ABC Network - Barbara Walters - Farewell President and Mrs. Ford (Complete Broadcast, 1/2/1977) 📺

Here's the complete broadcast of A Farewell Visit with President and Mrs. Ford as aired on the ABC Network over KTXS Channel 12 in Sweetwater/Abilene, TX. The 38th President and First Lady - preparing to leave and hand over the reins to Jimmy Carter - showed interviewer Barbara Walters around the White House and gave their respective thoughts, as encapsulated below (as usual pre-1978, with the crummy, pinched 5 kHz telco audio sound).

(NOTE: The first 10 seconds or so of the Umatic tape has major tape issues as it was creased, but the picture clears up fairly quickly)

Includes:

Station ID

Show open, with Barbara cutting to the chase, previewing what's to come; various video clips; he discusses his mood during and after the election, Betty's thoughts on the day after, his 1973 statements on whether to run for other office, a look at where he won, Bob Dole's role as Vice Presidential candidate, his thoughts on what Carter will be walking into, and the 1976 debates

Sponsor billboard for General Electric

Commercials for:
General Electric (with representation of Thomas Edison in 1879)
General Electric (with Pat Hingle as Edison in 1928)

Segment 2, with a tour of the third-floor living quarters of the Fords in the White House, which Betty (leading Barbara along the way) calls "the Yellow Oval Room"; then to the family living room, the state room, the family dining room, kitchen, and den; afterwards, the President reflects on his greatest achievement and greatest disappointment, as well as his pardon of Nixon

Another General Electric commercial with Pat Hingle as Thomas Edison in 1928

Segment 3, with the Fords reflecting on what they will miss most after he leaves office, and what they won't miss; his assessment of two predecessors' thoughts on the White House; the ordeal of Betty's breast cancer and subsequent mastectomy; where they will be going after January 20th; his thoughts on whether he'll run for office again; his role in the Republican Party and opinions about potential third parties; concerns about the state of this country and the world going forward; and final thoughts.

Commercials for:
General Electric - yet another with Pat Hingle as Thomas Edison in 1928
GE Performance Television - with VIR signal built in

Sponsor billboard for General Electric

Promo for Welcome Back, Kotter and What's Happening (main voiceover by Ernie Anderson) (ending voiceover by Allan Jefferys)

Closing credits (with voiceover promo for The Six Million Dollar Man by Allan Jefferys)

Promo for ABC Evening News with Harry Reasoner and Barbara Walters (ending voiceover by Allan Jefferys)

Theatrical trailer for "The Adventures of The Wilderness Family"

Commercial: Big Country Dodge - with James Cagle

15 seconds of black

Station ID slide (on screen 17 seconds)

First 10 seconds of opening titles for The Six Million Dollar Man

This aired on local Abilene TV on Sunday, January 2nd 1977 during the 6:00pm to 7:00pm timeframe. (Interview taped on Saturday, December 4th 1976.)

About The Museum of Classic Chicago Television:

The MCCTv (FuzzyMemoriesTV) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit whose primary mission is the preservation and display of off-air, early home videotape recordings (70s to early 80s, mostly) recorded off of TV (in Chicago or other cities now too); things which would likely be lost if not sought out and preserved digitally. If you have any old 1970s videotapes recorded off of TV please email: [email protected] Even though (mostly) short clips are displayed here, we preserve the entire broadcasts in our archives - the complete programs with breaks (or however much is present on the tape), for historical preservation. For information on how to help in our mission, to donate or lend tapes to be converted to digital, please e-mail [email protected] Thank you for your help!