“Teen-Age Downbeat”
by Paula Bosse
WBAP’s “Teen-Age Downbeat,” 1959 (click for larger image)
by Paula Bosse
“Teen-Age Downbeat” — Fort Worth’s answer to “American Bandstand” — debuted on WBAP-TV in January, 1958 — in COLOR. It featured teens from the Dallas-Fort Worth area (…or maybe I should say from the Fort Worth-Dallas area…) who would play and dance to their favorite records. The host was WBAP broadcaster Tom Mullarkey (seen above at the left, wearing the red vest). The show was quite popular and lasted as best I can tell, from January, 1958 until July, 1961 (the last mention in The Fort Worth Star-Telegram was July 1, 1961). I’m guessing those kids danced to a lot of Fabian.
FWST, Jan. 5, 1958
“Sponsor” trade magazine, Aug. 8, 1960
North Texas State College’s Lab Band with director Gene Hall
FWST, Feb. 26, 1961
“Broadcasting” trade magazine, May 18, 1959
“Toys For Tots” campaign, Christmas 1958
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Sources & Notes
The color photo (which appeared in a full-page WBAP ad in the trade magazine Broadcasting) shows non-teen Tom Mullarkey watching over the dancers from Arlington Heights High School, as the Polytechnic High School Stage Band plays some happenin’ tunes. (I do see two Dallas high school pennants in the photo: Crozier Tech and Sunset.)
The photo showing director Gene Hall with the North Texas State College (now the University of North Texas) Laboratory Band was found at UNT’s Portal to Texas History site, here. The photo is not dated, but a blurb in The Fort Worth Star-Telegram mentioned that Hall and the band were to appear on “Teen-Age Downbeat” on Feb. 5, 1959.
Photo of the “Toys For Tots” campaign, featuring a sexy Santa’s helper, Tom Mularkey, and a Marine Corps (Reserve?) officer was found on the Instagram feed of @fortworthhistorical.
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Copyright © 2016 Paula Bosse. All Rights Reserved.
Flashback : Dallas 
Is there anyway to obtain footage from a particular episode?
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Not that I know of. You might trying to contact someone at KXAS Channel 5 (formerly WBAP-TV).
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No there are no copies of Teenage Downbeat. All the shows were live. A few shows were Kinescope in those days. That is pretty much a film taking a picture of a TV screen. But none remain of this show. My father was the director and producer of the show. I wish I did have a copy of an episode.
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Thanks so much for the info, Janis! How cool to have a father who produced a show like that! If you ever run across any photos, please let me know. Thanks again.
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Janis, any idea as to what happened to the host, Tom Mullarkey?
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Singing group The Deltones perfommed on Teanage Downbeat. I would love to see the footage my sister was with the group. ..deceased now..my email. …is alicefaye914@yahoo.com
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My brothers Steve and Orville Ross of Arlington was on that show many times. How Can I get some old footage?
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I don’t know if any footage survived, but if it did, I would love to see it!
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[…] was revamped a few years later and returned to Channel 5 in a somewhat similar format as “Teen-Age Downbeat” in January, […]
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I danced on this show almost every day. I am looking for anything or anyone that has pictures.
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My name is Mike Hawkins and I am the guy in the blue suit on the poster pic. While most of the kids did go to Arlington Heights High the group on this poster is from Carswell Air Force Teen Club.
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How cool! Thank you, Mike!
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Does anyone know what happened to Tom Mullarkey?
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After he left Radio/TV he was a general manager for a hotel on Stemmons Frwy but I forget which one. My dad died in 1992 and many of his TV associates attended but Tom was not one of them.
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I have an uncle by the name John Taylor from Terrell, TX. who in 1958 won the Teenage Beatdown dance contest. He was an African-American representing his high school. Do you have any footage of him dancing and winning?
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Hi, Albert. The only thing I find is that Burnett High School — an all-Black school in Terrell — was competing on Teen-Age Downbeat on March 6, 1958 in a special extended edition of the show (according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram on that day). I couldn’t find any photos or specific mention of your uncle. If anyone can help, please let us know!
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