HBO Sign-Off (1979)

Here's a sign-off from HBO (Home Box Office), from back in the days when they did sign off (the pioneering cable TV channel switched to a 24-hour-a-day, 7-day-a-week schedule on December 28th 1981, after going 24 hours on weekends that September).

The sign-off consisted of an animated film with people all heading off to bed for the night, from all directions, accompanied by instrumental music that almost screamed '70's, down to the omnipresent conga drums and a low tom drum which was also the preferred percussion for some recordings of that decade. The HBO logo shown was the one where the O overshadowed the B in the logo (not taking its current shape until after going 24/7). Also, take a look (around the 0:58 mark) at the silhouette of a nighttime skyline with window lights going out one by one, which was reminiscent of the opening/closing of The Late Show on some CBS-owned stations in the 1960's, namely WCBS Channel 2 in New York City (as seen here), and presumably Chicago's own WBBM Channel 2.

This clip includes:

End of the 1976 mystery spoof Murder by Death

Promo for the HBO On Location special with Martin Mull, spotlighting the Fernwood 2-Night / America 2-Night star's talents as a singer-songwriter (among his more famous compositions was "Dancing in the Nude" which was covered in a famous Benny Hill Show musical number, and "A Girl Named Johnny Cash" which was a minor country hit in 1970 for legendary singer Jane Morgan) (main voiceover by Les Marshak) (ending voiceover by ??)

HBO Sign-Off, followed in that order by what sounded like multiple super-speed touch-tone phone dialing, and finally EIA RS-189A color bars and 1 kHz tone.

This aired on local Chicago TV (via cable) early Friday, April 27th 1979 at about 12:35am.

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