Updated with three new edits, which I didn't have time to complete before Christmas. The 1973 and 1974 specials have been edited, and the 1976 special revisited.
Bing Crosby's White Christmas Special (1976)Honeymooners star Jackie Gleason sings, dances and tells jokes like only The Great One can. The sensational Bernadette Peters joins in. The Crosby kids were well into their teens by 1976 and this special, broadcast on CBS on December 1, acknowledges that. Mary (age 17) seeks career advice from Tony Award nominee Bernadette Peters (who was then starring in the sitcom All's Fair). Eighteen-year-old Harry dreams of a record deal. Future pro golfer Nathaniel (age 15) focuses on his golf game. And the kids take center stage for a Disco variation on “Jingle Bells.” There's also a tribute to lyricist and songwriter Johnny Mercer, who died just days before the show was taped.This was the most difficult edit, and its difficulty was the inspiration for this project. I was disappointed in the best available source, which is 545x240p in size, and cut down from an hour to about 32 minutes (losing about 18 minutes of program). Even with all that you can tell there's frame blending from an ancient PAL to NTSC conversion. The 1975 special with Fred Astaire is in a similar state (more on that below). This is slightly zoomed in, about 101%. This is an official source, but it's very poorly done. This reduces the picture resolution to 38 percent, and cuts almost half of the content. Awful release.The following songs are cut from the DVD source and were restored here:Bernadette Peters "I Feel Pretty"/"One (Singular Sensation)"Bing and Kathryn "I Love to Dance Like They Used to Dance"Jackie and Bing Santa Claus/ "Put It There, Pal"Crosby Family "Home for the Holidays"Main source: 32 minutes. Upscaled from a 545x240p presentation by Keith Drozdowski.GetTV source: 42 minutes.GetTV reran many of these specials around 2016, although in a very bit-starved fashion that actually makes the result worse than the 240p version. Some rips have hints of interlacing, but in such a low bit rate presentation it wasn't worth trying to preserve it. Therefore the 1976 and 1975 specials are edited here at 29.97 fps (and the 1973 and 1974, when I get round to them). The GetTV reruns are about 42 minutes long, cutting 9 minutes of material. They also have onscreen graphics, including a station ID which is minimized through color correction here. This is all slightly zoomed in, about 103%. Pufnstuf's rips were used.Paley Center Digital Copy (for reference only): I viewed a copy held by the Paley collection, at the Beverly Hills library. I do not have this copy myself. I took careful notes on which commercials were included, at a time when I thought I wouldn't have any other source for commercials. This was helpful for many reasons.I was unable to source the first commercial in the fourth break. John Cameron Swayze, Timex Electric Clock (Wrist Clock) in front of clock background. "No winding, no worries."US VHS source: 57 minutes. Rare. Something like a third-generation VHS or Beta. Audio noise reduced in Izotope RX8. Includes original commercials until the second half, when one break has thirty seconds of dead air, then one break is skipped entirely, and another break is skipped so that we only get a glimpse at the ads. DVDr runs at 59.94 fps, but this full frame rate is not used here. Some glitches, which I've repaired when possible. An unstable, "fizzy" look generally. I've reduced the contrast through layering. This differs a little from the Paley copy, commercialwise. Deinterlaced with Hybrid QTGMC, Very Slow.UK VHS source: From Youtube, via Jeff Gilbert. This is worse visually than the US VHS, but the audio is better. Audio noise reduced in Izotope RX8. There are no commercials, and the edit is different, with act breaks in different places. It is called "Bing Crosby's White Christmas" in bumpers rather than "White Christmas Special." Bernadette's "One (Singular Sensation)" is moved up, after "Happy Holiday" (without a break), and before "A Pair of Loafers" (with a break between). The transitions are shorter here, so the US edit must have been the intended one. There are no sponsors mentioned. Runs at about 25fps. The interlacing only survives as blurred lines which ruin the picture. I've reduced the contrast through layering.UK digital source: From Youtube. Clearly an ITV archive leak, but the uploader has only included Bernadette's "One (Singular Sensation)." Timecoded up top. Runs at 25fps and it's all cleaner than the US version. I'd like to see the actual 50fps UK master, which would look great.Periscope Film source: This stock footage house has recent film scans of three Amana appliance ads with Barbara Hale and Tom Selleck. The edit is slightly different to what actually aired with this special, as I'll detail. They're also much more zoomed in. I used Dr Dre's 2015 Color Matching Tool to make the scans more colorful and less faded looking. There is an onscreen credit for Periscope Film, and timecode.Bing Crosby The Christmas Years 1978 VHS: TonyLoccsta upload. This is a clipshow, as originally aired with commercials. It's in another upload. It's used for some picture content during "Put It There, Pal", and the Timex Elephant ad. It's also used during other specials. This source is somewhat damaged, with horizontal stress lines often appearing across the picture. Deinterlaced with Hybrid QTGMC, Very Slow.A Bing Crosby Christmas 1997 VHS: Originally a 1979 special, I believe. Archived in HD for some reason. Overlaid to improve the picture during "Home For the Holidays," which is otherwise GetTV sourced. Onscreen text was removed using this. Also used in other specials when necessary.https://archive.org/details/@video_home_systemAdditional Youtube sources: For some commercials.______________The editing:The CBS Wednesday Night Movie slide: US VHS. Photoshopped based on a series of frames from the VHS to be as clean as possible, but still poor. I believe the amateurish nature of the audio is as aired, with the sound of a microphone being picked up and heavy background noise.CBS Special Presentation 1973 ("Call to Danger" Morton Stevens): From a Blu-Ray of "The Making of The Deep." I believe this version is frame-blended compared to how it should be."White Christmas," intro with Bing Crosby, Crosby Family, Bernadette Peters, Jackie Gleason, "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas/Happy Holiday": 240p DVD source, upscaled to 480. This is the American version with overt branding for Amana appliances and Timex watches.Amana Radarange ad with Tom Selleck and Barbara Hale: Periscope Film source. Unfortunately the US VHS shows that this is somewhat different from what aired, so I've also cut in the US VHS which looks awful. It's longer up front, with the wife saying "Okay" as she hangs up the phone, and with extra footage of a vertical splitscreen as Tom rides his bike and the wife presses buttons on the microwave. This is 5-6 seconds longer. The ending is also shorter on the VHS, which I've ignored here in favor of the Periscope source. The image shrinks earlier as Tom arrives and is centered, and the Amana logos and text appear at the bottom of the screen centered. This is a recurring difference with the Periscope source. Lots of room is left at the bottom of the screen, presumably for local appliance stores to be mentioned. This is not the layout as aired. Due to the higher quality of the Periscope source I've gone with what appears there.James Towley of Champlin, Minnesota, wrote Timex a letter: US VHS. It takes a licking and keeps on ticking.Jackie Gleason and Bing Crosby "A Pair of Loafers." Upscaled 240p DVD. A fadeout is undone through raising the white levels, and the footage instead reverses and dissolves to:Bernadette Peters "I Feel Pretty" (snippet). US VHS with UK VHS audio. Poor quality. The audio is crackly here but I still prefer it to the US audio. Contrast reduced and resized to match it to:Kathryn and Bernadette intro. Upscaled 240p DVD. Fade-ins and fade-outs undone, with color kept consistent with EBSynth colorization. Kathryn and Bernadette "I Feel Pretty" (snippet). US VHS with UK VHS audio.Bernadette Peters "One (Singular Sensation)": ITV archive source, from Youtube. Timecode removed up top, with some of the US VHS visible in the window. This is the only clip I have of this version, which looks good. It cuts out early, so some applause audio is looped and EBSynth is used to create additional frames of Bernadette standing still before the fadeout, using the US VHS motion. The picture suddenly becomes wobbly here for that reason. I could have simply reversed the footage, as the motion would still be similar, but I felt this would be more authentic. It was difficult to match the US VHS to the ITV source here, because the VHS picture had become so distorted.John Cameron Swayze Timex "Elephant" Ad: This was also aired during the 1978 special, so that source is used here. It cuts in late so the first few frames are from the US VHS. Additionally, the final shot of the watches is stabilized, and prices are added digitally, since the 1976 airing had prices over the watches. Some of the tape damage is also masked out during this shot, as the 1978 airing has frequent horizontal tape damage.Amana Touchmatic Radarange "Daughter and Mother": Periscope film source used throughout for quality purposes. This differs slightly from what aired in 1976. The 1976 VHS has a voiceover by Barbara Hale at the end, which I have included. The US VHS is a little longer toward the end, although not in any obvious way which affects the footage used. As before, the Periscope source leaves lots of room at the bottom of the screen at the end, rather than putting the Amana text there. I have not fixed this arrangement, but it would be possible to do so.Harry, Nathaniel and Mary Frances Crosby "Jingle Bells Disco Medley": Upscaled 240p DVD. Bing and Kathryn "I Love to Dance Like They Used to Dance": GetTV source. Onscreen bug color-corrected out. We're still on the GetTV source for the first few seconds of:Jackie, Bernadette and Bing "Style": The first shot is corrected with the GetTV source and various trickery. Otherwise, upscaled 240p DVD.Barbara Hale for Amana. "Freezer on the Bottom, Freezer on the Side, Freezer on the Top." US VHS source. This is exactly as aired, including the centered text layout at the end.Timex "It's the right Timex to give her a new watch" with Irene Cara and others: The first few frames and last few frames are from US VHS. Rest is from a Youtube source, color corrected.Bing Crosby's White Christmas Special bumper: US VHS.George Burns Special ad and CBS bumper: US VHS. These George Burns specials are on DVD somewhere for the curious. There is no sign of this ad in the Paley center version. We then take thirty seconds to break for local ads, which is just dead air on the US VHS. I've omitted this.Bing and UK boy's choir "Swinging On a Star," Bernadette and Mary Frances "No Business Like Show Business" dialogue: Upscaled 240p DVD. A fadeout is undone as we switch to US VHS for:Johnny Mercer Medley (Bernadette and Crosbys): US VHS with UK VHS audio. US audio used briefly as Bing calls for Harry before sitting down, as the UK glitches at that moment. US version glitches during the end of "Jeepers Creepers." This has been corrected using Photoshop, the UK version's motion, and EBSynth. US version glitches badly during the first lines of "Hooray For Hollywood," so the UK VHS visuals are used. UK bumper: "Bing Crosby's White Christmas." The US VHS omits this commercial break, so I thought I'd use a little license and include the UK bumper here.I was unable to source the first commercial in the fourth break at this time. John Cameron Swayze, Timex Electric Clock (Wrist Clock) in front of clock background. "No winding, no worries."Barbara Hale with two Amana Radaranges: Youtube source.Jackie, Bernadette, Bing and Kathryn Santa Claus scene: GetTV source. This follows "Swinging on a Star" on GetTV, and I haven't attempted to restore the fade-in to full length since it cuts in late on the US VHS anyway. Onscreen GetTV logo darkened, black bars around picture until:Jackie and Bing Santas "Put It There, Pal": GetTV source, with 1978 special used around the edges. I couldn't use the 1976 VHS source around the edges earlier because the quality is too poor.Amana Radarange ad with Tom Selleck and Barbara Hale: Periscope Film source. Yes, this is the same ad twice. I've presented the Periscope source's edit here, which is a bit different. The US VHS only shows a few frames of this ad (and the next one), and I don't remember (from the Paley screening) whether this was a different edit, and whether Barbara Hale was shown onscreen this time. I can confirm that it started the same way, and had the horizontal splitscreen section with the bikes.John Cameron Swayze for Timex Quartz "Control Center/Street Interviews": Youtube source. US VHS only shows a few frames of this.Crosby Family "Home for the Holidays": GetTV source, and the 1997 VHS which I believe is the 1979 special. The fade-in here was tricky, and needed careful compositing from several sources. Onscreen text also had to be removed using the 1997 source. Otherwise it's the 1997 source overlaid on the GetTV source. Boy's choir "Wassailing (Caroling)", Boys and Men "Hark! the Herald Angels Sing," Women "Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella," Jackie and Boys "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen," Bernadette "What Child Is This, Who Laid to Rest," Bing and Boys and Women and Group "I Saw Three Ships," Bing "Silent Night," Group "Joy to the World": It's the Christmas medley. Upscaled 240p DVD. Easy.Timex, Kid asks parents "Ask me the time." "20 minutes." Not a toy, but a Timex. John Cameron Swayze VO. US VHS source, as aired.Barbara Hale for Amana "Sped-up Housewife/Freezer on the Bottom": Periscope Film source. This is a bit different from what actually aired, and the US VHS is used for Barbara Hale's final lines which are different. They were different visually also, but that wouldn't be clear from the US VHS with its poor quality. I have removed dirt from the ad in PFClean, and also extended the opening shot with the sped-up housewife, which fades in late on the Periscope source. It was a lot of work to get this brief section up to standard. Photoshop was used to build clean frames of the fridge and delete dirt generally. As the housewife enters, there are three "wrong" frames taken from another part of the same shot. But by the fourth frame of her we are on a heavily cleaned-up version of the first clear frame in the Periscope source's fade-in. These are colored and cleaned up by hand carefully until about frame 11 of her. The section with the ice maker at the end is also extended. Then because I was tired editing, Barbara Hale is out of sync and there's more black screen than there's supposed to be until:Goodbyes/Bing sings "White Christmas" / Credits: Upscaled 240p DVD. Easy. This is the US edit with Amana and Timex sponsorship. I've also included the voiceover from the 1976 US VHS airing in some versions of this._______________________________________________________________________________________________________________Merry Christmas Fred, From The Crosbys (1975)Thirty-three years after they shared the screen in Holiday Inn (1942), Bing and Fred Astaire reunite for this special, originally broadcast on December 3, 1975. The premise: Seventy-six-year-old Astaire and Bing (age 72) are teaming up once again to record an album. The hour is devoted to them testing out tunes, from old favorites to contemporary pop hits. The teen choral group The Young Americans are also on hand to provide some youth appeal, and are definitely not a cult. Joe Bushkin is there on the piano, as Fred and Bing revisit their work in Blue Skies (1946). And there's a surprise appearance by Bob Hope, an old friend of Bing's who's sure to bring back a memory or two.(Also don't watch Holiday Inn (1942) unprepared; it's got blackface in it.)This was a much easier edit, but at under 34 minutes we're still missing over sixteen minutes of special on the main DVD source. And there were still some other challenges. The following songs are cut:Bing and Fred with Joe : "Swinging On a Star"/"Oh! Look at Me Now"Young Americans medley : "Beautiful City"/"Love Will Keep Us Together"/"Time for Livin'"Mary Frances and Fred and boys : "Pick Yourself Up"/"Cheek to Cheek"/"Dangerous Rhythm/The Continental"Harry/Bing/Fred : "You've Got a Friend""Christmas Medley" Fred and family : "Christmas Bells Are Ringing"/"Jingle Bells"/"Sleigh Ride"/"Toyland"/"Let It Snow"/"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"Main source: Under 34 minutes. Upscaled from a 545x240p presentation by Keith Drozdowski. Interlacing is of course long gone, so this runs 29.97 fps, and so will this edit. All the film is very frame-blended.GetTV source: 42 minutes or so. It's missing the "Pick Yourself Up"/"Cheek to Cheek" sequence, but is otherwise used for the missing songs, with onscreen logo color corrected. 29.97 fps. Onscreen text not removed during "Young Americans medley." Hm.US VHS source: From Youtube, via Jeff Gilbert. 30 fps. Complete broadcast with Kraft commercials. Low quality but I've seen worse. Contrast was reduced for "Cheek to Cheek" sequence. Audio noise reduced with Izotope RX8. This is used around the edges during "Young Americans Medley" and other scenes, and is used generally for commercials and the "Pick Yourself Up/Cheek to Cheek" sequence. A glitches as Mary Frances leaves the room after "Pick Yourself Up" is probably how it was on air, but has been corrected somewhat.Blue Skies (1946) Blu-Ray: Since the DVD source is so frame-blended, I thought I'd put in a newer transfer of the Blue Skies clip "A Couple of Song and Dance Men." The framing of this version does not match what aired in the special.CBS Special Presentation 1973 ("Call to Danger" Morton Stevens): From a Blu-Ray of "The Making of The Deep." I believe this version is frame-blended compared to how it should be.Bing Crosby The Christmas Years 1978 VHS: TonyLoccsta upload. Deinterlaced with Hybrid QTGMC, Very Slow. Used for "Pick Yourself Up" sequence, including audio noise reduced with Izotope RX8. This is overlaid over the Youtube VHS source. This source is somewhat damaged, with frequent black lines across the picture, and also has irises at the beginning and end of the sequence. A sequence of 300 damaged frames was created, and EBSynth was used to create clean frame elements using the Youtube VHS source's motion, which were matted in. Additional cleanup was done in Photoshop. Some careful editing was done to keep both sources in sync.A Bing Crosby Christmas 1997 VHS: Originally a 1979 special, I believe. Briefly overlaid over a GetTV source at two points during "Christmas Medley." (Sleigh Ride"/"Let It Snow"), to add extra clarity.https://archive.org/details/@video_home_system_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________Bing Crosby's Merrie Olde Christmas (1977)Recorded in September of 1977 in England, where Bing and his family had just completed a tour that included a two-week run at the London Palladium. Five weeks later, on October 13, 1977, Bing suffered a heart attack and died on a golf course near Madrid, Spain. The family decided the show should go on, and Kathryn does a brief intro explaining how much Bing enjoyed doing it. Guests include actress/singer Twiggy, Oliver! (1968) star Ron Moody, and impressionist Stanley Baxter (who plays multiple roles, as the "Upstage/Downstage" house staff, including Bob Hope, Gordon Jackson, Jean Marsh and Angela Baddeley).The iconic moment from this program is Bing's duet of “Peace On Earth/ Little Drummer Boy” with David Bowie, which has since become a holiday standard. Bowie also performs "Heroes." Bing duets with Twiggy on "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" and Harry Crosby again provides guitar accompaniment as his father sings "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" in the traditional Christmas medley. Stanley Baxter does comedy and Ron Moody does Charles Dickens. “Until next time,” Bing says to the audience, as he sings “White Christmas” for the last time. Bing's poignant solo reading of the song with which he remains permanently linked provides a closing note to the television career of the man often referred to as the voice of Christmas.Finally, a good source, and an easy restoration. There's a decent US DVD of this on a 2-disc Crosby set, although the vintage conversion from PAL to NTSC is a bit strange. The original UK master which ITV has would be much better. It runs 59.94 fps (29.97 fps with interlacing) and was deinterlaced with QTGMC (Very Slow) in Hybrid.Owing to the PAL conversion, this has always had heavy black bars to one side of the picture. I've centered it instead. It also has a grey, washed-out look, which was probably somewhat intentional. I've brightened the levels up here regardless.Stanley Baxter passed away a few days ago, at ninety-nine and a half years old.The Betamax commercials source here is a good one, as provided by Vetinari, although it runs at 30 fps only. All of these are as aired, with audio noise reduced in Izotope RX8. A section at the end of the credits was motion-estimated to double fps (59.94) to match the rest of the credits.CBS Special Presentation 1973 ("Call to Danger" Morton Stevens): From a Blu-Ray of "The Making of The Deep." I believe this version is frame-blended compared to how it should be._______________________________________________________________________________________________________________Bing Crosby and the Sounds of Christmas (1971)December 14, 1971. This special evolved from annual Christmas appearances the crooner made with his family on The Hollywood Palace. Swapping his cardigan for a tux, Bing opens the show singing “The Sounds Of Christmas” with his guests: Robert Goulet; opera singer Mary Costa (Disney's Sleeping Beauty); and The Mitchell Boys Choir. By the 1970s, Bing's Christmas specials had become family affairs and featured his wife Kathryn, sons Harry and Nathaniel and daughter Mary Frances. Kathryn was an actress and singer before marrying Bing. Mary was also a veteran performer at age 12, and she takes the spotlight in "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy.” Robert Goulet demonstrates his booming baritone on “Do You See What I See” and in a duet with Costa of “O Holy Night.” Costa shows off her soprano stylings on “Carol Of The Bells” and in a jazzy medley of holiday favorites including "Jingle Bells" and "Sleigh Ride" with Bing. Bing and Robert Goulet are featured in a musical interpretation of O. Henry's story, "The Cop and the Anthem." The whole family joins Bing on "Home for the Holidays," son Harry provides guitar accompaniment for his delighted father on "The Christmas Song," and a bobble-headed Bing and Kathryn have some fun with a duet on "Christmas Island," before the entire cast turns in a medley of traditional Christmas songs. Then the usual closer: Irving Berlin's “White Christmas,” which Bing sang in Holiday Inn (1942) and White Christmas (1954).Another easy one. Similar to the 1977 special, there's a decent US DVD of this on a 2-disc Crosby set. It runs 59.94 fps (29.97 fps with interlacing) and was deinterlaced with QTGMC (Very Slow) in Hybrid. Bing is still trying to be hip here, and there's some strange scenes in this despite the very traditional trappings.A with-commercials airing was provided by Vetinari, from Betamax perhaps. This gets a little glitchy at times and has a white area at the bottom of the screen. Some editing was done to correct this. Commercials are sourced from this, as well as some additional audio at the very end of the special, and a credits voiceover from Tom Brokaw.NBC In Living Color bumper: From a Youtube upload sourced from The First Nine Months are the Hardest (1971) with Sonny and Cher. This was on Tubi when they sourced it but not currently. Hm.Bell System Family Theatre logo: Recreated, since the 1971 tape is of relatively poor quality. With the Betamax audio.Tom Dawes for Western Electric ("At Western Electric, everything we do, we do so you can say hello"). This memorable ad runs in the 1971, 1973 and 1974 specials, and probably in the 1972 as well. This was also the most difficult thing to edit in these specials. They're all different film transfers. The 1974 version is more zoomed in, and the 1973 has onscreen timecode. All versions have a tendency to glitch, the 1973 less so. In particular, the first bright white shot of a phone tends to glitch (and has a shorter intro by 1974), as does the final Western Electric logo sequence. A fast sequence of thirty-five different one-frame shots of phones also tends to glitch. The telecines used in the seventies were not frame-perfect, and blended frames together with a rolling shutter. So it was an act of hubris for them to have a sequence of one-frame shots. Since the 1971 source is only 30fps, I did not have my choice of frames here. I went frame by frame in Photoshop, selecting the best from all three sources and Photoshopping them until they looked acceptably clean. This took awhile, but gives a reasonable approximation of the flashframe sequence. I also prepared two different edits of this commercial generally. The audio is from 1973, noise reduced with Izotope RX8. Most of the commercial is from 1974, noise reduced with NeatVideo. Other sources are used when this source glitched. I also prepared an alternate 29.97 fps edit which combines the 1971 and 1973 sources for the bulk of the commercial, which is not seamless but is less zoomed in. You'll see that on at least one of the other specials, I think._______________________________________________________________________________________________________________Description: The Hollywood Palace is an hour-long American television variety show that was broadcast weekly (generally on Saturday nights) on ABC from January 4, 1964, to February 7, 1970. Originally titled The Saturday Night Hollywood Palace, it began as a midseason replacement for The Jerry Lewis Show, another variety show, which had lasted only three months. It was staged in Hollywood at the former Hollywood Playhouse (where Lewis' series had originated, temporarily renamed "The Jerry Lewis Theater" from September through December 1963) on Vine Street, which was renamed the Hollywood Palace during the show's duration and is today known as Avalon Hollywood.Unlike similar programs such as The Ed Sullivan Show, the series used a different host each week. Among the performers and hosts on the show were Bing Crosby (who made the first and the most appearances as guest host: 31 in all, including his family on several of the annual Christmas shows), Dean Martin, Liberace, Frank Sinatra, Milton Berle, Sammy Davis, Jr., Sid Caesar, Peter Lawford, The Rolling Stones, Groucho Marx, Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, Tony Bennett, Judy Garland, Jimmy Durante, The Supremes, Ginger Rogers, The Temptations, Dusty Springfield, Phyllis Diller, Elizabeth Montgomery, and many others.The Hollywood Palace began as a mid-season replacement for The Jerry Lewis Show, which had lasted only three months. A little-known starlet named Raquel Welch was cast during the first season as the "Billboard Girl," who put the names of the acts on a placard (similar to that of a vaudeville house).Hollywood Palace 3-13 Christmas Show, Bing Crosby, Dorothy Collins, Hogan's Heroes Cast, 12/25/1965Hollywood Palace 6-12 Christmas Show, Bing & Kathryn Crosby, Glen Campbell 12/21/1968Hollywood Palace 4-14 1966 12 24 Bing Crosby Christmas Show, Crosby Family, Kate Smith, Bob Newhart, Cyd CharriseHost: Bing Crosby & family (1966 Christmas Show) First Aired 12/24/66 Season 4 Episode 14 1966 Christmas Show hosted by Bing and Kathryn Crosby, with their children Harry, Mary Francis and Nathaniel.--Bing Crosby - "Happy Holliday," "Christmas Waltz" and "White Christmas"--Bing, Kathryn, Harry, Mary and Nathaniel Crosby - "Silver Bells," "Silent Night," "Do You Hear What I Hear?" "The Little Drummer Boy," "12 Days of Christmas" and "Never Never Land"--Kate Smith - "Christmas Eve in My Home Town"--Cyd Charrise and Roy Fitzell (dancers) - appear as marionettes Pierette and Pierot.--Bob Newhart (comedian) - monolog about man trying to return a toupee that he got as a gift.--Murillo (tight-rope walker)--The Kuban Cossacks--Excess Baggage (a trained dog act)_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________Bing Crosby’s Sun Valley Christmas Show (1973)You’re pretty much guaranteed a white Christmas in Sun Valley, Idaho, so Bing packs up the family for a holiday road trip with guests Michael Landon, Connie Stevens and John Byner, and skater John Misha Petkevich. Landon croons John Denver’s “Season Suite: Winter,” harkening back to his brief career as pop singer in the early 1960s. Stevens sings Harry Nilsson’s “Remember (Christmas).” And comedian and impressionist Byner does a Crosby impression (among others). Landon even parodies his Western persona in “The Ballad of The Christmas Star.” (He had completed his 14-season run on Bonanza earlier in the year.) The show concludes with a medley of Christmas carols ending with "White Christmas."About nine minutes is cut from the GetTV airing: John Byner bothers Connie and Kathryn from a bus as a ski salesman, and then policeman. There is a longer transition before Landon's "Winter" song. Bing tells a western story featuring the guest stars in silent-film mode, “The Ballad of The Christmas Star.” This is in the 1978 special in full, apart from an effect applied to some of Bing's intro.At 15:40 and at the end of the special, two additional non-musical Western Electric ads have been added. This is admittedly not accurate to the special as aired. There was a break for local ads at this point, and I have no record of what aired locally. The timecoded VHS has black screen here.NBC airing on the Bell System Family Theatre. VHS source is timecoded. The GetTV logo is leveled out throughout, and median filtered to remove artifacts. Some GetTV onscreen text has been removed, but timecode made this inadvisable in most cases. GetTV source has been resized to match the VHS source, with the VHS source kept around the edges. Bing's "Snowman" number appears in the 1997/1979 VHS, so is mixed in here, especially Bing's reaction at the end. The "In Living Color" intro is sourced from "The First Nine Months are the Hardest" (1971), or a Youtube video of such. I've cut a few seconds of filler afterward.Since the main GetTV source is only 29.97 fps, I've done the edit at 29.97 fps, although secondary sources are 59.94 and could have been used (Christmas Star, Snowman).The opening establishing shot was partly recreated, since the GetTV airing fades in late and has onscreen graphics. Photoshop and Waifu2x-Extension-GUI were used. A brief color glitch was repaired during the first Bell ad (while a woman in orange in speaking), using EBSynth Beta. Bing reacts to the bellhop at 7:30, and Harry introduces Bing at 37:16 before "The Christmas Star." In both cases these fade early on GetTV, and have been extended using EBSynth Beta. The totem pole shot before "Christmas Star" was corrected in Photoshop from the best available frames. Timecode was removed from the "Bell System Family Theatre" logo. Glitch frames were edited out during the lineman's introduction, and Kathryn/Connie's conversation in "Christmas Star." VHS sound was noise reduced in Izotope RX8.The musical Western Electric ad has been restored generally, to remove timecode and glitches, especially during a fast cut segment showing footage of phones, which is fast enough that the frames were barely useable, and were carefully Photoshopped from the best available frames._________________________________________________________Christmas with the Bing Crosbys (1974)The Crosbys return to the studio for this special, originally broadcast on December 15, 1974. With bridging segments set in Bing’s study, this storybook show features singer/actor Mac Davis, as well as Karen Valentine (Room 222), Kathryn and the kids. The final segment continues the practice of the family teasing Bing about his insistence on singing “White Christmas” on every special. In just a few short years, the Crosby kids had graduated to fully fledged sketch performers, singing and dancing with confidence. Bing himself plays Santa Claus on trial, and there are other tales of Christmas past.The GetTV airing is nearly uncut, apart from shorter fades in and out after commercials, until it cuts one entire nine-minute segment, the second to last. The Crosby Family are dressed as cartoonish hobos, and perform "Camaraderie" and "Pleasure of Your Company" (as Davis and Valentine are welcomed, in a reference to Mary and Joseph). "Camaraderie" is in the 1997/1979 VHS, accounting for three minutes of the cut. (GetTV added a commercial break during the Western saloon segment, which covers some footage of Bing and Mac, and a hand-painted map.)NBC airing on the Bell System Family Theatre. Some GetTV onscreen text has been removed. The GetTV logo is leveled out throughout, and median filtered to remove artifacts. GetTV source has been resized to match the VHS source, with the VHS source kept around the edges, although it is cropped at top and bottom, to remove the worst of the quality issues. The VHS source is stabilized by hand at times (it has a recurring horizonal instability). It was not practical to do this throughout, but has been done when sources are being combined. The VHS source has also been noise reduced (although it is still noisy). The "In Living Color" intro is sourced from "The First Nine Months are the Hardest" (1971), or a Youtube video of such. VHS sound was noise reduced in Izotope RX8. GetTV sound has many dropouts and was repaired as much as possible in Izotope RX8.Since the main GetTV source is only 29.97 fps, I've done the edit at 29.97 fps, although secondary sources are 59.94 and could have been used (Camaraderie, VHS source).The GetTV version often fades in from commercial early or late. This has been corrected through levelling and dissolves to the VHS source. Lineman Jesse Martinez' intro has been stabilized, and a color glitch repaired using EBSynth Beta. The musical Western Electric ad has been restored generally, to remove timecode and glitches, especially during a fast cut segment showing footage of phones, which is fast enough that the frames were barely useable, and were carefully Photoshopped from the best available frames.