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From Ron Hamill, Aug 5, 2017
Just ran across your web page about WTEV. I was a big fan back in the sixties. Wondering about something. Was Funtime with Pat Mccormick done at WTEV or was it a syndicated show from San Francisco? I sort of remember local references that were made. I also met him at one of those supermarket appearances back then. I visited WTEV several times and remember seeing the Funtime set. By that time it was the Uncle Bruce version. That's where I originally learned about the reason sets weren't painted white and everything that appeared white was actually a light blue. Wasn't that the same set as Pat Mccormick? Sorry I know I'm all over the place with this letter. Bye the way, I ended up painting sets. Great web site, lots of memories. Regards, Ron Hamill From Frank Clynes, Aug 27, 2017
Pat McCormick was an incredibly talented and creative fellow. He was also a perfectionist, working for a tv station where"good enough" was the standard. I joined WTEV-6 in March 1963, and he was already gone. He took a job as a weatherman in Oakland where he spent the rest of his career. He did puppet shows as well.
Vance told me he wasn't sure whether Pat realized Humphrey and Charley Horse weren't real people. He'd refer to them as "The guys" and would often reference conversations he had with them. Pat thought of videotape as something you could rewind, and correct problems that might've happened in the show. The general manager called it "live on tape," meaning whatever we videoaped, we aired, warts and all." Taping three shows a night left no time for reshooting. Vance remembered an especially heated meeting with Pat, trying to explain to him, that these sessions were live, for all practical purposes. So, don't make any mistakes. The next day Vance watched the show and suddenly realized the two puppets were replaying that meeting, as their comedy skit. A few years after he retired from KGO, the station announced his death, and produced a very emotional obit. The next day they received a call from McCormick saying he wasn't dead. He was alive and living in Oregon. They suspected it was a hoax, and he wanted to find out what they'd say about him after he passed. From Ron Hamill, Aug 27, 2017
Thank you for getting back to me. I sort of remember Pat M being there longer than 2 months. I remember sitting in front of the TV watching the Time and Temperature board the night WTEV came on the air that January. I was 9 1/2.
Nowhere in his biographies does it mention him being at WTEV. I know Bruce "Uncle Bruce" White took his place but I remember it being later. It really doesn't make any difference now anyway. I remember someone in the news department showing me how the hot press was used for creating chyrons. It was right near the front window behind the eagle in I guess the news room. I also remember, I think Bob Basset announcing, "WTEV Channel 6 New Bedford, Providence." I wonder what ever happened to that time and temp board? Gone But Not Forgotten: Charley & Humphrey Bits and Pieces - Borrowing Without Asking KTVU Bits & Pieces with Pussyfoot |
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