Used & Rare Television History Books

Hardcover. NY, Rutledge/Scribners, 1st, 1976, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright, dust jacket with mild fading to spine. Over 260 illustrations (64 in color) are accompanied by details of your favorite NBC television and radio stars: Groucho Marx, Liza Minelli, Jimmy Durante, Johnny Carson, George Burns, and many more. Foreword by Bob Hope. Clean copy.

Hardcover. W. Palm Beach FL, Streamline Press, 1st, 1996, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover, 463 pages, profusely illustrated with b&w photos. Radio has just celebrated its 75th anniversary and it's as vital and varied as ever. Rhoads, a zealous radio historian and archivist, has captured radio's exuberance and fluency in this marvelous collection of more than 900 photographs, many of which have never before been published. This collection of portraits, both posed and candid, of radio personalities is a veritable radio hall of fame, showcasing everyone from Jack Benny to Howard Stern. Rhoads begins with photographs chronicling the rise of the pioneering Pittsburgh station, KDKA, the first to achieve continuous broadcasting, then keeps pace with radio's rapid growth, offering rare documentation of every type of on-air performer, from men of the cloth delivering the first on-air services to vaudevillians, conductors, sportscasters, and dramatists, many of whom went on to achieve fame in Hollywood. Styles change, but the magic continues as radio continues to evolve in conjunction with its competitor, television. On-air performers gave way to disc jockeys and talk show hosts, but talents such as Garrison Keillor and various NPR contributors have helped keep imaginative radio alive and well.

Softcover. NY, O'Quinn Studios, 1977, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover magazine, 78 pages illustrated in color and b&w. Articles include: The Outer Limits, Space 1999, Six Million Dollar Man, Frederic Brown's Arena. Clean copy.

Hardcover. NY, Crown, 1st, 1983, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket, 384 pages, b&w photos throughout. Over 2000 photos and other trivial knowledge. From 1946 to 1983, nostalgia covered year by year with commentary. Milton Berle (Mr. TV), Sid Caesar, Imogene Coca, Ed Sullivan, Lucille Ball, Jackie Gleason, Bob Hope, Martin and Lewis and all the others. Clean copy.

Hardcover. NY, Meredith Press, 1st, 1968, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright, unclipped dust jacket. Ed Sullivan's variety show was an American institution, running Sunday nights for twenty-three years, from the dawn of television in 1948 until 1971. Even relatively young readers have probably seen clips of Sullivan introducing Elvis Presley, the Beatles, or saying, "We've got a really big shew." "Always on Sunday" gives us a broad view of Sullivan, who turns out much more complex than I would have guessed. Some stories you might have heard for years are debunked - not all of Elvis' appearance were from the waist up for example. Although the book focuses on the period from the debut of "The Toast of the Town" (the original name of the show) until the late-60s, when the book was originally published, it gives a decent overview of his life prior to the show and insight into what made Sullivan tick. For example, he was an early supporter of equal rights and booked appearances by stars regardless of race when that was uncommon. Clean copy.

Hardcover. NY, Harry N. Abrams, 1st, 2021, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover, 176 pages. The official companion book to the feature-length documentary Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street, featuring previously unpublished photographs from the first season of Sesame Street and interviews with cast and crew. The Unseen Photos of Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street expands on the film's exploration of the origins and legacy of Sesame Street with exclusive interviews and previously unpublished photographs from the first season of the globally beloved children's series. Author and filmmaker Trevor Crafts, who was given unprecedented access to archival footage and photography, presents more than 150 of photographer David Attie's behind-the-scenes images of Jim Henson, Will Lee, Loretta Long, Bob McGrath, Frank Oz, Matt Robinson, Caroll Spinney, Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch, Bert and Ernie, and dozens of other pioneering puppeteers, animators, actors, and Sesame Street Muppets. Crafts uses Attie's remarkable photos and additional interviews from the film to dive deeper into the story of how show creator Joan Ganz Cooney, along with Sesame Workshop cofounder Lloyd Morrisett, director Jon Stone, and Muppet creator Jim Henson, took the values and goals of the civil rights movement and revolutionized children's television. Clean, no dj issued.

Softcover. NY, O'Quinn Studios, 1st, 1980, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover magazine, 66 pages illustrated in color and b&w. Articles include: Robots on Film. Meteor-The FX Story, Star Trek Lost Designs, Buck Rogers, Andy Probert Interview, others. Clean copy.

Hardcover. NY, Free Press, 1st, 1991, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover, 322 pages, b&w illustrations, in a bright dust jacket. This book examines the issue of racial stereotyping and with the issue of skin color as seen by such radio show broadcasts as Amos 'N' Andy. Some Blacks did not like the show when released, while others saw it as a humane portrayal of African-American Life. Overall, the show became the most popular radio show of all time. Later, it was touted by the Civil Rights Movement as offensive and racist.

Softcover. Duke University Press, 1st, 2012, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 424 pages, 29 illustrations. Elvis Presley's television debut in January 1956 is often cited as the moment when popular music and television came together. Murray Forman challenges that contention, revealing popular music as crucial to television years before Presley's sensational small-screen performances. Drawing on trade and popular journalism, internal television and music industry documents, and records of audience feedback, Forman provides a detailed history of the incorporation of musical performances into TV programming during the medium's formative years, from 1948 to 1955. He examines how executives in the music and television industries understood and responded to the convergence of the two media; how celebrity musicians such as Vaughn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, and Fred Waring struggled to adjust to television; and how relative unknowns with an intuitive feel for the medium were sometimes catapulted to stardom. Forman argues that early television production influenced the aesthetics of musical performance in the 1940s and 1950s, particularly those of emerging musical styles such as rock and roll. At the same time, popular music helped to shape the nascent medium of television--its technologies, program formats, and industry structures. Popular music performances were essential to the allure and success of TV in its early years. Like new in publisher's shrinkwrap.

Softcover. NY, Doubleday, Revised Ed., 1985, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, yelow pictorial wrappers, 422 pages illustrated in b&w. Everything you ever could hope to know about 'I Love Lucy'. Behind-the-scenes look at the making of the show. Cast listings, ratings and original air dates. Dialogue and interviews with the stars, writer, directors, producers and more. Mold shelf wear, clean copy.

Hardcover. NY, Universe, 1st, 2021, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket. The face of television was changed forever in 1971 with the premiere of All in the Family. The working-class Bunker family of Queens, New York--lovable bigot Archie (Carroll O'Connor), his long-suffering "dingbat" wife Edith (Jean Stapleton), their liberal daughter Gloria (Sally Struthers), and son-in-law Mike "Meathead" Stivic (Rob Reiner)--instantly became, and half a century later still are, four of the most iconic characters in television.In All in the Family: The Show that Changed Television, Norman Lear shares his take on fifty essential episodes that exemplify why the show remains as funny and relevant as ever. Its boundary-pushing approach to hot-button topics is examined with commentary from co-stars O' Connor, Stapleton, Reiner, and Struthers, as well as writers, directors, and guest stars from the show. With previously unseen notes from Lear, script pages, production designs, and a foreword by super-fan Jimmy Kimmel, this book is the ultimate companion to the seminal series and a must for fans of Lear's shows and television comedy. "Norman Lear," said New Yorker critic Michael Arlen, "has a feel for what people want to see before they know they want to see it." All in the Family, like all of the Lear shows that followed, was a turning point in television's handling of taboo subjects such as race relations, feminism, homosexuality, war, religion, gun control, social inequity, and other controversial subjects, all of which remain in the news today.

Hardcover. London, Thames & Hudson, 1st, 2016, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket, 304 pages illustrated in b&w and some color. In just a few years, what used to be an immobile piece of living room furniture, which one had to sit in front of at appointed times in order to watch sponsored programming on a finite number of channels, morphed into a glowing cloud of screens with access to a near-endless supply of content available when and how viewers want it. With this phenomenon now a common cultural theme, a writer of David Thomson's stature delivering a critical history, or "biography" of the six-decade television era, will be a significant event which could not be more timely. With Television, the critic and film historian who wrote what Sight and Sound's readers called "the most important film book of the last 50 years" has finally turned his unique powers of observation to the medium that has swallowed film whole. Over twenty-two thematically organized chapters, Thomson brings his provocatively insightful and unique voice to the life of what was television. David Thomson surveying a Boschian landscape, illuminated by that singular glow-always "on"-and peopled by everyone from Donna Reed to Dennis Potter, will be the first complete history of the defining medium of our time. Clean copy.

Hardcover. NY, Atheneum, 2nd pr., 1983, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover, 216 pages, b&w photos, in a bright, unclipped dust jacket. Previous owners inscription otherwise clean.

Softcover. NY, O'Quinn Studios, 1978, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover magazine, 78 pages illustrated in color and b&w. Articles include: The Prisoner, The Computer's Game, The Incredible Shrinking Man, The Makeup Men, Star Trek Report. Clean copy.

Hardcover. NY, W.W. Norton , 1976, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright, lightly worn dust jacket. 318 pages, A veteran producer provides an inside view of television, combining anecdotal discussions of agents, performers, and sponsors with detailed information on network organization and business activities. A good overview of the TV broadcasting business in the 1970s. No markings.

Softcover. NY, Harry N. Abrams, reprint, 2021, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 470 pages. On January 10, 1999, a mobster walked into a psychiatrist's office and changed TV history. By shattering preconceptions about the kinds of stories the medium should tell, The Sopranos launched our current age of prestige television, paving the way for such giants as Mad Men, The Wire, Breaking Bad, and Game of Thrones. As TV critics for Tony Soprano's hometown paper, New Jersey's The Star-Ledger, Alan Sepinwall and Matt Zoller Seitz were among the first to write about the series before it became a cultural phenomenon. Sepinwall and Seitz have reunited to produce The Sopranos Sessions, a collection of recaps, conversations, and critical essays covering every episode. Featuring a series of new long-form interviews with series creator David Chase, as well as selections from the authors' archival writing on the series, The Sopranos Sessions explores the show's artistry, themes, and legacy.

Hardcover. Boston, Little, Brown & Company, First Edition, 2002, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, 594 pages. Hardcover. Black & white illustrations throughout. Dust jacket with light marginal wear. Features behind the scenes gossip & interviews with a wide variety of stars, writers & guests, too numerous to detail here. Clean, unmarked copy.

ND, 8 X 10 b&w glossy photograph, light wear, creasing. Date unknown, probably early 1950s.

Softcover. NY, O'Quinn Studios, 1976, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover magazine, 66 pages illustrated in color and b&w. Articles include: Guides to all 79 Episodes of Star Trek. Shatner "Shakespeare to the Stars", Nimoy "The Man Behind the Ears" News regarding Sci Fi Movies, TV, Books, Records, Etc. Building the Bionic Woman (Lyndsay Wagner). Will the changes help Space 1999?, Two new "Kongs" challenge the King. Clean copy.

Softcover. Las Vegas NV, Pioneer Books , 1st, 1989, Book: Very Good, Softcover, pictorial wraps,145 pages, b&w illustrations. Shows and describes toys, cards, and collectibles associated with the Batman television series, and shares interviews with the main cast members. Clean, bright copy but has a smoke odor.

Hardcover. NY, Harry N. Abrams, 1st, 1984, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Good, Hardcover in a lightly sunned dust jacket. Covers 11 seasons and 251 episodes of Korean War TV comedy. Profusely illustrated in color and b&w, 240 pages. Introduction by Larry Gelbart. Light paper clip mark to front endpapers, otherwise clean. DOMESTIC SHIPPING ONLY.

Softcover. NY, Black Spring Press, rep wraps, 1991, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover. Like new. 148 pages. Originally conceived in part as a companion piece to CITIZEN KANE, THE BIG BRASS RING--an original screenplay by Orson Welles, written three years before his death--reveals Welles's brilliance as a writer

Hardcover. Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1st, 2007, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover, 460 pages, b&w illustrations. In Same Time, Same Station, historian James L. Baughman takes readers behind the scenes of early broadcasting, examining corporate machinations that determined the future of television. Split into two camps-those who thought TV could meet and possibly raise the expectations of wealthier, better-educated post-war consumers and those who believed success meant mimicking the products of movie houses and radio-decision makers fought a battle of ideas that peaked in the 1950s, just as TV became a central facet of daily life for most Americans.Baughman's engagingly written account of the brief but contentious debate shows how the inner workings and outward actions of the major networks, advertisers, producers, writers, and entertainers ultimately made TV the primary forum for entertainment and information. The tale of television's founding years reveals a series of decisions that favored commercial success over cultural aspiration.

Softcover. NY, O'Quinn Studios, 1977, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover magazine, 78 pages illustrated in color and b&w. Articles include: Star Wars, Robby the Robot, Kelly Freas, Rocketship X-M, David Gerrold Goes Ape. Clean copy.

Softcover. NY, Workman Publishing, 1st, 1986, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 223 pages, b&w illustrations. Detailed summaries of the Lost Episodes that are now on TV and descriptions of some that are still lost. The long-awaited, definitive guide to the earliest Honeymooner skits, hidden away by Jackie Gleason himself for more than 30 years. Plot synopses of The Lost Episodes pack as many surprises as Ralph himself, including the origins of the racoon hat and "pow----right in the kisser! " Clean copy.