The Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia

(Left to right) Leonard Valenta and Kitty Minehart
WPTZ, Channel 3
Philadelphia
Wednesday, July 2, 1947

This is what is so wonderful about our archival project. We have had this photo for over ten years. We have recently learned the exact date of the live telecast and a couple of years ago, we learned the name of the female lead in the picture.

Broadcast Pioneers member Don Bustard was a paid actor in this production. He was paid ten dollars for his skills. He would later work decades at Channel 3 as a technician. Leonard Valenta (male lead) later went on to be a director. To his credits, there are many including ABC-TV's "Tales of Tomorrow." Kitty Minehart was later seen in the movie, "Mannequin,"

This version of "The Taming of the Shrew" was a half-hour presentation done live from the Channel 3 studios in the Architects Building, 117 South 17th Street in Center City Philadelphia. Built during the depression, this 24-story structure is sometimes referred to as the Hotel Palomar.

"The Taming of the Shrew" was written by William Shakespeare in the later part of the 16th century. It is possible that this 1947 telecast was the first TV production of the play anywhere. The BBC was said to have televised this story in 1939. However, we now know that it was not "The Taming of the Shrew." In 1950, the story was televised on CBS-TV on a Westinghouse Studio One production. The Channel 3 version predates the network version by 3 years. We currently know of no earlier television version.

The e-mail address of the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia is pioneers@broadcastpioneers.com