About this show: Seventeen days before the beginning of the Korean War, the regular cast of "Studs's Place" (plus character actor John Barclay) gathered in a corner of NBC-Chicago's studio A to broadcast one of the few surviving episodes of a series that exemplifies the "Chicago School of Television." It could be considered a video equivalent of Copland's "Fanfare for the Common Man." The highlight: Win Stracke's rendition of "O du mein holder Abendstern" from Wagner's Tannhaeuser (when was the last time you saw opera on prime-time television?).

The show had no script, just an outline provided by Charlie Andrews and Doug Johnson. The cast improvised the dialogue. (Improvisation on the basis of an outline was also the signature of the Chicago School's "Garroway at Large" and "Kukla, Fran and Ollie").

The cast:

Studs: Studs Terkel
Grace: Beverly Younger
Win: Win Stracke
Chet: Chet Roble
The opera singer: John Barclay

Aired: 7:30-8 PM (CDT) Thursday, 8 June, 1950.

The broadcast...

[You will need RealPlayer to view this video]

• View segment 1 (runs 2:11)
• View segment 2 (runs 10:57)
• View segment 3 (runs 10:13)
• View segment 4 (runs 5:41)