Arlene Francis. Hazel Scott. Betty White.
These women were among the first to show up in living rooms across the United States as the earliest stars of television. Their role in the new medium was the subject of a recent presentation at the Rye Free Reading Room by Evan Weiner, whose lifetime of work in radio and television led him to a study of the role of women in TV.
In a wide-ranging presentation (available now on YouTube as well) Weiner highlighted Francis, known for “What’s My Line,” who, in 1949, hosted the first television game. She was hired by Sylvester (“Pat”) Weaver, father of Sigourney Weaver, who also developed the Today Show and the Tonight Show. He chose Francis to host “Blind Date,” which was previously on radio.
Weiner noted that Scott in 1950 became not only one of the early women on TV, but the first person of color to host a television show, The Hazel Scott Show. Scott had a long history of performance. She was born in Trinidad and in her teens performed at Café Society and had her own show on WOR in New York while still in school. Pop star Alicia Keys, Weiner said, mentioned Hazel Scott in 2019, saying she wished to play two pianos at the same time, as Scott did.
Not every woman in early television was in front of the camera. Irma Phillips, an early radio and television writer, introduced techniques into the early soap operas that continue to this day. Phillips developed the “organ bridge,” the use of music to heighten tension between scenes and to mark a cliff hanger at the end of each episode.
While some pioneers remain in our current imagination, other remarkable women have faded. Weiner brought Gertrude Berg to life again, noting that she was writer, actor, and producer for the long-running “Goldbergs” on early television. She brought NBC scripts written in pencil, but by 1936 she had a five-year, million-dollar contract (an estimated $20 million today). She learned her craft writing skits at her father’s Catskills resort, and at the height of her fame she was named the second most-admired woman in America after Eleanor Roosevelt.
Weiner credited her and others, including Lucille Ball, with tackling controversial issues decades ago. For Ball, one of the major issues was her marriage to Desi Arnaz, which at the time was considered “interracial” and therefore illegal in many of the then 48 states. Her extraordinary popularity and the success of the show surmounted the societal outrage.
Still, her grandfather was a Communist, and in September, 1953, she was called upon to give testimony before the House Un-American Activities Committee. Unlike others, she survived the ordeal, possibly because FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover was a fan. Later Arnaz would warm up audiences with “The only thing red about Lucy is her hair, and even that is not legitimate.” I Love Lucy still lives in the streaming world, Weiner pointed out, earning $20 million a year.
Betty White, who died in late 2021 at age 99, was one of Weiner’s favorites. Her long and successful career began
on radio, after she was rejected by television executives as “not photogenic.” She eventually moved to television, hosting The Betty White Show, which included hours of live ad-lib, six days a week over a four-year period. White included Arthur Duncan, an African-American tap dancer, as a regular on her show, drawing criticism from the network and advertisers. Her response to them: “I’m sorry, live with it,” and she gave Duncan more air time.
Weiner also highlighted the career of Anna May Wong, who was the first Asian-American lead in a television show, “The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong,” in 1951. She had achieved international stardom by 1924, and had acted in silent films. Though she faced discrimination, Weiner said, she made history with her television show on the DuMont Network — one of America’s pioneering commercial television networks that “took chances.”
Weiner began his own career at 15 in 1971 by hosting a Spring Valley High School talk show on WRKL Radio, in Mount Ivy, N.Y. He had a special interest in the business of sports, worked with newspapers around the country, and appeared on major television and radio networks, including years-long work with John Madden’s Radio program. He is the author of several books on sports and politics.