COMMAERNTTARY
Looking Back
By Dick Crippen
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017 | TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE 139
Have you had those times
when you think back on
where you have been,
what you have done and
how you got where you are? For
some reason, I was doing that
recently, and it made me smile. For
instance, perhaps I should have had
a premonition about a career in
television when I watched the first
ever Howdy Doody Show, since I
would later end up working on its last episode. Part of my early
career before broadcasting was spent as a page at NBC in New
York, where for almost two years I worked at Rockefeller Center.
I was a witness to some television history as it unfolded, such
as working the Peanut Gallery for the final Howdy Doody Show.
Television was starting to come into its own in the early 1950s
and by 1959, I was part of it. Five days a week, my morning
assignment was to go to the Ziegfield Theatre and assist at
The Price Is Right that was hosted by Bill Cullen. Don Pardo,
the show’s announcer at the time, later went on to greater fame
with Saturday Night Live. I was a part-time page, which meant
I would work split shifts, and that’s what I did for the entire term
of my employment there. I often would take the afternoon off
and sit in Radio Central to watch some of the top DJ’s as they
worked. That both filled my time and gave me an education
in the field, while I was waiting to report for my evening shift.
For four nights a week, I went to Studio 7A for the Tonight Show
starring Jack Paar. Generally, my responsibility was to get the
show’s guests to their dressing rooms. This allowed me to meet
and engage with a large number of celebrities.
On Friday nights, I would make the trek to the Ziegfeld Theatre,
where we would have two seatings for Perry Como’s Kraft
Music Hall. It was a hard ticket to
score, so there was one seating for
the dress rehearsal and another
seating for the live show. The
majority of my time was spent as
the backstage page, handing out
the keys to dressing rooms and
handling various other requests.
I’m happy to say that Perry Como
was every bit as nice in person as
he was on the small screen.
Being part-time, I was able to work other shifts, and therefore,
other shows and events. On November 8, 1959, I was assigned
Studio 8H where NBC had set up an elaborate set for election
night. It encompassed the entire studio, which was massive. My
assignment was on the platform from which Chet Huntley and
David Brinkley announced the election of John F. Kennedy as
the youngest president in American history.
I also worked on other shows like Merv Griffin’s Play Your
Hunch, the original Concentration with Hugh Downs, Jan Murray’s
Treasure Hunt and Queen for a Day, which I did twice. Looking
back, I realize I did not fully understand how fortunate I was
then to be part of this new growing industry. Maybe I should
have realized I was going to end up in broadcasting the first
time I was introduced to Howdy Doody, but I didn’t. It is only in
retrospect that we get to see how we got to where we are. Life just
seems to happen while we are worrying about other things. 9
EDITOR’S NOTE: Dick Crippen, a staple in Tampa Bay broadcasting
for more than 40 years, is a senior adviser for the Tampa Bay Rays,
and works extensively with the military. He is active in the world of
charity fundraising and sits on 11 boards for nonprofit organizations.
Dick Crippen