Mr. Peepers Wedding: May 22, 1954

Show someone a photo of Wally Cox, and ask why he is famous? Most television fans would respond that he was the bird-watching boyfriend of Elly Mae Clampett, or the nervous guy from Here's Lucy, or perhaps the computer geek from the classic Twilight Zone episode "From Agnes with Love." An even more savvy television viewer might recall that he was the voice of Underdog. The role that made him famous, however, was that of endearing, yet unassertive Robinson Peepers, from the long-forgotten tv show Mr. Peepers.

Mr. Peepers was broadcast live, never to be seen again. The poor kinescope films have never transitioned into reruns, and many of those grainy 16mm films (shot on film from a special television screen at the time of broadcast) are lost. From 1952 -1955, Mr. Peepers was a critical favorite. A television show known as much for its soft comedic approach and as its madcap comedy. It's regular cast included Marion Lorne (Aunt Clara from Bewitched) and Tony Randall (The Odd Couple)and Patricia Benoit as Nancy Remington.

Mr. Peepers and Nancy were in a developing relationship that culminated in marriage on the May 22, 1954 broadcast. While Mr. Peepers was never a ratings bonanza for NBC, the spring of 1954 brought renewed interest and nationwide excitement when Mr. Peepers finally proposed to his long-time love interest Nancy. Newspapers and magazines hyped the event, and the nation stood still for Mr. Peepers, for this one night at least, and gathered around their sets to watch the kindred spirits wed. TV Guide gave the bride and groom the cover that week. While I Love Lucy first created the continuing arc story concept and event television, Mr. Peepers certainly signified that continuing storylines could culminate in high ratings and national interest. The success of the wedding episode of Mr. Peepers became a pop culture phenomenon and kept the mildly rated show on for another full season, and furthered the burgeoning idea of "water cooler" television.

Mr. Peepers rare video copy

Seeing RED!, March 9, 1954

See It Now, Edward R. Murrow's ground-breaking news program, had previously in the fall of 1953 broadcast about the red scare. Scores of innocent American's were labeled communists, and a growing political tactic was throwing the communist label at any American with countering views. Senator Joe McCarthy led the way with disgraceful Senate hearings impeaching the name of numerous Hollywood writers, directors, and actors. The result was terrifying. The witch hunt was on and the dividing lines becoming clear. The Republican party was American, the Democratic party labeled socialist.

Also in the fall of 1953, America's number one star was mired in the sludge of the communist hunt. Lucille Ball escaped destruction perhaps by the sheer power of her fame, but I Love Lucy's 3rd season premiere was anticipated by many to be her last. Lucy escaped career destruction, and a popular 1952 play by Arthur Miller, The Crucible, also exposed the red scare as tantamount to the 1692 Salem Witch Trials. Cracks were beginning to surface in Senator McCarthy's tirade. Certainly, these events and other's led to the See It Now broadcast in fall of 1953 exploring the red scare.

By March 9, 1954, however, Edward R. Murrow and producer Fred Friendly had decided to take matters into their own hands. The See It Now broadcasters decided to take Senator McCarthy's own words and flip them, hopefully exposing to America his hypocrisy and the dangerous path of fear-mongering. It was a risky venture, as journalism was expected to be unbiased, and CBS was concerned of a national backlash. The network, also realizing the seriousness of the subject, gave the green light but removed their logo or any network reference from the program's promotion.

The end result was a revolution, as the American public officially came out of hiding and began to question exactly who was un-American, the fear-mongering Joeseph McCarthy or the so-labeled communists. McCarthy was enraged, of course, and demanded an opportunity to respond; however, his appearance a few weeks later on See It Now was even more disastrous, and soon the Senate censured McCarthy, officially ending the Red Scare in America. While hundreds of careers and lives were destroyed forever, the broadcast of March 9, 1954 was American journalism's greatest television moment, and cemented the new medium's power to connect with audiences in troubled times. The immediacy of television continued to prove to be the single greatest instrument of persuasion, whether good or bad, right or wrong, television news came into its own.

References: http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/S/htmlS/seeitnow/seeitnow.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/See_It_Now

See It Now transcript from March 9, 1954

Senator McCarthy's follow-up interview transcript

Studio One, November 15, 1954

Studio One was one of television's most ambitious and acclaimed anthology series. Like all these hour long presentations of classic plays, musicals, and variety showcases, the ratings were never consistently high, but rose up and down depending on the weeks presentation. Each week was a risk.

During preparation for the upcoming November 15, 1954 hour, producer Mitch Miller realized one of the featured songs by actress Joan Weber was sensational. Titled Let Me Go, Lover!, it was the highlight of the production. Miller, thinking ahead to the built-in audience of 30 million viewers, rushed the song to record stores, where it sat like a lead balloon. Miller had predicted correctly, however, and immeidately after the November telecast, record stores were rushed by 100,000 Studio One fans wanting Let Me Go, Lover! The record bound up the Billboard charts immediately on its way to the number one song in the nation.

Cross-promotion of music created for television was born, and record companies began a long-term marketing relationship with telelvision, essentially paving the way for MTV.