Comedy producer & powerhouse, George Schlatter, the famed legend behind the hit show Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, will finally see the light of day on the shortest airing of a television show in history he created, Turn-On.
The story behind George Schlatter's shortest airing of a TV Show, "Turn-On."
In 1969, the TV producer pitched a new conceptual television show packed full of short clips, rapid movements, and controversial topics.
The show would be picked up by ABC for a run of 13 episodes, with additional episodes purchased after advertisers saw the first episode for a total of 17 shows. Three episodes were shot in their entirety before the initial airing.
The highly anticipated half-hour first episode premiered on February 5th, 1969 at 8:30PM on the east coast where it was to take the place of the primetime soap opera Peyton Place.
What happened next was never done before or since in the history of television, Turn-On was abruptly cut off mid-way by a programmer in Cleveland stating that the remainder of the program would “not be seen this evening…or ever.” Word traveled across the country and the show was cancelled before the episode could even be aired once on the west coast.
ABC officially canceled the show, buying out Schlatter's contract with a clause that he not rerun Turn-On Ever!
What's happening next for George Schlatter's "Turn On"?
Now some 54 years later, George Schlatter will release Turn-On via YouTube through the comedy curation team at Clown Jewels.
This release will include a newly shot on-camera introduction from Schlatter where he shares his story and provide context for the two known episodes. Both episodes are set to release on Monday, October 9th at 4PM PT/7PM ET.
In addition to releasing the first two original episodes, Schlatter is working on an updated version that will incorporate the best pieces from the first two episodes and introduce never-before-seen content from the fabled third episode. This updated version, lovingly referred to as The George Schlatter Supercut will also find a home on the George Schlatter Productions and Clown Jewels YouTube pages at a later date.
