The Summer of '69

We've lost quite a few famous folk this summer...Ed McMahon, Walter Cronkite, Don Hewitt, and now Ted Kennedy. All played an important part in the halcyon days prior the start of the '70s (I refer to that time as the "lost decade"). As we come towards the end of another summer, this is a good opportunity to reflect on things and past events...so why not 1969!

In 1986, ABC was up against stiff competition on Thursday nights. The Cosby Show was so far ahead in the ratings. No other show could stop it. ABC offered a sacrificial lamb by creating a new and novel show...Our World. This wonderfully produced and edited show was a low-cost vehicle, using ABC News footage and video. Here's how the book Special Edition described it:

The concept of Our World was a simple one. Each broadcast would recall a significant moment in history (a day, a week, a month, a season) and would bring to the screen the challenges, textures, and lifestyles of a era passed. It would describe events with carefully chosen archival images and interviews with witnesses and place them all into a current perspective and context. The series would encompass every facet of American life, including politics, technology, music, business, fashion, sports, science, and art.

The show was written and hosted by veterans Linda Ellerbee and Ray Gandolf. It was widely hailed by critics, but unfortunately lasted only a single season. Since I was not a fan of Cosby, I taped and watched every single episode.

The episode presented here (without the commercials...except for the very end) is the premiere. It was broadcast by ABC on September 25, 1986. Here is the show description (from Special Edition):

THE SUMMER OF '69
Recalling the flight of Apollo 11 and man's first walk on the moon; the Woodstock rock festival; the Vietnam War divides the nation; the "amazin" New York Mets win the World Series; Ted Kennedy and Chappaquiddick; the Manson Family murder case; the death and funeral of Judy Garland.

Part 1 (great use of period music):



Part 2:



Part 3:



Part 4:



Part 5:



Part 6:



Part 7:




I'll be away for a few days, enjoying the last gasp of the summer of 2009. See you sometime next week!

CBS Apollo 11 Coverage Revisted

Last month, I posted a short video of the introduction portion of the CBS news Apollo 11 coverage. I received a wonderful comment for that post, and I'd like to return the complement.

Please visit the website http://jaimemendozanava.webs.com/.

It is an excellent biography of a prolific writer and producer of many memorable classic television show themes (especially those of us of my generation that can easily remember and relate to these songs). All of the classic Apollo coverage intros were written and created by this talented man. The website is a great tribute!

In return, I'd like to share all of my existing CBS Apollo 11 intro segments. The first is the intro to the Man on The Moon/CBS News Collectors series from 1981:



Next is the 1989 release "Celebrate Man on the Moon, with Walter Cronkite":



Here is the Nova Special "25 Years In Space" intro:



And lastly, the intro from "In the Shadow of the Moon":

Woodstock Revisited

Here's another segment from the massive VistaVueLounge video vault. Dateline NBC broadcast this episode on August 9, 1994, devoted to a less-known background story about the original festival. This episode predates Woodstock II, which occurred a few days later.

As seen twenty years ago...Faces Of Woodstock

When I started this blog, I had no intention of making it a total homage to Apollo 11. My theme for VistaVueLounge is to cover everything between, and including air and space. I will come back to Apollo, but there are so many other interesting things and topics to cover.

Another big 1969 event was the concert at Bethel, NY, known the world over as Woodstock. Like Apollo, each succeeding 5-10-15-20, etc. year anniversary celebration were widely covered by the media. From the VistaVueLounge video vault, I present for your viewing pleasure a 20/20 episode that was originally broadcast on August 4, 1989. Due to YouTube constraints on running time, it is split into two parts. Yes, the 60's were wild, but check out those 80's hair styles!

Part 1:



Part 2:

The Back Page

The Newseum in Washington DC had a recent exhibit of man on the moon headlines from around the world. Most of the major daily newspapers around that time published multiple editions throughout the day. Some of these front pages changed radically. Walter Cronkite held up an early edition of the New York Times (dated 7/21/69) that was completely different than the later "final" edition which ended up in the archives. This edition had no pictures taken off of the video feed, but rather the standard group shot of the crew. The Daily News edition shown at the Newseum also differs in the cover photo (compared to the final edition that was published).

Every Apollo 11 newspaper retrospective I've seen show only the front page, but never the back page! But what did the back page look like? Normally the Daily News and New York Post relegate the sports coverage to this section, but for moonday, they tried something new. Here is the Daily News version:

Sunday Morning Tribute

A few weekends ago, CBS Sunday Morning did a nice tribute, both to the man (Walter Cronkite), and the mission (Apollo 11). This nicely edited piece has the normal stock footage that you normally see, as well as some choice video and audio highlights from the coverage. As I mentioned in previous posts, I wish that CBS could release more of the "as it happened" video, as did ABC did many years ago. The bits and pieces that appear on youtube are tantalizing. The portions that I did view at the Paley Media Center are in excellent shape. CBS video was recently used in the NASA restoration project of the moonwalk coverage (due to be released sometime this fall). The source material has been well preserved.



I'm out on vacation for a few days. I'll check back in sometime next week.

Major Matt Mason

Most boys my age played with "real men" dolls....GI Joe and Major Matt Mason. I had Matt and his space sled, but alas, not the complete moon station. A few years back, the Cradle of Aviation museum located near Roosevelt Field in Long Island had a neat exhibition of space toys. The toys spanned many eras, from Sputnik to Star Wars. Matt and his moon station had his own display case. Here is a classic comic ad that was shown in the exhibition.

A classic Major Matt commercial

Apollo 11 Cover

After the astronauts returned home, NASA unpacked their bags, put the moon rocks in a safe place, and developed the film. The images taken with the Hasselblad camera are legendary. Newsweek, Time, Look and Life magazines all ran special editions showing off the best shots. The "money shot" is on the cover.



Newsweek also had a plain advertisement for the famous Hasselblad. If you get the chance, go check out the original hardware in the National Air and Space Museum.

As seen twenty years ago....The Lunar Module Eagle

In celebration of the 20th anniversary of Apollo 11, Grumman Aerospace Corporation created a short video entitled "The Lunar Module Eagle". This film, produced in cooperation with the National Air and Space Museum, was first broadcast on a local Long Island, NY cable channel (Cablevision). The film eventually became part of the lunar module exhibit located in gallery 112 (National Mall Museum) and has played endlessly for many years.

Highlights include a few animated sequences which appeared during the ABC coverage of the moon landing.

Here is the film in it's entirety. There are a few spots of analog interference.