- Tomorrow Television (1945) Job opportunities in the new industry of Television are
described to soldiers who will soon be coming home from the war.
- Public Prosecutor (1948) John Howard stars as the public prosecutor who solves
mysteries each week. This is the first TV series ever to be shot on film, rather than to be broadcast live. After the production of
26 short episodes of 17 min. each, NBC decided they wanted longer shows to fill half-hour time slots.
- Comic Strips of Television (1948) Long-lost pilot for the very first cartoon series produced specifically for television,
created by pioneer animator Jay Ward (Rocky & Bullwinkle). It features the debut of the cartoon character Dudley DoRight and Crusader Rabbit,
who starred in the first made-for-TV cartoon series (1949) as a result of this pilot.
- Art Linkletter and the Kids (1950) Before his "People Are Funny" TV series in 1954, Art
perfected the art of talking to children in this 15 min. show.
- Playhouse 15 (1952) Also known as "Short, Short Stories," this anthology series in 12 min. episodes
ran twice a week. Jack Klugman is featured in "Backfire."
- A Great New Star (1953) Dinah Shore sings two songs in early infomercial promoting
the 1953 Chevy car.
- Top Secret (1954) TV spy series told in 12 minute stories and featuring the first computer to play a role in
a TV show - Amic! Did Amic inspire Steve Jobs as a child?
- Felix in The Bone Age (1922) Silent cartoons produced during the silent era
were given new life in early television for locally hosted kid shows. A prime example of this historic phenomenon is this
previously lost "Felix
the Cat in the Bone Age."
- Junior Aces (c. 1950) Little-known children's show about aviation and aircraft hosted
by actor Tom Brown, who interacts with two kid sidekicks and the home audience.
- Telenews (1956) Beginning in the mid-1950s Hearst Metrotone News syndicated a 12 min.
theatrical newsreel expressly for television with weekly doses of national and international stories of
significance. See the latest about Billy Graham, Queen Elizabeth, Eisenhower and others.
- The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952) The very first episode of "America's Favorite Family" -- Ozzie, Harriet, David and Ricky Nelson --
entitled "The Rivals," in which a very young David thinks about dating a girl.
- Martin Kane, Private Eye (1952) Lloyd Nolan plays the TV version of the popular radio sleuth. The U.S. Tobacco Co. sponsored
this series and early use of product placement is everywhere to be seen – as each episode begins in a tobacco shop where the plot is established
while most everyone is smoking. "The Dope Pushers" is about teenagers and drugs.
- The Ed Wynn Show (1949) Ed hosted the first variety show telecast live from
Los Angeles, this episode features guest Buster Keaton.
- The Magic Clown (1949) Early children's show with an audience of kids, all in fezzes,
a clown that does magic tricks, and ads for Bonomo Turkish Taffy in every other shot.
- Learn to Draw (1950) Artist Jon Gnagy taught generations of young artists how to draw in these 12-min. episodes.
- The Beulah Show (1950) Singer/film legend Ethel Waters (Cabin in the Sky, Pinky) was TV’s Beulah for the first 39 episodes
of this early interracial ABC sitcom. This episode features Butterfly McQueen as a maid and Dooley “play it again, Sam” Wilson as
Bill Jackson -- a handyman forever courting Beulah.
