In Search Of Television History

Thereís not a museum or library in the country that houses the complete history of television--it just doesnít exist. Iíve spent most of my adult life trying to locate the television shows and commercials I watched as a kid back in the fifties and sixties, because the networks and most production companies and ad agencies either threw this material away or lost it. Either way, most of it is gone apart from what I and people like me manage to find

Itís a sad fact that in the world of television, just like that of the feature film industry, it was easier to reduce storage costs by throwing all of those supposedly worthless old black-and-white kinescopes and television shows away, instead of saving them for the home video and collectors markets of the future.

THE MUSEUM OF TELEVISION and RADIO

We have been working with the Museum of Television and Radio in New York for over twenty years--they have helped me transfer thousands of hours of my celluloid television shows and commercials from fifties and sixties to video tape for others to learn from and study.

SAVING TELEVISION HISTORY

But even now, when you watch the AMERICAN MOVIE CHANNEL talk about saving film history, theyíre referring to feature film history, not television history. You donít find major movie and television directors trying to save great works of television art in the way that they do film--thatís why Iím here.

THE PRIVATE FILM COLLECTORS

Itís because of the hundreds of private celluloid film collectors who during the pre- video days owned 16mm and 35mm projectors in their homes that many of the feature films that you enjoy watching today exist.

Even today, if a student wants to be an advertising copy writer and study the television commercial style of a jingle writer from the fifties, forget about it--you still canít. Even finding books related to these topics is impossible. Today, go to your local bookstore and youíll find hundreds of books related to film history, not television history.

YOU CAN STILL BE PART OF TELEVISION HISTORY

Iím hoping that the scholars and fans of television history will make use of this site to help in the research and write the books needed to document this industry, especially its past. Many times, we get requests from ad agencies and film studios doing movies or commercials with period settings, looking to get clearances from the talent in the different television shows and commercials we house at Video Resources. Indeed, anyone recognizing anyone in our shows whom we might not know about should tell us. So where someone wouldnít have gotten a residual payment in the past, because there wasnít such a thing as residuals back then, this is a chance for them to make something now, for themselves or their families.

WE BUY, SELL, TRADE and SAVE FILM PRINTS & MEMORABILIA

Somewhere, I know you have some old 16mm or 35mm kinescopes or films sitting in your closet, basement or attic, and itís time to get rid of it, because you donít even have a projector on which to run them. And you need the space, so send it to us. Even if you donít give it to us, we can at least tell you if itís worth saving. Then again, I bet you have a closet filled with old toys and other odd-shaped pieces of memorabilia--let us know about it. If we donít want it, I know Iíll find some people or organizations that do. Click to Visit Disney.com