KTLA AT FORTY {KTLA AT 40}: A CELEBRATION OF LOS ANGELES TELEVISION (TV)
Summary
Part one of two. This special celebrates the fortieth anniversary of KTLA, a television station in Los Angeles originally owned by the Paramount Corporation. Hosted by a number of celebrities who got their start at this pioneering station, the program features footage and clips of programs shown on the station since its debut in 1947, as well as interviews with station personalities. After a brief history of television's development, host Bob Hope describes his performance on the station's first broadcast. Footage of this broadcast, existing only on a newsreel, is shown. Next, narrator Stan Chambers explains that German born émigré Klaus Landsberg was hired by Paramount pictures to set up a television station, which became KTLA. The program continues with a retrospective look at some of the station's early offerings, including "Pantomime Quiz" and "Judy Splinters." Shirley Dinsdale, host of "Judy Splinters," is interviewed. The retrospective also discusses some of the programs shown by other local stations at the time, and Betty White, who co-hosted a talk show on another Los Angeles station, is interviewed. Next, KTLA personalities Bud Stefan, Bill Welch, and Ted Meyers are interviewed. Each reminisces about working on television in the early days. Host Steve Allen next discusses the musical/variety shows shown on KTLA, and footage of these programs is shown, including excerpts from "The Spade Cooley Show," "The Bandstand," "The Lawrence Welk Show," "Frosty Frolics," Hometown Jamboree" and "The Steve Allen Show." Personalities from these programs, including Harry Babbitt ("Spade Cooley"), Frank Devol ("Bandstand"), Roberta Linn and Lawrence Welk ("The Lawrence Welk Show"), and Cliffie Stone ("Hometown Jamboree"), are interviewed. Next, footage of KTLA's first commercial, for a Lincoln automobile, is shown. Host Dinah Shore next discusses footage from her "Dinah Shore Show" and continues with a retrospective of the station's reality programs. Footage from programs such as "City at Night," "Handy Hints," and "Hollywood Reel" is shown. Footage of Ronald Reagan on "Hollywood Reel" is shown, and Ken Graves and John Polich ("City at Night") are interviewed. Footage of "The Jack LaLanne Show" is shown, and the pioneering exercise guru is interviewed. KTLA personalities Jack Narz, Emile Franchel, and Ralph Story are interviewed. Footage from "The Baxters," produced by Norman Lear, and "Scared Straight," hosted by Peter Falk, is shown.
Next, Chambers introduces a segment on KTLA's children's programs. Daws Butler, a puppeteer on "Time for Beany," reminisces about the show and its producer, Bob Clampett. Footage from the program is shown. Iron Eyes Cody, who starred on "The Tim McCoy Show," is interviewed, and a brief clip from the program is shown. Bill Stulla and John Rovick ("Sheriff John"), Frank Herman ("S.S. Skipper Frank"), Tom Hadden (introducer of "Popeye" cartoons), and Vance Colvig ("Bozo the Clown") are interviewed about their KTLA personalities. Footage of the popular teenage dance program "Shebang!!" -- hosted by Kasey Kasem -- is shown. The footage features a guest appearance by the Doors. Next, host Dick Annberg explains that KTLA televised "fringe" sports such as Destruction Derby, Roller Derby, and Moto-Polo. Footage of broadcasts of these activities is shown. Next footage from "Bowling for Dollars" and wrestling is shown. Former athlete and announcer Don Drysdale is interviewed. After some KTLA program bloopers are shown, host Hal Fishman conducts a segment on KTLA's news coverage. Innovation, he explains, was KTLA's strong point when it came to newscasting. Station founder Klaus Landsberg developed technology that allowed live coverage of an atomic test in Nevada, viewers learn, and the networks used his idea to broadcast the test. The station was also the first to develop a telecopter so that news could be covered from the sky. Bob Arthur, Tom Snyder, Bill Stout, Joseph Benti, Terry Drinkwater, and George Putnam, all KTLA news alumni, are interviewed. Footage of news coverage of the Bel Air fire, the flooding of the Baldwin Dam, and the Watts Riots is shown. Next, Pat Sajak, who started as a weatherman on KTLA, is interviewed. Narrator Stan Chambers then states that KTLA was purchased by Tribune Broadcasting. The retrospective ends with a montage of footage from the station's most popular shows, past and present. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: KTLA-TV
- DATE: March 25, 1987 Wednesday 8:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:41:41
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:12592
- GENRE: Specials
- SUBJECT HEADING: Television stations; TV - History
- SERIES RUN: KTLA (Los Angeles, CA) - TV, 1987
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Joel Tator … Producer
- Bonnie Tiegel … Associate Producer
- Scott Owens … Associate Producer
- Lisa Mateas … Director
- Mitchell Barry … Writer
- Steve Allen … Host
- Dinah Shore … Host
- Bob Hope … Host
- Stan Chambers … Narrator
- Harry Babbitt
- Frank Devol
- Shirley Dinsdale
- Peter Falk
- Emile Franchel
- Ken Graves
- Jack LaLanne
- Klaus Landsberg
- Norman Lear
- Roberta Linn
- Ted Meyers
- Jack Narz
- John Polich
- Ronald Reagan
- Bud Stefan
- Cliffie Stone
- Ralph Story
- Bill Welch
- Lawrence Welk
- Betty White