What was the 1st Christmas special broadcast in color?

[oldtvman]

I know Amahl and the night visitors was an early holiday special broadcast in living color. Does anyone know what the 1st holiday special to be colorcast was?

[bozey45]

Not sure this is what you want but in November 1954 The Colgate Comedy Hour became the first program to be shown in compatible color every week; it had various hosts. Their Christmas program that year would have been shown in color. I can find no other earlier listing of a color show involving Christmas.

[bozey45]

According tothe UCLA Film and Television Archives website Hallmark Hall of Fame's December 19, 1954 telecast was done live and in color for the first time as the first 'commercially sponsored television special to be done in color.' The previous 3 telecasts were b&w and done live. Hallmark apparantly donated a number of Hall of Fame kinescopes and tapes to UCLA for preservation. They have some interesting info about the Hallmark Hall of Fame telecasts over the years at that site with original air dates, cast, etc. So that Amahl program of Dec. 19, 1954 may well have been the first 'special' done in color for Christmas with the Colgate Comedy Hour being the first regular weekly program to have color at Christmas. December of 1953 I think would have been too early a date for color telecasting a special unless it was done closed circuit as a test. Thats what i could come up with, hope it helps.

[bozey45]

Boy, that really piqued my interest too. A further check shows there was a color special on NBC-TV December 22, 1953 titled "Season's Greetings", according to the info it was on film, NOT live, BUT, it did have within it the first color commercial done live within a tv program. The program featured among others, The Marx Brothers, Ezio Pinza, and Paul Winchell with Jerry Mahoney. But this was so early there were no color sets in use by the general public, only those sets in hands of execs at RCA and NBC; so it was basically an experimental color program.

[Steve D.]

I have on my list "Amahl and the Night Visitors" telecast, in color, live from New York on Sunday Dec. 20, 1953 at 5:00PM. Like "Season's Greetings" telecast 2 days later, this would have been viewed by NBC execs and engineers on both coasts, most likely on RCA Model 5 color receivers. Also telecast in color that week, Thurs. Dec. 24, 1953, "Dragnet" episode "The Big Little Jesus". The first network series program to be telecast on 16mm color film.

The next year, 1954, when commercial color sets were available, I show Max Liebman Presents "Babes in Toyland" NBC, Sat. Dec 18, 1954. This special was also restaged and telecast again, live, in color on Dec. 24th 1955

CBS's first color Christmas show, an episode of "The Shower of Stars" series of specials, "A Christmas Carol" Thurs. Dec. 23, 1954. This show was restaged and telecast live, in color, again in 1955 & 56.

-Steve D.

[bozey45]

yes, thanks, interesting info can be found on this early color telecasting. There is no telling how much was done behind the scenes off the air or even done in color closed circuit but shown to the public in glorious b&w. As a 9 year old in 1954 I remember hearing a color announcement made orally before some specials and seeing before some programs the 'color lady' as I called her then. My dad was an installer for Motorola from 1953-56 and they had the early Motorola color sets in the store in Montgomery Al when we lived there. I remember seeing a George Gobel Christmas special in color during that time, also some of those Color Spectaculars by Max Liebman. That first Motorola set looked really great as I remember. We loved seeing Howdy Doody in color when tint was added in 1955. We went to my dad's boss's house one night and saw "Heidi" in color I remember, a Max Liebman production I think in 1955. My interest in this goes back to that age. I got to where I could tell when a program was in color by the quality of the b&w video on a live program. Those TK-40'S AND 41's to me had a certain 'look', hard to describe but it was there.

[old_tv_nut]

Well, I waited long enough for someone to say the lady's red dress must have been "above the knee" - isn't anyone awake?

[Steve D.]

Originally Posted by old_tv_nut

Well, I waited long enough for someone to say the lady's red dress must have been "above the knee" - isn't anyone awake?

Hey Wayne,

It's a tough house out there. I'll give you a rim shot for the dress above the knee line. Thanks for the detailed explanation. I e-mailed Pete on this and also commented on the dot crawl, or fringing as I called it, and other video artifacts when viewing early color telecasts on b&w receivers. I keep forgetting that you are just one day younger then I am and remember those glory days of living color tv.

-Steve D.

[oldtvman]

I have a good idea, in order to settle this, we need to all find a 6 passenger time machine and go back and check it out. Now that you guys mention it I faintly do remember seeing some of the color broadcasts in b & w, and they did have a different appearance than the shows originated in B & W

[Pete Deksnis]

Originally Posted by old_tv_nut

Well, I waited long enough for someone to say the lady's red dress must have been "above the knee" - isn't anyone awake?

Ouch! Clearly thinkin too much techno-geek these days... so zoomed over to ABC just now and sure enough, Kelly was wearing a holiday red dress. Unfortunately though, couldn't get a 'knee' cap. link

[old_tv_nut]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patella