Hitch Your Antenna to the Stars: Early Television and Broadcast Stardom

Author:   Susan Murray (New York University, USA)
Publisher:   Taylor & Francis Ltd
ISBN:  

9780415971317


Pages:   240
Publication Date:   01 June 2005
Format:   Paperback
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
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Hitch Your Antenna to the Stars: Early Television and Broadcast Stardom


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Overview

First Published in 2005. In this engaging cultural and industrial history of early television, Susan Murray examines how and why the broadcasting industry gave birth to the idea of TV stars. Combining a sweeping view of the rise of the medium with profiles of Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Jackie Gleason, Lucille Ball, and other early television greats, Murray illuminates the central role played by television stars in the growth and development of American broadcasting.

Full Product Details

Author:   Susan Murray (New York University, USA)
Publisher:   Taylor & Francis Ltd
Imprint:   Routledge
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 1.30cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.440kg
ISBN:  

9780415971317


ISBN 10:   0415971314
Pages:   240
Publication Date:   01 June 2005
Audience:   General/trade ,  College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  General ,  Tertiary & Higher Education
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us.

Table of Contents

"Introduction 1. Radio and the Saliency of a Broadcast Star System 2. ""A Marriage of Spectacle and Intimacy"": Modeling the Ideal Television Performer 3. Lessons from Uncle Miltie: Ethnic Masculinity and the Vaudeo Star 4. ""TV is a Killer!"" The Collapse of the Vaudeo Star and Television's Talent Crisis 5. Our Man Godfrey: Product Pitching and the Meaning of Authenticity 6. For the Love of Lucy: Packaging the Sitcom Star Epilogue Notes Index"

Reviews

<p> Hitch your Antenna to the Stars is a tour de force. In tracing the centrality of TV stars for the economic and aesthetic development of the early medium, Susan Murray breaks important new ground for media studies. Masterfully researched and written in a lucid, intelligent style, this book is required reading for media scholars, cultural historians, and anyone interested in understanding the origins of today's celebrity culture. -- Anna McCarthy, New York University, and author of Ambient Television<p><br> Susan Murray's path-breaking history of early television in the USA should be a must-read for anyone interested in media studies. She skillfully integrates analysis of broadcast networks, sponsors, advertising agencies, talent unions, talent agencies, and the audience to help us fully understand the meanings generated in 1950s broadcast stardom. I learned something new from every page. -- Douglas Gomery, Library of American Broadcasting, University of Maryland<p><br> Hitch Your


Hitch your Antenna to the Stars is a tour de force. In tracing the centrality of TV stars for the economic and aesthetic development of the early medium, Susan Murray breaks important new ground for media studies. Masterfully researched and written in a lucid, intelligent style, this book is required reading for media scholars, cultural historians, and anyone interested in understanding the origins of today's celebrity culture.. <br>-Anna McCarthy, New York University <br> Susan Murray's path-breaking history of early television in the USA should be a must- read for anyone interested in media studies. She skillfully integrates analysis of broadcast networks, sponsors, advertising agencies, talent unions, talent agencies, and the audience to help us fully understand the meanings generated in 1950s broadcast stardom. I learned something new from every page. <br>-Douglas Gomery, Library of American Broadcasting, University of Maryland <br> Hitch Your Antenna to the Stars makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the era of network television in the United States. Susan Murray's carefully researched and engagingly written examination of the early history of TV stardom brings together issues of industry form, media audiences, and social context in original and highly productive ways. <br>-William Boddy <br>


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New York University, USA

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