The Story of Dateline Disneyland: 1955

by Todd James Pierce

It’s been a while since we’ve done a special podcast-only article. But we’re doing one today. In large part, this story is being released as a podcast because it relies heavily on audio interviews I conducted with the people who made Dateline: Disneyland. Some of these interviews I’ve been sitting on for eight or ten years. So it feels good to piece them into a podcast others can enjoy.

In 1955, Dateline: Disneyland was a massive undertaking, a live telecast that required over 20 cameras. Most internal documents place that number at 24, but others list as many as 29. At the time, it was the largest, most complicated show attempted for live TV. It contains both enthusiasm and errors, miscues and magic. For years, commentators have blamed those “miscues” on general problems with early live TV. But really, there’s a much larger story here, how the entire production nearly fell apart in the days leading up to its broadcast.

You can subscribe to the DHI podcast on iTunes via this link. As always, it’s free.