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  #16  
Old 11-23-2010, 06:44 PM
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Einar72 Einar72 is offline
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Although my best freind's parents had a Zenith color set in 1966, I don't rmember what we saw on it until I stayed for dinner and watched Star Trek in the second or third season. My dad bought a CTC-38 in the fall of 1969.
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  #17  
Old 11-23-2010, 09:28 PM
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Dad and his siblings bought grandma a CTC-7 economy Anderson model for Christmas of 1957. I distinctly remember the Rose Bowl Parade of 1958 and the Dinah Shore Chevy Show in the following weeks. Her house was the center of the family gatherings to see this miracle. 20+ adults and kids all in the living room to enjoy Living Color during holiday gatherings. Her collie dog figured out that if he sat down in front of the set he would get a lot of attention...mostly yelling.

At age 7, I was unafraid to touch the color controls and adjust the picture...a sign of things to come. And years later, I would ride my bike to her house to watch Star Trek and Dark Shadows in 1964 and beyond.

The set went to my dad who gave it some kind of 70's finish that resembled peanut butter. It was replaced by a RCA 19" color tabletop set which I still have. After the CTC7 died, I salvaged the 3-way speakers and remounted them in my own home-made cabinet for some kind of crude amp. I still have it.
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  #18  
Old 11-23-2010, 09:40 PM
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I am old enough to remember the color programs being announced, I think that went away sometime in the 70's as I can recall the Brady Bunch being announced as being "in color".

The FBI, IN COLOR! Bonanza, presented in Living Color Etc...

It was confusing as a small kid with a B&W TV why we didn't see them in color after they had just announced that they would be!
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  #19  
Old 11-24-2010, 05:28 AM
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The 1st color set we had was a rather dreadful Sears oddball 17" or so mini-console...It had a rectangular-ish screeen, Sonny Clutter had one on his site several years ago, it was sposed to be the 1st rectangular set. Anyhow, it would frequently "Tear up" before the Sears repair guy got outta the driveway good...My dad replaced it w/one of the 1st Porta-Colors in fall '65 or early '66...Little guy was a TROUPER...It was on, frequently 12-18 hrs a day, 7 days a week..Say what you will about Porta-Pottys, OURS was tough as nails....We finally replaced it w/a Trinitron in '72 or '73....
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  #20  
Old 11-24-2010, 10:08 AM
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after the mid-60's color was no longer as special as in the early days. The networks all began significant color programming in 1966 and the idea of seeing something in color kind of lost it's luster. It was those early days when most people didnt even know color existed let alone having seen programming in color. I feel fortunate to have lived thru that magical time
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  #21  
Old 11-24-2010, 10:09 AM
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I still have my porta color

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sandy G View Post
The 1st color set we had was a rather dreadful Sears oddball 17" or so mini-console...It had a rectangular-ish screeen, Sonny Clutter had one on his site several years ago, it was sposed to be the 1st rectangular set. Anyhow, it would frequently "Tear up" before the Sears repair guy got outta the driveway good...My dad replaced it w/one of the 1st Porta-Colors in fall '65 or early '66...Little guy was a TROUPER...It was on, frequently 12-18 hrs a day, 7 days a week..Say what you will about Porta-Pottys, OURS was tough as nails....We finally replaced it w/a Trinitron in '72 or '73....
As soon as I saw the ad for the Ge porta-color I went to the local tv store and bought one I still have the set today. For what it was it was an amazing little tv for the time.
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  #22  
Old 11-24-2010, 05:31 PM
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I first viewed a color show in 1954. It was "Life with Father" on CBS. It was telecast live from CBS TV City in Hollywood. I remember how small the screen was compared to the b&w sets on display. It was the first west to east coast series to be telecast in color. The TV store I watched the program on was about a mile from CBS TV City. The first color set we had in our home was an RCA CTC-5 Aldrich model.

-Steve D.
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  #23  
Old 11-24-2010, 05:54 PM
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I've read conflicting reports over the years about whether Life With Father was broadcast in color or not, so now we have confirmation. It aired on CBS from November 1953-July 1955. So now I wonder, was it being telecast in color prior to the debut of NBC's The Marriage, widely reported to be the *first* color series? Was it seen in color anywhere other than on the west coast?
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  #24  
Old 11-24-2010, 06:44 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by David Roper View Post
I've read conflicting reports over the years about whether Life With Father was broadcast in color or not, so now we have confirmation. It aired on CBS from November 1953-July 1955. So now I wonder, was it being telecast in color prior to the debut of NBC's The Marriage, widely reported to be the *first* color series? Was it seen in color anywhere other than on the west coast?
The NBC series "The Marriage" was the first network color series. It had a short run. July 8, 1954 to Aug.19, 1954. It originated from New York. "Life With Father" was the first network (CBS) color series to originate from Hollywood. When it first aired in color on Aug. 9th, 1954 it was seen in the east at 10:00pm. It was seen live in the west at 7pm in color. So I was able to be up on that summer evening and see the show at the TV dealer.

-Steve D.
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Last edited by Steve D.; 11-24-2010 at 06:47 PM.
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  #25  
Old 11-24-2010, 09:24 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Eric H View Post
I am old enough to remember the color programs being announced, I think that went away sometime in the 70's as I can recall the Brady Bunch being announced as being "in color".

The FBI, IN COLOR! Bonanza, presented in Living Color Etc...

It was confusing as a small kid with a B&W TV why we didn't see them in color after they had just announced that they would be!
My dad's sis got a CTC-16. I remember the cabinet was beautiful... nothing like the TV we had at home. Seems like we always saw half of a Batman episode at her house, and had to go home to watch the other one on our set.

That was nearly 3 years before we got a color set. Toward the end, the family watched a few of my project B/W sets.

We ended up with a Motorola 23" that had the small neon indicator to tell us when a color show was on... I also know that my dad had a total of 3 picture tubes installed in this set before we moved on up to the first solid-state 25V Magnavox, and away from tube stuff...

(I kept the Motorola limping along for a couple of years before the tube went dark again, just like all the others.)
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  #26  
Old 11-27-2010, 09:52 PM
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My first was I think in '59. I was playing in a friends yard, ran inside to get a drink, stopped to watch the game show while I gulped my drink, and ran outside. Wasn't impressed at all.
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  #27  
Old 11-28-2010, 07:25 PM
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1955 Was the year..either Heidi or Howdy

First color show I ever saw was "Heidi", a special broadcast in that year; remember the commercials were even in color. This was on a Motorola set at my dad's boss's house. My dad was worked at the Motorola dealer in Montgomery Al back then; that same year my brother and I would also go watch Howdy Doody in color at the dealer--so that may have been actually the first show I saw in color.
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  #28  
Old 11-28-2010, 08:00 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bozey45 View Post
First color show I ever saw was "Heidi", a special broadcast in that year; remember the commercials were even in color. This was on a Motorola set at my dad's boss's house. My dad was worked at the Motorola dealer in Montgomery Al back then; that same year my brother and I would also go watch Howdy Doody in color at the dealer--so that may have been actually the first show I saw in color.
Hey bozey 45,

Good recall,

"Howdy Doody" debut, in color, on NBC, Sept.12th 1955. And the NBC special "Heidi" was telecast live in color Oct. 1, 1955. Natalie Wood was cast as Heidi.

-Steve D.
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  #29  
Old 11-28-2010, 10:16 PM
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Pete Deksnis Pete Deksnis is offline
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Okay, getting a bit haughty here: the first color television program I saw was in the summer of 1951. Yes, a CBS color broadcast live from Monmouth Park race track in Oceanport, New Jersey. No, the color got added in my head, but knowing the out-of-sync soup on the family's 16-in. Silvertone was a color broadcast from WCAU was still a thrill. A few years ago, I met a retired CBS engineer who saw live 1951 CBS color at their studios in New York city. He said he didn't actually see that much though -- there were too many guys crowded around the monitor.

As noted before on AK, the first NTSC color I saw was in 1957. I was 17 delivering a load of groceries to a bar in West Conshohocken PA after school on a Wednesday in the spring of that year. There it was. That live hour-long play from LA that ran for a few years (Steve D will recall the name for me :-). I hung out as long as an underage kid in a bar could in 1957. The color and hue -- unlike many in those days -- were set well.

Also, I got to watch the January 1, 1958, Rose Bowl parade at a friend's house in Bethlehem PA.

Pete
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  #30  
Old 11-29-2010, 01:36 AM
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Quote from Pete Deksnis: "As noted before on AK, the first NTSC color I saw was in 1957. I was 17 delivering a load of groceries to a bar in West Conshohocken PA after school on a Wednesday in the spring of that year. There it was. That live hour-long play from LA that ran for a few years (Steve D will recall the name for me :-). I hung out as long as an underage kid in a bar could in 1957. The color and hue -- unlike many in those days -- were set well."

Hey Pete,

Think I can refresh your memory. That one hour 1957 color telecast you recall was "Matinee Theater." The show, produced in Los Angeles, aired each afternoon here in L.A. at 12:00. It ran form Oct. 1955 to June 1958. Quite a feat back in the day.

-Steve D.
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