1960 - NBC - The Steve Allen Plymouth Show IN COLOR !!! (1 / 4)

[macmyrow]

Caroline Richter is my stepmom and she's alive and doing well! Thanks for publishing this video, I didn't know how good she was!

[tertommy]

Steve Allen invented color TV, and the automobile, and YouTube too.

[cmcb09]

@tertommy Granted his shows didn't always have the best writing, but when it came to discovering talent and getting them in the public's eye he was a genius.

[tertommy]

@cmcb09 I'm referencing the MST3K invention exchange where it was determined Steve invented everything.

[dannyguenzel]

@tertommy Yawn.......

[Eight1Eighty2]

I was -22 years old at this time.

[MrReilly067]

Wow from 1960 yet awesome!

[dvdmrtnkls]

Dancing Girl hit the boom. They searched high and low and could not find ANY black native Jamaican dancers in Steve Allen's particular Jamaica. What a hideous forticated society his was.

[musicom67]

@dvdmrtnkls How 'hard' was 'it' to search for the dancer in the striped pants who opens the show and tries to push the 'D' button?

[dannyguenzel]

@dvdmrtnkls Calm down, sir or madam. Your overreaction is embarrassing to yourself and others.

[fromthesidelines]

The following evening, Dean Martin's "LINCOLN-MERCURY STARTIME" special aired on NBC...and only the black and white kinescope appears to exist.

[bervy8]

And we never heard of Carolyn Richter again. How sad.

[Ramubay]

"See this command seat, sort of like a PILOT'S!...and every control is in easy reach of the driver."  Awesome, I hate cars where the blinkers are only accessible from the back seat.

[musicom67]

@Ramubay Hardly a 'command seat'... In those days they were lacking a headrest for whiplash control or shoulder belts... Now PUSH the "D" button and Drive (Just hope it doesn't get stuck!)...

[59OPAL]

Really exceptional color. NBC/RCA was really the leader then. Of course, boiling hot lights made these tube TK cameras shine. Such was RCA's dominance that CBS bought RCA cameras and ribbon microphones. They masked the RCA logo until finally buying Norelco/Philips cameras in the 70's.

[wmbrown6]

@59OPAL - Actually, before Norelco/Philips' Plumbicon color cameras first hit the market in 1965 via the PC-60, followed the very next year by the PC-70, CBS was manifesting its "anything but RCA" equipment replacement policy with its acquisition (beginning in 1962) of Marconi Mark IV B&W cameras to replace their TK-10/30 and TK-11/31 stock. (Compared to ABC which got RCA TK-60's.) However, in 1968 CBS's Ed Sullivan Theatre replaced the PC-70's in that studio with Marconi Mark VII's.

[fromthesidelines]

Yes, that's Eddy King as the program's announcer, 'wm'- he was with NBC, as part of their West Coast staff, through 1979, and passed away last August, at the age of 99.

[wmbrown6]

@fromthesidelines - I'm curious now, what with King having passed, and just this September (2011) New York-based Vic Roby, who else besides Don Pardo and (presumably) Roger Tuttle, amongst the former NBC staff announcers, would still be amongst the living?

Also, I noticed (from his obituary) that King was still with NBC Burbank as late as 1977, alongside Donald Rickles, Don Stanley, Peggy Taylor and Victor Bozeman.

[59OPAL]

@wmbrown6

I don't know if Hugh Downs counts. Not really a NYC or Burbank announcer, but with the passing of Howard Reig not many left.

[wmbrown6]

@59OPAL - Early on in his career, Mr. Downs was a staff announcer for WMAQ radio and what, from its 1948-49 sign-on to 1964, was WNBQ (TV) in Chicago. But he is indeed mainly known for his on-camera work on such programs as "Concentration," the "Today" show, "Over Easy," and "20/20."

[Turkeydoodlers]

I'm surprised they had this at 10 pm? Seems late, I would have missed it them lol.. Great show

[Gnillob802]

@Turkeydoodlers Steve Allen was the original host of the Tonight Show from 1953 - 1957 and this was a primetime spin-off. When he moved to prime time he was slotted against Ed Sullivan at Sundays 8pm and did horribly. Wanting to bring back some of his late night audience NBC moved him to Mondays at 10pm. That didn't work either. Eventually he went into syndication.

[icm1970]

Thanks musicom 67 for uploading. This is absolutley lovely footage to upload. I wonder where material like this could be showcased. The so-called TV Land channels constantly repeat MASH, Cheers, Three's Company, and movies you can buy in the cheap DVD bin for two bucks so they can not be trusted. I wonder if PBS could make use of shows like these. Again, I think it would be very important to show material like this and rediscover it for the first time in more than fifty years.

[EricandDish]

The Great Steverino! As pointed out in the discription, this aired eleven days into the 1960's. Did Allen, Tony Bennett, and all the others that were on this show had any idea of what was about to happen in the decade (and on the other side by December 1969 in other words)?

[wannawatchu66]

Wow...had Kennedy even announced his candidacy for President yet?

[DesiluTrek]

Tony was a bit miffed at that poor-fitting hat!

[drh4683]

I enjoyed this very much. How has our culture managed to degenerate itself from producing and enjoying such quality entertainment with class in just a short 50 years?

[MyStevearino]

WOW!!! What a rare find. Thank you musicom67. Where did you acquire this tape? Can or will a DVD be burned to share and/or buy at some future date?

[zinwah]

An early and great contribution from Monica Zetterlund. After the first few bars, she gets into her stride and sings beautifully. If only there were more clips of her from that period. No wonder the likes of Bill Evans, Steve Kuhn and Thad Jones rated her so highly.

[musicom67]

3:31 - Hear how the dancing girl hit the boom microphone while removing the hat from Steve.

[krazeykriss]

Yes, this was taped in Burbank. Steve's show was moved from New York to the west coast for the 1959-60 season.

[wmbrown6]

Also . . . the "singing sensation" Monica Zetterlund was a Swedish jazz singer who became something of a sensation in the U.S. after touring here the year of her appearance on this edition of Mr. Allen's show. Her most famous work here was a record she made with Bill Evans, "Waltz for Debby." She died in a fire in her Stockholm apartment in 2005, aged 67.

[wmbrown6]

Correct me if I'm mistaken, but wasn't that NBC West Coast staff announcer Eddie King as the opening V/O? It does seem that this had Burbank origination, given (what I heard) the TK-41 cameras there providing a better picture, relatively speaking, than those at 30 Rock (if anyone saw the series finale of "Howdy Doody" from later in the same year). Certainly the shots of Ms. Zetterlund from her musical number are a clear example of the TK-41 at its best.

[GaryW48]

@wmbrown6 Just wnder if the TK-41 cameras at 30 Rock were I/O tube cameras? That could be the reason why the "Howdy Doody" YouTube video does not look as sharp as the video from Burbank. This video looks almost as if it was recorded this year, compared to other early color videotapes I have seen online. Very crisp! Thanks for sharing!

[wmbrown6]

@GaryW48 - Actually, ALL TK-41's were I/O's. Apparently, the Burbank cameras seemed better maintained than those at 30 Rock. There are many places which have commented on how Burbank TK-41 picture quality was largely superior to 30 Rock TK-41. (Can't say about the TK-41's at the Brooklyn studio, though, in the larger scheme of things.) The Plumbicon tube didn't arrive until a few years from this show.

And as for the VT quality, I seemed to read NBC had proprietary color VT recording/playback.

[fromthesidelines]

As 'musicom' has stated, very few viewers saw this in "Living Color", as less than a quarter of all homes owned color TV sets at that time [even the price for an "inexpensive" color set was around $500], and just a handful of color shows were telecast on NBC {ABC had not the money or resources to colorcast until 1962; CBS declared a moratorium of sorts on color programs because of their rivalry with RCA/NBC, which lasted through 1965}. This is a RARE example of color videotape back then!

[fromthesidelines]

"THE STEVE ALLEN PLYMOUTH SHOW" appeared on Monday nights at 10pm(et) during the 1959-'60 season. Unfortunately, it was part of a faltering Monday night schedule {all times Eastern}:

7:30 RICHARD DIAMOND, PRIVATE DETECTIVE (cancelled after this season)

8:00 LOVE AND MARRIAGE (cancelled in mid-season)

8:30 TALES OF WELLS FARGO (miraculously, it survived into another season)

9:00 PETER GUNN (ditto, moving to ABC)

9:30 ALCOA-GOODYEAR THEATER (cancelled after this season)

10:00 STEVE ALLEN

[mobilene]

They cut off the peacock before it finished opening!