Herb on the Dean Martin show

[manifan]

This was discussed awhile back, about Herb being on one of Dean's shows (the DVD's that are now being released via mail subscription) and someone here said he'd seen the appearance. Can you tell me what volume his appearance is on? I've got many episodes that I haven't yet watched and Herb's name is not listed on any of the covers. I'd like to know which show he's on so I can watch it next. Thanks!

 

[kenny]

As far as I know, the episode that featured Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass isn't part of the mail order set that is offered on infomercials. I got my copy on eBay for $15. It definitely wasn't legitimate, but the quality was OK. Definitely better than the vhs copy that was floating around a few years earlier. As Captain Bacardi mentioned in the original thread, Herb and the TJB do a medley where it must have been recorded especially for the show and then they lip synced to that new recording while on the show. Actually, that would be a great addition to the possible box set or a Lost Treasures 2 comp. A side note about the official Dean Martin Show- I purchased several of them used recently and I think the quality of those aren't very good either. I was shocked. Maybe the orignal tapes are bad.

 

[W.B.]

Part of the lack of quality as described above could be explained by the fact that from 1965 to 1969 (in terms of The Dean Martin Show's run), NBC's studios used RCA model TK-41 color cameras that dated back to the earliest days of color television in the 1950's. In relation to the kind of picture given by Norelco PC-60 and PC-70 Plumbicon-tube cameras (as used by CBS and ABC), the TK-41 picture (produced by image-orthicon tubes) by the later 1960's left something to be desired, quality-wise. The first two seasons of Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In also used this early camera. After 1969, NBC replaced its TK-41's with more modern RCA TK-44A cameras. Let's just say the difference in picture quality pre- and post-1969 on video-based NBC programs is like apples vs. oranges.

That is, if Herb and the TJB's appearance was in the pre-1969 period . . .

And then there's the videotape equipment used in that period. NBC's equipment philosophy seemed then to be "always use RCA," and apparently when Dino first joined NBC's roster in 1965 they were using RCA TR-22 "low / mid-band" quad VTR's, then as the show went on replaced such recorders with more "modern" (higher-band) TR-70's. (As opposed to CBS whose own philosophy was more "anybody but RCA," as evidenced by their use of Ampex VTR's, Marconi Mark IV B&W cameras from 1963 to '66, the aforementioned Norelco color cameras, and so forth.)

 

[Numero Cinco]

W. B. (Are you a Warner Brother?):

I stand in awe of your technical knowledge. Is there a website where one may learn such things? Or do you have to be W. B. to know them?

Thanks—

 

[W.B.]

There may be books in your local library dealing with the history of broadcast technology, and if you're lucky you may find them in a used bookstore. (Such was how I got such info.) As for on the web: I understand there's something called "Quadruplex Park" for the VTR equipment of the time, plus a few websites dealing with early color TV cameras.

 

[kenny]

Yes, the TJB appearance on The Dean Martin Show had to be from 1965. Tonni Kalash isn't "playing" trumpet. It's the other guy with the mustache who I don't think has ever been officially identified on this board. Somewhere I have a clear photo of him which I should post.

 

[kenny]

The other commercially released Dean Martin Show DVDS are compiled from shows he did in the late 60's which fits right in the time period you mentioned as well and explains the somewhat lacking picture quality. Thanks!

 

[Captain Bacardi]

Yes, the TJB appearance on The Dean Martin Show had to be from 1965. Tonni Kalash isn't "playing" trumpet. It's the other guy with the mustache who I don't think has ever been officially identified on this board. Somewhere I have a clear photo of him which I should post.

His name is Art Bushagen. I have an Andy Williams show where Herb introduced everybody. I'm not 100% sure on the spelling, but it's pronounced boo-SHAY-gun.


Capt. Bacardi

 

[Numero Cinco]

Did Alpert use Bushagen before the traveling ensemble had been formed, or was there a period in which different musicians were tapped for public performances?

 

[manifan]

The other commercially released Dean Martin Show DVDS are compiled from shows he did in the late 60's which fits right in the time period you mentioned as well and explains the somewhat lacking picture quality. Thanks!

I have the shows on DVD and the quality is excellent. Maybe you got some bad copies?

 

[W.B.]

The other commercially released Dean Martin Show DVDS are compiled from shows he did in the late 60's which fits right in the time period you mentioned as well and explains the somewhat lacking picture quality. Thanks!

I have the shows on DVD and the quality is excellent. Maybe you got some bad copies?

Are the programs in your collection from after 1969, when the equipment changes as I specified were taking effect? I certainly saw a difference in picture quality (as in the ads) between the earlier and later shows just by that criterion.

And as we're on A&M acts on TV in the late 1960's . . . one of the color Honeymooners episodes from the final 1969-70 season of Jackie Gleason's variety show had Julius Wechter and the Baja Marimba Band on . . . an episode which saw the Kramdens and Nortons in Mexico ( ). That episode should be on the American Life channel in a few months (those on this forum, such as myself, that get it, that is).

 

[junglero]

RCA and NBC had always been aligned in the TV/Recording industry and were pretty much inseperable, at least until they were bought out by BMG and General Electric respectively.

As an example, Arturo Toscanini, conductor of the NBC Symphony, had his recordings of said orchestra released on RCA VICTOR RED SEAL and many other RCA recordings had tie-ins with NBC network programming and vice versa.

[One of the few exceptions was the Rowan & Martin Laugh-In album which was released on Epic Records ( a division of CBS records and the CBS network) because R&M were signed to that lable].

 

[Dave]

Now I'm wondering if this is the same thing as those DEAN MARTIN CELEBRITY ROAST(S) that I would see advertised on video... Were there more than one?! I really wish I had put my order in--there were TONS of celebrities, including many who are no-longer with us, like Michael Landon, Ruth Buzzi and Jack Benny... And if Herb Alpert made any appearances in this (these) than I know I'm really missing something!!


Dave

 

[Numero Cinco]

W.B.: And as we're on A&M acts on TV in the late 1960's . . . one of the color Honeymooners episodes from the final 1969-70 season of Jackie Gleason's variety show had Julius Wechter and the Baja Marimba Band on . . . an episode which saw the Kramdens and Nortons in Mexico.

During that same era, JW and the BMB also appeared on The Red Skelton Show. I know, because I taped their "performances" (mimcked to soundtrack) on my first or second tape recorder: "Comin' in the Back Door" and "Fresh Air."

 

[W.B.]

Now I'm wondering if this is the same thing as those DEAN MARTIN CELEBRITY ROAST(S) that I would see advertised on video... Were there more than one?! I really wish I had put my order in--there were TONS of celebrities, including many who are no-longer with us, like Michael Landon, Ruth Buzzi and Jack Benny... And if Herb Alpert made any appearances in this (these) than I know I'm really missing something!!

The "Celebrity Roasts" started out as a segment of Mr. Martin's program in the last season (1973-74) of its nine-year run, and then there were the many roasts from then until the mid-'80's. By then, the broadcast technology had improved from when The Dean Martin Show began in '65 . . . but I also noticed that a few video-based NBC shows of the time (mid-'70's) had what appeared to be a slightly milky picture and somewhat washed-out color (as I noticed on Sanford & Son and Chico and The Man). Must've been the way they were taped, as they might've had the TR-70 recorders and definitely had the TK-44A cameras.

As for Herb . . . I honestly don't know whether he was in any of those Celebrity Roasts, though I suppose anything's possible . . .

 

[Dave]

Thank you for the info on the Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts! Certainly a good thing to look for in "used video-searches"...


Dave

 

[manifan]

Thank you for the info on the Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts! Certainly a good thing to look for in "used video-searches"...


Dave

Well...the shows I have are not the roasts but the "best of" DVDs. They feature the best performances. musically and comedically, by Dean and his guest stars. I was hoping to come across one of Herb, but so far no luck.

 

[Dave]

Well, quite a lot of these Celebrities with their own shows featuring "Celebrities", sure had them before my time...! I would love to see tapes (or re-runs on TV) of a lot of them such as THE ANDY WILLIAMS SHOW, THE GLEN CAMPBELL GOODTIME-HOUR and THE SMOTHERS BROTHERS, just to name a few...

...I was hoping to come across one of Herb, but so far no luck...

Well, that would sure be a bonus, not to mention Claudine, Mason Williams and the list goes on-and-on, despite the fact that "singers" and "musicians" aren't really "Comedians"... Well, you know...


Dave

 

[TallPaulInKy]

The web site for information on the best of The Dean Martin Variety Show is at this site:

http://www.deanvariety.com/

I have about 6 of the DVDs and the quality is very good for a program from that period. But my complaint is they took the variety out of the Dean Martin Variety Show by leaving out the music! Dean sings a few songs, and sometimes he sings with a guest. But mostly it is the comedy excerpts from the variety show. After owning about 6 disks I cancelled the subscription.
I think the reissue people tried to save money by not including the songs which they would have had to pay mechanical royalties on, and they may have been trying to turn it into the Dean Martin Comedy Show which it wasn't.

 

[W.B.]

Although, in its final (1973-74) season, the show was re-titled The Dean Martin Comedy Hour. Of course, all these highlights as on the tapes/DVD's in question appear to be from before that season.

 

[TallPaulInKy]

Below is a list of stars appearing on the Dean Martin Series, that I received when I ask them. I do not know if individual volumes are available. You will notice it is heavy on commedians and Hollywood stars.

Introductory
GUEST STARS;
Ann Margret, Jack Benny, Ella Fitzgerald, Victor Borge, Orson Welles, Goldie Hawn, Bob Newhart, Jimmy Stewart, Dom De Luise, Frank Sinatra

Volume One
GUEST STARS;
LuciIle Ball, Bill Cosby, John Wayne, Bing Crosby, Rowan & Martin, Jonathan Winters, Phil Silvers, Frank Sinatra

Volume Two
GUEST STARS:
Don Rickles, Tony Bennett, Florence Henderson, Peter Sellers, Jonathan Winters, Bob Newhart, Jimmy Stewart

Volume Three
GUEST STARS;
Dom De Luise, Peggy Lee, Peter Sellers, Juliet Prowse, George Gobel, Gitna Loilobrigda, Orson Welles

Volume Four
GUEST STARS:
Michael Landon, Bill Cosby, Don Rickles, Rosemary Clooney, Roy Rogers, & Dale Evans, Jimmy Stewart,
Petula Clark, Buddy Haekett, Goldie Hawn, Rowan & Martin, Frank Sinatra

Volume Five
GUEST STARS:
Bob Hope, Jack Klugman, Howard Cosell, Dennis Weaver, Johnny Carson, Ruth Buzzi, John Wayne

Volume Six
GUEST STARS:
Orson Welles, Liberace, Art Carney, Steve Lawrence, Flip Wilson, Olivia Newton-John, Frank Sinatra

Volume Seven
GUEST STARS:
Rich Little, Ella Fitzgerald, Jack Benny, Monty Hall, Ann Margret, Joey Bishop, Ronald Reagan, Ruth Buzi, Danny Thomas, Pat Boone

Volume Eight
GUEST STARS:
George Gobel, Debbie Reynolds, Engelbert Humperdinck, Phil Slivers, Nipsey Russell, Jack Benny, Charles Nelson Reilly

Volume Nine
GUEST STARS;
Ed Sullivan, Michael Landon, Shirley Jones, Peter Falk, Gladys Knight & the PIPS, Raquel Welch, Ginger Rogers, Robert Mitchum

Volume Ten
GUEST STARS:
Gene Kelly, Bob Newhart, Jonathan Winters, Minnie Pearl, Art Carney, Buddy Hakett, Frank Sinatra, Liberace, and Rosemary Clooney.

Volume Eleven
GUEST STARS:
Dom DeLuise, Lena Horne, Jonathan Winters, Goldie Hawn, Bing Crosby, Ann-Margret, Joey Bishop, Petula Clark,
Orson Welles, Glen Campbell

Volume Twelve
GUEST STARS:
Sid Caesar, Victor Borge, Petula Clark, Bob Newhart, Jimmy Durante, Ruth Buzzi, Frank Sinatra, Gale Gordon

Volume Thirteen
GUEST STARS:
Flip Wilson, Joey Heatherton, Paul Lynde, Ann-Marget, Dick Martin, Dennis Weaver, Marty Feldman, Jimmy Stewart

Volume Fourteen
GUEST STARS:
Pat Boone, Ernie Borgnine, Dom DeLuise, Angie Dickinson, Marty Feldman, Zero Mostel, Elaine Stritch, Orson Welles

Volume Fifteen
GUEST STARS:
George Burns, Dom DeLuise, Peter Falk, Marty Feldman, "Tennessee" Ernie Ford, Lorne Green, Gene Kelly, Paul Lynde, Flip Wilson,
Jonathan Winters.

Volume Sixteen
GUEST STARS:
Ruth Buzzi, Dom DeLuise, Crystal Gayle, The Golddiggers, Shirley Jones, Linda Lavin, Jerry Reed, Dionne Warwick, Jonathan Winters

Volume Seventeen
GUEST STARS:
Jack Benny, Kris Kristofferson, Loretta Lynn, Barbara Mandrell, Jerry Reed, Charlie Rich, The Statler Brothers, Ray Stevens, Jimmy Stewart,
Governor Jimmy Carter

Volume Eighteen
GUEST STARS:
Don Adams, Tony Bennett, Art Carney, Petula Clark, Dom DeLuise, Liberace, Paul Lynde, Bob Newhart, Orson Welles, Jonathan Winters

Volume Nineteen
GUEST STARS:
Ernie Borgnine, Foster Brooks, Dom DeLuise, Marty Feldman, Gene Kelly, Bob Newhart, Frank Sinatra, Elaine Stritch, Orson Welles

Volume Twenty
GUEST STARS:
George Burns, Red Buttons, Bing Crosby, Dom DeLuise, Buddy Ebsen, Duke Ellington, Lorne Green, Florence Henderson, Bob Newhart, Frank Sinatra

Volume Twenty-One
GUEST STARS:
Ann-Margret, Victor Borge, Howard Cosell, Buddy Ebsen, Marty Feldman, Lena Horne, Gene Kelly, Kate Smith, Lawrence Welk, Orson Welles

Volume Twenty-Two
GUEST STARS:
Victor Borge, Bill Cosby, Vince Edwards, Judy Garland, Rocky Graziano, Gene Kelly, Ethel Merman, Peter Sellers, Dionne Warwick, Jonathan Winters

Volume Twenty-Three
GUEST STARS:
Louis Armstrong, Petula Clark, Bing Crosby, William Holden, Bob Hope, David Janssen, Michael Landon, Bob Newhart, Mickey Rooney, Kate Smith

Volume Twenty-Four
GUEST STARS:
Ann-Margaret, Dom DeLuise, David Haffelhoff, Lena Horne, Bob Newhart, Burt Reynolds, Debbie Reynolds, Frank Sinatra, Jonathan Winters