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In a broader view of communications history, while the initial development of television had first begun as early as the 1920s, technical difficulties and the events of World War II would ultimately delay its official introduction. With its premiere in 1946, and benefiting from the public's earlier embrace of radio, television would undergo an amazingly rapid integration into the American lifestyle. Reaching twenty million households by the year 1953, the corporate world would also quickly capitalize on the accompanying increase in consumer culture, following the war, through its own introduction of in-program advertising.
In this unique, behind-the-scenes photo of the Stars of Jazz television studio, this revealing image captures Buddy Collette and pianist Dick Shreve performing alongside a stage-setting that includes the branded images of one of the shows recurring, corporate sponsors (Budweiser). With the steady rise of television advertising, and as the sophistication of weekly programming continued to increase its production costs, sponsors soon discovered that shorter, thirty-second advertisements would be as equally effective as their earlier, longer messages, such as the Budweiser segments integrated directly into the Stars of Jazz programming, and many shows ultimately became sponsored by several products, dramatically increasing the total number of commercials per episode and eliminating the need for shared sets such as the one seen here.
During this complex period in social development,
despite the conservative public's difficulty in
accepting the increasing racial-integration in American
jazz, its overwhelming popularity with broader,
U.S. audiences enabled it to consistently attract
a strong television following, and throughout Buddy
Collette's long career, his even further commitment
to opening the door for racial equality within the
professional music industry would also serve to
breakdown numerous, long-standing barriers to its
progress.
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In the accompanying, 1958 photo with Stars of Jazz host Bobby Troup and Down Beat Magazine editor John Tynan, Collette can be seen accepting one of the numerous, Downbeat Magazine Awards he would receive throughout his lifetime. Since the time of its founding, in 1934 Chicago, Down Beat had become an undisputed leader in the promotion of American jazz. Eventually establishing Los Angeles offices in 1940, its regular columns would provide a wealth of information on the Hollywood studio scene, as well as the broader music industry, and the honor of receiving a Down Beat Award represented an even more significant achievement for a regular member of a television broadcast orchestra.
When once describing his earlier experiences as a member of the Groucho Marx Show orchestra, Collette would state "I had won the most valuable clarinet award from Down Beat Magazine in 1956, and a few other things like that, while the show was on. It was a big thing for the bandleader to go to Groucho and say 'Hey, look who we have in the band.'" He went on to add "I'd go to the Monterey Jazz Festival and have the publicity, and (Groucho) would love to know that. He'd say, 'We've got a jazz guy in the band here,' and would throw that on the air at times."
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As the first photo of the exhibition to provide the
viewer with his unique perspective from inside the
orchestra of a network television program, the accompanying
image of the Tonight Show interview area, taken
by Collette during a 1962 taping, documents one
of the many endearing moments made possible through
that show's unparalleled role in the timeline of
the American experience.
Capturing an on-camera
interview including (left-to-right) announcer Ed
McMahon, actress Rose Marie, bandleader Skitch Henderson,
and legendary Tonight Show host Johnny Carson, this
timeless image from Collette's personal collection
opens a seemingly, strangely familiar window into
the everyday world of the professional television
orchestra.
When once discussing his involvement with the Tonight Show, Collette explained "During that period in the show, they didn't have full-time contracts for the musicians, and would rotate local people in and out, every week, depending on their availability, and depending on which coast NBC would be broadcasting from." First airing in September of 1954, as a music, comedy, and interview program hosted by comedian Steve Allen, the Tonight Show would eventually be taken over by Johnny Carson, in October of 1962, and then permanently relocated from New York to NBC's Burbank studios.
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