good Luck.

By 1955, movie production companies began selling their old films to TV stations, and soon after companies, such as Warner Bros., began making their own shows.

By the mid- to late-1950s, game shows had flourished into top programs that regularly produced huge ratings. Former radio shows, such as The $64,000 Question were on the rise.

However, the Twenty One quiz show scandal of 1959 effectively brought an end to the Golden Age of television, as it was discovered that popular contestant Charles Van Doren was being provided with the answers to the show’s questions beforehand. The 1994 movie Quiz Show chronicled the events surrounding the scandal.

“It was all rigged … producers gave the answers to people they though would look good winning,” revealed Rose.

“People fell in love with Van Doren. He was completely coached. [Van Doren] was told when to stutter and when to pause dramatically.”

Following Van Doren’s fall as a clean-cut All-American personality, TV studios moved out of New York and into Hollywood since it was believed that better programming could be made on the west coast.

Within a few years, the golden age of television wound down as Hollywood turned into the land of popular sitcoms including Petticoat Junction and The Beverly Hillbillies.