The Museum of Television Takes a Peek at Santa
signalscv.com
March 11, 2016
By Jana Adkins SCVBJ Editor
Although only taking a preliminary look at Santa Clarita, The Museum of Television in Beverly Hills is in conversations with a couple different cities to create partnerships, said an official with the city of Santa Clarita.
The Comisar Collection has had a 20 year association with Warner Bros. by providing original artifacts for exhibits. Photo from the Museum of TV website.
“We’re one of the different cities they’re talking to,” said Jason Crawford, Economic Development Manager for The City.“They want to create some partnerships, but we don’t exactly know what that is yet.”
Talks are very early on in the process, but the city’s Economic Development Division agreed to sit down with the museum to see what its interests were, and what they were proposing, he said.
The Museum of Television is an interactive social history museum that aims to educate, entertain and inspire the visitor by exploring the dynamic history of the second half of the 20th century and beyond, according to its website. The museum’s mission is the promotion of a deeper understanding of American modern history through the study of television programming.
It is also home to the Comisar Collection of historic television costumes, props, sets and other written memorabilia, claiming to have a greater historical archive than the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.
Home to a comprehensive collection that includes items from 20th and 21st century TV shows, it has memorabilia as varied as Ralph Kramden’s bus driver jacket from the 1950s TV show “The Honeymooners,” Ricky Ricardo’s tuxedo from “I Love Lucy,” Captain Kirk’s uniform from “Star Trek,” Maxwell Smart’s shoe phone from “Get Smart,” Archie and Edith Bunker’s living room chairs from “All In the Family,” and Johnny Carson’s complete set from “The Tonight Show,” to Donald Trump’s boardroom from “The Celebrity Apprentice,” Simon Cowell’s judges desk from “American Idol,” and a section of the downed plane from “Lost.”
The city is going to meet with them, as it’s generally interested in finding out more information, Crawford said.
The Museum of Television is a non-profit organization begun in 2013. It has partnerships with Warner Bros. Television, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Atlanta History Center, Chicago History Museum, Oakland Museum of California, the Paley Center in Beverly Hills (in support of PBS’ “American Masters” series), and the Hammerstein Theater in New York City (in conjunction with Comedy Central).
