It was 58 years ago today that a program called Today, hosted by the low-key Dave Garroway, first took to the air. Over time, it changed, as did its medium. The current Today -- well, you don't want to get me started on that, and let's just leave that there.
On the other hand, the show as it used to exist has long been a source of fascination, ever since I first saw the grainy, noisy kinescope of that first broadcast. (By the way, isn't it funny how when you watch one of those old kinescopes, between the streaky gray video and the noise on the audio, it makes you feel like it's raining? Just saying.) Among the areas of fascination is the old storefront studio where the original studio was, the one with the big windows. What became of it?
Well, it was the RCA Exhibition Hall in New York. Here's a really neat page showing it during the Today years. Later, after Today moved out, it became a showcase for RCA's wares, and here it shows off some of RCA's 1956 models. (Recognize the walls and partitions? It doesn't take much figuring to recognize where things were on the Today set.) The building's still there, of course, but now it's the New York home of Christie's auction house.
I also can't let this entry pass without a shout-out to Today's original master communicator, the great Dave Garroway. Much more needs to be written about this man and his work, for he was so much more than the answer to a trivia question. Here's a page that serves as a gateway to some very interesting bits about him from yesteryear. Here's also to the wonderful Jack Lescoulie and the sadly overlooked Jim Fleming, too. And the driving force behind Today and so many other programs that changed television, the visionary Sylvester "Pat" Weaver. (He was more than the father of a wonderful actress, y'know.)
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