Television and Radio Timeline
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1865 May 17, The
International Telegraph Union, later the International
Telecommunication Union (ITU) was set up in Paris to standardize and
regulate international radio communications.
(Econ, 9/26/09, SR
p.18)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Telecommunication_Union)
1873 Aug 26, Lee De Forest
(d.1961), inventor of the audion vacuum tube, was born in Council
bluffs, Iowa. He is considered the father of radio.
(WUD, 1994 p.379)(www.britannica.com)
1888 Aug 13, John Logie Baird,
inventor (father of TV), was born in Scotland.
(MC, 8/13/02)
1894 Sep, Guglielmo Marconi,
Italian engineer, built his first radio equipment. By the end of this
month he could flit a switch and make a bell ring at the other end of
his attic workspace. Originally, radio or radiotelegraphy was called
'wireless telegraphy', which was shortened to 'wireless'. The prefix
radio- in the sense of wireless transmission was first recorded in the
word radioconductor, coined by the French physicist Edouard Branly in
1897.
(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R14)(ON, 11/99,
p.9)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio)
1895 Jul 26, Gracie Allen,
vaudeville, screen, radio and television personality, wife and foil of
George Burns, was born.
(HN, 7/26/01)
1897 Sep 5, Arthur C. Nielson,
founder of the Nielson Ratings, was born.
(HN, 9/5/00)
1905 The De Forest Wireless and
Telegraph Company established its KPH Radio station in San Francisco
and began broadcasting from the Palace Hotel. It was destroyed in the
1906 earthquake. In 1912 Marconi bought the station and chose Bolinas
for its transmitter.
(SFC, 7/13/05, p.B2)
1906 Aug 19, Philo T. Farnsworth
(d.1971), inventor (electronic TV), was born in Beaver County, Utah.
(http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blfarnsworth.htm)
1906 Dec 2, Peter Carl Goldmark,
engineer, was born. He developed the first commercial color television
and the long-playing phonograph record.
(HN, 12/2/00)
1907 Jan 22, The Richard Strauss
opera "Salome" made its American debut at the Metropolitan Opera in
NYC; its racy content (including the Dance of the Seven Veils) sparked
outrage.
(AP, 1/22/07)
1908 Mar 13, Walter Annenberg,
publisher (Triangle-TV Guide), Ambassador to GB, was born in Milwaukee.
(MC, 3/13/02)
1908 Mar 20, Frank Stanton,
broadcasting pioneer and the president of CBS for 26 years, was born in
Muskegon, Mich.
(AP, 3/20/08)
1909 In San Jose, Ca., Charles
David Herrold (d.1948 at 72), owner of Herrold’s College of Wireless
and Engineering, broadcast his first voice transmissions. By 1912 San
Jose Calling began regularly broadcasts of music and entertainment. The
station later became KQW and then KCBS.
(SSFC, 4/5/09, p.A2)
1912 May 11, Phil Silvers,
comedian and actor, was born. He stared on TV’s "Sergeant Bilko."
(HN, 5/11/99)
1913 Jan 24, Mark Goodson, TV
game-show producer (Goodson-Toddman), was born.
(MC, 1/24/02)
1913 Jun 13, Ralph Edwards
(d.2005), radio and TV host (This is Your Life), was born in Merino,
Colo.
(www.imdb.com)(SFC, 11/17/05, p.B5)
1914 Two-way radio contact was
accomplished between pilot and ground control.
(NPub, 2002, p.9)
1916 Aug 13, Daniel Schorr, radio
and television correspondent, was born.
(HN, 8/13/00)
1918 Jan 24, Oral Roberts,
Televangelist, founder Oral Roberts University, was born.
(MC, 1/24/02)
1918 Jan 29, John Forsythe, actor
(Bachelor Father, Charlie's Angels, Dynasty), was born in NJ.
(MC, 1/29/02)
1918 May 29, Herb Shriner,
humorist, TV host (Herb Shriner Show), was born.
(SC, 5/29/02)
1918 Jul 2, Robert Sarnoff was
born. He later became president of the National Broadcasting Company
(NBC) and converted the network to the first all-color television
station.
(HN, 7/2/99)
1919 Jan 14, Andy Rooney, American
humorist, author and television personality, was born. He appeared on
the TV program "60 Minutes."
(HN, 1/14/99)
1919 Aug 13, Rex Humbard,
televangelist, was born.
(MC, 8/13/02)
1919 Oct 17, The Radio Corporation
of America (RCA) was chartered.
(AP, 10/17/08)
1920 Aug 20, Pioneering American
radio station 8MK in Detroit (later WWJ) began daily broadcasting.
(AP, 8/20/97)
1921 Jul 2, J. Andrew White
announced the Dempsey-Carpentier fight in Jersey City and was thereby
credited with being the first professional radio announcer. Dempsey
defeated Georges Carpentier of France in the 1st million dollar gate
($1.7m) boxing match.
(SFC, 7/20/96, p.E4)(SFC, 10/14/99, p.C5)(SC, 7/2/02)
1922 Jan 17, Betty White, actress
(Mary Tyler Moore Show, Golden Girls), was born.
(MC, 1/17/02)
1922 Jan 30, Dick Martin, actor,
comedian (Laugh-In), was born in Detroit, Mich.
(MC, 1/30/02)
1922 Feb 27, Commerce Sec. Herbert
Hoover convened the 1st National Radio Conference.
(MC, 2/27/02)
1922 Jul 27, Norman Lear, TV
writer, producer (All in The Family), was born.
(MC, 7/27/02)
1923 Feb 5, Stephen J. Cannell, TV
producer, writer (Rockford Files), was born.
(MC, 2/5/02)
1924 Aug 2, Carroll O'Connor
(d.2001), actor (All in the Family, Heat of the Night), was born
in NYC. His youngest brother Robert was born Aug 1, 1935.
(www.bookrags.com/biography-carroll-oconnor/)(e-mail
from Robert)
1925 Aug 12, KMA-AM in Shenandoah,
IA, began radio transmissions.
(SC, 8/12/02)
1925 Nov 28, The "WSM Barn Dance",
later known as "The Grand Ole Opry" (1927), Nashville’s famed home of
country music, made its radio debut on station WSM. The call letters
came from the slogan "We Shield Millions" of sponsor National Life and
Accident Insurance Co. Edwin Craig, a wireless buff with a stake in the
insurance company, had recently sold the radio idea to the insurance
board. In 1999 Charles K. Wolfe published "A Good Natured Riot: The
Birth of the Grand Ole Opry." In 2007 Craig Havighurst authored “Air
Castle of the South.”
(SFC, 7/20/96, p.E4)(AP, 11/28/97)(WSJ, 7/23/99,
p.W7)(WSJ, 10/17/07, p.D9)
1926 Jan 17, George Burns married
Gracie Allen.
(MC, 1/17/02)
1926 Sep 9, The National
Broadcasting Co. (NBC) was incorporated by the Radio Corporation of
America, which had originated as Marconi Wireless.
(AP, 9/9/08)(SFC, 8/2/99, p.B3)
1927 Apr 7, Secretary of Commerce
Herbert Hoover was on hand for the first inter-city (DC to Manhattan)
transmission by telephone of video imagery. Hoover’s image and voice
were transmitted across telephone lines.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1927_in_television)(AH, 4/07, p.14)
1927 Sep 7, American television
pioneer Philo T. Farnsworth (21) succeeded in transmitting an image
through purely electronic means by using a device called an image
dissector. When Philo T. Farnsworth was 13, he envisioned a contraption
that would receive an image transmitted from a remote location—the
television. Farnsworth submitted a patent in January 1927, when he was
19, and began building and testing his invention that summer. He used
an "image dissector" (the first television camera tube) to convert the
image into a current, and an "image oscillite" (picture tube) to
receive it. On this day his tests bore fruit. When the simple image of
a straight line was placed between the image dissector and a carbon arc
lamp, it showed up clearly on the receiver in another room. His first
tele-electronic image was transmitted on a glass slide in his SF lab at
202 Green St. The New York World’s Fair showcased the television in
April 1939, and soon afterward, the first televisions went on sale to
the public.
(AP, 9/7/97)(HNPD, 9/7/98)(SFEC, 8/18/96, BR p.3)
1928 Feb 3, Mr. Fred Rogers, kid
host (Mr. Roger's Neighborhood), was born in Latrobe, Pa. [see Mar 20]
(MC, 2/3/02)
1928 Feb 8, 1st transatlantic TV
image was received at Hartsdale, NY.
(MC, 2/8/02)
1928 Feb 8, Scottish inventor J.
Blaird demonstrated color TV.
(MC, 2/8/02)
1928 Feb 25, Bell Labs introduced
a new device to end the fluttering of the television image.
(HN, 2/25/98)
1928 Mar 19, "Amos & Andy"
debuted on radio with the NBC Blue Network, WMAQ Chicago.
(MC, 3/19/02)
1928 Mar 20, Fred Rogers,
television performer (Mr. Roger's Neighborhood), was born. [see Feb 3]
(HN, 3/20/01)
1928 Hugo Gernsbach began a
magazine called "All About Television." The cover featured a family
gathered around a TV set watching football.
(SFEC, 9/3/00, Z1 p.2)
1929 Jun 27, Scientists at Bell
Laboratories in New York revealed a system for transmitting television
pictures.
(HN, 6/27/98)
1929 Oct 24, Rudy Vallee's
Fleischmann Hour began broadcasting on NBC radio.
(http://tinyurl.com/35m5x6)
1931 Feb 12, Japan’s first
television broadcast was a baseball game.
(HN, 2/12/97)
1931 Apr 6, 1st broadcast of
"Little Orphan Annie" on NBC-radio.
(MC, 4/6/02)
1932 Feb 15, George Burns and
Gracie Allen debuted as regulars on "Guy Lombardo Show."
(MC, 2/15/02)
1932 May 2, Jack Benny's first
radio show made its debut on the NBC Blue Network.
(AP, 5/2/97)
1932 Aug 14, Philips made its 1
millionth radio.
(MC, 8/14/02)
1932 Aug 22, BBS began
experimental regular TV broadcasts.
(MC, 8/22/02)
1932 The Buck Rogers radio show
followed the 1929 cartoon strip and was broadcast to 1947. Dick
Calkins, co-author of Buck Rogers, died at 67. In 1988 Lorraine Dille
Williams authored "Buck Rogers: The First 60 Years in the 25th Century."
(SFC, 9/2/02, p.D8)(SFC, 4/13/05, p.G4)
1932 Bob Hope made his radio debut
on the "Capitol Family Hour."
(SFC, 10/24/96, p.D5)
1932 The national radio show "One
Man’s Family" premiered. It was about a fictional San Francisco family.
(SFEC, 3/30/97, BR. p.4)
1933 Jan 30, The first episode of
the "Lone Ranger" radio program was broadcast on station WXYZ in
Detroit. The show was created by George Washington Trendle and Fran
Striker. The show ran for 21 years on ABC radio.
(AP, 1/30/98)(SFC, 12/29/99, p.A11)(MC, 1/30/02)
1933 Apr 17, Johnny Roventini
(d.1998 at 86), a Brooklyn-born bellhop, first went on radio during
"The Ferde Grofe Show" to promote Philip Morris cigarettes.
(SFC, 12/3/98, p.D5)
1933 Jul 10, 1st police radio
system began operations at Eastchester Township, NY.
(MC, 7/10/02)
1934 Jan 22, Bill Bixby, actor
(Incredible Hulk, My Favorite Martian), was born in SF, Calif.
(MC, 1/22/02)
1934 Aug 24, In Philadelphia, Pa.,
Philo T. Farnsworth (28), a San Francisco scientist, produced a
televised picture of the moon, the first recorded use of television in
astronomy.
(SSFC, 8/16/09, p.46)
1935 Mar 20, "Your Hit
Parade" debuted on radio. [see Apr 12]
(MC, 3/20/02)
1935 Mar, The German
Reichpost (Post Office) began the "first television broadcasting
service in the world". However, the quality was poor and
receivers were almost non-existent."
(http://www.tvhistory.tv/1935%20QF.htm)
1935 Apr 12, "Your Hit Parade,"
debuted on radio. [see Mar 20]
(MC, 4/12/02)
1935 Apr 16, The radio comedy
program "Fibber McGee and Molly" premiered on the NBC Blue Network.
(AP, 4/16/97)
1935 Apr 20, "You're Hit Parade"
began broadcasting and soon became #1.
(MC, 4/20/02)
1935 Jul 20, The 1st broadcast of
"Gang Busters" played on NBC-radio.
(MC, 7/20/02)
1935 Bob Hope hosted his first NBC
radio broadcast for Bromo Seltzer.
(SFC, 10/24/96, p.D5)
1936 Jul 29, RCA showed the 1st
real TV program (dancing, film on locomotives, Bonwit Teller fashion
show and monologue from Tobacco Road and comedy). [see Nov 6]
(MC, 7/29/02)
1936 Nov 2, The first
high-definition public television transmissions began from Alexandra
Palace in north London by the BBC.
(HN, 11/2/98)(MC, 11/2/01)
1936 Nov 6, RCA displayed TV for
press.
(MC, 11/6/01)
1936 Dec 1, Bell Labs tested
coaxial cable for TV use.
(MC, 12/1/01)
1937 Jun 21, Wimbledon was
televised for the first time.
(Camelot, 6/21/99)
1938 Feb 17, The first Baird color
TV was demonstrated at the Dominion Theatre in London. [see Dec 20]
(HN, 2/17/01)(MC, 2/17/02)
1938 Mar 26, NBC radio performance
of Howard Hanson's 3rd Symphony.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1938 Jun 7, The 1st play telecast
with original Broadway cast: "Susan & God."
(SC, 6/7/02)
1938 Dec 20, First electronic
television system was patented. [see Dec 30]
(HN, 12/20/98)
1938 Dec 30, An electronic
television system was patented by V.K. Zworykin. [see Dec 20]
(MC, 12/30/01)
1939 Apr 30, The New York World’s
Fair, billed as a look at "the world of tomorrow," officially opened.
NY Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia mandated that the city's nude dancers cover
up during the fair. The cover-up evolved into the G-string and later
the thong. The General Motors exhibit was titled Futurama. Philo T.
Farnsworth premiered his television at the fair. AT&T presented its
first Picture Phone at the World's Fair. Salvador Dali created a
pavilion that was called “Dream of Venus” and described as the “funny
house of tomorrow.” In 2000 Miles Beller authored "Dream of Venus (Or
Living Pictures): A Novel of the 1939 New York world’s Fair." National
Presto Industries introduced the home pressure cooker at the fair.
(AP, 4/30/97)(WSJ, 6/7/99, p.A8)(SFEC, 4/16/00, BR
p.7)(NYTBR, 2/2/03, p.20) (www.imdb.com/title/tt0149460/trivia)(WSJ,
12/27/08, p.A7)
1939 May 13, Harvey Keitel, actor
(Taxi Driver, Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs), was born.
(MC, 5/13/02)
1939 Aug 26, The first televised
major league baseball games were shown on experimental station W2XBS, a
double-header between the Cincinnati Reds and the Brooklyn Dodgers at
Ebbets Field. The Reds won first, 5-2; the Dodgers, second, 6-1.
(AP, 8/26/98)
1939 Sep 30, The first college
football game to be televised was shown on experimental station W2XBS
in New York as Fordham University defeated Waynesburg College, 34-7 in
Triboro Stadium on Randalls Island.
(AP, 9/30/98)(SFEC, 6/13/99, p.C18)
1939 Penny Singleton (1908-2003),
film actress born as Dorothy McNulty, was the voice of Blondie on radio
until 1950. Pamela Briton played the role when Blondie began on TV in
1957.
(SFC, 11/15/03, p.A23)
1939 Philo T. Farnsworth sold his
television patents to RCA Victor for $1 million.
(SFC, 9/7/02, p.D4)
1940 Feb 12, The radio play "The
Adventures of Superman" debuted on the Mutual network with Bud Collyer
as the Man of Steel.
(AP, 2/12/98)
1940 Feb 25, A hockey game was
televised for the first time, by New York City station W2XBS, as the
New York Rangers defeated the Montreal Canadiens, 6-2, at Madison
Square Garden.
(AP, 2/25/00)
1940 Feb 28, The first televised
college basketball games were broadcast, by New York City station
W2XBS, as Pittsburgh defeated Fordham, 57-37, and New York University
beat Georgetown, 50-27, at Madison Square Garden.
(AP, 2/28/98)
1940 Mar 2, The first televised
intercollegiate track meet was seen by TV viewers in New York City as
W2XBS presented the action live from Madison Square Garden. New York
University won the meet.
(HC, Internet, 2/3/98)
(MC, 8/16/02)
1940 Mar 23, 1st radio broadcast
of "Truth or Consequences" on CBS.
(SS, 3/23/02)
1940 Apr 16, The 1st televised
baseball game on WGN-TV featured the White Sox vs. Cubs in exhibition.
(MC, 4/16/02)
1940 Apr 21, The quiz show that
asked the "$64 question," "Take It or Leave It," premiered on CBS
Radio.
(AP, 4/21/97)
1940 Sep 3, The 1st showing of
high definition color TV.
(MC, 9/3/01)
1941 Mar 1, The 1st US commercial
FM radio station went on the air, Nashville TN.
(SC, 3/1/02)
1941 Mar 16, Chuck Woolery, TV
game show host, was born in Kentucky. He hosted Love Connection from
1983 to 1995.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Woolery)(SSFC,
7/6/08, p.B6)
1941
Apr 1, The first contract for advertising on a
commercial FM radio station began on W71NY in New York City.
(OTD)
1941 May 6, Bob Hope (b. May 29,
1903) began broadcasting his first USO radio show from March Field at
Riverside, Ca. The United Service Organizations (USO) began operations
this year and provided free coffee, donuts, and entertainment to US
military forces. The organization is supported entirely by private
citizens and corporations.
(SFC, 5/28/97, p.D5)(HN, 5/6/98)(SFEC, 9/8/96, Par
p.8)
1941 Jul 1, Commercial black and
white television broadcasting began in the US under approval by the
FCC. NBC’s New York station was the 1st to transition from radio to TV.
“Truth or Consequences” with host Ralph Edwards became the 1st
commercial TV show for NBC. WW II disrupted TV’s progress. “Truth or
Consequences” prospered on radio and returned to TV in
1950.
(http://www.tvhistory.tv/History%20of%20TV.htm)(SFC,
11/17/05, p.B5)
1941 Aug 29, Robin Leach,
host for Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, was born.
(MC, 8/29/01)
1941 Aug 31, The radio program
"The Great Gildersleeve," a spin-off of Fibber McGee & Molly, made
its debut on NBC.
(AP, 8/31/97)(MC, 8/31/01)
1941 The Federal Communications
Commission adopted a US television standard of 525 lines per picture.
(SFC, 12/29/99, p.E3)
1941 Voice of America (VOA) was
created shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor. In 2003 Alan L. Heil,
Jr. authored "Voice of America: A History."
(Econ, 7/26/03, p.78)
1942 Francis Chase Jr. authored
“Sound and Fury,” an informal history of radio broadcasting.
(WSJ, 11/1/08, p.W12)
1943 Feb 6, Crooner Frank Sinatra
debuted on radio's "Your Hit Parade."
(MC, 2/6/02)
1943 Mar 25, Jimmy Durante and
Garry Moore premiered on radio.
(MC, 3/25/02)
1943 Jun 7, Ken Osmond, actor
(Eddie Haskel-Leave it To Beaver), was born.
(SC, 6/7/02)
1943 Oct 12, The Radio Corporation
of America announced the divestment of the NBC Blue radio network to
businessman Edward J. Noble for $8 million. Noble first called it just
"The Blue Network." By Feb 1945 it was renamed the American
Broadcasting Company.
(NYT, 10/12/1943, P.23)(NYT, 10/17/1943, P. XII)
1943 Lady Bird Johnson purchased
KTBC, a low-powered radio station in Texas. The Federal Communications
Commission, which reviewed all broadcast-license transfers, was close
to being abolished. Congressman Lyndon Johnson used his political
influence in both Congress and the White House to prevent that from
happening. In 1945 the FCC OK'd KTBC's request to quintuple its power,
which cast its signal over 63 counties.
(Econ, 7/21/07,
p.85)(www.slate.com/id/2170481/nav/navoa/)
1945 Apr 30, "Arthur Godfrey Time"
made its debut on the CBS radio network.
(AP, 4/30/05)
1945 Apr 30, The show “Queen For
Today” began on the Mutual Broadcasting Company radio program. In 1956
it moved to television as Queen For a Day until 1964 with a 2nd run
from 1969-1970.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_for_a_Day)(WSJ,
2/4/08, p.B1)
1946 Mar 16, Erik Estrada, actor
(CHiPs, Cross & Switchblade, Lightblast), was born in NYC.
(MC, 3/16/02)
1946 Apr 20, 1st baseball game
telecast was in Chicago with the Cards vs. Cubs.
(MC, 4/20/02)
1946 Jinx Falkenburg (d.2003) and
husband Tex McCrary pioneered talk radio programming with the "Hi Jinx"
morning show at WEAF in NYC.
(SFC, 8/29/03, p.A28)
1946 Syd Cassyd formed the
Television Arts and Sciences Academy. He envisioned it to as a tool for
enlightenment, education, science and technology.
1946 GM’s Chevrolet division was
the first automobile company to advertise on network television.
(WSJ, 6/19/96, Adv. Supl)
1946 7,000 TV sets were sold as
commercial TV became established.
(TMC, 1994, p.1946)
1946-1960 The show "Hometown Jamboree" ran on radio
and television. It was produced by Cliffie Stone (d.1998) and gave
career boosts to such stars as Tennessee Ernie Ford, Johnny Cash, Eddy
Arnold, Jim Reeves and Tex Ritter.
(SFC, 1/20/98, p.A18)
1947 Jan 3, Congressional
proceedings were televised for the first time as viewers in Washington,
Philadelphia and New York City saw some of the opening ceremonies of
the 80th Congress.
(AP, 1/3/98)
1947 Feb 19, CBS radio premiere of
Villa-Lobos' "Bachianas Brasilieras No 3."
(MC, 2/19/02)
1947 May 7, "Kraft Television
Theater" premiered on NBC.
(MC, 5/7/02)
1947 Sep 13, WPVI TV channel 6 in
Philadelphia, PA., (ABC) began broadcasting.
(MC, 9/13/01)
1947 Oct 5, In the first
televised White House address, President Truman asked Americans to
refrain from eating meat on Tuesdays and poultry on Thursdays to help
stockpile grain for starving people in Europe.
(AP, 10/5/97)
1947 Oct 13, The popular
children's television show, Kukla, Fran and Ollie, premiered as a local
Chicago show. In its first year, the show's name varied between "Kukla,
Fran and Ollie" and ":Junior Jamboree," but it was essentially the same
show.
(http://www.kukla.tv/)
1947 Oct 27, "You Bet Your Life,"
starring Groucho Marx, premiered on ABC Radio. The show was transferred
to TV on NBC in 1950 and lasted until 1961.
(SFC, 6/5/97, p.A26)(AP, 10/27/97)
1947 Nov 20, "Meet the Press" made
network TV debut on NBC.
(MC, 11/20/01)
1947 Dec 27, Buffalo Bob Smith
(1917-1998) and puppet Howdy Doody starred on the first nationally
broadcast children’s TV show. It ran to Sep. 30, 1960. The show was
produced by Martin Stone and was shot in NBC studio 3-K at 30
Rockefeller Plaza. The characters Clarabell the Clown (Bob Keeshan
later Captain Kangaroo), Dilly Dally, Chief Thunderthud, Princess
Summerfall, Phineas T. Bluster and Flub-a-Dub were featured. The theme
song was based on the French ditty: "Ta-ra-ra-Boom-der-e." The show ran
for 2,543 episodes. Rufus Rose was the puppeteer for most of the shows.
The Rose family later fought with the Detroit Institute of Arts for
possession of the original show puppet.
(SFC, 9/9/96, p.A18)(AP, 12/27/97)(SFC, 6/19/98,
p.B6)(SFC, 7/31/98, p.D7)(SFEC, 2/27/00, p.A3)
1947 The ABC Radio show "Candid
Microphone," developed by Allen Funt, premiered. A year later it became
a TV program and later "Candid Camera."
(SFC, 9/7/99, p.C2)
1947 NBC featured Jinx Falkenburg
(d.2003) and husband Tex McCrary on the television show "At Home."
(SFC, 8/29/03, p.A28)
1947 The radio show "Sergeant
Preston of the Yukon" was created. In 1955 it became a TV series with
Richard Simmons.
(SFC, 1/15/03, p.A19)
1947 The "Mary Kay and Johnny" TV
show began on the DuMont network with Johnny and Mary Kay Stearns. It
later moved to NBC and CBS.
(SFC, 12/11/01, p.A28)
1948 Feb 16, NBC-TV began airing
its first nightly newscast, "The Camel Newsreel Theatre," which
consisted of "20th Century Fox- Movietone News" newsreels.
(AP, 2/16/98)(MC, 2/16/02)
1948 Mar 18, Philips began
experimental TV broadcasting.
(MC, 3/18/02)
1948 Mar 20, The 1st live
televised musical Eugene Ormandy on CBS.
(MC, 3/20/02)
1948 Mar 20, A televised concert
by NBC Symphony was conducted by Arturo Toscanini.
(MC, 3/20/02)
1948 Apr 5, WGN TV channel 9 in
Chicago, IL., began broadcasting.
(MC, 4/5/02)
1948 May 9, The first television
guide, called TV Forecast, was published by Les Vihon and 3 partners in
Chicago. It became the basis for TV Guide which was consolidated under
Walter Annenberg.
(WSJ, 5/8/98, p.W10)(WSJ, 6/18/99, p.W6)
1948 May 25, KPIX went on the air
as the first TV station in Northern Ca.
(SFEC, 5/16/99, Z1 p.4)
1948 Jun 1, "We The People", TV
Talk Show, radio from ‘36; debuted on CBS.
(DT, 6/1/97)
1948 Jul 5, The pilot episode of
“My Favorite Husband,” with Lucille Ball, aired. It was entitled “The
Cugat's Tenth Wedding Anniversary” It became the gifted redhead’s first
regular radio program on CBS. Regular broadcasting began on July 23,
1948 and aired on various nights through March 31, 1951. Through most
of its life it was sponsored by Jello.
(www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/6066/epguhuby.html)
1948 Jun 8, The "Texaco Star
Theater" made its debut on NBC-TV with Milton Berle hosting the first
program. Although Berle was initially chosen to be only a guest host,
he was named the show’s permanent host the following September.
Sponsors changed and it became "The Buick-Berle Show" and then just
"The Milton Berle Show." The show lasted to 1956.
(SFEC, 5/24/98, DB p.37) (AP, 6/8/98)
1948 Jun 14, Lee Wagner, a New
York publisher, launched his TeleVision Guide. It became known as TV
Guide. The Barowski brothers in Philadelphia soon followed with their
TV Digest.
(WSJ, 5/8/98, p.W10)
1948 Aug 10, Allen Funt’s "Candid
Microphone," later titled "Candid Camera," made its television debut on
ABC-TV.
(AP, 8/10/98)
1948 Sep 21, Milton Berle made his
debut as permanent host of the TV vaudeville show "The Texaco Star
Theater" on NBC on Tuesday nights. [see Jun 8, 1948]
(AP, 9/21/98)(SFC, 5/29/00, p.E4)
1948 Nov 28, "Hopalong Cassidy" TV
western premiered on NBC television. [see Jun 24, 1949]
(DT, 11/28/97)
1948 Nov 29, The popular
children's television show, Kukla, Fran and Ollie, moved to the NBC
Midwest network.
(HN,11/29/00)(http://www.kukla.tv/)
1948 Nov 29, The NYC Metropolitan
Opera was televised for the first time as the season opened with
"Othello." It featured Ramon Vinay, Licia Albenese, and Leonard Warren
and was conducted by Fritz Busch
(HN, 11/29/98)(MC, 11/29/01)
1948 In Chicago Clint Youle
(d.1999 at 83) became television's first weatherman.
(SFC, 7/27/99, p.A17)
1948 The TV show "Pantomime Quiz"
began on KTLA in Hollywood. It was hosted by Mike Stokey (d.2003 at
84). It went national on CBS a year later and in the 1960s was renamed
"Stump the Stars."
(SFC, 9/12/03, p.A23)
1948 The Perry Como Show made its
debut on TV. It ran for 15 years to1963. Como died in 2001 at age 88.
(SSFC, 5/13/01, p.A27)
1948 The TV show "Stop Me If
You’ve Heard This One" featured Morey Amsterdam.
(SFC, 10/29/96, p.B2)
1948 The TV show “Studio One”
began broadcasting on TV and featured a new play every week. The show
continued to 1958.
(WSJ, 11/22/08, p.W9)
1948 TV advertising by liquor
makers was halted. The agreement held until 1996 when Seagram Co. began
running both radio and TV ads.
(SFC, 10/19/96, D1)
1948 The Hearst Corp. acquired
WBAL-TV, Baltimore, one of the country's first television stations.
(SFC, 8/7/99, p.A9)
1949 Jan 31, The first TV daytime
soap opera, "These Are My Children," was broadcast from the NBC station
in Chicago.
(AP, 1/31/98)
1949
Apr 1, "Happy Pappy" premiered. It was the first
all-black-cast variety show.
(OTD)
1949 Apr 26, Look Magazine
proclaimed that radio was "doomed" and that within 3 years television
would completely overshadow it.
(440 Int’l. Internet, 4/26/97, p.2)
1949 May 29, Candid Camera, TV
comedy Variety, moved to NBC.
(SC, 5/29/02)
1949 Jun 1, KSL TV channel 5 in
Salt Lake City, UT (CBS) began broadcasting.
(DT, 6/1/97)
1949 Jun 24, "Hopalong Cassidy"
became the 1st network western (NBC). William Boyd played Hopalong
Cassidy on a radio program. He bought the rights to the Cassidy movies
and edited them for TV. They proved popular and he made an additional
52 new episodes for TV. [see Nov 28, 1948]
(SFC, 1/21/98, Z1 p.3)(MC, 6/24/02)
1949 Jul 2, "Red Barber's
Clubhouse" sports show premiered on CBS (later NBC) TV.
(SC, 7/2/02)
1949 Jul 7, The police drama
"Dragnet," starring Jack Webb and Barton Yarborough, premiered on NBC
radio. It became a TV series in 1951 and 1967.
(AP, 7/7/99)(MC, 7/7/02)
1949 Jul 10, 1st practical
rectangular TV tube was announced in Toledo, Oh.
(MC, 7/10/02)
1949 Sep 1, The 1st network
detective series, Private Eyes, premiered.
(SC, 9/1/02)
1949 Sep 15, "The Lone Ranger"
premiered on ABC television with Clayton Moore (d.1999) as the masked
hero and Jay Silverheels (1912-1980) as Tonto. Their 169 [221] episodes
ran to 1957. Moore was replaced by John Hart for the 1952-1953 season
due to a salary dispute.
(AP, 9/15/99)(SFC, 12/29/99, p.A1,11)(SSFC, 6/19/05,
Par p.2)
1949 Dec 28, 20th Century Fox
announced it would produce TV programs.
(MC, 12/28/01)
1949 Bozo the Clown made his TV
debut on “Bozo’s Circus starring Pinto Colvig on KTTV-Channel 11 (CBS),
Los Angeles.
(NW, 11/11/02, p.54)(WGN-BTL, 2004)
1949 Jay Ward, cartoonist, created
"Crusader Rabbit." It was the first cartoon made for TV.
(SFEC, 12/15/96, DB p.63)
1949 Milton Berle hosted the first
TV telethon. $1.1 million for cancer patients was raised in 14 hours.
(SFEC, 8/15/99, Z1 p.8)
1949 Thomas Coffin (d.1999 at 83)
became NBC's first television market research specialist. He was the
first to conduct studies that showed that people bought products after
seeing them on TV. He later was part of a panel that produced the 1972
report that TV violence had an adverse effect on children.
(SFC, 5/31/99, p.A17)
1949 The first Emmy Awards for TV
productions were made. Shirley Dinsdale Layburn (d.1999 at 72), a
ventriloquist, received one for Most Outstanding Television
Personality. Her puppet was Judy Splinters.
(SFC, 5/12/99, p.C6)
1949 Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca
(d.2001) starred on the "Admiral Broadway Revue" TV show (Jan-Jun), a
forerunner of "Your Show of Shows," which ran to 1954.
(SSFC, 6/3/01, p.A29)(SFC, 8/9/02, p.D17)
1949 KRON-TV began broadcasting in
SF.
(SFC, 8/7/99, p.A8)
1949 Mike Wallace hosted the quiz
show "Majority Rules."
(SFC, 10/3/02, p.D9)
1950 Feb 3, Morgan Fairchild,
[Patsy McClenny], actress (Falcon Crest), was born in Dallas, Tx.
(MC, 2/3/02)
1950 Feb 25, The comedy-variety
program "Your Show of Shows," starring Sid Caesar, Imogene Coca, Carl
Reiner and, later, Howard Morris, debuted on NBC-TV. The show’s writers
included Mel Brooks, Neil Simon & Woody Allen.
(AP, 2/25/00)(MC, 2/25/02)
1950 Mar 9, Space Patrol debuted
as a local, 15-minute show that aired live five days a week in Los
Angeles and ran to 1955. Norman Jolley (d.2002), evil Agent X, acted in
the series and wrote scripts. Ed Kemmer (1921-2004) played Commander
Buzz Corry. Joanne Jordan played the evil Queen Mirtha. In 2005
Jean-Noel Bassior authored “Space Patrol: Missions of Daring in the
name of Early Television.”
(SFC, 8/23/02, p.A27)(SFC, 11/17/04, p.B8)(SFC,
10/17/08, p.B8)(SFC, 9/25/09, p.D10)
1950 Apr 9, Bob Hope made his
first television appearance. Hope began his career on an NBC television
special after years on radio. "I’d better get into television before
Milton Berle used up my material."
(SFC, 10/24/96, p.D5)(HN, 4/9/98)
1950 Jul 10, "Your Hit Parade"
premiered on NBC (later CBS) TV.
(www.bookrags.com/history/popculture/your-hit-parade-sjpc-05)
1950 Sep 30, Radio's "Grand Ole
Opry" was broadcasted on TV for 1st time.
(MC, 9/30/01)
1950 Oct 11, The Federal
Communications Commission authorized the Columbia Broadcasting System
(CBS) to begin commercial color TV broadcasts.
(HN, 10/11/98)
1950 Oct, The TV show “Tom
Corbett, Space Cadet” (1950-1955) premiered with Frankie Thomas
(1921-2006) as Tom Corbett.
(SFC, 5/17/06, p.B7)
1950 The Arthur Murray Party began
showing on TV and ran intermittently to 1960. The show was hosted by
Kathryn Murray (d.1999 at 92) used comedy and celebrity to sell
ballroom dancing to the public. Arthur Murray died in 1991.
(SFEC, 8/8/99, p.D8)
1950 The Jack Benny Show featured
Eddie "Rochester" Anderson as a foil for Benny.
(SSFC, 2/11/01, BR p.1)
1950 The "Broadway Open House" TV
show began and later evolved into the "Tonight Show."
(SFC, 10/29/96, p.B2)
1950 The "Cisco Kid" TV series
began with Duncan Renaldo and Leo Carrillo. The series lasted to 1956.
(SFC, 12/27/00, p.C6)
1950 George Francis Hayes
(1865-1969) moved to television and hosted The Gabby Hayes Show, a
western series, from 1950 to 1954, and a new version in 1956.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_'Gabby'_Hayes)
1950 Hot Springs, NM, voted
1,294-295 to change its name to Truth or Consequences. Radio show host
Ralph Edwards had promised to broadcast from the town that agreed to
change its name to that of his radio show.
(SFC, 11/17/05, p.B5)
1950 The TV show "You Bet Your
Life" with Groucho Marx began and George Fenneman (1919-1997) began.
The show lasted until 1961.
(SFC, 6/5/97, p.A26)
1950 Ten million US households had
television in this year.
(SFC, 7/13/96, p.A5)
1950s Scripts from the popular
1950s television show, Your Show of Shows , were found in a closet in
New York City in September 2000. Workers in a New York City office
building discovered a closet containing 137 scripts, some of them with
hand-written notations, from one of the country’s most beloved shows
from the `50s. The closet had served as storage for the show’s
producer, Max Liebman, who died in 1981.
(HNQ, 3/4/01)
1950s Fred Coe (1914-1979) was
considered the greatest producer in television’s Golden Age in the
1950s. John Krampner wrote "The Man in the Shadows: Fred Coe and the
Golden Age of Television" in 1996. Coe produced the Philco-Goodyear
Playhouse, Studio One, Kraft Television Theater and Robert Montgomery
Presents.
(MT, Spg. ‘97, p.18)
1950-1951 The Texaco Star Theater was the top ranking
network show on television with a ranking of 61.6%.
(WSJ, 4/24/95, p.R-5)
1951 Feb 1, The 1st X-ray moving
picture process demonstrated.
(MC, 2/1/02)
1951 Feb 3, "Victor Borge Show,"
debuted on NBC TV.
(MC, 2/3/02)
1951 May 14, The Ernie Kovacs
Show, TV Variety "Ernie in Kovacsland," debuted on NBC.
(MC, 5/14/02)(SFEC, 5/24/98, DB p.37)
1951 Jun 25, The first commercial
color telecast took place as CBS transmitted a one-hour special from
New York to four other cities. CBS tried a version of color TV with a
design that featured a mechanical rotating color wheel.
(AP, 6/25/97)(SFC, 3/18/04, p.E1)
1951 Jun 28, A TV version of the
radio program "Amos ‘N’ Andy" premiered on CBS. Although criticized for
racial stereotyping, it was the first network TV series to feature an
all-black cast.
(AP, 6/28/97)
1951 Sep 3, The television soap
opera "Search for Tomorrow" made its debut on CBS. From 1953 to 1955 it
featured Don Knotts as the neurotic Wilbur Peterson. The show ended in
1986 after 4 years on NBC. Larry Haines (1918-2008) played the neighbor
Stu Bergman for most of the show’s run.
(AP, 9/3/98)(SSFC, 2/26/06, p.B7)(SFC, 7/31/08, p.B5)
1951 Sep 4, The first
transcontinental television broadcast in America was carried by 94
stations. President Truman addressed the nation from the Japanese peace
treaty conference in San Francisco.
(AP, 9/4/97)(HN, 9/4/98)
1951 Oct 15, The situation comedy
"I Love Lucy" premiered on CBS. It ran through to 1961. Lucille Ball
and Desi Arnaz bought their television studio, Desilu, from Howard
Hughes.
(SFEC, 10/20/96, T8)(AP, 10/15/97)(SFEC, 5/24/98, DB
p.37)(WSJ, 5/29/98, p.W9)
1951 Nov 18, "See it Now"
premiered on TV.
(MC, 11/18/01)
1951 Dec 5, "Dragnet" premiered on
TV.
(MC, 12/5/01)
1951 Dec 24, Gian Carlo Menotti’s
"Amahl and the Night Visitors," the first opera written specifically
for television, was first broadcast by NBC.
(AP, 12/24/97)
1951 Paul Harvey (d.2009 at 90),
news commentator and talk-radio pioneer, began his "News and Comment"
for ABC Radio Networks.
(AP, 3/1/09)
1951 "The Honeymooners" first
appeared as a TV sketch featuring Jackie Gleason on the DuMont
Network's Cavalcade of Stars. It was written by Harry Crane (d.1999 at
85).
(SFC, 9/15/99, p.C4)
1951 The TV show "See It Now" was
co-produced by Edward R. Murrow and Fred W. Friendly (d.1998 at 82).
Murrow was on camera and Friendly was behind-the-scenes. The show was
cancelled in 1958.
(SFC, 3/5/98, p.A24)
1951 "Superman and the Mole Men,"
starred George Reeves in the first Superman TV episode.
(SFC, 12/14/00, p.C9)
1951 Jack LaLanne (b.1914) began
hosting a daily exercise show on San Francisco’s KGO TV (channel 7).
(SFC, 10/8/09, p.A16)
1951 Don Herbert (1917-2007), as
television's "Mr. Wizard," introduced generations of young viewers to
the joys of science. “Watch Mr. Wizard” ran for 14 years.
(AP, 6/12/07)(SFC, 6/14/07, p.B5)
1951-1952 Godfrey’s Talent Scouts was the top ranking
network show on television with a ranking of 53.8%.
(WSJ, 4/24/95, p.R-5)
1952 Jan 3, "Dragnet" with Jack
Webb premiered on NBC TV.
(MC, 1/3/02)
1952 Jan 14, NBC’s TV show "Today"
with Dave Garroway (d.1982) and Jack Lescoulie had its debut. Garroway
left the show in 1961. The news announcer was James Fleming
(1915-1996). The theme music was "Sentimental Journey." Hugh Downs
hosted from 1962-1971. Barbara Walters hosted from 1974-1976. Tom
Brokaw hosted from 1976-1981. Jane Pauley hosted from 1976-1989. Bryant
Gumbel hosted from 1982-1997.
(SFC, 7/13/96, p.A5)(SFC, 8/19/96, p.C2)(AP,
4/8/97)(AP, 1/14/98)(SFC, 1/11/02, p.D19)(MC, 1/14/02)
1952 Mar 3, "Whispering Streets"
debuted on ABC Radio, remaining on the air until Thanksgiving week,
1960. The end of that show brought down the curtain on what is called
"the last day of the radio soap opera" (November 25, 1960).
(HC, Internet, 3/3/98)
1952 Apr 22, An atomic test
conducted at Yucca Flat, Nevada, became the first nuclear explosion
shown on live network television.
(AP, 4/22/99)(SFC, 4/19/02, p.G3)
1952 Jun 19, The celebrity-panel
game show "I've Got A Secret" made its debut on CBS-TV with Garry Moore
as host.
(AP, 6/19/07)
1952 Jun 30, "The Guiding Light,"
a popular radio program, made its debut as a television soap opera on
CBS.
(AP, 6/30/97)
1952 Jun, The Goon Show began on
the BBC Home Service. It had started as the show "Crazy People."
(SFC, 11/28/96, p.B6)
1952 Sep 6, Canadian television
broadcasting began in Montreal.
(AP, 9/6/97)
1952 Sep 23, Rocky Marciano became
the world heavyweight boxing champion by knocking out Jersey Joe
Walcott in the 13th round, in Philadelphia PA. It was Rocky’s 43rd
consecutive victory. This was the 1st closed circuit pay-TV telecast of
a sports event.
(MC, 9/23/01)
1952 Sep 23, Republican
vice-presidential candidate Richard M. Nixon went on television to
deliver what came to be known as the "Checkers" speech as he refuted
allegations of improper campaign financing. Nixon denied that he
maintained a private slush fund and all financial allegations except
for the gift of a cocker spaniel dog named Checkers from a Texan who
heard that his daughters wanted a puppy. Some 30 million television
viewers watched as Nixon, Dwight Eisenhower‘s running mate in the
upcoming presidential elections, made a plea for sympathy and
vindication in light of charges he was living a lifestyle beyond the
means of his $12,500 Senate salary. In 1997 plans were underway to
exhume the dog and rebury it near the former president.
(TMC, 1994, p.1952)(SFC, 4/28/97, p.A5)(AP,
9/23/97)(HNQ, 10/12/99)
1952 Oct 3, The situation comedy
"Our Miss Brooks," formerly a radio show, premiered on CBS with Eve
Arden again in the title role. Robert Rockwell played her love
interest, the biology teacher
(AP, 10/3/02)(SFC, 1/28/03, p.A15)
1952 Oct 3, The 1st video
recording on magnetic tape was made in LA, Ca.
(MC, 10/3/01)
1952 Oct 7, The 1st "Bandstand"
broadcast in Philadelphia on WFIL-TV. Dick Clark joined in 1955 as a
substitute-host.
(SFC, 11/10/99, p.E3)(SFC, 4/15/00, p.D3)(MC,
10/7/01)
1952 Dec 2, 1st human birth
televised to public was on KOA-TV Denver, Colo.
(MC, 12/2/01)
1952 Larry Harmon made his debut
as Bozo the Clown. The pilot was titled "Pinky Talks Back."
(SFC, 4/14/01, p.B4)
1952 Gunsmoke, the "adult
western," began as a radio drama. It spawned a television series (1955)
that lasted 20 years. Starring William Conrad as Marshal Matt Dillon (a
role played by James Arness on TV), the show broke with established
radio traditions (such as extended use of sound effects) and character
stereotypes (in great part to many cliché-busting scripts by
John Mestin). It garnered a huge audience for its network, CBS (sources
disagree, but some estimate as much as 30% of the radio-listening
public tuned into the show, a rating impossible to reach in today’s
multimedia world). The popular radio drama launched the 20-year TV
series, a record as yet unrivalled by any other primetime drama.
(HNQ, 3/30/01)
1952 Sheri Lewis (19) was a winner
on the Arthur Godfrey television talent scout show. Within 5 years she
introduced her puppet Lamb Chop on the Captain Kangaroo Show and began
her own show in 1957.
(SFC, 8/4/98, p.A7)
1952 The TV show American
Bandstand premiered as a local show in Philadelphia.
(SFC, 11/10/99, p.E3)(SFC, 4/15/00, p.D3)
1952 "The Ernie Kovacs Show" began
under CBS and ran to 1953.
(SFEC, 5/24/98, DB p.37)
1952 The TV show Ding Dong School
was developed by George Heinemann (1918-1996)
1952 TV advertised its first toy,
Mr. Potato Head.
(SFEC, 3/2/97, z1 p.4)
1952 The TV show "My Little
Margie" starred Gale Storm and Hillary Brooke, It ran until 1955.
(SFC, 6/2/99, p.C7)
1952 "The Adventures of Ozzie and
Harriet" began its TV run. It had started as a radio series in 1944.
The TV show ran to 1966.
(AP, 10/8/98)(SSFC, 5/20/01, p.C5)
1952 The radio show “This Is Your
Life,” hosted by Ralph Edwards, migrated to television. It ran to 1961.
(SFC, 11/17/05, p.B5)
1952 Death Valley Days moved from
radio to TV and ran to 1975 as a syndicated television show.
British-born manager James Gerstley (1907-2007), president of the
Pacific Coast Borax Company (later US Borax), sponsored the show.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_Valley_Days)(SFC, 6/6/07, p.B7)
1953 Jan 20, In the US Dwight D.
Eisenhower was inaugurated as president. He succeeded Harry S. Truman.
TV coverage sent the event to 21 million sets.
(WUD, 1994, p.1685)(SFC, 1/17/03, p.E8)
1953 Jan 28, J. Fred Muggs (the
chimp) joined NBC's "Today Show."
(MC, 1/28/02)
1953 Feb 1, CBS-TV debuted
"Private Secretary", starring Ann Sothern, on this day. Ann played
Susie McNamera, private secretary to NY talent agent, Peter Sands
(played by Don Porter). The show ran during the regular TV seasons on
CBS, and last show was September 10, 1957. It ran on NBC-TV in the
summers of 1953 and 1954.
(SFC, 2/21/97, p.A26)(440 Int'l, 2/1/1999)
1953 Feb 1, "You Are There" with
Walter Cronkite premiered on CBS television.
(MC, 2/1/02)
1953 Feb 3, J. Fred Muggs, a
chimp, became a regular on NBC's Today Show.
(MC, 2/3/02)
1953 Feb 9, "Adventures of
Superman" TV series premiered in syndication.
(MC, 2/9/02)
1953 Mar 19, The Academy Awards
ceremony was televised for the first time; "The Greatest Show on Earth"
was named best picture of 1952. Gary Cooper & Shirley Booth won for
best actor and actress.
(AP, 3/19/99)(MC, 3/19/02)
1953 Apr 3, Walter Annenberg of
Philadelphia began a national TV Guide. His father had published Radio
Guide and he bought TV Forecast in Chicago and local television guides
in New York , Philadelphia and Washington to begin his operation. A
picture of the first cover featured Lucy and Desi Arnaz’ baby (I Love
Lucy).
(www.tvhistory.tv/tv_guide1.htm)(WSJ, 5/8/98,
p.W10)(www.fiftiesweb.com/pop/tv-guide.htm)
1953 Jun 7, The 1st color network
telecast in compatible color was in Boston, Mass.
(SC, 6/7/02)
1953 Jul 11, "Amos 'n Andy," TV
Comedy, also radio from '29; last aired on CBS.
(MC, 7/11/02)
1953 Aug 3, Frank Blair became the
news anchor of the Today Show.
(SC, 8/3/02)
1953 Aug 30, The first
publicly announced experimental TV broadcast of a network program in
compatible color was presented by NBC: St. George and the Dragon,
starring Burr Tillstrom's Kukla, Fran and Ollie.
(http://kukla.tv/colortest.html)
1953 Sep 10, Swanson sold it's 1st
"TV dinner."
(MC, 9/10/01)
1953 Sep 20, Jimmy Stewart debuted
in "The Six Shooter" on NBC.
(MC, 9/20/01)
1953 Sep 20, The "Loretta Young
Show" (A Letter to Loretta) premiered on NBC TV and ran for 8 years.
(SFEC, 8/13/00, p.B10)
1953 Sep 28, The "Bob & Ray
Show," TV Variety, last aired on NBC.
(MC, 9/28/01)
1953 Sep 29, The family comedy
"Make Room for Daddy," starring Danny Thomas, premiered on ABC.
(AP, 9/29/03)
1953 Oct 20, Edward R. Murrow on
his TV show “See It Now” brought public attention to the abuses of
power in the era of Sen. McCarthy’s anti-communist crusade. Milo
Radulovich (1926-2007), a US Air Force Reserve officer, had been
stripped of his commission for refusing to denounce his family, which
subscribed to several Serbian newspapers. His commission was later
restored. Murrow took up the case and set the turning point to
discredit McCarthyism.
(SFC, 11/26/07, p.D3)(Econ, 12/1/07, p.102)
1953 Nov 12, US district Judge
Grim ruled the NFL can black out TV home games.
(MC, 11/12/01)
1953 Dec 17, FCC approved RCA's
black & white-compatible color TV specifications. Temporary
approval of the mechanical CBS color model was rescinded.
(MC, 12/17/01)(SFC, 3/18/04, p.E1)
1953 Dec 30, The first color TV
sets went on sale. An Admiral color set was priced about $1,175 in 1953
dollars! Color TV sets did not become affordable to the masses until
the late 1960s.
(TMC, 1994, p.1953)(MC, 12/30/01)
1953 Peter Graves starred in the
TV series "Stalag 17."
(SFC, 5/19/96, BR, p.30)
1953 The weekly "General Electric
Theater" began on TV.
(SFC, 11/24/00, p.D11)
1953 "The Life of Riley" featured
William Bendix and Marjorie Reynolds (1917-1997) as Peg Riley. It ran
until 1958.
(SFC, 2/13/97, p.C4)
1953 Vito Scotti (1918-1996)
replaced J. Carrol Naish as the Italian immigrant Luigi Basco in the TV
show "Life with Luigi."
(SFC, 6/12/96, p.C2)
1953 The Romper Room TV show for
children began in Baltimore on station WBAL. It featured Nancy Claster
(d.1997 at 82) as Miss Nancy who stayed on until 1964 when her
daughter, Sally, took over for the next 16 years. Locally produced
shows aired in 150 cities. Her "magic mirror" gave the names of
children watching at home, names that parents had sent in.
(SFC, 4/26/97, p.A22)
1953 Steve Allen (d.2000) created
and hosted the Tonight Show in NYC. It went national in 1954. Allen
remained host until 1957.
(SFC, 11/1/00, p.A19)(SSFC, 5/2/04, Par. p.4)
1953 Andrea King (d.2003 at 84)
and Edward G. Robinson starred in the live production of Agatha
Christie's "Witness for the Prosecution."
(SFC, 5/9/03, p.A22)
1953 The CBS musical series
“Summertime USA” was set in various resorts from Havana to Atlantic
City. It featured Teresa Brewer and Mel Torme.
(SFC, 10/19/07, p.A11)
1953 Soupy Sales (1926-2009) began
his “Soupy’s On” 5-day-a-week variety show in Detroit on WXYZ-TV. The
theme song was Charlie Parker’s "Yardbird Suite." Many jazz giants
played on his show but very little film footage survived. His “Lunch
with Soupy Sales” went national in October 1959, on the ABC television
network.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soupy_Sales)(DFP,
7/28/96, p.F1,8)(AP, 10/23/09)(SFC, 10/23/09, p.A8)
1953 The TV show "Winky Dink and
You" premiered as the 1st interactive kids’ show.
(NW, 11/11/02, p.54)
1953 In the US color TV was
introduced.
(TMC, 1994, p.1953)
1953 In West Germany Werner Hoefer
(d.1997 at 84) began his TV roundtable discussion "Der Internationale
Freuschoppen." He led the show until 1987. Revelations of his work as a
Nazi forced the end of his career as the show’s host.
(SFC,11/28/97, p.B8)
1953-1971 "The Danny Thomas Show" ran on TV.
(SFEC, 1/12/97, p.C10)
1954 Feb 1, A television classic
was born this day on CBS-TV, as the serial, "The Secret Storm", was
shown for the first day of what would become a 20-year run on the
network.
(440 Int'l, 2/1/1999)
1954 Feb 19, The Ford Foundation
donated $113,724 to KQED, the Bay Area's 1st community television
station. The SF Foundation in this year helped launch KQED public radio
and the legal Aid Society.
(SFC, 1/28/98, p.A16)(SFC, 2/13/04, p.E4)
1954 Mar 6, The TV show "See It
Now" broadcast its "Report on Senator McCarthy," and examined the
senator and his red-baiting tactics. [see Mar 9]
(SFC, 3/5/98, p.A24)
1954 Mar 9, CBS newsman Edward R.
Murrow critically reviewed Wisconsin Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy’s
anti-Communism campaign on "See It Now." [see Mar 6]
(AP, 3/9/98)
1954 Mar
15, The "CBS Morning Show" premiered with Walter Cronkite (1916-2009)
and Jack Paar (1918-2004.
(NYT, 3/14/54,
p.x15)(www.imdb.com/title/tt0046627/episodes)
1954 Mar 25, RCA manufactured its
first color TV set and began mass production. The 1953 RCA design for
color TV was adopted as the national standard. The 12" screen TV was
priced at $1000. Westinghouse had introduced a color model a few weeks
earlier, but only 1 set was sold in the 1st month.
(HN, 3/24/98)(WSJ, 11/4/99, p.B6)(MC, 3/25/02)(SFC,
3/18/04, p.E1)
1954 Apr 6, The TV Dinner was 1st
put on sale by Swanson and Sons.
(MC, 4/6/02)
1954 Apr 22, The publicly
televised US Senate Army-McCarthy hearings began.
(AP, 4/22/08)
1954 Apr 30, KQED, SF-based public
television, began broadcasting.
(SFC, 4/28/04, p.E1)
1954 Jul 4, WMSL (WYUR, now WAFF)
TV channel 48 in Huntsville, AL (ABC) began.
(Maggio)
1954 Sep 11, The Miss America
pageant made its network TV debut on ABC; Miss California, Lee Ann
Meriwether of San Francisco, was crowned the winner.
(AP, 9/11/97)(SFC, 11/16/99, p.G9)
1954 Sep 12, Lassie premiered on
CBS-TV.
(AP, 9/12/04)
1954 Sep 20, The live TV drama
"Twelve Angry Men" was presented as an episode of CBS' "Studio One"
anthology series.
(AP, 9/21/04)
1954 Sep 26, Ronald Reagan made
his 1st appearance as host of the "General Electric Theater."
(SSFC, 6/9/02, p.F3)
1954 Sep 27, "Tonight!" hosted by
Steve Allen, made its debut on NBC-TV.
(AP,
9/27/97)(www.nbc.com/the-tonight-show-experience/timeline/)
1954 Oct 25, President Eisenhower
conducted the first televised Cabinet meeting.
(HN, 10/25/98)
1954 Oct 27, Walt Disney's first
television program, titled "Disneyland" after his yet-to-be completed
theme park, premiered on ABC. "Davy Crockett, Indian Fighter" was
possibly the first miniseries.
(AP,
10/27/97)(http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046593/)(SFEC, 5/24/98, DB p.38)
1954 The film "Peter Pan" with
Mary Martin was made from the Broadway play. It was shown to a national
TV audience in 1955 to help promote color TV.
(SFEC, 5/11/97, DB p.37)(SFC, 12/30/03, p.D2)
1954 "Four Star Playhouse" was a
TV dramatic series that starred Charles Boyer, Ida Lupino, Dick Powell
and David Niven. It was edited by Coles Trapnell (d.1999 at 88). The
show closed in 1956.
(SFC, 2/5/99, p.D4)
1954 The TV serial "The Man With
the Steel Whip" starred Richard Simmons.
(SFC, 1/15/03, p.A19)
1954 The TV Omnibus series showed
the first under water films by Jacques Cousteau.
(SFC, 6/26/97, p.A7)
1954 "Your Show of Shows" and
"Caesar’s Hour" were hit TV programs. Their comedy writers included
Woody Allen, Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Larry Gelbart and Neil Simon.
"Your Show of Shows" with Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca ended.
(WSJ, 8/19/96, p.A11)(SSFC, 6/3/01, p.A29)
1954 "The Tonight Show" with Steve
Allen began on TV.
(SFEC, 5/24/98, DB p.38)
1954 Venezuela’s Radio Caracas
Television Station (RCTV) began operations.
(Econ, 6/2/07, p.38)
1954-1960 Robert Young (d.1998 at 91) played the
loving father Jim Anderson on TV in "Father Knows Best." Jane Wyatt
(1910-2006) played his wife. The show had started as a radio sitcom in
1949.
(SFC, 7/23/98, p.C4)(SFC, 10/23/06, p.B3)
1955 Jan 19, A presidential news
conference was filmed for television for the first time, with
permission from President Eisenhower.
(AP, 1/19/98)
1955 Mar 5, A truck driver from
Tupelo, Miss., made his first-ever TV appearance on this night. Elvis
Aron Presley was featured on "Louisiana Hayride". This prompted
promoters to send Elvis to New York City to audition for Arthur
Godfrey's immensely popular and career-making "Talent Scouts" program.
Talent coordinators and Godfrey are said to have passed on Elvis
appearing on the show. Not much later, he was tossed out of the Grand
Ole Opry as well, and told to "go back to driving a truck." In a little
over a year, however, the nation was caught up in Presley-mania which
continues even today.
(www.imdb.com/title/tt1087605/)(www.scottymoore.net/tourdates50s.html)
1955 Mar 7, Mary Martin as "Peter
Pan" was televised. It was taped from the Broadway play.
(MC, 3/7/02)(SFC, 12/30/03, p.AD2)
1955 Mar 27, Steve McQueen made
his network TV debut on the Goodyear Playhouse.
(MC, 3/27/02)
1955
Apr 1, "One Man’s Family" was seen on TV for the final time after
a six-years on NBC-TV.
(OTD)
1955 Jun 1, "Front Row Center", TV
Anthology; debut on CBS.
(DT, 6/1/97)
1955 Jun 1, "The Sky’s The Limit",
TV Game Show; last aired on NBC. Low ratings were the limit there.
(DT, 6/1/97)
1955 Jun 7, Pres. Eisenhower
became the 1st president to appear on color TV.
(SC, 6/7/02)
1955 Jun 7, "The $64,000 Question"
premiered on CBS TV. It was the top ranking network show on television
with a ranking of 47.5%. It featured Art Carney and Jackie Gleason and
was in part created by Joseph Cates (d.1998 at 74).
(WSJ, 4/24/95, p.R-5)(SFC, 10/13/98, p.A22)(SC,
6/7/02)
1955 Jun 30, The "Johnny Carson
Show," debuted on CBS-TV.
(SFC, 1/24/05, p.A8)
1955 Jul 2, "The Lawrence Welk
Show" premiered on ABC television.
(AP, 7/2/98)
1955 Sep 10, The TV show
"Gunsmoke," starring James Arness as Marshal Matt Dillon, premiered on
CBS and lasted to 1975. Dennis Weaver (1924-2006) played Chester Goode.
(AP, 9/10/05)(SFC, 2/28/06, p.A2)
1955 Sep 22, Commercial TV began
in England. ITV began broadcasting at 7:15 pm in the London region
only. Associated Rediffusion was awarded the London weekday license by
the ITA, with ITN established as a separate company to supply news. ATV
London began broadcasting on weekends 2 days later.
(http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcast/story/0,7493,1057710,00.html)
1955 Oct 3, "Captain Kangaroo"
with Bob Keeshan began its run on CBS TV. The show ended in 1993.
(WSJ, 3/6/97, p.B1)(AP, 10/3/00)
1955 Oct 3, The Disney sponsored
Mickey Mouse Club began on ABC TV and ran to 1959.
(WSJ, 3/6/97, p.B1)(SFC, 11/30/98, p.A8)
1955 Cheyenne premiered as TV’s
1st hour-long series. It was produced by Roy Huggins.
(SFC, 4/15/02, p.B5)
1955 "The Life and Legend of Wyatt
Earp" began on TV with Hugh O'Brian. It ran to 1961 and was billed as
TV’s first adult western. doc was played by Douglas Fowley (d.1998 at
86)
(SFEC,11/30/97, Par p.2)
1955 The TV series "Sergeant
Preston of the Yukon" starred Richard Simmons (d.2003 at 89). The
series ran for 3 seasons to 1958.
(SFC, 1/15/03, p.A19)
1955 The Hearst Corp. acquired
WISN-TV, Milwaukee.
(SFC, 8/7/99, p.A9)
1955 Art Clokey (33) made a short
art film called "Gumbasia," featuring clay animation set to jazz music,
that inspired the beloved Gumby television series that debuted in 1956.
(SFC, 4/28/95, p.C5)(AP, 5/15/05)
1955-1959 The police drama Highway Patrol starred
Broderick Crawford.
(SSFC, 1/2/05, p.A23)
1956 Mar 5, "King Kong" was 1st
televised.
(MC, 3/5/02)
1956 Mar 17, Fred Allen (b.1894),
American comedian (Fred Allen Radio Show), died.
(TOH, 1982, p.1956)(MC, 3/17/02)
1956 Mar 26, Red Buttons debuted
on TV in Studio One.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1956 Apr 2, The soap operas "As
the World Turns" and "The Edge of Night" premiered on CBS television.
(AP,
4/2/99)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Edge_of_Night)
1956 Apr 10, Philips broadcasted
the 1st Dutch color TV programs.
(MC, 4/10/02)
1956 Apr 14, Ampex Corporation
demonstrated its first commercial videotape recorder.
(AP, 4/14/00)
1956 Jul 1, Elvis Presley appeared
on Steve Allen Show wearing a tuxedo.
(MC, 7/1/02)
1956 Sep 9, Elvis Presley made the
first of three appearances on "The Ed Sullivan Show." By his third and
final appearance on the Sullivan show, due to a number of viewers, who
were outraged at his suggestive gyrations, Elvis was filmed from only
the waist-up.
(AP, 9/9/97)(MC, 9/9/01)
1956 Oct 23, The 1st video
recording on magnetic tape was televised coast-to-coast.
(MC, 10/23/01)
1956 Oct 29, "The Huntley-Brinkley
Report" with Chet Huntley and David Brinkley (1920-2003) premiered as
NBC's nightly television newscast, replacing "The Camel News
Caravan." It ran to 1970. Brinkley remained with NBC for 11 more
years.
(AP, 10/29/97)(SFEC, 5/24/98, DB p.38)(MC,
10/29/01)(SFC, 6/13/03, p.A2)
1956 Nov 3, "Wizard of Oz" was 1st
televised (CBS-TV).
(MC, 11/3/01)
1956 Dec 18, "To Tell the Truth"
debuted on CBS-TV.
(MC, 12/18/01)
1956 Bob Barker became master of
ceremonies for the TV show “Truth or Consequences.”
(SFC, 11/17/05, p.B5)
1956 Charles Jackson Jr. (d.2002
at 88) won $20,000 on the "64,000 Question" and the "$64,000 Challenge"
and then revealed that answers had been given to him. Ralph Story
(1920-2006) hosted “The $64,000 Challenge” from 1956-1958. The show was
cancelled in 1958 under allegations that answers were supplied in
advance.
(SFC, 4/27/02, p.A21)(SFC, 9/28/06, p.B5)
1956 Dick Clark joined the TV show
"American Bandstand" in Philadelphia.
(SFC, 11/10/99, p.E3)
1956 The Captain Video TV show,
created by Lawrence Menkin (d.2000) in 1949, ended.
(SFC, 7/22/00, p.A21)
1956 The first all-color TV
station was NBC-TV in Chicago. It was dedicated by Robert Sarnoff
(1918-1997), president of NBC from 1955-1965.
(SFEC, 2/23/96, p.C12)
1956 "The Ernie Kovac Show" ran
for a season under NBC.
(SFEC, 5/24/98, DB p.37)
1956 The TV sitcom "Stanley"
starred Buddy Hackett and Carol Burnett. The pilot was written by Neil
Simon.
(SFC, 7/1/03, p.A2)
1956 Mike Wallace hosted the CBS
quiz show "The Big Surprise."
(SFC, 10/3/02, p.D9)
1956 "The Mike Wallace Interview"
began a 4 year run on CBS.
(SFC, 10/3/02, p.D9)
1956 The game show “Treasure Hunt”
began on ABC. The show was done from the Century Theatre in NYC and was
hosted by comedian Jan Murray (1916-2006). It later switched to NBC and
ran until 1959.
(SFC, 7/3/06, p.A2)
1956 The big money quiz show
"Twenty-One" began on TV. It let contestants choose questions on a 1-11
scale of difficulty and created a star player in college professor
Charles Van Doren. It was later found that the shows were rigged. A 194
film "Quiz Show," was based on the resulting scandal.
(SFEC, 5/24/98, DB p.38)(WSJ, 1/3/03, p.W4)
1956 Steve Allen starred in NBC’s
"The Steve Allen Show." It ran until 1960.
(SFC, 11/1/00, p.A19)
1956 Jack Palance (1919-2006)
starred in Playhouse 90’s “Requiem for a Heavyweight” written by Rod
Serling. Palance won an Emmy for his role in the TV presentation.
(SFC, 11/11/06, p.B6)
1956 Orson Welles made the pilot
TV show "Fountain of Youth."
(SFC, 6/7/99, p.B2)
1956 The Zenith Space Command
remote control, co-invented by Robert Adler (1913-2007) and Eugene
Polley, was introduced.
(SFC, 2/17/07, p.A2)
1956-1957 "I Love Lucy" was again the top ranking
network show on television with a ranking of 43.7%.
(WSJ, 4/24/95, p.R-5)
1956-1957 The "My Friend Flicka" TV series featured
Gene Evans (d.1998 at 75).
(SFC, 4/2/98, p.A23)
1957 Jan 6, Elvis Presley made
another appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show.
(MC, 1/6/02)
1957 Feb 16, LeVar Burton, (Roots,
Star Trek Next Generation), was born in Landstuhl, Germany.
(MC, 2/16/02)
1957 Mar 1, Kokomo the Chimp
became the Today Show animal editor.
(SC, 3/1/02)
1957 Mar 11, Charles Van Doren's
14-week run on the rigged NBC game show "Twenty-One" ended as he was
"defeated" by attorney Vivienne Nearing; Van Doren's take was $129,000.
(AP, 3/11/07)
1957 Mar 31, The original version
of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Cinderella," starring Julie Andrews,
aired live in color on CBS.
(AP, 3/31/07)
1957 May 6, Last broadcast of "I
Love Lucy" on CBS-TV. [see Jun 24]
(MC, 5/6/02)
1957 Jun 24, "I Love Lucy," last
aired on CBS-TV. [see May 6]
(MC, 6/24/02)
1957 Jul 29, Jack Paar made his
debut as host of NBC’s late-night TV show "Tonight" and stayed on till
1962..
(WSJ, 5/1/97, p.A16)(SFC, 5/7/97, p.E1)(AP, 7/29/97)
1957 Aug 5, "American Bandstand,"
a teenage dance show hosted by Dick Clark in Philadelphia, made its
network debut on ABC-TV.
(WSJ, 3/24/97, p.B1)(SFC, 11/10/99, p.E3)(AP, 8/5/07)
1957 Sep 7, The original version
of the animated NBC peacock logo, used to denote programs "brought to
you in living color," made its debut at the beginning of "Your Hit
Parade."
(AP, 9/7/07)
1957 Sep 8, Pope Pius XII posted
his encyclical On motion pictures, radio, TV.
(MC, 9/8/01)
1957 Sep 20, "M Squad," starring
Lee Marvin, premiered on NBC-TV.
(AP, 9/20/07)
1957 Sep 21, "Perry Mason,"
starring Raymond Burr, premiered on CBS-TV. The show ran to 1965 and
returned in 1985.
(AP, 9/21/97)(SFC, 8/20/99, p.D6)
1957 Sep 22, The TV series
"Maverick" premiered on ABC.
(AP, 9/22/07)
1957 Oct 3, The comedy series "The
Real McCoys" premiered on ABC-TV. Richard Crenna began playing the
married Luke on "The Real McCoys." The 6-year series starred Walter
Brennan as head of a West Virginia clan that moves to the LA San
Fernando Valley.
(SFC, 1/20/03, p.B4)(AP, 10/3/07)
1957 Oct 4, The television series
"Leave It to Beaver" premiered on CBS. It ended in 1963 after 6 season.
Joe Connelly (d.2003 at 85), writer-producer, co-created the show.
(AP, 10/4/97)(SFC, 2/15/03, p.A25)
1957 Oct 10, The TV series
"Zorro," starring Guy Williams as the masked hero, debuted on ABC.
(AP, 10/10/07)
1957 Oct 13, CBS-TV broadcast "The
Edsel Show," a one-hour live special starring Bing Crosby designed to
promote the new, ill-fated Ford automobile. It was the first special to
use videotape technology to delay the broadcast to the West Coast.
(AP, 10/13/07)
1957 Oct 20, Walter
Cronkite began hosting his weekly documentary: “The Twentieth Century.”
In 1967 the title was changed to “The Twenty-First Century” and it ran
through 1970.
(www.imdb.com/title/tt0050072/)
1957 Rev. Billy Graham led a New
York Crusade at Madison Square Garden that was televised coast-to-coast.
(SFEC, 9/21/97, Z1 p.3)
1957 "Half Gun, Will Travel" began
to run on TV and continued for 6 years.
(SFC,10/24/97, p.E5)
1957 John Hart (1917-2009) starred
as Hawkeye in the TV series “Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans.” Lon
Chaney Jr. played Chingachgook.
(SFC, 9/24/09, p.D5)
1957 Phyllis Kirk (1927-2006)
played opposite Peter Lawford in TV’s “The Thin Man.” The series ran to
1959.
(SFC, 10/24/06, p.B5)
1957 MGM closed its cartoon studio
in a panic over diminishing audiences due to television. William Hanna
and Joe Barbera (1911-2006) formed their own company and began making
cartoons for TV. The Hanna-Barbera TV cartoon program "Ruff &
Reddy" began.
(SFC, 6/3/97, p.B4)(WSJ, 12/21/06, p.D8)
1957 Sea Hunt with Lloyd Bridges
(d.1998) began as a TV series. It ran to 1961. It was mostly filmed at
the Marineland of the Pacific in LA.
(SFC, 3/11/98, p.A4)
1957 Singer and actress Gisele
MacKenzie (d.2003 at 76) left "Your Hit Parade" (1953-1957) to star in
NBC's "The Gisele MacKenzie Show." It ran for 6 months.
(SFC, 9/6/03, p.A16)
1957 Elvis Presley appeared a 2nd
time on the Ed Sullivan TV Show.
(SFC,1/22/97, p.A20)
1957-1959 The TV series "Whirleybirds" starred Ken
Tobey (d.2002 at 85) as the co-owner of a helicopter for hire.
(SFC, 12/25/02, p.A29)
1957-1961 Gunsmoke is the top ranking network show on
television for four seasons with rankings of 43.1, 39.6, 40.3, and
37.3%.
(WSJ, 4/24/95, p.R-5)
1957-1963 The Sheri Lewis Show ran on NBC.
(SFC, 8/4/98, p.A1)
1958 Apr 15, In the 10th Emmy
Awards: Gunsmoke, Robert Young and Jane Wyatt won.
(MC, 4/15/02)
1958 Jun 1, "Youth Wants To Know",
TV Public Affairs; last aired on NBC. Apparently, they didn’t want to
know.
(DT, 6/1/97)
1958 Jun 19, "The Lux Show
Starring Rosemary Clooney", TV Variety; last aired on NBC.
(DT, 6/19/97)
1958 Aug 18, An American TV game
show scandal investigation started.
(MC, 8/18/02)
1958 Aug 25, The game show
"Concentration" premiered on NBC-TV.
(AP, 8/25/08)
1958 Aug, The CBS TV game show
“Dotto,” hosted by Jack Narz (1922-2008), was cancelled following
allegations that the show was rigged.
(SFC, 10/17/08, p.B8)
1958 Sep 22, The detective TV show
"Peter Gunn" premiered on NBC with Craig Stevens (d.2000 at 81) as the
private eye.
(SFC, 5/13/00, p.A19)(AP, 9/22/08)
1958 Sep 24, "The Donna Reed
Show" premiered on ABC-TV.
(AP, 9/24/08)
1958 Sep 30, The police drama
"Naked City" debuted on ABC-TV.
(AP, 9/30/08)
1958 Oct 10, The private-eye
series "77 Sunset Strip" premiered on ABC-TV. The hour-length American
television private detective series, created by Roy Huggins, starred
Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Roger Smith, and Edd Byrnes.
(AP,
10/10/08)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/77_Sunset_Strip)
1958 Oct 17, The special "An
Evening with Fred Astaire," the first major TV program produced on
color videotape, aired on NBC.
(AP, 10/17/08)
1958 John Frankenheimer directed
the TV drama "Days of Wine and Roses" starring Cliff Robertson and
Piper Laurie.
(WSJ, 7/10/02, p.D8)
1958 Gordon Waldear (d.2002 at 84)
won the Sylvania Award for the best educational series "The Criminal
Mind."
(SFC, 4/27/02, p.A21)
1958 Vito Scotti (1918-1996)
played Rama from India in "Gunga Ram" on Andy Devine’s TV show "Andy’s
Gang."
(SFC, 6/12/96, p.C2)
1958 The TV program "The Ann
Sothern Show" starred Don Porter and Ann Sothern and ran to 1961.
(SFC, 2/21/97, p.A26)
1958 The TV show "The Rifleman"
starred Chuck Conners and ran to 1963. It was produced by Jules Levy
(d.2003 at 80).
(SFC, 5/29/03, p.A19)
1958 Lawrence Swan (d.1999 at 77)
originated KQED's first children's science program. He was born and
raised in Darjeeling and authored "Tales of the Himalaya: Adventures of
a Naturalist."
(SFC, 5/15/99, p.A22)
1958 The Hearst Corp. acquired
Popular Mechanics magazine and launched WTAE-TV, Pittsburgh.
(SFC, 8/7/99, p.A9)
1958 NBC cancelled the TV variety
show "Caesar’s Hour" starring Cid Caesar (36).
(SFC, 8/9/02, p.D17)
1958 In Japan the Tokyo Tower was
erected in the capital city as a relay for radio and TV signals. In
1998 it faced replacement.
(SFC, 12/11/98, p.D4)
1958-1962 The TV game show “Play Your Hunch” featured
Merv Griffin as host.
(WSJ, 8/15/07, p.D12)
1958-1973 The TV game show "Concentration" was hosted
by Art James (d.2004). It was NBC's longest running game show. James
was born in Dearborn, Mich., in 1929 as Arthur Efimchick.
(SFC, 4/1/04, p.B7)
1959 Jan 5, The "Bozo the Clown"
live children's show premiered on KTLA-Channel 5, Los Angeles TV. It
starred Vance Colvig, Jr., son of Pinto Colvig (Bozo in 1949).
(MC, 1/5/02)(WGN-BTL, 2004)
1959 Jan 9, The TV show "Rawhide"
with Clint Eastwood as Rowdy Yates premiered on CBS.
(http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052504/)(SSFC,
5/17/09, DB p.50)
1959 Feb 20, The FCC applied the
equal time rule to TV newscasts of political candidates.
(HN, 2/20/98)
1959 Mar 8, Groucho, Chico and
Harpo made their final TV appearance together.
(MC, 3/8/02)
1959 Apr 17, A nationwide US air
raid drill suspended most television and radio programs for a half hour.
(SSFC, 3/22/09, DB p.50)
1959 Jun 1, "Juke Box Jury" began
its long run on BBC-TV.
(DT, 6/1/97)
1959 Sep 12, NBC launched
"Bonanza," the first color western on TV. 428 episodes were produced
and the show ran to 1973. 431 episodes were filmed at the 570-acre site
in Incline Village, Nevada. Michael Landon (d.1991) played Little Joe,
Lorne Greene (d.1987) played Ben Cartwright, and Dan Blocker (d.1972)
played Hoss. [see Jan 16, 1973]
(SFC, 9/3/98, p.A12)(SSFC, 6/9/02, p.A29)(SSFC,
8/8/04, p.D2)
1959 Oct 2, Rod Serling's "The
Twilight Zone" made its debut on CBS-TV.
(AP, 10/2/99)
1959 Oct 15, The TV show "The
Untouchables" premiered with Robert Stack (d.2003) as Eliot Ness. It
was produced by Bert Granet (d.2002 at 92) and ran to 1963.
(SFC, 5/12/96, Par, p.14)(MC, 10/15/01)(SFC,
11/25/02, p.A15)(AP, 5/15/03)
1959 Nov 2, Charles Van Doren
admitted to a House subcommittee that he had the questions and answers
in advance of his appearances on the NBC-TV game show "Twenty-One."
(AP, 11/2/97)(HN, 11/2/98)
1959 Nov 11, The 1st episode of
"Rocky & His Friends" aired on TV. Jay Ward (d.1989), cartoonist,
created the TV show "Rocky and His Friends," which featured Rocket J.
Squirrel and Bullwinkle J. Moose. It ran to 1961.
(SFEC, 12/15/96, DB p.63)(SFEC, 5/24/98, DB
p.38)(MC, 11/11/01)
1959 Nov 24, The new TV show
Twilight Zone ran "The Time Element" about a bartender returning to
Pearl Harbor Dec 6, 1941.
(SFC, 11/25/02, p.A15)
1959 Nov, Chubby Checker
introduced "The Twist" on the "Dick Clark Saturday Night Show."
(SFC, 9/5/00, p.D3)
1959 The "Dennis the Menace" show
began on TV and ran for 146 episodes. it was based on the cartoon strip
by Hank Ketcham.
(SFC, 9/20/97, p.E1)
1959 The TV series "The Lawless
Years" began with James Gregory as detective Barney Ruditsky and run to
1962. It was a precursor to "The Untouchables."
(SFC, 9/19/02, p.A24)
1959 The "Maverick" TV cowboy show
was written and produced by Coles Trapnell (d.1999) until 1962.
(SFC, 2/5/99, p.D4)
1959 "The Twilight Show" under Rod
Serling began on TV. It ran to 1965.
(SFEC, 5/24/98, DB p.38)
1959 It was learned that most TV
quiz shows were fixed.
(TMC, 1994, p.1959)
1959 It was estimated that the
average US family spent 42 hrs per week watching TV.
(TMC, 1994, p.1959)
1959-1963 The TV series "The Many Loves of Dobbie
Gillis" featured Sheila Kuehl as Zelda Gilroy. She was elected to the
California Assembly in 1994. From 1959-1960 the show featured Tuesday
Weld as Thalia Menninger.
(SFC, 9/22/96, Z1 p.3)(SFC, 9/22/96, DB p.55)
1960 Feb 11, Jack Paar walked off
his TV show.
(MC, 2/11/02)
1960 May 13, Bill Mandel was
brought before a HUAC committee at SF City Hall concerning his
broadcasts at KPFA radio and KQED TV about press and periodicals of the
Soviet Union. His TV show was cancelled but he continued broadcasting
at KPFA. There was a protest over the hearing and 64 people were
arrested as police turned on fire hoses to quell the disturbance.
(SFEC, 7/26/98, p.D1,4)(SFEC, 5/23/99, Z1 p.1)(SSFC,
6/9/02, p.F3)
1960 May 18, Eileen Fulton began
playing Lisa on the TV soap "As the World Turns" and continued for over
30 years.
(SC, 5/18/02)
1960 May 19, DJ Alan Freed was
accused of bribery in radio payola scandal.
(MC, 5/19/02)
1960 Jun 1, The ABC Television
Network reached 100 affiliates.
(DTnet, 6/1/97)
1960 Jun 20, A "Bozo the Clown"
show began on Chicago’s WGN-TV starring Bob Bell as Bozo. The show went
on hiatus during WGN’s move Chicago’s northwest side and returned Sep
11, 1961. Joey D’Auria replaced Bell in 1984 and the show continued
until Aug 26, 2001.
(SFC, 6/13/01, p.E3)(WGN-BTL, 2004)
1960 Sep 26, The first televised
debate between presidential candidates Vice Pres. Richard M. Nixon and
John F. Kennedy took place in Chicago. Diplomat Henry Cabot Lodge was
Nixon’s vice-presidential nominee.
(SFEM, 4/28/96, p.12)(SFC, 5/7/96, p.A-6)(AP,
9/26/97)
1960 Sep 28, "Millionaire," last
aired on CBS-TV.
(MC, 9/28/01)
1960 Sep 30, The Flintstones, a
cartoon about the domestic life of a stoneage family premiered on TV.
It was the 1st prime time animation show and continued in prime time to
1987.
(MC, 9/30/01)(SFC, 7/27/05, p.G2)
1960 Sep 30, The last "Howdy Doody
Show" (b.1947) with Buffalo Bob Smith was broadcast. Clarabelle finally
talked and said "Goodbye Kids."
(SFC, 9/9/96, p.A18)(MC, 9/30/01)
1960 Oct 3, "The Andy Griffith
Show" premiered on CBS. It ran to 1968. Don Knotts (d.2006 at 81)
played the bumbling Deputy Barney.
(WSJ, 1/16/98, p.A1)(AP, 10/3/00)(AP, 2/26/06)
1960 Oct 7, Democratic
presidential candidate John F. Kennedy and Republican opponent Richard
M. Nixon held the second of their broadcast debates, in Washington, DC.
(AP, 10/7/08)
1960 Oct 13, Richard M. Nixon and
John F. Kennedy participated in the third televised debate of their
presidential campaign, with Nixon in Hollywood and Kennedy in New York.
(AP, 10/13/97)
1960 Oct 17, A grand jury found
that the popular television game show Twenty-One had provided
contestants with questions and answers before the live programs were
broadcast.
(MC, 10/17/01)
1960 Dec 7, The first episode of
"Coronation Street", the longest running TV soap opera in the world,
was broadcast by Granada.
(http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcast/story/0,7493,1057710,00.html)
1960 "The Porter Wagoner Show"
began on TV and ran for 21 years.
(AP, 10/29/07)
1960 The last Playhouse 90
production was shown on TV. It was a drama of the Warsaw ghetto titled:
"In the Presence of Mine Enemies" and was written by Rod Serling.
(WSJ, 11/27/95, p.A-14)
1960s The King Family was featured
on ABC TV. The show featured Alyce King Clarke (1916-1996), one of the
King Sisters who sang through five decades.
(SFC, 8/24/96, p.A21)
1960-1966 On TV Hanna-Barbera introduced "The
Flintstones" animated cartoon series which ran for a record 166
episodes. This was surpassed in 1997 by "The Simpsons." Jean Vander Pyl
(d.1999 at 79) spoke the voice of Wilma, Pebbles and Mrs. Slate, the
wife of Fred's boss. The theme music was composed by Hoyt Curtin
(d.2000 at 78).
(USAT, 1/13/97, p.1D)(SFC, 8/26/98, z1 p.6)(SFC,
4/14/99, p.AC5)(SSFC, 12/10/00, p.C17)
1961 Jan 19, The 1st episode for
"Dick Van Dyke Show" was filmed.
(MC, 1/19/02)
1961 Jan 25, President Kennedy
held the first presidential news conference carried live on radio and
television.
(AP, 1/25/98)
1961 Apr 14, The Soviet Union made
its first live television broadcast.
(HN, 4/14/98)
1961 Apr 29, ABC's "Wide World of
Sports made its debut.
(SFEC, 5/24/98, DB p.38)(MC, 4/29/02)
1961 May 9, In a speech to the
National Association of Broadcasters, Federal Communications Commission
chairman Newton N. Minow condemned television programming as a "vast
wasteland."
(AP, 5/9/97)
1961 Jun 16, Dave Garroway was
fired as Today Show host.
(MC, 6/16/02)
1961 Aug 27, Francis the Talking
Mule was the mystery guest on "What's My Line."
(MC, 8/27/01)
1961 Sep 17, The situation comedy
"Car 54, Where Are You?" premiered on NBC. Al Lewis (d.2006) played
Officer Schnauzer opposite Fred Gwynne’s Officer Francis Muldoon. The
series ran to 1963.
(AP, 9/17/01)(SSFC, 2/5/06, p.A2)
1961 Sep 28, "Dr. Kildare,"
starring Richard Chamberlain and Raymond Massey, and "Hazel," starring
Shirley Booth and Whitney Blake (d.2002 at 76), premiered on NBC TV.
Hazel was modeled on Ted Key’s Saturday Evening Post cartoons and ran
until 1965.
(AP, 9/28/01)(SFC, 10/5/02, p.A19)
1961 Oct 3, "The Dick Van Dyke
Show," also starring Mary Tyler Moore, made its debut on CBS.
(AP, 10/3/01)
1961 Dec, The Mike Douglas Show
began in Cleveland, Ohio. The TV show ended in 1982. In 1999 he
authored the memoir “”I’ll be Right Back: Memories of TV’s Greatest
Talk Show.” Mike Douglas (born in 1925 as Michael Delaney Dowd Jr.)
died in 2006.
(SFC, 8/12/06, p.B6)
1961 Irene Kampen (d.1998 at 75)
wrote her first of ten books on her life following a divorce: "Life
Without George." The books became the basis for the TV sitcom: "The
Lucy Show" (1962-1974), which followed Lucille Ball’s divorce with Desi
Arnaz.
(SFC, 2/10/98, p.A22)
1961 A "Bozo the Clown" show began
on Chicago’s WGN-TV. The last show was taped in 2001.
(SFC, 6/13/01, p.E3)
1961 The Joey Bishop Show began on
NBC. It was cancelled in 1964. CBS took it over and cancelled it in
1965. The late night real life Joey Bishop Show ran from 1967-1969.
(SFC, 10/19/07, p.A11)
1961-1962 Wagon Train was the top ranking network
show on television with a ranking of 32.1%.
(WSJ, 4/24/95, p.R-5)
1961-1965 The TV courtroom drama show "The Defenders"
starred E.G. Marshall.
(SFC, 8/26/98, p.A17)
1961-1965 The TV show "Mr. Ed," featured a talking
horse. Alan Young played Wilbur Post and Bamboo Harvester (1946-1979)
played Mr. Ed.
(SFC, 1/24/97, p.D8)
1961-1966 On TV "The Dick Van Dyke Show" was directed
by Sheldon Leonard (1907-1997).
(SFC, 10/29/96, p.B2)(SFEC, 1/12/97, p.C10)
1962 Jan 13, Ernie Kovacs
(b.1919), comedian and TV star, died at age 42 in a car crash in west
Los Angeles. ''Nothing in moderation'' was his credo and appeared on
his epitaph.
(AP,
1/13/98)(www.nytimes.com/1990/05/13/books/nothing-in-moderation.html?scp=4)
1962 Feb 14, First lady Jacqueline
Kennedy conducted a televised tour of the White House.
(AP, 2/14/98)
1962 Mar 29, Jack Paar hosted
NBC's "Tonight" show for the final time. He was succeeded by Johnny
Carson (Oct 1) who stayed to 1992.
(SFEC, 2/23/96, z-1 p.2)(AP, 3/29/97)
1962 Apr 24, The Massachusetts
Institute of Technology achieved the first satellite relay of a
television signal, between Camp Parks, Ca., and Westford, Mass.
(AP, 4/24/02)
1962 Jun 1, "The Dinah Shore Show"
(TV Variety) aired for the last time on NBC after 10 years.
(DTnet, 6/1/97)
1962 Jul 11, The Telstar I
satellite carried the first transatlantic TV transmission. It picked up
broadcast signals from France and bounced them down to an antenna in
Maine, delivering the first live television picture from Europe to
America
(PGA, 12/9/98)(MC, 7/11/02)
1962 Aug 8, The Chilean TV variety
show "Sabados Gigantes" (Gigantic Saturdays) debuted with Mario Luis
Kreutzberger Blumenfeld (b.1940) as Don Francisco. In April, 1986, the
show got shortened to the singular version (Sabado Gigante) went it
went on air in Miami, Fla. Kreutzberger was the son of German Jews who
fled Nazi persecution.
(SSFC, 11/9/03, Par p.16)(SFC, 4/14/04,
p.E1)(www.imdb.com/title/tt0250920/)
1962 Sep 23, "The Jetsons," a TV
animated Hanna-Barbera cartoon series about a Space Age family,
premiered as the ABC television network's first color program. It was a
futuristic mirror image of the Flintstones. Penny Singleton (1908-2003)
was the voice of Jane Jetson.
(SFC, 3/23/01, p.D7)(AP, 9/23/02)(SFC, 11/15/03,
p.A23)
1962 Sep 26, TV comedy series
"Beverly Hillbillies" premiered on CBS. The Beverly Hillbillies,
produced by Paul Henning (1912-2005), became the top ranking network
show on television for two seasons with rankings of 36 and 39.1%. The
show ran to 1971.
(WSJ, 4/24/95, p.R-5)(WSJ, 5/26/98, p.B1)(SFC,
3/26/05, p.B5)
1962 Oct 1, Johnny Carson
succeeded Jack Paar as regular host of NBC's "Tonight" show. Carson
received an on-air introduction from Groucho Marx; the guests on his
debut program were Joan Crawford, Rudy Vallee, Tony Bennett, Mel
Brooks and The Phoenix Singers.
(AP, 10/1/02)
1962 The 4 Osmond brothers, under
the direction of their father, George Osmond (1917-2007), debuted on
the Andy Williams show. Donny Osmond, at age 6, joined the group a year
later. Marie Osmond joined the group in 1973. In 1976 the Donny and
Marie show began on ABC.
(SFC, 11/9/07, p.B7)
1962 The TV series "Combat"
starred Dick Peabody (d.2000 at 74) as private Littlejohn. The series
ran to 1967.
(SFC, 1/14/00, p.D4)
1962 The TV series “The Virginian”
starred James Drury and Doug McClure. It was based on the 1902 novel by
Owen Wister (1860-1938).
(AH, 10/02, p.20)
1962 The "Match Game" with host
Gene Rayburn (d.1999 at 81) made its debut on Dec 31 and ran for 7
years.
(SFC, 12/3/99, p.D7)
1962 The BBC TV series "That Was
the Week That Was" began and ran through 36 episodes to 1963.
(SFC, 12/12/96, p.C8)
1962-1963 Merv Griffin hosted the daytime talk show
“The Merv Griffin Show.”
(WSJ, 8/15/07, p.D12)
1962-1965 Jack Paar (d.2004) hosted "The Jack Paar
Program."
(SFC, 1/28/04, p.A2)
1962 The TV show "Frontier Circus"
featured Richard Hanley Jaeckel (d.1997) as cowboy scout Tony Gentry.
(SFC, 6/17/97, p.A22)
1963 Jan 6, Mutual of Omaha's
"Wild Kingdom" with Marlin Perkins began on NBC.
(AP, 1/6/03)(MC, 1/6/02)
1963 Apr 1, The daytime television
drama "General Hospital" and "Doctors" premiered on ABC.
(AP, 4/1/98)(OTD)
1963 Jun 7, The Rolling Stones
made their 1st TV appearance.
(SC, 6/7/02)
1963 Sep 2, "The CBS Evening News"
was lengthened from 15 to 30 minutes.
(AP, 9/2/97)
1963 Sep 7, The Beatles made their
1st US TV appearance on ABC’s Big Night Out.
(MC, 9/7/01)
1963 Sep 7, American Bandstand
moved to California and aired once a week on Saturday.
(MC, 9/7/01)
1963 Sep 13, "Outer Limits"
premiered on ABC TV. It was partly written, produced and directed
by Leslie Stevens (d.1998) and ran to 1965.
(SFC, 4/29/98, p.C2)(MC, 9/13/01)
1963 Sep 16, The science-fiction
anthology series "The Outer Limits" premiered on ABC. It ran to 1965.
(AP, 9/16/98)(SFEM, 2/28/99, p.4)
1963 Sep 17, "The Fugitive,"
starring David Janssen, premiered on ABC. It was written and produced
by Roy Huggins (d.2002). Kimble was cleared on the Aug 29, 1967, and
narrator William Conrad announced "the day the running stopped." In
1993 Ed Robertson authored the companion book ""The Fugitive
Recaptured." In 1993 a film was made based on the TV series with
Harrison Ford as Kimble.
(AP, 9/17/98)(WSJ, 10/16/00, p.A32)(SFC, 4/15/02,
p.B5)
1963 Sep 18, "The Patty Duke Show"
premiered on ABC television.
(AP, 9/18/03)
1963 Sep 28, "New Phil Silvers
Show," debuted on CBS-TV.
(MC, 9/28/01)
1963 Sep 29, The situation comedy
"My Favorite Martian" premiered on CBS. It starred Bill Bixby and Ray
Walston (d.2000 at 86). The show ran to 1966.
(SFC, 1/3/01, p.A17)(AP, 9/29/03)
1963 Nov 22, John F. Kennedy was
assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald while riding in a motorcade in
Dallas. Texas Gov. John B. Connally was seriously wounded. Oswald was
in turn shot in front of TV cameras by Jack Ruby. Rufus Youngblood
(1924-1996), a Secret Service agent, shielded VP Johnson from possible
gunshots with his body. Johnson rewarded him by promoting him over time
to the No. 2 position in the Secret Service. Ruby used a .38 Colt Cobra
purchased at Ray’s Hardware and Sporting Goods in Dallas run by
Lawrence Brantley (1921-1996). From the address that President Kennedy
never got to deliver in Dallas: "If we are strong, our strength will
speak for itself. If we are weak, words will be no help."
(TMC, 1994, p.1963)(AHD, p. 931)(SFC, 10/4/96,
p.B2)(SFC, 10/17/96, C2) (AP, 11/22/97)
1963 Julia Child made her TV debut
as "The French Chef" on Boston's WGBH-TV. PBS picked up the show a year
later.
(SFEM, 8/10/97, p.23)
1963 The TV show The Saint
featured Jackie Collins.
(SSFC, 8/4/02, Par p.14)
1963 Virginia Graham (d.1998) led
the "Girl Talk" TV talk show until 1969.
(SFC, 12/25/98, p.B6)
1963 Keith Andes (1920-2005)
played the role of an amazing sleuth on the TV sitcom “Glynis.” Glynis
Johns played his wife.
(SFC, 11/29/05, p.B7)
1963 The TV costume game show
"Let's Make a Deal" premiered and ran for 16 years in daytime and 10
years in prime time. It was hosted by Monty Hall and co-created by
Stefan Hatos (d.1999 at 78).
(SFC, 3/9/99, p.A22)
1963 George Fenneman (1919-1997)
began to host the TV show "Your Funny, Funny Films" on ABC. It was a
forerunner to "America’s Funniest Videos."
(SFC, 6/5/97, p.A26)
1963 The British sci-fi TV series
Dr. Who began. It reach the US in 1978. It featured a space traveling
Doctor who was hundreds of years old from the planet Gellifrey. He used
a London police call box as the external form of his space vessel. The
interior was spacious with comfortable Edwardian touches.
(SFC, 5/14/96, E-1)
1963 Ralph Roberts, former
marketer of Muzak and owner of a belts and suspenders company, acquired
a 1,200-subscriber, community antenna, television system (American
Cable Systems) in Tupelo, Miss. In 1969 it was incorporated in
Pennsylvania and renamed Comcast. The company went public in 1972
(SSFC, 2/15/04, p.I6)
1964 Jan 30, The United States
launched Ranger 6 from Cape Canaveral. It was an unmanned spacecraft
carrying six television cameras that was to crash-land on the moon.
(AP, 1/30/98)(HN, 1/30/99)
1964 Jan, The Beatles made their
North America TV debut on the Jack Paar Show. [see Feb 9, 1964]
(SFC, 1/28/04, p.A1)
1964 Feb 9, The Beatles made their
first live American television appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show."
[see Jan, 1964]
(AP, 2/9/99)
1964 Feb 16, The Beatles made
their 2nd appearance on the "Ed Sullivan Show."
(MC, 2/16/02)
1964 Mar 30, The original version
of the TV game show "Jeopardy!" premiered on NBC. Merv Griffin
(1925-2007) created the TV game show “Jeopardy.” He sold the rights for
the show to Coca-Cola for $250 million in 1986. The show was hosted by
Art Fleming until 1975. It resurfaced in syndication in 1984 with Alex
Trebek as host.
(SFC, 8/13/07, p.A1)(WSJ, 8/15/07, p.D12)(AP,
3/30/08)
1964 May 25, In the16th Emmy
Awards the winners included the Dick Van Dyke Show, Dick Van Dyke &
Mary Tyler Moore.
(SC, 5/25/02)
1964 Jul 22, David Spade, an
American actor, comedian and television personality, was born in
Birmingham, Michigan. He first became famous in the 1990s as a cast
member on Saturday Night Live, and from 1997 until 2003 starred as
Dennis Finch on Just Shoot Me!.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Spade)
1964 Sep 4, "Gilligan’s Island," a
TV tale of 7 castaways, began its 98-show run on CBS.
(MC, 9/4/01)(SFC, 5/5/03, p.B4)
1964 Sep 17, The situation comedy
"Bewitched" premiered on ABC-TV.
(AP, 9/17/99)
1964 Sep 22, "Man from U.N.C.L.E,"
premiered on NBC-TV.
(AP, 9/22/04)
1964 Sep 24, The TV situation
comedy "Munsters" premiered on CBS with Al Lewis as the family
patriarch.
(AP, 9/24/04)(SSFC, 2/5/06, p.A2)
1964 Oct 14, Philips began
experimenting with color TV.
(MC, 10/14/01)
1964 Dec 3, "Rudolph The Red-Nosed
Reindeer" 1st aired on TV.
(MC, 12/3/01)
1964 "The Addams Family" and "The
Munsters" began on TV and ran to 1966. David Levy (d.2000 at 87), An
ABC executive, created the Addams Family.
(WSJ, 10/21/96, p.A18)(SFC, 2/2/00, p.A25)
1964 "The Bullwinkle Show" began
on NBC TV.
(SFEC, 5/24/98, DB p.38)
1964 Ronald Reagan hosted Death
Valley Days and appeared in some episodes through 1965.
(SSFC, 6/9/02, p.F5)
1964 The TV series “Valentine’s
Day” starred Anthony Franciosa as a NYC publishing executive. It lasted
just one season.
(SFC, 1/21/06, p.B5)
1964 Charmin began showing TV
commercials featuring actor Dick Wilson (1916-2007). He made famous the
phrase “Please, don’t squeeze the Charmin.” The ads ended in 1985.
(SFC, 11/20/07, p.A2)
1964 Jul 12, Les Crane
(1935-2008), pioneer talk radio and TV host, hosted the “The Les Crane
Show,” a late night TV talk show on ABC that ran for 4 months.
(SFC, 7/17/08, p.B5)
1964-1967 Bonanza was the top ranking network show on
television for three seasons with rankings of 36.3, 31.8, and 29.1%.
(WSJ, 4/24/95, p.R-5)
1965 Jan 16, "Outer Limits" last
aired on ABC-TV.
(MC, 1/16/02)
1965 Apr 27, Edward R. Murrow
(b.1908), newscaster (Person to Person), died of cancer in Pawling,
N.Y. He had filed radio broadcast from London during the WW II German
air raids. In 1986 A.M. Sperber authored “Murrow: His Life and Times.”
(AP, 4/27/05)(SFC, 2/10/06, p.E11)(WSJ, 12/1/07,
p.W10)
1965 Apr 28, Barbra Streisand
starred on "My Name is Barbra" special on CBS.
(MC, 4/28/02)
1965 May 2, Intelsat 1, also known
as the Early Bird satellite, was used to transmit television pictures
across the Atlantic.
(AP, 5/2/08)
1965 May 18, Gene Roddenberry
suggested 16 names including Kirk for Star Trek Captain.
(SC, 5/18/02)
1965 Sep 14, The situation comedy
"My Mother the Car" premiered on NBC-TV.
(AP, 9/14/05)
1965 Sep 14, The TV show "F-Troop"
premiered. It ended in 1967 after 65 episodes.
(http://www.televisionwesterns.com/table/F-Troop.html)
1965 Sep 15, The TV show "Lost in
Space," with its Space Family Robinson and robot premiered on CBS. It
was set in the year 1997 and cancelled in 1968. The CBS TV show
featured Guy Williams, June Lockhart, Billy Mumy and Jonathon Harris
(d.2002 at 87).
(SFC, 8/27/96, p.B2)(AP, 9/15/97)(SFEC, 1/3/99, DB
p.28)(SFC, 11/6/02, p.A34)
1965 Sep 16, "The Dean Martin
Show" premiered on NBC.
(AP, 9/16/05)
1965 Sep 17, "The Smothers
Brothers Show", debuted on CBS TV.
(MC, 9/17/01)
1965 Sep 18, "Get Smart" premiered.
(MC, 9/18/01)
1965 Nov 8, "Days of Our Lives"
premiered on NBC TV.
(AP, 11/8/05)
1965 Bill Cosby starred in the "I
Spy" TV show. It ran to 1968.
(SFEC, 1/12/97, p.C10)(SFEC, 5/24/98, DB p.39)
1965 The first animated Peanuts TV
Special was broadcast on CBS.
(SFC, 12/15/99, p.E1)
1965 The TV show "Big Valley"
starred Barbara Stanwyck and ran to 1969. It was produced by Jules Levy
(d.2003 at 80).
(SFC, 5/29/03, p.A19)
1965 Jack Paar (47) retired as
host from "The Jack Paar Program."
(SFC, 1/28/04, p.A2)
1965 The TV series “Green Acres”
starred Eddie Albert (1906-2005) and Eva Gabor. It ran for 7 years.
(SFC, 5/28/05, p.A2)
1965 The TV series Wild, Wild West
began and ran to 1970. Government agents Jim West and Artemus Gordon
tracked Arliss Loveless, who sought to assassinate Pres. Grant.
(SFEC, 6/27/99, BR p.45)
1965 Time Magazine entered the
fledgling cable TV business.
(WSJ, 1/11/00, p.B1)
1965 The Scopitone was a quick fad
that used jukebox machines to show music video-like short films.
(SFC, 10/14/96, p.A23)
1966 Jan 9, Ronald Reagan appeared
on Meet the Press and was asked why he had not disavowed the John Birch
Society. Reagan said a committee had found looked into the group and
"nothing of a subversive nature." In 1960 an informer reported to the
FBI that Reagan was a Beverly Hills chapter member.
(SSFC, 6/9/02, p.F6)
1966 Jan 12, "Batman" with Adam
West & Burt Ward premiered on ABC TV. Frank Gorshin (1933-2005)
played the Riddler.
(MC, 1/12/02)(SFC, 5/19/05, p.B7)
1966 Jun 16, "Rowan & Martin
Show," debuted on NBC-TV.
(MC, 6/16/02)
1966 Jun 27, The 1st sci-fi soap
opera, "Dark Shadows," premiered.
(SC, 6/27/02)
1966 Sep 1, The 1st annual
Muscular Dystrophy Telethon, led by Jerry Lewis, was held.
(SFC, 9/3/97, p.E5)
1966 Sep 8, The television series
“Star Trek” premiered on NBC with the episode "The Man Trap". Nichelle
Nichols starred as Lt. Uhura.
(SFC, 8/5/96, p.A13)(SFC, 6/12/99, p.A23)(AP, 9/8/01)
1966 Sep 8, The situation comedy
"That Girl" starring Marlo Thomas premiered on ABC-TV.
(AP, 9/8/06)
1966 Sep 12, "The Monkees" debuted
on NBC TV. "Hey, hey we're the Monkees- and we don't monkey around."
The show ran to 1868 and won an Emmy.
(WSJ, 1/9/97, p.A8)(AP, 9/12/01)
1966 Sep 12, The situation comedy
Family Affair'' premiered on CBS.
(AP, 9/12/06)
1966 Sep 14, Tillie Edelstein
(b.1898), actress and screenwriter, died. As Gertrude Berg, she created
“The Goldbergs” (1929), a radio program that later became first
television sitcom. In 2009 Aviva Kempner directed a documentary of Berg
titled “Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg.”
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gertrude_Berg)(SFC,
8/7/09, p.E5)
1966 Dec 18, Dr. Seuss' "How the
Grinch Stole Christmas" aired for 1st time on CBS.
(MC, 12/18/01)
1966 The sitcom "Family Affair"
began on TV. It ran to 1971.
(SFC, 3/5/99, p.C9)
1966 Dennis Weaver (1924-2006)
starred with a black bear in the TV series “Gentle Ben.”
(AP, 9/10/05)(SFC, 2/28/06, p.A2)
1966 The Road Runner Show arrived
on TV.
(NW, 11/11/02, p.55)
1966 The TV sitcom "Petticoat
Junction" featured Bea Benaderet as the widowed owner of the Shady Rest
Hotel and mother of 3 fetching daughters in Hooterville. Meredith
MacRae (d.2000 at 56) was one of the daughters. The CBS series ran
until 1970.
(SFC, 7/15/00, p.A23)
1966 "The World of Jacques-Yves
Cousteau" made its debut on American TV as a National Geographic
Special.
(SFC, 6/26/97, p.A7)
1966-1971 The CBS sitcom "Family Affair" with Brian
Keith played on TV.
(SFC, 6/25/97, p.A16)
1966-1971 "That Girl" with Marlo Thomas and Ted
Bissel (1935-1996) ran on TV.
(SFEC, 10/9/96, C2)
1967 Jan 10, National Educational
Television (forerunner of Public Broadcasting Service) operated as a
true network for the 1st time as it carried Pres. Johnson's State of
the Union address.
(AP, 1/10/07)
1967 Jan 15, The Rolling Stones
appeared on Ed Sullivan Show.
(www.crazyabouttv.com/edsullivanshow.html)
1967 Feb 5, “The Smothers Brothers
Comedy Hour” premiered on CBS TV.
(AP, 2/5/07)
1967 Mar 29, The first nationwide
strike in the 30-year history of the American Federation of Television
occurred and lasted for 13 days.
(www.aftra.org/aftra/history.htm)
1967 Jun 4, American actor and
comedian Bill Cosby (b.1937) received an Emmy Award for his work in the
television series "I Spy." Cosby won three consecutive Emmy Awards for
Outstanding Lead Actor in the Drama Series in 1966, 1967 and 1968. In
the 19th Emmy Awards: Mission Impossible, Monkees, Don Knotts &
Lucy Ball were among the winners.
(HN, 6/4/00)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Spy)
1967 Jun 19, Beatle Paul
McCartney, having admitted in Life Magazine that he had taken LSD,
repeated the admission on television.
(DTnet, 6/19/97)
1967 Sep 3, The original version
of the television game show "What's My Line?," hosted by John Charles
Daly, broadcast its final episode after more than 17 years on CBS.
(AP, 9/3/97)
1967 Sep 4, Michigan Gov. George
Romney told a TV interview he'd undergone a "brainwashing" by U.S.
officials during a 1965 visit to Vietnam, a comment that apparently
damaged Romney's bid for the Republican presidential nomination.
(AP, 9/4/97)
1967 Sep 7, The situation comedy
"The Flying Nun," starring Sally Field as a nun who finds that she can
fly, debuted on ABC.
(AP, 9/7/07)
1967 Sep 9, "Rowan and Martin's
Laugh-In" aired as a one-time special on NBC; its success led to a
regular series beginning in January 1968. The show folded in 1973.
(AP, 9/9/07)(SSFC, 5/25/08, p.B6)
1967 Sep 11, "The Carol Burnett
Show" premiered on CBS.
(AP, 9/11/97)
1967 Sep 16, The TV series
"Mannix," starring Mike Connors, premiered on CBS.
(AP, 9/16/07)
1967 Sep 17, "Mission Impossible"
premiered on CBS-TV. [see Sep 17, 1966]
(MC, 9/17/01)
1967 Oct, TV journalist Charles
Kuralt (1934-1997) hit the nation’s roads with a 3-person crew for a
trial run of what would become the "On the Road" series.
(SFC, 7/5/97, p.A5)
1967 Dec 26, BBC-1 television
aired "Magical Mystery Tour," the Beatles' critically drubbed one-hour
special.
(AP, 12/26/07)
1967 Fred W. Friendly, TV
producer, published "Due to Circumstances Beyond Our Control."
(SFC, 3/5/98, p.A24)
1967 Frank Pacelli spent 13 years
(1967-1980) on The TV show "Days of Our Lives." He then moved on to
"The Young and the Restless."
(SFC, 3/15/97, p.A19)
1967 The TV series "Hondo" with
Kathie Browne as a widowed mother was based on a story by Louis
L’Amour. There was a 1953 film version of the story.
(SFC, 4/17/03, p.A23)
1967-1968 The Andy Griffith Show was the top ranking
network show on television with a ranking of 27.6%.
(WSJ, 4/24/95, p.R-5)
1968 Jan 8, Jacques Cousteau's 1st
undersea special aired on US network TV.
(www.imdb.com/title/tt0845400/)
1968 Jan 9, The TV show "It Takes
A Thief" with Robert Wagner began on ABC. It written and produced by
Leslie Stevens (d.1998) and ran to 1970.
(SFC, 8/13/97, Z1 p.3)(SFC, 4/29/98, p.C2)
1968 Jan 22, The TV variety show
"Laugh In" began on NBC with comedians Dan Rowan and Dick Martin. It
continued running to May 14, 1973. It was the top ranking network show
on television for two seasons (1968-1969) with rankings of 31.8 and
26.3%.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rowan_&_Martin%27s_Laugh-In)(WSJ,
4/24/95, p.R-5)
1968 Feb 19, The children's
program Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, created by Fred Rogers
(1928-2003), premiered on NET (later PBS).
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mister_Rogers%27_Neighborhood)
1968 May 24, In Britain Mick
Jagger and the Rolling Stones released their song "Jumping Jack Flash."
The US release was on June 1.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jumpin%27_Jack_Flash)
1968 Jun 1, The British television
series "The Prisoner," starring Patrick McGoohan, had its American
premiere on CBS.
(AP, 6/1/08)
1968 Aug 15, Pirate Radio Free
London began transmitting.
(http://radio.eric.tripod.com/in_breach_of_the_law.htm)
1968 Aug 21, After 5 years Russia
once again jammed Voice of America radio.
(http://radio.about.com/library/history/blhistory0821.htm)
1968 Sep 1, Pirate Radio Marina in
the Netherlands began transmitting.
(www.historyorb.com/entertainment/radio/pirate-radio)
1968 Sep 16, Republican
presidential nominee Richard Nixon exclaimed, "Sock it to ME?" in a
taped bit for the NBC-TV comedy program "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In."
(AP, 9/16/08)
1968 Sep 20, The TV show "Name of
the Game" premiered with Gene Barry and Tony Franciosa. It was
written and produced by Leslie Stevens (d.1998) and ran to 1971.
(SFC, 4/29/98, p.C2)(www.imdb.com/title/tt0062591/)
1968 Sep 23, The TV western "The
Outcasts" premiered. The one season show featured Otis Young (d.2001 at
69) and Don Murray working together as post Civil War bounty hunters.
(SFC, 10/20/01, p.E2)(www.imdb.com/title/tt0062596/)
1968 Sep 24, The CBS news magazine
"60 Minutes" premiered on CBS-TV on a Tuesday night. Don Hewitt created
and produced the TV news show "60 Minutes." He wrote his book "Minute
by Minute" in 1985.
(SFEM, 2/8/98, Par p.26)(AP, 9/24/98)
1968 Sep 24, The TV show "Mod
Squad" premiered on ABC and continued to 1973. It was about 3 hip young
cops who worked undercover in LA. A film version was begun in 1998.
(AP, 9/24/98)(SFC, 8/27/99,
p.C14)(www.imdb.com/title/tt0062589/)
1968 Sep 26, Hawaii Five-O
premiered on CBS TV and continued to 1980. It starred Jack Lord (d.1998
at 77) and was the longest running police show in TV history. It’s
theme song was "Walk Don’t Run" by the Ventures. Lord (born as John
Joseph Patrick Ryan) was a painter off TV and his canvasses sold
privately for top dollar.
(SFC, 7/11/96, p.D4)(SFC, 1/22/98, p.D3)
1968 Oct 14, The first live
telecast from a manned US spacecraft was sent from Apollo 7.
(AP, 10/14/98)
1968 Nov 17, NBC outraged football
fans by cutting away from the final minutes of a New York Jets-Oakland
Raiders game to begin a TV special, "Heidi," on schedule. Viewers were
deprived of seeing the Raiders come from behind to beat the Jets,
43-to-32.
(AP, 11/17/98)
1968 Dec 24, The 3 Apollo 8
astronauts (James A. Lovell, William Anders and Frank Borman), orbiting
the moon, read passages from the Old Testament Book of Genesis during a
Christmas Eve television broadcast. The first pictures of an Earth-rise
over the Moon are seen as the crew of Apollo 8 orbits the moon.
(TL, 1988, p.117)(AP, 12/24/97)(HN, 12/24/99)(MC,
12/24/01)
1968 Dom DeLuise (1933-2009),
actor, chef, comedian and author, hosted “The Dom DeLuise Show,” a
comedy variety summer series on CBS.
(SFC, 5/6/09,
p.A9)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dom_DeLuise)
1968 The "Rolling Stones Rock and
Roll Circus" was shot for home video but not released until 1996. The
62 minute TV special featured the Stones, John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Eric
Clapton, the Who, Marianne Faithfull, Taj Mahal and Jethro Tull.
(SFC, 10/15/96, p.B1)
1968 Tele-Communications Inc. was
founded by Bob Magness (1924-1996) when he merged Community Television
Inc. and Western Microwave Inc. in Denver. The company went public in
1970.
(SFEC, 11/17/96, p.C12)
1968-1972 Terry Melcher (1942-2004) produced his
mother’s “The Doris Day Show.”
(SSFC, 11/21/04, p.A25)
1968-1975 The police drama Adam-12 starred Martin
Milner and Kent McCord. William Boyett (1927-2004) played Sgt.
MacDonald.
(SSFC, 1/2/05, p.A23)
1968-1980 Hawaii Five-O ran on TV for this period. It
starred Jack Lord (d.1998 at 77) and was the longest running police
show in TV history. It’s theme song was "Walk Don’t Run" by the
Ventures. Lord (born as John Joseph Patrick Ryan) was a painter off TV
and his canvasses sold privately for top dollar. Gilbert Lani Kauhi
(d.2004) played Detective Kono Kalakaua.
(SFC, 7/11/96, p.D4)(SFC, 1/22/98, p.D3)(SFC,
5/8/04, p.B6)
1969 Feb 9, Gabby Hayes (b.1885),
American film and TV actor, died. He played the sidekick to Hopalong
Cassidy and later Roy Rogers Westerns.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_%27Gabby%27_Hayes)
1969 Mar 26, Marcus Welby MD, a TV
movie was shown on ABC-TV. It began a popular series with Robert Young
and ran to 1976.
(SS, 3/26/02)(WSJ, 1/10/03, p.A10)
1969 May 11, Canada’s CBC public
broadcaster announced it will no longer accept advertising from tobacco
companies.
(http://archives.cbc.ca/health/public_health/topics/1945-12678/)
1969 May 11, The Monty Python
comedy troupe formed.
(www.querycat.com/faq/a99b3004b7265291928d484e51b547ea)
1969 May 23, The BBC ordered 13
episodes of Monty Python's Flying Circus.
(www.querycat.com/faq/a99b3004b7265291928d484e51b547ea)
1969 Jun 3, Last episode of Star
Trek aired on NBC (Turnabout Intruder).
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek)
1969 Jun 7, The Johnny Cash Show
premiered on ABC from the Grand Ole Opry with special guest Bob Dylan
and regular cast: Tennessee Three, June Carter and Carter Family,
Statler Brothers, and Carl Perkins, stepping in for Luther Perkins, who
has just died accidentally in tragic fire. The series ran through 1971.
(www.johnnycashonline.com/biography)
1969 Jun 9, The US Supreme Court,
in Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. FCC, ruled the Fairness Doctrine
constitutional. The court said free-speech protections for broadcasters
are narrower than those for publishers and pedestrians. The Red Lion
case was the result of a 1964 book "Goldwater: Extremist on the Right,"
by Fred J. Cook. In 1987 the Federal Communications Commission voted
4-0 to rescind the Fairness Doctrine, which had required radio and
television stations to present balanced coverage of controversial
issues. The tighter regulation of broadcasting was based on
broadcasters' use of public airwaves.
(AP,
8/4/97)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Lion_Broadcasting_Co._v._FCC)(WSJ,
3/24/04, p.A4)
1969 Jul 20, Astronaut Neil
Armstrong took his legendary "one small step for man, one giant leap
for mankind." He and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin made the first successful
landing of a manned vehicle on the moon when they touched down in
Apollo 11. Armstrong stepped down from the ladder of the landing module
Eagle to become the first man ever to walk on the moon. The two
astronauts explored the moon's surface for 2 1/2 hours, with amazed TV
audiences looking on. Armstrong was awarded the Presidential Medal of
Freedom for his accomplishments and his contributions to the space
program. Edwin Aldrin became the second man to step foot on the moon
shortly after Neil Armstrong hopped off the lunar lander Eagle at 10:56
p.m. Armstrong and Aldrin walked on the moon for about two hours during
their 22-hour lunar stay. Thomas Kelly (d.2002 at 72) was the engineer
who had overseen the building of the lunar module.
(V.D.-H.K.p.182, 341) (TMC, 1994, p.1969)(AP,
7/20/97)(HNPD, 7/20/98)(HNQ, 9/14/00)(SFC, 3/29/02, p.A24)
1969 Sep 23, The 1st broadcast of
"Marcus Welby MD" on ABC-TV. The drama with Robert Young continued to
1976.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Welby,_M.D.)
1969 Sep 26, The family comedy
series "The Brady Bunch" premiered on ABC-TV.
(AP, 9/26/99)
1969 Oct 5, Monty Python's Flying
Circus made its debut on BBC Television. Ian Macnaughton (d.2002)
directed all but 4 of its 45 episodes It ran on British TV until 1974.
(WSJ, 6/16/98, p.A17)(AP, 10/5/98)(SFC, 1/4/03,
p.A15)
1969 Nov 10, Sesame Street, a
children’s show, premiered on the National Education Television network
(NET), which later became PBS. Jim Henson, Jeffrey A. Moss (d.1998 at
56) and Joe Raposo were the among the creators. Moss created the Cookie
Monster character and wrote such songs as "I Love Trash." Kermit Love
(1916-2008) worked as the costume designer for the show.
(AP,
11/10/07)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sesame_Street)(SFC, 6/27/08,
p.B9)
1969 Nov 13, Speaking in Des
Moines, Iowa, Vice President Spiro T. Agnew accused network television
news departments of bias and distortion, and urged viewers to lodge
complaints.
(AP, 11/13/97)
1969 Nov 19, The Benny Hill Show
premiered in Britain. It ran on Thames Television (ITV) from 1969-1989.
(www.tv.com/the-benny-hill-show/show/3329/summary.html)
1969 Dec 17, An estimated 50
million TV viewers watched singer Tiny Tim marry his fiancée,
Miss Vicky, on NBC's "Tonight Show" with Johnny Carson.
(AP, 12/17/99)
1969 Dec 21, Diana Ross and the
Supremes make their final television appearance on The Ed Sullivan
Show, singing "Someday We'll Be Together", which would be the last of
their 12 number one singles.
(http://forums.w3oc.com/showthread.php?p=1967)
1969 Della Reese (b.1931) hosted
her talk show "Della" for one season on TV.
(SFEC,1/19/97, Par
p.22)(www.imdb.com/title/tt0063892/)
1969 George Vicas (d.1997 at 71)
produced a TV film for NBC on Artur Rubinstein. Vicas won an Emmy for
this documentary.
(SFC,10/29/97, p.A21)(http://tinyurl.com/8lvxqq)
1969 "Hee-Haw," a syndicated TV
show, debuted. It satirized country life with a mixture of music and
comedy.
(AP, 1/10/09)
1969 The National Association of
Broadcasters endorsed the phase out of cigarette ads on TV and radio.
(WSJ, 1/27/04, p.D12)
1969-1972 The TV series “The Courtship of Eddie’s
Father” starred Bill Bixby and Brandon Cruz. Miyoshi Umeki was featured
as the housekeeper in the ABC series.
(SFC, 9/12/07, p.A17)
1970 Apr 1, President Nixon signed
a measure banning cigarette advertising on radio and television, to
take effect after Jan. 1, 1971.
(AP, 4/1/98)
1970 Apr 30, President Nixon
announced the United States was sending troops into Cambodia, an action
that sparked widespread protest. Nixon widened the war to Cambodia and
protests increased. U.S. troops invaded Cambodia to disrupt North
Vietnamese Army base areas. U.S. President Richard Nixon announced to a
national TV audience American troop movements into Cambodia to attack
Communist border sanctuaries. Calling the joint U.S.-South Vietnamese
operation "indispensable," some 32,000 American and 48,000 South
Vietnamese troops captured large caches of supplies, but most Communist
forces had already been withdrawn. A storm of protest against expansion
of the war swept the United States and four days later four student
protesters at Ohio's Kent State University were shot dead by National
Guardsmen.
(AP, 4/30/97)(TMC, 1994, p.1970)(HN, 4/30/98)(HNQ,
5/3/98)
1970 Apr 30, Inger Stevens
(b.1934, Stockholm-born star of TV’s “The Farmer’s Daughter,” died of
an overdose. For all intents and purposes, Ms. Stevens' death was a
suicide but following her death, it came out in the tabloids that she
had been secretly married to African-American Ike Jones since 1961. The
couple was estranged at the time of her death.
(www.imdb.com/name/nm0828447/bio)
1970 May 4, The US FCC adopted the
prime time access rule (PTAR), to be fully effective as of October 1,
1971. Four months after its adoption, however, the Commission on August
7, 1970, significantly amended the rule, delaying until October 1,
1972, the effective date of the off-network and feature films
provisions.
(http://tinyurl.com/5lefgv)
1970 Sep 16, The American TV show
"McCloud" was released. It starred Dennis Weaver (1924-2006) and was
written and produced by Leslie Stevens (d.1998). The series continued
to 1977.
(SFC, 4/29/98, p.C2)(www.imdb.com/title/tt0065317/)
1970 Jun 19, "The Tim Conway
Show", TV Comedy, last aired on CBS after 13 episodes.
(www.tvrage.com/The_Tim_Conway_Show_1970)
1970 Sep 19, "The Mary Tyler Moore
Show" with Ed Asner debuted on CBS TV and ran to 1977. Mary Richards
threw her hat at 7th St. and Nicollet Ave. in Minneapolis for the
opening credits. In 2001 the city planned a $150,000 statue of Mary to
be made by Gwendolyn Gillen of Wisconsin. In 1989 Robert S. Alley and
Irby B. Brown authored “Love Is All Around,” a complete documentary of
the show.
(SFEC, 5/24/98, DB p.39)(AP, 9/19/00)(WSJ, 6/19/01,
p.A1)(WSJ, 11/12/05, p.P14)
1970 Sep 21, "NFL Monday Night
Football" made its debut on ABC TV as the Cleveland Browns defeated the
visiting New York Jets, 31-to-21.
(SFC, 12/7/96, p.A1)(AP, 9/21/00)
1970 Oct 5, National Educational
Television (NET), the forerunner of Public Broadcasting Service (PBS),
commenced broadcasting following its merger with station WNDT Newark,
New Jersey, to form WNET. In 1973 it merged with Educational Television
Stations.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PBS)
1970 Oct 7, Pres. Nixon proposed a
cease-fire-in-place in a televised speech.
(WSJ, 2/5/96, p.A-19)
1970 Nov 11, Stevie Wonder sang
"Heaven Help Us All" on the Johnny Cash show.
(www.imdb.com/title/tt0063919/episodes)
1970 The TV news show "Agronsky
& Company," WTOP-TV, was the first to feature news reporters
talking among themselves. Martin Zama Agronsky (b.1915) died in 1999 at
age 84.
(SFC, 7/26/99, p.A22)
1970 The TV show "Wall Street
Week" started with Louis Rukeyser. The last program was scheduled for
June 28, 2002.
(SFC, 3/22/02, p.B5)
1970 Virginia Graham (1912-1998),
American daytime television talk show host, began "The Virginia Graham
Show" on TV and continued to 1972.
(SFC, 12/25/98,
p.B6)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Graham)
1970 The Don Knotts Show premiered
and lasted for one season.
(SSFC, 2/26/06, p.B7)
1970 Flip Wilson (1933-1998), the
fist successful black host of a TV variety show, hosted the Flip Wilson
Show until 1974.
(SFC, 11/26/98, p.B9)
1970 "The Phil Donohue Show" began
on TV. It ran to 1996.
(SFEC, 5/24/98, DB p.39)
1970 Dr. Robert Schuller, minister
of the Reformed Church of America, began his Sunday TV show "Hour of
Power."
(SFEC, 4/20/97, Par p.18)
1970 Ted Turner (b.1938) bought an
Atlanta UHF station and built it into the Turner Broadcasting System.
He had inherited his father’s billboard business in 1962.
(WSJ, 10/21/04,
p.D8)(www.wordiq.com/definition/Ted_Turner)
1970 Mister Ed the talking horse,
star of the 1961 TV sitcom, died. By the time Mister Ed reached the age
of 19 he was suffering from a broken leg and a variety of health
problems, and was quietly put to death with no publicity. However, in
an interview on Los Angeles station KECT's program "Life and Times",
Alan Young stated that Mr. Ed died from an inadvertent tranquilizer
administered while he was "in retirement" in a stable in Burbank,
California.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Ed)
1970s "The Six Million Dollar Man"
ran as a TV series with Lee Majors. It was based on the book Cyborg by
Martin Caidin (d.1997 at 69).
(SFC, 3/26/97, p.C3)
1970-1971 Marcus Welby, M.D. was the top ranking
network show on television with a ranking of 29.6%. Robert Young
(d.1998 at 91) played his TV role "Marcus Welby, M.D." until 1976.
(WSJ, 4/24/95, p.R-5)(SFC, 7/23/98, p.C4)
1971 Jan 1, The US government ban
on TV Cigarette ads went into effect.
(SFEC, 9/15/96, DB p.55)(AP, 4/1/98)
1971 Jan 12, The situation comedy
"All in the Family" with Carroll O’Connor (1924-2001) as Archie Bunker,
began on CBS TV and ran to 1983. It later became "Archie Bunker’s
Place." It was the first video-taped sitcom. It was based on the 1964
British series "Till Death Do Us Part," written by Johnny Speight
(d.1998 at 78).
(SFEC, 5/24/98, DB p.39)(AP, 1/12/00)(SFC, 6/22/01,
p.A1)
1971 Feb 20, The National
Emergency Warning Center in Colorado erroneously ordered radio and TV
stations across the US to go off the air; some stations heeded the
alert, which was not lifted for about 40 minutes.
(AP, 2/20/01)
1971 Mar 11, Philo T. Farnsworth
(b.1906), inventor of television, died in Salt Lake City, Utah. Later
Prof. Donald Godfrey authored "Philo T. Farnsworth: The Father of
Television" and Evan I. Schwartz authored "The Last Lone Inventor."
(SFC, 9/7/02,
p.D1)(www.aoc.gov/cc/art/nsh/farnsworth.cfm)
1971 Mar 28, CBS aired the final
broadcast of its Ed Sullivan Show. Reruns and pre-emptions aired in
that time slot throughout the following April and May, and in June, CBS
announced that The Ed Sullivan Show had been cancelled.
(http://tviv.org/The_Ed_Sullivan_Show)
1971 Apr 2, The ABC sci-fi soap
opera "Dark Shadows,” which premiered in 1966, aired for the last time.
(www.tv.com/Dark-Shadows/show/2374/summary.html)
1971 May 3, The National Public
Radio “All Things Considered” program premiered on 112 NPR stations.
NPR, the US national, non-commercial radio network, was founded in 1970
and hit the airwaves in April, 1971.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Public_Radio)
1971 May 9, In the 23rd Emmy
Awards: Jack Klugman won for his role in “The Odd Couple” & Jean
Stapleton won for her role in “All in the Family.”
(www.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/Emmy_Awards/1971)
1971 Jun 6, "Ed Sullivan Show"
made its last broadcasts on CBS-TV.
(SFC, 1/7/98,
p.E1)(www.tv.com/the-ed-sullivan-show/show/1156/summary.html)
1971 Jun 12, Tricia Nixon and
Edward F. Cox were married in the White House Rose Garden. The event
was covered by all three major TV networks.
(AP, 6/12/97)(SFC, 12/1/97, p.A7)
1971 Aug 1, CBS presented
Masterpiece Theatre's 6 Wives of Henry VIII. The BBC produced program
series first aired in 1970.
(www.tvguide.com/tvshows/six-wives-henry/204436)(WSJ, 7/15/96, p.A9)
1971 Sep 4, "The Lawrence Welk
Show" was seen for the last time on ABC-TV. A week later it opened on
the Lawrence Welk Network.
(www.accordionusa.com/fe_01_07.htm)
1971 Sep 14, "Cannon" with William
Conrad premiered on CBS-TV.
(www.tv.com/cannon/show/82/summary.html)
1971 Sep 15, The 1st broadcast of
"Columbo" on NBC-TV.
(http://www.xmoppet.org/tv/columbo.html)
1971 Oct 25, The TV show “The
Electric Company” premiered providing an advance for children raised on
Sesame Street.
(NW, 11/11/02, p.56)(www.imdb.com/title/tt0066651/)
1971 Nov 30, TV movie "Brian's
Song," aired for the 1st time on ABC-TV.
(www.imdb.com/title/tt0068315/)
1971 Dec 12, David Sarnoff
(b.1891), US TV pioneer (RCA), died. He was a Russian immigrant who
transformed NBC from a radio to a TV network.
(SFC, 8/2/99, p.B3)(www.davidsarnoff.org/ds07.html)
1971 Fielder Cook (d.2003 at 80)
adopted Arthur Miller's play "The Price" for NBC.
(SSFC, 6/28/03, p.A31)
1971 Fielder Cook directed "The
Homecoming: A Christmas Story." It became the basis for the 1972 series
"The Waltons."
(SSFC, 6/28/03, p.A31)
1971 US CIA funding for Radio Free
Europe and Radio Liberty was disclosed. In 2000 Arch Puddington, deputy
director of RFE/RL’s new York bureau from 1985 to 1993, authored
"Broadcasting Freedom." The Munich headquarters were closed in 1994 and
the organization moved to an afterlife in Prague.
(WSJ, 6/5/00,
p.A30)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Free_Europe)
1971-1976 "All in the Family" was the top ranking
network show on television for five seasons with rankings of 34, 33.3,
32.2, 30.2, and 30.1%.
(WSJ, 4/24/95, p.R-5)
1972 Jan 11, The TV movie
"Kolchak, The Night Stalker" aired for the first time. It was followed
by a series of 22 episodes that ended Mar 28, 1975.
(www.imdb.com/title/tt0067490/)
1972 Jan 14, "Sanford & Son"
premiered on NBC TV. It starred Desmond Wilson and Red Foxx and became
the most successful black-oriented series in TV history. The series
ended in 1977.
(SSFC, 2/11/01, BR
p.1)(www.imdb.com/title/tt0068128/)(SFC, 9/19/02, p.A24)
1972 Jan 22, The TV series
"Emergency" began with Julie London and Bobby Troup. It ran until 1977.
(SFC, 10/19/00,
p.A29)(www.fancast.com/tv/Emergency!/8541/synopsis)
1972 Apr, The US government filed
suit against the 3 major television networks for monopolizing
prime-time entertainment with their own programs. The suits were
dismissed in 1974 after the Nixon White House refused to turn over
subpoenaed records.
(SFC, 12/1/97, p.A7)
1972 May 13, Dan Blocker (b.1928),
actor (Hoss-Bonanza), died.
(www.imdb.com/name/nm0088779/)
1972 May 18, "Me & The Chimp"
last aired on CBS-TV.
(www.tv.com/me-and-the-chimp/show/4167/summary.html)
1972 Jun 21, The TV sitcom "Corner
Bar" began its 1st of 2 seasons.
(SFEC, 3/30/97, DB.
p.35)(www.imdb.com/title/tt0546094/)
1972 Sep 4, The TV game show "The
Price Is Right" returned with Bob Barker and continued for 35 seasons.
A nighttime version also began this year hosted by Dennis James
(1917-1997) up to 1977.
(SFC, 6/5/97,
p.A26)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_James)
1972 Sep 12, The situation comedy
"Maude" premiered on CBS.
(AP, 9/12/02)
1972 Sep 14, The family drama
series "The Waltons" premiered on CBS.
(AP, 9/14/97)
1972 Sep 16, "The Bob Newhart
Show" premiered on CBS and ended in 1978. Suzanne Pleshette (1937-2008)
played Bob Newhart’s wife.
(AP, 9/16/97)(SSFC, 1/20/08, p.A2)
1972 Sep 17, "M*A*S*H" (MASH)
premiered on CBS-TV.
(AP, 9/17/97)
1972 Sep 20, The NBC TV series
“Madigan” premiered with Richard Widmark (1914-2008).
(SFC, 3/27/08, p.A2)
1972 Oct 8, The TV series "Hec
Ramsey" premiered with Richard Boone as a gunfighter intrigued with new
methods of criminology. It was written, directed and produced by
Douglas Benton (d.2000 at 75).
(SFC, 11/24/00, p.D11)(www.imdb.com/title/tt0068077/)
1972 Nov 8, The Green Channel of
Manhattan became Home Box Office (HBO). Time Life gained control of HBO
in March, 1973. HBO soon began transmitting programs to cable TV
subscribers in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. The 1st cablecast was a National
League Hockey game.
(WSJ, 1/11/00, p.B1)(SFC, 4/3/01, p.C1)
1972 George Carlin performed his
stand-up routine "The Seven Words You Can never Say on TV."
(SFC, 1/21/04, p.D2)
1972 Alan Downes (1938-1996),
filmed the live TV footage of 9-year-old Kim Phuc and other children as
they fled down Highway One in South Vietnam to escape a village under
US napalm attack.
(SFC, 10/11/96, p.A24)
1972 Johnny Carson moved the
“Tonight Show” from New York to Burbank, Ca., and established Los
Angeles as the center of popular culture.
(Econ, 1/29/05, p.32)
1972 Color TV sets outsold black
and white TV sets for the 1st time.
(SFC, 3/18/04, p.E1)
1972-1977 The TV show "Streets of San Francisco"
featured Karl Malden and Michael Douglas.
(SFC, 6/26/02, p.D8)
1973 Jan 15, Gene Shalit (b.1932)
replaced Joe Garagiola on the Today Show panel.
(www.nndb.com/people/625/000023556/)(http://tinyurl.com/6bzkbm)
1973 Jan 16, NBC presented the
440th and final showing of "Bonanza."
(www.tv.com/Bonanza/show/228/summary.html)
1973 Mar 23, After a 5½
year run, soap "Love is a Many Splendored Thing" ended.
(www.tv.com/love-is-a-many-splendored-thing/show/3273/summary.html)
1973 Mar 26, The US soap opera
"The Young and the Restless" premiered.
(www.imdb.com/title/tt0069658/)
1973 Apr 2, CBS radio began on
hour news 24 hours a day.
(http://tinyurl.com/5hvvw4)
1973 May 4, The 1st TV network
female nudity appeared in Bruce Jay Smith's Steambath (PBS) with
Valerie Perrine.
(www.imdb.com/title/tt0167415/trivia)
1973 May 14, Rowan & Martin's
Laugh-In last aired on NBC-TV.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rowan_&_Martin's_Laugh-In)
1973 May 15, Robert MacNeil and
Jim Lehrer teamed up on NPACT’s coverage of the Senate Watergate
hearings. In 1975 the MacNeil-Lehrer Report" premiered on PBS.
(www.current.org/history/timeline/timeline-1970s.shtml)
1973 May 20, In the 25th Emmy
Awards the winners included The Waltons, All in the Family & Mary
Tyler Moore.
(www.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/Emmy_Awards/1973)
1973 Jun 26, Ernest Truex
(b.1889), American stage, film and TV actor, died.
(http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0874139/bio)
1973 Jul, Testifying before the
Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities (the Ervin
Committee), John Ehrlichman, aide to President Richard Nixon, asserted
that the burglary of anti-war activist Daniel Ellsberg's psychiatrist's
office was within the constitutional powers of the president. The
televised committee hearings exposed a wide range of activities,
including a secret White House program of harassment and IRS audits of
political enemies, burglaries, wiretaps, forging of State Department
documents, a secret fund to finance spying and sabotage of Democratic
Party primary campaigns and more that culminated in the House vote for
impeachment and the Nixon's resignation on August 9, 1974.
(HNQ, 10/9/98)
1973 Aug 29, Michael Dunn
(b.1934), American dwarf actor, died in London.
(www.imdb.com/name/nm0242692/)
1973 Sep 10, A second version of
the TV game show “Concentration” was syndicated, with Jack Narz as
host. It ran through September 8, 1978.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concentration_(game_show))
1973 Nov 20, Allan Sherman
(b.1924), American musician, parodist and producer, died. He was the
creator and original producer of the popular “I've Got a Secret” from
1952 to 1958.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allan_Sherman)
1973 PBS began its series "An
American Family" featuring Pat and Bill Loud and their 5 children in
Santa Barbara, Ca.
(SFC, 1/6/03, p.D1)
1973 “Viva Alegre,” a bilingual
and bicultural TV show for children, premiered on PBS. It was produced
by Claudio Guzman (1928-2008).
(SFC, 7/18/08, p.B8)
1973 The TV "Frugal Gourmet" show
began in Tacoma, Wa., with minister Jeff Smith (1939-2004) and then
went national on PBS.
(SFC, 7/30/01,
p.E1)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Smith_(TV_personality))
1973 The TV "Schoolhouse Rock"
cartoons began to set educational messages to catchy music. The
animated series ran to 1985.
(SFC, 12/23/00, p.A25)
1973 The TV series "All in the
Family" began and ran through 1975. [see 1971]
(SFEC, 11/17/96, Par p.26)
1973 The TV series "Streets of San
Francisco" premiered.
(SFC, 6/3/97, p.B1)
1973 The British TV series
"Upstairs, Downstairs," was imported the US as part of PBS’ Masterpiece
Theater.
(SFC, 12/1/01, p.A19)
1974 Jan 15, "Happy Days" began an
11 year run on ABC.
(www.imdb.com/title/tt0070992/)
1974 Jan 18, "$6 Million Man"
starring Lee Majors premiered on ABC TV.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Six_Million_Dollar_Man)
1974 Mar 20, Chet Huntley
(b.1911), newscaster (NBC Huntley-Brinkley Report), died of lung cancer.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chet_Huntley)
1974 May 28, In the 26th Emmy
Awards: MASH, Alan Alda & Mary Tyler Moore won.
(http://tviv.org/Primetime_Emmy_Awards)
1974 Sep 1, In the Netherlands
laws prohibiting pirate radio came into effect.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Caroline)
1974 Sep 13, The "Rockford Files,"
starring James Garner, was first broadcast on NBC-TV.
(www.imdb.com/title/tt0071042/)
1974 Oct 8, President Gerald
Ford’s WIN (Whip Inflation Now) program was announced in response to a
high inflation rate. Consumer prices rose 12.2 percent in 1974. The WIN
program, introduced by Ford to a national television audience, included
tax and spending assistance to hard-pressed industries, a five percent
tax surcharge, reduced federal spending and tight monetary policies.
During 1974 unemployment jumped from 5 percent to more than 7 percent,
interest rates climbed to 12 percent, the stock market fell 28 percent,
automobile sales collapsed. In 1974 real economic growth was negative 5
percent.
(HNQ, 11/1/99)
1974 Oct 13, Ed Sullivan (72),
long-time television, host died in New York City.
(AP, 10/13/99)
1974 Dec 5, The TV show "Monty
Python's Flying Circus" was last shown on BBC. It had premiered on Oct
5, 1969.
(www.museum.tv/archives/etv/M/htmlM/montypython/montypython.htm)
1974 Dec 26, Comedian Jack Benny
(b.1894) died in Los Angeles at age 80.
(AP, 12/26/98)(www.imdb.com/name/nm0000912/)
1974 The TV series "Get Christie
Love" starred Teresa Graves (d.2002 at 54) and lasted one season.
Graves played the 1st black woman hired by a big-city police department.
(SFC, 10/12/02, p.A19)
1974 The TV sitcom "Good Times"
began and ran to 1979. It featured Esther Rolle (d.1998) as a
strong-willed Black mother that kept her family together. The show was
created by Norman Lear.
(SFC, 11/19/98, p.C9)
1974 The NBC TV daily game show
"Name That Tune" was hosted by Dennis James (1917-1997) up to 1975. A
weekly version was hosted by Tom Kennedy.
(SFC, 6/5/97,
p.A26)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Name_That_Tune)
1974 The TV "Donny and Marie Show"
featured Donny and 14-year-old Marie Osmond. Their recorded songs
included: "Make the World Go Away," "I’m Leaving it All Up to You," and
"Deep Purple."
(WSJ, 2/19/98, p.A20)
1974 The Human Family and
Educational Cultural Institute established its Humanitas Prize in
recognition of film and TV scripts the illuminate life and foster
compassion.
(SFC, 7/10/98, p.C14)
1975 Jan 6, The NBC TV game show
“Wheel of Fortune”, created by Merv Griffin (1925-2007), premiered.
(WSJ, 8/15/07, p.D12)(www.imdb.com/title/tt0072584/)
1975 Jan 18, The TV situation
comedy series "The Jeffersons" with Sherman Helmsley and Isabel Sanford
(d.2004) began and ran through 1985. The spin-off from "All in the
Family," premiered on CBS-TV.
(SFEC, 11/17/96, Par p.24)(AP,
1/18/00)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jeffersons)
1975 Jan 23, "Barney Miller"
premiered on ABC with James Gregory (d.2002 at 90) as Inspector Luger.
The series ended in 1982 after 172 episodes. It was a sitcom based on a
NYC police precinct. A spin-off called "Fish" was created in 1977 based
on detective Phil Fish played by Abe Vigoda.
(www.tv.com/barney-miller/show/345/summary.html)(SFC, 10/11/03, p.A18)
1975 Feb 26, The 1st televised
kidney transplant was shown on the Today Show.
(http://intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSDSC/333/7087.html)
1975 Mar 31, The TV show Gunsmoke,
which premiered in 1955, aired its last episode.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunsmoke)
1975 May 7, The "Matt Helm" TV
series, featured Gene Evans (d.1998 at 75), premiered.
(SFC, 4/2/98, p.A23)(www.imdb.com/title/tt0073361/)
1975 May 17, NBC paid $5M for
rights to show "Gone with the Wind" one time. The film aired over 2
nights in November, 1976.
(www.440.com/twtd/archives/may17.html)
1975 Jun 3, Ozzie Nelson (b.1906),
actor (Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet), died.
(www.imdb.com/name/nm0625651/bio)
1975 Jun 28, Rod Serling (b.1924),
writer and director of the TV series "Twilight Zone" and "Night
Gallery," died. He was remembered in the 1995 PBS production titled:
"Submitted for Your Approval."
(WSJ, 11/27/95,
p.A-14)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rod_Serling)
1975 Aug 10, Television
personality David Frost announced he had purchased the exclusive rights
to interview former President Nixon.
(AP, 8/10/00)
1975 Sep 7, Glenn Ford (1916-2006)
began starring in the NBC drama “The Family Holvak.” The show aired for
the last time on Dec 28.
(SFC, 8/31/06,
p.B7)(www.tv.com/the-family-holvak/show/9109/summary.html)
1975 Sep 19, The British sitcom
"Fawlty Towers," created by John Cleese, premiered. Six episodes aired
in this year and 6 more in 1979. PBS brought the show to America in
1980.
(WSJ, 3/8/99, p.A16)(www.imdb.com/title/tt0072500/)
1975 Oct 11, The TV show "Saturday
Night Live" made its debut with guest host George Carlin. Writer
Michael O’Donoghue (d.1994) made his debut. In 1998 Dennis Perrin
published "Mr. Mike: The Life and Work of Michael O’Donoghue."
(SFEC, 8/23/98, BR p.12)(AP, 10/11/99)
1975 Oct, The MacNeil-Lehrer
Report" premiered on PBS.
(www.macneil-lehrer.com/about/team.html)
1975 Nov 7, "Wonder Woman" debuted
as a pilot on ABC.
(www.wonderwoman-online.com/abc.html)
1975 Nov 28, "The Edge Of Night",
TV Daytime Soap; last aired on CBS who wanted to expand one of its
soaps to an hour; "Edge" moved to ABC, which had a time slot available.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Edge_of_Night)
1975 Dec 16, The daytime soap "One
Day At a Time" premiered. It featured Bonnie Franklin as a divorced
mother in Indianapolis with Valerie Bertinelli as her teenage daughter.
The show ran until 1984.
(SFC, 10/5/02, p.A19)(www.imdb.com/title/tt0072554/)
1975 Gene Siskel (1946-1999) and
Roger Ebert (b.1942) began reviewing movies on television on Chicago’s
public broadcasting’s WTTV. The jumped to commercial TV in 1982.
(SFC, 7/22/08, p.E2)
1975-1981 Stanford Opotowsky (d.1997 at 73) served as
director of news coverage for ABC TV. He was the author of several
books that included: "TV: The Big Picture," "The Longs of Louisiana,"
"The Kennedy Government," and "Men Behind Bars."
(SFC, 10/3/97, p.B13)
1976 Jan 1, NBC replaced the
peacock logo.
(www.classicthemes.com/50sTVThemes/themePages/nbcLivingColor.html)
1976 Jan 14, "Bionic Woman," with
Lindsay Wagner, debuted on ABC (later NBC).
(www.imdb.com/title/tt0073965/)
1976 Jan 27, "Laverne &
Shirley," a spin-off from "Happy Days," premiered on ABC TV. It starred
Penny Marshall as Laverne De Fazio and Cindy Williams as Shirley
Feeney. The show ran to 1983.
(SFC, 7/21/99, p.C3)(MC, 1/27/02)
1976 Feb 1, "Rich Man, Poor Man"
mini-series premiered on ABC TV.
(MC, 2/1/02)
1976 Jun 19, Bette Midler's
concert at the Cleveland Music Hall became HBO's premiere "Standing
Room Only" presentation.
(www.allbusiness.com/services/motion-pictures/4921414-1.html)
1976 Oct 4, Barbara Walters made
her debut as the first female nightly network news anchor. She was
hired by ABC-TV, and offered a then-unheard of million dollar a year
salary to co-anchor with veteran Harry Reasoner. But Reasoner was
not pleased with having her there. In addition to their lack of
chemistry, the network's ratings did not improve, and she was replaced
in mid-1978. She joined another ABC show, 20/20, where she had much
greater success.
(http://tinyurl.com/yj2yufw)(www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=99440)
1976 Nov 7, NBC began airing the
movie “Gone with the Wind” on TV. It showed over two nights due to its
length. The event was the highest-rated television event of the season.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1976_in_American_television)
1976 Dec 1, Sex Pistols used
profanity on TV, and got branded as "rotten punks."
(MC, 12/1/01)
1976 "Charlie’s Angels" with David
Doyle (1930-1997) began to show on TV and ran until 1981. Aaron
Spelling (d.2006) produced the show.
(SFC, 3/1/97, p.C3) (SFC, 6/24/06, p.A2)
1976 The TV show "Most Wanted"
with Robert Stack ran until 1977.
(SFC, 5/16/03, p.A2)
1976 The TV show "What's
Happening!!" began and ran to 1979. It was a comedy about 3 high school
students who hung out together.
(SFC, 12/13/99, p.A26)
1977 Jan 17, The TV sitcom
“Busting Loose” began with Adam Arkin and ran for 24 episodes.
(SFC, 2/13/08, p.B7)(www.imdb.com/title/tt0192884/)
1977 Jan 29, Freddie Prinze
(b.1954), American comedian and TV actor, shot himself and died. His
work included the TV show “Chico & the Man” (1974-1977).
(http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0697905/)
1977 Jan 23, The TV mini-series
"Roots," based on the Alex Haley novel, began a record breaking eight
night broadcast on ABC.
(AP, 1/23/98)(HN, 1/23/99)
1977 Mar 2, Future Tonight Show
host Jay Leno debuted with host Johnny Carson.
(SC, 3/2/02)
1977 Mar 5, President Carter took
questions from 42 telephone callers in 26 states on a network radio
call-in program moderated by Walter Cronkite.
(AP,
3/5/98)(www.presidentialtimeline.org/html/timeline.php?id=39)
1977 Mar 15, The U.S. House of
Representatives began a 90-day test to determine the feasibility of
showing its sessions on television.
(AP, 3/15/97)
1977 May 25, "Brady Bunch Hour"
last aired on ABC-TV.
(www.tv.com/the-brady-bunch-hour/show/549/summary.html)
1977 May 29, The NBC 24 hour News
& Information Service ended on radio.
(http://pdxradio.net/feedback/messages/995/2265.html?1096520101)
1977 May, Gary Nardino (1935-1998)
became the president of Paramount Television and inherited the hits
"Happy Days" and "Laverne and Shirley."
(SFC, 2/3/98, p.A15)
1977 Jun 2, Forrest Lewis
(b.1899), American TV and film actor, died.
(www.imdb.com/name/nm0507189/)
1977 Sep 1, Ethel Waters (b.1896),
African-American blues and jazz vocalist, died.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethel_Waters)
1977 Sep 3, The "Mary Tyler Moore
Show" was last broadcast on NBC-TV.
(www.sitcomsonline.com/themarytylermooreshow.html)
1977 Sep 24, ABC launched the TV
series “The Love Boat.” The series continued to 1986 with Gavin MacLeod
as the commander of the Pacific Princess.
(www.tvland.com/shows/loveboat/main.jhtml)(SSFC,
3/9/08, p.D3)
1977 Nov 28, "The Honeymooners
Christmas," directed by Jackie Gleason, aired on TV.
(www.imdb.com/title/tt0445437/)
1977-1979 Laverne and Shirley was the top ranking
network show on television for two seasons with rankings of 31.6 and
30.5%.
(WSJ, 4/24/95, p.R-5)
1977-1980 The singing group Sha Na Na did a TV show.
They began singing together at Columbia Univ. as the Columbia Kingsmen.
Their first gig in Manhattan paid $50 for the 12 members.
(SFC, 6/26/98, p.C13)
1978 Jan 14, Blossom Rock
(b.1895), actress, died. She played Grandmamma on the TV Addams Family.
She was born as Edith Marie Blossom MacDonald, the sister of the late
actress and singer Jeanette MacDonald.
(www.tv.com/blossom-rock/person/5434/summary.html)
1978 Feb 8, The BBC TV show Grange
Hill, a children’s drama created by Phil Redmond, made its debut.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grange_Hill)
1978 Apr 2, TV show "Dallas"
premiered on CBS as a 5 week mini-series. It was produced by Leonard
Katzman (1927-1996) and ran through May, 1991.
(SFC, 9/9/96,
p.A26)(www.tvguide.com/tvshows/dallas/cast/100107)
1978 Apr 22, Will Geer (75), TV
and film actor, died. He is best remembered for portraying the wise and
crusty Grandpa Zeb Walton on the long-running The Waltons (1972-1978).
(http://movies.aol.com/celebrity/will-geer/229513/main)
1978 Apr 26, A version of Mark
Twain’s "The Prince and the Pauper" appeared on TV with former Beatle,
Ringo Star.
(www.guba.com/watch/2000907534)(440 Int’l., 4/26/97,
p.3)
1978 May 13, The last season of
"Columbo," begun in 1971, ended on NBC TV.
(http://tviv.org/Columbo)
1978 Jun 1, The TV Crime Drama
"Baretta," starring Robert Blake, aired for the last time on ABC. It
was first telecast on Jan 17, 1975.
(www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/9348/baretta.htm)
1978 Jun 29, Bob Crane (b.1928),
the man who played Colonel Robert Hogan in the TV show "Hogan’s
Heroes," was found bludgeoned to death in Scottsdale, Az. John Henry
Carpenter (d.1998 at 70), a prime suspect, was tried and acquitted in
1990.
(SFC, 9/12/98,
p.C3)(www.franksreelreviews.com/shorttakes/crane.htm)
1978 Jul 10, ABC-TV premiered
“World News Tonight” with anchors Frank Reynolds, Peter Jennings and
Max Robinson.
(www.museum.tv/archives/etv/J/htmlJ/jenningspet/jenningspet.htm)
1978 Sep 12, The TV sitcom "Taxi"
premiered on ABC television.
(http://www.timvp.com/taxi.html)
1978 The TV series "Fantasy
Island" began as an Aaron Spelling production. The show was created by
Gene Levitt (d.1999 at 79) and continued until 1984.
(SFC, 1/6/98, p.D3)(SFC, 11/27/99, p.C4)
1978 The TV show "The Paper Chase"
was based on the novel and 1973 movie. It starred James Stephens as a
first-year law student. Showtime cable picked up the series for 36 new
episodes.
(SFC, 12/3/98, p.E1)
1978 The British sci-fi TV series
"Dr. Who," which began in 1963, reached the US. It featured a space
traveling Doctor who was hundreds of years old from the planet
Gellifrey. He used a London police call box as the external form of his
space vessel. The interior was spacious with comfortable Edwardian
touches.
(SFC, 5/14/96, E-1)
1978 "Diff'rent Strokes" premiered
on TV and ran to 1984. It co-starred Dana Plato (d.1999 at 34), Todd
Bridges and Gary Coleman.
(SFC, 5/10/99, p.A19)
1978 Larry King began a late-night
talk show on Mutual Network.
(SFC, 12/30/99, p.E3)
1978 The US Supreme Court upheld
an FCC ban on George Carlin's "seven dirty words" and other indecencies
on radio, and TV "when there is a reasonable risk that children may be
in the audience." The ban was upheld on the grounds that broadcasters
had a “uniquely pervasive presence in the lives of all Americans.
(WSJ, 3/24/04, p.A4)(Econ, 7/23/05, p.14)
1979 Jan 26, "Dukes of Hazzard"
premiered on CBS.
(MC, 1/26/02)
1979 Jan 29, The 9-part TV
miniseries "Backstairs" premiered. It was based on the 1961 book "My
Thirty Years Backstairs at the White House" by Lillian Rogers Parks
(d.1997 at 100).
(SFC,11/12/97, p.A22)(www.imdb.com/title/tt0078565/)
1979 Feb 15, The Temple City Kazoo
Orchestra appeared on the Mike Douglas Show.
(http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=T75MC69N2IU)
1979 Feb 18, The miniseries
"Roots: Next Generations" premiered on ABC TV.
(www.imdb.com/title/tt0078678/)
1979 Mar 19, The U.S. House of
Representatives began televising its day-to-day business. Brian Lamb
launched C-Span, a TV public service broadcasting medium that focused
on public affairs without comment or analysis.
(AP, 3/19/97)(SSFC, 3/27/05, Par p.14)
1979 Apr 8, The 204th and final
episode of "All in the Family" ran on TV.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_in_the_Family)
1979 Jun 2, Jim Hutton (b.1934),
TV and screen actor, died. In the early 1970s Hutton began working
almost exclusively in television and played the title role of Ellery
Queen in the 1975 made-for-television movie that led to the 1975-76
television series Ellery Queen.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Hutton)
1979 Aug 17, Vivian Vance
(b.1909), TV and theater actress, died. She played Ethel Mertz in the
“I Love Lucy” show.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vivian_Vance)
1979 Sep 1, A Los Angeles court
ordered Clayton Moore (1914-1999), born as Jack Carlton Moore, to
stop wearing the Lone Ranger mask.
(http://tinyurl.com/2ngftg)(http://wapedia.mobi/en/Clayton_Moore)
1979 Sep 7, The Entertainment and
Sports Programming Network, ESPN, made its cable TV debut. In 1984 it
was bought by ABC, which was in turn bought by Disney in 1996.
(AP, 9/7/97)(Econ, 8/2/08, SR p.5)
1979 Sep 9, In the 31st Emmy
Awards the winners included: Taxi, Lou Grant, Ron Leibman & Ruth
Gordon.
(www.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/Emmy_Awards/1979)
1979 Sep 23, The ABC TV show "The
Associates" premiered as a comedy about lawyers. It lasted for
one season.
(SFC, 12/3/98, p.E1)(www.imdb.com/title/tt0078563/)
1979 Nov 8, ABC-TV aired
"Iran Crisis: American Held Hostage" with Frank Reynolds 4 days after
the beginning of the Iran hostage crisis. The late-night news program
evolved into “Nightline” on March 24, 1980. Ted Koppel (b.1940) soon
became the anchor of nightly news on Iranian Hostages (ABC).
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nightline)
1979 Nov 28, "Young Maverick", a
TV Western Drama, made its debut on CBS.
(www.imdb.com/title/tt0752244/)
1979 Dec 9, Archbishop Fulton J.
Sheen, the religious broadcaster for "The Catholic Hour," died in New
York City at age 84.
(AP, 12/9/97)(SFEC, 8/15/99, p.A2)
1979 Dec 27, "Knots Landing,"
premiered on CBS-TV.
(www.imdb.com/title/tt0078638/)
1979 The TV biography “Ike”
starred Darren McGavin as Gen. Patton.
(SSFC, 2/26/06, p.B8)
1979 The 9-part TV miniseries
"Backstairs" was based on the 1961 book "My Thirty Years Backstairs at
the White House" by Lillian Rogers Parks (d.1997 at 100).
(SFC,11/12/97, p.A22)
1979 The miniseries "Freedom Road"
was based on a 1944 novel by Howard Fast. It starred Muhammad Ali and
Kris Kristofferson.
(SFC, 3/13/03, p.A21)
1979 The commercial-free
Nickelodeon network was launched.
(NW, 11/11/02, p.56)
1979-1980 60 Minutes was the top ranking network show
on television with a ranking of 28.2%.
(WSJ, 4/24/95, p.R-5)
1979-1980 German film director Rainer Werner
Fassbinder made "Berlin Alexanderplatz," a 15-hour TV opus on Germany
between the wars.
(WSJ, 1/14/97, p.A16)
1979-1984 The TV series "Hart to Hart" with Robert
Wager and Stefanie Powers was produced.
(SFC, 8/13/97, Z1 p.3)
1979-1985 The TV series "Dukes of Hazard" played.
Denver Pyle (d.1997 at 77) played Uncle Jesse.
(SFC,12/27/97, p.E2)
1980 Jan 10, The last broadcast of
"Rockford Files" on NBC.
(MC, 1/10/02)
1980 Jan 25, Robert L. Johnson
launched Black Entertainment Television (BET). It began as a
two-hour-a-week service that aired every Friday evening.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Entertainment_Television)
1980 Feb 13, David Janssen,
television and film actor, died in Malibu, California, from a heart
attack. He was born as David Harold Meyer on March 27, 1931 in Naponee,
Nebraska. He is best known for his starring role as Dr. Richard Kimble
in the hit television series “The Fugitive” (1963–1967).
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Janssen)
1980 Mar 5, Jay Silverheels
(b.1912), son of a Mohawk Indian chief and actor who portrayed Tonto on
"The Lone Ranger", died in Woodland Hills, Ca., from a stroke.
(www.imdb.com)
1980 Mar 24, ABC's nightly Iran
Hostage crisis program was renamed "Nightline."
(www.imdb.com/title/tt0154053/)
1980 Jun 1, Ted Turner's Cable
News Network (CNN), providing round-the-clock TV newscasts, made its
debut as television's first all-news service, vowing to stay on the air
until the world ends. James Earl Jones, the voice of Darth Vader,
identified the station: "This is CNN." In 2001 Reese Schonfeld, the man
who cofounded CNN, authored "Me and Ted Against the World.” "Moneyline"
TV Financial News debut on CNN.
(AP, 6/1/97)(WSJ, 2/23/00,
p.W10)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CNN)
1980 Sep 7, The 32nd Emmy Awards
were held. Winners included Taxi, Lou Grant, Ed Asner and Barbara Bel
Geddes.
(MC, 9/7/01)
1980 Sep 15, The TV miniseries
"Shogun" premiered with Richard Chamberlain and Yoko Shimada.
(SFC, 5/28/01, p.C1)(SFC, 9/16/05, p.F2)
1980 Sep, Dr. Ruth Westheimer
(b.1928) began taping a radio talk show in NYC. A year later the "Dr.
Ruth" show began taking call-in questions from listeners.
(www.studentaffairs.cmu.edu/mosaic/keynote.html)
1980 Nov 17, WHHM Television in
Washington, D.C. became the first African American public-broadcasting
television station.
(HN, 11/17/98)
1980 Nov 19, CBS TV banned Calvin
Klein's jean ad featuring Brooke Shields (b.1965).
(http://nymag.com/nymetro/news/anniversary/35th/n_8554/)
1980 Nov 21, An estimated 83
million TV viewers tuned in to the CBS prime-time soap opera "Dallas"
to find out "who shot J.R." It turned out to be Kristin Shephard,
played by Mary Crosby.
(SFC, 9/9/96, p.A26)(SFEC, 12/12/99, p.B10)(AP,
11/21/00)
1980 Nov, In China the Gang of
Four, scapegoats for the 1966-1976 Cultural Revolution, were tried and
sentenced in nationally televised court proceedings.
(SFC, 2/20/96, p.A4)
1980 Dec 30, "Wonderful World of
Disney," had its last performance on NBC-TV.
(MC, 12/30/01)
1980 The TV show "Bosom Buddies"
with Peter Scolari and Tom Hanks began and lasted to 1982.
(SFC, 12/3/98, p.E5)
1980 Frank Pacelli (d.1997 at 72)
spent 16 years (1980-1996) directing the TV show "The Young and the
Restless."
(SFC, 3/15/97, p.A19)
1980 The NBC TV show "United
States" was a comedy on modern marriage that lasted about 6 weeks.
(SFC, 12/3/98, p.E1)
1980 Carl Sagan (1934-1996)
dramatized the mysteries of the universe in his 13-part TV series
"Cosmos." He made famous the phrase "billions and billions of stars and
galaxies."
(SFC, 12/21/96, p.A1)
1980 James Fielder Cook (d.2003)
directed "Gauguin the Savage."
(SSFC, 6/28/03, p.A31)
1980 Cable TV began to impact
television in the US with a 20% penetration. By 1995 cable TV was in
62% of American homes.
(WSJ, 4/24/95, p.R-5)
1980 Fred Silverman appointed
Brandon Tartikoff (d.1997 at 48), age 31, as president of NBC
Entertainment.
(SFC, 8/28/97, p.A1)
1980 Haim Saban founded Saban
Entertainment with the rights to a handful of Schlocky Japanese
cartoons. The company recycled foreign shows for kids and dubbed them
into English. "Power Rangers Turbo," and "Ninja Turtles: The Next
Generation" were some of its later programming.
(WSJ, 10/1/97, p.A1)
1980 “Yes, Minister,” a satirical
British sitcom written by Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn, was first
transmitted by BBC television and radio. The sequel, “Yes, Prime
Minister,” ran from 1986 to 1988.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yes_Minister)
1980-1982 Dallas was the top ranking network show on
television for two seasons with rankings of31.2 and 28.4%
(WSJ, 4/24/95, p.R-5)
xxxx
1981 Jan 14, The US FCC freed
radio stations to air as many commercials an hour as they wished.
(http://tinyurl.com/39dv7r)
1981 Jan 15, The "Hill Street
Blues" premiered on NBC-TV. It ran to 1987.
(SFEC, 5/24/98, DB
p.39)(www.imdb.com/title/tt0081873/)
1981 Feb 21, Charles Rocket
(1949-2005) clearly said "fuck" on Saturday Night Live.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Rocket)
1981 Mar 9, Dan Rather made his
debut as principal anchorman of "The CBS Evening News."
(AP, 3/9/01)
1981 Aug 1, The US rock music
video channel MTV, founded by Bob Pittman, made its debut. The first
music video shown on the rock-video cable channel was, "Video Killed
the Radio Star", by the Buggles. In 2007 Saul Austerlitz authored
“Money for Nothing: A History of the Music Video From the Beatles to
the White Stripes.”
(WSJ, 3/24/97, p.B1)(AP, 8/1/97)(SSFC, 3/18/07,
p.M2)(Econ, 11/22/08, p.78)
1981 Apr 20, The final performance
of TV show "Soap" aired.
(www.tv.com/soap/show/605/summary.html)
1981 Aug 20, The family drama TV
show "The Waltons," which premiered in 1972, was last broadcast on
CBS-TV.
(www.tv.com/the-waltons/show/1279/summary.html)
1981 Sep 4, David Brinkley
(1920-2003) ended an illustrious 38-year career with NBC News this day.
ABC had offered him an opportunity too good to refuse.
(http://tinyurl.com/38bq4z)
1981 Sep 12, The TV show "People's
Court" (1981-1993) premiered with retired Judge Joseph Wopner
premiered. Rusty Burrell was the bailiff (d.2002).
(www.tv.com/the-peoples-court/show/12330/summary.html)(SFC, 4/20/02,
p.A23)
1981 Dec 4, "Falcon Crest"
premiered on CBS-TV and ran to 1990.
(www.imdb.com/title/tt0081858/)
1981 Dec 31, CNN launched Headline
News.
(http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_g1epc/is_tov/ai_2419100262)
1981 The TV sitcom "Gimme a
Break!" began and run to 1987. Singer Nell Carter (d.2003 at 54) played
the housekeeper.
(SFC, 1/24/03, p.A2)
1981 The TV series “Simon &
Simon” was created and produced by Philip DeGuere Jr. (1945-2005). The
show ran for 7 seasons until 1988.
(SFC, 2/1/05, p.B7)
1981 The Smurfs TV cartoon show
for kids began. Pierre Culliford (Peyo), Belgian cartoonist, created
the gnome-like Smurfs for publisher Charles Dupuis (d.2002 at 84) in
1958. Hanna-Barbera turned it into a US cartoon program.
(NW, 11/11/02, p.)(SFC, 12/3/02, p.A24)
1981 The TV show "Strike Force"
with Robert Stack ran until 1982.
(SFC, 5/16/03, p.A2)
1982 Feb 1, The "Late Night with
David Letterman" premiered on NBC TV.
(AP, 2/1/02)
1982 Mar 3, US Dist. Judge Harold
Greene, who was immersed in an AT&T antitrust case, surprised
broadcasters and Justice with an order declaring that limits on TV
commercials violated antitrust laws.
(http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3169/is_33_40/ai_64160619)
1982 Mar 26, The American soap
opera "Capitol" premiered and ran for 1270 episodes.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitol_(TV_series))
1982 Apr 25, Don Wilson (b.1900),
TV announcer (Jack Benny Show), died.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Wilson_(announcer))
1982 Jul 21, Dave Garroway
(b.1913), former TV host of the "Today Show" (1952-1961, committed
suicide.
(SFC, 1/11/02, p.D19)(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Garroway)
1982 Nov 24, FCC dropped limits on
the duration and frequency of TV ads.
(http://tinyurl.com/2tcl6k)
1982 Cid Caesar, TV comic,
authored his autobiography "Where Have I Been."
(SFC, 8/9/02, p.D17)
1982 The TV show “Cagney and
Lacey” featured Sharon Gless and Tyne Daly as female police detectives.
The show continued to 1988.
(LSA, Spring, 2009, p.44)
1982 The TV food show "Yan Can
Cook" began on KQED in SF with Martin Yan.
(SFC, 7/30/01, p.E1)
1982 The TV show Barney Miller
ended its run.
(SFEC, 6/29/97, Par p.22)
1982 The TV show "Fame" starred
Gene Anthony Ray (d.2003). It was set at New York’s High School for the
Performing Arts. It was developed from the 1980 film and ran for 138
episodes.
(SFC, 11/20/03, p.A25)
1982 The TV medical series "St.
Elsewhere" began and ran until 1988. it was produced by Bruce Paltrow
(d.2002 at 58).
(WSJ, 1/10/00, p.A24)(SFC, 10/4/02, p.A26)
1983 Feb 28, The last episode of
M*A*S*H was shown. A record 125 million made MASH the most watched TV
show.
(SFC, 9/9/96, p.A26)(SFEC, 4/19/98, DB
p.38)(http://openweb.tvnews.vanderbilt.edu/2000-2/)
1983 Mar 6, Country Music
Television (CMT) began showing.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Country_Music_Television)
1983 Mar 7, TNN (The Nashville
Network) began on Cable TV.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spike_TV)
1983 Apr 25, "Nightline" expanded
from a 1/2 hour to a full hour.
(SS, 4/25/02)
1983 May 10, "Laverne &
Shirley," last aired on ABC-TV.
(MC, 5/10/02)
1983 Aug 3, Carolyn Jones
(b.1930), actress, died. She is best remembered for playing the role of
Morticia Addams in the classic TV Series The Addams Family.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolyn_Jones)
1983 Sep 19, Chuck Woolery
(b.1941) began hosting the syndicated TV game show “Love Connection.”
He continued to 1995. The show was produced by Eric Lieber (1937-2008)
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Woolery)(SSFC,
7/6/08, p.B6)
1983 Sep 25, In the 35th Emmy
Awards the winners included Hill St Blues, Cheers, Ed Flanders and
Shelley Long.
(http://tinyurl.com/2wxcpr)
1983 Oct 5, The TV show “Whiz
Kids” was produced by Philip DeGuere Jr. and ran for one season.
(SFC, 2/1/05,
p.B7)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whiz_Kids_(TV_series))
1983 Brian Levant co-wrote the TV
movie "Still the Beaver," starring the original cast of the "Leave It
to Beaver" series.
(SFC, 2/15/03, p.A25)
1983 A television movie titled
"The Day After" showed Soviet missiles vaporizing Kansas City. It
focused people’s attention on the reality of their local missile silos.
(WSJ, 5/23/96, p.A-9)
1983 PBS first showed the 13-hour
series "Vietnam: A Television History" in the US. It won every award in
TV. It was rebroadcast in 1989 and 1997. The 6-year work was produced
by Richard Ellison (1924-2004).
(SFC, 10/12/04, p.B8)(SFC, 5/26/97, p.B1)
1983-1988 The TV show "Hotel" was centered on the
fictitious St. Gregory hotel in SF. The Fairmont was used for exterior
shots.
(SFC, 6/26/02, p.D8)
1984 Jan 10, Clara Peller
(1902-1987) 1st asked: "Where's the Beef?," as part of a TV ad for
Wendy’s.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Where's_the_beef%3F)(AH, 6/07, p.11)
1984 Jan 17, The US Supreme Court
sided with Sony and ruled, 5 to 4, that the private use of Sony’s
Betamax home video cassette recorders to tape television programs did
not violate federal copyright laws because they were “capable of
substantial non-infringing uses.”
(AP, 1/17/02)(SFC, 4/8/02, p.E1)(Econ, 4/2/05, p.57)
1984 Mar 19, The TV show "Kate
& Allie" premiered.
(http://imdb.com/title/tt0086742/)
1984 May 1, Gordon Jenkins
(b.1910), orchestra leader (NBC Comedy Hour), died of Lou Gehrig's
disease in Malibu, Ca.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_Jenkins)
1984 May 16, Andy Kaufman (35),
comedian, died of cancer. He played Latka Gravas in the TV sitcom Taxi.
(AP, 5/9/04)
1984 Jun 1, "Tattletales" second
run, TV Game Show; last aired on CBS.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1984_in_television)
1984 Sep 20, The TV sitcom "Cosby
Show" with Bill Cosby premiered on NBC-TV.
(SSFC, 2/11/01, BR
p.1)(www.imdb.com/title/tt0086687/)
1984 Nov 22, Fred Rogers
(1928-2003) of PBS' "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood" presented his sweater
to the Smithsonian Institution.
(http://tinyurl.com/ys2f6w)
1984 The US television Hall of
Fame inducted its 1st class.
(SFC, 3/28/02, p.A15)
1984 Abba Eban helped
prepare a 13-part television series about Jewish history called
"Heritage: Civilization and the Jews." He later wrote a book by the
same name.
(AP, 11/17/02)
1984 The TV series "Murder, She
Wrote" began and ran through 1996.
(SFEC, 12/8/96, Par p.18)
1984 Flip Wilson hosted the TV
show "People Are Funny."
(SFC, 11/26/98, p.B9)
1984 The Transformers TV cartoon
show, aimed at boys, began.
(NW, 11/11/02, p.56)
1984 The TV series “Three’s
Company” ended after 8 seasons. The sex farce featured John Ritter as
Jack Tripper and Don Knotts as landlord Ralph Furley.
(SSFC, 2/26/06, p.B7)
1984 Britain enacted the Video
Recordings Act (VRA), which also regulated the pornography industry,
but later failed to notify the European Commission of the existence of
the act.
(Reuters,
8/25/09)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_Recordings_Act_1984)
1985 May 18, 1st remote location
for "Nightline" was in South Africa.
(SC, 5/18/02)
1985 May 20, US began broadcasts
to Cuba on Radio Marti.
(MC, 5/20/02)
1985 Sep 14, The situation comedy
"The Golden Girls" premiered on NBC and continued to 1992. The show
included Beatrice Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty
as 4 older women living together in Florida.
(AP, 9/14/05)(www.imdb.com/title/tt0088526/)(LSA,
Spring, 2009, p.44)
1985 Sep 22, In the 37th Emmy
Awards the winners included Cagney & Lacey, Cosby Show and Tyne
Daly.
(www.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/Emmy_Awards/1985)
1985 Dec 20, Howard Cosell retired
from television sports after 20 years with ABC.
(MC, 12/20/01)
1985 Howard Stern started his
radio show on WXRK in NYC. His later became known as a schock jock for
his "street-talk" style.
(WSJ, 3/8/04, p.B1)
1986 Jan 14, Donna Reed (b.1921),
actress (Donna Reed Show, Dallas), died of cancer in Beverly Hills,
Ca., at age 64.
(www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=1172)
1986 Feb 27, The U.S. Senate
approved telecasts of its debates on a trial basis.
(AP, 2/27/98)
1986 Mar 9, Ned Calmer (78), TV
host (In the First Person), died.
(MC, 3/9/02)
1986 Mar 14, Marlin Perkins (80),
TV host of Wild Kingdom, died.
(MC, 3/14/02)
1986 May 20, The Flintstones 25th
Anniversary Celebration aired on CBS-TV.
(www.topthat.net/webrock/specials/25thAnniversary.htm)
1986 May 22, Cher called David
Letterman an asshole on Late Night on NBC.
(www.justplaincher.net/content-23.html)
1986 Jun 2, For the first time,
the public could watch the proceedings of the U.S. Senate on television
as a six-week experiment of televised sessions began.
(AP, 6/2/02)
1986 Jun 14, Marlin Perkins
(b.1905), zoologist and TV host (Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom), died.
(MC, 6/14/02)
1986 Sep 15, The 1st pilot of "LA
Law" was broadcast NBC-TV.
(http://epguides.com/LALaw/)
1986 Sep 21, In the 38th Emmy
Awards the winners included Golden Girls, Cagney & Lacey and
Michael J. Fox.
(http://tinyurl.com/yxktmg)
1986 Dec 2, Desi Arnaz (b.1917),
Cuban-born musician and actor (played Ricky Ricardo in “I Love Lucy”),
died from lung cancer in Del Mar, California. In 1949, Arnaz turned his
efforts to developing the hit television series "I Love Lucy," which
ran for six years on CBS and became the most successful television
program in history.
(www.imdb.com/name/nm0000789/)
1987 Feb 15, ABC-TV began
broadcasting "Amerika" mini-series.
(www.museum.tv/archives/etv/A/htmlA/amerika/amerika.htm)
1987 Feb 19, An anti-smoking ad
aired for the 1st time on TV and featured Yul Brynner (1920-1985), who
had died of lung cancer.
(www.terramedia.co.uk/Chronomedia/years/1987.htm)
1987 Feb 27, "Washington Week In
Review" celebrated its 20th anniversary on PBS.
(http://tinyurl.com/g88rg)(www.pbs.org/weta/washingtonweek/about.html)
1987 Mar 23, The American soap
opera "Bold and Beautiful" premiered.
(www.tv.com/the-bold-and-the-beautiful/show/1232/summary.html)
1987 Apr 5, Fox Broadcasting Co.
made its prime-time TV debut by airing the premiere episodes of
"Married ... With Children" and "The Tracey Ullman Show" three times
each. In 2004 Daniel M. Kimmel authored “The Fourth Network.” Ron
Leavitt (1947-2008), writer and producer, co-created “Married… With
Children” with Michael Moye.
(AP, 4/5/02)(WSJ, 6/11/04, p.W4)(SFC, 2/13/08, p.B7)
1987 May 21, The TV series “The
Days and Nights of Molly Dodd” starred Blair Brown as a divorced woman
living in NYC. The show continued to 1991.
(LSA, Spring, 2009,
p.44)(www.imdb.com/title/tt0092336/releaseinfo)
1987 Jul 8, Lt. Col. Oliver North
became a daytime TV star as the Iran-Contra hearings were televised
throughout the U.S.
(MC, 7/8/02)
1987 Sep 11, The CBS TV network
went black for six minutes after anchorman Dan Rather walked off the
set of "The CBS Evening News" because a tennis tournament being carried
by the network ran overtime. The tennis coverage had ended abruptly,
catching Rather off guard.
(AP, 9/11/97)
1987 Sep 11, Lorne Greene
(b.1915), actor (Bonanza, Battlestar Galactica), died at 72.
(www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=417)
1987 Sep 20, The 39th Emmy Awards
winners included: LA Law, Bruce Willis & Sharon Gless.
(www.popculturemadness.com/Trivia/Emmies/Top-1987-E.html)
1987 Sep 26, "Star Trek: The Next
Generation," debuted on TV.
(www.imdb.com/title/tt0094030/)
1987 The Teenage Mutant Ninja
Turtles TV cartoon show began. The turtles were named after famous
Italian artists.
(NW, 11/11/02, p.56)
1988 Mar 7, Robert Livingston
(83), actor (Lone Ranger), died of emphysema.
(MC, 3/7/02)
1988 Apr 25, "Nightline" went on
location to Jerusalem, Israel.
(SS, 4/25/02)
1988 Nov 14, The TV series “Murphy
Brown” featured Candice Bergen working as an investigative journalist
and producer of a TV news magazine. The show continued to 1998.
(LSA, Spring, 2009,
p.44)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murphy_Brown)
1988 Dec 2, "Naked Gun" premiered,
a movie based on TV's "Police Squad."
(MC, 12/2/01)
1988 The TV series "China Beach"
was partly based on the 1983 book "Home Before Morning" by Lynda Van
Devanter (d.2002 at 55), the 1st major autobiography by a woman
veteran. The series ran to 1991.
(SFC, 11/27/02, p.A26)
1987-1988 Dom DeLuise started in “The Dom DeLuise
Show,” a syndicated sitcom in which he played a Hollywood barber and
widowed single father of a 10-year-old girl.
(SFC, 5/6/09, p.A9)
1989 Mar 2, Madonna's "Like a
Prayer" premiered on worldwide Pepsi commercial.
(SC, 3/2/02)
1989 Apr 26, Lucille Ball
(b.1911), Actress-comedian and star of I Love Lucy, died at
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles at age 77. She left behind a
manuscript that was published in 1996 titled "Love, Lucy." "The
tremendous drive and dedication necessary to succeed in any field...
often seems to be rooted in a disturbed childhood." In 1993 Tom Gilbert
wrote :"The Story of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz." Lucille Ball was
married to Gary Morton (d.1999 at 74) for 29 years. In 2003 Stefan
Kanfer authored "Ball of Fire: The Tumultuous Life and Comic Art of
Lucille Ball."
(SFC, 9/23/96, D1)(SFC, 4/1/99, p.C4)(AP,
4/26/99)(WSJ, 8/15/03, p.W10)
1989 May 7, Guy Williams (b.1924),
actor (Zorro, Lost in Space), died in Argentina. He was born as Armando
Catalano in NYC.
(www.absoluteastronomy.com/g/guy_williams)
1989 May 14, Moonlighting, TV
Crime Drama, last aired on ABC.
(www.tv.com/moonlighting/show/301/summary.html)
1989 Larry Elikann (d.2004)
directed the TV movie "I Know My First Name Is Steven." It was based on
the 1972 abduction of 7-year-old Steven Staynor of Merced, Ca., who was
kept by his kidnapper for 7 years.
(SFC, 2/11/04, p.A23)
1989 Dec 17, The cartoon series
“The Simpsons” premiered on Fox TV.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Simpsons)
1990 Mar 27, The U.S. began test
broadcasts of TV Marti to Cuba, which promptly jammed the signal.
(AP, 3/27/00)
1990 Apr 1, CBS fired sportscaster
Brent Mussburger.
(MC, 4/1/02)
1990 Apr 8, The
cult series Twin Peaks premiered on ABC TV. It ran until Apr 18, 1991.
(SFC, 2/19/96, zz-1 p.3)(AP, 4/8/00)
1990 May 18, The TV movie "Return
To Green Acres" aired.
(SC, 5/18/02)
1990 May 31, Seinfeld, starring
Jerry Seinfeld, debuted on NBC. [see Jan 23, 1991]
(MC, 5/31/02)
1990 Jun 1, E! Entertainment
Television was launched.
(http://tinyurl.com/jwhwu)
1990 Jul 12, CBS introduced the TV
saga "Northern Exposure." The show ran to 1995. Margaret Phillips
(d.2002) played general-store owner Ruth-Anne Miller.
(SFC, 7/5/96, p.D5)(WSJ, 7/15/96, p.A9)(SFC,
11/12/02, p.A26)
1990 Sep 12, The TV drama
“Gabriel’s Fire” premiered with James Earl Jones as Gabriel Bird.
(LSA, Fall, 2007,
p.27)(www.imdb.com/title/tt0098801/)
1990 Dec 31, Sci-Fi Channel on
cable TV began transmitting.
(MC, 12/31/01)
1990 The Comedy TV Network was
formed with the merger of HBO’s Comedy Channel and MTV Network’s Ha! It
was soon renamed Comedy Central.
(SFC, 4/10/01, p.E1)
1990 The TV show Newhart ended its
run in May.
(SFEC, 4/19/98, DB p.38)
1990 The Children’s Television Act
forced networks to broadcast 3 hours of educational TV per week.
(NW, 11/11/02, p.57)
1990 A digital method for
transmitting TV pictures was invented.
(WSJ, 4/10/00, p.B2)
1991 Jan 23, "Seinfeld" began at a
regular slot on NBC-TV. Seinfeld initially debuted on NBC on July 5,
1989, in the guise of The Seinfeld Chronicles.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Seinfeld_episodes)
1991 Feb 3, Nancy Kulp (69),
actress (Jane Hathaway-Beverly Hillbillies), died.
(MC, 2/3/02)
1991 Apr 8, The show Twin Peaks
ended its run on TV.
(SFC, 2/19/96, zz-1 p.3)
1991 Apr 22, Johnny Carson
announces he would retire the next year from Tonight Show.
(www.museum.tv/archives/etv/C/htmlC/carsonjohnn/carsonjohnn.htm)
1991 May 9, Michael Landon
(d.7/1/1991) appeared on Tonight Show to talk about his cancer.
(www.sawilsons.com/highway_to_heaven.htm)
1991 Jun 10, "Twin Peaks" ended
its run on ABC-TV.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twin_Peaks)
1991 Jul 1, Actor Michael Landon
died in Malibu, California, at age 54.
(AP, 7/1/01)
1991 Aug 25, In the 43rd Emmy
Awards: LA Law, Cheers, Kirstie Alley and Patricia Wettig won.
(MC, 8/25/02)
1991 Sep 15, Andre Baruch
(b.1908), radio and TV announcer, died at 83.
(www.findagrave.com/)
1991 Nov 5, Fred MacMurray (83),
actor and the father of Mike Robbie and Chip in the TV series "My Three
Sons, died.
(AP, 11/5/01)(USAT, 9/20/02, p.1D)
1991-1998 The sci-fi series “Babylon 5” was broadcast
on the TNT Network. It featured Richard Biggs (d.2004 at 44) as Dr.
Stephen Franklin.
(SFC, 5/29/04, p.B6)
1992 May 9, Final episode of
"Golden Girls" aired on NBC-TV.
(MC, 5/9/02)
1992 May 12, Actor Robert Reed of
TV's "The Brady Bunch" died in Pasadena, Calif., at age 59.
(AP, 5/12/97)
1992 May 18, Marshall Thompson
(65), TV and movie actor and writer, died of congestive heart failure
in Royal Oak, Michigan. He played Dr. Marsh Tracy, the veterinarian, on
“Daktari.” He was born November 27, 1925 in Peoria, Illinois.
(SC, 5/18/02)(IDB)
1992 May 19, In San Francisco,
Vice President Dan Quayle denounced what he called the "poverty of
values" in America's inner cities, and criticized the TV show "Murphy
Brown" for having its title character decide to bear a child out of
wedlock.
(AP, 5/19/97)(DTnet, 5/19/97)
1992 May 22, Johnny Carson hosted
NBC's "Tonight Show" for the last time after a reign lasting nearly 30
years, telling his audience: "I bid you a very heartfelt good night."
Carson was succeeded by Jay Leno.
(AP, 5/22/97)
1992 Jun 19, "A Perfect Score" TV
Game Show debut on CBS.
(DTnet, 6/19/97)
1992 Jun 19, "The Hollywood Game"
(TV Game Show) debut on CBS.
(DTnet, 6/19/97)
1992 Aug 30, The television series
"Northern Exposure" won six Emmy Awards, including best drama series,
while "Murphy Brown" received three Emmys, including best comedy
series, in a ceremony marked by satirical jabs directed at Vice
President Dan Quayle.
(AP, 8/30/97)
1992 Aug, Viewers worldwide were
shocked by TV pictures of emaciated Muslim captives in Serb-run prison
camps in Bosnia.
(SFC,10/16/97, p.A12)
1992 Dec 8, NBC announced that
"Cheers" would go off the air in May, 1993.
(www.cheersboston.com/fh_trivia.htm)
1992 The TV kid’s show Barney
premiered.
(NW, 11/11/02, p.57)
1992 The CBS TV show "Middle Ages"
was about a middle-aged traveling salesman. It lasted less than a month.
(SFC, 12/3/98, p.E5)
1992 The NBC TV news program
"Dateline" began.
(SFC, 6/2/97, p.D1)
1992 The TV show Cosby, a
blockbuster sitcom through the 80s, ended in April.
(SFEC, 4/19/98, DB p.38)
1992 Internews, an American
non-profit organization dedicated to developing private TV in Russia
with headquarters in Humboldt County, Ca., established a Moscow office.
(Wired, Dec., '95, p.82
1992 Radio Luxembourg went off the
air as it lost listeners due to deregulation and commercial rivals. In
2008 it hoped to make a comeback using digital broadcasts.
(Econ, 3/8/08, TQ p.8)
1993 May 20, An estimated 93
million people tuned in for the 274th & final episode of "Cheers"
on NBC-TV.
(AP, 5/20/98)
1993 Aug 30, "The Late Show with
David Letterman" premiered on CBS-TV.
(AP, 8/30/98)
1993 Sep 4, Herve Hillechaize (50)
died in Los Angeles. The Fantasy Island actor shot himself to death.
(AP, 9/4/98)
1993 Sep 10, The cult series "The
X-Files" premiered on Fox Television.
(AP, 9/10/98)
1993 Nov 28, Garry Moore (b.Jan
31, 1915) game show and variety show host, died at 78 on South
Carolina's Hilton Head island. He was born in Baltimore as Thomas
Garrison Morfit. His TV shows included the Garry Moore Show, I've Got a
Secret, To Tell the Truth.
(AP, 11/28/98)(www.answers.com/topic/garry-moore)
1993 Dec 17, Fox Television outbid
CBS for the National Football Conference TV package.
(AP, 12/17/98)
1993 The kids show Mighty Morphin
Power Rangers premiered with a girl superhero, the Pink Ranger.
(NW, 11/11/02, p.57)
1993 Captain Kangaroo (b.1955)
ended with almost 40 years on TV. The show featured Bob Keeshan as the
Captain.
(WSJ, 3/6/97, p.B1)
1993 The X-Files began on TV. The
lead FBI characters, Mulder and Scully (David Duchovny and Gillian
Anderson), smacked their first kiss in late 1999.
(SFC, 11/27/99, p.D10)
1993-1995 Jonathan Brandis (d.2003 at 27) played boy
genius Lucas Wolenczak on "seaQuest DSV," produced by Stephen Spielberg.
(SFC, 11/22/03, p.A18)
1993-2001 The PBS mini series "Tales of the City" was
filmed extensively in SF.
(SFC, 6/26/02, p.D8)
1994 May 9, Comedian Bobcat
Goldthwait set fire to the couch on Tonight Show. A misdemeanor charge
soon followed and a fine of $3,888.
(www.courttv.com/news/flashback/May.html)
1994 May 19, The final episode of
LA Law (b.1986) showed on TV after 8 year run.
(http://epguides.com/LALaw/)
1994 Sep 11, In the 46th Emmy
Awards the winners included Fraiser, Picket Fences & Kelsey Grammer.
(MC, 9/11/01)
1994 Larry Elikann (d.2004)
directed the TV movie "Menendez: A Killing in Beverly Hills."
(SFC, 2/11/04, p.A23)
1994 John Frankenheimer directed
the HBO drama "Against the Wall" about the 1971 prison riot at Attica.
(WSJ, 7/10/02, p.D8)
1994 KKHI, San Francisco’s
classical music station, went off the air.
(SFC, 4/16/08, p.B11)
1995 May 20, CBS News fired
co-anchor Connie Chung.
(MC, 5/20/02)
1995 May 22, "The CBS Evening
News" resumed a single-anchor format with Dan Rather, after Connie
Chung was dropped from the broadcast.
(AP, 5/22/00)
1995 Jul 31, The Walt Disney
Company agreed to acquire Capital Cities-ABC Inc. in a $19 billion
deal. The deal included the ESPN sports cable network.
(AP, 7/31/97)(Econ, 9/18/04, p.70)
1995 Aug 1, In the second TV
network takeover in as many days, Westinghouse Electric Corporation
struck a deal to buy CBS for $5.4 billion. A day earlier, Walt Disney
had agreed to acquire Capital Cities-ABC for $19 billion.
(AP, 8/1/00)
1995 Aug 15, Pioneering TV
journalist and Timex watch pitchman John Cameron Swayze died in
Sarasota, Florida, at age 89.
(AP, 8/15/00)
1995 Sep 10, NBC’s “ER” won eight
Emmy Awards, but lost best dramatic series to ABC’s “NYPD Blue;” NBC’s
“Frasier” won five awards, including best comedy series.
(AP, 9/10/00)
1995 Sep 15, The TV series “Xena:
Warrior Princess” featured Lucy Lawless as Xena.
(LSA, Spring, 2009,
p.45)(www.imdb.com/title/tt0112230/)
1995 Nov 29, "Submitted for Your
Approval," a PBS production on Rod Serling (1924-1975) was first
broadcast.
(WSJ, 11/27/95, p.A-14)(MC, 12/28/01)
1995 Dec 14, Microsoft and NBC
announced a joint venture to create MSNBC, a cable channel and Web site
devoted to breaking news. In 2005 NBC raised its stake to 82%.
(http://cbsnews.cbs.com/htdocs/microsoft/timeline1.html)
1995 A US Appeals court validated
a broader FCC indecency ban, but limited it to between 6 a.m. and 10
p.m.
(WSJ, 3/24/04, p.A4)
1996 Jan 1, After 27 years, Betty
Rubble debuted as a Flintstone vitamin.
(MC, 1/1/02)
1996 Mar 17, The $16 mil Museum of
Television and Radio was christened in Beverly Hills.
(SFC, 7/9/96, p.B4)
1996 Apr 16, Oprah Winfrey, TV
show hostess, made remarks against eating beef on her national program
that led Texas cattlemen to file suit against her.
(SFC, 1/22/98, p.A7)
1996 Aug 27, Actor Greg Morris
("Mission: Impossible") was found dead at his Las Vegas home; he was
61.
(AP, 8/27/97)
1996 Dec 18, TV industry execs
agreed to adopt a ratings system.
(http://tinyurl.com/bee8z)
1996 Dec 19, The television
industry unveiled a plan to rate programs using tags such as "TV-G,"
"TV-Y" and "TV-M."
(AP, 12/19/01)
1996-2001 The TV show "Nash Bridges" was set in SF.
(SFC, 6/26/02, p.D8)
1997 Jan 11, Sheldon Leonard (89),
producer, director (Dick Van Dyke), died.
(MC, 1/11/02)
1997 Feb 9, Fox cartoon series
"Simpsons" aired its 167th episode, the longest running animated series
in cartoon history.
(MC, 2/9/02)
1997 Feb 23, NBC TV showed
"Schindler's List," completely uncensored and 65M watched.
(www.answers.com/topic/schindler-s-list)
1997 Mar 1, 5th annual ESPY Awards
were shown on TV.
(SC, 3/1/02)
1997 Mar 10, The TV series “Buffy
The Vampire Slayer” featured Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy. The show
continued to 2003.
(LSA, Spring, 2009,
p.45)(http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118276/)
1997 Apr 16, Oprah Winfrey hosted
her evening show that included a segment on mad cow disease. A group of
Texas cattle ranchers later sued her for her comments. The case was
initially a test of the state’s 1995 "veggie libel" law that protected
perishable food products from false and defamatory statements, but was
ruled to proceed as a common-law business defamation case. Texas jury
selection in the trial of Oprah began Jan 20 and she was acquitted by
the jury on Feb 26.
(SFC, 1/21/98, p.A3)(SFC, 2/27/98, p.A1)
1997 Apr 30, ABC aired the "coming
out" of the title character in the sitcom "Ellen," played by Ellen
DeGeneres.
(AP, 4/30/98)
1997 May 1, The TV show Ellen
captured 42 million viewers to hear the Ellen character, played by
Ellen DeGeneres, announce that she was a lesbian.
(SFC, 5/2/97, p.C1)
1997 Sep 8, The TV series “Ally
McBeal” starred Calista Flockhart as a working girl who was part
successful attorney and part angst-ridden woman. The show continued to
2002.
(LSA, Spring, 2009,
p.45)(www.imdb.com/title/tt0118254/)
1997 Sep 10, The Discovery Channel
bought the TV Travel Channel for $20 million.
(MC, 9/10/01)
1997 Dec 25, Comedian Jerry
Seinfeld announced plans to fold his highly successful NBC sitcom
"Seinfeld" at the end of the season.
(AP, 12/25/98)
1997 Chris Matthews, speechwriter
for Pres. Carter (1979-1980) and syndicated columnist (1987-2002),
began his Hardball talk show.
(SSFC, 1/5/03, Par p.18)
1998 Jan 14, NBC agreed to pay
Warner Bros. $13 million per episode to retain the highly-rated TV show
"ER."
(AP, 1/14/99)
1998 Apr 6, The British TV program
for toddlers, "Teletubbies," opened in the US.
(SFC, 4/6/98, p.E1)
1998 Apr 22, National TV Turnoff
Week began.
(SFEC, 4/12/98, Par p.18)
1998 Jul 21, Robert Young, actor,
died in Westlake Village, Calif. at age 91. He was best known for his
TV roles in "Father Knows Best" and "Marcus Welby, M.D."
(SFC, 7/23/98, p.C4)(AP, 7/21/99)
1998 Sep 13 NBC's "Frasier" won a
record fifth consecutive Emmy as TV's best comedy series; ABC's "The
Practice" was honored as best drama.
(AP, 9/13/99)
1998 A 2-hour TV version of "Brave
New World" by Aldous Huxley (1932) was made.
(WSJ, 4/13/98, p.A20)
1998 Bob Harris, comedy writer,
won 5 games in a row on Jeopardy, which was the limit at this time. He
was later invited back for several tournament of Champion competitions.
In 2006 he authored “Prisoner of Trebekistan,” an account of his
Jeopardy experiences.
(WSJ, 9/16/06, p.P10)(http://tinyurl.com/nn56e)
1999 Mar 3, Monica Lewinsky, in an
ABC interview, the 20/20 TV show, timed to coincide with the
publication of her book, recounted for Barbara Walters some of the
fondest, as well as most painful, aspects of her relationship with
President Clinton.
(SFC, 3/4/99, p.A1)(AP, 3/3/00)
1999 Apr 22, Earth Day. TV Turnoff
Week began.
(SFC, 4/22/99, p.A17)(SFC, 4/23/99, p.C7)
1999 Aug 16, The TV quiz show "Who
Wants to Be a Millionaire" began a limited two-week run on ABC.
Imported from London, the show was hosted by Meredith Vieira and it was
still on the air in 2008.
(AP,
8/16/00)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_Wants_To_Be_A_Millionaire%3F)
1999 Sep 5, Allen Funt, founder of
"Candid Camera" and the father of "reality" television, died in Pebble
Beach at 84.
(SFC, 9/7/99, p.B1)
1999 Sep 7, Viacom Inc. announced
the acquisition of CBS Corp. for some $36 billion in stock. It was the
richest media merger in history.
(WSJ, 9/8/99, p.A1)(AP, 9/7/00)
1999 Dec 27, Leonard H. Goldenson
(94), former television executive, who’d built ABC into a network
powerhouse, died in Longboat Key, Fla.
(AP, 12/27/04)
1999 Personal Video Recorders
(PVR) were introduced and allowed users to skip through commercials.
(Econ, 4/17/04, p.61)
2000 Feb 15, Fox aired "Who Wants
to Marry a Multimillionaire?," a TV special which drew huge ratings and
much notoriety.
(AP, 2/15/01)
2000 Mar 13, CBS began filming its
"Survivor" show on the Malaysian island of Pulau Tiga. Filming lasted
to April 20 and the last survivor was to be awarded a $1 million prize.
(SFC, 6/2/00, p.C15)
2000 Mar 15, Durward Kirby (88),
TV funnyman died in Fort Myers, Florida.
(AP, 3/15/01)
2000 May 10, Actor Craig Stevens,
who’d starred in the 1950’s TV series "Peter Gunn," died in Los Angeles
at age 81.
(AP, 5/10/01)
2000 May 22, The Supreme Court
struck down, 5-to-4, a federal law that shielded children from
sex-oriented cable TV channels. The US Supreme Court invalidated part
of a 1996 law that relegated pornography on cable TV to late-night
hours.
(AP, 5/22/01)(WSJ, 3/24/04, p.A4)
2000 Jul 12, Gemstar, a pioneer in
interactive TV, merged with TV Guide in a stock deal valued at $14.2
billion with Gemstar founder Henry C. Yuen as chairman and CEO. In 2003
the SEC filed fraud charges against Yuen for overstated revenues and
Yuen erased the contents of his hard drive. In 2005 Yuen pleaded guilty
to one criminal count of obstruction of justice. In 2006 a federal
judge found Yuen liable on civil fraud charges and ordered him to pay
$22 million in disgorgement, interest and fine.
(WSJ, 4/25/07, p.A1,9)
2000 Aug 23, The final winner of
the "Survivor" TV contest set on Pulau Tiga island was broadcast to as
many as 40-50 million viewers. Richard Hatch (39), a corporate trainer
from Newport, R.I., won the $1 million grand prize. In 2006 Hatch was
convicted on three counts related to tax evasion and was sentenced to
51 months in federal prison plus three years of supervised probation.
(SFC, 8/23/00, p.A1)(SFC, 8/24/00,
p.A1)(http://tinyurl.com/4sna5j)
2000 Sep 10, The TV series “West
Wing” won a record 9 Emmys at the 52nd Annual Prime Time Emmy Awards,
including best drama series; NBC's “Will & Grace (news - Y! TV)”
won best comedy.
(SFC, 9/11/00, p.A1)(AP, 9/10/01)
2001 Jan 11, The US Army premiered
its new slogan "An Army of one" on the TV sitcom "Friends."
(SFC, 1/10/01, p.B3)
2001 Mar 12, Morton Downey Jr.
(68), abrasive, chain-smoking, pioneer host of "Trash TV" talk shows,
died. "The Morton Downey Show" premiered in NYC in 1987.
(SFC, 3/14/01, p.A20)(AP, 3/12/02)
2001 Mar 26, The Bill Moyers PBS
special "Trade Secrets" focused on the coverup by the American chemical
industry of health problems caused by numerous products including vinyl
chloride and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).
(SFC, 3/27/01, p.A17)
2001 May 3, An estimated 36.4
million people tuned in to watch Tennessee nurse Tina Wesson win as the
winner of "Survivor 2," following a 42 day stint in the "Survivor: The
Australian Outback" on CBS.
(SFC, 5/4/01, p.C1)(AP, 5/3/02)
2001 Jun, Filmmaker Richard
Jellerson, former Vietnam helicopter pilot, 1st showed his documentary
film "Helicopter War in Vietnam" on The History Channel.
(HNQ, 8/16/02)
2001 Jun, NBC launched its "Fear
Factor" reality show.
(WSJ, 4/29/04, p.A1)
2001 Sep 7, The final “Mister
Rogers’ Neighborhood” TV show aired as Fred Rogers (72) retired.
(SFC, 8/29/01, p.A1)
2001 Nov 6, Season One of the
television series “24” was first broadcast. It featured Jack Bauer as
the protagonist, in which he has trained and worked in various
capacities as a government agent, including U.S. Army Delta Force, Los
Angeles Police Department SWAT, CIA, and finally the Counter Terrorist
Unit (CTU).
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Bauer#24_Season_1)
2002 Apr 3, Roy Huggins,
novelists, TV writer and producer, died at age 87. His shows included
"Cheyenne," "The Fugitive" and "The Rockford Files."
(SFC, 4/15/02, p.B5)
2002 Apr 8, It was reported that a
Thai version of the TV show "The Weakest Link" was "promoting fierce
competition and selfishness among recipients," in contrast to general
Thai generosity.
(SFC, 4/8/02, p.A2)
2002 May 22, The Rosie O’Donnell
Show played its farewell edition. Rosie ended her program with a 6-year
Emmy-winning streak.
(SFC, 5/18/02, p.A2)
2002 May John Frankenheimer
directed the TV drama "Path To War," about the Johnson’s
administration’s handling of the Vietnam War.
(WSJ, 7/10/02, p.D8)
2002 Jun 2, HBO’s first season of
'The Wire' began with a pilot episode titled “The Target.” The series
concentrated on the often-futile efforts of police to infiltrate a West
Baltimore drug ring headed by Avon Barksdale and his lieutenant,
Stringer Bell.
(www.hbo.com/thewire/about/)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Target_(The_Wire_episode))
2002 Aug 8, The FCC ordered TV
manufacturers to install tuners for digital signals in new TV sets by
2007.
(SFC, 8/9/02, p.A1)
2002 Aug 15, In NYC WNEW-FM radio
shock jocks Gregg Hughes and Anthony Cumia aired an eyewitness account
of a couple having sex in the vestibule of St. Patrick's Cathedral.
Their show was cancelled Aug 23.
(SFC, 8/24/02, p.D4)
2002 Sep 4, Texas cocktail
waitress and aspiring pop star Kelly Clarkson was voted the first
"American Idol" at the conclusion of the Fox TV series.
(AP, 9/4/03)
2002 Oct 21, A&E premiered
"Uncut: The True Story of Hair."
(SFC, 9/28/02, p.D1)
2002 American Idol premiered on
the Fox Network. The public was allowed to decide who stays and who
goes among the final 12 contestants.
(SFC, 5/14/04, p.B1)
2002 Survivor 4 was filmed on Nuku
Hiva, the largest of the 12 Marquesa Islands.
(SSFC, 6/2/02, p.C9)
2003 Jan 13-15, A TV documentary,
"Chicago City of the Century," was broadcast based on a book of the
same name by Don Miller.
(SFC, 1/11/03, p.D6)
2003 Feb 18, Joe Millionaire
attracted up to 42.6 million viewers for its final TV episode.
(WSJ, 1/2/04, p.R8)
2003 Feb 27, Fred Rogers
(74), who gently invited millions of children to be his neighbor as
host of the public television show "Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood" for
more than 30 years, died of cancer.
(AP, 2/27/03)(SFC, 2/28/03, A1)
2003 Mar 9, Bill Clinton
and Bob Dole made their debut as TV commentators on 60 Minutes. Their
1st topic was "tax cuts in times of war."
(WSJ, 3/7/03, p.A1)
2003 May 20, The TV show "Buffy
the Vampire Slayer" had its finale. Set in the fictional California
town of Sunnydale, "Buffy" depicted high school as a literal Hell. The
TV series began in 1997 based on a 1992 movie.
(AP, 5/20/03)
2003 Sep 21, At the 55th Annual
Emmy Awards "The West Wing" won for best drama.
(SFC, 9/22/03, p.D1)
2004 Jan 7, Digital radios went on
sale in the US.
(SFC, 1/7/04, p.B8)
2004 Jan 27, Jack Paar (85), TV
host, died. The "Jack Paar Tonight Show" ran from 1957-1965 and "The
Jack Paar Program" ran from 1962-1965.
(SFC, 1/28/04, p.A2)
2004 Feb 22, The final TV episode
of "Sex and the City" aired after a 6-season run.
(SFC, 2/23/04, p.A2)
2004 Mar 31, Air America Radio
went live in 3 of largest US markets with a left-leaning,
round-the-clock, talk format featuring Al Franken and Janeane Garofalo.
(SFC, 3/31/04, p.C1)
2004 Apr 8, Clear Channel fired
Howard Stearn after FCC regulators proposed fining the company $495,000
for airing the shock jock's sexually explicit broadcasts.
(SFC, 4/9/04, p.A3)
2004 Apr 15, In the finale to the
first edition of the NBC reality show "The Apprentice," an estimated
27.6 million viewers tuned in to watch. Donald Trump "hired" Bill
Rancic over Kwame Jackson during a segment that was telecast live.
(AP, 4/16/05)
2004 May 13, The last episode of
"Frasier" aired on TV following an 11-year run.
(SFC, 5/15/04, p.E3)
2004 Aug 16, The children’s TV
show “Lazytown” made its US premier. Magnus Scheving spent over a
decade building the brand in Iceland before moving overseas.
(Econ, 3/31/07,
p.76)(www.tv.com/lazytown/show/29257/episode_listings.html)
2004 Oct 6, Sirius Satellite Radio
planned to spend $500 million to sign “shock jock” Howard Stern for 5
years beginning in 2006.
(SFC, 10/7/04, p.A1)
2004 Nov 9, Ed Kemmer (b.1921), TV
star, died at Roosevelt Hospital in NYC. He played the heroic Cmdr.
Buzz Corry on the 1950s children's science-fiction television program
“Space Patrol.”. After “Space Patrol,” Kemmer broke the heroic mold by
playing villains in episodes of “Perry Mason,” “Gunsmoke,” and
“Maverick.” He spent 19 years as a regular on “The Edge of Night,” “As
the World Turns,” “All My Children,” “Guiding Light,” and other soaps.
(SFC, 11/17/04, p.B8)
2004 Nov 30, Ken Jennings ended
his 74-game winning streak on Jeopardy when he missed a question on
H&R Block. His winnings had reached $2,520,700 as he lost to real
estate agent Nancy Zerg. In 2006 Jennings authored “Brainiac,” an
account of his Jeopardy experiences.
(WSJ, 12/1/04, p.A1)(WSJ, 9/16/06, p.P10)
2004 Dec 6, Mediaweek reported
that 99.8% of indecency complaints to the FCC came from one group, the
Parents Television Council.
(SFC, 12/13/04, p.E1)
2005 Jun 24, The final show of
“Wall Street Week” on PBS was set for production. Louis Rukeyser hosted
the program from 1970 to 2002.
(SFC, 3/25/05, p.C1)
2005 May 16, The SF radio station
KYCY-AM planned to dump syndicated talk shows and begin broadcasting
amateur podcasts from audio programs posted on the Web.
(SFC, 4/28/05, p.C1)
2005 May 21, Howard Morris (85),
best known for playing poetry-spouting hillbilly Ernest T. Bass on the
"Andy Griffith Show," died at his home in the Hollywood section of Los
Angeles.
(AP, 5/23/05)
2005 May 26, Eddie Albert (99),
actor who moved smoothly from the Broadway stage to nearly 100 movies,
died. He found stardom as the constantly befuddled city
slicker-turned-farmer in television's "Green Acres."
(AP, 5/28/05)(SFC, 5/28/05, p.A2)
2005 Jun 30, Viacom launched Logo,
a gay oriented TV show.
(SFC, 6/30/05, p.E1)(Econ, 7/2/05, p.59)
2005 Aug 1, Al Gore and Joel Hyatt
premiered their current TV cable and satellite channel. In 2008 Current
Media planned an IPO to raise $100 million.
(www.current.tv/news/nypost080205.html)(SFC,
1/29/08, p.B1)
2005 Aug 10, The castaway
television thriller "Lost" debuted as the most watched U.S. import on
British television since soap opera "Dallas" captivated fans more than
20 years ago. The US premier was September 22, 2004.
(AP,
8/11/05)(www.imdb.com/title/tt0411008/episodes#season-1)
2005 Sep 18, "Everybody Loves
Raymond" won the Emmy for best comedy in its final season; first-year
hit "Lost" was named best drama.
(AP, 9/18/06)
2005 Sep 25, Don Adams (82), TV
star born as Donald James Yarmy, died in LA. He played Maxwell Smart on
the “Get Smart” TV show from 1965-1970 along with co-star Barbara
Feldon.
(SFC, 9/27/05, p.B5)
2005 Oct 4, A new Syrian TV series
began broadcasting around the Middle East. It tells the story of Arabs
living in residential compounds in Saudi Arabia and the militant
Islamists who want to blow them up so they can collect their rewards in
heaven, 72 beautiful virgins.
(AP, 10/10/05)
2006 Feb 24, Don Knotts (81),
comedian and film star, died in Los Angeles. His half-century career
included more than 25 films and seven TV series.
(AP, 2/26/06)
2006 Feb 25, Darren McGavin (83),
TV and film star, died of natural causes at a Los Angeles-area
hospital. His 5 TV series included “Mike Hammer” and “Kolchak: The
Night Stalker.”
(AP, 2/26/06)(SSFC, 2/26/06, p.B8)
2006 Mar 30, Mexico’s Congress
passed legislation dubbed the Televisa Law” confirming the country’s
longstanding TV duopoly. President Vicente Fox officially signed off on
controversial reforms to the country’s Federal Radio and Television law
on April 11. In 2007 the legislation faced court actions.
(http://cbrayton.wordpress.com/2007/05/11/mexico-the-birth-of-the-televisa-law/)
2006 Jul 3, Jack Smith (b.1913),
singer and TV host for “You Asked for It,” died at his home in southern
California. In 1958 he replaced Art Baker, who created the show in 1950.
(SFC, 7/11/06, p.B4)
2006 Nov 30, The ABC TV soap opera
All My Children depicted a character about to undergo a transition from
man to woman.
(SFC, 12/1/06, p.A1)
2007 Apr 11, MSNBC announced it
was dropping its simulcast of the "Imus in the Morning" radio program,
responding to growing outrage about host Don Imus' racial slur against
the Rutgers women's basketball team. CBS Radio followed suit the next
day.
(AP, 4/11/08)
2007 May 14, Endemol, the brains
behind reality television shows like "Big Brother", fell into the hands
of a consortium led by Italy's Mediaset which is looking to branch out
of the saturated Italian television market.
(AP, 5/14/07)
2007 Jun 10, HBO concluded "The
Sopranos," created by David Chase, with its 86th show since 1999.
(AP, 6/11/07)
2007 Jun 12, Don Herbert (b.1917),
who as television's "Mr. Wizard" introduced generations of young
viewers to the joys of science, died in California at his suburban Bell
Canyon home.
(AP, 6/12/07)(SFC, 6/14/07, p.B5)
2007 Jun 15, Retired "Price Is
Right" host Bob Barker won his 19th Daytime Emmy.
(AP, 6/15/08)
2007 Jul 23, Genial comic Drew
Carey was tapped to replace legend Bob Barker on the CBS daytime game
show "The Price is Right."
(AP, 7/23/08)
2007 Jul 29, Tom Snyder (71), TV
host, died in SF after a struggle with leukemia. His smoke-filled
interviews were a staple of late night television and an inspiration
for Dan Aykroyd on "Saturday Night Live." Snyder hosted The Tomorrow
Show from 1973-1982.
(AP, 7/30/07)(SFC, 7/31/07, p.E2)
2007 Aug 12, Merv Griffin (82),
television talk show host and entrepreneur, died. He created the TV
game show “Jeopardy” in 1964 and sold the rights for the show to
Coca-Cola for $250 million in 1986.
(AP, 8/13/07)(SFC, 8/13/07, p.A1)
2007 Sep 16, The 59th Primetime
Emmy Awards were held in Los Angeles. NBC won 7 awards, HBO and ABC
both won 6. “The Sopranos” won for the best drama series and “30 Rock”
won for the best comedy series.
(AP, 9/17/07)(SFC, 9/17/07, p.E1)
2007 Sep 23, The 7-part, 15-hour
opus “The War,” by Ken Burns and co-director Lynn Novick, began on PBS.
PBS later estimated 18.7 million viewers saw the airings of "The War,"
the first chapter of Ken Burns' seven-part documentary about World War
II.
(SSFC, 9/23/07, p.A1)(AP, 9/25/07)
2007 Oct 31,
Physicists at UC Berkeley said they had produced the world’s
smallest radio out of a single carbon nanotube, 10,000 times thinner
than human hair. They had it play “Layla” by Derek and the Dominos and
said it could also function as a transmitter.
(SFC, 11/1/07, p.C1)
2007 Dec 3, In NYC Don Imus
returned to the airwaves eight months after he was fired for a racially
charged remark about the Rutgers women's basketball team, and
introduced a new cast that included two black comedians on WABC-AM.
(AP, 12/3/07)
2007 Dec 7, Canada's TV watchdog
blessed the launch of Vanessa, a national pay TV porn channel.
(Reuters, 12/7/07)
2008 Jan 19, Suzanne Pleshette
(b.1937), film and TV star, died in Los Angeles. The husky-voiced star
was best known for her role as Bob Newhart's sardonic wife on
television's long-running "The Bob Newhart Show." Her work included
roles in such films as Hitchcock's "The Birds" and in Broadway plays
including "The Miracle Worker."
(AP, 1/20/08)
2008 Feb 1, Actress Shell Kepler
(49) died at Oregon Health & Science University hospital. For years
she played the gossipy nurse Amy Vining on the TV soap opera "General
Hospital."
(AP, 2/4/08)
2008 Mar 16, Ivan Dixon (b.1931),
black actor, director and producer best known for his role as Kinchloe
on the 1960s television series "Hogan's Heroes," died.
(AP, 3/19/08)
2008 Apr 24, James Day (89),
co-founder of San Francisco’s KQED TV station (1954), died in NYC. In
1995 he published “The Vanishing Vision: The Inside Story of Public
Television.”
(SFC, 4/30/08, p.B9)
2008 May 24, Dick Martin (86), the
zany half of the comedy team whose "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In," died
in Santa Monica, Ca. He took television by storm in the 1960s, making
stars of Goldie Hawn and Lily Tomlin and creating such national
catch-phrases as "Sock it to me!"
(AP, 5/25/08)
2008 Jun 7, Jim McKay (b.1921),
former ABC sports broadcaster, died in Monkton, Md. He covered 10
Olympic games over 24 years and was the voice on the anthology series
“Wide World of Sports” for its first quarter century.
(SSFC, 6/8/08, p.A2)
2008 Jul 22, Estelle Getty
(b.1923), the sarcastic octogenarian Sophia on TV's "The Golden Girls,"
died. The diminutive stage and TV actress had spent 40 years struggling
for success before landing the role of a lifetime in 1985.
(AP, 7/22/08)(SFC, 7/23/08, p.A8)
2008 Jul 25, US Federal regulators
formally approved the merger of Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. and rival
XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc., the nation's only two satellite radio
operators. The companies first applied for permission to combine in
March 2007.
(AP, 7/26/08)
2008 Aug 15, Leroy Sievers
(b.1955), broadcast journalist, died of cancer. He was a former
executive producer of ABC’s “Nightline” and commented on his disease on
National Public Radio (NPR).
(SFC, 8/19/08, p.B5)
2008 Oct 15, John McCain and
Barack Obama held their final televised debate moderated by Bob
Schieffer of CBS.
(AP, 10/16/08)
2008 Nov 11, Jack Scott (b.1923),
former BBC’s chief weatherman, died.
(www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/nov/19/obituary-jack-scott-bbc-weatherman)
2008 Nov 16, Reg Varney (92), a
comic actor who played a cheery Cockney bus driver in British sitcom
"On the Buses," died.
(AP, 11/16/08)(Econ, 12/6/08, p.109)
2008 Nov 21, Germany banned
Hezbollah's Lebanon-based satellite television station on grounds that
it violates the country's constitution.
(AP, 11/23/08)
2008 Dec 2, Ted Rogers (75),
founder of Rogers Communications, died in Toronto. He transformed a
single FM radio station into a North American broadcasting, publishing
and wireless telecommunications conglomerate.
(AP, 12/2/08)
2008 Dec 5, Kyrgyzstan's state
radio station was reported to have taken BBC programming off the
airwaves, days after withdrawing broadcasting rights from US-funded
Radio Liberty's Kyrgyz Service.
(AP, 12/5/08)
2008 Dec 10, British television
broadcast a documentary of the assisted suicide of Craig Ewert (d.2006
at 59), a terminally ill American, as he died in Switzerland. The
documentary, “Right to Die?,” was made by Oscar-winning director John
Zaritsky.
(SFC, 12/11/08, p.A2)
2008 Anthony Rudel authored “Hello
Everybody: The Dawn of American Radio.”
(WSJ, 10/9/08, p.A15)
2009 Jan 9, Jon Hager (67), who
performed in the musical comedy duo The Hager Twins on "Hee-Haw," died
in Nashville. His brother Jim died in May, 2008. The syndicated TV
show, which debuted in 1969, satirized country life with a mixture of
music and comedy.
(AP, 1/10/09)
2009 Jan 13, Patrick McGoohan
(b.1928), Emmy winning TV and film actor, died. He created and starred
in the cult classic TV show “The Prisoner” (1967). The British show
premiered in the US in 1968.
(SFC, 1/15/09, p.A2)
2009 Jan 15, Ricardo Montalban
(b.1920), the Mexican-born actor, died at his home in Los
Angeles. His 1980 autobiography was titled "Reflections: A Life in Two
Worlds." He became a star in splashy MGM musicals and later as the
wish-fulfilling Mr. Roarke in TV's "Fantasy Island" (1978-1984).
(AP, 1/15/09)
2009 Jan 18, Bob May (69),
American TV and film actor, died. He donned the Robot's suit in the hit
1960s television show "Lost in Space" (1965).
(AP, 1/19/09)
2009 Jan 18, British television
presenter Tony Hart (83) died. He had charmed generations of children
with his artsy antics.
(AP, 1/18/09)
2009 Feb 6, Phil Carey (b.1925),
film and TV actor, died in NYC. He was best known for his role as
business tycoon Asa Buchanan in the ABC soap opera "One Life to Live."
(AP, 2/10/09)
2009 Feb 17, Liberty Media Corp.
said it will invest $530 million in financially struggling satellite
radio company Sirius XM Radio Inc.
(AP, 2/17/09)
2009 Feb 26, Former EastEnders
star Wendy Richard (65), who was diagnosed with cancer in January, died
in London. She best known for her role as Pauline Fowler in the
London-based soap whom she played for more than two decades.
(AFP, 2/26/09)
2009 Feb 28, Paul Harvey (b.1918),
news commentator and talk-radio pioneer, died in Arizona. His staccato
style made him one of the nation's most familiar voices. Harvey had
been heard nationally since 1951, when he began his "News and Comment"
for ABC Radio Networks.
(AP, 3/1/09)(SSFC, 3/1/09, p.A12)
2009 Apr 15, Clement Freud (84), a
grandson of Sigmund Freud, died. He became a well-known writer,
politician and urbane regular on British radio. He was best known from
his three decades appearing on the BBC game show, "Just a Minute," in
which panelists compete to see who can talk the longest without
hesitation, deviation or repetition.
(AP, 4/16/09)
2009 Apr 25, Beatrice Arthur
(b.1922), stage and TV actress, died. The tall, deep-voiced actress
considered herself lucky to be discovered by television executives
after a long stage career that included a Tony award for the musical
"Mame." Her TV shows included “Maude” (1972-1978) and “The Golden
Girls” (1985-1992).
(AP, 4/26/09)(SSFC, 4/26/09, p.B6)
2009 May 4, Dom DeLuise (b.1933),
film and TV actor, died. Though lighthearted onscreen, the prolific
actor was deeply passionate about food, forging a second career as a
popular chef and cookbook author.
(AP, 5/5/09)
2009 May 7, John Furia Jr.
(b.1929), prolific screen and television writer, died. His work
included popular TV series including "Bonanza," "The Waltons," "Hawaii
Five-O" and “The Twilight Zone.”
(www.cbc.ca/arts/tv/story/2009/05/09/furia-obit-screenwriter.html)
2009 May 29, Jay Leno made hosted
his last show at "Tonight," and gave a pre-debut boost to Conan O'Brien
welcoming him as his final guest.
(AP, 5/30/09)
2009 Jun 4, David Carradine (72),
star of TV series "Kung Fu" (1972-1975), was found dead in
Thailand. At first suicide was suspected but a forensics expert said
circumstances suggested that he may have died from autoerotic
asphyxiation. His career had roared back to life when he played the
assassin-turned-victim in Quentin Tarentino's "Kill Bill" (2003).
(AP, 6/4/09)(SFC, 6/6/09, p.E3)
2009 Jun 23, Ed McMahon (86),
loyal "Tonight Show" sidekick, died. He bolstered boss Johnny Carson
with guffaws and a resounding "H-e-e-e-e-e-ere's Johnny!" for 30 years.
(AP, 6/23/09)
2009 Jun 25, Farrah Fawcett
(b.1947), a 1970s sex symbol and TV star of "Charlie's Angels" (1976),
died in Santa Monica, Ca. She had spent almost three years in private
fighting for her life against cancer. The news came just a month after
the airing of "Farrah's Story," a documentary in which she made public
her painful treatments and dispiriting setbacks.
(AP, 6/26/09)
2009 Jun 27, Gale Storm (b.1922 as
Josephine Owaissa Cottle), singer and former film and TV star, died.
Her wholesome appearance and perky personality made her one of early
television's biggest stars on "My Little Margie" (1952-1955) and "The
Gale Storm Show” (1956-1960). Her 1980 autobiography was titled "I
Ain't Down Yet."
(AP, 6/28/09)
2009 Jun 28, Billy Mays (50),
known to television viewers as the OxiClean guy, died of a heart attack
at his Tampa home. The boisterous pitchman aired on commercials
hundreds of times a week nationwide showing off his latest cleaning
product or gadget.
(AP, 6/29/09)(SFC, 6/30/09, p.A4)
2009 Jul 1, Karl Malden (97),
Academy Award-winning actor, died. His intelligent characterizations on
stage, screen and television made him a star despite his plain looks.
His more than 50 film credits included "Patton," "Pollyanna," "Fear
Strikes Out," "The Sting II," "Bombers B-52," "Cheyenne Autumn," and
"All Fall Down." Malden gained his greatest fame as Lt. Mike Stone in
the 1970s television show "The Streets of San Francisco," in which
Michael Douglas played the veteran detective's junior partner.
(AP, 7/2/09)
2009 Jul 1, British actress Mollie
Sugden (86), best-known for her role as Mrs. Slocombe in the television
comedy series "Are You Being Served?" (1972-1985), died.
(Reuters, 7/2/09)
2009 Jul 9, In Venezuela’s top
telecommunications official said President Hugo Chavez's government is
imposing new regulations on cable television while revoking the
licenses of more than 200 radio stations.
(AP, 7/9/09)
2009 Jul 15, Mazen Abdul-Jawad
(32), a Saudi man, appeared on the Lebanese-based LBC satellite TV
station’s "Bold Red Line" program and shocked Saudis by publicly
confessing to sexual exploits. More than 200 people soon filed legal
complaints against Abdul-Jawad, dubbed a "sex braggart" by the media,
and many Saudis said he should be severely punished. On July 31
Abdul-Jawad was detained for questioning. The Jiddah offices of the LBC
station were closed soon thereafter.
(AP, 8/6/09)(AP, 8/9/09)
2009 Jul 17, Walter Cronkite
(b.1916), TV journalist, died with his family by his side at his
Manhattan home after a long illness. On April 16, 1962, he replaced
Douglas Edwards as anchor of the CBS "Evening News." Polls in 1972 and
1974 had pronounced Cronkite the "most trusted man in America."
(AP, 7/18/09)
2009 Jul 25, Chinese state
television launched an Arabic-language channel beamed to the Middle
East and Africa as part of efforts to expand the communist government's
media influence abroad.
(AP, 7/25/09)
2009 Jul 27, A Congo government
spokesman said The Democratic Republic of Congo has suspended
transmission of French broadcaster Radio France International (RFI).
(Reuters, 7/27/09)
2009 Jul 29, Joanne Jordan, film
actress and TV spokesmodel for Hazel Bishop lipstick on “This Is Your
Life,” died. She had also promoted Johnson’s Clear Wax, Dove dish
detergent, Lilt home permanents and Eastman Kodak.
(SFC, 9/25/09, p.D10)
2009 Jul 31, Venezuelan regulators
revoked the broadcast rights of 34 radio stations, deepening a rift
between President Hugo Chavez's government and the private media.
Venezuelan lawmakers approved an election law to redraw voting
districts, a step that President Hugo Chavez's opponents say will give
his party a big advantage in next year's congressional vote.
(AP, 7/31/09)(AP, 8/1/09)
2009 Aug 3, Ecuadorean President
Rafael Correa, announced that "many" radio and TV frequencies will
revert to the state over what he called irregularities in their
licenses. He gave no specifics.
(AP, 8/3/09)
2009 Aug 11, In Brazil police were
reported to be investigating the "Canal Livre" crime TV show saying the
show's host, state legislator Wallace Souza, was suspected of
commissioning at least five murders to boost his ratings and prove his
claim that Brazil's Amazon region is awash in violent crime. Police
also have accused Souza of drug trafficking.
(AP, 8/11/09)
2009 Aug 19, Don Hewitt (86), a TV
news pioneer, died. He created the "60 Minutes" news hour in 1968 and
produced the popular CBS newsmagazine for 36 years.
(AP, 8/19/09)
2009 Aug 26, A Brazilian
prosecutor in Amazonas state accused Wallace Souza, a former police
officer and TV crime show host, of attempting to have a federal judge
assassinated in 2007. Souza was already accused of setting up at least
5 killings to boost his TV ratings. Souza was soon kicked out of the
state legislature and on Oct 5 police issued a warrant for his arrest.
(SFC, 8/27/09, p.A2)(AP, 10/7/09)
2009 Sep 24, Venezuela’s Justice
Minister Tareck El Aissami said the animated television series "Family
Guy." should be pulled from the airwaves because it promotes the use of
marijuana. He said that cable networks that broadcast "Family Guy"
would be fined by Venezuela's telecommunications regulator if they
refuse to dump the program.
(AP, 9/25/09)
2009 Oct 1, David Letterman,
late-night TV talk show host, admitted in an extraordinary monologue
before millions of viewers that he had sexual relationships with female
employees, after a CBS News employee tried to extort $2 million from
him. A person with knowledge of the investigation said the suspect is
Robert J. Halderman.
(AP, 10/2/09)
2009 Oct 14, Israel's foreign
minister has ordered ministry officials to summon Turkey's ambassador
in Israel and protest to him over a Turkish TV series that reportedly
portrays Israeli soldiers murdering children.
(AP, 10/14/09)
2009 Oct 22, Soupy Sales (b.1926),
TV personality born as Milton Supman, died in NYC. He was best known
for his Detroit-based children's television show, “Lunch with Soupy
Sales” (1953). Beginning in October 1959, it was telecast nationally on
the ABC television network. His career was built on some 20,000 pies to
face and 5,000 live TV appearances across half a century.
(SFC, 10/23/09,
p.A8)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soupy_Sales)
2009 Oct 22, In Australia Don Lane
(75), an American song-and-dance man known as "The Lanky Yank,” died.
He was handed a full-time gig on Australian TV in 1975 and "The Don
Lane Show" became a ratings winner, a mixture of cabaret acts,
interviews, comedy skits and a song from the tall host to close each
show.
(AP, 10/22/09)
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