I was about 13 when the Jerry Lewis Show debuted on ABC, live from the Jerry Lewis Theatre, which later became the Hollywood Palace. With a two year commitment from Lewis, ABC had refurbished the old theater for the show and bought four TK 60s. That was 1963, and the cameras were all over the set but the show only lasted 13 weeks. ABC and Lewis called it quits as the show as not pulling any significant ratings. I had a Polaroid camera and would actually take pictures of our TV screen at home when the TK60s rolled into the shot just to have a picture of one of them.

When I got my TK60, I dressed it as a camera from that show and you can see it in the picture above. Below though is something I just found! I had looked for years for something like this video and now, finally, here is a scene from the show with Jerry riding a Chapman Electra crane and holding on to a TK60 while singing, ‘The Birth of The Blues’. His set up starts just before the 3 minute mark.

Thanks to Richard Wirth for sending the Lewis clip above and the photo of himself below with a TK60 at the American Forces Vietnam Network in Saigon in 1970. Richard is now at the University of California’s School of Cinematic Arts in Los Angeles, but some of us remember him from his teaching days at the University of Georgia’s, Grady School of Journalism.

Below, we see the TK 60 in it's original form; the TK 12. It came out in 1960, eight years after the TK 11's introduction and was the first of the ‘New Look' line. In '61, RCA added the dome tally light and moved the front tally lights to just under the turret, but no top vent was added even though the cameras main problem was overheating. By '63 the heat associated problems were overcome and the top exhaust fan added and that is when it was renamed the TK60. Why 60? Well, as would be the case later with the TK76 ENG camera that came out in 1976, RCA decided to name it for the year it debuted...1960.

By looking at the prototype below, it looks like the doors were perhaps the same kind of mesh as the top of the TK42…had they kept those doors, maybe the heat problems would never have been an issue.

This camera came about at a very transitional time in television. In 1960, NBC was quickly becoming a full color network and many of the well-heeled affiliates were purchasing RCA TK 41color cameras. In '62, RCA debuted the first version of the TK42 but it was not in it's final form and in production till '65…the same year Norelco introduced their Plumbicon PC60. Oops. To make it even more interesting, RCA stopped making the TK41 in 1964.

In 1960, RCA knew there was still a need for a good black and white workhorse camera and the first of the ''new look' cameras was born! RCA engineer Harry Wright had a hand in its now famous look and was responsible for carrying that look to the TK42s, 44s, 45s and 47s. His original sketches of these cameras are in the new Archives section, so please take a look at history.

Unfortunately, the TK12 – TK60 problems were the beginning of the black eyes for RCA that landed in mass with the TK42. Had RCA been quicker on the draw in 1961 getting the heat problems addressed faster, there would have been a lot more sold, but by '63, it was late in the game and the full color wave was beginning to build… stations were torn on what to do. Buy new monochrome cameras that would be outdated in a few years, or hold on a year or so and go to the PC60 or TK42, or buy TK41s while they still could. I suspect everyone knew that the TK60 would be the last monochrome camera made.

Once the TK 60 finally came to the market, sales were good but not great. They made great pictures and did so for many years into the color era. In fact, many stations continued to originate local programs in black and white long after the networks offered all color programming. It was not unusual for stations to broadcast local shows in monochrome using a combination of color and black and white cameras.

Below is a picture that reinforces the difficult period in which the TK60 was born into. We are going to spend some time now looking as this situation and perhaps WJAC in Johnstown Pa. is the best place to do this.

These are the new studios of WJAC in Johnstown, PA. in 1964. They were built after the sale of the station by Johnstown Automotive Company, (hence WJAC) to the Tribune-Democrat. Notice the 2 TK41 color cameras and the 4 TK60s. The station had TK11s before this, and probably bought the TK60s and TK41s as a package. In the background, you can see the Romper Room set, and below we see their TK41s shooting it live. Under that is a local spot being shot by a TK41.

Above there are 4 TK60s artfully arranged to the right of their news department heads. Below, are 2 of the 60s on their news set and below that, more managers and a 60.

Now, if you think the arrangement of images on this page is odd because we are showing 2 different kinds of cameras…well… it is. But, just as odd was what we could see on local TV. I grew up in Atlanta and I can tell you that I have actually seen color (TK42) and black and white (TK60) cameras used together on the same shows. Usually, they would just mono out the color camera shot because now that they had 4 cameras instead of just 2, they could be more artsy and shoot with 4 cameras instead of just two, even if two were just locked down for wide shots.

It honestly was quite a mixed media process for nearly a year in Atlanta at WSB, WXIA and WAGA. I'm sure it was the same at WJAC. At WSB in Atlanta, they bought 2 TK60s just about year before they bought 2 TK42s. There were never any TK41s in Atlanta stations...just 2 TK42s at WSB, 2 at WXIA and then 6 Norelcos at WAGA. Only 2 TK41s were ever used in Georgia television and were owned by WALB in Albany. One was donated to the Smithsonian.

Above and below are shots from the 1965 NAB showing the TK60 and TK42 together. That must have been a rather awkward situation for stations and RCA. Which cameras do you buy? It seem that is was only after the Norelco plumbicon cameras came out that the tide finally shifted too all color, all the time.

Above is a rare sight. These are two shots of the same Canadian Broadcasting Company TK 12 with an early Varotal III zoom lens. Notice the custom air vent the CBC engineers added on top. The tally light detail confirms this to be a 12 and not a 60. On close examination of the top image, it looks like there is a row of small square vent holes at the very top of the door just above the RCA Television badge.
Photo courtesy of my friend and CBC retiree, Serge Bordeleau.

Above is one of the few pictures that exist of the RCA TK12. Except for the missing fan exhaust vent on top and some tally dome details, it looks just like a TK60. As I mentioned above, the TK12 actually came out in 1960 to replace the TK11s, but it had a few problems mostly caused by overheating. It remained the TK12 until RCA make the fixes and then release the camera as the TK60 in 1963.
Above and the 2 photos below courtesy David Calif.

David Calif's Vanguard Productions owned 4 TK60s and some are shown here covering election night 1980 in Battleboro VT. These 4 cameras have now been donated to the Museum of Broadcast Technology.

Above is my friend Joe LoRe' behind a TK60 at ABC in New York. Thanks to Joe, I now have a Marconi Mark VII from Sesame Street and he has a TK44 like the one he ran at Reaves Tele Tape.

Above is a TK60 image from PBS affiliate WTVI in Charlotte NC.

Above and below WABL Baltimore TK60 photos courtesy RCA Broadcast News

Above, MGM Telestudios TK60s in action on a very large built in boom arm. Below, an MGM ‘executive in training' is on the set to make sure there is no overtime. That's how MGM teaches their mascot lions to growl…they send them on location to keep an eye on the union shop steward.

Below, WGBH Boston TK60s in action.
Photos courtesy WGBH Alumni.Org

Looking their catalogue best, a couple of factory fresh TK60 ads from around 1963.
Above and below photos courtesy RCA Broadcast News.

I took this picture at WSB around 1965, but my little brother drew on host, Skip Thomas's face.

Brand new TK60 at brand new WQAD, Moline Ill. Both debuted in 1963. That's a monster zoom lens that I don't think I've seen but I’m pretty sure it is a Zoomar. There is a Zoomar that looks very similar on the Georgia ETV camera. It’s near the bottom of the TK11 page, in the Amalgam section.
Photo courtesy RCA Broadcast News.

WSB Atlanta's Ray Moore shows election night results on one of their new TK60s. I took this picture in the studio that night. Later at the University of Georgia, I used these WSB TK 60 cameras in my directing and production classes. Also used WSB's TK42s in those classes.

Dale Walsh with an TK60 at ABC Hollywood. Chuck once told me the size of the ABC logo on my TK60 was to small, but if you look at the ABC logo in the Joe LoRe' NY photo above, that one seems too small compared to the huge west coast logo size. I think mine is ''just right'.
Photo courtesy Chuck Pharis

Above is a nice shot of 2 TK60s at work in a scene typical of live local television circa 1960. At left, a children's show (Captain Ernie) is progress at Davenport, Iowa's WOC TV while on the right, the evening news set is being readied for air in the same studio.
Photo courtesy Jon Book.

Below are a few images from RCA's Broadcast News magazine. A couple from the Army's Fort Meade Md. Studios and one I can't identify. I wish there were more TK 60 photos to show you, but there just aren't that many available. ABC was really the only US network to use them. CBS had tons of TK30s and 11s and was replacing them as needed with Marconi Mark IVs. NBC was using mostly the TK41s, and when needed, their TK11s because they were leading everyone into full color.