The Kraft Music Hall 1968 Brooklyn

This is a short segment from a Kraft Music Hall program, taped August 9, 1968 on two-inch high-band quad videotape, airing on September 18, 1968. The host for this episode is Don Rickles. The recording was made at the NBC Brooklyn Studios, located at 1268 E. 14th Street in the Midwood section of Brooklyn, New York.
This clip is courtesy of Research Video. www.researchvideo.com/
The opening shot of this program starts with the camera aimed at the Avenue M station of the BMT subway line where Don Rickles begins his presentation (on a very long microphone cable!). The RCA TK-41 color camera is mounted on the roof of the studio two blocks away at Avenue M and East 14th Street. The next scene (the first at street level) has Don exiting the Ave. M subway station, crossing onto and talking from Avenue M. After that, Don makes his way to a street where a stick ball game is underway and appears to be adjacent to Ave. M, about one block down on East 15th St. This location was probably chosen as the TK-41 camera and it's TV-81 cable could reach this venue and was just around the corner from the next scene. The final street level location has Don walking down Ave. M eating a hot dog and talking with a policeman. The movement of the TK-41 suggests that something other than a tripod was used as the camera motions are relatively smooth (a small crane?).
After looking at all adjacent street-level scenes, it appears that this sidewalk camera and it's location on the north side of Avenue M (1400 block) provided a suitable position to get all of the needed Ave. M shots in addition to being around the corner from the stick ball game on East 15th. Considering the weight of the camera, the camera cable, the lighting gear, the audio cables and associated crew, the results are pretty outstanding.
The post-production process apparently added some echo to Don's audio for some reason.
The Ampex AVR-1 used in this transfer has the unique ability to handle vintage 2" quad videotape in a gentle and precise fashion. On the AVR-1, contact with the delicate oxide tape surface is only on the audio and video head! No flopping tension arms. No ball-bearing guides that could scratch the recording. No rubber pinch rollers crashing onto the tape. With the AVR-1, all tape travel and tape tension is precision controlled via a one-of-a-kind vacuum column transport and vacuum capstan. No other machine ever made for 2" videotape comes close for the careful handling of vintage videotape. That's why we use the Ampex AVR-1!

[@thescatman5029]

Plenty of times on that D Express, riding past Avenue M on the way to First Baptist Church in Sheepshead Bay!

[@wmbrown6]

There was another Don Rickles - an NBC staff announcer on the West Coast from 1950 until his death in 1985 who, because of this Don Rickles, would formalize his name by the '70's to Donald Rickles.

[@myhometown7981]

I attended a taping of Hullabaloo at NBC's Brooklyn Studio on Avenue M. This was in December of 1965. I was almost 11 years old. The show was the first episode of Hullabaloo to air in 1966 in early January. The host was Roger Smith (Ann-Margret's husband). The musical guests were the Ramsey Lewis Trio, Lesley Gore singing in a prerecorded segment, and the Beatles, performing in a segment they had filmed in color in England. England did have color television yet, but by now they were using color film for anything that was going to air in the U.S. I was in that hot studio for hour while they recorded segment after segment, then did it again because the director said there was some type of mistake that only he was able to set took almost 3 hours to get enough footage to put together a half hour show. Personally, I was far more interested in everything going in that studio aside from the performances. I couldn't get my eyes off of those massive RCA TK41's. Every so often my eyes would dart up to the monitors suspended above and just in front of the seats where the audience sat. I kept marveling at how fantastic the color was. I finally got to watch the finished program when it aired right after New Years Day, 1966. However, I had to watch it in black and white as we didn't get our first color TV until later that month.

[@chielsolomonoff9630]

A cool and diverse neighborhood! Gotta luv it. I wished I saw a pic of Antelis Pharmacy where I used to work

[@RyanSchweitzer77]

This must of been one of the last of NBC's productions to use the TK-41, since the succeeding TK-44A (a definite improvement over the 41s mainly due to its newer plumbicon tubes, as opposed to the 41's orthicons) would be released by RCA and in use by NBC in '68--the network had upgraded their TK-41s in Rockefeller Center to 44As later that year.

[@DHoagland]

I knew ave M fairly well, I lived 2 blocks away. Saturday Night live did some shows from the NBC studio there in the 70's and the Cosby Show in the 80's. Thanks for posting!!

[@JamesDeanRivera]

You are correct sir

[@am74343]

I really do think the audio was dubbed-in later. I don't believe that reliable enough wireless remote microphone systems had been invented yet by 1968. And if you listen closely, there's not really that much traffic noise or ambient noise. Even if they had been using a parabolic-dish microphone aimed at Don, it still would pick up all the car engines and subway noises. This is still a fascinating video regardless, because you get to see the limitations or the technology from those days, and how the overall programming material is still effective for the times.

[@avbg2000]

wow the video and audio is beautiful!

[@bluetickfreddy101]

mom born and raised 1930 thank you

[@boobooday]

This is great!

[@adm712]

Wow Avenue M back in the day. I remember Consumers, Pete's Pizza, Estroffs, New Bend, Caravelle and the annual Marti Gras street fair.

[@MaeAhmad]

Mid 80’s miss those days, I read your comment and remembered walking into all those stores. Oh don’t forget Atteliers pharmacy on the corner of East 15th st

[@StevenTorrey]

I notice the prices. And how clean the sidewalk, till Don Rickles littered it. The marquee starring Zero Mostel in "The Producers"....

[@koen8185]

Breukelen , birthplace of Dutch actor Rutger Hauer , near Utrecht , Brooklyn has New Utrecht , and Boswijk , Bushwick , all Dutch and lots more in NY .

[@efremsepulveda2707]

RIP Hockey Puck. :(

[@WhiteCamry]

Remarkable sound for an outdoor video of the time.

[@RKramden77]

There's a slight echo to everything, implying it was overdubbed in a studio afterwards.

[@HankJimRadio]

RKramden77 The echo you're hearing is the reverb used on NBC's Kraft Music Hall television show. This was not overdubbed.

[@ksteiger]

+Hank Hayes (Hank And Jim) Yeah live audio for sure.

[@Rhatid-mon]

1968 Bensonhurst, Brooklyn.🇺🇲🗽🍻🥨🌇

[@dfc99nyc]

I remember this!

[@coffeehigh420]

me too! i watched it a few years ago on youtube and it's still the best, oh my!

[@Djm8520]

The marquee with ‘The Producers’

[@martinwatson6806]

take the caption down after 30 seconds or so, huh?

[@fromthesidelines]

The 1967-'71 edition of "THE KRAFT MUSIC HALL" {Wednesdays, 9pm(et)} was essentially a series of "weekly specials" [with occasional "regular" performers]- this episode was "Don Rickles' Brooklyn", the second telecast of the second season.

[@tomservo56954]

Not the season premiere? NBC Week was September 15--21....

[@musicom67]

3:36 - "Here Kid..." Here's my half-eaten hot dog with some of my famed Rickles saliva still on the bun". Eat hardy! That was a strange moment.

[@chrisb3976]

Because back then people werent germaphobes like today.

[@fromthesidelines]

ED HERLIHY: "'THE KRAFT MUSIC HALL' is brought to you by KRAFT! KRAFT....'For Good Food, and Good Food Ideas'."

[@GrindXNoir]

Does the full recording of this program exist, or only the clip?

[@kleve_1143]

Fairly new R32

[@dw438]

See the "FUNNY GIRL" poster on the subway platform. Wonder if Rickles originally mentioned Barbra Streisand in a take or two! Streisand ... who of course is more Brooklyn than the late comedian, born in Jackson Heights, Queens.

[@musicom67]

Oh, and the lip-smacking and seeing Don littering all over Brooklyn....

[@sebisimpsons6043]

Romanians im romanian

[@marcelcovaci9922]

Salut

[@sebisimpsons6043]

Salut

[@gffpau]

avenue m has certainly changed over the years ..........for the worst ; beautiful people walking around back then , real brooklynites .........go there now and see whats walking around

[@kevingoins9858]

I live not far from the stop. More of a melting pot than before.

[@JamesDeanRivera]

Oh please. Its still a good block. I live around there now. Big melting pot. Nice people out there. Where have you been?

[@gffpau]

@@JamesDeanRivera a melting pot of what ?

[@haroldsteinblatt2567]

"What’s waking around” today are mostly Orthodox Jews. Who lived there in the 1940s, '50s, ‘60s, ‘70s, etc? Jews. Don Rickles was Jewish. The building behind the kids playing stickball was an Orthodox yeshiva - at the time. So I assume you mean that the beautiful people were Jewish. Right?

[@JamesDeanRivera]

@@gffpau Jewish spanish, Chinese, black. Come by once in a while.