Doctor Curmudgeon The Real First Television Star

By Diane Batshaw Eisman, M.D. FAAP Doctor Eisman is in Family Practice in Aventura, Florida with her partner, Dr. Eugene Eisman, an internist/cardiologist

There are those who insist that the real “first” star of television began with the image of a cat.

I had believed that it was in 1931 that the National Broadcasting Company began sending out broadcasts from the top of the Empire State Building. I was aware that a statue of Felix the Cat was used.

My cousin, Renpet, is a feline and most knowledgeable about feline ethnicity. She is a (supposedly) retired CIA officer.

Renpet corrected my misconception by directing me to an article in the Poynter Institute newsletter. David Shedden writes, “Felix the Cat was a television and technology pioneer. In 1928 RCA/NBC began testing their early television equipment with a Felix the Cat statue.” And so, Felix’s association with television began in 1928, not 1931.

My cousin informed me that lix was a great star by that time but was not available due to other commitments. I had planned to delve into the history of television, but after chatting with Renpet, I became intrigued by this early television personality.

Felix first appeared in a silent film in 1919 and was the brainchild of an Australian filmmaker, Pat Sullivan and an American animator, Otto Messmer.

Being a feline with superb acting talent, he was an instant success. It was not long before children were walking around with stuffed animals created in the image of Felix.

Renpet informs me that early critics highly approved of his films. They felt that the films recreated a child’s sense of whimsy and fantasy. Felix often appeared deep in thought, with an expressive tail. Aldous Huxley writes about Felix that his little films were proof of “what the cinema can do better than literature or the spoken drama is to be fantastic.”

Felix had some problems when sound came in. To his horror, Mickey Mouse became his main competitor. Evidently, Mickey had acting coaches.

Felix was undaunted and refused to be overshadowed by a mouse.

By 1953, he was back starring on American television. And even did two feature films. He had found his voice.

Renpet also informs me that in 2004, British Television channel 4 conducted a poll and listed the one hundred greatest cartoons. Felix was among them at number 89.

And so, it was Felix the cat who was the very first star of television.
Wikipedia—“When television was in the experimental stages in 1928, the very first image to ever be seen was a toy Felix the Cat mounted to a revolving phonograph turntable. It remained on screen for hours while engineers used it as a test pattern”.

Dr. Curmudgeon suggests “Bitter Medicine”, Dr. Eugene Eisman’s story of his experiences–from the humorous to the intense—as a young army doctor serving in the Vietnam War.
Bitter Medicine by Eugene H. Eisman, M.D. –on Amazon

Doctor Curmudgeon® is Diane Batshaw Eisman, M.D., a physician-satirist. This column originally appeared on SERMO, the leading global social network for doctors.

SERMO www.sermo.com

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