WBZ-TV History and Where Are They Now?

[Peter Q. George]

WHDH-TV/Channel 5 spared NO expense in building Boston's first ALL LOCAL COLOR facility back in 1956-57.  Sure WBZ-TV may have been the first in local originated color.  But unlike The Herald-Traveler, Westinghouse was somewhat of a cheap operator in comparison. No doubt, WBZ-TV put "something" on the air in color (before WHDH singed-on) just to say "Hey, we broadcast the first local color TV in Boston!".  Local color on WBZ-TV was very rare until '67.  Even "Boomtown's" local inserts were in black and white until the fall of '68. Look what they did with the two (and a half) WBZ-FM's over the years. But, I digress.

Originally, since WTAO-TV Channel 56 was still the ABC affiliate (on paper at the time), WHDH-TV was to be an Independent (a situation similar to the WHCT/WTIC CBS issue in Hartford).  When WTAO-TV went dark in early 1956, ABC quickly got WHDH-TV to join the ABC family.  However, WHDH-TV was still being built at the time, so WBZ-TV (Channel 4) and WNAC-TV (Channel 7) would still cherry pick some of the better ABC programs for the time being until WHDH-TV would sign-on in November '57.  Some north of Boston viewers got (and still do get) ABC full-time on WMUR-TV (Channel 9). 

By the way.... did Boston ever get American Bandstand on Channels 4, 7 or the-then new Channel 5 during the halcyon days of Dick Clark's daily show from Philadelphia back in the '50's? It seemed that Bandstand was constantly pre-empted in this market for years until WSBK-TV (Channel 38) ran it for a few years in the 60's.  Used to watch AB on TV38 in '67 and '68.    

Peter Q. George (K1XRB)
Whitman, Massachusetts
"Scanning the bands since 1967"

radiojunkie3@yahoo.com
***********************************************************


--- On Thu, 7/8/10, Gary's Ice Cream <gary@garysicecream.com> wrote:

> From: Gary's Ice Cream <gary@garysicecream.com>
> Subject: RE: WBZ-TV History and Where Are They Now?
> To: "'Linc Reed-Nickerson'" <linc@reed-nickerson.com>
> Cc: "Boston radio e-mail list" <boston-radio-interest@bostonradio.org>
> Date: Thursday, July 8, 2010, 6:38 PM
> I believe Duncan was either a duck or
> a swan...
> 
> -Gary Francis
> WBZ radio alum
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: boston-radio-interest-bounces@tsornin.BostonRadio.org
> [mailto:boston-radio-interest-bounces@tsornin.BostonRadio.org]
> On Behalf Of
> Linc Reed-Nickerson
> Sent: Monday, June 28, 2010 1:58 PM
> To: 'Boston Radio Group'
> Subject: WBZ-TV History and Where Are They Now?
> 
> I believe WBZ can probably take the honors for earliest
> locally originated
> color transmission, not live, but because they (Bill
> Hauser) purchased an
> RCA TK-26 color film chain (before or about the time WHDH
> went on the air).
> 
> Interestingly it was disassembled and made into three B
> & W film cameras
> before being reassembled and up dated with COHU
> encoder.  
> 
> I worked at WHDH in the summer of '65, and it was the best
> job I had from
> the broadcast side (Tektronix was best from the supply
> side).  Unfortunately
> I was a "summer replacement" and got drafted into the Army
> that summer, the
> only full time opening I found on return from Vietnam was
> at WBZ.  They may
> have been number 1, but the couldn't compare technically to
> WHDH.  Shortly
> after I got there they brought Dick Ellis in as Chief from
> KYW, and his
> philosophy was to purchase industrial equipment rather than
> broadcast
> quality. No matter how bad they looked they still made
> numbers!
> 
> Now going way back, and I asked this question to many of my
> colleagues at
> WBZ, and nobody could remember this person's
> identity.  Jack Chase had a
> morning show, and on that show for bumpers they had a
> toddle (female) in a
> playpen.  I'm guessing she'd be between 55 and 60
> now.  Who was she and
> where is she now?  One clue, I think she might have
> been related to Gordon
> Swan.  Donna? if anybody knows, you will!
> 
> I also remember another personality, female, with an odd
> first name for a
> female, Duncan, I believe (ch 7 or was she Jack's
> co-host).  Am I
> hallucinating, or is that a valid memory?
> 
> And who was the woman that did the nautically oriented kid
> show on WMUR?  I
> worked there in 1964, and they remembered her, but couldn't
> remember her
> name (Glendora and the SS Glendora?).
> 
> And one final question, we had a very nice young lady that
> worked as a P.A.
> for Rex trailer, Jackie Murphy.  I believe she went to
> B.U. and eventually
> married a station owner in Vermont.  I know she worked
> at WARE for a while
> in the mid-70's and was also on WAQY (?) in Springfield.
> 
> Just some questions about things I'd like to know (my
> bucket list).
> 
> Linc
> 
> Leighton M. "Linc" Reed-Nickerson
> President - KORC Radio, Inc.
> VP - Harney County Radio, LLC
> 140 Verbina St.
> Waldport, OR 97394
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