The “Fabulous 50’s”

Bill Fisher

the decade we think was better than now

1

Aftermath of WW2• US is only major nation on

Earth to come out of WW2 better than it went in • Germany and Japan in ruins • Former Allies nearly bankrupt • US dominates manufacturing

• US share of world exports doubles from pre-war

• US share in 1948 highest in world history

0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

25.0%

30.0%

35.0%

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US % of World Mfg Exports

1928 1938 1948 1958

% of Americans will college eduction grows by 50%

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0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

25.0%

30.0%

35.0%

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US % of World Mfg Exports

1928 1938 1948 1958

• US share of world exports nearly doubles

• By 1960 it will return to 16% = pre WW2 average

• 1950’s are an anomaly in economic competition

3

America on the Move TelevisionUS Politics

1956: Year of Blunders Cold War

Civil Rights Pop Culture

First Shots of Sexual Revolution

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Television

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Television Takes Over

• The greatest technological impact of 1950’s

• Had significant impact on:• Entertainment

• Advertising• Politics

• Would accelerate the pace of social change

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0

1,000,000

2,000,000

3,000,000

4,000,000

5,000,000

6,000,000

7,000,000

8,000,000

1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953

TVSetProduc-onSource: Radio Electronics Television Manufacturers Association

Expansion of TV

Initially most TV sets were in NYC metro area

0

5,000,000

10,000,000

15,000,000

20,000,000

25,000,000

30,000,000

35,000,000

1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953

Cumula&veTVSetsSource: Radio Electronics Television Manufacturers Association

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Decline of Radio

0

5,000,000

10,000,000

15,000,000

20,000,000

25,000,000

1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953

RadioSetProduc.onSource: Radio Electronics Television Mfg Association

No radio set production April 1942 - Dec 1945due to Second World War

8

Last Great Radio Star• Fred Allen - Jack Benny’s

longest running radio rival

• Said “they call TV a new medium and that is because nothing is well done”

• Said TV “allows people who have nothing to do to watch people who can’t do anything"

9

Edward R. Murrow• Preeminent journalist of 40’s and 50’s• A legend at CBS News - mentored

great reporters• William L. Shirer• Eric Sevaried• Howard K. Smith• Richard C. Hottelet• Don Hewitt• Walter Cronkite

10

Murrow Transitions to TV• Murrow led the most famous team in

broadcasting

• Informed America from the annexation of Austria to the discovery of Buchenwald

• Tried being CBS VP for two years and was miserable

• Then develops a serious program for CBS

• “See It Now” premieres 1951

“See It Now” has its finest hour in the McCarthy era

11

Edward R. Murrow Transitions to TVand begins a great broadcast tradition

12

First TV Superstar• Milton Berle - vaudeville, radio

• Texaco Star Theatre was #1

• Most TVs were in New York

• “Borscht Belt” humor popular

• As TV expanded more less urban areas just didn’t understand it

• Berle’s show faded fast

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Milton Berle’s Texaco Star Theatre

made Berle the first TV superstar

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The Great Comedies

• Milton Berle’s Texaco Star Theatre

• Sid Caesar’s Show of Shows

• Jack Benny Show

• I Love Lucy

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The Show of Shows• Variety show with comedy• 90-minutes, live

• Sid Caesar

• Imogene Coca• Carl Reiner

• Nanette Fabray

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The Jack Benny Program

• Benny was critical of TV

• Had a 15-year run with several formats

• Even had his old radio rival Fred Allen on from time to time

Jack Benny, Mary Livingstoneand Eddie Anderson (Rochester)

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Fred Allen on the Jack Benny Program

the “frenemies” together on TV

19

I Love Lucy• Show proposed to CBS by Lucille Ball

• heretofore an actress in B movies • had a radio show sit com • dizzy wife married to Minneapolis banker

• Proposes similar format show• except she is married to a Cuban • her real husband, Desi Arnaz

• CBS execs balk at “mixed” marriage

Lucille Ball insists on Desi - or no show at all

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I Love Lucy• Lucy insists show to be shot in front

of a live audience• Becomes Nielsen top 10 in a week• Monday night staple in America

• Marshall Field department store changes Monday night schedule for Lucy

• By April 7, 1952 over half of US households were tuning in.

Even more surprising was how funny Ricky was

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Lucy Does a Commercial

one of the classic TV comic routines

22

Lucy Gets Pregnant• CBS producers wanted to incorporate pregnancy

into story line

• Ad execs not so sure - balk at the idea

• Desi goes to head of Philip Morris saying not to hide the pregnancy

• Head of Philip Morris writes to head of CBS programming

“Dear Jim: Don’t f_ck around with the Cuban”

23

Lucy Gives Birth• CBS lines up priest, rabbi,

and minister to review all pregnancy scripts

• She was allowed to have morning sickness on the air

• Birth episode has Lucy pushing Ricky into hospital in wheelchair - Jan 19, 1953

2x more people watch Lucy than Ike’s inauguration next day

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Ricardos to Suburbs• In keeping with US trends

• And to keep the show relatable

• Ricardos and Mertzes move to Connecticut

• Show will run until 1957

• Lucy and Desi divorced in 1960

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The Family Sit-Coms• The family was white

• Dad was home during the day - did he have a job?

• All the meals were cooked by Mom

• Mom would have never thought of working

• Every family problem was solved in 22 minutes

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• Ozzie and Harriet

• Father Knows Best

• Leave It to Beaver

• The Andy Griffith Show

The Family Sit-Coms

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The Westerns

• The Lone Ranger

• Gunsmoke

• Have Gun Will Travel

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The Variety Shows

• Ted Mack’s Original Amateur Hour

• The Ed Sullivan Show

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Ted Mack Original Amateur Hour

the original “American Idol”

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Ed Sullivan• Sunday night variety show

• Sullivan was a former critic

• Picked all talent himself

• Not so sure about Elvis Presley

• Introduced all sorts of talent to US

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Elvis on The Ed Sullivan Show

Ed wasn’t so sure

October 1956

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The Soap Operas• First TV one is “These Are

My Children” 1948• Soon followed by:

• As the World Turns• The Guiding Light• Search For Tomorrow• Edge of Night

Rosemary Prinz as Penny Hughes“As the World Turns”

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Rare Quality Drama

• Hallmark Hall of Fame

• Alfred Hitchcock Presents

Maurice Evans in “Dial M for Murder”

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Politics on TV• Sen. Estes Kefauver held

hearings on organized crime 1950-51

• First ever governmental action aired on TV

• Over 184 hours of coverage• Broadcast from a number of

cities• 30M Americans watched Mobster Frank Costello

Testifies Before Committee

37

I Like Ike

an early political ad

38

McCarthy Hearings• Sen. Joseph McCarthy announced in Wheeling WV in 1950

• A “list of over 200 known communists” in the State Dept.

• McCarthy in the Senate and the House Un-American Activities committee undertake a program of investigation that:

• finds few communists in government• ruins many reputations

• More about this in a later class

Ultimately TV itself will be the root of McCarthy’s downfall

39

Television News• CBS was early leader in television news

• “Douglas Edwards and the News” appeared 1950 as a 15-minute broadcast at 7:30PM• first coast-to-coast newscast• became “CBS Evening News with Walter

Cronkite” in 1962• Edward R. Murrow’s “See It Now” was a weekly

30-minute, in-depth topical news show

First 30 minute nightly news show started in 1963

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Late Night TV• First late night was “Broadway Open House” 1950

• Jerry Lester and “Dagmar”

• 1954 “The Tonight Show” with Steve Allen

• Ernie Kovacs would share hosting

• 1957 Jack Paar takes over “The Tonight Show”

42

Life Revolves Around TV ?

• Personal schedules are adjusted to see favorite shows

• Businesses adjust hours

• Mealtime revolves around the TV

43

Television Takes Over

• The greatest technological impact of 1950’s• Had significant impact on:

• Entertainment

• Advertising• Politics

• Would accelerate the pace of social change

44

Discussion

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