COLOR TV
We were
watching old TV shows on an “Old TV Show” station the other day and Mrs. C
asked me if a particular show was ever in color.
“Not for us.”
I’m not sure
when color TV’s came into existence, maybe around 1955, but almost no one had
one until the 60’s. NBC was the Peacock
Network because if a show was in color they opened it with a beautiful peacock
and the announcement, “The following program is brought to you in
living color.”
Most of us
could only imagine the color.
The first
time I saw color TV was at my Grandfathers.
Grandpa was always one of the first to buy new stuff. We were at his house for some celebration and
the Baltimore Colts were playing a championship game. I remember they had injuries not only to the
great Johnny Unitas but their second string QB as well. Their quarterback was a running back that
had played QB in college for a running offense.
Anyway
You could
barely tell the game was in color. The
uniforms had a slight tint and the grass was greenish. I don’t know if it was his TV, or the
broadcast, but even with the poor reception the color was cool.
The next day
at school the kids asked, “Did you see
the game?”
“Yeah, I saw it, and I saw it in
color!”
I was the
envy of my classmates.
When we got
our own color TV most shows were still black and white, but commercials were in
color. The commercials were more
exciting than the shows. If there was a
choice of a black and white TV show or one in color, we opted for color.
We always
watched “Bonanza” and as I recall they seemed to go out of their way to make
things colorful. I remember the
horrible orange vests the Cartwrights wore.
The can’t
miss show in color had to be Disney’s “Wonderful World of Color.”
A color TV
was one of the first status symbols of my childhood. We did not have a princess touchtone phone,
air conditioning, power steering, or membership to the country club, but we did
get a color TV.
“Wow! We got a color TV, an RCA Victor color
TV”
I remember that gsme.
ReplyDeleteDidn’t see it in color.
TV was only a priority when Lawrence Welk was on.
I remember well when the NBC-TV station where I worked went to color. Up to that point I had said I didn't care that much about color, plus the sets were so expensive. The day we broadcast color I went into the control room and couldn't believe how spectacular it was. I praised the color to my husband and not long after he had delivered to our home a magnificent large maple cabinet RCA color console. He had gotten a deal through a friend on this set which was considered a "second" only because of a not even readily noticeable flaw at cabinet base on one side. We had excellent reception in our home and everywhere we moved, including cross country in the years to come. I loved the musical and variety shows usually with dancing, very colorful costumes.
ReplyDeleteI don't remember what year we got a colour TV, before or after child #3. I know we didn't get a phone until just before she was born in '76.
ReplyDeleteI don't recall any childhood status symbols, it wasn't the sort of thing I paid attention to.
I remember seeing the Saturday morning cartoon line-up. We were visiting relatives and the cartoons were on. The color was so bright and garish. I didn't think I would want one. Then a couple of years later, I saw a regular show in color, and then I wanted one.
ReplyDeleteAh,.exciting times. Our neighbours just over the fence and down the lane had a colour TV and I was invited every Saturday (much to their sons despair) to come for lunch and watch the circus in colour.
ReplyDeleteI remember seeing the peacock and the announcement "brought to you in living color" we always laughed because we were watching on a black and white TV, I'm not sure when we finally got a color TV though.
ReplyDeleteMy Mom wouldn't let us have a TV (she said we would quit talking to each other--she wasn't exactly wrong)and when she passed, Dad said we would only get one when the color was good. That was a long wait but I do remember the joy of the Wonderful World of Disney.
ReplyDeleteI think we got our first color TV in the 70's, but I bought a $50 black and white little TV for college. At Montgomery Wards, another blast from the past.
ReplyDeleteI remember our first color TV. We also watched Bonanza, but like you I loved Disney's "Wonderful World of Color, which I wanted to watch when the Beatles were on Ed Sullivan. I managed to get huge concessions from my brother who at the time was a huge Beatle's fan.
ReplyDeleteI can remember our first color TV and back then they were expensive. We still have the cabinet to one we bought in the early sixties only now it has drawers instead of a TV my husband made it into an entertainment center.
ReplyDeleteWe had the color TV in the living room, and tiny black and white TVs in the bedrooms. That black and white lasted from the very early 70's until just a few years ago. We actually could have it repaired if we could find someone (you can get the parts, they aren't cheap). It would be fun to show it to kids these days.
ReplyDeleteI was born in the seventies and grew up in the eighties, but for several years in high school, I had the family's old black and white television in my bedroom.
ReplyDeleteI remember sitting there waiting for minutes on end for the thing to warm up enough to turn on, and I remember watching the first Star Trek movie (from 1979, which is basically just a light show, from what I remember of it, and not impressive without color) in black and white in about 1988.
The family TV by that time was color, of course. It was an enormous piece of furniture - basically a stained wood thing that Mom set pictures and knick knacks on top of.
Neither TV was set up for remote control.
I remember watching Fury and The Lone Ranger every morning in black and white. Then at some point we got color, and I specifically remember the opening sequence of The Wonderful World of Disney. A couple years later my mom got me hooked on General Hospital, and One Life to Live. The blue eyes of the actors were incredible!
ReplyDeleteAh, the first color TV in the family was purchased by .... me, in 1985 when I was fresh out of college. Big Brother spent the grocery money on one just to keep up with me, man his first wife was mad.
ReplyDeleteWe had a color TV sometime late 1960s/early 1970s. I remember being in high school and coming home from school at the end of the day and turning on Sesame Street (loved that show) and it was in color. I do remember black and white TV and I remember stretches when we didn't have a TV cause it broke and we had to wait sometimes up to 6 months to be able to get another one.
ReplyDeletebetty
I remember getting our first tv. I was five. The box was large but the screen was tiny and the picture was black and white. I don't remember when we finally got a color set. Obviously I am old and memory is going. I prefer to blame forgetfulness on Lyme disease though.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure when we got a color tv when I was a kid. I do know that when Jack and I got married ('74) we had a little 13in. black and white tv that we used until the early 80's when we finally bought a new, bigger, color set. We felt we had finally made it!
ReplyDeletei really love such posts that drive me down to the beautiful memories lane!
ReplyDeleteYes in our country P.t.v(pakistan television) came in early 60ies .
My grandparents were quite religious and camera ,radio or t.v were counted as sins for them .
i still remember my grandma's abusive mumbling over my radio listening lol!
Our village has really few rich families who can afford electricity or electronics .
So when we children heard that one of our relative family is going buy a Big Radio In which we can see the Talking people !
It was great yet very pleasant surprise .
still remember the evening when we both sisters eagerly walked behind the mother towards the house that brought t.v in village for the first time and guess what?
it was color t.v.
later after almost two years my parents bought t.v and it was black and white and then it came to our knowledge that black and white t.v exist .still we were happy and i still remember the old movies of Gregory pack ,John wane and kirk douglas that i watched while when mother was slept as we were not allowed to keep awake until 11 pm which was too late in small village
I clicked on the youtube link...it seems TV went from black and white to fifty shades of orange before going to "real" color!
ReplyDelete