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Posted by Larry Jordan
on June 27, 2009, 2:38 pm, in reply to "Re: Footage"
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Jim appeared on many more TV shows, most of them local, than most people realize. Some of these were even done in color. But some of this occurred in the day before videotape became widely available, so unless a station specifically made a kinescope of the broadcast (filmed it off a TV monitor), no copy of the show exists.
Then there is the appearance Jim made on local TV from Panther Hall in Texas in 1964, which is thought to be his last television show. And he guested on other live telecasts, such as from Town Hall Party in California. (Bear released the latter but the quality is not good).
Jim appeared daily for a week on Jimmy Dean's original TV show out of Washington, D.C. (not the one he appeared on in 1964). That film was said to be in the hands of an eccentric man (now deceased) whose estate also consisted of many rarities from other artists. However, I was told in recent weeks that an inventory so far has failed to turn up this material.
Then there was Jim's pilot, which he made in Texas under the tutelage of Ray Winkler. In it, Jim lip-synced throughout. He had hoped that the pilot would convey his hosting skills to potential TV producers, but it did the opposite. Jim was ill at the time it was filmed and tried to get out of it, but Winkler insisted he go ahead with it because he had committed some money to the project. Jim was not well rehearsed in delivering his lines and appeared hesitant and unsure of himself. As usual, his miming to his own recordings was horrible.
Jim also did TV shows in Europe, both in 1963 and '64, but the only thing to surface so far is the Oslo broadcast. Thank goodness we have that.
Contrary to the impression left on another website, Jim did not appear on Lawrence Welk's Saturday night broadcast (the one with which most fans are familiar). Instead, he was featured on a Monday night program that, for awhile, was also aired nationally. It was called "Top Tunes and Talent" and was a different format entirely, being aired from the famous Aragon Ballroom at Pacific Ocean Park. It was more like the dances Jim was accustomed to playing. He sang "Anna Marie," a Welk favorite. I have managed to locate a kinescope of this performance and Jim's interaction with "Champagne Lady" Alice Lon, a splendid singer, will be described in my book.
Jim also appeared several times on Red Foley's "Country Music Jubilee," even serving as Foley's summer replacement in 1958 from Springfield. Mo. Kinescopes exist of these shows, too, and in one he does a duet with June Carter.
Besides all this, Jim performed on nationally broadcast programs hosted out of New York by Ed Sullivan, Steve Allen, Patti Page and Georgia Gibbs. Likewise, video from these shows also exists.
Mary Reeves told me she had enough material to fill three videotapes, yet only one was released. Tom Perryman produced the first one, and I agree with you it was not up to par.
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