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Scene 18 The Weekend Starts Here: (October 22, 1965 - March 4, 1966) |
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Scene 18 The Weekend Starts Here: (October 22, 1965 - March 4, 1966) |
In the fall of 1965, WHCT decided to jump on the booming rock n' roll teen culture and inaugurate a live, hour-long weekly Friday night dance show, "Scene 18". Adding this show would give Hartford area teens a solid 2 & half hours of afterschool rock n' roll TV to kick off the weekend: Channel 20 WATR in Waterbury (an ABC affiliate at the time) had Dick Clark's "Where The Action Is" at 4:30, Channel 40 WHYN in Springfield, MA followed up at 5 PM with the syndicated "Lloyd Thaxton Show" for an hour, leading into "Scene 18" up the dial at 6 PM on 18. (So long as dad didn't want to watch Bruce Dern & Bob Steele with the 6 O'Clock News on Channel 3 WTIC!) Josh Frey, a full time student at the University Of Hartford with a part-time job at WHCT, was tapped as co-host, along with WDRC disc Jockey Ron Landry. Josh kindly shared his memories of the show for this website: |
 | L To R: Unidentified, WDRC DJ & Scene 18 host Ron Landry, Scene 18 co-host Josh Frey, Unidentified |
| "In 1965 (WHCT Director) Dale Ludwig developed a one hour rock n’ roll show that aired under commercial broadcast time. Sponsored by local Hartford area merchants it was successful enough to be host to the biggest acts in the music business from 1965 to 1966". "Scene 18 featured a format of live dancing with mostly local high school students broadcast Friday evenings from 6-7 live from the old WHCT TV studio at 555 Asylum Street in Hartford. Among the groups that performed via lip synch were:" (Click on a name to read more about the act)  |
| At The end of the day, Channel 3 News won the timeslot, thereby ending the show's run on March 4, 1966. It was replaced by reruns of the 50s sitcom "Topper" (which ironically would be aired again by 18 in the 80s during the Astroline days). Host Ron Landry continued as a drive-time jock on WDRC, and according to Josh "later wrote "At Ease", an ABC TV network show and had several comedy albums, including one “Ajax Liquor Store” that became a nationally famous routine with his partner at KGBS AM in Burbank California, Bob Hudson. Hudson and Landry were among the more popular comedy teams on radio and at clubs for some time. (Josh Frey) graduated from the University of Hartford in 1966 as the show ended its limited run". Josh worked for many years at The Hartford Insurance Group, and now runs his own business in California. "(WHCT Director) Dale Ludwig later entered the business world and authored a mystery novel, “Blood Secrets”, and a historical book on Useppa Island in Florida, “Useppa, a Passage in Time”. Useppa has received a silver awards from Independent Publishing. |