TV on the Radio
Ron Simon, the curator of television and radioat the Paley Center for Media and the writer of the liner notes for our current best-selling DVD setThe Golden Age of Television, stopped by WNYC’s The Leonard Lopate Show to chat about the live 1950s teleplays featured in the release. If you haven’t yet become acquainted with the story behind these fascinating special broadcasts, starring such actors as Paul Newman, Mickey Rooney, Rod Steiger, and Piper Laurie, this is definitely worth a listen. Simon covers a lot of ground, explaining the kinescope process used to capture these amazing artifacts, as well as the elaborate live-television camera work employed by such eventual big-screen directors as John Frankenheimer and Ralph Nelson. There’s even an audio clip featuring an exchange from Marty that’s become nothing less than iconic: “Whaddya feel like doing tonight?” “I don’t know, Marty, whaddayou feel like doing tonight?”
