Bob E. Harris is the name.
Television is my game.
And a fascinating one it has been for the past 67 years. I entered the field in 1948, the same year that Milton Berle, comedian, and Ed Sullivan, Broadway columnist, did. Their shows, more than anything else, spurred the sale of TV sets to a mass audience which in turn launched television as a major advertising medium. This attracted performers, writers, and production talents from the stage, movies, radio and sports, who at first saw television as a threat. In the beginning advertisers would sponsor the entire show until rates climbed so high that they could not afford to do so. The pattern then changed to buying commercial spots on various programs to reach their targeted demographics.
Early CBS Color Camera – Image © CBS – Reproduction Courtesy of Bob Harris
So Berle’s show was the Texaco Star Theater on NBC Tuesday nights. The format was slapstick comedy mixed with extravagant musical production numbers. Berle not only became “Mr. Television” but Mr. Tuesday nights. The paucity of customers at restaurants, the movies and other events on that night made his dominance evident. His popularity lead to other nicknames too. Affectionately, he was known as “Uncle Miltie” and since he boasted about stealing jokes, “The Thief of Badgags”.
Sullivan’s The Toast of the Town variety show (Later called The Ed Sullivan Show) on CBS became a Sunday night habit in millions of households. He was stiff and awkward in his role as MC but, perhaps because of his influence as a columnist for the Daily News, New York’s largest circulation newspaper, he brought top talent to the show when interest in them was high. He was the first to present the Beatles in this country and gave Elvis Presley his first network exposure. This, combined with a mix of top vaudeville acts made for, as he promised, “A Really Big Shew”. The way he slurred the word became a big joke but his show was a big hit, the longest running variety show on television.
As an editor of the highly regarded trade magazine Televiser, published by Irwin A. Shane, I had a golden opportunity to meet and interview most of TV’s key players. The pioneers in all aspects of the medium read the publication and many famous and historic industry leaders wrote featured articles. The behind the scenes stories of these pioneering people and events, as well as exclusive drawings and photos, you will see no where else, are the material of this “Notebook” which I hope to add to periodically.
March 1950 Televiser with William Adams and Grace Kelly in “Ann Rutledge” written by Norman Corwin – Image © NBC-TV – Reproduction Courtesy of Bob Harris
Here then, just as it appeared in the June 1950 issue of Televiser, is my “Off Camera” column containing notes I took while observing Milton Berle rehearsing and directing his Star Theater show that would air that night live.
Off Camera Column
MILTON BERLE is quite a man. You cannot appreciate how truly he is “Mister Television”, unless you can penetrate his TV “Maginot Line” and catch a rehearsal of the Texaco Star Theatre.
COLORFULLY DRESSED in maroon slacks, a blue jersey, and brown suede jacket, Berle inevitably has a cigar in his mouth and whistle strung around his neck. The whistle quickly summons attention when his verbal directions cannot be heard.
BERLE CREATES and molds the show from beginning to end. He books the talent, works closely with his writers, and is his own director. (Arthur Knorr is the producer, Eddie Kahn is the T.D.)
SITTING IN THE FIRST ROW of the studio before a TV set, Berle is able to speak through a microphone to both the performers on the stage and to the men in the control room. “Dissolve to a medium shot on camera three and pan down”; “Start from the fourth bar and play it legato”; “Kill the spot and bring up the stage lights”; “Paint those dummy cameras so that they look real”.
ONE MOMENT BERLE is on the podium leading the band much to the astonishment of conductor Allen Roth, the next he is on stage demonstrating to dancer Lou Wills, Jr. how to segue into his specialty from a dancing stage entrance.
WHENEVER POSIBLE Berle has a stand-in go through his own routines while he views proceedings from the director’s chair. When actually on stage, he is able to call shots by watching another receiving set located behind the footlights. He directs with a firm hand and is easily upset by interruptions or the failure of anyone to follow directions. However, he frequently breaks the tense atmosphere prevailing in the studio with an ad lib gag.
ZANIES DEAN MARTIN and Jerry Lewis really give Uncle Miltie a hard time when guesting on his show by keeping in comic character at all times. Lewis, when not making faces at himself in the stage monitor, might poke his head through the stage curtains and call out “Hey, porter, what town is this?” He’ll suddenly turn to the studio assembly and say in a straight face “I suppose you’re wondering why I asked you here today.”
LEWIS’ FAVORITE PRANK is aping Berle’s serious manner of giving directions. He’ll latch on to the boom mike and scream “Hey, Arthur, bring in the zoomar and dolly out the cathode ray tube”. In a desperate attempt to get order, Berle said “If you don’t cooperate Jerry, after the show you’ll be saying the cameras missed a lot of your stuff.” “Oh you said that last time, Berle” replied Lewis, “and we went over PRETTY big.”
DEAN MARTIN, who is no slouch at ad libbing either, interrupted Lewis’ antics. “Come on, Jerry. Leave Mr. Berle alone,” Martin said, “after all, we can do anything but this is his only means of livelihood”.
Guest Author Bio
Bob Harris © Sheila Harris
Bob Harris
Brooklyn native and television pioneer Bob Harris began his career in the media arts as a political cartoonist and columnist for the Hollywood Sun in Hollywood, Florida, in 1941 at the age of 14. He joined and soon became the managing editor of Televiser Magazine in 1948. From 1950-1955, he joined the Radio Advertising Bureau as a publicity and promotion writer. In 1955 Harris became the advertising sales presentation writer for the New York World-Telegram and Sun until 1958 when he moved over to WNTA Channel 13 as advertising-promotions director. In 1960 Harris, his wife Sheila and their two children moved to California where Bob joined KCBS Radio in San Francisco followed by KLAC in Los Angeles as their promotions director. In 1970 Harris opened the Bob Harris Agency where in addition to his ad clients he represented three national television publications – Back Stage, Shoot and Emmy Magazine, and the London-based international television trade publication, TV World. After closing the agency in 1993, Harris went freelance as an entertainment writer as well as becoming an art docent for the Getty Center and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Contact Bob Harris at: bharris7@pacbell.net
Part 2 – On Track to Color Television
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