1956 NBC Studios ,Burbank June 5th - Milton Berle

NBC Studios,Burbank 1955.

NBC-TV Milton Berle - Comedy
June 5th 8.00 to 9.00pm (Est)
Elvis Presley - the new singing sensation
Debra Paget - who will sing and dance
Arnold Stang - as Francis (comedian)
Irish McCalla - who plays in the Sheena series
Les Baxter and Orchestra - with his No.1 hit 'The Poor People of Paris'
Barry Gordon
Victor Young conductor
Sponsored by RCA



1. Arnold Stang,Irish McCalla,Milton Berle,Barry Gordon,Elvis,Debra Paget, Les Baxter.

Barry Gordon was seven years old when he entered the ranks of the record industry, singing the novelty hit "I'm Gettin' Nuthin for Christmas" (1955). Gordon followed this triumph with "Rock N Roll Mother Goose," which was no chart-buster but did land him a spot in the 1956 Frank Tashlin-directed feature The Girl Can't Help It ,though his song was cut from the final release version, he can be seen as a wise-beyond-his-years paper boy, ogling Jayne Mansfield as she swivels by. By the late 1950s, Gordon was best known for his guest appearances on The Jack Benny Program, expertly impersonating that series' venerable star. Gordon has carved himself a niche as one of the busiest and most versatile voiceover artists in the TV animation industry, Barry Gordon is a past president of the Screen Actors Guild.


2.Barry Gordon



3.Irish McCalla the exotic looking star the of TV series 'Sheenah Queen Of The Jungle' jokes with Elvis Presley backstage.

The guests on Berle's show attended several days of rehearsals in preparation for the live broadcast but Presley was unable to attend the first day because he was performing somewhere on the East Coast. Debra Paget, was also appearing on the show, and when Elvis arrived she and Irish sat out front in the audience with all of the dancers to watch as he came in. Irish's immediate impression was that he didn't look any different from the guys back home in Nebraska where she grew up ("I thought he was another 'in-joke' or something.") When Presley smiled, however, she saw something boyish and shy in that smile that reminded her of James Dean and she said that it made her want to "ruffle his hair". When the music started and Presley began singing Irish turned to Debra Paget and said, "It's a good beat, but what's he singing about... a hound dog?" Paget, obviously a fan, was entranced and replied laughingly, "Who cares!" Irish said that it was obvious to her even then that Presley could sing the first page of the dictionary and the girls would still go wild. Over the next couple of days she got to know him better and learned to love the rhythmic music and Presley's voice as well. She was somewhat astonished and delighted when Presley told her that he was a big fan of hers because he had seen Sheena on television ("I showed him Tahitian dancing and how it differed from his rock and roll. He was a real nice kid"). Irish also remembered that the dancers were all over him and he loved it.



4.Irish McCalla and Elvis backstage.



4a. Colonel Tom Parker speaks to Elvis during a break in rehearsals. Irish McCalla is sat behind Elvis





PHOTOGRAPHER : Stewart Sawyer

June 5th 1956
N.B.C Studios,Burbank,California
Musicians
Guitar : Scotty Moore
Bass : Bill Black
Drums : D.J. Fontana
Vocal : Elvis Presley
Back up Vocals : The Jordanaires - Gordon Stoker,Hoyt Hawkins,Hugh Jarrett,Neal Matthews

Released on RCA 'A Golden Celebration'

"His performance of 'Hound Dog' on the June 5th 1956 edition of 'The Milton Berle Show' stands out as one of the greatist moments of his whole career,Elvis in his prime".*

'HOUND DOG' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqqUMVX3JEU

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'HOUND DOG' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqqUMVX3JEU
It is worth noting that even allowing for different angles from the still photographer and the NBC TV Camera,Photo's 5/6/7 do not match the original NBC TV footage. The other photo's are inconclusive
Elvis' hair falls out of place after seventy seconds so all the above photo's must have been taken within this time frame as his hair is neatly placed. Elvis' black collar looks to be different in the photo's and footage for the majority of the time. The conclusion I can make at this time is that the above photographs are from the 'dress rehearsal' performance,still on the 5th June 1956, and not from the actual broadcast. There are images contained in the book 'Shock,Rattle and roll' book by Ger Rijff,Trevor Cajiaho and Michael Ochs which show Elvis in rehearsal for the 'Hound Dog' number in non-broadcast clothes.

'I WANT YOU,I NEED YOU,I LOVE YOU'

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'I WANT YOU , I NEED YOU , I LOVE YOU' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-Af-3EsIGU



18/19.Milton Berle presents Elvis with a 'Billboard' double Triple Crown Award for his RCA Victor recording of 'Heartbreak Hotel'.


19A/19B New




Milton Berle talks about Elvis http://odeo.com/episodes/22463332-Milton-Berle-on-Elvis


20.Original caption: Exchange rings. Los Angeles: Rock 'n roll singer Elvis Presley, newest idol of the teenage set, and Judy Powell Speckels, 24, former wife of sugar heir Adolph Spreckels, are objects of romantic gossip (June 7th). Presley, 21, and Judy are shown here after exchanging rings.
Judy Spreckels article about her relationship with Elvis http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/08/ ... 8434.shtml


'Shock,Rattle and roll' book by Ger Rijff,Trevor Cajiaho and Michael Ochs contains over 100 behind the scenes shots and is highly recommended.
Photo 1/19B is featured in 'Shock,Rattle and roll' but is a larger image here.
Photo 5 was featured in 'Shock,Rattle and roll' but has no effect and is uncropped
Photo's 7/8 feature in Shock,Rattle and roll' but are uncropped and of improved quality
Photo's 3/4/4a/6/9/10/11/18/19/19A/20 are not featured in the book 'Shock,Rattle and roll'.
Photo's 12/13/14/15/16/21 are featured in the book 'Shock,Rattle and roll'.

Note: NBC used Color Camera's for this broadcast -Burbank Studio 2 (Spring 1955)
Color City, Burbank. RCA TK 40/41 Color Camera's were used.

21.Debra Paget talking to Elvis during a break in rehearsal's,with the RCA TK 40/41 Color Camera in the background.
From TV camera to TV set - it's RCA all the way for Big Color
When you sit entralled at color television, remember that it is brought to you on a full scale by RCA and NBC. The finest programs and television equipment - from camera to home receiver - bear the RCA hallmark of electronic quality and dependability.
Indeed, RCA pioneered and developed the compatible color television system that lets you see color and black-and-white programs on the same receiver. Thus an RCA Big Color TV set is actually two sets in one.
Your RCA Victor dealer welcomes the opportunity to demonstrate color television for you. You'll see exciting programs as you've never seen them before - in glorious color that is so faithful you can tell the exact shade of your favorite star's eyes.
Color television is one more achievement in "Electronics for Living," made possilbe by the work of RCA scientists at the David Sarnoff Research Center, Princeton, N.J. And even now, these scientists continue to explore other electronic frontiers that will make life easier, happier, safer.
BIG COLOR - The Aldrich by RCA Victor. 254 sq. in. viewable picture area. "Color Quick" tuning, so easy a child can do it, $495.

Dedicated March 27, 1955 with "Entertainment 55" (w/ Helen Hayes, Dinah Shore, Fred Allen, Judy Holiday).
150' by 90' by 50' high (12,600 sq. ft.) with 16 dressing rooms and 4 chorus rooms, ($3M B-T 4/12/54)


http://www.elvis-collectors.com/candid- ... elvis.html
Debra Padget Milton Berle and Elvis scene : http://www.debra-paget.com/debraandelvis.wmv
Debra Padget Interview : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kLLDOdH ... re=related

*Trevor Cajiao
http://www.ev1.pair.com/colorTV/TVcams-in-action.html

Thanks Davide

Last edited by davide on Tue Jun 23, 2009 1:14 am, edited 2 times in total.

Thanks, davide, some great shots there !

With apologies, I pinched a section of one of them:

Elvis on Milton Berle.JPG

Elvis is thinking: "Hey, I could do with a little guy like this to bring my water etc..............."

You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.

Davide wrote:

/1.Unknown,Irish McCalla,Milton Berle,Barry Gordon,Elvis,Debra Padget,Unknown./


here is the complete list:
Comedian Arnold Stang, Irish McCall, Milton Berle, Barry Gordon, Elvis, Debra Paget, Les Baxter

Mississippi

Another great thread, David!

Rich

Excelent, thank you very much!!!

Can you do similar posts about Loving You and Jailhouse Rock, please?

Davide wrote:

/1.Unknown,Irish McCalla,Milton Berle,Barry Gordon,Elvis,Debra Padget,Unknown./


here is the complete list:
Comedian Arnold Stang, Irish McCall, Milton Berle, Barry Gordon, Elvis, Debra Paget, Les Baxter

Mississippi

To Mississippi

I thought that would be the line-up,thanks for the confirmation.

With Thanks
Davide

I own this complete show .But of course it is in black & white.If this was shot in color,Where is the color footage? And why do we only find a B&W version???

I own this complete show .But of course it is in black & white.If this was shot in color,Where is the color footage? And why do we only find a B&W version???

Only the b & w kinescope survives.

The original colour tape is long gone...................

Too good not to be on page 1

Well, David, after a close study of the footages and photos, in my opinion you're right, the photos from Ger's book are not from the live broadcast and there was, indeed, a 'full dress rehearsal' performance on June 5.

Let's take a look to the (almost) full Milton Berle Show, you'll find here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=janJrs9E2Ng
(there is a glitch on the Hound Dog, skip that part)

On the live transmision, we have:


1. Hound Dog


2. Sketch with Debra Paget coming on stage


3. Sketch with the "Ritz Brothers"


4. I Want You, I Need You, I Love You


5. The Triple Crown Award


6. The Curtain Call

All the above photos and screens are from the live show - we can see Milton had 3 different ties.
- On the photos 18/19 from Davide's post we can see Milton had a stripped tie (black and white) - in the live broadcast had another tie.
- on the 19A/19B photos Milton had the same tie like in the live transmision, but he had a paper in the pocket / hand (maibe schedule or something, and in the live transmision he don't have anything in his pocket)
- on the sketch with the "Ritz Brothers" Milton had another stripped tie, but different from the one before.
- in the photo 1 from Davide's post, The Courtain Call, Milton still had the stripped tie, and in the live show he had a bow tie.
- and the Hound Dog photos, i think David is right about the hair and positions.

That's it for now

Perhaps all the shots in the book presumed to be from the live show are from the pre-broadcast dress rehearsal. Still, they are great to look at.

Of course the photos are fabulous, Elvis at his best, right? I just try to find the moves of Elvis from that day, that's all - and you know why...