When Television Was Young: The Inside Story with Memories by Legends of the Small Screen

by Ed McMahon and David Fisher

Book Overview

When television was young . . . Legendary movie producer Darryl Zanuck declared, "People will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night. Before 5:30, there were only test patterns. Howdy Doody was the first show of the day. CBS agreed to put I Love Lucy on film only if Desi and Lucy paid part of the production fee. In return, CBS gave them ownership of the shows, including the right to rerun it forever. Kukla, Fran, and Ollie was the...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1401603270
• ISBN13: 9781401603274
• Release Date: January 2007
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson Publishers
• Length: 314 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.4" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

WHEN TV WAS YOUNG

GREAT BOOK--- A LOT OF READING-- NOT A LOT OF PICTURES--- WHICH I LIKE --- BUT GREAT FOR THE PRICE I PAID---ONLY 2.50

Excellent history of television

In writing this review, I need to share a bit about myself. I was born in 1947 in Austria, then raised in Germany, and came to the United States in 1965 with my parents and my brother. My mother and my brother did not speak English very well, so a friend of ours brought us a TV set so that they could learn it. I did not watch too much TV until 1967 when I started to watch the CBS Evening News every day upon return home. My mother enjoyed CONCENTRATION and TO TELL THE TRUTH. My father's favorites were GUNSMOKE and PERRY MASON. I myself enjoyed ANDY GRIFFITH and GOMER PYLE, U. S. M. C.; I still fondly remember these. Ed McMahon's description of TV starts with it during and after World War II, and for me, that was a learning experience. He accurately describes the functions of Walter Cronkite as CBS anchorman and Chet Huntley and David Brinkley as NBC anchors; I still remember these shows. He does not, however, mention news shows such as MEET THE PRESS (NBC), FACE THE NATION (CBS), and ISSUES AND ANSWERS (ABC), and this is a major omission in his otherwise excellent book. He mentions several other shows, but makes no mention of ANDY GRIFFITH or GOMER PYLE, U. S. M. C., either. But this is his way of doing things, and I realize that he had a volume of shows to cover, such as I LOVE LUCY, THE PRICE IS RIGHT, HAWAII-FIVE-O (which I enjoyed, too), and others. Of course, he mentions his role in THE TONIGHT SHOW, in which he aided Johnny Carson. From time to time, he hosted CONCENTRATION; he does not mention that in his book, but I remember him doing so. Another thing he mentions is the long-time role of Bob Barker as host of THE PRICE IS RIGHT; Bob Barker only recently retired from that show, and was replaced by Drew Carey, whom McMahon also mentions. But in summary, this is an excellent recap of television in its youth, and I enjoyed reading it. And I realize that McMahon had his way of selecting the shows to mention, and do not criticize him for not mentioning my favorites. I am sure there are many other readers who also have favorite TV shows from the past.

Enjoyable

I really enjoyed reading this book. If you are a baby boomer or older, it will bring back some fond memories.