August 12, 2010

Heino Ripp, Pioneering Technical Director Passes

A key behind-the-scenes figure from the early days of television to the Saturday Night Live era.

Technical Director Heino Ripp, who worked at NBC for several decades, and served on such classic series as Your Show of Shows and The Perry Como Show, died in December of 2009 at the age of 84.

Ripp was interviewed by the Television Academy Foundation’s Archive of American Television about his long and distinguished career. October 23, 2000, he was interviewed for three hours in Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey.

During the discussion with interviewer Michael Rosen, Ripp recalled his earliest days at NBC in the NBC Development Group, working alongside engineers who were creating the modern television system. He discussed his transition to working as a technical director, and explained the duties he carried out in that position.

He also spoke about some of the programs that he worked on in this capacity, including The Howdy Doody Show, Admiral Broadway Revue, Your Show of Shows, dozens of Max Liebman “Spectaculars” and, especially, The Perry Como Show.

In addition, he talked briefly about working on the first two television specials starring entertainer Barbra Streisand, and being on the job during the Apollo space launches.

Finally, he discussed his work on NBC’s Saturday Night Live, and later on, working as a director on The New Show.

The entire interview is available here.

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