OK-- I don't often get to announce something really rare, but here goes...

Here's a copy of the press release

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**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**

In this, the waning days of the 50th Anniversary year of "The Tonight
Show", rerunmedia is pleased to announce the discovery of the only
known videotape footage of "The Jack Paar Show" (the "Tonight Show"),
tentatively dating from 1960/61. The tape features an interview and
performance by television icon Red Skelton, and also includes asides
from comedian (and earlier program guest) Carl Reiner, and a brief
appearance by semi-regular Dody Goodman.

The recovery of the tape, which was acquired earlier this year in a
private sale, was held in confidence until the contents of the
two-inch quad reel could be verified. The approximately 22 minute
excerpt, thought to have been recorded by a Skelton associate at CBS,
is a black & white video recording of the original NBC color
broadcast, though the exact broadcast date for the program has not
yet been determined.

The original videotapes for the early years of "The Tonight Show"
(also including most of the first 10 years of the subsequent Johnny
Carson era of the program) were either re-used or discarded by NBC,
in order to save money during the 1960s and 1970s. In addition to
being the first Jack Paar footage to surface, this is now
also the oldest videotape recording of "The Tonight Show" known to
exist.

Speaking on behalf of rerunmedia, senior archivist Kevin Segura said
"We are thrilled to have recovered this small piece of television
history today... and are positively delighted that it helps to fill
in the modern-day picture of one of the most fondly remembered and
well-respected series ever to have aired."

News, publicity, research and commercial licensing inquiries may be
directed to Kevin Segura, at rerunmedia.

*******************

I can't tell you how I felt when that wonderful, lifelike image came up on the video monitor at the CBS transfer facility... truly a magic moment!!

-Kevin

 

That's really cool!

 

Good point.... I'd love to see it.

 

Yup, it was in color, as was a lot of NBC's late 50's prime-time programming. They developed our current NTSC "compatible color" system.

There just weren't that many people with color TVs back then that could watch it that way!

-Kevin

 

Actually, it was in color. From the start, as they say. Though some markets only aired it (and other NBC programming) in B&W, because they didn't yet have color equipment.

Which really makes it a damn shame that they discarded the tapes...

-Kevin

 

Just a quick image from the tape...

-Kevin

 

Very cool!

 

To the best of my knowledge, the entire "walk-off" episode exists as a kinescope in the NBC vaults; and additionally, a high-quality in-line recording of the audio also survives.

-Kevin