Left: The NBC-Chicago recording room (located on the 20th floor of the Merchandise Mart studios). This is where recording lathes (visible in the foreground) cut electrical transcriptions in the days before audio tape.

Luciano Pavarotti on WMAQ-TV in 1977. He sings and cooks. This piece (which ran in September, 1977 on the occasion of the opening of the twenty-third season of Chicago's Lyric Opera) also features Adua, Pavarotti's first wife, and his daugters Lorenza, Cristina and Giuliana.

The Murder and the Movement. A 1985 short documentary the curator prepared on the 30th anniversary of the murder of Emmett Till.

The Abe Stolar story. Trapped in the USSR for 58 years, Abe never forgot Chicago, the city of his birth.

The Sam Zell you probably don't know. A brief profile of the guy who's shelling out $8.2 billion to take the Tribune Company private.

Streaming video....

A QuickTime welcome to this site.

Real vs. artificial Christmas trees? (A piece that aired on the Chicago Tonight show on WTTW on 13 December, 2007).

A tribute to Kukla, Fran and Ollie on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of their first broadcast. From WTTW's "Chicago Tonight" broadcast of 10/11/2007.

The election Barack Obama lost. An appearance on WTTW's "Chicago Tonight" program in March of 2000.

"Farewell to the Mart": A half-hour special the Curator produced on the occasion of NBC's departure from the Merchandise Mart to the NBC Tower in September of 1989.

"Mart Memories"---streaming video of five brief pieces that aired on WMAQ-TV's early newscasts the week prior to the station's move to the NBC Tower. The pieces are presented by reporter Rich Samuels on broadcasts anchored by Carol Marin and Ron Magers.

Highlights of the last newscast from the Merchandise Mart studios. Features anchor Art Norman, reporters Renee Ferguson and Sharon Wright, weatherman Jim Tilmon and sportcaster Tom Shaer. (Aired Saturday, September 30th, 1989).

A torch light parade on Chicago's West Side promoting the presidential candidacy of Senator John F. Kennedy and a speech by Senator. It dates from November 4th, 1960. And the broadcast was paid for by the Democratic Party of Cook County, Richard J. Daley, Chairman. Perhps the most exciting politcal broadcast you've ever seen.

A "Ding Dong School" telecast from the early 1950's featuring Dr. Frances Horwich as "Miss Frances". This series set the bench mark for children's programming on commercial television.

Highlights of WMAQ-TV's first news broadcast from the NBC Tower. Features anchors Carol Marin and Ron Magers, sports anchor Mark Giangreco, weatherman John Coleman and politcal editor Dick Kay. (There's also a cameo appearance by the Curator).

Doc Severinsen and the "Tonight Show Orchestra" perform at the gala celebrating the opening of the NBC Tower.

"Christmas Time in Chicago". An hour-long 1989 holiday special featuring Carol Marin, Ron Magers, Warner Saunders, Ray Suarez and Rich Samuels plus highlights of a 1950 "Garroway at Large" broadcast featuring Dave Garroway, Bette Chapel, Connie Russell, Jack Haskell and Cliff Norton.

The best of Dick Kay (perhaps better known as "Doogie")

A mini-documentary (video) on the "Breakfast Club") put together by the curator in 2004. (This piece originally aired on the "Chicago Tonight" program on WTTW).

The late Val Press in her own words.

A complete 10 pm news broadcast from February 23rd, 1967 (featuring Floyd Kalber, Len O'Connor and Harry Volkman).

A fragment of a Clifton Utley television newscast from 1949 or 1950.

The best of "Garroway at Large". Segments from the ground-breaking variety show that aired from April, 1949 to June, 1951. Included: The first television performance of "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue" by Richard Rodgers and the "Boom Ballet", jazz by the Art Van Damme Quintet and Johnny Hodges. Early (and, of course, live) television at its best).

"Studs' Place": a complete broadcast from 8 June, 1950.

The legendary sportscaster-deskman Johnny Erp dispatching film crews from the old Channel 5 newsroom early in 1963.

The demise of WMAQ radio, featuring a walk through the studios and clips featuring Studs Terkel, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, Bob Roberts and Bill Cameron.

Heritage turkeys. The curator and some gobblers down on the farm.
Man against carp. Dealing with invasive species (the Asian and bighead carp) on the Illinois River.

The curator drinks the world's best cup of coffee.

Streaming audio....

"Uncle Ned's Squadron". A half-hour broadcast from November 11, 1950, featuring Ned Locke (best known as the ring master of WGN-TV's "Bozo's Circus") and his co-pilot, Hugh Downs. Quality programming for the younger set.

The National Barn Dance. The NBC Network portion of the broadcast from October 2nd, 1943, celebrating the 10th anniversary of the network broadcast. (The Barndance was first broadcast locally on WLS on April 19th, 1924; the show continued until April 20th, 1960).

The "Quiz Kids" on the air. Two shows available, including a 1946 appearance on "The Jack Benny Show" (broadcast from Chicago).

"Lights Out": Horror and chills from studio B, courtesy of Wyllis Cooper and some of Chicago's finest radio actors. Also a marvelous Christmas episode.

"Fibber McGee and Mollie": a look at how one of radio's most beloved series evolved between 1935 and 1939 during its earliest years in Chicago.

"Smackout". The earliest surviving broadcasts (1931) of Marian and Jim Jordan, best known as "Fibber McGee and Molly".

The Breakfast Club. A complete broadcast from December 8th, 1941 (the day after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor).

"Amos 'n' Andy": The Chicago Years. Audio downloads from 1929 and 1933 broadcasts.

Two "Empire Builders" radio broadcasts from December 22nd, 1930 and January 5th, 1931. Remarkably sophisticated production values for an early network radio dramatic series.