Here’s the schedule for NBC’s experimental station W2XBS in New York City for the week beginning Sunday, February 11th, 1940. Am I the only one who would love to see how “Jitterdoodle Charades” played out? Judging solely from the title it sounds hilarious.
Sunday, February 11th, 1940
2:30-4:00: Soccer, New York Americans vs. Baltimore Americans, at Starlight Park.
8:30-9:30: “Jitterdoodle Charades,” a guessing game in caricature devised by Norman McLaren, English artist. “Television Explorers Club,” featuring Lewis Cotlow and his African films.Wednesday, February 14th, 1940
2:30-3:30: Films
8:30-9:30: Variety ShowThursday, February 15th, 1940
2:30-3:30: Meeting of associations of the Junior Leagues of America, with Helen W. Leovy, president, and Helen Findlay, secretary of the art department. Film, “Electrifying New York.”
9:30-11:00: Wrestling at Ridgewood GroveFriday, February 16th, 1940
2:30-3:40: Film, “Corsair,” with Chester Morris
8:30-9:30: Play, “The Perfect Alibi,” by A.A. MilneSaturday, February 17th, 1940
2:30-3:40: Film, “Thunderbolt”
9:00-11:00: Boxing at Ridgewood Grove
Sources:
“Notes on Television.” New York Times. 11 Feb. 1940: 136.
I’m wondering if the “Norman McLaren” mentioned in Jitterdoodle Charades is the great animator who worked at Canada’s National Film Board for many years. He was in New York between 1939 and 1941:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_McLaren
If so, it’s an interesting sidelight to his career I wasn’t aware of.
I’m sure someone asked Norman McLaren in later years, “did you ever appear in early television?”. “Oh, yes”, he probably said, “I participated in an experimental program in New York for NBC around, oh, 1940 or so. It was seen by a few people, and it was fun. But those hot lights nearly burnt the suit right off my back!”