John Silva
Engineer
About This Interview
In his three-and-a-half-hour Archive interview, John Silva (1920-2012) talks about his early interest in television and his desire to get into engineering. He recalls his time as a radar officer during World War II and turning down a job at NBC in New York in order to begin working at an experimental television station in Los Angeles (W6XYZ, which would become KTLA). Silva discusses his early roles as station engineer and technical director, and describes supervising early remote/mobile units. He recounts working with the legendary station manager and engineer Klaus Landsberg and the technical challenges of building the station, including the moving of the transmitter to Mt. Wilson. Silva speaks of operating mobile units and the station's eventual transition to commercial broadcasting as KTLA – as well as the entertainment programming it carried. He discusses the station's coverage of the Kathy Fiscus story, Nevada atomic bomb tests, the breaking of the Baldwin Hills dam, and other station remotes. He then outlines several of his inventions for the mobile units and details the invention for which he is best known, the Telecopter - an airborne mobile unit on a helicopter. He explains how he got the idea for the Telecopter, how it was developed and tested, and its early uses. He then comments on Telecopter usage in the 2000s and what he sees for the future of helicopter news reporting. B-roll includes photos of original KTLA employees as well as early mobile unit trucks and telecopter photos. Karen Herman conducted the interview on October 22, 2002 in Studio City, CA.
Related To This Video
Featured Content
Video: Watch Telecopter footage about the Baldwin Hills Dam Disaster
YouTube video player - HTML5 compatible.
Highlights
John Silva on KTLA's first commercial broadcast in January 1947 with Emcee Bob Hope
Clip begins at: 15:09, Duration: 00m 51s
John Silva on inventing the Telecopter (an airborne helicopter remote)
Clip begins at: 18:37, Duration: 02m 11s
John Silva on how the Telecopter got its name
Clip begins at: 15:46, Duration: 00m 44s
John Silva on KTLA's transition to color television
Clip begins at: 24:35, Duration: 04m 42s- John Silva on winning Emmys for creating the Telecopter
Clip begins at: 00:29, Duration: 01m 58s
Interview
- Part 1
- On his childhood and early influences; on learning of television and knowing he wanted to work in it
Clip begins at: 0:0 - On becoming a radar office in World War II; on his first jobs out of the war; on almost joining NBC in New York, but joining Klaus Landsberg in an experimental television station in Los Angeles, which became KTLA
Clip begins at: 06:00 - On his first job as a station engineer; on experimental television and KTLA's early facilities and equipment
Clip begins at: 18:49 - On the number of TV sets in use in the LA area in the 1940s; on signal strength and Klaus Landsberg coming to America from Germany
Clip begins at: 25:16 - Part 2
- On KTLA chief engineer Klaus Landsberg's strategy for the station; on becoming remote supervisor, technical director, and director of sporting events
Clip begins at: 0:0 - On working on The Lawrence Welk Show and The Spade Cooley Show
Clip begins at: 06:22 - On KTLA's first commercial broadcast in January 1947 with Emcee Bob Hope; on how commercial television differed from experimental television; on news broadcasts
Clip begins at: 15:09 - Part 3
- On early remote broadcasts; on using remote units for news stories; on his inventions for mobile units
Clip begins at: 0:0 - On KTLA covering the atomic bomb test in Nevada in 1952; on other breaking stories he covered
Clip begins at: 06:51 - On inventing the Telecopter (an airborne helicopter remote)
Clip begins at: 16:28 - Part 4
- On the helical antenna and other technological innovations for the Telecopter; on getting the Telecopter approved by management and documenting his invention; on his engineering team
Clip begins at: 0:0 - On the actual construction and development of the Telecopter
Clip begins at: 10:33 - On testing the Telecopter and the first transmitted image
Clip begins at: 23:58 - Part 5
- On the Telecopter's pre-show broadcast over City Hall on July 24, 1958; on helicopter use in the 1950s and FAA rules
Clip begins at: 0:0 - On cameras used on the Telecopter and how to keep the cameras steady; on creating a second Telecopter
Clip begins at: 08:47 - On how the Telecopter got its name; on news stories covered with the Telecopter in its early years
Clip begins at: 15:46 - On Gene Autry buying KTLA from Paramount in 1964; on his innovations under Autry's years
Clip begins at: 20:09 - Part 6
- On Gene Autry's support of his inventions, contd.; on winning Emmys for creating the Telecopter; on then-current (2002) Telecopter broadcasts; on the impact of Telecopters on television news
Clip begins at: 0:0 - On the future of helicopters for broadcasting; on becoming KTLA's director of engineering and research
Clip begins at: 08:00 - On technological innovations that occurred during his tenure at KTLA, including the advent of videotape and video editing
Clip begins at: 16:08 - On KTLA's transition to color television
Clip begins at: 24:35 - Part 7
- On white balancing for color television; on leaving KTLA and KTLA's legacy in Los Angeles
Clip begins at: 0:0 - On working for Hoffman Video Systems; on then-current projects and the future of television
Clip begins at: 07:54 - On advice to aspiring television engineers and the highlight of his career
Clip begins at: 16:43 - B-roll photos from his career: of the Kathy Fiscus rescue, early mobile units and transmitters, and the Telecopter
Clip begins at: 19:43
Shows
People
Topics
Genres
Professions
Be the first to comment!
Post new comment