''Helen Haynes'' is the assumed title of an early American television series. It aired in 1931 and again in 1932 on experimental

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

station

W2XAB WCBS-TV (channel 2) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside Riverhead, New York–licensed independent station W ...

, and was a 15-minute music program viewed on

mechanical television Mechanical television or mechanical scan television is a television system that relies on a mechanical scanning device, such as a rotating disk with holes in it or a rotating mirror drum, to scan the scene and generate the video signal, and a si ...

sets. There is scarce information about the series and its star, Helen Haynes, but the series is significant as one of the earliest regularly scheduled television series. In the section "Dramas, Plays and Soloists on Television" in the October 8, 1932, edition of the ''

New York Sun ''The New York Sun'' is an American online newspaper published in Manhattan; from 2002 to 2008 it was a daily newspaper distributed in New York City. It debuted on April 16, 2002, adopting the name, motto, and masthead of the earlier New York ...

'', the 1932 episodes were described as a "miniature

musical comedy Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

song revue," a genre that would later come to be known as the

variety show Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical performances, sketch comedy, magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is normally introduced by a comp ...

. In the October 29, 1932, edition of ''

The New York Sun ''The New York Sun'' is an American online newspaper published in Manhattan; from 2002 to 2008 it was a daily newspaper distributed in New York City. It debuted on April 16, 2002, adopting the name, motto, and masthead of the earlier New Yor ...

'', section "Television Programs for the Week", there is a picture of Haynes. In the section "Week's Vision Offerings" of the November 21, 1931, edition of the same newspaper, it is mentioned that Haynes was a former "

Follies ''Follies'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Goldman. The plot takes place in a crumbling Broadway theater, now scheduled for demolition, previously home to a musical revue (based on the ''Ziegfeld Fol ...

girl", and a soprano. It is mentioned that her next episode (which aired the following day) would feature songs from ''East Wind'', which she had appeared in. ''East Wind'' was a broadway musical with music by

Sigmund Romberg Sigmund Romberg (July 29, 1887 – November 9, 1951) was a Hungarian-born American composer. He is best known for his musicals and operettas, particularly '' The Student Prince'' (1924), '' The Desert Song'' (1926) and '' The New Moon'' (1928). E ...

and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II which ran for 23 performances during 1931. This may have been the first time songs by Oscar Hammerstein II were performed on television. None of the episodes still exist, as methods to record live television were not practical until late 1947.

References

{{Reflist

External links

''Helen Haynes'' on IMDb
1931 American television series debuts 1932 American television series endings 1930s American television series American live television series Lost television shows Black-and-white American television shows Local music television shows in the United States American musical comedy television series

See also

References

External links