Our Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader TUNES INTO TV, which had been a reader request for many years, has turned out to be a darn big hit. An excerpt from a review over at Amazon:
Some great articles here, there are brief histories on NBC, CBS, ABC, and PBS. Inventors such as Smirnoff and Farnsworth are given their due, and since modern day tv wouldn’t be where it is without them, it’s wonderful that they’re mentioned.
I really enjoyed their piece about the 1968 showing of Heidi, and the uproar it caused. I would recommend this book, for any up and coming tv historians who need to get a quick overview of the medium. It helped refresh my memory, and introduced me to a few stories I didn’t know about.
JThree
Williston North Dakota
Why thank you, JThree, much obliged.
We thought you might like a look at what’s inside this book, so here are two excerpts for your reading pleasure.
First, some TV pilots you may not have heard about. Click on the pic to enlarge. (Here’s a PDF version: LostTVPilots)
And another, this the unfortunate story of “The Nat King Cole Show.” (PDF: AKingDethroned)
Hope you enjoyed them! You can get Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader TUNES INTO TV at Amazon, among other places. More choices in the EBook section over here.
Uncle John…out!
Slightly misleading, this, in that Hazel Scott had a short-form musical variety show on Dumont before NBC tried Cole’s. But Scott, before anyone could complain about her being a black woman, was Red-Baited into a no-sponsorship position and a short run…
That’s a very good catch, Todd. We don’t explicitly say he was the very first, although we do say it was “new in TV,” which could be construed as that by readers, I guess.
In any case, we’ve made a note about Hazel Scott and her Dumont show – and thank you for the message!
I inherited the 3-volume (hardbound, of course!) TBR from my father. Just read the TV pilots with my 18yo son, and had a laugh ” went to S.F in 1968 to help a druggie quit?!?” “Sounds like Mission:Impossible!”
Thanks for the giggles.. from 3 generations of us 😀
Funny!
Thanks more than we can say for being a long line of UJBR fans! May it continue!