Yes, Virginia can be seen on TV

SOURCE: CINEDIGM ENTERTAINMENT

This is one of those clips that I love running across - living history that transcends the years. It's from Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall oF December 21, 1960, and Perry's guest is Virginia Douglas, who was called Virginia O'Hanlon when, on September 21, 1897, the New York Sun printed her letter to the editor asking whether or not there was a Santa Claus.


Virginia Douglas on The Perry Como Show 12-21... by jim-allen-jr
Virginia Douglas was eight years old when she wrote that letter to the Sun, and 63 years later here she is on television, telling Perry Como about how that letter gave the editor, Francis Pharcellus Church, the opportunity to write one of the most famous editorials in the history of American journalism. The editorial ran on page seven of that day's issue, below an advertisement for "the newly invented 'chainless bicycle,'" i.e. the motorcycle. According to the always-reliable Wikipedia, Church's editorial remains "the most reprinted editorial in any newspaper in the English language."

The story of "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus" is a cherished part of American folklore, taking its place in history along with Paul Revere's Midnight Ride, the Gunfight at the OK Corral, Lindberg's flight across the Atlantic, and other events that they probably don't teach in school anymore. Despite the evidence to the contrary, some people might doubt there ever was a Virginia, but now you know better. After all, you couldn't show it on TV if it weren't true, right?

The Edsel Show - 1957

I'm  off to the Mid Atlantic Nostalgia Convention in Maryland, running through this weekend. Will any of the rest of you be there? If so, I hope to run into you somewhere between the seminars and the vendors! In the meantime, here's a video about transportation, although not the kind we're using to get out to Maryland. This is about a car, and a show.

The Edsel may have been a failure as a car, but it was a smash success as a television show. The Edsel Show, broadcast on October 13, 1957 in place of The Ed Sullivan Show, featured a cast of thousands - or at least Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, Rosemary Clooney, and Lindsay Crosby (Bing's son) and the Four Preps. It was nominated for an Emmy as best program of the year, and was heaped with critical praise.

It also hold a distinction that will become apparent with this video: it is the oldest videotaped program in existence. We're all used to watching kinescopes of old programs, but as the prologue to this video explains, videotape was just starting to be used as an alternative means to record and rebroadcast programs for use at a later time. I think you'll see how striking the difference is between kinescope and video tape by the examples that precede the program. I just happened to stumble across this the other day - I've actually got a copy of the kinescope version - and this really makes you feel as if you're seeing the program live, as it was originally broadcast. It's another great piece of our television heritage - thanks, Kris Trexler!