The Lawrence Welk Show (1969)

For the season opener, Larry Welk tries to hip(pie) it up for the kids.

The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson (1981)

Complete Day of Broadcasting - Radio WSJV - September 21st, 1939

Over on archive.org, I stumbled across an incredible post. An entire day's worth of radio from beginning to end, just as it aired from start to finish in 1939. It's split into 19 separate mp3s.
Listen to the beginning here.
Find the rest of the day here.
Here's the schedule for what you'll hear on the air today:

6:30am Sundial with Arthur Godfrey (music)
8:30 Certified Magic Carpet (quiz show)
8:45 Bachelor's Children (soap)
9:00 Pretty Kitty Kelly (soap)
9:15 The Story of Myrt & Marge (soap)
9:30 Hilltop House (soap)
9:45 Stepmother (soap)
10:00 Mary Lee Taylor (soap)
10:15 Brenda Curtis (soap, featuring Agnes Moorehead)
10:30 Big Sister (soap)
10:45 Aunt Jenny's True Life Stories (soap that Bob & Ray loved to parody)
11:00 Jean Abbey (news for women)
11:15 When a Girl Marries (soap)
11:30 The Romance of Helen Trent (soap)
11:45 Our Gal Sunday (soap)
12:00pm The Goldbergs (comedy)
12:15 Life Can Be Beautiful (soap)
12:30 Road of Life (soap)
12:45 This Day Is Ours (soap)
1:00 Sunshine Report (news)
1:15 The Life & Love of Dr. Susan (soap)
1:30 Your Family and Mine (soap)
1:45 News
2:00 President Roosevelt's Address to Congress (speech)
2:40 Premier Edouard Daladier
3:00 Address Commentary (news)
3:15 The Career of Alice Blair (soap)
3:30 News (news)
3:42 Rhythm & Romance
3:45 Scattergood Baines
4:00 Baseball: Cleveland Indians at Washington Senators (sports)
5:15 The World Dances (music)
5:30 News (news)
5:45 Sports News (news)
6:00 Amos and Andy (comedy)
6:15 The Parker Family (comedy)
6:30 Joe E. Brown (comedy)
7:00 Ask-It Basket (quiz)
7:30 Strange as it Seems (true stories)
8:00 Major Bowes' Original Amateur Hour (variety)
9:00 The Columbia Workshop - "Now It's Summer" (drama)
9:30 Americans at Work (true stories)
10:00 News (news)
10:15 Music (music)
10:30 Albert Warner (news)
11:30 Teddy Powell Band (music)
12:00am Louis Prima Orchestra (music)
12:30 Bob Chester Orchestra (music)

The Paul Lynde Show (1973)

Just the first eight minutes of the rarely screened sitcom The Paul Lynde Show (originally titled My Gay Dad). This episode co-written by Groucho Marx's son.

The Mike Douglas Show with guests The Supremes (1972)

The 50th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards with Bob Hope, Milton Berle and Sid Caesar (1998)

1988 Democratic National Convention - Riveting Footage!

The Judy Garland Show with guest Mickey Rooney (1963)

Trailer for The Love God? (1969)

My favorite Don Knotts film was written and directed by Nat Hiken, creator of Sgt. Bilko. Another great Vic Mizzy soundtrack in this one too.

Batman with guest star John Astin (1967)

For years the debate has raged on about who was the superior Catwoman - Eartha Kitt or Julie Newmar? However, one debate that has never been raised, let alone raged, is who was the superior Riddler. It hasn't, nor will it ever be a real question. Frank Gorshin is more established as The Riddler than he is anything else - an impressionist, nightclub comic, or actor. Frank Gorshin is The Riddler, period. That's why it always feels so weird when this episode of Batman comes on TV featuring Gomez Addams, John Astin, in the role. Pretty interesting tho. These episodes aired not before Gorshin played The Riddler and not after, but in between. Gorshin had established the character, Astin filled in briefly, Gorshin returned to the part in the fall. Listen to Frank Gorshin sing the novelty track (written by Mel Torme!) pictured above by clicking here.

You're in the Picture with Jackie Gleason (1961)

You're in the Picture is one of the most famous tales in failed TV history. Rather than recount the story of this program that has been told several times before in books galore, I reproduce TVParty.com's take on the notorious events of the show:

You're in the Picture was added to the CBS schedule on January 20, 1961, to replace the poorly performing sitcom 'Mr. Garland', Friday nights at 9:30. You're in the Picture was a poorly conceived game show that went over like a lead balloon. How's this for a premise - celebrity contestants stick their heads into a painted scene, and they have to guess what the scene is, or what historical figure they represent by asking the emcee questions.

Jackie Gleason was the host of this live broadcast, (he even helped develop the show) and the celebrity contestants for that first (and only broadcast) episode included Jan Sterling, Keenan Wynn, Aurthur Treacher, and Pat Carroll.
After the embarrassingly bad show aired, Gleason convinced CBS to let him go on the next week and apologize to the home audience. This would give the production a chance to re-tool, it was reasoned, and get 'You're in the Picture' back on in a new and improved format.

Gleason went on the air the next week live and apologized all right - "Honesty is the best policy. We had a show last week that laid the biggest bomb! I've seen bombs in my day, but this one made the H-bomb look like a two-inch salute." He filled the half-hour with extemporaneous stories, explaining in detail his mistake in ever letting the show reach the air, all the while distancing himself from the fiasco. At the end of the show, Gleason promised to return the next week, "I don't know what we'll do, but I'll be back".


The critics flipped for the half-hour public apology, praising the comedian's breazy, spontaneous wit, and the audience loved the idea of a big star admitting he had made a mistake.

In truth, Gleason had no intention of doing the game show ever again, instead he decided on a one on one talk show format. This was something the network was dead set against, but they were forced to let Gleason have his way since he made his statements on live television.

For the next eight weeks, Jackie Gleason played host to stars like Bobby Darin, Jayne Mansfield, and his comic partner Art Carney, in a talk show format under the title 'The Jackie Gleason Show'.

An angry and embarrassed CBS pulled the plug on the series after eight weeks. One reason they were angry - the network wanted to salvage the game show concept. There was another episode of 'You're in the Picture' shot on tape (very expensive in those days) to use during the re-run season, but it had to be scrapped after Gleason so thoroughly trashed the concept on that second show.

Now see it for yourself...

Despite what the critics may have thought, this was certainly not improvised wit, but a highly polished and extremely well written monologue put together by Gleason and his bevy of talented writers. Contrary to what you might assume, it is rare that any comedian ever improvises something so articulate and hilarious. Believe me, the writers worked non-stop for the next seven days after the bomb of You're in the Picture to comprise this hysterical apology and explanation.

Rickles with guests Elliot Gould, Michael Caine and James Caan (1975)

All three with moustaches too. From the same special that had this number.

The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson with guest host Don Rickles and guests Carroll O' Connor and Peter Marshall (1979)

All right!

The Dick Van Dyke Show with original sponsor spots (1963)

Here's the first part of an episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show that includes the original commercials.

The Warm Up: The Stars Get Benefit of a Pre-Heated Audience - TV Guide - January 1954

Here is an enjoyable and extremely insightful article that appeared in TV Guide, the last week of January 1954 (pictured).

The Warm Up - Stars Get Benefit of Pre-Heated Audience

An occupational hazard and one of the major causes of trauma among comedians is that dreary audience that refuses to laugh. It has long since become dogma in the radio-TV industry that a studio audience must be on hand to be insulted by the comics and cued by off screen claques so that folks at home will know when to laugh.

And if a studio audience doesn't laugh? As a precaution against such disasters, most shows employ a pre-show audience warm up so that when airtime rolls around, the audience will be giddy enough to laugh at anything.

A GAG FOR A KICK-OFF

The kingpin at audience priming is of course that old pro Bob Hope. Approximately a minute before air time, he reads from the script what is allegedly the first joke on the show. He then ceremoniously rips the first page off, crumples it in a ball, throws it on the floor and kicks it. Mr. Hope has this timed so well that the audience will be in gales of merriment at precisely the moment the show goes on the air.

Announcer Jack Lescoulie does the warm up on the Jackie Gleason Show. A typical warm up involves lining up Jackie, Audrey Meadows, Art Carney, June Taylor on stage, then going into the following spiel: "Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to introduce you to the cast. Cast, meet the audience." With this, the cast runs out into the audience, shaking hands all around. The cast then rushes onstage just in time for the show.

Milton Frome, one of Milton Berle's alter egos, does the warm up on the Berle show. In line with the theory that a studio audience is several cuts lower in intelligence than the one at home, Frome goes out on the runway at the Center Theater wearing a preposterous toupee. He then rants at the audiece, "If you don't laugh tonight, I'll tear my hair out," then, "I think I'll do it anyhow." With this he tears off the toupee. They are then ripe for Uncle Miltie.

Ed Sullivan does his own warm up, with Art Hannes, the announcer, filling in when Ed is on vacation. They begin with greetings from Lincoln-Mercury, tell the audience to relax, ask out-of-towners (most studio audiences are chiefly out-of-towners)to raise their hands and then advising them to "be sure to laugh when the cameras are turned on you. You don't want to disgrace your grandpa back home in the corner saloon. If he sees that you're not smiling, he'll think you're not having a good time."

The Bishop Sheen show has a problem that is peculiar to that show alone. The warm up is handled by one of two announcers, Fred Scott or Bill O'Toole. The audience is told to enjoy itself, applaud when it wishes and to remember, above all, that it is not in church.

DON'T OUTSHINE CAESAR

Ed Herlihy (Your Show of Shows)is also on the spot. If he's too funny he'll cramp the styles of Caesar and Coco. He goes through the usual bits about putting an audience at its ease, tells them to take off their shoes, who's going to be on, and so forth.

Walt Framber, producer of Strike it Rich and The Big Payoff, frequently does the warm up on those shows himself. Walt is not averse to a little flag-waving. On Strike it Rich, he leads off by saying, "We all struck it rich when we came to America," making his audience brim over with good feelings.

Eddie Fisher's audience is warmed up just at the sight of the boy. Consisting chiefly of teenagers, it bursts into squeals the moment Eddie puts in an appearance, approximately a minute before air time.

THEY'VE GOT A SECRET

Mark Goodson and Bill Todman, producer of What's My Line, I've Got a Secret and other shows, manage some 100 warm ups a year. The boys are loaded down with various routines to get the audience gay: "Do we have anyone in the audience enjoying their honeymoon here in New York? Stand up, please." (Blushing honeymooners stand). "All right now, anybody here not enjoying their honeymoon?" (This brings the house down). "Okay, everybody, get comfortable. Men, take off your jackets, if you want. Ladies - well, do the best you can."

Jane Frohman has the best routine. While her announcer chats amiably with the audience, Jane, her dressing room very close to the stage, can be heard chirping away on that night's songs. And the way Miss Frohman sings, by the time it's air time her audience is so warm, it's glowing.

Quark (1978)

The Mike Douglas Show with guests Judy Garland and Peter Lawford (1968) - Footage Offline 8/17/08

I've Got a Secret with guest Bud Collyer (1957)

Bud Collyer comes on I've Got a Secret to promote his show Beat the Clock.

This is Tom Jones (1974)