Classic TV junkies have a new online option for getting their nostalgia fix.

 

The Academy of TV Arts & Sciences Foundation today is officially launching EmmyTVLegends.org [1], a video-based portal that will serve as the home for thousands of hours conducted for the Foundation's Archive of American Television.

 

The Archive, launched in 1996, has been releasing interviews sporadically via YouTube since 2005. This is the first time there'll be a site dedicated to those interviews.

 

“We always envisioned the Archive of American Television as a free, dynamic, and accessible resource for anyone who loves the medium of television,” said Television Academy Foundation Chairman Jerry Petry. “EmmyTVLegends.org is a fascinating destination, serving up great stories and career reminiscences about your favorite television stars and programs.”

 

The site, now in beta, is launching with around 100 interviews online from celebs and execs such as Betty White, Alan Alda, Regis Philbin, Fred Silverman and Walter Cronkite. The full archive currently boasts interviews with more than 600 figures.

 

The portal is particularly valuable when key figures in TV history pass away. Case in point: There's an extensive 1998 conversation with Larry Gelbart [2], who passed away last week.