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| Newspaper Ad from the New York Daily News, December 23, 1949 |
A&S Gala Christmas Day Television Party
December 25, 1949
WNBT New York, 3:00pm EST
The "A&S Gala Christmas Day Television Party" was one of television's first big Christmas spectaculars, with two hours of broadcast time. The program reportedly featured "20 stupendous acts" which included most prominent children's entertainers like Clarabell the Clown from "Howdy Doody", Irene Wicker "The Singing Lady" of radio and TV fame, Paul Winchell and his dummy Jerry Mahoney. The line-up also included Popeye and Olive Oyl, but it is not clear if they were featured as broadcast cartoons or live performer portraying them. A large ad for the special appearing in local papers claimed that the special would feature the debut of Woody Woodpecker & Andy Panda cartoons in New York. Of course Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus were also part of the broadcast.
A&S was Abraham & Straus, was a long running department store company that later became a part of Macy's.
It is not clear if this gala was broadcast to a national audience.
Like most broadcast from 1949, the A&S Christmas special was most likely never recorded, or kinescope were destroyed and are long since lost.
