Stooky Bill was the name given to the head of a ventriloquist's dummy that Scottish television pioneer John Logie Baird used in his 1924 experiments to transmit a televised image between rooms in his laboratory at 22 Frith Street, London.
Baird in 1925 with his televisor scanner and dummies "James" and "Stooky Bill" (right). The banks of bright lights were needed to produce a bright enough image at the receiver.Modern replica of Stooky Bill.
John Logie Baird invented some of the first experimental television systems. In 1924 he developed a mechanical television system to transmit moving images by means of electrical signals, which he demonstrated on 25 March 1925 at a London department store, Selfridges. It consisted of a spinning disk set with a spiral pattern of 30 lenses. As each lens rotated past the illuminated subject, it focused the light from a spot on the subject on a selenium photoelectric cell. This converted the brightness of the image at each spot into a proportional electric signal, which could be sent to a receiver by radio waves. As each lens swept past the subject, it scanned a successive line of the image. At the receiver, a light shining through the holes in a similar rotating disk recreated an image of the subject.
Due to the low sensitivity of the photoelectric cells, Baird's first system was not able to televise human faces, because they had inadequate contrast. Baird therefore used a ventriloquist's dummy, the brightly painted face of which had greater contrast, and made it move and talk before the scanner. The incandescent lights illuminating the subject to be televised also generated so much heat that Baird could not use a human for the testing. Eventually the hair became singed and the painted face became cracked by the heat. Stooky Bill and another Baird dummy, "James", have been jokingly called "the first television actors".
"Stooky" or "stookie" is Scots for stucco or plaster of Paris, or for a plaster cast used to immobilise bone fractures.[1] The term is also used for someone who is slow-witted or awkward in their movements.
^Robinson, Mairi (1987). The Concise Scots Dictionary. Aberdeen University Press. pp. 673–4. ISBN0-08-028492-2.
^Jeffery, Morgan (9 December 2023). "Doctor Who: The Giggle true story – was Stooky Bill real?". Radio Times.
External linksedit
David Hall's video art piece Stooky Bill TV, for Channel 4 TV 1990
John Logie Baird's test subject 'Stookie Bill', Science Museum Group Collection
John Burnside; Kirsty Wark; Alistair McGowan The Ballad of Stooky Bill; BBC Radio 4
January 01, 1970
stooky, bill, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, november, 201. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Stooky Bill news newspapers books scholar JSTOR November 2016 Learn how and when to remove this message Stooky Bill was the name given to the head of a ventriloquist s dummy that Scottish television pioneer John Logie Baird used in his 1924 experiments to transmit a televised image between rooms in his laboratory at 22 Frith Street London Baird in 1925 with his televisor scanner and dummies James and Stooky Bill right The banks of bright lights were needed to produce a bright enough image at the receiver Modern replica of Stooky Bill Contents 1 History 2 Name 3 In popular culture 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksHistory editJohn Logie Baird invented some of the first experimental television systems In 1924 he developed a mechanical television system to transmit moving images by means of electrical signals which he demonstrated on 25 March 1925 at a London department store Selfridges It consisted of a spinning disk set with a spiral pattern of 30 lenses As each lens rotated past the illuminated subject it focused the light from a spot on the subject on a selenium photoelectric cell This converted the brightness of the image at each spot into a proportional electric signal which could be sent to a receiver by radio waves As each lens swept past the subject it scanned a successive line of the image At the receiver a light shining through the holes in a similar rotating disk recreated an image of the subject Due to the low sensitivity of the photoelectric cells Baird s first system was not able to televise human faces because they had inadequate contrast Baird therefore used a ventriloquist s dummy the brightly painted face of which had greater contrast and made it move and talk before the scanner The incandescent lights illuminating the subject to be televised also generated so much heat that Baird could not use a human for the testing Eventually the hair became singed and the painted face became cracked by the heat Stooky Bill and another Baird dummy James have been jokingly called the first television actors Stooky Bill is now on display at the Science and Media Museum in Bradford England Name edit Stooky or stookie is Scots for stucco or plaster of Paris or for a plaster cast used to immobilise bone fractures 1 The term is also used for someone who is slow witted or awkward in their movements In popular culture editStooky Bill was a major plot point in the Doctor Who 60th anniversary special The Giggle in which he was used by the villainous Toymaker to spread insanity through every screen on Earth 2 See also editMechanical television History of television PhonovisionReferences edit Robinson Mairi 1987 The Concise Scots Dictionary Aberdeen University Press pp 673 4 ISBN 0 08 028492 2 Jeffery Morgan 9 December 2023 Doctor Who The Giggle true story was Stooky Bill real Radio Times External links editDavid Hall s video art piece Stooky Bill TV for Channel 4 TV 1990 John Logie Baird s test subject Stookie Bill Science Museum Group Collection John Burnside Kirsty Wark Alistair McGowan The Ballad of Stooky Bill BBC Radio 4 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Stooky Bill amp oldid 1219431662, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
