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| CBS Studio 52 | |
|---|---|
| Name | CBS Studio 52 |
| Location | 52nd Street, New York City |
| Owner | Columbia Broadcasting System |
| Opened | 1952 |
| Closed | 1998 |
| Notable | The Ed Sullivan Show, Playhouse 90, The Jackie Gleason Show |
CBS Studio 52 was a television production facility on 52nd Street in Manhattan associated with the Columbia Broadcasting System. The studio hosted variety programs, dramatic anthologies, game shows, and live music broadcasts that involved figures from Ed Sullivan to Frank Sinatra and institutions such as Radio Corporation of America and Columbia Records. Over decades the site intersected with personalities from Lucille Ball to Arthur Miller and served as a hub connecting Times Square entertainment circuits with network television operations.
The facility functioned as a multi-stage complex serving the Columbia Broadcasting System, CBS Television Network, and affiliated production companies including Desilu Productions and Four Star Television. It accommodated broadcasts featuring entertainers like Jackie Gleason, Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin, and dramatic presentations tied to writers such as Rod Serling and Tennessee Williams. The studio's programming was distributed to affiliates including WCBS-TV, syndicated outlets, and live feeds routed through infrastructure operated by AT&T Long Lines and technical partners like RCA. The site hosted awards-related telecasts tied to organizations including the Emmy Awards and the Peabody Awards.
Construction in the early 1950s coincided with television expansion driven by networks such as NBC and ABC as well as corporate strategies by William S. Paley and executives at CBS. Inaugural broadcasts included variety showcases starring performers from Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby to ensembles featuring Count Basie and Duke Ellington. During the 1950s and 1960s, productions linking dramatists like Rod Serling and directors such as Kirk Browning reinforced the studio's reputation for live television drama alongside comedy showcases involving Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca. The 1970s brought changes with corporate consolidation influenced by companies such as Viacom and regulations enacted by the Federal Communications Commission. In the 1980s and 1990s the site was repurposed intermittently for specials tied to performers like Michael Jackson and talk formats associated with Oprah Winfrey before eventual decommissioning and sale amid Manhattan real estate shifts related to developers including Tishman Speyer.
The complex featured multiple sound stages, control rooms, and audience seating modeled after facilities used by Radio City Music Hall and adapted to standards pioneered at studios such as NBC Studios and RKO Radio Pictures conversion projects. Technical installations included cameras from RCA Photophone systems, audio consoles influenced by designs from Ampex and multitrack recorders used by engineers who had worked at Columbia Records and Atlantic Records. Lighting rigs reflected techniques employed in theatrical venues like The Metropolitan Opera while set construction teams collaborated with scenic designers who had credits on Broadway productions at St. James Theatre and Ethel Barrymore Theatre. The facility's teleprompter and videotape operations aligned with workflows used on programs produced at CBS Broadcast Center and mobile units maintained by Gray Television contractors.
The studio staged episodes of high-profile series and specials including variety programs reminiscent of The Ed Sullivan Show, dramatic anthologies akin to Playhouse 90, and comedy vehicles paralleling The Jackie Gleason Show. Musical broadcasts featured acts such as The Beatles-era contemporaries, jazz greats like Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald, and pop stars associated with labels like Motown and Capitol Records. Game-show tapings involved formats comparable to The Price Is Right and celebrity panels resembling appearances on What's My Line?. Historic telecasts included charity specials aligned with initiatives from UNICEF and political telethons that intersected with figures from John F. Kennedy to Nelson Rockefeller. The venue also hosted rehearsals and tapings for awards galas attended by members of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and broadcast journalists from outlets such as The New York Times and Variety (magazine).
Executive leadership reflected network-era figures influenced by William S. Paley and programming executives who had careers touching Fred Friendly and James T. Aubrey. Producers and directors associated with the studio included names linked to Desi Arnaz productions, television auteurs like John Frankenheimer, and variety show choreographers who worked with Bob Fosse. Technical staff comprised engineers who migrated from facilities at WOR-TV and WPIX, wardrobe and makeup teams formerly engaged with Broadway companies including productions starring Ethel Merman and Marlon Brando in visits to the medium. On-air talent ranged from established stars such as Lucille Ball and Groucho Marx to emergent performers who later became associated with networks like MTV and production houses including Lorimar Television.
The studio's output influenced television aesthetics that impacted institutions including Peabody Awards juries and scholarly analyses published in journals tied to Columbia University media studies programs. Its role in showcasing performers boosted careers that intersected with record labels like Epic Records and film studios such as Paramount Pictures. Archival materials from the facility have been cited in retrospectives at museums including the Museum of Television and Radio and exhibitions curated by The Paley Center for Media. The site's history is referenced in biographies of entertainers such as Frank Sinatra and historians writing about network-era television alongside studies involving corporate figures like Sumner Redstone and regulatory histories involving the Federal Communications Commission.
Category:CBS studios Category:Television studios in New York City