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richiedoo
  • Rank:Platinum
  • Posts:232
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  • Register:09/12/2004 02:57:08

Date Posted:12/11/2014 12:01:55Copy HTML

Having become so popular lately. it's a bit hard to keep track of every topic that might have been covered here. With so many things that one can find on the internet these days, i was wondering if anyone has worked on getting access to the very first showing of the YL from 1966. It's almost like the very first(pilot) episode of your favorite TV program...one like me is just curious to see how it all started. I believe it was mentioned that the songs were somewhat different than what is currently heard now but it would be interesting to know if the log itself looked different than what we see now also.
In addition, I was wondering if there was any official track lisitng that might have been printed up perhaps on WPIX stationary that had all the song titles and/or artists to be used when originally premiered. It would be interesting to know if something like that exists as well.
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  • Register:09/07/2005 11:04:22

Re:The Yulde Log Premier Of 1966

Date Posted:12/11/2014 04:45:30Copy HTML


Rich,

I've talked about this many times on the message board before, and since you have been a member from the beginning, I'm really surprised you could have missed it.

Nevertheless, I'll reiterate that we have been searching for
the original 1966 footage for years. The original 1966 footage was a 17-second loop shot on 16 millimeter film, which is why it had become so degraded by the time of its last airing in 1969. This was the reason for the 1970 California re-shoot, which was on state-of-the-art 35 millimeter film and was a 7-minute loop.

After it was retired, the original 1966 film was stored in the WPIX archives. Then, over the ensuing years, it was subsequently lost.  However, Kay Cooper (widow of the late WPIX producer Bill Cooper) has told me that she thinks there's a copy somewhere among her husband's possessions in her home. She has tried to find it, but so far to no avail. However, she is confident that one day she will find it. She said that she can still remember what the film can looked like that it was stored in. Hopefully she'll find it one day. And if it ever turns up, I'll certainly let everyone know.

In the meantime, the only thing that survives is the picture below. As you can see, the original Gracie Mansion fireplace does not compare in any way whatsoever to the classic and legendary 1970 California re-shoot fireplace. That doll on the mantel of the original Gracie Mansion fireplace was absolutely hideous and the fire was not near as grand as the 1970 re-shoot.

As for how the music has changed over the years, I talk about all that in my article on our 2006 audio restoration; click here. Some of the songs that aired in the 1966 premier were Christmas Carousel by Peggy Lee, Winter Wonderland by the Living Voices and Do You Hear What I Hear by the Regency Choir.

For more on the 1966 premier, click here and here for two WPIX press releases that I have on my main Yule Log.com website.


The original 1966 Gracie Mansion Yule Log fireplace:




The classic and legendary 1970 Yule Log fireplace:





Lawrence F. "Chip" Arcuri Owner/Webmaster | The Yule Log.com
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