Island of Lost Christmas Specials: A&S Gala Christmas Party, 1949

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. 

From The Archives: "Based On The TV Program" (1950s)

Here are scans of book covers from 50's era television programs. Chicago style citations are in the captions.

Schroeder, Doris. 1955. Annie Oakley in danger at Diablo. Racine, Wis: Whitman Pub. Co.

Annie Oakley (1954 1957) was one of the best "kiddie" westerns from the 1950s. In the series the fictional Annie (Gail Davis) lived in the town of Diablo with her kid brother Tagg (Jimmy Hawkins It's A Wonderful Life).

Jason, Leon. ill. Ruhman, Ruth. 1957. Jingle dingle book.  New York, NY. Wonder Books.

Jingle Dingle was a jolly character created by New York artist Leon Jason to be their weatherman for local TV stations. For information on local kids TV characters like Jingle Dingle there is still no better source than Tim Hollis's Hi There, Boys and Girls!: America's Local Children's TV Shows

Fisher, Lois J., and Karl Murr. 1951. Lois and Looie; inside a TV show. Chicago: Children's Press.

Lois Jeanette Fisher (1907? - 1988) was an accomplished cartoonist, teacher and writer by the time she hosted Lois and Looie for WENR-TV in Chicago. She told and illustrated the adventures of herself, a boy named Looie, a puppy named Poco and the horse Starbaby. She had previously hosted Trace-A-Pix for WPIX in New York and an early experimental interactive video series in Chicago around 1945. There will much more about her in future posts. 

Children's television magazine, July 1952. Haverford, Pa. Charles L. Shaffer, Inc.

Above a below are the cover and a spread page from Children's Television Magazine. According to the 1953 Catalog of Copyright Entries, this may have been the only issue of this magazine ever published. The funny looking puppet on the cover is Willie the Worm from "Junior Hi-Jinx with Willie" or simply Junior Hi-Jinx a CBS-TV children's program. For more about this series I will share this link to a page in Wesley Hyatt's amazing book Short Lived Television Programs, 1948-1978. 

Children's television magazine, July 1952. Haverford, Pa. Charles L. Shaffer, Inc.

There are so many stories about how amazed children were that the Princess from Howdy Doody (1947-1960) became a dancing singing human being. Were you one of them?