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Date Posted: 14:14:03 02/10/13 Sun
Author: Joe H.
Subject: RCA used Bonanza to sell more color television sets.

According to: http://www.thelifeofluxury.com/ponderosa-ranch/ "Perhaps the most interesting thing (and the most disturbing to idyllic childhood memories) was that Bonanza was created to sell a commercial product. Hours spent watching Bonanza, dreaming of the Wild West and swooning over Little Joe came about because RCA, NBC’s parent company, wanted to sell more color televisions!"

Rick: "say it ain't so!" (;-) - - Joe

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Replies:

[> Re: RCA used Bonanza to sell more color television sets. -- Tim, 16:17:39 02/10/13 Sun [1]

Tom Sarnoff, the head of NBC, did wish to see a new series that would sell RCA color televisions. David Dortort actually created the Bonanza series.

Rick knows far more details than I do, but some of the story can be found here.

The Birth of Bonanza by Joan Markowitz

http://ponderosascenery.homestead.com/birth.html

As a kid I initially saw the series only in black and white, as we didn't get a color television until 1968. I don't remember if it was an RCA or not.


Tim


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[> [> Re: [ Apple Valley ] -- Joe H., 19:27:41 02/10/13 Sun [1]

" In 1962, she traveled to the High Desert and fell in love with the landscape of Apple Valley. She spoke to Lorne Greene about it and suggested he buy some land to build his own "Ponderosa" in the region. Apple Valley had a past history of being anti-Semetic*. At the time, it wasn't, but Lorne didn't like that it was in the valley's history. He decided not to buy property there."

* Nothing found of such over at: http://www.villageprofile.com/california/applevalley/01/topic.html

Nor: http://score.rims.k12.ca.us/score_lessons/applevalleyhistory/pages/applevalleyname.html

But that over at: http://mojavehistory.com/interviewbertalotti.html is some info about a Newton T. Bass, who in the 1940s was a bigot against not only Jews, but Coloreds and Indians, and after he married his 2nd wife of an Italian, he wouldn't let her father into his house.

- - Joe


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[> Re: RCA used Bonanza to sell more color television sets. -- Tim, 16:42:53 02/10/13 Sun [1]

I meant to say The Birth of Bonanza - Joan Markowitz, not "by" Joan Markowitz.


Tim


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[> Re: RCA used Bonanza to sell more color television sets. -- Ponderosa Pete, 19:44:19 02/10/13 Sun [1]

The skinny (according to expert Andy Klyde, who gave a lecture on the subject at the 50th anniversary con) as I recall is DD (David Dortort) was asked by Alan Livingston, head of programming at NBC, to create a western. DD envisioned his story in color and eventually the NBC boys (including Tom Sarnoff, head of business affairs) decided it would help sell sets so they agreed to the additional expense of filming in color. But to say it was created to sell color sets is misleading. Like all television programs, it was created to be a financial success (which it was), compete with CBS' in-house productions (i.e. "Perry Mason") which it did, and incidentally, it sold a LOT of color TV sets.


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[> [> Re: RCA used Bonanza to sell more color television sets. -- Rick, 20:08:39 02/10/13 Sun [1]

NBC made 3 TV pilots in 1959 in color. Bonanza was the only one they accepted, mostly due to cameraman Bert Glennon's excellent photography.




Rick


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[> [> [> Re: [ Bert Glennon ] -- Joe H., 20:45:13 02/10/13 Sun [1]

Thanks Rick, of he sure did a lot over his time: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0322688/ including: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0529483/ = "Rose for Lotta" (12 Sep. 1959) Season 1, Number 1. Of starting way back in 1916 of almost a hundred years ago, of before Bonanza of with "Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color" in 1955 to "77 Sunset Strip" in 1963.

Plus see: http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=bert+glennon&qpvt=bert+glennon&FORM=IGRE that includes some "Wagon Master" movie I had never heard of before, (to see: _____ on youtube?*) in 1950, at: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0043117/ with co-star Ward Bond who I really liked as the Wagon Master in "Wagon Train".

* http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=%22Wagon+Master%22+youtube&qpvt=%22Wagon+Master%22+youtube&FORM=VDRE#x0y0 of I did find these clips: (1) "Wagon Master. Opening Credits" at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtTl3hMBcts&feature=player_embedded of 1:53 minute seen 2,154 times; and (2) "Wagonmaster western cowboy movie exciting ending - John Ford " at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=JiLhDzFTxUY of: 5:15 minutes seen 157,143 times.


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[> [> [> Re: RCA used Bonanza to sell more color television sets. -- Ed, 11:39:55 02/11/13 Mon [1]

Just curious...what were the other two shows?


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[> [> [> [> Re:[ NBC: Bonanza; CBS: Perry Mason; ABC: Dick Clark + John Gunther] -- Joe H., 11:47:43 02/13/13 Wed [1]

Ed, According to http://classic-tv.com/schedules/1959-1960-tv-schedule.html Bonanza for NBC was on from 7:30 - 8:30 p.m. (of when I was only six years old, of I remember the Sunday night ones), of back then of opposite Perry Mason on CBS and the 1/2 hour show on ABC of Dick Clark's Saturday Night Show and some show I had never heard of before of: "John Gunther's* High Road". -- Joe

* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Gunther


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[> [> Re: [ Perry Mason episode filmed at the Bass hill-top home.] -- Joe H., 20:17:08 02/10/13 Sun [1]

Speaking of Perry Mason on the OTHER network of CBS and using Newton T. Bass' house on the hill in one of the episodes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newton_T._Bass and http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/businessman-newton-t-bass-of-the-apple-valley-building-and-news-photo/83511349 plus: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0673375/ of maybe "they" were getting back at Lorne for using that as an excuse of not buying property there as per the former Bass deed restrictions in the 1940s?


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[> [> [> Re: Newton N. Minow and the Vast Wasteland -- Tim, 20:53:41 02/10/13 Sun [1]

I can't help but confuse the name Newton Bass with Newton Minow (Bass...Minnow), the attorney who in 1961 famously called television a "vast wasteland".

"Keep your eyes glued to that set until the station signs off. I can assure you that what you will observe is a vast wasteland." (Newton N. Minow, in a speech to the National Association of Broadcasters, May 1961.)

However, it seems to me television was better back then than it is now! After all, in 1961 we had Bonanza, Gunsmoke, The Twilight Zone, Andy Griffith, Perry Mason, etc., with one of them (Bonanza) in living color.

Newton Minow went on to have quite a distinguished career, and is still around today.


Tim


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[> Re: RCA used Bonanza to sell more color television sets. -- flynn, 07:41:19 02/11/13 Mon [1]

Shame no one took any film footage when they visited the set I would have loved to have seen it.living in the UK things like that where out of bounds


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[> [> Re: RCA used Bonanza to sell more color television sets. -- flynn, 12:09:09 02/11/13 Mon [1]


found this on youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpAO2VDJeyk


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[> [> [> Re: [ 3:48 - minute fly-over video of The Ponderosa!] -- Joe H., 11:35:07 02/13/13 Wed [1]

Thanks flynn and Walt, the pilot, of this 3:48-minute fly-over video seen 633 times and counting.


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[> [> [> [> Re: [ 3:48 - minute fly-over video of The Ponderosa!] -- flynn, 12:33:29 02/13/13 Wed [1]

Your welcome Joe


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[> [> [> Re: Gary, you'll like this Ponderosa video... -- Rick, 23:09:47 02/13/13 Wed [1]

Check Flynn's 2/11/13 post at 12:09:09 (Mon)






Rick


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