Comments on: Top 10 Specials of the 1964-1965 Season http://www.tvobscurities.com/2009/10/top-10-specials-of-the-1964-1965-season/ Keeping Obscure TV From Fading Away Forever Sun, 21 Mar 2010 06:45:57 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Barry I. Grauman http://www.tvobscurities.com/2009/10/top-10-specials-of-the-1964-1965-season/comment-page-1/#comment-16628 Barry I. Grauman Tue, 13 Oct 2009 04:33:50 +0000 http://www.tvobscurities.com/?p=4578#comment-16628 The 1965 version of "Cinderella" was videotaped in color, but originally shown in black and white [as previously mentioned, CBS did not telecast ANY color programming from late 1959 until the fall of 1965, due to CBS chairman Bill Paley's rivalry with RCA/NBC's David Sarnoff, and Paley's belief his scheduling of color programs would primarily sell RCA Victor color sets]; the initial repeat of the special in 1966 was its first color telecast. {Incidentally, Whitney Houston was originally supposed to star as "Cinderella" in the ABC/Disney version- but production had been delayed for so long, by the time it was filmed in 1997, Houston was too old to play the lead. She appeared as the "Fairy Godmother" instead.} "The Wizard Of Oz", with Danny Kaye's pre-recorded segments as host (which were used from 1963 through 1967), was also seen in black and white. Color telecasts of the 1939 movie were shown only after NBC acquired the rights to the film in 1967. Bob Hope's monthly Chrysler specials were always a big draw in the mid-'60s: in the 1964-'65 season, they alternated with his weekly "BOB HOPE PRESENTS THE CHRYSLER THEATER" anthology- and believe it nor not, while his weekly show was in "Living Color", his specials WEREN'T. Not until December 1965 were his variety specials presented in color for the first time. The 1965 version of “Cinderella” was videotaped in color, but originally shown in black and white [as previously mentioned, CBS did not telecast ANY color programming from late 1959 until the fall of 1965, due to CBS chairman Bill Paley's rivalry with RCA/NBC's David Sarnoff, and Paley's belief his scheduling of color programs would primarily sell RCA Victor color sets]; the initial repeat of the special in 1966 was its first color telecast.

{Incidentally, Whitney Houston was originally supposed to star as “Cinderella” in the ABC/Disney version- but production had been delayed for so long, by the time it was filmed in 1997, Houston was too old to play the lead. She appeared as the “Fairy Godmother” instead.}

“The Wizard Of Oz”, with Danny Kaye’s pre-recorded segments as host (which were used from 1963 through 1967), was also seen in black and white. Color telecasts of the 1939 movie were shown only after NBC acquired the rights to the film in 1967.

Bob Hope’s monthly Chrysler specials were always a big draw in the mid-’60s: in the 1964-’65 season, they alternated with his weekly “BOB HOPE PRESENTS THE CHRYSLER THEATER” anthology- and believe it nor not, while his weekly show was in “Living Color”, his specials WEREN’T. Not until December 1965 were his variety specials presented in color for the first time.

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