This short film is one of a series entitled “Quicky Quiz!”, which were developed and produced by Los Angeles TV personality Jim Hawthorne. Billed as the “world’s shortest TV show”, each Quicky Quiz! posed a question for viewers to answer. In this case, the question is “where did the world’s first turbojet car make its record trial run in 1952?” If you got the right answer, you must be very smart so take a bow!

Background on this episode: the Rover JET 1 automobile shown, was a gas turbine car originally built in Solihull in 1949-50 by the Rover Company, and later modified to be more aerodynamic. It and driver Spencer King set a world speed record for a gas turbine-powered car in 1952 with a speed of 152.691 mph. The JET 1 is currently on display at the London Science Museum.

Short format shows of this type don’t really exist today, but back in the early era of television — especially during the live era when show lengths were irregular — programs such as Quicky Quiz! were important to fill dead air.

Jim Hawthorne (1918 –2007) was a beloved radio personality, disc jockey and TV comic actor who produced (in addition to Quicky Quiz!) the short format show “Jim Hawthorne’s Funny World”. He worked for a variety of TV stations including KLAC / Los Angeles Channel 13, where he created the first late evening talk show on television, “This Is Hawthorne.”

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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com