1960 DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION (TV)
Summary
Live coverage of the first day of the 1960 Democratic National Convention from Los Angeles. Highlights include the following: Cronkite says Sen. John F. Kennedy (Mass.) has the nomination "sewed up," recaps presidential hopes of Senators Lyndon B. Johnson (Tex.) and Stuart Symington (Mo.), and notes the possibility of a floor fight over the civil rights plank of the Democratic platform; Charles Kuralt and Howard K. Smith offer convention background; videotape shows Pennsylvania caucus remarks of Symington, Kennedy, Johnson, and Gov. David Lawrence (Pa.), while Douglas Edwards and Alexander Kendrick comment; Edward R. Murrow notes the convention's "seriousness"; Bernard Eisman reports on the civil rights plank; and unofficial candidate Adlai Stevenson (Ill.) introduces Eleanor Roosevelt, who speaks for a Stevenson ticket at a live press conference. Democratic National Committee Chairman Paul Butler calls the convention to order, Los Angeles Cardinal James Francis McIntyre offers the invocation, and Hollywood stars, including Frank Sinatra and Peter Lawford, among others, sing the National Anthem. Highlights of the second hour include the following: Nancy Hanschman talks with Ted Kennedy on the candidacy of Sen. John F. Kennedyand on California delegate strength; Charles Collingwood talks with James A. Farley on New York delegation caucus; Sec. of the Democratic National Committee Dorothy Vredenburgh reads the convention's rules; Ron Cochran reports with convention background; Hanschman talks with campaign manager for presidential hopeful Sen. Stuart Symington (Mo.); Kuralt reports from the floor; Democratic National Committee Chairman Paul Butler introduces the mayor of Los Angeles, who welcomes the convention, as does Gov. Edmund "Pat" Brown (Ca.); Bill Downs reports from outside the arena on demonstrators for civil rights who are protesting capital punishment and the execution of Caryl Chessman; Lewis Shollenberger questions Gov. Brown on likely vote of California delegation; Cronkite discusses Roosevelt's support of Stevenson; Hanschman talks about presidential hopeful Johnson with Texans U.S. House Speaker Sam Rayburn and Gov. Price Daniel; Cronkite reports that Stevenson's phones have been tapped; Richard C. Hottelet and Kennedy floor manager Gov. Abraham Ribicoff (Conn.) discuss the Stop Kennedy movement; and Cronkite speculates on Gov. Orville Freeman (Minn.) as Kennedy running mate.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Paul Butler addresses the convention, calling for an end to the "self-serving and weary" Republican administration. Butler calls Democrats the "party of enlightenment," reviews his chairmanship, and calls moral, spiritual, and military survival the principal issue of our time; and Committee Secretary Dorothy Vredenburgh reads a resolution naming temporary officers of the convention. Beginning his keynote address, Sen. Frank Church (Idaho) says these are times of "grave crisis," decries "pitchman prosperity" and the plight of small businesses and farmers, criticizes Republicans, and reviews work of the Democratic Congress. Church comments on the "grave stakes" of the coming national elections and says that the preservation of peace and freedom, and the fate of the world all hinge on U.S. principle, prestige, and power. Church offers modern science as the hope for the Third World and touts the U.S. technological revolution. Other highlights include the following: Charles Kuralt covers a rally for presidential hopeful Adlai Stevenson (Ill.); Charles Collingwood and Sen. Warren Magnuson (Wash.) discuss Sen. Henry Jackson (Wash.) as a possible running mate for Sen. John F. Kennedy (Mass.); Bernard Eisman reports on platform committee approval of a strong civil rights plank; platform committee chairman Chester Bowles predicts convention approval of civil rights plank and calls for "new principles for a new age"; Ron Cochran offers convention background; Richard C. Hottelet and Gov. Orville Freeman (Minn.) discuss the failure of the Republican farm program and Freeman's potential as a running mate; Nancy Hanschman talks with Mrs. Frank Church; videotape covers press conference of Sen. John Stennis (Miss.), who calls civil rights plank "extreme"; Howard K. Smith comments on Church's keynote address; and Cronkite and Elmo Roper discuss the Kennedy "bandwagon."
Temporary convention chairman Sen. Frank Church (Idaho) introduces a choir, which performs the spiritual, "Gonna Ride In the Chariot, Lord"; musical director Johnny introduces the Sportsmen, who sing a Democratic campaign song, "I'm Walkin' Down To Washington"; a Methodist bishop pronounces the benediction; the National Anthem is performed; and Cronkite discusses the vice-presidential potential of Gov. Orville Freeman (Minn.) with Sen. Hubert H. Humphrey (Minn.) and of Sen. Henry M. Jackson (Wash.) with Sen. Warren Magnuson (Wash.). Cronkite, Edward R. Murrow, Howard K. Smith, and Alexander Kendrick comment on the convention's mood, and on the Stop Kennedy movement of Adlai Stevenson (Ill.) and Sen. Lyndon B. Johnson (Tex.), including anti-Kennedy remarks by Harry Truman and Eleanor Roosevelt. Includes commercials for Westinghouse with Fred Davis and Betty Furness.
Details
- NETWORK: CBS
- DATE: July 11, 1960 Monday 7:30 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 4:29:08
- COLOR/B&W: B&W
- CATALOG ID: T83:0625
- GENRE: News
- SUBJECT HEADING: Capital punishment; Democratic National Convention - 1960; She Made It Collection (Nancy Dickerson); U S - Civil rights; U S - Elections - 1960; U S - Officials - Talk/Interviews
- SERIES RUN: CBS - TV, 1960
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Commercials - Westinghouse products
CREDITS
- Paul Levitan … Executive Producer
- Don Hewitt … Director
- Walter Cronkite … Anchor, Chief Correspondent
- Sportsmen, The … Music Group
- Charles Kuralt … Reporter
- Howard K. Smith … Reporter
- Douglas Edwards … Reporter
- Alexander Kendrick … Reporter
- Edward R. Murrow … Reporter
- Bernard Eisman … Reporter
- Nancy Hanschman Dickerson … Reporter
- Charles Collingwood … Reporter
- Ron Cochran … Reporter
- Bill Downs … Reporter
- Richard C. Hottelet … Reporter
- Chester Bowles
- Edmund Brown
- Paul Butler
- Caryl Chessman
- Frank Church
- Price Daniel
- James A. Farley
- Orville Freeman
- Johnny Green
- Hubert H. Humphrey
- Henry M. Jackson
- Lyndon B. Johnson
- Edward M. Kennedy
- John F. Kennedy
- Peter Lawford
- David Lawrence
- Warren Magnuson
- Francis A. McIntyre
- Sam Rayburn
- Abraham Ribicoff
- Eleanor Roosevelt
- Elmo Roper
- Frank Sinatra
- John Stennis
- Adlai Stevenson
- Stuart Symington
- Harry S. Truman
- Dorothy Vredenburgh