Date: Fri, 3 Oct 1997 23:52:49 -0400

From: "Barry A. Popik" Bapopik[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]AOL.COM

Subject: Television & Radio research; T.T.F.N.



MUSEUM OF TELEVISION & RADIO



Television and Radio are very important, but you won't see many OED or

RHHDAS citations from their programs. Perhaps that will change, but right

now, television and radio language research is very difficult.

I went to the Museum of Televison & Radio today. I typed in "Stapp."

Nothing came up.

Maybe John Paul Stapp said "Murphy's Law" on a radio or televison

program in the 1950s, and maybe he didn't. We may never know.

Stapp made the New York Times, Time, Newsweek, Life, Collier's--every

important national print publication. Does this mean he never did a single

radio or television program? TV producers saw all those headlining stories

of a guy defying death at speeds of 600 miles per hour and all said "it's not

for us"??

"We don't have every tv and radio program," said someone connected with

the Museum. No shit!

Most of the "What's My Line?" and "I've Got a Secret" shows are not

indexed, and many are missing. The "What's My Line?" shows were indexed by

"Mystery Guest" only, but each half-hour show had two other guests (three

guests each show). The "mystery guests" were mainly entertainment types,

such as Jack Benny or Zsa Zsa Gabor. Stapp was not there as a "mystery

guest." That doesn't mean he was never on the show as a regular guest.

Surely, some scientists appeared on "What's My Line?"?

These shows are in the Museum's archives and take a week to retrieve. I

don't even know what shows to request.

TV and Radio research really sucks.



------------------------------------------------