WNBC-4 New York - Station IDs - 1964

[letticiarsd898]

Dang! I missed the fishbowls!

[Lampshade51]

At this time (1964) most TV stations were still using slides with voiceover as IDs. This being the New York flagship NBC station, it looked like they pulled out all the stops.

VERY cool.

[soln4suhreborn]

COOL!!

[radiodj1520]

In This Clip, From 0:41 To 0:54, It Was WNBC-TV's The Coney Island Ferris Wheel Video ID From 1964.

[radiodj1520]

In This Clip, From 0:28 To 0:40, It Was WNBC-TV's The Radio City Rockettes Video ID From 1964.

[radiodj1520]

In This Clip, From 0:13 To 0:27, It Was WNBC-TV's Tugboat Video ID From 1964.

[radiodj1520]

In This Clip, From 0:00 To 0:12, It Was WNBC-TV's Horse Carriage Video ID From 1964.

[mrmjb1960]

Does the "Saturday Night At the Movies" bumper of the '60's exist now stlll? I loved that bumper! Also,the WNET Owl who'd ate the "13",then burped,was also a fav of mine! Anyone here have these?

[chem100]

Interesting that WNBC-TV was still involved with the Radio City Music Hall and RCA in the 1960s.

[moxie96]

if they had a old specifically for nbc holiday special being re aired and it wasn't edited out fast enough, I remember spotting them very quick. It used to be attached to the mary martin peter pan special which usually came on either durring easter or thanksgiving week. The last time it aired was in about 1992-93 and they remastered it so these don't "leak" anymore.

[albear972]

That's a cool looking 4 with the NBC logo inside!

[DTD110865]

I could swear I've seen these used well past 1964, mainly because I was born in 1965.

[CRAZYHARRY4]

great wnbc tv id's from 64..way before my time..anyways i like the fact you have perserved them from years ago.

[tomovox]

I'm diggin' how the logo will just sort of come from out of nowhere and just ZOOM into view. Very, very creative! The music is fantastic, a little fanfare to open and then the sustained horns swell to a grand finish.

[cartoonist1975]

I love old station Id's . Too bad i was born in 8o []:

[PenafilmStudios]

It seems the old 4 Logo of first ident (vinheta) of Rede Globo,a TV Brazilian!

[x60hz]

These things are so priceless. Thank you so much for posting them.

[RandomWrestlingPoops]

0:36 4 of Doom

[rentslave]

Remember when Channel 4 was reading the comic strips during the newspaper strike?

[kdizzle79]

1. Central Park.

2. NY Port Authority

3. The Rockettes

4. Coney Island

5. Rockefeller Center

6. Times Square

Am I right?

[JHollowayNetwork]

these WNBC station Ids were first put into service in 1963.

[wmbrown6]

I presume the "Movie 4" open and close (as on the clip marked "WNBC-4 New York - Movie 4 - 1964") likewise debuted in 1963. If so, it would make sense . . . the closing bumper used Grotesque No. 9, which was used on newspaper ads for "Movie 4" screenings in that year. I likewise presume there could've been a color version for when color films aired, though no color prints have been shown here.

[MSTS1]

Could very well have debuted in '63. The reel was marked 1964; these may have been extra prints made later, etc.

I didn't have any Movie-4s in color, however that doesn't mean none ever existed, only that I've never seen any.

[wmbrown6]

About the "Movie 4's": That was what I figured. The question then becomes, when were the "Movie 4" opens and closes last used and replaced with something else?

[MSTS1]

JHollowayNetwork: Do you have evidence that "these WNBC station Ids were first put into service in 1963"? These films were not labeled 1963, but were labeled 1964.

[murielsartre]

I can just imagine the boys having the telly on in their suite at the Plaza - just to see - and then these promos come on and it sinks in that they're *actually* in New York City!

[MrBassplayer3]

were these produced to help promote the World's fair that year? Sort of a chamber of commerce thing..

[MikeTeaveeJr]

Did any of the other four NBC O+O's use the same music with their own animation for ID's in their areas?

[kgrueschowjr2009]

very impressive work!

[GhettoAttitude]

Hello MSTS1 do you have videos from the other channels from 1964 like WNEW-TV ?

[MSTS1]

Hi- No, I don't have any material at all for WNEW-NY, and no other channels from '64 either..

[jb20092009]

I would think it depends on the affiliate in which city. Remember, the animation represents NY City and there was so much of it to represent.

[ignoblius]

These would look great with the original color & picture quality restored.

[TubeNumber2]

I keep waiting for Rocky & Bullwinkle to come out.

[author]

Channel 4 used to say "Your Community-minded Station." These ID's must've been before that.

[wmbrown6]

From what I've seen in pictures of Times Square billboards, WNBC-TV had one on (I think) the east block between 43rd and 44th Streets during c.1965-66 where the "Your Community Minded Station" motto was in view.  I think it may've replaced the billboard for Kleenex tissues, and was south of the iconic "Camel" billboard. From c.1960 to about 1964, Channel 4 used a slogan, "The Station of Varied Viewing," for their sign-offs.

[jb20092009]

OK, these were actually used between 1963-1968. YCMS was used behind the stills. This was primarily used for announcements - "Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show @ 11:30" for example. Most annoying one was "Jim Hartz @ 11."

[wmbrown6]

Mr. Hartz first came to WNBC in 1964 and handled the 11 P.M. newscasts for, what, ten years? So if, as you say, these animated top-of-hour ID's were first put into service in 1963, that means they were already in place at the point of Mr. Hartz' arrrival. Wonder what replaced these ID's as of '68 - similar to what WRC-TV in Washington had at that time (black background and light orange "4" that got formed from a straight line that moved)?

[john4951]

Weird clips in a certain way. Im from Michigan and I assume all these artistic backdrops represent New York, Central Park, Coney Island, etc..right? They had the same bumper music for my cartoon carnival, or whatever it was back then- right around '64 on our local t.v.

[MSTS1]

Yes, all the images are NYC locations.

[happyquails]

its amazing how they use the same music as in the cartoons!

[timmymylad]

It's hard to believe this WNBC-4 New York - Station ID is now 45 years old!

(1964-2009)

[yt65x]

Does anyone else notice the tugboat also has the '4' logo on the smokestack?..

[jimzvid]

I'm also a Chicagoan--finally visited NYC last fall and enjoyed my stay there.

My favorite one of these is #5-isn't that Rockefeller Center?

[wmbrown6]

Sure is 30 Rock on #5.

[MSTS1]

Does 30 Rockefeller have the 'GE' on top?

[wmbrown6]

It does today . . . that I.D. #5 showed the angle of 30 Rock as it looked west from 49th-50th Streets. And in 1964, "RCA" would have been emblazoned on top.

[SockSoulNY]

This collection of station I Ds is really ahead of its time. Most local network affiliates of that day would just use a still slide with a local place of prominence or perhaps a photo of the studio's building exterior. This collection is a keeper.

[growingup15]

Oh my lord what in the world. looks like a cartoon lol but everyone had to start from somewhere. awsome video.

[DaysFan65]

Oh, that's my station! Lol. thank you for posting

[nyworldsfair]

Wow! Amazing! Where did you get this?

[staytunedfor]

Really innovative id's for the period. The art direction is great!

[CJBlackleather]

Fabulous Logo!!!

[Cheeseydudet]

Why is the man in the horse carriage riding with the horse in Central Park? This is from 1964.

[ishredu]

they had horses in 1964..

[DTD110865]

@Cheeseydudet

Horse carriages still run through Central Park today.

[payless1981]

Anyone have clips of the actual news from this era?

[fromthesidelines]

You're thinking of CBS' "Season's Greetings" bumper from 1966, 'bamack', animated by R.O. Blechman...

[markojameow]

This is terrific! For years, I thought that station IDs from that era was a still with call letters and kitschy elevator music. Perhaps it was up in Canada and many places in the States, but not in New York. Thanks for sharing these IDs - they were something else. (And I mean this in a good way.)

[dnm728]

Impressive-looking IDs for their time. The artwork reminds me a little of the work of Ralph Bakshi.

[fromthesidelines]

The music cue was similar to the theme used during the 1965 NBC fall preview special, "A Secret Agent's Dilemma" (and the network used variations of this music in some of their promos in the late '60s)...

[kimberlyKfnOphiEAGLE]

BTW none of the 1964 World's Fair clips here show the RCA exhibit..where they had a mobile truck equipped with TK-41 color TV cameras, I believe David Sarnoff also made an appearance at the RCA exhibit.

[kimberlyKfnOphiEAGLE]

Since WNBC is NBC's flagship station on the East Coast, I wonder if they opened any of their own shows with a local version of the Peacock.

[zekepig]

I recall them doing so a few times, just as you described below. Also, Washington's WRC-TV did the same thing for some of their local color shows.

[kimberlyKfnOphiEAGLE]

Thanks for putting these up. I like how the idents represented the different sights New York was famous for back in the 1960's. And the ferris wheel could represent not only the 1964 World's Fair, but Coney Island as well.

[wmbrown6]

There was a roller coaster in the background on that clip . . .

[kimberlyKfnOphiEAGLE]

As well as a 'parachute drop' ride.

[MSTS1]

Based on related film I'd seen at the time of transferring this, I figured the parachute drop connected this with the WF '64. But if the p-d was also part of Coney Is. at that time, the ID could be a reference to that.

[TimL2005]

I have a clip on here from WKYC-TV Cleveland's 50th anniversary that shows a localized version of the NBC Peacock from the around 1965-66

[wmbrown6]

I saw that. With Mel Brandt's voice yet. Did he do "localized" Peacock bumpers for the other NBC O&O's (including WNBC-TV)?

[TimL2005]

I have heard Mel Brandt do at least one Peacock ID for WMAQ-TV Chicago, so It would make perfect sense that he did it for all the NBC O&O's

[wmbrown6]

But, of course, not on that night in early 1967 when a slide still of the Peacock was used and then-WMAQ announcer Del Clark (later of WFLD) announced that "the next two hours and one half" would be in "living color."

[kimberlyKfnOphiEAGLE]

I wish I could get hold of the 60's era KYW-TV idents and the 1967 KYW news open which had the Peacock integrated into it.

[Pookatube]

And just think...the call letters were in readable view, not dimuintvely obscured like in this day and age

[MSTS1]

It was always my understanding that the 'Ferris Wheel' cut was in reference to the World's Fair of 1964, held in New York.

[Buswaylocal]

Beautiful and classy, as I can imagine the city was in those days. Thank you for posting!

[Chisox74]

Another Chicagoan here offering kudos to this video.Just simply awesome.

Thanks for putting these up.

[PinkDecca]

HOLY COW! I cannot BELIEVE these were saved...amazing!

[MSTS1]

WNBC did not make this.

[wmbrown6]

True . . . it seemed the station actually commissioned these opens.

[MildApplause]

Really?

Oh.

So, then, WNBC had no say in the design of these logos or their appearance? Interesting.

[radamail]

Adding to your previous comments about the ID quality then & now; I wonder if these were meant to give WNBC some showbiz polish since they're the Peacock's flagship station.

Most of the other NBC affiliates around the country at this time usually went with just a static image of their station ID, a logo & a voice announcer, right?

[wmbrown6]

On WNBC, they probably had a V/O over these animated I.D.'s either in the middle or towards the end, some of which V/O's are among the better-known names within that group.

[noahf67]

How about the "Sunday Night Movie" animated intro from the late 60's-early 70's? Any sightings of that one?

[bamack21]

I'm sorry I don't remember the colors of the logo. I'm doing good to remember the details I did.

[bamack21]

Does any remeber this station id from WNBC that ran in the late 60's? A pen and ink cartoon of a man in a jacket and hat carrying a saw crunches out on the snow to a pine tree. A bird is sitting in the tree stops singing. The man starts to play his saw like a violin. The bird starts to sing again. The screen shows Merry Christmas (or Happy Holidays) from channel 4. I thought it was very cool. I'd love to see it again.

[wmbrown6]

Would you know if this particular 4 logo was used (I presume it was), and if so, was it white or orange?

[bonewifey18]

From what I can remember it was white

[Wordman67]

Fantastic! Please post anything else you have from WNBC in the 1960s!

[wmbrown6]

Seems this and the "Movie 4" opening and closing are the only things WNBC vintage 1960's that 'MSTS1' would have.

[ronmeister63]

My comment is this video always bring back memories of tjis station and I hope you find one with the mid 60's - early 70 opening of Movie 4 and the one that says "WNBC-TV Your Community Minded Sation"

[agrel25952]

Wow!! I remember all these intros, NY had great TV, Anyone have the library lions(Intro), it used to be run on Sunday Mornings in the mid 60's on channel 4 NY.

[meesterfonnyboy]

I'm a Chicagoan and thoroughly enjoyed this! WMAQ-5 had nothing like this, just a static card. I noticed the Ferris wheel and remembered that 1964 was the year the World's Fair was in New York.

[wmbrown6]

Funny, I thought it was an abstract of Coney Island . . .

[meesterfonnyboy]

Having never been to NYC, I wouldn't know Coney Island if it fell in my lap. The scene just reminded me of the fact that New York hosted the World's Fair in 1964.

[prausch65]

You must visit NYC some day sir, its got some thing for every one and its diversity is second to none.

[markojameow]

It is a terrific city. Its skyline greets you from afar, its landmarks are numerous and come in every price range, and the shopping is astounding. This is definitely one place where you should go before you die - there is no place like it on earth!

[kylebook]

An excellent set of animated station IDs depicting New York City at its post World War II zenith. How cool would it be if WNBC resurrected these to show at the top of the hour?

[crypticreign]

Just fantastic! Thank you!

[prausch65]

What unique and rare station id's! Thanks for posting!

[dandydonaldo]

In the early 1960s, KSD-TV(now KSDK), Channel 5 in St. Louis had the NBC logo in the center of the "5"

[buzzy07405]

I remembered the big 4 with the NBC logo inside the 4. What I don't remember was the animated IDs that went with it, since it was done before I was born. It's nice to bring back some nostalgia.

[zekepig]

Did they have anything like this for Washington, DC (e.g., Congressmen filing into the U.S. Capitol for a legislative session, or tourists milling around the Wash. Monument)?

[wmbrown6]

I'm not sure (after all, I am a New Yorker), but from what I could tell News Gothic Condensed was used for the calls and city in WRC-TV's case, as opposed to Akzidenz-Grotesk Condensed (a.k.a. Standard Condensed) for WNBC-TV.

[mca1218]

I can attest to that font for the station logo. I'm a DC native, and remember the large '4' with the NBC snake logo embedded in its arm quite a lot for WRC-TV 4 back in the 60's-70's. That logo would flash with a lot of other animation at the network sign-off at the conclusion of programming at night while the announcer gave the station I.D...We also had an afternoon movie in DC- also called 'Movie 4'- but its opening credits were different.

[retroguy1976]

I like that retro nbc logo they should go back to that

[DesiluTrek]

The NBC "snake" has been one of my favorite logos/icons for as long as I can remember ... which goes back to the era it was used

[wmbrown6]

Personally, I've long preferred the "snake" and the 1956-75 Peacock to those logos which came both before and after.

[PeerlessPaavo]

Yeah, logo-wise, NBC started moving in the wrong direction with the stylized, blue and red N they unveiled in '76 for the Bicentennial year.

As a young child, I used to love to see the old peacock, even before we had a color TV.

And, it was before my time, but NBC's pre-peacock insignia was tasteful as well. I believe it was the letters "NBC" superimposed on three xylophone keys, which "played" the signature NBC tones.

[wmbrown6]

I'll agree with you on the 1954-59 "xylophone" logo . . .

[DTD110865]

@PeerlessPaavo

Actually, the snake used to scare me, although the peacock didn't seem so bad to me. I used to like the stylized blue & red "N."

[PeerlessPaavo]

These are great. Thank you for sharing.

[retroguy1976]

thats is the ultimate throwback lol

[mobilene]

I've also heard this five-note signature on a 1969 NBC fall-season promo that I saw somewhere else.

[tapthat2012]

thanks for posting more of these. great.

[wmbrown6]

Interesting that the same opening as on the first file, originated in color. Were the "Movie 4" openings available in a color version, or just B&W?

Meanwhile, the "4" logo with the snake-logo box inside was also in use by WRC-TV in Washington, DC; don't know about KNBC in Los Angeles, though.

[MSTS1]

Same Hourly ID. The Movie-4s were only in B+W.

[wmbrown6]

A shame about "Movie 4." However, seeing these I.D.'s, I presume after the music ended, the announcer would've mentioned the calls and city, followed by the :00.5-sec. long, 730-Hz tone which in turn preceded the next program.

[zekepig]

My family visited the L.A. area back in 1969, and KNBC used that same "4" logo at the time.

[wmbrown6]

Ah, so all NBC O&O's at one time or another with the dial position of 4 (66-72 MHz) used this logo. Thanks for the confirmation. Then again, WNBC, WRC and KNBC also used the same type of '4' as used in the '4N' era of 1976-79.

[kimberlyKfnOphiEAGLE]

When I was a kid, about 4 or 5 years old, I remember Philly's NBC affiliate, which was known as WRCV back then, had a Peacock which had the station's call letters instead of NBC's for their local color programs!