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Throughout the increasing rise in popularity of
the Tonight Show, the NBC network would continue
to showcase pop and jazz artists both as featured
guests and as weekly members of its own orchestra.
As an equally important part of NBC's unmatched
legacy of racial advances in early television, its
1956 airing of the Nat "King" Cole Show would also
serve to introduce the first network television
series to be hosted by an African-American artist.
Because of the still turbulent state of racism in
the United States during that time, the show's boycotting
by several stations throughout the country would
ultimately result in it being unable to attract
a national sponsor, and taken off-the-air. With
the Nat "King" Cole Show gone, it would not be until
1966 that the Sammy Davis Jr. Show would again bring
an African-American host to a network series. In
the accompanying, 1962 snapshot, also captured from
Collette's unique perspective within the Tonight
Show orchestra, African-American trumpeter Harry
"Sweets" Edison can also be seen in one of his many
performances with the group. Pictured from left-to-right,
the various musicians featured in the image are
drummer Stan Levy, guitarist Al Viola, trumpeter
Harry "Sweets" Edison, trumpeter Johnny Ardino,
trumpeter Ray Triscari, and trumpeter Ray Lin. Throughout
the first three decades in the evolution of television
broadcast, the Tonight Show would continue to dominate
late-night, talk-show programming, and NBC would
remain at the forefront of musical presentation.
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As another, invaluable document of both television and social history, drawn from the personal collection of Collette, the accompanying snapshot was taken during a 1964 Oscar telecast rehearsal in which both saxophonist Buddy Collette and flautist Bill Green, as well as female harpist Toni Robinson (not shown), would soon become the first-ever, African-American musicians, in the history of the broadcast, to perform as part of an Academy Awards Show orchestra.
Pictured during the afternoon rehearsal for the 36th Academy
Awards presentation, held at the Santa Monica Civic Center,
and preparing for what would become a truly remarkable
evening in American history, (from right-to-left) are
saxophonist Buddy Collette, clarinetist Gene Cipriano,
flautist Ronny Lang, flautist Bill Green, and saxophonist
Chuck Gentry. Combining with the elimination of long-standing,
racial barriers within the show's orchestra, would be
an even more extraordinary event with the acceptance of
the first-ever Academy Award for Best Actor by an African-American
artist, presented to actor Sidney Poitier for his unforgettable
performance as Homer Smith in the film "Lilies of the
Field."
Other aspects of the evening's events that would involve the participation of African-American performers were, actor Sammy Davis Jr.'s presentation of several awards under the category of Best Musical Score, including the award for Best Adapted Score to composer André Previn, for the music to the film "Irma La Douce," as well as Sidney Poitier's additional role as presenter in the category of Best Film Editing, awarded to the epic "How the West Was Won."
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In the accompanying, 1964 photo of pianist Dave Grusin
and legendary bandleader Count Basie, Collette captures
a candid moment during the Basie Orchestra's rehearsal
for ABC's "Rodgers and Hart Today" television special.
When describing his role in this broadcast, Collette
recalled "I was called in to play on the Basie Orchestra's
pre-recorded sessions for that show. Sometimes,
when touring big bands needed to play quieter arrangements
for television, they would call me, because studio
flute players who could also play jazz were still
not that easy to find. I was also doing a lot of
work with the NBC studio orchestra around that time."
When once discussing his earliest years as a studio
musician, and the influence it would have on the
continued development of his musical talents, Collette
explained "The Groucho Marx Show was very steady
financially, and I had plenty of time off to keep
studying flute, saxophone, and clarinet. Three or
four days off was an ideal situation. I felt I should
devote myself to getting better on my instruments
and rehearsing with many groups, learning to play
and read better. I thought, if I can continue like
this, I can make it." Pictured from left-to-right,
at the NBC television studios where the pre-recorded
sections of the program were taped, are Dave Grusin,
an unknown ABC executive, and Basie.
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