Barbra Streisand: The Early TV Appearances (1961 - 1963)

This Page:
Jack Paar, Garry Moore

IN THREE PARTS:
Page One | Page Two | Page Three

TV was still a new phenomenon in the early 1960s. Many homes in America had television sets that displayed black and white pictures. Television reception was through the airwaves (no cable!).

Several of Barbra's first television appearances were on local shows (broadcast only in the city where it was taped) or syndicated ones (taped then sold to local television stations around the country for rebroadcast).

Many shows were broadcast live and performed for a live audience, much like The Tonight Show or David Letterman. Some 1960's shows had such small budgets that there was no studio audience — performed in the vacuum of the television studio, the camera and sound crew sometimes acted as an audience and laughed or clapped for the performers.

Videotape, an electronic medium unlike traditional film, was the standard of early television. Unfortunately, many shows did not have the foresight (or budgets!) to preserve their episodes for future generations, or lucrative reruns. Many of Johnny Carson's early Tonight Show episodes, for example, have been lost or were simply recorded over!

Some shows were preserved on kinescopes — John Aspinall wrote about them:

"From the outset many live shows in the USA were ‘recorded’ by pointing a movie camera at a television screen (for which the technical name is a kinescope) ... In some cases (possible as a result of a FCC requirement) these broadcasts were recorded in case someone claimed libel or complained about obscenity or whatever. The main reason for the large number of film recordings is that in the early 1950s the kinescopes were the only means of distributing network programmes to stations that didn't yet have a coaxial cable or microwave relay connection to carry the programmes live."

In a 1965 CBS TV press release, Barbra said this about appearing on the Jack Paar Show and her gratitude to Orson Bean:

"I had worked with him in a night club. He asked me to appear on the 'Tonight' show on April 5, 1961, while he was the substitute host. If it weren't for him, I might never have gotten any television program.

"That particular night was an exciting one for the entire Streisand family. My brother's wife had a baby, and my mother didn't know whether to go see her first grandchild or watch me on television. Luckily, she was able to do both."

Barbra's first appearance on television! Orson Bean was the guest host, filling in for Paar. He introduced and interviewed Barbra. Barbra sang A Sleeping Bee. After the commercial break, and after changing into a black dress, she sang When the Sun Comes Out. Then she sat down with Bean and guests Phyllis Dyler and Gore Vidal for a "talk" segment.

Barbra owns a kinescope of this show and has used it on the "Star is Born" and "Making of the Broadway Album" television specials. Audio of the show was included on her excellent 4-disk retrospective, JUST FOR THE RECORD.

SONGS SUNG ON GARRY MOORE:

• Teamwork - opening song with Robert Goulet
• When the Sun Comes Out
• Happy Days Are Here Again
• 1929 "Wonderful Year" Medley - Barbra sings a few bars of Moanin' Low

Watch video of Barbra doing a comedy routine on Garry Moore. Quicktime file (21 MB) >>