Although Edward Stephenson was Andy Williams' series art director, for the "Kaleidoscope Company" music variety special, James (Jim) Trittipo was the Production Designer. The TV Special was prepped during the early summer of 1967, taping in August at NBC TV Burbank.
"Andy Williams' Kaleidoscope Company" advertising sponsor was Colonel Saunders' Kentucky Fried Chicken. Provided a "star dressing room" adjacent to the NBC Studio-Stage 2 double door entrance, Colonel Saunders, during the three day taping schedule, held court greeting every member of the cast-crew as they sampled pieces of the new original recipe for his fried chicken product. KFC was introduced to the U.S.A. and this one hour musical variety show was probably the first national advertising exposure. The crew's daily dinner break was held in a rehearsal studio opposite NBC Studios-Stage 1, (Bob Hope's dedicated show stage, later, the Johnny Carson Tonight Show stage). KFC served the entire menu of the following: biscuits and honey, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn on the cob, cold-cabbage slaw, and buckets of fried chicken. Colonel Saunders was always seated with Andy Williams at the cast banquet table while signing autographs and posing for crew photographs.
Andy Williams' "Kaleidoscope Company" one hour music variety special was video taped at the Burbank NBC TV Studios, Stage 2, during the 1967 summer. The program's premise, suggested by the Production Designer Jim Trittipo, was to open, during Andy Williams first musical production number, with a series of cuts; Andy featured in mirrored framed box settings reflecting his face and body as in a kaleidoscope! The first mirrored set was a huge triangle tunnel set, with the camera shooting through a miniature duplicate mirrored tunnel camera framed port. The second cut, a mirrored eight foot square box, a second duplicate miniature mirrored box (approximately 16" mirrored interior sided box, open at front and back) as the camera port. The third cut was another larger mirrored 10' square box set, the back wall mirrored, with the front of the set, fitted with a two way mirror for the RCA color-television cameras to shoot straight into the full front faced standing Andy Williams. This musical production number introduced the show's "kaleidoscope" theme. Each production number involved mirrored scenery reflecting performers based upon the camera angles. Burt Baccarat's orchestra background behind his ebony concert grand piano was framed in a series of half "bowl" profiles studded with mirror panels. Mama Cass performed upon a four foot high sixteen foot diameter drum platform, with the drum sides painted with a matching pop-art floral design copied from Mama's full length gown costume, round mirrors reflecting, as reflections, repeating the performers' costume patterns of reflective baubles. The costumes and scenery co-ordinated in a wash of the white muslin and scrim cyclorama background.
Title in the show's opening was "The H. Andrew Williams Kaleidoscope Company"