This Is Your Life - The Ultimate Collection, Vol. 1 [DVD]

Ralph Edwards dates back to the days of radio and the original Truth or Consequences show in the 40s. A segment from that show after WWII led to This is your Life on radio followed in the early 50s by the tv series that ran regularly for a decade and then sporadically for about 20 more years as specials.Edward was always a little cornball, and "Gosh, gee whiz, boy!" for my taste, but his researchers and producers delivered with a product that stands the test of time in revealing the true personalities and hardships of celebrities from all walks of life.You cannot find this kind of immediacy in biographical story telling anywhere today, even in the wonderful A& E bios or the less woderful, PR driven bios on E! TV. Where else can you see Roy Rogers, the hero of millions of kids, tear up when he sees the old Dodge pickup that brought him to Hollywood in the depths of the depression!Or the depth of feeling and high regard that people tyhroughout the industry hold for Betty White. But the real gems are the ones like Jesse Owens, or the survivor of a Nazi death camp. . . the lesser known people - the unknown people - who can inspire us with their immediate attachment to history.My one concern is that with the passing of Edwards recently, that Volume One may also be the last volume of these shows. If that is the case, a teaching tool and an inspirational tool will be lost to many who might not otherwise make this kind of connection to greatness.

I waited with great anticipation for this set. It finally came, and when I popped it into my 1.5 year old DVD player, none of the disks in this set would play on a Toshiba player. I had to take them to another player I have, a newer one, a Panasonic.THAT is scary. Still, I like the set.You don't even have to like some of the stars on these disks; just seeing their reactions, their horror at being on "This Is Your Life", and their sometimes disingenuous reactions to people is great fun.It is also sad to see some of these people who are no longer with us, such as Karen Carpenter and Jayne Mansfield. Karen appeared to be just an innocent, wide-eyed, all-American girl who rocketed to fame, only to die too soon. What a cutie. And Jayne really "played" her assets on TV, but you can tell that under the glitzy surface was a woman who cared about her family...and who was anything but dumb.And there is Jack Cassidy, the "hammy" husband of Shirley Jones, and somebody who also died too soon.Still, these are fascinating glimpses into the private lives of famous people. They sometimes look uncomfortable, there are lots and lots of pregnant pauses as people stumble for words.Recommended, but...with caution.

To be honest, I expected to watch this set & quickly sell it back on Ebay or Amazon.com but its so wonderful and greatly packaged, that its a keeper that I'll cherish. I'm a 51 year old baby boomer and it seems like all the greats were still alive when I was a kid and my knowledge and curiosity were limited back then and I didn't really know anything about these greats or appreciate them like I do now. Most of the people on this DVD made it on their own with their talent, charm & charisma not like the phoney no talented have no business to be considered celebrity types like Paris Hilton & the endless ilk.Anyway, it was wonderful to see these wonderful people like Laurel & Hardy, Abbott & Costello, Jayne Mansfield, etc., come alive with real people in a non rehearsed spontaneous setting not put on by some pr person being themselves with their loved ones, long lost friends, etc. Lou Costello was especially touching & he cracks one of the funniest improvised spontaneous cracks I've ever heard. Jayne Mansfield comes across like a really wonderful person as well and I can see why her daughter Marissa Haggerty comes off like a class act. This would make a wonderful gift for your parents & any baby boomer who misses the wonder years of yesterday.

I do remember this TYV show. And how I remember this TV show! It was differet to say the least. And it was "live" TV when someone was surprised suddenly. Remember the ones that did not want to go through with it? Ralph Edwards set up the subject with old-old friends, family membners and who knows who else coming out from back stage when Ralph finally got back to the studio with the subject in the spotlight.. And there were some we will remember like ROY ROGERS when many joked , "even his horse TRIGGER cried" when Roy seeing his old friends and long lost familyu members.It was actually harsh and almsot embarrasing. Yet, Edwards pulled it off each week and it was a top TV show. Copy-cat shows followed , including the ones by Dick Clark..but nothing like the original Edqrds did.."live"...with out editing out anything said and done. If you like "live" TV in early b/w..you will want this collection! ...It's a lot of fun..!

enjoyable to se the life stories of these people , very interesting.

Great packaging, nice booklet, jumpy selection that goes from Laurel and Hardy to The Carpenters. I have a feeling we won't be seeing the numerous other episodes on official dvd. It seems as if the more historic and educational, the less demand for a tv series, both on dvd and retro television.

There were a total of 343 episodes in the original Ralph Edwards TV series "This Is Your Life." Most episodes were half an hour long, minus commercials, so the entire collection would be over 150 hours long. In this DVD collection there are only 18 episodes (about 8 hours of video). These episodes are a good cross section of the years the show was on the air, and they represent some of the most notable guests, or the most entertaining individual programs. If you're a collector of memorabilia from the early days of television, then this would be a good addition. But if you are looking for a particular episode (about a particular person), check to make sure it is in the list before ordering the DVD.

As previous reviewer said its great that dvd is region free eg plays on all dvd players. I enjoyed watching Bette Davis an icon. Watching her smoke away on tv what a different era it was! This is your life American version is more light humoured than English version. Great to see Vincent Price and The Carpenters. Especially exciting was Laurel and Hardy their one and only time on television. Recommended.

excellent

Fun to learn about all these celebrities.