WLEX 50th Anniversary Show

[Steve Adkins]

I watched the 50th Anniversary Show of WLEX-TV in Lexington this month. The saddest thing I have ever seen. It was clips from all the way back to 1995 and maybe a few years before. Apparently the 20 somethings that now work at WLEX thought the 50th anniversary show should be about people that had worked there in the past five years. We got to see bloopers up to three years old of the current staff. What we didn't get to see was the Adolph Rupp Show that aired on the station for years, we didn't see the UK broadcasts when the station had the rights for years, we didn't see the staff that worked there longer than any of the newbies. It was mostly just clips of the current staff being unprofessional in segments they called bloopers and there were a lot of them. It is a shame that WLEX who has a 50 year rich tradition did not show any of it. WLEX was the first TV station in Lexington, the first Color Station in Lexington, the first UK station in Lexington but the show the 20 somethings put together talked very little of the station's history. Instead it was padded with filler stories about what UK had done in sports or what was on the NBC network. Hopefully, WKYT's 50th anniversary in 1997 will actually cover their station's history.

[Pam]

Groucho

He is my favorite Marx Brother but I thought it was a strange career move to work for WLEX.

[John Hourigan]

Sad to hear about the WLEX 50th anniversary show. I was looking forward to seeing it somehow (since I no longer live in the Lexington area), but now I'm glad I didn't make the effort to see it.

It sounds it was a lot like the WLEX 40th anniversary show that I have a tape of -- that show is pretty pathetic in that very little of the station history is covered -- just primarily "bloopers" of the news staff and other studio "bloopers."

[Dave Powell]

The problem with finding the old material is that it doesn't exist. When I started in 1971, all recording were on 2" videotape, and the tape stock cost about $270 per hour (when engineers made $3/hour). The 2" tape machines went to the dumpster in the sky about 15 years ago, and before that we told everyone who needed something from 2" to bring it before they went. There were a few Rupp shows dubbed, but I don't know where they went.

Essentially, no programs from the 60's exist.

Dave Powell, Chief Engineer, WLEX-TV

[LexTvVet]

Dave,

When I worked for WLEX, albeit briefly, in the early 90s, Billy Crawford had a bunch of still photos/slides from the early days; Bob Dunn, Todd Hunter, and some on-set stills from the Dateline and Action News (Moon-White-McNamara )days.

Is that stuff still around, or did it walk out the door when Billy did?

[John Hourigan]

Totally understand that a lot of actual program material such as videotapes, film, etc., is no longer around but it's sad to see that the earlier station history, even if it was just represented in stills and photos, was given such short shrift in these anniversary shows. Let's face it, to concentrate on the current news team (who will probably move on in a few months or years) during these anniversary shows seems a waste of an opportunity to truly celebrate a milestone in Lexington TV history.

[Dave Powell]

We demolished the old WLEX building last winter, and several of us (mostly me) saved a lot of the relics from the early years. I have a good stock of pictures and souvenirs.

I don't know what Bill Crawford had when he was promo director, but I expect that it's what we still have here. Bill is probably still running the newspaper in Carlisle.

I provided a lot of old stuff for the anniversary show, but it was produced by the newer generation.

Dave Powell

[Jim Galloway]

I worked at WLEX-TV part time as an engineer during 1958-1959. I was a UK student when the tower fell and killed the receptionist. We went to her funeral in Zanesville, OH. I remember working with Jim Robertson, Joe Polsgrove (recently Deseased), Betty Maxwell, Bob Dunn, Todd Hunter, Peter Adanek and others. Things were pretty primative by today's standards. I had the priviledge of working the Gates "Yard" audio board during Coach Rupp's shows. It hardly seems like that long ago. Those were interesting and challenging times.

[Jeff Easley]

I'm unaware of the falling tower story.Can you elaborate on that?

[Jim Galloway]

First, I need to edit my first post. I see that I have fat-fingered the word deceased. Please cut me some slack (I'm 72 and no typist). Also I forgot to mention a director named Bob Jones I worked with.
In 58 or 59 there was a self-supported radio tower near the 675 foot guyed TV tower in front of the station. The theory was the high wind caused the radio tower to resonate and fall across one of the guy wires supporting the TV tower causing it to come down like a folding rule and strike the office part of the main building. We were operating on reduced power using a temporary antenna for several weeks while a new taller solid three leg guyed tower was installed.

[Jim Galloway433NPYU]

I don't want to bore you people, but there is another incident that happened while I was at WLEX-TV.

We were airing a network show named "Suspense". There was a guy tied up in his basement with a time bomb beside him. Near rhe end of the shoe the bomb had ticked down to about a minute and at that moment we blew a $5,000.00 final tube in the RCA transmitter and were done for the night.

Almost immediately the phone started ringing. We could have taken a viewer number survey, since all of them called. I didn't realize poeple could get so worked up and say such nasty things. The next day we had to spend a lot of time telling viewers how the episode ended. (He got away)

I could go on but don't want to wear out my welcome.

Remind me to tell about my DJ duties and about the fashion show sometime at a later date.

[TVLAND]

Jim...Don't go away. The broadcasting memories are the best part of this website.....MORE MORE MORE. Do you have photos? SixtiesTV.com would love to post them. And if they are before or after the sixites - that's O.K.

[Susan]

Jim, about what year did this happen?

[Jeff Easley]

Hey Jim...Please be assured that your recollections are solid gold to us "civilians"!
Say...does anyone remember a locally produced show in the early 60's called"Flying Saucers:Fact or Fiction"?It was hosted by a military man in uniform,and each week they would examine UFO cases.It aired pre prime time,around 5:30 or 6:00 PM.I think it was on channel 18,but I'm not sure,circa '63-'64.Don't think it was on very long....

[Gary Crawford]

My name is Garry Crawford and Bill Crawford of wlex-tv was my father. I happened upon this blog while searching my father's name on Google. I've enjoyed reading the old WLEX stories. Many of which my father had already told me. My father passed away a few months ago. I grew up hearing all of the WLEX stories and Walking The Halls of the station with him on several occasions. For many years the organ that was used to play the intro to shows which sat in the Quonset hut above the station for many years wound up in my father's living room for the remainder of his life. He had it repaired and would play it occasionally when company stopped by. If anyone has any relics or old photos or video of my father I would appreciate it if you could contact me. I would love to see them and perhaps pay to have copies made. My father was dedicated to his life of broadcasting and to WLEX all of my life. As my father WLEX was a big part of who he was. If anyone cares to contact me regarding photos Etc. I can be reached at 859-327-2886 I realize this is an old blog from many years ago but still thought I'd take a chance that someone may read this