WLS Channel 7 - Ending of Saturday Night Movie, Reflections and Station Sign-Off (1977)

Here's (as far as I'm aware) the earliest known (to date) sign-off sequence, from any channel, to turn up here. This one is from WLS Channel 7, found at the end of a Umatic videotape that was mostly recorded over with high school girls' gymnastics home movies from 1977 (boooooo!) and includes:

The ending moments of the Saturday Night Movie presentation (in glorious "pan-and-scan" and quite terrible color - it's not the recording - compare to how the commercials look!) of "The Guns of Navarone" [1961] starring Gregory Peck, David Niven and Anthony Quinn. Followed, in that order, by:

"Swirling stars" animated opening/closing title sequence of Saturday Night Movie (with voiceover, by Wayne Atkinson, promoting next day's ABC Sunday Night Movie presentation of "The Gambler" [1974] starring James Caan and Lauren Hutton, starting at 8:00pm)

Promo for Sunday Night Movie presentation of "Bless the Beasts and Children" [1971] at 11:00pm (voiceover by Gary Gears)

"Note of Interest" - notice of where to send public service and community service announcements (voiceover by Wayne Atkinson)

PSA for American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) - with brief spotlights on Frank Lloyd Wright (designed New York's Guggenheim Museum at age 90), Grandma Moses (started painting at age 78), "Ambassador of Jazz" Louis Armstrong, stage actress Helen Hayes (won Academy Award for her role in "Airport" [1970] at age 70), Philadelphia Orchestra conductor Eugene Ormandy, and peanut discoverer George Washington Carver (main voiceover by Peter Thomas) (secondary voiceovers by ??)

Station ID with PSA for United Negro College Fund (voiceover by Wayne Atkinson)

Reflections - with sermon from Rev. John Ware on the theme of "Keep On Keeping On"

Station sign-off, with 1965 NAB "Seal of Good Practice" on screen, delivered at 2:42am (voiceover by Wayne Atkinson)

National Anthem, with paintings of Revolutionary War battles and Founding Fathers

Brief shot of electronic color bars, with even briefer tone and announcement of STL's (Studio-Transmitter Links) WIK-22 and WBE-787 (voiceover by ?? - sounds almost like Al Parker) before carrier is cut

"transmitting on circular polarization from atop the Sears Tower..."

This aired on local Chicago TV early Sunday, March 6th 1977 from about 2:36am to 2:44am.

About The Museum of Classic Chicago Television:

The Museum of Classic Chicago Television's primary mission is the preservation and display of off-air, early home videotape recordings (70s and early 80s, primarily) recorded off of any and all Chicago TV channels; footage which would likely be lost if not sought out and preserved digitally. Even though (mostly) short clips are displayed here, we preserve the entire broadcasts in our archives - the complete programs with breaks (or however much is present on the tape), for historical purposes. For information on how to help in our mission, to donate or lend tapes to be converted to DVD, and to view more of the 4,600+ (and counting) video clips available for viewing in our online archive, please visit us at:
http://www.fuzzymemories.tv/index.php...