Hollywood Center’s “Colorful” Past

The upgrades Hollywood Center Studios has made to its HD production capacity recall an earlier advance in television technology where the studio also played a role: the introduction of color. The first CBS primetime show to be broadcast in color, an episode of the popular Burns and Allen series, was filmed on the lot (then General Service Studios) in 1954.

Like the recent rollout of HD, the introduction of color television took longer than anyone had expected, was complicated by issues over formats and compatibility, and involved competition between heavyweight interests.

The concept of color television had been around since at least the '20s, but the drive to commercialize it didn't begin in earnest until after World War II. CBS, RCA and a company called Color Television Inc developed rival color systems. CBS took the early lead and the network staged several "experimental" color telecasts in the early '50s, but the RCA system, now commonly known as NTSC, eventually won out as it was compatible with existing black & white sets.

NBC achieved the first coast-to-coast color broadcast on January 1, 1954 with its airing of the Tournament of Roses Parade. It was viewed on 200 experimental RCA color television receivers, specially built for the event. A few months later Westinghouse and RCA introduced the first commercially-available color television sets, with models costing more than $1000.

The color episode of Burns and Allen aired on October 4, 1954 and kicked off the show's fourth season. It was the first of several special color broadcasts conducted by CBS that year. It was strictly a one-time only affair as the cost of producing a show in color was twice that of black & white and very few consumers had color sets to enjoy the brilliant hues. Plans to produce a full season of the show in color in 1958 were scrapped when Gracie Allen announced her retirement.

It wasn't until the early '60s that color television really took hold with the public. By the middle of the decade many shows had switched to color, including such popular series as The Beverly Hillbillies, and Petticoat Junction produced at Hollywood Center.