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CHRISTMAS IN ROCKEFELLER CENTER
November 29, 2017  | By David Bianculli  | 1 comment

NBC, 8:00 p.m. ET

 

The lighting of the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center wasn’t always televised – but it’s been shown by NBC enough years now to qualify as an annual TV tradition, albeit one with a lot less wattage with the New Year’s Eve celebrations about a month and a few blocks away. This year’s live one-hour special was scheduled to make room for hosts Matt Lauer, Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb and Al Roker -- but after this morning's stunning announcement about the firing of Lauer after NBC received and investigated charges of his "inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace," he won't be there, and Savanah and the others are bound to be less than festive for the occasion. Special guests include Gwen Stefani (pictured), Harry Connick Jr., Leslie Odom Jr., Pentatonix, Seal, Train and others – and a very, very tall tree. Along with this year’s guest info, NBC provided some delightful historical trivia: The first Rockefeller center tree was erected in 1933, in the middle of the Depression, three years before the opening of the plaza’s outdoor ice-skating rink. The tree’s first appearance on national TV was on The Kate Smith Show in 1951, followed by The Howdy Doody Show children’s program in 1953.

 
 
 
 
 
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1 Comments
 
 
Mark Isenberg
In the good old days,it was just a nice local tradition but now that it gets the Corporate World treatment via NBC,it is not much fun and the only joy this night is that Matt Lauer has been set to the Island of Perverted TV Hosts. OUCH!
Nov 29, 2017   |  Reply
 
 
 
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