Superman on Television in 1940?
Alex sent me the following e-mail earlier today:
If so, and if ‘Superman’ appeared, even briefly, then arguably the distinction of being TV’s 1st Superman would automatically be changed historically from George Reeves to Ray Middleton.
Any ideas?(keeping fingers crossed;)
It’s an intriguing question. Unfortunately, I haven’t come up with a very satisfactory answer.
“Superman Day” at the World’s Fair was held on Wednesday, July 3rd, 1940 (some sources say it took place in 1939, but it was definitely 1940). According to a World’s Fair program published in The New York Times, the day’s events began at 9AM with registration for athletic events, the finals of which began at 1PM [1]. The “Super-Boy” and “Super-Girl” winners were announced at 4PM. For an in-depth look at “Superman Day” head over to Superman Through the Ages.
Here are the July 3rd television listings from The New York Times:
3:30-4:30PM – Film; Songs and Saddles.
9:00-10:00PM – Variety, From Worlds Fair. [2]
Thus, when the “Superman Day” finals were being held at 4PM, films were being broadcast over W2XBS. And at 9PM, when the big event at the World’s Fair was a musical water show, W2XBS was showing something from the World’s Fair. The question is what. There’s no indication that the hour-long broadcast was a live pick-up from the
fair itself. It could have been film footage. If it was, there is no way of knowing whether it was shot on July 3rd and quickly processed for broadcast the same day or if it came from an earlier day.
It doesn’t appear that NBC/W2XB actively broadcast live from the Fair when it reopened in May of 1940 the way it had during 1939, at least not on a regular basis. When the Fair first opened in April of 1939, live pick-ups using mobile trucks were shown several times a week, although I can’t say how long this practice lasted. So, unfortunately, there’s no easy answer to Alex’s question. There was some sort of broadcast connected to the World’s Fair on “Superman Day” but I can’t say if it involved Ray Middleton’s appearance as The Man of Steel.
Perhaps someone who participated in “Superman Day” might recall if television cameras were around during the day’s events. So if anyone knows anyone who was there, ask them what they remember.
Works Cited:
2 “Today on the Radio.” New York Times. 3 Jul. 1930: 13.
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