The Beautiful & the Dead, a television news magazine segment about the mysterious death of TV's Superman, George Reeves, broadcast 3-6-82. Jimmy Olsen actor Jack Larson is interviewed. The BetaGems channel also has "MovieTime Newsreel: George Reeves," "Superman commercials 1950s Rice Krispies, Corn Flakes, TV merch," "1999 Treasures in Your Home, Superman Museum's Jim Hambrick," "1987 John Field, Superman collector, San Diego Comic-Con," "Superman cast 1988 Noel Neill, Jack Larson, Robt Shayne intvw," and "Superman's 50th Birthday March 1988 Channel 10 San Diego news report."
BetaGems are culled from an archive of over 1000 beta video tapes recorded from 1983 into the 1990s. Most feature live music performances broadcast on television in San Diego CA, though there are also rarely seen commercials, comedy clips, and other material that doesn't seem to be anywhere else on KZread or online.
Most of the tapes were recorded on a Sony SL-HFT7 Super Beta Theater Hi-Fi Stereo - the same model was refurbished and is being used for these digital transfers and uploads. In rare occasions where a BetaGems clip does appear elsewhere, we're only uploading if our own beta master is better quality or contains material not seen previously. Much footage comes from public television and public access broadcasts that the taper, who worked for a local cable TV production company in the 1980s, monitored nightly for several years. Some of the programming is strictly regional, mostly from the San Diego area.