On the Trail Of Television's Lost Treasures

• Published in: The New York times
• Main Author: Everitt, David
• Format: Newspaper Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, N.Y New York Times Company 29.04.2001
• Edition: Late Edition (East Coast)
• Subjects: Archives & records; Historic preservation; Lost & found property; Television programs
• ISSN: 0362-4331

Last fall the Library of Congress uncovered rare kinescopes of early Ernie Kovacs shows in the film collection of an elderly dentist in Alexandria, Va. In the early 1990's, J. Fred MacDonald, owner of the commercial film archive MacDonald & Associates, acquired episodes of the 50's drama anthology ''The Elgin Hour'' from a member of the demolition crew that had razed the Illinois offices of the show's sponsor, the Elgin Watch Company. A couple of years ago, in a surprisingly large haul, the private collector Alan Cooperman investigated a garage sale held by an advertising executive in Scarsdale, N.Y., and found a veritable truckload of boxes containing some 2,000 films, including kinescopes of such series as ''The Victor Borge Show'' and ''Howdy Doody.'' In the meantime, expeditions in search of old shows continue. Mr. [Patrick Loughney] said that we are entering a potentially risky period, a time of generational eclipse. Producers who entered the industry in the 50's may be passing their collections on within the next decade. ''In my experience as an archivist,'' Mr. Loughney said, ''in that period of generational change, you may find a second generation that has no sense of what should be done with the materials collected by the first generation.'' Among the cast members of ''Twelve Angry Men,'' which was broadcast on CBS on Sept. 20, 1954, were Franchot Tone and Robert Cummings (standing, third and fourth from the left) and Edward Arnold (seated at right, with hands on the table). At right, [Johnny Carson] in his first appearance on ''The Tonight Show,'' on Oct. 1, 1962. (Photofest); (Everett Collection)(pg. 27); [Milton Berle] and Ethel Merman on ''Texaco Star Theater,'' around 1948. (Photofest)(pg. 39)