CT100 screen shot from Less Paul program

[ohohyodafarted]

Here for your viewing pleasure is a screen shot that I took off of the Less Paul PBS doucmentary American Masters "Less Paul Chasing the Sound"

The acutal video clip is about 15 seconds and I studied it over and over. I can't be sure, but it looks as if the image may have been superimposed over a still shot. The image is very bright and I see no convergence issues that you might expect.

But the big question is who owns this set. My conjecture is that it is a music collector, or perhaps Less Paul himself, because if anyone would have had a color tv in 1954, Less Paul porbably would have. Less Paul was a consumate tinkerer with electronics as it applied to entertainment and music. He worked closely with Ampex in developing his concepts for the recording industry.

On the left of the screen shot can be seen a portion of a sheet music folder from the Less Paul and Mary Ford hit "I'm Sit'n On Top Of The World" Unfortunately after reducing the image to be displayed on the web, to much detail was lost and you can no longer read the title on the sheet music, but you can read it on the original.

If you haven't seen this program yet, I urge you to catch this show on PBS.

Here is a link to the PBS website for American Masters. You can put your zip code in and select the station near you and they will display the show times for the program.

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmast.../upcoming.html

[Eric H]

Darn, picture's not working and I really wanted to see this!

[ohohyodafarted]

Ok I have reposted the photo. Hope it stays here this time.

[Pete Deksnis]

It is not an operational CT-100. The Chanel selector isn't illuminated; nobody is going to skimp on a #51 bulb who has a working 15GP22. There is something not right about the volume control, and there's no brightness control around it that I can see anyhow. The cabinet finish is nice. But there's no 15GP22 in that picture. If there were, you'd see its internal decorative mask. I haven't seen the clip, but as was indicated, the image is too bright. Then we have the issue of blue color fringing where the accompanying area of the 'TV' image is white. But let's not bother. That particular Merrill was brought to life with digital magic.

Pete

[Eric H]

My guess is modern set stuffed inside, the screen looks curved and seems to extend past the masking.

[vintagecollect]

...

[Steve D.]

Thanks for re-posting the pix. I missed the original airing of this program and look forward to viewing the repeat. The 3 PBS stations in my area do not list it in their schedules, at least for the next two weeks. As to the image on the CT-100. Perhaps a digital insert, but not, IMO, another tv stuffed into a CT-100 cabinet.

-Steve D.

[Einar72]

Maybe someone who is a PBS subscriber can inquire as to the fate of the poor, hacked CT-100. I'm still hoping to find an off-air copy of PBS' Television from 1987.

[peverett]

The TV may not have been hacked for this shot. I leant a B&W Motorola set to a company for an ad campain. After the shoot, I got the set back with a video. They had somehow added a color picture to the set's face (which was un-restored but complete) without damaging it.

[John Pinckney]

I recorded "Television" ages ago off WETA in D.C. It's "somewhere" in my unindexed (alas...) collection...

[pallophotophone]

Yes Eric, you're right. A new chassis in CT -100 cabinet.

That's the set I saw in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland Ohio a few years ago. It's inside a display case of memorabilia which is what you see at the edges of the picture.

No one I asked knew the whereabouts of the CRT or chassis.

Bob Hodge

[Dave A]

Which begs the question...did they do the interview at the museum? I have not seen the show. But I do have tickets to see Les Paul in August in NYC. I hope I can just ask him.

Dave A

[ohohyodafarted]

The program did have a short clip showing the Les Paul exhibit at theRock & Roll Hall of fame. So you are right, that must be where they got the footage of the CT100.

Mystery Solved thanks to Bob Hodge

[orthophonic]

Einar72
I have a copy of the PBS program "Television" from '87. I was going thru some old tapes today and discovered it.
I could make DVD for those interested.