1983 Wurlitzer TeleDisc Jukebox

[juke46]

Here is a Wurlitzer jukebox that I have never seen in person but have seen pictures of along the way.  I hope it is OK to show a link to it here just because it is so rare. 

This one has no connection to me, I do not own it (wish I did), I do not know who the owner is or where the owner is except somewhere in the Phoenix, AZ area.  I could not afford it and due to age I have been prohibited, by the doctor and wife, from buying these wonderful music machines as I have for the past 46 years.  I'm posting this only because it is so unique.  I had forgotten this model ever even existed.  Apparently it was never sold to the public or operators by Wurlitzer.  The jukebox is on the Craigslist in Phoenix, AZ.  1983 Wurlitzer TeleDisc Jukebox.  If you search for that on the Phoenix Craigslist I imagine you can find it regardless of where you live.  

It would be fun to hear if anyone has one, how they got it etc.

[Ron Rich]

Those sold poorly, if at all--I saw about 8 brand new ones for sale in 78/9 ? These were set on the floor of a Seeburg distributor( who had been a WurliTzer dist.--) Sign on them said "$100. each NEW--AS IS!"

[juke46]

Even if that thing did not work it would be a great display for conversation.    When (if) it gets down to about $100 I'll buy it just to look at!  I'd like to have seen those at the former Wurlitzer distributor.  They would have been good for home use, I think.

The machine (home use) I regret selling most was a Seeburg 45 RPM Home Player.  It, unlike the library units, had a sound system and a really nice cabinet.  Seems like changing the caps in the amp was tedious because it was a really crowded in there.  When I bought it in a wealthy part of Phoenix the lady had a lot of stories of how everyday she and friends would come home from school and give the Seeburg a good workout playing songs of the day.

[Ron Rich]

Hi Jake,
I didn't notice this before--the "Tele-Disc" was not made in 1983, it was more like the mid-70's. It also was not a product of WurliTzer, but it was made by WurliTzer GMBH, the at that time, it's German subside. --WurliTzer pulled the plug on US jukebox production in about 1975/6 Ron Rich

[Hildegard]

Hi Jake and Ron,

From what we know the TeleDisc was presented first in 1/1982 by the German Wurlitzer Company.
It was intended
- for upper class restaurants, bars: The guest can order not only food and drinks but as well the music he would like to hear, from a second menue "Music à la Carte" using an infrared remote control.
- for boutiques and modern stores: A pleasant shopping and waiting atmosphere for customers by offereing music they like.
- for private use: Relaxing in your own chair or entertaining guests at a party enabling them to select their music to stimulate the atmosphere.
- as a kind of "to show hideaway"

These days the Tele Disc does not show up too often. It became an collector item I'd say.


Hildegard

[Ron Rich]

Hi Hildegard,
It is sure possible my memory is faulty, but as I recall, a half dozen of them were on the sales floor at the former WurliTzer, now Seeburg dist.in 1976 ??
Could it be they were made for the US market first--then re-produced for other markets ?

[Hildegard]

Hi Ron,

I can't answer that question, I don't know.
When US Wurlitzer closed its doors I am sure there was a lot left over, even unfinished - for example model 3900, also called Americana like earlier one 3700 and 3800. So far I never saw a 3900 with a completely US Wurlitzer equipment installed. If they show up here, they usually have German Wurlitzer equipment. So my guess is that when US factory closed, that model wasn't really ready, shipped over to Germany and a few were completed with German parts and sold here. www.jukebox-world.de/Forum/Archiv/Wurlitzer/Wurlitzer3900.htm

A good question if the Tele-Disc was already developped at that time, but that would mean in 1974. In that case the equipment must have been different ones than those from 1982 - 1984. E.g. infrared remote control wasn't used in the mid 1970s, right?
The Tele Disc we know uses the typical German Wuritzer mechanism from 1982 - 1984. This mechanism was not used before 1979 when first electronic models were presented.
Another option would be that German Wurlitzer kind of bought the idea (design) and installed their mechanism in the 1980s models. But I never heard of this before.

I will ask a German technician if he knows more.

Hildegard

[Hildegard]

The technician got back.
He doesn't know of anything that the Tele Disc was produced somewhere else before. He says that as far as he knows the idea of developping this "Easter Egg" (internal name wihin German Wurlitzer factory) was a German Wurlitzer one. The intention was for home use without a coin system to increase sales of jukeboxes.
First models went to "Deith Leisure" in England as the biggest distributor of German Wurlitzer back then. If tele Discs were exported to USA it ust have been "Wurco", North Tonawanda, or "Southern Music" in Orlando.
The installation sheet is dated 1/1983.

Hildegard

[toucanf16]

I bought a Teledisc in 2004 from a guy in Ohio. It came complete with the remote control and a small padded menu of title strips you would pass out to customers for their selection.

Here’s a link to the picture...
www.dropbox.com/s/3hg4zz3r7ifj69h/Teledisc.jpeg?dl=0

[Ron Rich]

I think you all are probably correct-- my memory is very "fuzzy" on these-- I do think I am correct in that they had at least 5 of them on the floor, at $100.00 each with a BIG sign on them saying "as is" ---what year ?? Ron Rich