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October 24, 2007
What Was On (1957)
I've got another new show up over at Square America- this one's called What Was On (1957). It's a series of 48 photos of women on TV, all taken by the same photographer. Only two have any annotation on the back- both of those were taken in February of 1957, both late at night on stations broadcasting out of L.A. Most of the photos are polaroids and like most polariods of that era have a good deal of dust and emulsion left on the image. Later in the year the photographer (who I assume was a man but you never know) switched to a standard film camera. The photos record not only one person's obsession but also are a great record of the kinds of roles women played on TV and in films of the era. Clearly the photographer preferred melodramas (many are from films from the 30s and 40s which I guess were already being shown on late-night TV) as so many of the photos show women either frightened or upset though there are some photos of talk shows as well. If some of these look familiar I previously had a much smaller show of these up on Square America but took it down some time ago thinking they deserved a larger show but didn't get around to posting it until now. If anyone can identify any of the actresses or films let me know and I'll post the info underneath the photo.
Posted by nick at October 24, 2007 02:46 AM
Comments
The lady on the first photo (from the top) is actress/singer Polly Bergen. She appeared in many films and TV programs in the 1950's and was a regular panel member on "To Tell the Truth". She is still around and currently has a recurring role on "Desperate Housewives". The woman on the second photo is Gene Tierney (with Cornel Wilde) from the 1945 film "Leave her to Heaven". I dont recognize the other two.
I love your site.
Posted by: Luis at November 1, 2007 02:53 PM
Luis- Thanks for the info! I had already googled Leave Her to Heaven so I knew that was Gene Tierney but I sure didn't know that was Polly Bergen. What I'd like to do, provided I can get enough of them identified, is do some research and try to see when a particular movie (say Leave Her to Heaven) was broadcast in the L.A. area in 1957 in order to map out this guy's viewing habits.
Posted by: nick at November 2, 2007 03:09 AM
I have more. On the next group (from the top and counting all images):
30-I'm almost certain that is Eartha Kitt
36-Miss USA 1958 (Eurlyne Howell) being crowned by Miss USA 1957 (Charlotte Sheffield).
46-Joan Davis and Jack Haley in "George White's Scandals (1945).
47-Angie Dickinson
48-Jean Harlow and Franchot Tone (I believe that's from the movie "Suzie" (1936).
If I come up with any more names, I'll post them.
L.
Posted by: Luis at November 2, 2007 03:09 PM