Colour television show excerpts from 1958 to 1966

This is a compile of rare colour television show excerpts dating from 1958 to 1966 shot on the first colour camera the RCA TK-41. These excerpts come from various programs like Bell Telephone Hour, Fred Astair specials from 1958-60, Peter Pan, and various NBC drama play specials shot in living colour. I plucked all of this footage from the 1976 NBC 50th anniversary special.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• living
• color
• colour
• television
• show
• rca
• tk41
• tk
• 41
• 1958
• 1966
• 1950s
• 1960s
• videotape
• bell
• telephone
• hour
• peter
• pan
• an
• evening
• with
• fred
• astair
• nbc
• drama

[eparkbuckeye]

Is that Orson Welles talking?

[oldtvhistory]

@eparkbuckeye Yes! He was hosting the NBC 50th Anniversary special!

[al1936ful]

Why do some clips come on for only one or two seconds? are you skipping over anything?

[oldtvhistory]

@al1936ful I have put in only the clips that slot in with the 1958-1966 colour footage category and as the clips so happen to blend in with others that are outside the category, parts of those other clips I cut out will still be present. I sourced all of this footage from the NBC The First 50 Years special from 1976 which I obtained from a collector who recorded it on Betamax when it was aired back then.

[catholicpriest1]

They didn't have color video tape in 1955.

[oldtvhistory]

@catholicpriest1 True that! That Peter Pan play NBC special excerpt was actually from 1960 version but the Peter Pan play was first televised in living colour in 1955, then in 1956 and finally 1960 which was videotaped in colour, the two previous ones were kinescoped to B&W 16mm film. I guess NBC decided to fudge things a bit for the 50th anniversary special by picking the 1960 version because it was videotaped in colour.

[icm1970]

To the people at WPBS in Watertown NY. Why not show classy and classic programming like this, particularly during your fundraising drives, instead of useless drivel like Daniel O'Donnell and Andre Rieu and endless repeats of Celtic music. I and others might be persuaded to start giving you money again.

[Boeing744andRCAquad]

I guess the NBC 50th Anniversary special didn't mention "Hullabaloo" at all, or during the 70's, "The Midnight Special". Sometimes, NBC knew how to rock.

[lostvocals4]

But why did you cut out all the "Kukla, Fran and Ollie" clips??

[EricandDish]

It was amazing of what NBC accomplished with color during the first decade-from "Peter Pan" in 1955 (seen here) to the launching of "The Dean Martin Show" in 1965 and making ABC and CBS look like ordinary TV networks. These clips must of come from the network's 50th anniversary.

[altfactor]

NBC had it's own in-house opera company who did a few television specials a year in the 1950's and 1960's.

I was a small tyke in the later years of "NBC Opera", but I think Texaco sponsored the opera telecasts.

[altfactor]

@oldtvhistory And the 1960 version, if my memory serves me correct, was rebroadcast every year through 1970, and two or three times since then.

[quizmaster85]

3:36 - They'd made an error on that clip; it was actually from 1960

[yogafan6500]

Now that's what i called classic TV. And none of that crap such as jersey shore, teen mom, glee, & those godawful Kardashian shows that infest our lives on TV. Thanks for posting those classic clips.