Tex and Jinx - April 3, 1950 (excerpt)

First up in the blog this week, excerpts from the April 3, 1950 episode of the NBC morning talk show “Tex and Jinx”.

There are not that many episodes that survive of the series and it’s a shame since the couple interviewed many celebrities during the run of the show.

This episode features an interview with Manie Sacks.  Sacks, not generally known to the public, was the head of Columbia records, befriending and developing artists such as Frank Sinatra and Harry James.  He was also instrumental, through his friendships in the business, with prompting Jack Benny, Burns and Allen and Edgar Bergen to switch from NBC to CBS.  You can read about Manie Sacks at this website; oddly, for his prominence at Columbia and later RCA, you’d think he’d have a Wikipedia page.

There are two segments of this show - part three and six of what were originally six parts of a 78 rpm recording of the program.  In the first, Sacks discusses working with Dinah Shore when she began working at Columbia and, in the second, “flubs” by recording artists, including one by Buddy Clark that he saved where Clark made a mistake and just finished the song by imitating other artists.  (I wonder if that outtake survives.)

Our excerpts were transferred from a 12” NBC Reference lacquer recorded at 78 rpm.  The excerpts are of parts three and six; the rest of the episode doesn’t survive.  The network cue and NBC chimes are heard at the end.