Connie Converse on The Morning Show (lost TV performance of American musician; 1954)

Photograph of Connie Converse and Walter Cronkite taken by someone directly from the television.

Status: Lost

The Morning Show was a short-lived American morning television show made by CBS to challenge NBC's Today in 1954. The show mostly included interviews of guests and chatting with a lion puppet named Charlemane about the news. While almost no episodes has resurfaced online, there exists one episode sought after by fans that features a performance from Connie Converse 20 years before her disappearance.

Background

Elizabeth Eaton Converse, also known by her professional name, Connie Converse, was a American singer-songwriter and musician with her work being the earliest known recordings in the singer-songwriter genre. Connie is also known for her mysterious disappearance in 1974 when she left her home to start a new life, and wasn't seen or heard from again, her whereabouts still being unknown to this day. At the time, Connie had almost little to no public performance, only performing to her close friends in the early 1950s. In 1954, she was ushered by a friend to perform at a music salon hosted by graphic artist and audio enthusiast, Gene Deitch. Deitch was known to record his guest, but almost didn't record Connie because she was wearing anything glamourous. However, when Connie got out her guitar, she stunned those at the gathering and Deitch started recording her performance.

After the gathering, and likely some connection with Deitch, Converse was invited to appear on CBS’s “Morning Show,” hosted by a young Walter Cronkite. In two of the three photographs from the episode, we see Connie bearing her nylon-string guitar as Walter talks to the audience. In the third photograph, Connie performs in front of Walter Cronkite, singing and playing a few of her original compositions. This broadcast was the only time Connie received the slightest mainstream attention, but unfortunately wasn't her big break and went unnoticed.

Availability

Connie didn't record any albums and her songs were never recorded by other artists, being very unknown in the musical industry even after she disappeared. In 2004, her work finally gained recognition after it was featured on a 2004 radio show. And in 2009, her work was made into a compilation album called "How Sad, How Lovely,".

As of today, no footage of her TV performance hasn't resurfaced anywhere except for three photographs. Considering how most of the programs broadcast were live and not recorded. Because of the age of the event, it is unlikely that any copies will resurface.

Gallery

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  Another hotograph of Connie Converse and Walter Cronkite

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  Photograph of Connie Converse performing her original compositions

External Link

• Connie Converse Wikipedia article
• The Washington Post article on Connie Converse and her TV performance