Teletpae studios.

[mikebennidict]

i know that was the 1st location that the CTW used. but does anyone know when they moved from there and how long they've been at Kaufman studios?

 

[jeffkjoe]

I asked Carroll Spinney that question when he was signing my book and he told me that moved from Teletape Studios (the old converted movie theater on 81st and Broadway in Manhattan) to the Kaufman-Astoria studio in Queens

in 1992 when the show went "around the corner."


The changes in the set are slight, but you can kinda tell the differences between the Teletape set and the Kaufman-Astoria set.

The playground/tire-swing area, for example, is much roomier in the one. And the fake backdrops past the Fix-It Shop and Big Bird's nest are different.

 

[mikebennidict]

also The Electric Company Site wich is now defunct, the man who owned it was interviewing a coupl,e of the kids who were on the show Melanie Henderen who played Kathy and June Angela aka Julie. i can't rememebr the exact info but according to Hendersen when TEC was in production both shows took turns using the studio. but here's my question. while it's not unusual for TV stations to take a part the set and use that same studio for other shows, the SS set seems so large i can't imagine pulling apart the whole set for other things. if they used that same particular studio for TEC and i don't mean the studio building itself but the studio suite, it must of been hard work to have taken the SS set apart.

 

[Teletape]

Hi....after 81st Street and Broadway, Sesame Street moved to much the much smaller Unitel Studio on 9th Avenue and 50th (not certain of cross st.) which is not there anymore. I remember visiting Kermit Love there a few times in the early 80's and thinking how cramped it was to get the entire set in that space. At Reeves Teletape on 81st, the set would remain up while live action or Muppet segments were shot in front of the cyc stage to the right of Big Bird's nest. The studio on 9th Ave. could barely accomodate this. They soon moved to Astoria. Also, a couple of talk shows shared the 9th Ave. studio, I think Montel. Anyway, neither studio is there anymore sad. I pass by 81st everyday on my way to work at 57th Street. It's now a condo building with a Staples out front, although the old front entrance (when it used to be a theater), is still there having been incorporated into the new building's lobby entrance...very nice.

One other thing, when CTW decided to move The Electric Company from Metromedia Ch. 5 studios (now Fox NY) to 81st St., the cast of TEC balked at the idea because CTW wanted to tape each show in 2 "shifts" each to accomodate the season show supply. This turned out to be bad for the actors because their hiatus would be shortened and leave them little time in between shifts to do other things. They (the actors) lost out, and TEC moved into 81st St. its second season and this saved CTW lots of $$. CTW had a sweet production deal with Reeves at the time.

-RT

 

[mikebennidict]

interesting. though many of the kids on TEC didn't remain and only June Angela was on the full 6 seasons it was produced. most of the adults. remained. i'm suprised most of them remained considering what you said.