SEPTEMBER 26, 1960
White House candidates Richard Nixon and John F Kennedy faced one another in the first televised Presidential debate.
Polls later revealed that more than half of all voters were influenced by it and the three debates which followed.
Nixon refused make-up for the first debate and as a result his facial stubble showed prominently on the black-and-white TV screens of the time.
During the debate, Nixon started sweating under the hot studio lights giving way to visible beads of perspiration. He had chosen a light gray suit which faded into the backdrop of the set and seemed to match his ashen skin tone. Reacting to this, his mother called him and asked whether he was sick. It was a mistake he did not repeat in subsequent debates, where he wore television make-up, and appeared more forceful than in his initial appearance. Polls showed that Nixon won the second and third debates, but Kennedy moved from a slight deficit into a slight lead over Nixon.
The third debate was a monumental step for television. For the first time, split-screen technology was used to bring two people from opposite sides of the country together so they were able to converse in real time.
Nixon was in Los Angeles while Kennedy was in New York. The men appeared to be in the same room, as a can of paint used for the backdrop in New York was flown overnight to Hollywood to match the background there.