Daytime WOF records at Library of Congress
Jan 25, 2019 22:23:25 GMT -5
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StrangerCoug, trisspinner, and 3 more like this
Post by WarioSajak on Jan 25, 2019 22:23:25 GMT -5
So...I learned something today: the first ten years of the daytime show may have been wiped, but they're not completely gone - per this page, NBC made sure of that.
From 1939-85, NBC had "program cards" written by anonymous network staff, which contained notes about every episode of every program aired by the network (a separate set of cards, covering NBC Radio, were made from 1930-60) - including, as you may have guessed, Wheel of Fortune. Over 600,000 of these cards are held at the Library of Congress, having been donated to them by NBC in 1988, and are publicly viewable:
The program cards for The Price Is Right have been transcribed by The Bill Cullen Archive, which notes that there was no real rhyme or reason as to what specific notes NBC staff elected to make. Still, it may indicate what kind of info the Wheel cards have.
In any case, at least something exists of those missing shows.
From 1939-85, NBC had "program cards" written by anonymous network staff, which contained notes about every episode of every program aired by the network (a separate set of cards, covering NBC Radio, were made from 1930-60) - including, as you may have guessed, Wheel of Fortune. Over 600,000 of these cards are held at the Library of Congress, having been donated to them by NBC in 1988, and are publicly viewable:
Researchers can access the NBC television Program Analysis File in the Moving Image Research Center in Washington, D.C. Please contact a reference librarian for more information.
The program cards for The Price Is Right have been transcribed by The Bill Cullen Archive, which notes that there was no real rhyme or reason as to what specific notes NBC staff elected to make. Still, it may indicate what kind of info the Wheel cards have.
In any case, at least something exists of those missing shows.
