Sylvania Award
| Sylvania Award | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Sponsored by | Sylvania Electric Products |
| Date | 1951–1959 |
| Country | United States |
TheSylvania Awardswere given by the television manufacturerSylvania Electric Productsfor various categories of television performance, broadcasting, scripts, music and other aspects of production between 1951 and 1959. In their day they rivaled theEmmy Awardfor prestige. They came to an end after the sponsor was merged intoGTE.
History[edit]
Sylvania Electric Products, a television set manufacturer, gave the annual Sylvania Awards from 1951.[1] The awards were given for advancing creative television techniques.[2] The Sylvania Award was as prestigious as theEmmy Awardin the early days of television.[3] It was one of several developed in the 1950s after the Emmy award was founded in 1949. Others included theTV Guide Awardand theLook Magazine TV Award. Ed Sullivangave out theMichaelaward in Los Angeles from 1950 to 1953.[4]
In 1951 the Sylvania award for best program suitable for children was given toZoo Paradeby theNational Congress of Parents and Teachers,headed by Mrs. Johnny Hays.[5] The awards for 1953 were presented in New York on 1 December 1953, with winners announced in advance. No grand award was presented. Winners includedRod Steiger(actor) andPaddy Chayefsky(script) forMarty,Donald O'Connor,Danny ThomasandMary Martin.[6] The 1955 awards were presented by broadcasterDeems Tayloron 29 November 1955. Sylvester L. Weaver Jr.,head ofNBC,received an award.[7]
1957 Sylvania Television Award winners includedMary Martin,Dinah Shore,Marian Anderson,Steve AllenandJack Paar.[8] The 1958 awards were presented in January 1959 at a ceremony in the Grand Ballroom of thePlaza Hotelin Manhattan attended by about 400 guests including performers and representatives of networks, TV stations and production companies. ComedianOrson Beanwas the master of ceremonies. The awards were presented by Don G. Mitchell, chairman and president of Sylvania Electric Products.[9] In 1959 Sylvania Electric Products merged with General Telephone to form General Telephone and Electronics (GTE). The awards for 1959 were the last.[1]
Trophy[edit]
The award winners received a trophy in the form of a clock. A walnut wood base is decorated by a high-relief sculpture of a woman in a robe who carries the clock face on her shoulders. The face is made of glass, with etched gilt stars at each hour and stylized metal lightning bolts for hands. Some versions of the award were functioning electric clocks made by Jefferson Electric Company of Bellwood, Illinois.[1] In others the clock hands were permanently attached to the glass face. The clock was about 14 inches (360 mm) tall, made by the Medallic Art Co. of New York, NY.[10]
Awards[edit]
Complete listings of award winners are set forth at:
- 1951 Sylvania Television Awards
- 1952 Sylvania Television Awards
- 1953 Sylvania Television Awards
- 1954 Sylvania Television Awards
- 1955 Sylvania Television Awards
- 1956 Sylvania Television Awards
- 1957 Sylvania Television Awards
- 1958 Sylvania Television Awards
- 1959 Sylvania Television Awards
Notes[edit]
- ^abcNate D. Sanders 2013.
- ^Winners of Sylvania Television Awards 1954.
- ^"What's My Line/Sylvania Award 1953" Clock.
- ^Macfarlane & Crossland 2009,p. 282.
- ^Mitman 2012,p. 136.
- ^Nielsen Business Media 1953,p. 6.
- ^Cox 2009,p. 34.
- ^Sylvania Award dinner Thursday 1959-01-24,p. 15.
- ^Sylvania Award dinner Thursday 1959-01-24.
- ^Sylvania Award-1952 – Reverse Time Page.
Sources[edit]
- Broughton, Irv (1986-09-01).Producers on Producing: The Making of Film and Television.McFarland.ISBN978-0-7864-1207-5.Retrieved2015-09-01.
- Cox, Jim (2009-07-01).American Radio Networks: A History.McFarland.ISBN978-0-7864-5424-2.Retrieved2015-09-01.
- Gillan, Jennifer (2014-11-20).Television Brandcasting: The Return of the Content-Promotion Hybrid.Routledge.ISBN978-1-135-02062-0.Retrieved2015-09-01.
- Kramer, Alisa Sarah (2007).William H. Parker and the Thin Blue Line: Politics, Public Relations and Policing in Postwar Los Angeles.ISBN978-0-549-28990-6.Retrieved2015-09-01.
- Macfarlane, Malcolm; Crossland, Ken (2009-07-06).Perry Como: A Biography and Complete Career Record.McFarland.ISBN978-0-7864-7166-9.Retrieved2015-09-01.
- Mitman, Gregg (2012-09-01).Reel Nature: America's Romance with Wildlife on Film.University of Washington Press.ISBN978-0-295-80372-2.Retrieved2015-09-01.
- Nate D. Sanders (2013)."Extraordinarily Rare 1956 Sylvania Award Presented to Bob Keeshan for Captain Kangaroo -- Considered the Pre-Cursor of the Emmy Awards".Retrieved2015-09-01.
- Nielsen Business Media (1953-12-05).Billboard.Nielsen Business Media, Inc.ISSN0006-2510.Retrieved2015-09-01.
{{cite book}}:|author=has generic name (help) - Newcomb, Horace (2014-02-03).Encyclopedia of Television.Taylor & Francis.ISBN978-1-135-19479-6.Retrieved2015-09-01.
- Reed, R.M.; Reed, M.K. (2012-12-06).The Encyclopedia of Television, Cable, and Video.Springer Science & Business Media.ISBN978-1-4684-6521-1.Retrieved2015-09-01.
- Schmidt, Duane A. (2002).Iowa Pride.Xulon Press.ISBN978-1-59160-134-0.Retrieved2015-09-01.
- "Sylvania Award-1952".Reverse Time Page.Retrieved2015-09-01.
- "Sylvania Award dinner Thursday".The Afro American.1959-01-24.Retrieved2015-09-01.
- "Sylvania Awards Tell History of Television".Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.1960-08-21.Retrieved2015-09-01.
- University of California (1958).University Bulletin: A Weekly Bulletin for the Staff of the University of California.Office of Official Publications, University of California.Retrieved2015-09-01.
- Watts, Steven (2001-10-01).The Magic Kingdom: Walt Disney and the American Way of Life.University of Missouri Press.ISBN978-0-8262-1379-2.Retrieved2015-09-01.
- ""What's My Line/Sylvania Award 1953" Clock ".Hake's Americana & Collectibles.Retrieved2015-09-01.
- "Winners of Sylvania Television Awards 1954".Corbis Corporation.Retrieved2015-09-01.
- Yankee, Luke (2006).Just Outside the Spotlight: Growing Up with Eileen Heckart.Back Stage Books.ISBN978-0-8230-7888-2.Retrieved2015-09-01.
