Aldrich Family Tv Show (1 Viewer)

[nostalgic TV guy]

Here is the URL to "The Aldrich Family" on the classic tv archive website:

CTVA US Comedy - "The Aldrich Family" (NBC)(1949-53)

 

[KayEn78]

Awesome, thanks for that link!
-Kristi

 

[tomterrific]

It appears that the Paley Center for Media has an episode from March 13, 1953.

 

[Neil Brock]

How can a show that was on for four seasons have only one episode surviving?The fact that one is out there isn't it likely that at least some others could still exist?

Its very possible because kinescopes were discarded with regularity. Most live sitcoms have few episodes surviving. Mama ran for 8 years and except for the final filmed season of 26, few exist. Likewise Meet Millie, My Friend Irma, The Ruggles and many others. The classic era CBS Goldbergs, only around a half dozen survive. The one exception is Mr. Peepers, thanks to David Swift, with around 80% of the episodes saved. There was no thought to preserve live television shows.

 

[Steve...O]

Speaking more of the movies, I'm surprised that they went unreleased throughout the entire home video era. Then again, the much better known Andy Hardy films only warranted a MOD release.

Could it be that good elements just don't exist? Universal released all the Kettle, Francis, Hope/Crosby and A&C films and while Aldrich wasn't as well known they surely would have still had some fans back in the DVD days. Now, not so much although Henry himself (Jimmy Lydon) is still alive and kicking at 94 and still married to his sweetheart after 65 years.

 

[John Karras]

Writer/author Max Wilk (who wrote episodes of Mama) stated in an interview that in the early 1970's, he went to the CBS vaults to screen episodes of Mama for a book he was researching, and was appalled to discover that only about 6 episodes were saved. When he asked for an explanation, he was told that CBS accountants regularly ordered the destruction of kinescopes since they were wasting valuable space and the shows had no further value.

 

[Bert Greene]

My understanding is that the Paramount "Henry Aldrich" series has indeed been preserved. For several years now. But nothing has been done with them (cable, disc, etc.). At least, that's the scuttlebutt I've repeatedly heard. It's a shame, as it's a fun little movie series, with several entries incorporating a fair amount of suspense alongside the comedy.

 

[Ron1973]

Its very possible because kinescopes were discarded with regularity. Most live sitcoms have few episodes surviving. Mama ran for 8 years and except for the final filmed season of 26, few exist. Likewise Meet Millie, My Friend Irma, The Ruggles and many others. The classic era CBS Goldbergs, only around a half dozen survive. The one exception is Mr. Peepers, thanks to David Swift, with around 80% of the episodes saved. There was no thought to preserve live television shows.

It was a mentality that lasted for years. Memphis Wrestling ran live on WHBQ and later WMC from the 50's through around 2001. Yet the only episodes that exist are from the late 70's up. Most of those exist only because people with VCR's started to record them; one kid recorded audio cassettes of some of the WHBQ shows from circa 1974 that are starting to circulate. No one thought we'd want to review this stuff decades later.

 

[LouA]

It was a mentality that lasted for years. Memphis Wrestling ran live on WHBQ and later WMC from the 50's through around 2001. Yet the only episodes that exist are from the late 70's up. Most of those exist only because people with VCR's started to record them; one kid recorded audio cassettes of some of the WHBQ shows from circa 1974 that are starting to circulate. No one thought we'd want to review this stuff decades later.

WWWF doesn't have much either from the " vintage years'.

 

[Bob_S.]

My understanding is that the Paramount "Henry Aldrich" series has indeed been preserved. For several years now. But nothing has been done with them (cable, disc, etc.). At least, that's the scuttlebutt I've repeatedly heard. It's a shame, as it's a fun little movie series, with several entries incorporating a fair amount of suspense alongside the comedy.

I wish they'd release them. I recently bought a bootleg of I guess public domain copies and they are virtually unwatchable.

 

[Neil Brock]

WWWF doesn't have much either from the " vintage years'.

I would love to have something with Gorilla Monsoon as a heel. I have 4 shows from the mid-60s but frankly, other than the nostalgic value, they aren't very interesting. Back then, televised shows rarely if ever showed anything other than squash matches.

 

[LouA]

I would love to have something with Gorilla Monsoon as a heel. I have 4 shows from the mid-60s but frankly, other than the nostalgic value, they aren't very interesting. Back then, televised shows rarely if ever showed anything other than squash matches.

I saw Gorilla Monsoon {as a bad guy) vs Bruno Sammartino at Madison Square garden back in the late 1960's . He was very entertaining !

 

[Ron1973]

I would love to have something with Gorilla Monsoon as a heel. I have 4 shows from the mid-60s but frankly, other than the nostalgic value, they aren't very interesting. Back then, televised shows rarely if ever showed anything other than squash matches.

I can't speak for the Memphis (Gulas until 1977, Jarrett Promotions after that) from that era, but my dad has often related things were wild and wooly on the live TV program. What I have seen from the 70's was far from squash matches. Again, a little different era, so things might have changed, but Jerry Lawler as a heel was not to be beat.

 

[Neil Brock]

I can't speak for the Memphis (Gulas until 1977, Jarrett Promotions after that) from that era, but my dad has often related things were wild and wooly on the live TV program. What I have seen from the 70's was far from squash matches. Again, a little different era, so things might have changed, but Jerry Lawler as a heel was not to be beat.

As a child growing up watching WWWF in New York, there used to be a 2 hour show from Washington DC every Saturday night. I'm thinking that it might have been shown live. Every week they would announce the card for the following week, all squash matches except for one, which was called the dark match. That would be a great match and it would take place at 8:30 and not be televised. I know that wasn't the case with other promotions because in the early 70s we got to see the shows from the Olympic in L.A. and then later in the decade, Florida wrestling. Those shows were great and far better than anything the WWWF ever put on TV.

 

[LouA]

As a child growing up watching WWWF in New York, there used to be a 2 hour show from Washington DC every Saturday night. I'm thinking that it might have been shown live. Every week they would announce the card for the following week, all squash matches except for one, which was called the dark match. That would be a great match and it would take place at 8:30 and not be televised. I know that wasn't the case with other promotions because in the early 70s we got to see the shows from the Olympic in L.A. and then later in the decade, Florida wrestling. Those shows were great and far better than anything the WWWF ever put on TV.

I guess your referring to the show MC' d by Ray Morgen which came from Washington. I think that the main purpose of this show was to create feuds between the champ and the "bad guy " challenger and generate interest for the live shows. I saw a number of these live promotions growing up at the Jersey City Armory. Always fun.
There was also "Bedlam From Boston " on Channel 9.

 

[Neil Brock]

There was also "Bedlam From Boston " on Channel 9.

I don't remember that but I do remember another show channel 5 ran on Thursday nights.

 

[LouA]

I don't remember that but I do remember another show channel 5 ran on Thursday nights.

Perhaps your a little younger than I am . "Bedlam" ran during the late 1950's - early 60's . To be truthful, I don't remember much about it either, since I preferred the Washington show and it's wrestlers. But I did watch Bedlam once in a while . I can't remember much about the channel 5 show either . Was that one hosted by Dennis James?
For a while NY wrestling was "banished" to a small UHF station in Newark NJ. Since I couldn't get decent reception , I didn't watch it.
The early Seventies IWA shows brought wrestling back to main stream television.

 

[Ron1973]

Naturally, of course, I know more about Memphis Wrestling, but I enjoy reading about other federations/promotions. It's funny in a way and sad in a way. If you watch late 80's Memphis, Jerry Lawler is ragging the WWF and WCW about how Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair are company champions, not true "world" champions because they wouldn't wrestle him. CWA, the Memphis promotion, was welcome for anybody to come in and wrestle, but Hogan and Flair had refused the challenge.

Fast forward just a few years later, and all of a sudden, you have Jeff Jarrett "challenging" Bret Hart. That in turn led to Jimmy Hart sending in a video from the WWF about what a joke Memphis was, etc. It turned into a full blown WWF circus with McMahon sending in videos making fun of Memphis, wearing the USWA (CWA merged with World Class to become USWA) belt that a WWF wrestler "won" from Lawler, etc. I guess if you can't beat them, you join them, though it deteriorated a once great promotion.

 

[LouA]

Naturally, of course, I know more about Memphis Wrestling, but I enjoy reading about other federations/promotions. It's funny in a way and sad in a way. If you watch late 80's Memphis, Jerry Lawler is ragging the WWF and WCW about how Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair are company champions, not true "world" champions because they wouldn't wrestle him. CWA, the Memphis promotion, was welcome for anybody to come in and wrestle, but Hogan and Flair had refused the challenge.

Fast forward just a few years later, and all of a sudden, you have Jeff Jarrett "challenging" Bret Hart. That in turn led to Jimmy Hart sending in a video from the WWF about what a joke Memphis was, etc. It turned into a full blown WWF circus with McMahon sending in videos making fun of Memphis, wearing the USWA (CWA merged with World Class to become USWA) belt that a WWF wrestler "won" from Lawler, etc. I guess if you can't beat them, you join them, though it deteriorated a once great promotion.

I believe that the WWWF used the same technique to knock ECW out of the box .