New Steve Canyon Series Promo

Click on the image to see the clip (Quicktime Required).

Above, a shot from the newly created lead-in to the extended promo for the series, the first new material relating to the series in over 45 years.

This is a 3 minute and 53 seconds long Quicktime mp4 movie clip excerpt from the beginning of the new special promo we have been assembling for the last few weeks, which I thought I'd share. The whole promo at present is 23 minutes long and features clips from many different episodes. It is a marketing tool we are using to sell the series worldwide for DVD and broadcast. I left part of PROJECT U.F.O. at the end for you to see. This excerpt also features a newly modified title sequence which we will be using to promote the series. I will be posting more info very soon, but until then, enjoy this look into what we're doing.

This Promo and restored STEVE CANYON™ clip is Copyright © 2007 The Estate of Milton Caniff, and all rights are reserved. Any other use is strictly prohibited.

ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive: Theory: Parody- Whack Comics No. 2 (1953)

ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive: Theory: Parody- Whack Comics No. 2 (1953)

The Hollywood Animation Archive asked to borrow some of Milton's things to scan, and this is a particularly nice piece: Whack Comics #2 from 1953, featuring a parody of Milton's STEVE CANYON by his good friend William Overgard. Milton had several well-read copies of this and apparently got a big kick out of it. Follow the link to see the whole 6 page story and MORE. Thanks again to Steve and The Hollywood Animation Archive for their staunch support (staunch, staunch).

(Click on the picture to see the article.)

William Overgard)
NOTE that the ASIFA website appears to be no more, but here is a link to an archived copy of the original post on archive.org, click HERE.

ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive: Comics: People On Paper (MGM/1945)

ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive: Comics: People On Paper (MGM/1945)

Once more ASIFA-Hollywood has dug deep and come up with pure gold: a 1945 MGM short subject that shows the top newspaper cartoonists of the day at work in their studios and homes...including our very own Milton Caniff (the movie clip is at the bottom of their post). A big THANKS goes out to Steve Worth, Bill Turner and the rest of the gang at the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive for helping to keep Milton's memory alive. (Click on the picture to see the article.)

Milton Caniff
(Terry and the Pirates, Steve Canyon)
NOTE that the ASIFA website appears to be no more, but here is a link to an archived copy of the original post on archive.org, click HERE.

The Girls of Steve Canyon - Part 1 - Mary Tyler Moore

#9227-27 - Lt. Col. Steve Canyon (Dean Fredericks) is lining up a date for the evening on his return to his base in Puerto Rico, after completing his mission in the STEVE CANYON episode, "STRIKE FORCE."

That's what the legend says on the back of this original publicity photo...not a thing about the "First Spanish Girl" (Yvonne Preble, middle) as listed in the on-screen credits, or the "Second Spanish Girl" (Mary Tyler Moore, right) in one of her very first appearances on television! Remember, you saw it here first, again another rare and probably never before published photo. It's interesting that quite a few MTM/Dick Van Dyke Show alumni probably met on this series!

About this episode:

"STRIKE FORCE" - Show #24 (actual)
Pegasus Production #9227
First Aired on NBC March 5, 1959
Repeated September 9, 1959 (NBC), and on July 21st 1960 (ABC)
Photographed: Jan 8, 1959 at Universal-International Studios, Hollywood, California U.S.A.
When in Hollywood visit Universal Studios Tour. (Ask for Babs...)
Directed by Lamont Johnson
Written by David Haft and Michael Meshekoff
Synopsis: Canyon and the men at Big Thunder take part in a training exercise in which a USAF task force is sent to rendezvous with another in the mid-Atlantic for an all out assault on enemy fortifications.

Featuring:
Jerry Paris.........................................Major "Willie" Williston
William Bryant...................................Captain Connors
Robert Sampson.................................Tower Operator
Don Fenwick......................................Airman
Yvonne Preble....................................First Spanish Girl
Mary Moore.......................................Second Spanish Girl

“This film is dedicated to the Tactical Air Command of the United States Air Force”

Operation B-52

Click on the image to see the clip (Quicktime Required).

Above, from left, Richard Anderson as cynical reporter Ben Radin, Dean Fredericks as Col. Steve Canyon, and John Compton as copilot Capt. Woody Buckler. This is an original 8x10 publicity photo from the series (which most likely has never before been published).

This is a minute and 10 seconds long Quicktime mp4 movie clip from the 13th episode, OPERATION B-52, which aired originally on Saturday November 15th 1958 at 9pm on NBC. It was repeated once by NBC on Tuesday June 30th 1959 at 8pm. When ABC aired summer reruns of Steve Canyon in 1960, for some reason this one (and 13 others) never got shown. What you are about to see is the first time in 48 years that any part of this episode has been seen in the United States. The shows were run on Armed Forces television overseas in 1963 and 1965, and dubbed in Japanese and broadcast by Nagoya TV in Japan in 1963, but otherwise (as far as we can ascertain) they were never aired anywhere else in the world. If you remember seeing STEVE CANYON broadcast at any other time or place since, we'd love to hear from you.

This particular episode is an interesting one, as it was written by famed Twilight Zone scribe Charles Beaumont, and was directed by the man himself, Arthur Hiller. Richard Anderson, Sylvia Lewis and Roxanne Berard all appeared. and to our knowledge was the first time a civilian crew was allowed to film aboard an actual Boeing B-52 Stratofortress (which was considered top-secret back during the Cold War). The film was shot at Universal Studios (and probably at Boeing) on October 3rd, 6th and 7th 1958 and concerns an around the world flight that is interrupted by a problem that threatens to destroy the $8 Million dollar plane. The film is dedicated to the Strategic Air Command 92nd Bomb Wing, Castle Air Force Base, California. Enjoy this restored clip, the entire program (along with at least the 33 other broadcast episodes, lovingly restored from the original 35mm network masters) will be available in the anniversary collection box set later this year. These shows never looked or sounded this good!

This restored STEVE CANYON clip is Trademarked and the property of The Estate of Milton Caniff, and all rights are reserved. Any other use is strictly prohibited.