A 1938 TV Set

Yes, there was television in the 1930s. In 1938, New York City was the home of NBC’s W2XBS. It had also been the home of the Terrytoons studio a few years earlier. So it’s not a surprise Terry and his story department tossed in a TV gag in the short “Bugs Beetle and His Orchestra” released that year.

The evil spider is awoken by the NBC chimes and tunes in his set.



He spots a luscious female bug. He kisses where she is on his set.



Her boy-friend bug violates the confines of the TV set and slugs him.



The angry beetle cracks his TV screen in response.



Whether this is the first TV gag in a cartoon, I don’t know, but it must be one of the earliest.

Fittingly, when W2XBS began somewhat regular programming in 1939, it featured Terrytoons.