You Are There (series)
You Are There (series)
Main page

You Are There (series)

logo
Community Hub0 subscribers
What are your thoughts?
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Be the first to start a discussion here.
You Are There (series)

You Are There is a 1947–1957 American historical educational television and radio series broadcast over the CBS Radio and CBS Television networks.

Created by Goodman Ace for CBS Radio, the original radio version of the series portrayed an entire network newsroom on a figurative time warp each week reporting the great events of the past. Reporters included John Charles Daly, Don Hollenbeck, and Richard C. Hottelet. The series was first heard on July 7, 1947, under the title CBS Is There. Its final broadcast was on March 19, 1950, under the title You Are There.

According to author/historian Martin Grams, actor Canada Lee was a guest in episodes 32 and 60. Martin Gabel appeared in character in episode 82. The first 23 broadcasts went under the title CBS Is There and beginning with episode 24, the title changed to You Are There. A total of 90 episodes were broadcast. Only 75 episodes are known to exist in recorded form.

The radio program made a transition to television in 1953, with Walter Cronkite as the regular host. Reporters included veteran radio announcers Dick Joy and Harlow Wilcox. The first telecast took place on February 1, 1953, and featured a re-enactment of the Hindenburg disaster. The final telecast took place on June 9, 1957.

Originally telecast live, most of the later episodes were produced on film. One of the episodes, for instance, features actor Pat Conway as James J. Corbett, the boxer who fought champion John L. Sullivan in 1892.

The series also featured various key events in American and world history, portrayed in dramatic recreations. Events that were covered included the Battle of Hastings, the execution of Joan of Arc, the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire by Hernán Cortés, and the signing of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. Additionally, CBS News reporters, in modern-day suits, reported on the action and interviewed the protagonists of each of the historical episodes. Each episode began with the characters setting the scene. Cronkite, from his anchor desk in New York City, gave a few words on what was about to happen. An announcer then gave the date and the event, followed by a loud and boldly spoken "You are there!"

At the end of the program, after Cronkite summarized what happened in the preceding event, he reminded viewers, "What sort of day was it? A day like all days, filled with those events that alter and illuminate our times... all things are as they were then, except you were there."

In cooperation with CBS, the BBC created and broadcast a United Kingdom version aired for thirty-two episodes in 1954 and 1958. It primarily focused on the historical re-enactments present in the American version.

See all
User Avatar
No comments yet.