A Very Special Occasion

The Jack Jones ABC Network Television music special was taped at the ABC Hollywood Studio lot, Prospect and Talmadge, in the 1967 Spring. Romain Johnston was the production designer with Hub Braden as art director. Romain was working on the CBS TV "Smothers Brothers' Hour", taking on the "Jack Jones ABC Special" as a free lance project. The TV Show's staging and scenery was unique because Romain designed the 'Jack Jones backgrounds' - stylizing flying scenery - made up with multiple sizes of Venetian blinds - hanging as foreground and background units. The various musical segments were staged on steps, platforms, drum platforms with varying heights, for the guest performers staging positions. ABC TV, in the fall of 1966, had converted all of their West Coast stages to color camera and AMPEX tape editing recording facilities. The Jack Jones ABC Special was a ratings/market test to calculate if Jack Jones could possibly carry an ABC-TV music variety series format program.