HELP SAVE LOU'S WALL!!
Above is Lou Dorfsman's "Gastrotypographicalassemblage," for years a fixture within the cafeteria of CBS' "Black Rock" headquarters in New York. It is the largest modern typographic artifact in existence, and is widely considered an icon in American design. But sometime in the 1990s, CBS removed it, put it in storage and it deteriorated. It is now being restored by the Atlanta-based "Center for Design Study." The link above takes you to the Center's web site, and a wonderfully illustrated interview with Dorfsman explaining the creation of this masterpiece.
LOU DORFSMAN 1918 - 2008
Dorfsman worked for CBS from 1946 to 1987. As creative director, he crafted CBS' image as THE class act among broadcasters. TV promos, print ads, interior design, stationery, set designs, corporate communication, annual reports - Lou had a hand in them all. If you watched CBS in those days, even rarely, you saw his work. Put simply, Dorfsman was a genius. His unending creativity and sense of taste will be missed.
THE BILL CULLEN HOMEPAGE
The best site on the best game show host ever (and my idol). Go there, and you'll learn he was MUCH more than just a game show host.
Matt Ottinger has done a SUPER job putting this all together.
THE MONITOR TRIBUTE PAGES
Every weekend from June 1955 to January 1975, NBC kept network radio alive with a wonderful weekend magazine show called "Monitor." There was music, news, commentary, interviews, humor, on-the-scene reports, and so much more, hosted by the best names in the business. It's a shame there's nothing like it on the radio today.
My friend Dennis Hart has brought it back with the definitive tribute to "Monitor." There's lots of great downloadable audio.
THE 66WNBC TRIBUTE PAGES
Jim Reed has put together a nice site on the (sadly) now-defunct flagship station of the (sadly) now-defunct NBC Radio Network. Lots of pictures and memories.
WCBS NEWSRADIO 88 APPRECIATION SITE
Don Swaim worked for many years at WCBS, one of New York's two all-news stations. He's got a nice site with history, articles, pictures, links and some fun audio.
JEFF ROTEMAN'S ABC RADIO TRIBUTE SITE
This site focuses on ABC's switch to a four-network service in 1968. It has a number of classic sounders you can download, and a few articles dealing with the switch (one of them courtesy of me).
THE HISTORY OF THE NBC PEACOCK
The proud bird celebrated his 50th birthday in 2006. But where did he come from, who created him . . . and why is it called the "Laramie Peacock," anyway? Find out at this site, which is, ironically, a tribute site for the former CBS affiliate in Tampa-St. Petersberg, FL.
THE MIKE WALLACE INTERVIEW
"What you are about to see is unrehearsed and uncensored . . .
Whether you agree or disagree with what you will hear, we feel that none will deny the right of these views to be broadcast."
With those words, Mike Wallace would begin his weekly interrogation of prominent and powerful people in the late 1950s. He made his name on WABD's "Night Beat;" it moved to ABC-TV for about 18 months as "The Mike Wallace Interview." Many years ago, Mr. Wallace donated his network shows to the University of Texas; they have been preserved and restored, and are available for viewing at the University's website. You will note that these shows include the original commercials, and it is a little strange to see Wallace extolling the virtues of Philip Morris and Parliament cigarettes. But click on the link above, and you will be taken back to an era of intelligent and thought-provoking conversation with people you never thought you'd hear from again. It is well worth your time.
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If you remember this "mystery logo," you know what's in store. If you don't remember it, go there anyway. It's fun.
TELEVISION PRODUCTION MUSIC MUSEUM
If you're a TV junkie, this is a required stop for you - clean versions of themes from game shows to news shows to sports shows to variety shows. Also, check out their "images" section - it's got some neat "telop" slides used for various shows (my favorite: "I've Got a Secret"). And if you can, donate a few sheckles their way to keep the site going, OK?
OLD TV TICKETS
Here's a pretty neat site with old tickets to all kinds of TV shows. I've even donated a few scans of my tickets to the site.
KWXY AM 1340 CATHEDRAL CITY, CA
This is my new favorite radio station - in Palm Springs, one of the few stations left that plays "beautiful music." It's an eclectic mix of songs from the 40s to the 80s - a lot of instrumentals, the occassional big-band number and show tune, and vocalists ranging from Sinatra to Clooney (Rosemary, not George) to Seals and Crofts to Bette Midler to Neil Diamond to Barbara Streisand, and everyone in between.
NEW YORK WORLD'S FAIR 1964-65
As you may know, I love New York City. I only wish I could go back in time more than 40 years to take in the World's Fair at Flushing Meadows. This wonderful website is the next best thing. By the way, the image above is that of the "Unisphere," the official symbol of the fair designed and built by United States Steel. If you've seen it in person, as I have, you know what a magnificent structure it is.
CENTURY 21 EXPOSITION - THE 1962 SEATTLE WORLD'S FAIR
Of course, I shouldn't forget the fair in my hometown just a couple years prior (which, unlike the New York fair, at least made some money). Follow the link to "historylink.org," and a two-part story about the fair.
EYES OF A GENERATION
If you want to see how the pictures you see get to your TV screen, go to this site dedicated to old television cameras and facilities. It does get kind of technical, but it's worth it to see the pictures, which are fun to look at.
MICROPHONES
A retired communications professor put up this site dedicated to classic microphones dating back to the 1930s. It too gets technical, but the pictures make it all worthwhile.