TV Party
| TV Party | |
|---|---|
 Glenn O'Brien and the TV Party logo | |
| Genre | Public-access television, talk show |
| Presented by | Glenn O'Brien |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original release | |
| Release | 1978 – 1982 |
| Related | |
| no wave cinema, Colab's three TV series on Manhattan Cable: All Color News, Potato Wolf and Red Curtain | |
TV Party was a public-access television No Wave cable TV show hosted by Glenn O'Brien in New York City that ran from 1978 to 1982.[1]
History
[edit]After Glenn O'Brien was a guest on the weekly variety television show, The Coca Crystal Show: If I Can’t Dance, You Can Keep Your Revolution, he went on to create his own show, TV Party.[2]
Glenn O'Brien was the host of TV Party; Chris Stein, the co-founder of the pop band Blondie, was the co-host; and Walter "Doc" Steding was the leader of the TV Party orchestra.[3] Amos Poe was the director. Fab Five Freddy (Fred Brathwaite) was a sometime cameraman and guest.[4] Bobby Grossman was the staff photographer. Guests on the show included Mick Jones, David Byrne, Debbie Harry, James Chance, Klaus Nomi, Charles Rocket, Elliott Murphy and Jean-Michel Basquiat.
In 2005 Brink Films has re-released some of the best of the 80 plus episodes on DVD, as well as a documentary about the TV show.[5]
In 2019, public access show The Special Without Brett Davis paid tribute to TV Party, with host Brett Davis portraying O'Brien, alongside performers such as Ziwe Fumudoh and Spike Einbinder.[6]
References
[edit]- ↑ Marie Sophie Beckmann, Films That Spill: Beyond the Cinema of Transgression, Rutgers University Press, 2026, pp.115-116
- ↑ Hawkins, Joan (2015). Downtown Film and TV Culture: 1975–2001. Intellect Books. ISBN 978-1783204229.
- ↑ Marie Sophie Beckmann, Films That Spill: Beyond the Cinema of Transgression, Rutgers University Press, 2026, p.120
- ↑ Orlean, Susan (June 10, 1991). "Fab Five Freddy, the Coolest Person in New York". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on December 10, 2025. Retrieved March 6, 2026.
- ↑ "TV Party (2005)". IMDB. Archived from the original on November 10, 2025. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
- ↑ The Special Ep. 167: "TV Party" with Mary Houlihan, Ziwe Fumudoh, Rich From Lectrolux, June 23, 2019, retrieved October 5, 2023
External links
[edit]- TV Party at IMDb
- TV Party, the DVD website
- Blondie, Klaus Nomi, etc. on TV Party (YouTube clip)
- Mick Jones on TV Party Part 1 Part 2 (YouTube clip)
- The TV Party Band (Walter Steading and the Dragon People) with David Byrne, 1979. (YouTube clip)
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- 1970s American music television series
- 1978 American television series debuts
- 1978 English-language television series debuts
- 1980s American music television series
- 1982 American television series endings
- 1982 English-language television series endings
- American public access television shows
- American non-fiction television series stubs