Boy do I wish I could have one owned one of these 3 WCNY Marconi Mark IV cameras!

Why, what's so special about them? Well, aside from the fact that Mark IV cameras are very rare, these 3 cameras have a VERY interesting history. In the Camera section where these cameras are also shown, I gave a clue...Studio 50. Can you guess? Before you scroll down the page for the answer, here are 3 more photos of these historic cameras in use at WCNY, a Syracuse NY PBS station circa 1969.

READ THIS BEFORE YOU SEE THE IMAGES BELOW.

Did the Studio 50 clue ring a bell?

Here is another clue...toast of the town.

Got it yet?

Well, believe it or not, these are the same cameras that first showed 73 million Americas, The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show at 8pm, February 9th,1964! And that's just one of the thousands of legendary names who's images they captured.

Below is Jackie Gleason who also used these cameras in Studio 50. I don't know how many Marconi cameras were used in the theatre, but during the RCA years, there were always at least 5 TK10s or TK11s in service with 4 on stage and one at audience level. I'm guessing there were at least 4, maybe 6.

These three cameras were donated to WCNY by CBS after Studio 50, also known as the Ed Sullivan Theatre was closed to modify the site for color. The show moved to Television City in Hollywood for six weeks while the Norelco PC60s and new lighting were installed and the first color cast from Studio 50 happened on my 15th birthday, Halloween night, 1965.

CBS was pretty consistent in donating their old equipment through the years. A lot if it wound up at colleges, educational stations and churches including the Catholic Broadcast Center run by the Brooklyn arch diesis. That's where my TD - 1 pedestal was rescued from, thanks to "cardinal" Paul Beck in Boston.

I have quite a soft spot for the Sullivan Show and all things associated with it. I would kill to have owned one of these cameras and would love to know if anyone has any idea where these WCNY cameras wound up. I have been in contact with the station, but they have no recall. I am fortunate to have one artifact from the Sullivan Theatre though, and thank John Smith for giving me the back stage announce mike that he rescued from there during the Reeves Teletape years in the theatre.

I also have a Norelco PC 60 from CBS Studio 52 which at one time was linked by a passage way to Studio 50, but during the Letterman renovation I understand it was bricked up. Wonder if my Studio 52 camera ever worked next door on Sullivan? I'm pretty sure it was used on Captain Kangaroo which originated in 52 from the late 60s on. By the way, after Studio 52 was closed and sold by CBS, it became the infamous New York night club, Studio 54...the 54 name is from it's location on 54th Street.