51 Cool YouTube Clips of Vintage NYC Television

"This is Channel 11 Action News!"

"It's 10 PM..."

"Take the train to the plane!"

"New York, let's clean up New York!"

If you're a recent transplant or native New Yorker who was born after 1987, you might be scratching your head with confusion wondering what on earth these phrases are all about. But if you were born in NYC before the mid-80s or became a resident before then, you'll not only recognize these phrases but feel nostalgic about a time in NYC TV history when Fox 5 was Metromedia 5, Britcoms aired for three hours a week on Channel 31, and free airings of classic movies from the golden age of Hollywood were a regular occurence.

It's all too easy to cynically dismiss this nostalgia as nothing more than cheap sentimentality. But anyone who was old enough to have lived in the NY tri-state area during the 60s, 70s, and 80s knows that there's a lot more to the nostalgia than romanticism. Not only was local television more diverse back then, many great programs, TV personalities, and ads appeared to make this era of TV far more entertaining and memorable than it is today. So with infomercials, bland corporate programming, and lack of programming choice now becoming an all too characteristic of TV these days, it's no wonder that New Yorkers are looking back on an earlier age with increasing fondness.

If you too are experiencing a deep pang of nostalgia, you may think that you have nothing but fading memories to revisit the past with. But luckily, we live in the cyber age where you can watch old clips of NYC television for free, thanks to many individuals who've uploaded them onto the internet. Below is a compilation of 51 of the best clips on YouTube, ranging in everything from television commercials to TV bumpers. Enjoy them as you take a trip down memory lane, and remember-- Dick Lewis is watching!

ADVERTISING

1964 WORLD'S FAIR
This peppy TV spot was created by the New York Transit Authority to encourage New Yorkers to go to the 1964 World's Fair via the "Subway Special" train, which started at Times Square and quickly transported them to the fairgrounds in Flushing, Queens.

I LOVE NEW YORK
This is a spot from one of the most brilliant and memorable TV ad campaigns of all time, and one that brings back many fond memories of a pre-Disneyfied New York. In this ad, various casts from the biggest Broadway shows of the 70s strut their stuff to encourage out of towners to come to New York City.

NEW YORK, LET'S CLEAN UP NEW YORK
This is a classic television ad addressing litter at a time when environmentalism was on the rise in the 1970s and NYC was mired in urban blight. What's really interesting to note is how bright and clean the inside of the train is. If you rode the subway at all in the 70s and 80s, you knew that in reality the trains were often vandalized inside and out with graffiti and nowhere this clean. The fact that this ad was shot at the NYC Transit Exhibit goes a long way in explaining the discrepancy.

TAKE THE TRAIN TO THE PLANE
A memorable ad campaign promoting the new JFK Express train, if only because of its obnoxious jingle in which voices would sing, "Take the Train to the Plane."

I BUY AT ALEXANDERS
A hysterical ad in which a woman proudly sings that she buys Christmas gifts at Alexander's, the now defunct NYC department store.

CARVEL COOKIE PUSS DOLL (1985)
Tom Carvel was the proud creator of Carvel, a homegrown ice cream parlor that specialized in oddly shaped ice cream cakes with even odder names like Cookie Puss and Fudgie the Whale. He rose to fame in the 80s when he would do voiceovers for his commercials. Here is a classic 1980s spot where he hawks the infamous "Cookie Puss."

CARVEL ICE CREAM
This is yet another great commercial from Carvel, with its "we make fresh ice cream" jingle.

CRAZY EDDIE
When it comes to local NYC ads, they don't get much more iconic than this. Here is a classic clip of a Crazy Eddie commercial, with Jerry Carroll at his hyperactive best hawking air conditioners and fans.

MAYS DEPARTMENT STORE
Everyday's a sale day at Mays, one of the many local department stores that was still going strong in the 1980s but went the way of the dinosaur in the 90s, along with McCrory's, TSS, Alexanders, and A&S. Here you can see what bargains could be had on Election Day in the early 80s.

MILFORD PLAZA
This is the "Lullabye of Broadway" commercial for the Milford Plaza Hotel that for some odd reason ran on local NYC TV for years, even though it was obviously geared towards tourists.

MOUNT AIRY LODGE
One of many classic spots that aired throughout the 70s and 80s for the Poconos and Mount Airy Lodge.

NEWMARK AND LEWIS
Crazy Eddie was not the only electronics chain in town back in the 70s and 80s. Here's an ad from Newmark and Lewis, one of its competitors.

NOBODY BEATS THE WIZ (1986)
Thanks to Seinfeld, everyone outside of the NY tri-state region thinks that Nobody Beats the Wiz had a TV mascot. Of course those of us in New York know there was no weird Crazy Eddie-like mascot in regal clothing wielding a scepter, just a really cheesy hip hop jingle with a terrible Casio drum. Here is one typical ad, a spot from the 1986 Christmas season.

NEWS CLIPS

WABC EYEWITNESS NEWS (1970)
This early 1970s clip shows the ending of one of Eyewitness News's broadcasts, which contained the famous theme song that was pulled from the classic movie, Cool Hand Luke.

WABC EYEWITNESS NEWS (1977)
Watch old time local favorites John Johnson, Sal Marchiano, and a very young Storm Field give you the news, sports, and weather in this mid 1970s newscast. Not surprisingly, Johnson is reporting on a hijacking, which was all the rage back in the 70s.

WNEW 10 O'CLOCK NEWS
Anyone who was in NYC in the 70s is bound to remember this wonderful news intro because of its unusual theme song, which had a bombastic horn section, a thumping timpani, and a clicking bossa nova beat.

WNEW- IT'S TEN PM!
This is one of many versions of the classic TV spot that would come on right before the 10 O'Clock news on Channel 5, informing audiences in a serious tone, "It's 10 PM. Do you know where your children are?"

WPIX ACTION NEWS (1979)
This is a late 70s clip of Action News opening with the memorable theme song, Move Closer To Your World.

WPIX ACTION NEWS CLOSE (1980)
This is the ending credits of WPIX Action news, notable because of its footage of a pre-renovated Times Square in all its unglamourous, seedy glory.

WCBS- THE WEEKEND REPORT
A rare WCBS-TV news clip from the 80s, featuring anchorman Vic Miles, sports newscaster Steve Albert, and weatherman Mr. G.

WNBC LIVE AT FIVE PROMO/ OPENING (1983)
Jack Cafferty and Susan Simmons report on just one of the many MTA train derailments that happened in the 1980s, with Bob Teague reporting.

TV INTROS

WPIX CHILLER THEATRE
This is the very scary and creepy intro to the 1960s version of Chiller Theater that was hosted by John Zacherle, which would later be resurrected in the 70s with an equally "chilling" intro.

WNBC- MOVIE 4 (1964)
A clip of two black and white intros for the program, Movie-4, which aired in the 60s.

WPIX EIGHT O'CLOCK MOVIE
This clip shows the ending animation for the Eight O'Clock movie, a staple on WPIX. Note the voiceover announcing that Action News with anchorman Bill Jorgensen would soon be following.

WPIX- SUNDAY MORNING/ SUNDAY AFTERNOON MOVIE (1979)
Two classic intros from 1970s WPIX television! The Sunday Morning Movie intro is particularly memorable if you watched an Abbott and Costello film religiously every weekend.

WABC LATE MOVIE (1983)
A clip of the disco-themed intro for the Late Movie on ABC-7, which ran from 1979 to 1984.

WWOR MILLION DOLLAR MOVIE
With the theme song from Gone with the Wind playing in the background, this intro shows various nighttime shots of NYC back in the 1970s.

WWOR- MOVIE 9
This stylish intro from Channel 9 featured a slideshow of legends from the golden age of Hollywood.

WWOR- THAMES TELEVISION
Thames Television of course originated in England. However, millions of people who watched WWOR at night will be intimately familiar with this intro, which signaled the start of the Benny Hill Show.

WWOR- 9 ALL NIGHT (1981)
This is the intro to WOR's late night programming that had a stylized graphic of the NYC skyline and a voice singing "9 All Night" with a vocoder.

WNEW 5 MOVIE (1981)
A mellow theme song and flashy graphics make up this early intro from the early 80s.

WNEW- DRIVE IN MOVIE
A NYC staple throughout the 80s, the Drive In Movie would show cheesy B movies every Saturday afternoon at 3, especially the infamous Kung Fu variety, which were usually poorly dubbed and often had characters yelling "You killed my father!"

WNEW- HOLLYWOOD'S FINEST
Two classic clips: a station ID with the jingle, "40 Years of Fine Tuning", followed by the intro to "Hollywood's Finest."

WPIX CHILLER (1981)
Yes, it's the infamous stop motion clay animation of the hand that scared you as a kid in the 70s, in all its creepy glory!

WPIX EIGHT O'CLOCK MOVIE (1982)
WPIX updated its funky-themed intro to the Eight O'Clock Movie with this more stylish one, which would later go on to inspire a later version that would appear in the mid 80s and play throughout the 90s.

WPIX- SUNDAY'S GREAT MOVIE/ SUNDAY MOVIE SPECIAL (1984)
WPIX really had some unusual, funky intros for its special programming. Here are two memorable ones.

WPIX- 8 0'CLOCK MOVIE (1986)
This is the intro that featured a 3D version of the NYC skyline, film clips from popular hit movies, and moving film strips. It's notable because this was probably the first really professional motion graphics that WPIX ever had produced for the station.

CHILDREN AND HOLIDAYS

WWOR- ROMPER ROOM (1980)
Watch Mary Ann Patterson use the mystical magic mirror in this clip from 1980.

WWOR ROMPER ROOM (1984)
Here is another Romper Room clip, this time with the brand new 1980s theme song and host, Miss Molly McCloskey.

WPIX THE MAGIC GARDEN
What kid growing up in NYC in the 70s and 80s didn't watch at least one episode of The Magic Garden, one of the coolest kid's show of all time? Here is a classic clip of Carol and Paula as they visit the Chuckle Patch!

WPIX- THE LITTLE RASCALS
The Little Rascals/ Our Gang shorts were a staple on WPIX, as well as The Three Stooges. Watch an excerpt from a classic short that starred Spankie as the victim of a stage mom.

WPIX YULE LOG
You're clearly not a New Yorker if you've never heard of the WPIX Yule Log, a holiday tradition on NYC television that's been running every Christmas morning for over two decades. Here is a clip of the film loop, complete with Christmas music.

WPIX- CHILDREN'S LINEUP
Hard to believe in this day and age that there was a time when WPIX allotted a large amount of its morning and daytime programming to kid's shows. But those of us who grew up watching classic cartoon shows and shorts remember! Here you can refresh your memory of what you were probably watching back in the 1970s.

WPIX- HOLIDAY SPECIAL BUMPER
This is yet another classic WPIX intro that kids growing up in the 70s will remember, because it meant that a children's film like Heidi was about to play. Incidentally, the cheerful theme song is "Santa's Got a Brand New Bag" by the Hollyridge Strings Orchestra.

WNYE- THE FUN'S ON CHANNEL 5
This amusing spot filled with goofy animation was made to promote children's programming in the 1980s.

TALK SHOWS

WABC- THE MORNING SHOW (1983)
Before there was Regis and Kathy, there was this show, which was hosted by Regis Philbin and Cyndy Garvey. In this clip, you get to see the opening credits.

WWOR- MORTON DOWNEY JR SHOW
A clip of the short-lived Morton Downey, Jr show, with the infamous host taking on the evils of "satanic worship."

WWOR- PEOPLE ARE TALKING (1988)
A rare clip of the TV promo for "People Are Talking", the show Richard Bey hosted with Renee Hambley before it was revamped and became The Richard Bey Show.

MISCELLANEOUS

WNYC- VIDEO MUSIC BOX (1989)
Created at the height of the music video craze, this show was one of the few alternatives New Yorkers had to watch the latest cutting edge videos if they didn't have cable. It appeared on the now defunct WNYC-31, which later became ION television.

WCBS SIGN ON
Up until the 1980s, it was customary for television stations to literally go off the air for a few hours, then sign back on later that morning. Here is one of the many sign-ons that WCBS-2 made throughout the 1970s.

WNYC- SIGN OFF
After over two decades of service, WNYC-31 closed its doors, much to the sadness of viewers who had counted on it for British imports and other great programs. Catch one last glimpse of its station ID in this clip, as well as its farewell message before it signed off for good.