Patty Painter

[Pete Deksnis]

Three months after Patty Painter's passing, Patty Painter's daughter Alexis Ward and I exchanged email. She was seeking a video of her mother from her days as the CBS-color model "Miss Color TV" that was posted on my soon-to-be-revived CT-100 site. From the site:

"The person pictured is my mother, Patty Painter. That is the first color TV demonstration for the FCC in 1946. She was 19 at the time."

"I am trying to remember anything she told me about the day... I believe there was a big discussion about the choices of scarves to show off the color aspect of the broadcast."

"She had a silver kaleidoscope that was handed out to the participants as a memento."

"The destination of the broadcast was a hotel about 40 miles away from the studio. I don't know if you already know any of this so if this is redundant, please forgive me."

"I know there was a show on A&E on September 9th of this year [2003] about CBS and they had some info about the event and interviewed the head honcho at the FCC.... The gentleman is still alive and residing in FL I think, in his 90s. My mother and father were friends of Peter Goldmark's.... She was a fairly famous model who had worked for the top women's fashion magazines and ads. She emceed the Saturday movies on CBS and traveled around the country demonstrating color TV. She was chosen from a large group of hopefuls for this opportunity. She basically had a variety show as she showed all sorts of animals and other very colorful things."

"The head honcho was the person who spoke to [my mother] while she was doing the broadcast."

"I would love a copy of the videotape; it would be wonderful since I have recently lost her."

Alexis Ward, November 2003

Pete