Love. It Comes in All Colors (1970)

Love. It Comes in All Colors was a National Urban Coalition television commercial and print advertisement from 1970. It was part of a campaign to promote racial harmony. It featured political activists, and celebrities from sports, show business, government, and business.

The old television commercial showed an assembled group singing several repetitions for chorus to "Let The Sun Shine In" from the musical Hair. The refrain speeds up as does the editing, trying to give everyone equal time and ends with applause by everyone. The words "Love. It Comes in All Colors." are then superimposed upon the screen. It was broadcast as a public service announcement during shows such as the March 8, 1970 episode of The Ed Sullivan Show

Source: Wikipedia

In the article below we learn that three hours were planned to film the bit, but since all were highly motivated it got done in little over an hour. For better resolution go here to page 44 and 45 (or here for a transcript of the text). There is another one with a color photo from TV Guide here.

 

All Together Now: We Give A Damn
New York Magazine - January 26, 1970

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One Sunday afternoon in December an assortment of volunteer illuminati assembled in the best Sabbath spirit and cut a commercial for the National Urban Coalition. Under the waving electric-blue cuffs of Mitch Miller, with the camera directed by Josh Logan, they sang "Let The Sun Shine In" from Hair, and although the day outside was gloomy, all that good-fellowship sunshine just poured through the room. Pure cheer - Occidental to oriental, black to white, rock-ribbed Protestant to I Ching mystic, John D. Rockefeller III to the Hair people, Ali MacGraw to Mildred Natwick, Johnny Carson to Merv Griffin. Some of the voices were off-key. (Said Whitney Young "This disproves one myth: that blacks have rhythm.") The commercial was scheduled to take three hours, but because of the high spirits and natural chemistry, everything melded and welded and it was shot in little over an hour. Tom Matthews of the Coalition, the man who put the session together, said, "We wanted to do something that would turn some of the divisiveness and anger in the country into a more positive feeling....to demonstrate that the heart of the country is beating." So smile everyone. Open your mouths. Flash your "V" signs. And sing along: "Let the sun shine...let the sun shine...the sun shine in." The commercial will be shone in mid-February. There will be no voice-over. After the one-line lyric is repeated with incessant gusto, these words will snake onto the bottom of the screen: "Love: It Comes in All Colors."

Among the damn-givers, in alphabetical order: Cannonball Adderley, Robert Alda, Joseph Allen, Clevland Amory, Jim Bachus, Orson Bean, Texas State Senator Joseph Bernal, Dan Blocker, Ralph Bunche, David Canary, Bobby Capo, Topper Carew, Johnny Carson, Lisle Carter, Peggy Cass, Ray Charles, Roberto Clemente, Frederick Close, Miriam Colon, Carlos Conde, Robert Contreras, Congressman John Conyers, Bob Cousy, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Fernando del Rio, Jack Dempsey, Mildred Dunnock, Pamela Anne Eldred, Jerry Enomoto, James Farmer, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Henry Fonda, Arlene Francis, Herman Gallegos, John Gardner, Will Geer, Arthur Goldberg, harry Golden, Joel Grey, Merv Griffin, Fannie Lou Hamer, Richard Hatcher, Andrew Heiskell, Gustav Heningburg, Bill Hosokawa, Chet Huntley, Senator Daniel K. Inouye, Anne jackson, John Johnson, Stacy Keach, Harry Kitano, Jack Klugman, Joshua Logan, Myrna Loy, Earl Lucas, Keye Luke, Ray Martel, Doug McClure, Ali MacGraw, Butterfly McQueen, Dina Merrill, Mitch Miller, Joseph Monserrat, Greg Morris, Leonard Nimoy, Jerry Orbach, Gordon Parks, Jacob Potofsky, Leontyne Price, Carl Reiner, John D. Rockefeller III, John Russell, Bayard Rustin, William Seneca, james Shigeta, David Susskind, Abe Tapia, Franklin Thomas, Gwen Verdon, Danny Villanueva, Rev. C.T. Vivian, Eli Wallach, Roy Wilkins, Flip Wilson, Whitney Young.

Source: http://www.michaelbutler.com