Gram and I were children during what was called the Golden Age of Television – the 1950’s. During this era, the radio was gradually supplanted by the TV – radio’s first competitor – as the primary form of family entertainment in homes throughout the United States. The fireside chats of President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave way to the evening news with Walter Cronkite.
My parents purchased our first television just before I turned two years old. This was when we lived on the Naval Station in Norfolk, Virginia. Shortly after I was born, my dad had been called back to active military duty during the Korean War. We were fortunate that – as a Supply Officer – he was based stateside. I recall him telling me that he and the Chaplain were the only men in our neighborhood; all the other fathers were at sea. As a child I did not realize how fortunate I was to have my dad come home each day after work.
There were family photographs that included the television in our home, taken before I actually became aware of the TV or became fascinated by the entertainment it provided. TVs in those days were neither flat nor easy to move. They were heavy pieces of equipment, often designed to look like furniture. Our RCA Victor television was a beautiful console model. The cathode ray tube was about 2 feet deep, with the beam from the electron gun at the back aimed by a focusing coil to guide where the electrons should strike the phosphor layer on the inner side of what we knew as the black-and-white TV screen. The controls were dials mounted on the wooden panel just below the screen. One of them allowed us to switch between the only three available channels – CBS, NBC, and ABC. Folding doors closed off the front of the television when it was not in use. Below is the best picture of our first TV (and me) that I could find.
My father, who had been a state wrestling champion in high school, enjoyed watching boxing on TV – the “Friday night fights”. And I enjoyed sitting with him. But I could never figure out the purpose behind all this fighting, especially since nobody seemed to have any argument to resolve. I preferred watching television shows about cowboys.
TV westerns were abundant during the 1950’s and 1960’s. My first TV hero was Hopalong Cassidy. I wore a black hat like he did. (That was before the days when only the bad guys wore black hats.) However, I don’t think I ever owned Hopalong Boots, mentioned in the 1951 hit song It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas.[1]
I regularly watched The Lone Ranger, with the anonymous masked Texas Ranger and his Indian friend, Tonto, teaching the moral code of the rugged West:[2]
I believe that to have a friend, a man must be one. That all men are created equal and that everyone has within himself the power to make this a better world. That God put the firewood there, but every man must gather and light it himself. In being prepared physically, mentally, and morally to fight when necessary for what is right. That a man should make the most of what equipment he has. That “this government of the people, by the people and for the people” shall live always. That men should live by the rule of what is best for the greatest number. That sooner or later – somewhere, somehow – we must settle with the world and make payment for what we have taken.
Ironically, The Lone Ranger was also one of my earliest exposures to classical music. Its theme song was Rossinni’s William Tell Overture, which – in my opinion – was perfect for this TV western.[3] Other great TV cowboy theme songs, when I hear them, also transport me back to the early years of my life. I especially liked the theme songs from Rawhide,[4] Bonanza, and Maverick.
The longest running TV western was Gunsmoke (with 635 episodes between 1955 and 1975). I was transfixed by the gentle manner and decisive action of Marshall Matt Dillon, played by James Arness for 20 years. In 1960 I was excited to have the chance to see Mr. Arness in person. I was one of 56,377 scouts in attendance at the 50th Anniversary Boy Scout National Jamboree, held in Colorado Springs. I don’t remember what he said that day, but his honorable character seemed as real in person as it was on television.
The abundance of TV westerns began to disappear in the 1960’s, when current events forced me – and all of society – to become more aware of shocking social changes: the assassinations of John F. Kennedy in November 1963, Malcolm X in February 1965, Martin Luther King in April 1968, and Robert Kennedy in June 1968; the war in Vietnam; the resumption of the military draft; and anti-war protests on college campuses. And memorable was the killing of 4 and wounding of 9 unarmed students at Kent State University by national guard troops in May 1970. The problems of today – as horrific and existential as they are – remind me in many ways of what our country endured a half century ago.
The great benefit of television in the 1950’s and early 1960’s was the way in which it defined a common culture for the vast majority of American families who were watching it. People no longer heard regional accents among national news broadcasters. We all watched the same TV programs and saw the same news coverage of events. We all heard the same opinions that reflected the editorial judgment of newsroom directors.
This was also a disadvantage. In the early days of television, we did not have access to the varied perspectives that exist today – and likely existed then. Because of television, some of us believed that we lived in a homogeneous society. Many of us misinterpreted our national motto, E pluribus unum (“out of many, one”) to reflect a goal of homogenizing our society, rather than its intended purpose in unifying the 13 original and very different colonies in their pursuit of freedom from Great Britain. But the reality is that the people of the United States are, and have always been, many. And each people group adds richness to the texture of our society.
The challenge, if we hope to keep our democracy, is to understand and appreciate the contribution of each constituent member of our society. It is neither necessary nor desirable that television homogenize our individual and unique perspectives in to a single national character. However, it is necessary that we agree upon the values of dialogue and respectful discourse in charting the best path forward for our country and for our people.
Opa
[1] As sung by Perry Como and the Fontaine Sisters:
[2] https://www.npr.org/2008/01/14/18073741/the-lone-ranger-justice-from-outside-the-law
[3] Perfected by Glen Campbell on the guitar:
[4] Listen at:
So descriptive! Stirs up many things. Thank you for this!