Classic Detroit TV Clips

**JohnJMS** · 06-26-2009, 09:06 AM

Since we can now link actual YOUTUBE clips in, I thought it might be fun to share some of the history of Detroit TV.

Anyone remember THE LOU GORDON SHOW? This was a staple in our house back in the day.......

**JohnJMS** · 06-26-2009, 09:11 AM

Here's a clip of RED WINGS HOCKEY sign off.....

**JohnJMS** · 06-26-2009, 09:15 AM

Remember ON TV?

**JohnJMS** · 06-26-2009, 09:19 AM

This wasn't "Detroit" TV per say, but I remember watching this on Channel 9 when I was a kid. Remember "The Friendly Giant"?

I look forward to seeing what clips our eclectic group of Motown Morons can find or come up with!!

**Tyrus** · 06-26-2009, 09:52 AM

Originally Posted by JohnJMS

Remember ON TV?

Oh, gosh, do I? Sometimes they'd show T&A movies, and even though the image was scrambled, if you flicked the dial back and forth quickly, you could see the picture pretty good.

It took a bit of dexterity to flip the channel dial with one hand, and ... oh, never mind!

**Tyrus** · 06-26-2009, 09:58 AM

Here's a great link for classic Detroit TV:

Keith Milford's Vintage Detroit TV and Movie Board - Message Board - Yuku

**chasfh** · 06-26-2009, 10:13 AM

I googled around hoping to find a clip of the Rita Bell Prize Movie or George Pierrot Presents, but .. nothing yet.

I did find this old Mr. Belvedere commercial, though:

Remember the trippy folk song they used to have? "Call Tyler eight seven one oh oh for a home improvement date."

**Deleterious** · 06-26-2009, 10:19 AM

**JohnJMS** · 06-26-2009, 10:37 AM

Remember the FAYGO song?

**Auburndale Ray** · 06-26-2009, 10:53 AM

Detroit's own Soupy Sales...

**chasfh** · 06-26-2009, 11:08 AM

Kelly Harmon has a remarkable mouth:

**chasfh** · 06-26-2009, 11:09 AM

Originally Posted by JohnJMS

Remember the FAYGO song?

That's Harold Peary, who made his fame and fortune playing The Great Gildersleeve on radio.

**apabruce** · 06-26-2009, 11:26 AM

Soupy Sales, that takes me back. I used to walk home from school for lunch every day and "watch" White Fang, Blacktooth, and the little lion puppet whose name escapes me right now. He used to mime Little Richard songs.

**Antrat** · 06-26-2009, 11:36 AM

Originally Posted by Tyrus

Oh, gosh, do I? Sometimes they'd show T&A movies, and even though the image was scrambled, if you flicked the dial back and forth quickly, you could see the picture pretty good.

It took a bit of dexterity to flip the channel dial with one hand, and ... oh, never mind!

+1. I sooo remember doing that. Sometimes that squiggly white line would stay on the side for a good 30 seconds.

Ahem.

**lordstanley** · 06-26-2009, 12:12 PM

Bill Bonds Goes Nuts:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGIiLuyefiE

Note: You're probably familiar with the incident, but if not, note that there's plenty of foul language. Probably not safe for work, depending on where you work!

**JohnJMS** · 06-26-2009, 12:13 PM

**lordstanley** · 06-26-2009, 12:15 PM

1997 interview with Sonny Elliot marking his 50 years in broadcasting:

**lordstanley** · 06-26-2009, 12:23 PM

Originally Posted by Antrat

+1. I sooo remember doing that. Sometimes that squiggly white line would stay on the side for a good 30 seconds.

Ahem.

And then even better at pushing the envelope, IT-TV on Channel 31 from Ann Arbor came out about a year later. The Wikipedia entry says it wasn't available in the eastern suburbs of Windsor, but our antenna picked it up in Sarnia:

WPXD-TV - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

WRHT's callsign was changed to WIHT on February 1, 1981; IHT stood for "In-Home Theater", more commonly known as IT, an over-the-air subscription pay-TV service. WXON, Channel 20 in Detroit offered a similar service, ON-TV, at that time; but unlike ON-TV, which was generally limited to evening hours, IT's programming was broadcast over WIHT at least 14 hours each day, and had a wider selection of movies.[8] However, while IT was available in Lansing, Jackson and Flint, it was not available in the eastern Detroit suburbs or Windsor, Ontario, due to the transmitter's location and signal power.

**treyKemper** · 06-26-2009, 12:31 PM

This is just a commercial, but always a fav of mine.

**lordstanley** · 06-26-2009, 12:39 PM

Mort Crim and Carmen Harlan on a September 1984 newscast. Matt Sillars previews the weather, Tigers lower their magic number with a win over the Orioles.

**El Gato Pollo Loco!!** · 06-26-2009, 12:44 PM

Originally Posted by apabruce

Soupy Sales, that takes me back. I used to walk home from school for lunch every day and "watch" White Fang, Blacktooth, and the little lion puppet whose name escapes me right now. He used to mime Little Richard songs.

That would be Pookie I believe (Unless youtube has led me astray)

**Tyrus** · 06-26-2009, 03:11 PM

Originally Posted by apabruce

Soupy Sales, that takes me back. I used to walk home from school for lunch every day and "watch" White Fang, Blacktooth, and the little lion puppet whose name escapes me right now. He used to mime Little Richard songs.

My grandfather (father's father), who was a TV/radio man in the 50s and 60s, was best friends with Soupy Sales. My mom remembers him coming over for dinner, etc.

**JohnJMS** · 06-26-2009, 03:12 PM

Whatever happened to Mal Sillars? Is he still alive?

**apabruce** · 06-26-2009, 03:18 PM

Originally Posted by El Gato Pollo Loco!!

That would be Pookie I believe (Unless youtube has led me astray)

Bingo. It came to me about an hour after my post.

**Tyrus** · 06-26-2009, 03:58 PM

For anyone who cares, this is a pic of my grandfather interviewing Ringo Starr when the Beatles came to Detroit. My grandfather was a longtime TV and radio man here in Detroit; his name, like mine, was George Hunter.

Grandpa had a TV show in the late 50s or early 60s that was a precursor to Sir Graves: My gramps dressed up in a devil costume, came out of a coffin, and introduced scary movies, read viewers' letters, etc.

When the Beatles came to Detroit in '64, my grandfather, who then was a newsman at Keener 13, was in charge of the station's coverage of that huge concert at Olympia. On the Keener tribute website, there's an MP3 file of my grandfather interviewing all the Beatles.

I never knew he'd interviewed them (he died when I was a baby), and being a huge Beatles fan, I downloaded the file anyway. When I listened to it, I was shocked to discover that my grandfather had actually interviewed the Beatles. It was like finding out I was related to royalty or something!

I've looked on youtube, and elsewhere on the internet to see if any video clips of my grandfather have survived from his days at WXYZ TV, back in the early days of TV. But I've had no luck...

Anyway, here's the pic:

**CMRivdog** · 06-26-2009, 04:34 PM

Gotta post this link from detroitkidshow.com. Classic Soupy Sales

Naked Soupy

The most well known gag from the show ranks as one of the classic outtakes in TV history, thanks to Dick Clark’s Bloopers and Practical Jokes TV show. So without further ado, I give you the true story of the famous “Naked Lady Behind The Door.”

There never was a written script for the show; Soupy and Clyde would just work out what they were going to do, giving the director a bare-bones outline for camera angles and sound cues. The bit was for the ET man to play a recording of a woman screaming. Soupy would then run to the door, open it, and look down to see a pair of women’s shoes being pulled by fishing line, running from a pair of men’s shoes. Blackout, cut to commercial.

The studio that day was filled with curious onlookers who were in on the joke. Soupy knew that something was up, but he wasn’t quite sure what. The show started precisely at noon, and ran smoothly. At about 12:27 Soupy, as rehearsed, heard a woman’s scream. He ran to the door, opened it, and instead of a pair of women’s shoes saw a nude woman wearing nothing but a smile. Soupy stole a quick glance at the master monitor, hoping that the curvaceous cutie’s image wasn’t being broadcast live over the airwaves. Sure enough, to his horror the monitor showed exactly what Soupy had feared- a smiling nude woman. The engineers were clever enough to patch a different camera angle into the monitor, making Soupy think that thousands of Detroit kiddies were at home eating their lunches in front of the TV while getting a lesson in female anatomy. In reality, what the kids saw was a speechless Soupy standing next to an open door, nothing more. Soupy saw what he thought was his career passing before his eyes.

(This is actually from the LA version of the Soupy Sales Show since the Detroit show was live and there is not tape)

Also want to make sure you know its not safe for work or kids.

**chasfh** · 06-26-2009, 04:53 PM

You've Gotta Have Art! (Unfortunately truncated):

**ToledoTigerFan** · 06-26-2009, 07:27 PM

Who was the old guy who used to have the movie show? He would kind of introduce the movie, then chit-chat at breaks and after the movie. I can see his face, but can't recall his name. We had a thread about him waaaaaay back. Bill something, perhaps?

**LineCrosser** · 06-26-2009, 11:12 PM

Originally Posted by ToledoTigerFan

Who was the old guy who used to have the movie show? He would kind of introduce the movie, then chit-chat at breaks and after the movie. I can see his face, but can't recall his name. We had a thread about him waaaaaay back. Bill something, perhaps?

Bill Kennedy

Bill Kennedy (actor) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

**guy incognito** · 06-26-2009, 11:27 PM

It's the Hot Fudge Show comin' on...

Fifty watts per channel, babycakes.

**guy incognito** · 06-26-2009, 11:33 PM

Originally Posted by Tyrus

For anyone who cares, this is a pic of my grandfather interviewing Ringo Starr when the Beatles came to Detroit.

That is very, very cool.

Meanwhile, here's the Stones' Keef and Brian visiting rival CKLW:
http://www.detroitradioflashbacks.ne...ing.stones.jpg

**djhutch** · 06-26-2009, 11:39 PM

**JohnJMS** · 06-27-2009, 12:29 AM

**lordstanley** · 06-27-2009, 02:29 AM

I'd like to find/see:

- The Hey Dog, C'mon Dog, Me & Dog Want You To Come to Telegraph Rd. ... get a good deal commercial

- A clip of '70s travelogue host George Perot. He made Rick Steeves look hip and youthful in comparison, but I had never been on an airplane before when I watched his series growing up so he introduced me to new lands

**Tyrus** · 06-27-2009, 02:35 AM

Highland Appliance had the most awesome commercials. I liked the one that aired when microwave ovens first came onto the scene: The mom was bragging about all the succulent dishes she'd been cooking with her new microwave oven: Duck l'orange, and a bunch of other French-sounding dishes.

The kid laments, "Whatever happened to hamburger a' la ketchup?"

The funny part of that is: Can you imagine trying to cook delicate dishes in a microwave? I imagine it could be done, but it would be dried out like crazy, and probably taste like crap!

**Tyrus** · 06-27-2009, 02:49 AM

Here's an interesting story involving the Lou Gordon Show:

In the mid-70s, back when the Oakland County child killer was running loose, a newspaper reporter (who later went on to become a television investigative reporter) heard that Lou Gordon planned to go on vacation. This newspaper guy, who had an ambition to become a TV reporter even then, told Gordon's producer he'd like to guest-host the show while Gordon was gone.

This guy told the producer that, if he were allowed to sit in for Gordon, he had a child molester who would be willing to go onto the show wearing a ski mask, and discuss what might be motivating the Oakland County killer. Gordon's producer thought it sounded like a great idea and told him he could be the guest host.

Now, this reporter had a problem: He didn't really have a child molester lined up, but he had to make good on his promise. So he asked a fellow reporter if he'd be willing to put on a ski mask, go on TV, and pretend to be a child molester.

The second reporter refused -- but when the first reporter guest-hosted the program, he'd managed to get someone to put on the ski mask and be interviewed. Nobody knew for sure whether he'd landed a real child molester, but because of the way he'd approached the other reporter, most folks doubted the guy in the mask was authentic.

This guy had a longstanding reputation for dishonesty, and after he made the move to TV, his investigative stories often featured people with pixilated faces and altered voices, and many old-time newspapermen who remembered him from his print days figured most of his stuff was probably bullcrap.