I have been fascinated by electronics all my life. I never had the computational or science skills to peruse a career in science. I seemed to be more fascinated about science fiction and as a child I would dream of robots and magical machines. Art can be a wonderful blend of science and image making. Many of my works today are metaphors about the intersection of science and art.
This interest stems from my grandfather Isom and my dad. Grandpa was always tinkering in his workshop. He had stacks of popular Mechanics magazines in his workshop that I read voraciously. His work bench was piled high with early electronic devices scavenged from his job as signal maintainer for the Illinois Southern Railroad.
My dad background was similar. He was an electrician and always wanted to have the latest gadget on the market. I remember how he was constantly trying to get better reception on the radio and television. He had a small collection of electronic tools that fascinated me and I would dream of how I could make a great scientific breakthroughs if could learn how to use them. He had a tube tester, oscilloscope and signal generator. Unfortunately, he did not let me help him or share his knowledge. He always felt I was not bright enough to do such complicated work. I still watched from afar and continued to dream.
When I was about eight years old, my dad obtained a Hallicrafter television. I don’t remember where he got it, but I assume it was from Sears Roebuck. I do know that is caused many arguments between my mom and dad because its original cost was 200.00. We were just recovering from the Depression and money was tight. My dad put the television in the front room on a small table. My mom refused to watch it and did not want me to have anything to do with the evil machine. My curiosity got the best of me and I begged for permission. I remember being mesmerized by the grainy black and white pictures and the tiny figures moving inside this mysterious metal cabinet. Stations only broadcast sporadically and my dad was constantly adjustive the antenna and turning the knobs. We were able to watch Crusader Rabbit, Time for Beany and Kukla Fran and Ollie. Crusader Rabbit was the first animated produced specifically for television. The concept was test marketed in 1948, while the initial episode - Crusader vs. the State of Texas - aired on KNBH in Los Angeles on August 1, 1950. Beany and Cecil first appeared as a hand puppet television show in the late 40's created by Bob Clamped. Burr Tillstrom was the creator and only puppeteer on the Kukla Fran and Ollie show, which premiered as the hour-long Junior Jamboree locally on WBKB in Chicago, Illinois, on October 13, 1947.
My dad bought a magnifying glass for the set and the illusion was straight out of a science fiction book. We had that set for about two years. As the economy improved we had a series of televisions. My dad also built a DeForest-Sanabria television from a kit in 1950. Each new television was a wonder and sparked my interests and enchanted me.Today at eighty-two it is hard for me to resist new technology.
Hallicrafters Model 505 (T-54) Television (1948) Introduced in 1948,
Hallicrafters sold this TV in a few different cabinets. The first was model T-54, introduced in 1947. The T-54 came in the same grey metal cabinet as the popular Hallicrafters SX-42 communications radio. Raymond Loewy, the famous Machine Age designer, is credited with designing both of these sets.
Crusader Rabbit
The concept of an animated series made for television came from animator Alex Anderson, who worked for Terrytoons Studios. Terrytoons turned down Anderson's proposed series, preferrring to remain in theatrical film animation, so Anderson approached Jay Ward to create a partnership, Anderson being in charge of production and Ward arranging financing. Ward became business manager and producer, joining with Anderson to form "Television Arts Productions" in 1947. They tried to sell the series (initially presented as part of a proposed series, The Comic Strips of Television, which featured an early incarnation of Dudley Do-Right) to the NBC television network, with Jerry Fairbanks as the network's "supervising producer".[2] NBC did not telecast Crusader Rabbit on their network, but allowed Fairbanks to sell the series in national syndication, with many NBC affiliates (including New York and Los Angeles) picking it up for local showings. WNBC-TV in New York continued to show the original Crusader Rabbit episodes from 1949 through 1967, and some stations used the program as late as the 1970s.
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