Doug Quick On Line

WAND, Channel 17, Decatur, Illinois

Page 1: The WTVP Years (1953-1965)

Planning for Central Illinois' First TV Station

On April 14th 1953 the FCC announced that the TV Freeze would be lifted on July 1, 1952. The FCC was once again to grant TV licenses to applicants across the country. This time, they would be granting permits for television station owners to build television facilities to broadcast on the new ultra high frequency band. In fact, the new rules would allow for 617 Very High Frequency (VHF), 1436 Ultra High Frequency (UHF) stations and would establish zones with mileage requirements for separation of stations along with establish antenna height standards.

In September of 1952, the first commercial UHF station went on the air in Portland, Oregon on channel 27. It would be less than a year later that central Illinois would not only see it’s first TV station, but it would be one of the new UHF stations on channel 17 broadcasting from Decatur. On December 16, 1952 it was announced that the Prairie Television Company of Decatur, Illinois applied and received permission to build central Illinois’ first TV station. W.L. Shellabarger, who said the facility would be built with a budget of $250,000, headed the company. Even though the FCC approved the original license with the station broadcasting from a 350-foot tower, the license was modified and later approved for a 600-foot broadcasting tower.

By February of 1953, the man who would be General Manager was announced, Harold G. Cowgill. In an interview, said that he hoped to pick up network programs from a microwave link which was under construction between Chicago, Peoria and St. Louis. The link would include a series of microwave towers which would run on a path which would take it west of Springfield. From a repeater there, it would be microwaved to another link which would take it to the studios of the new Decatur station. He also stated that the station would air programs from CBS, NBC, DuMont and ABC. He continued, “TV stations unlike radio, do not need to contract for exclusive use of one network.” He also would soon announce the plans for the building of the actual facility in Decatur.

By March, the station announced the hiring of 28 year old James C. Wulliman, originally of Tuscola as Chief Engineer. He came to Decatur from Connersville, Indiana where he was an engineer at WCNB AM/FM for five years. Before that, he did broadcast engineering for the military, as well as engineering at WDZ, Tuscola in his early days.

On June 6th, 1953 testing began from their new studios and broadcasting site located on Route 47, about one mile south of Decatur (now Southside Drive). The Studio was reported being 95% completed and the tower erection was taking place, having just over 100-feet of it’s planned 600-foot completed. The RCA transmitter had arrived the previous week from the factory in Camden, New Jersey. At that time, a few more facts about the station were released. First of all, the call letters of the new TV station were to be WTVP, which would broadcast a signal of 17,100 watts. It was estimated that the station would reach out between 40 and 60 miles across central Illinois. It’s assumed the call letters WTVP stood for “T V Prairie.”

In June and/or July, Prairie Broadcasting filed an objection with the FCC over the placement of the tower of Champaign's first TV station, WCIA and Midwest Television. Their objection basically stated that the proximity of WCIA's tower to Decatur could pose a hardship to the financial development of WTVP. The term used was "invasion and encroachment" of WTVP's territory. To avoid delays in the construction, another site was chosen by Midwest Television which engineers determined a minimal change in the proposed coverage area for WCIA. That site was the current tower site of WCIA near Seymour along Illinois route 10 west of Champaign.

Central Illiinois' First TV Station Signs On

By 4PM, Sunday, August 16th, 1953, WTVP signed on the air to a central Illinois TV audience in which only about 25-percent of the household TV’s were equipped to receive the new UHF station, and there was still a very low percentage of homes which even had TV in central Illinois. Based on some of the national figures, probably only 25% of the total households had a TV. The reception reports were all favorable, with one of the most distant reports from Champaign-Urbana as being “almost perfect.” The relatively small number of households with TV at the time was probably one very large problem, for Sales Manager Downey Hewey in trying to show advertisers that the station had a large number of viewers in Decatur and across central Illinois.

WTVP would end up being a full time ABC affiliate, as the original plan by GM Harold Cowgill was a bit overstated. The chances of WTVP or any other station being able to pick and choose programming from all of the networks were slim, unless there were no other stations available. In this case, the chances of increased competition from other stations that were already under construction in central Illinois pretty well set the wheels in motion to network exclusivity between these stations. WTVP was one of the original 19 ABC affiliates.

One of the major technical problems for these early TV stations, was the inability to receive live network programming. (See WCIA and the lengths that that facility went through to receive network programming) The microwave system which would give WTVP an opportunity to receive ABC programming, was still in the future. There was no “coax cable” which could take the signal to Decatur. In fact the closest one known to exist went through, of all places, Danville. Based on maps which showed AT & T network TV cables which were in operation in 1951, the Danville connection existed because the cable was routed between Chicago, Danville, Terre Haute then St Louis.

The solution to the network problem, was one which many stations were forced to utilize. They would “bicycle” kinescopes from the network to individual stations for airing. That process, would require the network to film from a TV screen at New York, process the film, process a number of duplicate films of live broadcasts, then ship them to their affiliates. Most of these would air either the next week or perhaps two weeks later than the original broadcasts. So, WTVP would show films and kinescopes of the ABC shows until the microwave link was established. In the meantime, the station would also rely on local live productions and during the early years, WTVP had plenty.

It didn’t take too long for WTVP to finally broadcast ABC programming live from the network. By early October 1953, it’s believed that the link was complete to provide network programming to the Decatur station. This same microwave link also fed stations in Springfield and Peoria. In just a short time, WTVP was able to broadcast CBS programming live from the network as well. How this came about technically is unknown.

By January of 1954, WTVP wasn’t alone in broadcasting to central Illinois. WICS, Channel 20 in Springfield joined the list on September 30th, 1953, and on November 13th, 1953 WCIA, Channel 3 in Champaign was on the air. WBLN, Channel 15 in Bloomington was added by the end of the year and in late December 1953, WDAN, Channel 24 in Danville wrapped up the roster of heritage central Illinois TV stations.

Because of the coverage area of the UHF stations being somewhat limited, compared to that of the lone VHF station, WCIA, the network affiliations fell into place. Due to some shrewd planning and negotiations WCIA ended up in the “cat bird seat” with CBS (primary), DuMont (secondary) and NBC (secondary). Since WCIA’s coverage put Springfield in the fringe, WICS was granted a primary affiliation with NBC(primary) and ABC (secondary) with DuMont (secondary). There were documented occasions, though, in which WICS broadcast programming from CBS and ABC. WTVP with it’s proximity to both WCIA and WICS, was restricted to being an ABC primary affiliate with DuMont (secondary), but again, there were occasions in which WTVP broadcast CBS programming as well. That also placed WBLN and WDAN as being in the ABC column, although it would be a time before WBLN was able to receive ABC network live. Even though it seemed that the network scorecard was set, there was still a number of programs from one network, which would show up on another network’s affiliate. This had to be very confusing for the viewers, as network promotional announcements had to appear from time to time on opposing stations.

"irreconcilable differences" take WTVP off the air in January 1954

In January of 1954, Prairie Broadcasting faced the reality of costs versus revenue. It appears from the series of newspaper articles that describe the goings on at the Decatur station that a major change in policy and direction was about to happen. On January 20, 1954, WTVP didn’t sign on the air. It was said that “personnel and mechanical troubles” kept the station from going on the air that day, and that WTVP was expected to return to the air within 48 hours.

This episode ended up being a rather earth shattering event in the history of WTVP! It was announced that Station Manager Howard “Harry” Cowgill, Chief Engineer James Wulliman and Program Director Paul Taff had resigned. The trio later stated to the press, that they were asked to quit. Meanwhile, Prairie Broadcasting President Shellabarger denied the three managers were asked to quit, but also said that a number of other staff members didn’t show up for work that day either. The AWOL employees included Sports Director Tony Parker, Woman’s Director Deloris Ryan and another person Dick Shaugnessy, whose title was not stated but hosted a show on weekday afternoons (see schedule below).

The absent employees forced the cancellation of a network TV Polio benefit show which was hosted by Gene Autry. A technical problem was also part of the situation, as the station finally returned to the air by evening, but without video, just audio of the broadcast. It isn’t known, if this TV telethon event involved local community members as they often do today. If it did, this would have been an extremely embarrassing event for WTVP.

In that later interview with now former WTVP Station Manager Cowgill, he blamed “irreconcilable differences in views and positions” between himself along with Taff and Wulliman and Shellabarger. It’s also assumed, part of the problem between the station’s department heads and the President of the company was the number of employees, presumably hired by the Cowgill and the department heads. The WTVP staff consisted of 47 employees, more than twice the number of staff members at WCIA or WICS! Shellabarger, in an interview, said that the “stockholders thought we were tremendously over burdened by expense of this large staff and wanted to reduce it.” It ended up being a “black Friday” firing of 20 employees, including News Director James E. Crowell.

A few days later Harold Cowgill showed up again in the headlines, as saying he intended to file an application for Channel 23 in Decatur. He also said he could be on the air with the new station in as little as 90 days. His alliance with his former workers at WTVP was evident when he went on to say he hoped that some of his former WTVP staff would follow him to his new station. Whether or not, the application went forward from there is unknown, but as research continues, there’s no indication it was ever granted or it ever was filed with the FCC.

Another side note, WTVP’s Farm Director, Al Pigg was booked for an appearance on The Names the Same a national TV game show hosted by Robert Q. Lewis from Goodson-Todman Productions. This show would bring on a guest with an unusual name who would have some ironic tie in with their name. A celebrity panel would then guess the name and the irony. In his case, he was a Farm Director, by the name of “Pigg.” He was to appear on the show, broadcast live from New York on February 9th, 1954 at 9:30pm CT. It was fortunate that The Names the Same was broadcast on ABC where it would appear on WTVP.

WTVP Broadcast Schedule from January 22, 1954

2:00 PM Feature Film
3:00 PM Dick Shaugnessy(since he was fired a few days before this, his show probably wasn't on)
3:30 PM A Woman's World(again, with the loss of the hostess, Dorothy Ryan probably was a no show)
4:30 PM Prairie Ranch Home
5:00 PM School Program
5:30 PM Headlines From the Past(old newsreels presumably)
5:45 PM Triple Streak(unknown program-unknown source)
6:00 PM Farm News
6:15 PM John Daley(ABC-news)
6:30 PM Film

7:00 PM Dangerous Assignment(Syndicated)
7:30 PM All Star Theatre(unknown program, unknown source)
8:00 PM Pride of the Family(ABC-filmed sitcom)
8:30 PM Come Back Story(ABC-live from New York)
9:00 PM Hollywood Half Hour(probably "Showcase Theatre"ABC)
9:30 PM Amateur Hour(probably a kinescope from NBC's broadcast)
10:00 PM Weather-Mr. Esquire(unknown who/what is Mr. Esquire?)
10:15 PM News
10:30 PM Sports
10:45 PM Movie

For a look at the WTVP Schedule from later in the year.....June 12, 1954, and how it compared with the schedules of the other stations across central-Illinois click here.

Supplemental Information: It's amazing how I've heard from some of the very early staff members of WTVP from the early to mid 1950's. Among those is the original Sales Manager of the station, Downey Hewey. What follows are some of his recollections:

"I was there for the sign-on, Doug. I recall Bill Pownall being hired to do the opening party with an appearance by Studs Terkel who was doing an early Chicago tv show - he was there to play the piano! Opening rates were super-cheap: my best recollection (remember that at 80 that's not too good) we averaged about $20 prime, $15 daytime locally, with natiional rates at about $40-$50. Don't remember too many advertisers by name anymore: there was a Ford Dealer on the northside who featured a cute young lady doing the spots who was rumored to be an excellent friend of the sales manager - the furniture store that loved Al Pigg's pitches for them - Kelly Potato Chips was there - H Post and Sons. That's about all I recall."

"I moved on to WEEK-TV in Peoria after a year where I made a career error, jumping back and forth from sales to on-the-air as a 'utility man', doing Chick Hearn's sports show and anchoring newscasts when the main guys were on vacation or gone. Circled back to radio after some arguements about my future with the Kerr ownership people. Pulled Senator Dirksen off a toilet seat as a part of our prankster program - my top political achievement! Circled back to radio with WPEO as news director when RnR hit, back to Decatur at WSOY from '58 to '68, winding up as Station Manager."

Mr. Hewey also described the situation of licencing WCIA...

"One thing that might be of interest to all of us Illinoisers: The two newspaper families fought over the WCIA VHF Channel 3 dial position. It looked as if the FCC might take as long as 3-4 years to decide on whether or not the Lindsay-Schaub Newspapers (owners of the Courier in Champaign-Urbana) would win out as the best operators over the D. W. Stevick family (News Gazette)."

"Neither wanted such a long term fight, especially when it would allow the UHFs to establish set penetration and network affiliations. They both also knew that Senator Dirksen might favor either chain at a time when politicians were suspect in their close influence with the commission. Stevick also would probably have to discard WDWS Radio - and get some kind of FCC approval for owning a newspaper and a TV (station) in the same market. They did the wise thing and had (what) was then called a "marriage", typical in many markets the time. The competing interests did a 'Solomon' and cut the grant in half by forming a convenient partnership. Any group who managed to get a VHF grant became instant muillionaires at the time; it was a wise and immensely profitable move."

Mr. Hewey also told of a particular experience on a plane with WCIA owner August Meyers...and the early days of flying Ozark Airlines. I let him tell his story in his own words...

"The Augie Myers story w/Ozark was like this. I was flying from Decatur to Chicago w(ith) a first stop in Champaign. The plane was filled to capacity. This was in the first days of Ozarks existence. Augie got on board across the aisle from me. He seemed nervous, looking around a lot. As we were all buckling up, he adjusted his hearing aids and asked the stewardess if they'd carried "this many passengers before?" She rsponded that the FAA even required that the DC-3 could fly with a full load on only one engine."

"We left the terminal. On the way out, he asked her again: "have you carried this many people before?" She again answered 'yes' and tried to calm him, carefully checking his seatbelt. We got to the end of the runway where in those ancient days they used to rev the engines up as a test before taking off. When the first acceleration came, he unfastened his seat belt, got up and said he wasn't going, he didn't think it was safe. There was a lot of fuss. She rushed to the cabin and told the pilot....the co-pilot came out and talked with him, but he refused to sit down. He went back into the cabin and shortly after we returned to the terminal. Augie got off. We taxied back out to the runway....they reved up the engines again and some wag in the back (I wish I could say it was me) said loudly "Do you suppose he knew something we don't?" There must have been a lot of white knuckles after that - but of course nothing happened. I've often wondered if Ozark ever let him back on a plane."

---Many thanks to Downey Hewey for his contribution!!!

WTVP Programming from 1953-1959

The early days of WTVP consisted of many hours of locally produced programs. Most of these early local TV shows were simple productions covering topics such as women’s general interest features, local church services or presentations. The list of subjects also include local school panel shows covering subjects such as the school calendar of events or school music and drama productions, farm news, children’s participation cartoon shows locally produced variety shows as well as local news, weather and sports.

In 1954 WTVP used the slogan, “The Best is Seen on 17. ” By 1954 WTVP produced shows with titles like “A Woman’s World,” “Prairie Ranch House,” “Uncle Al’s Corral,” “Triple Streak,” “Kim’s Korner,” “Farm News,” “Teen Time,” “Romper Room”, “Fore-d” and “Decatur Churches.” The subjects and hosts, other than the ones listed as part of the title, are unknown and have been lost in history. Among those shows, a little more information is known about “Kim’s Korner” which was hosted by longtime local TV celebrity, Kim Wilson, and “Uncle Al’s Corral” a children’s show with WTVP Farm Director Al Pigg.

A 1954 TV Guide had this description of the new weekday at 4:30 PM local program for kids, Uncle Al’s Corral: “Emcee of the show is Al Pigg, long-time favorite with frontier fledglings. Featured are “Hiram, the Hollywood Horse” and a starling of uncertain ancestry called “Commonsence Bird.” Uncle Al’s Corral is complete with feature length shoot-em-ups.” In just a few years, Al Pigg was listed as the host of Farm News on WICS. It’s assumed he left WTVP by 1957 to go to WICS in Springfield. He did return to WTVP, but the exact date of his return is still unknow.

Also in the Fall of 1954, “Downstate Jamboree” was seen on Wednesday nights at 8:30-9:30 PM on WTVP. It was a local production that was conceived by WTVP Program Director Bob Wright. Once again, according to a 1954 TV Guide, he began to cast the local evening show in March of 1954. He figured that Decatur was right for a western music television show, and evidently he was right. Even after one telecast the station received over 350 pieces of mail from viewers of “Downstate Jamboree.” The stars of the show were “The Rhythm Wranglers.”

Supplemental Information: I received some additional information from Bill Burns, the leader of the "Rhythm Wranglers" mentioned above as one of the original live performers at WTVP. He is the last living member of the group, and saw the mention of his group on this website.

He wrote, "This is Bill Burns. I was the leader of the Rhythm Wranglers on WTVP in the early days of TV in Decatur. All of them are dead now but me & I'm 79 so I'll be joining them again shortly. I was reading your report on the early TV days of WTVP on the internet and saw my name and the rest of the Wranglers. Bob Wright did not discover us in a bar though. I got a sponsor for us to do a show and he had to listen to us. He discoverd us in his own studios after we did the show. We had a contract before leaving the station that day."

"I'm surprised your report didn't mention the country group of Jack Carson, Ralph Drake, Fred Bear & son who were appearing in the same era on your station in Champaign. Jack asked us to join him over there but we figured we had a better setup to do our own thing on WTVP what with the stars from WLS, KMOX and the Midwestern Hayride on WCKY in Cincinnati. We played all the local fairs and the state fair for International Harvester where they did a square dance with tractors & implements were used as partners. The tent they did it in was the largest one on the Fair Grounds with seating capacity of 1000 people. We did 5 shows a day for 9 days (45,000 people) When we'd take a break, we;d go over to the tent where Captain Stubby and the Buccaneers from WLS were appearing and catch their show. That's where I picked up a lot of stuff I used MCing our show".

"Al Pigg only did our show a few times, then we had another guy for a few more, then I started doing it. We were on the air for two years. Well all this prattle isn't of much interest in general but I thought you might enjoy hearing from someone who was there."

Thanks to 70 year old Bill Burns, the last remaining member of the "Rhythm Wranglers" from the early days at WTVP!

They were a trio, when they were discovered in a local bar “in which beer bottles have been used as instruments of combat.” The Wrangles consisted of Bill Burns, Gene Eckes and Rio Diall and have added Leon Brontin. Their lead female singer, Dorothy Hargus, left the group to audition for a Chicago TV Show. Even though the show revolves around the Rhythm Wranglers, there a few guest stars including Red Blachard and Homer and Jethro. The emcee, by the way, is non other than Al Pigg, WTVP’s Farm Director and host of “Uncle Al’s Corral.”

There were other, presumably, local shows on the limited schedule of WTVP in 1954, including “Music Box” (a variety show-the content and source are unknown), “Decatur Churches” (this one was local, but exact content and format is unknown), “The Christian Fellowship Hour” (a local religious show-airing Sunday evenings at 6pm in 1956), “Mayor of the Town” (a local production-again, content unknown), “Studio Party” (hosted by a person named O’Shane-format unknown, content unknown), “The Decatur Story” (a local production-again content, format, host unknown), “Old Scrapbook” (a music program, I assume it was a local production, but nothing is known about this production), and “What’s New” (was hosted by Kim Wilson on Wednesday nights at 10:10 PM, but again format and content is unknown). By 1957, children’s programming included “Jingles Menagerie”(again, nothing is known about this entry to the schedule other than it was for kids), “Music Box Revue”(no information is known about this weekend Saturday night 9 PM music program), and “Channel 17 Calling”(nothing is known about this weekday afternoon local show from 1957). During the late Summer of 1956, WTVP also listed “Little League Baseball” with Earl Hickerson as commentator, probably covering the local Little League Baseball standings from 5:45 to 6 PM on Mondays, with “Kiddie Pops” (listed as a music show) on Tuesdays, “Let’s Play Ball” with Hickerson on Wednesdays, “The Jerry Booth Show” (unknown program, unknown source) on

Thursdays and “Look Ma I’m Dancing”(again, unknown program, unknown source) on Fridays. Also in 1956 Friday nights at 9 PM included an hour long show, assuming locally produced called, “Centennial Hoedown.” One can only assume it was another of WTVP’s Program Director,Bob Wright’s local country music shows.

In 1956 “Kim’s Korner” was increased from a 30-minute show to an hour followed by “Uncle Al and his Friends.” The expanded “Kim’s Korner” would include new segments and special get acquainted sessions for new residents of Decatur but appeared to consist mostly of homemaking segments and recipes. A locally produced musical variety show was included in the 1958 prime time schedule, Monday’s at 7:30pm, called “Frank Monte Show.”

By 1957 WTVP’s News Director was Dale Coleman. His exact tenure span at Channel 17 is unknown, but in the early 60's it appears that he moved on to WICS as news anchor and News Director. But, in 1957 while at WTVP, he offered air time to each of the five candidates seeking positions as circuit judges in the forthcoming elections. Locally produced interviews were offered during the 10pm newscasts starting in mid to late May. The schedule of interviews include Judge Charles E. Keller incumbent of Champaign appeared on May 16th, Piatt County Judge B.E. Morgan appeared on May 21st and Incumbent Circuit Judge Martin E. Morthland of Decatur appeared on May 23rd. Tuscola attorney Harry Pate, the only Democrat was seen on May 28th and Moultrie County Judge Rodney A. Scott appeared on May 31st. Out of the bunch, four would be chosen to serve as 6th Circuit Judge on the elections of June 3rd. It’s unknown which of the four actually won the election.

Also in 1957 WTVP hosted it’s own teen dance show called “TV Record Hop” from 5 to 5:30pm on Saturday’s. It's unknown who hosted this record hop formated program. This pre-dates the WCIA version called “The Hop” which didn’t appear for several more years.

“Romper Room” was a nationally syndicated concept show which was produced locally by stations in virtually every market in the country beginning in the mid 1950’s. It usually featured a half dozen or so, five or six year old children in a classroom setting in which they would do art projects, hear stories read by the teacher and generally learn how to conduct themselves. The phrase “Don’t be a don’t be, be a do be” was used to direct the behavior of the kids. The show would air generally during the mornings around 9am, although in 1957 the show aired on WTVP live at Noon with Miss Ruth as the station didn’t sign-on until the mid day.

It was the golden age of syndicated programming, as the network schedules of the time didn’t cover the broadcast day as they do today. Advertising agencies owned many programming concepts and would produce programming, many of which were thirty-minute low budget productions with B-movie actors. Production companies would sign sponsors to their shows and with a lineup of local affiliate stations they were able to reach households in many markets across the country. Some of these syndicated shows on WTVP included “Abbott and Costello” “This is the Life” (30 minute religious moral dramas which ran through the 1960’s on all three stations in the market), “The Adventures of Kit Carson”starring Bill Williams and Don Diamond (kids western), “David Niven”(dramatic anthology), “China Smith” with Dan Duryea. Syndication also included national religious shows like “A.A. Allen” “Bishop Fulton Sheen” and “Oral Roberts” which were probably purchased by their respective producers. Other syndicated shows of the mid to late 1950’s included: “Stage 7” (drama starring John Loder). Adventure shows included “Orient Express,” “The Dick Powell Theater,” “Sea Hunt”(with Lloyd Bridges) and “Ramar of the Jungle.” World War II newsreels were popular, and WTVP broadcast “Victory at Sea” during prime time Wednesdays at 8PM in 1958 as well as other military and government produced films such as “The Big Picture” throughout the 1950’s. Country and Western music played a big part in the history of WTVP, with not only “Downstate Jubilee” but also the syndicated from Springfield, Missouri “Ozark Jubilee” which starred Red Foley, Brenda Lee, the Marksmen, and Bill Wimberly’s Country Rhythm Boys. In 1956 a Sunday afternoon may have included a kids show produced out of Chicago called “Super Circus” with Ringmaster Claude Kirchner with Mary Hartline. The episode which ran on August 21st, 1956 included The Atomics, tumblers; a clown sketch; Cockattos, valentine birds; Ted and Flo Vallet, baton twirlers; Bernie Hoffman, super menagerie; and the Dresler Brothers, motorcyclists. It’s unknown whether this show was done live or was on film, but WTVP was the only station which broadcast it in the edition of TV Guide that week, which would hint at it being a kinescope, as opposed to coming off the network live.

Off network shows began to appear on local TV station schedules as the backlog of network programs began to increase and WTVP was no exception. Even in 1954, reruns of off network “Dragnet” episodes showed up on the schedules of both WTVP and WICS as “Badge 714.” “The Honeymooners” the 30-minute filmed sit-com ended up on the Sunday prime time schedule at 7:30pm on Sundays during 1958. “The Life of Riley” (off network NBC show) was shown on WTVP as well as “Mama” starring Peggy Wood which appeared Friday nights at 7PM in 1958. Other off network syndicated series on WTVP by 1959 included “My Hero” starring Bob Cummings(an off network NBC show from 1952-53) “Amos and Andy,” “Our Miss Brooks,” “Burns and Allen” and “Hoot Gibson.”

Daytime programming during the first few years of WTVP was fairly sparse. Even though the station broadcast the Don McNeill’s “Breakfast Club” live from Chicago off of the ABC network from 8 to 9AM, the station would sign off or run a test pattern until 3 in the afternoon when programming would resume. It wasn’t until the very late 1950's that the weekday afternoon schedule began to expand inward. By 1958, the daytime schedule would begin to fill out with locally run movies, local interest shows and eventually programming from ABC, such as “American Bandstand” with Dick Clark. Also in that year the late afternoon lineup would include “Bandstand” followed at 5PM with “Fun at Five” (presumably a kids show with cartoons), Local News at 6PM, then the ABC Network News with John Daley. ABC added “Woody Woodpecker” to the afternoon schedule in 1958-59.

There's nothing real notable about a novelty premium given away to customers of a particular business, but this prize relic from the early days of WTVP is one which has
been obviously cared for over the years.

This wallet style notebook was called
"The WTVP Shell Press Pass" included
a couple of ID cards and calendars from
the years of 1958 and 1959.

They were probably given out to various
participants of local TV productions as
well as advertising clients in the mid
to late 1950's.

The pictures are courtesy of the
Bob Wilcott Collection

It’s also interesting to note that the network schedule and the lineup of network affiliates were somewhat blurred during the 50’s. WCIA was regarded as being a CBS primary affiliate, but their schedule included the broadcast of local news at 6:30pm, which shifted the airing of the CBS shows at 6:30pm CT to WTVP. Among the CBS shows which ended up on the WTVP schedule were “Robin Hood” and “Willy”, a 30-minute sit com starring June Havoc and Denny Richards Jr.. On Sunday nights, “Lassie” aired on CBS at 6PM, but was not carried by WCIA. Instead “Lassie” was broadcast on WTVP, while WCIA aired a kinescope “Zorro” which was broadcast on ABC the week before! At least during the Fall of 1954, a program ran Thursday nights at 8:30-9:30 PM CT, "NBC Ford Theater" (named for the sponsor), which was broadcast in central Illinois on all three of the major stations and stations in the surrounding markets: WCIA, KSD-TV(St. Louis), WGEM-TV(Quincy), WTVP and WICS! In 1957, a Saturday afternoon ABC feature called “Five Star Comedy” which starred ventriloquist Paul Winchell and dummy Jerry Mahoney was shown by both WTVP and WICS.

Many shows of one network, ended up being shown either live or via kinescope on other affiliates later in the week. Programming would either come live from a network coax, or would be a kinescope of the network program which would be shipped to the station by mail. It appears that WTVP received it’s CBS programming live from coax at least by 1958, as the station broadcast Saturday afternoon baseball at least in 1958 along with CBS programming at 6:30 PM weekdays. During the baseball season at least in 1958, WTVP broadcast the same CBS game broadcast on WCIA announced by Dizzy Dean and Buddy Blattner. The baseball game would be followed by “All Star Golf” hosted by Dick Danehe and broadcast by stations of all three networks. Why the CBS exclusive affiliation contract allowed this to happen is unknown.

In 1958 ABC broadcast the “Thanksgiving Day Parade” from Detroit sponsored by the J.L. Hudson Department Store. Bob Keeshan as CBS’s Captain Kangaroo anchored the parade coverage on ABC! It was also sponsored by Chrysler Corporation’s “The Forward Look” which was a marketing slogan used to describe their newly designed models which featured a lower body style, and a longer and wider wheel base. The broadcast of this department store sponsored parade went head to head with the annual NBC broadcast of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade in New York.

Above: TV Guide listing with WCIA(3)CBS, KHQA(7)CBS, WTVP(17)ABC, WMBD(31)CBS from 1958. One of the "blurring" of the network affiliate situations that was common during the early days of the 1950's with the simulcast of the Yankees Vs. Tigers game. WAND took the CBS feed of the game along with WCIA.

Local Commercials


This is an in studio produced commercial for an unknown local advertiser, featuring an unknown talent. This photo was taken at the WTVP studios and shows the window looking over the studio from Production Control. For a larger view of PC, see the photo at the far right. (photo courtesy of Elmer Ruple )	Here is the subject of a locally produced commercial, a 1959 Rambler Classic is pictured among a "western" setting at WTVP for the local Nash-Rambler dealer. (photo courtesy of Elmer Ruple)	This photo is a blow up of the Production Control window at the WTVP studios taken from the picture at the far left. It shows the floor director giving cues, the camera #2 "camera man" as well as figures in the Production Control. The identities of all of these WTVP employees are unknown. If you have knowledge of any unidentified persons pictured, please contact me via e-mail! (photo courtesy of Elmer Ruple)

Crane Potato Chips was a local product, produced in Decatur. Crane Potato Chips were best known as the distrbutor of the Major League Baseball collectable pins. Each pin represented a Major League team from both the American and National League. It was quite an acoomplishment if you as a young boy had collected an entire set of pins. You would receive 2 pins wrapped in celephane within each double bag of Crane Potato Chips. Now that you've gotten my background on the product.....here's the production of a WTVP commercial for Crane Potato Chips featuring an unknown spokesperson and a cast of four local children on a set constructed within the studios of WTVP. The "slate" pictured abov right identifies the commercial video taping took place on July 27, 1961. At least a couple of these kids are about my age....if you know who they are, or if you're one of them.....please contact me. (photos courtesy of Elmer Ruple)

Schlitz Beer was one of the regional-national accounts which depended on local TV commercial production at WTVP. Here a bottle of Schlitz was photographed for a local commercial. (Top middle picture): Here is one of a series of photos taken at the Decatur American Business Club(now AMBUCS) and the Decatur Home Builders Association Home Show during the Spring of 1961 or 62. WTVP produced it's local news from the Home Show live and obviously featured a live commercial during the broadcast for what must have been a major client, Schlitz Beer. Behind the podium are pictures of various ABC shows which were broadcast on WTVP during the 1961-62 season. The pictures include, starting at the top left: The Detectives, Starring Robert Taylor", Gardner McKay in "Adventures in Paradise", "American Bandstand" "77 Sunset Strip" "The Roaring 20's" "Wagon Train" "My Three Sons" and at the lower right "The Real McCoys." (photo courtesy of Elmer Ruple )		During the Spring of 1962, WTVP produced a series of live remote broadcasts from the American Business Club and Decatur Home Builders Home Show which took place at the Armory. Here is a segment with a demostration of something relatively new, a remote controlled motorized garage door opener from Overhead Door of Decatur. The identities of the three gentlemen are unknown. If you know who any of these people are, please contact me via e-mail! (photo courtesy of Elmer Ruple)

Very early TV commercials existed in several different formats. They were broadcast as live productions, or film slides, or filmed productions with either recorded or live announcer audio. The assumption is made that virtually all of the local commercial productions have been lost to the ages. There may be a few slides, or film clips, kinescopes or audio transcriptions that have been stashed into a box by an account executive, or master control operator over the years....with most being discarded at sometime during the last 45 years. But....there’s also a chance that someone still has some material which was aired as part of a commercial production of WTVP like those above, or any other broadcast station and doesn’t know what it is....or what it’s purpose was. If you know of any material which exists from an earlier era of broadcasting, please turn it over to your local historical society...explain what the material is, and if there’s any question of it’s historical value or worth, have them get in touch with me! I’ll explain it to them!

Probably one of the most remembered local sponsors on WTVP/WAND over the years was local Oldsmobile dealer Paul Weidenbacher. Mr. Weidenbacher, dressed in his trench coat, sunglasses and dress hat would describe a new Oldsmobile or used car from the parking lot behind the TV station. His commercials on WTVP during the 1950's, 60's and 70's made his name and face one of the most recognized in central Illinois. He, evidently, saw the need for local TV to build his business, by his effort to drive one of his vehicles to the TV station EVERY day during the dinner hour for a live TV commercial

Other major local advertisers through the early 1960's included: El Bauer Chevrolet, Cohen Furniture, Good’s Furniture, TV Tom, Crane Potato Chips, H Post and Sons, The Millikin Bank, Tollie Foods, Heinkel Packing and Dawson and Wikoff Funeral Home. There were alot more, but those were the one's which come to mind.

A New Manager...more wattage

It was also in late January 1954 that Prairie Broadcasting announced the hiring of a new Station Manager, Steve Pozhay of Neenah, Wisconsin, where he held a position at WNAM-TV. His hiring took place as WTVP was looking to the future and an increased coverage area. Another new key staff member was announced during the Winter of 1954 to take control of the engineering of the station. H.F. Abfalter was then the new Chief Engineer.

In early July 1954, a modification of the station’s licence allowed the station to increase it’s power. A new transmitter was ordered from RCA which would take the power of the station from 17,000 watts to 213,000 watts. It was stated that it would increase the radius of the signal from 40 miles to nearly 75 miles.

By October 30th, 1954, WTVP was on the air with 213,000 watts from their 600 foot tower on Southside Drive in south Decatur. Reception reports came in from Paris (83 miles), Farmer City, Champaign-Urbana, Springfield, Effingham and Gibson City. WTVP reported they were watchable in 140,000 TV homes across central Illinois. By this time, the station continued to air a mixture of local shows of interest to farmers, housewives, children, along with local news and shows from ABC.

There's more on the history of WTVP at the bottom of this page......

Above is a staff photo from the 1950's. In the center of the photo is longtime WTVP/WAND weatherman Loren Boatman. The others were from far left front in sweater: Gene Bell(Sales), Dale Coleman(News Director), behind Boatman's left sholder is Bill Brackett(Operations and Program Director), W. L Shellabarger is on the far right-front row(Station Manager), behind him is Jan Jones-Bell(Traffic manager-wife of Gene Bell).
thanks to Bruce Frey for his contribution of identifying the Bells and Bill Brackett.

If you should know of any of the otehr people, please e-mail me at dougquick @ dougquick.com

WTVP was the first station central Illinois station to sign on the air; August of 1953. It was a race with WCIA, WICS, WBLN and WDAN all trying to be first. WTVP's studios were the first in the market to be constructed to be a TV station. All of the other stations facilities were converted from other uses. Channel 17 still occupies it's original studio location on Southside Drive on Decatur's southwest side. The original tower still stands at the rear of the building.

The first television broadcast of a University of Illinois athletic team at home, was by WTVP in Decatur on December 9, 1953 from Huff Gym. A portable microwave set up was used to send the backhaul feed of the game to a site near Bement, where it was transmitted to a downtown Decatur tall building (probably the Millikin Bank) and relayed again to the WTVP studios either by cable or another microwave jump. The top picture is of the broadcast booth at Huff Gym from the original game broadcast. The bottom picture is of the "very modern" looking ad for the broadcast from the Urbana Courier.

"The Mickey Mouse Club" premiered on ABC and WTVP in 1955 where it continued to 1959. It also was broadcast in reruns throughout several years in the 1960's as well. The show featured talented kids, many of which were stars at teens and adults through the 1960's, who sang, danced, acted and supplied fill material between other Disney features and cartoons. The "Mickey Mouse Club" was one of the most popular shows on ABC to that time and helped to finance the construction of the new "Disneyland" theme park in California.

"The Mickey Mouse Club" was the first time Walt Disney entered the TV industry. The children's show aired every afternoon, after school, and was hosted by around 40 pre-teen boys and girls, and supervised by two adults. Former song and dance man, Jimmy Dodd and a rather large co-host, Roy Williams, who went by the name of "Moose." The show premiered on October 3rd, 1955 after a TV special introduced the opening of "Disneyland" in July of 1955. The show ran for 360 episodes, all within 3 years! Mouseketeers included: Bobby Burgess (later a dancer on Lawrence Welk Show), Annette Funicello (on a number of Beach movies of the 1960's, along with episodes of the "Love Boat), Cubby O'Brien, Doreen Tracy and Lonnie Burr. One of the more popular features within the show was the serial "The Hardy Boys" which starred Tim Considine (who later starred on "My Three Sons) and Tommy Kirk.

The ABC series consisted of several rotating themes: Frontierland, Fantasyland, Tomorrowland and Adventureland, all named for areas of the original theme park. It was the "Davy Crockett" segment of the Frontierland rotator whch was the big hit. It starred Fess Parker(later "Daniel Boone") and Buddy Ebsen(later "The Beverly Hillbillies") which made a coon skin hat a must have for youngsters in the mid 50's. The theme was sung by Bill Hayes("Ernie Kovacs Show" and later "Days of Our Lives") and was a big top 40 hit.

It was the beginning of the longest running prime time series in network history. It started as "Disneyland" and was the first major effort by a Hollywood movie studio into producing TV shows. This ended up being a major coup for ABC, as all the other networks had tried to work with Walt Disney but wouldn't come up with the exorbitant terms demanded by Disney. Walt needed the network money to finance his amusement park in Anaheim, California. Of course, both the TV series and the theme park were big successes It's rather ironic, that now ABC is owned by Disney.

This was one of ABC's original shows having aired during 1950 and 1951. "Dick Tracy" also appeared in syndication for a number of years and ran on WTVP during the 1950's. This was based on the Chester Gould's famous comic strip I remember reading in the Chicago Tribune. This, by the way, was not related to the weekday afternoon children's show on Channel 17 during the early to mid 1960's.

This ABC western series was based somewhat on a real life character, where the lead character carried a knife and not a gun. Scott Forbes was "Jim Bowie." This one ran on ABC from 1956 to 1958 on Friday nights. Even though, it was preempted most of the time on WTVP, it did show up occasionally.

"The Beulah Show" came from radio as a spinoff from "Fibber McGee and Molly." She was TV's first black person in a title role. The first actress to play the role was Ethel Waters, until a complete cast change placed Louise Beavers in the title role beginning in 1952. The show ran on ABC from 1950 until 1953. It probably appeared at least during the first month or two on WTVP.

"Your Kaiser-Frazer Dealer presents....'The adventures of Ellery Queen'" This version of the classic franchise ran on Dumont and later on ABC from 1950 to 1952. This was one of ABC's original shows, and it's probably debatable whether it actually aired on WTVP. I include it here as WTVP was one of the original ABC affiliates....and the question is...'what or who was Kaiser-Frazer? The answer: A brand of automobiles. The brand was founded by Henry Kaiser and Joseph Frazer which formed the brand after World War II. Frazer was the former president of "Willys" which manufactured Jeeps used in WWII. It was the number one selling independent brand in 1947 and 48. By the mid 50's, the company went belly up.

"The Stu Erwin Show" was in all probablity the first bumbling dad situation comedy of the 1950's. It ran on ABC from 1951 to 1955. Stars were Stu Erwin, playing himself as a high school principal. His real life wife June Collyer played his wife with a pre-Dobie Gillis Sheila James as daughter Jackie. The series had several titles including "Life with the Erwins" and later "The Trouble with Father." This was probably one of the first shows which aired on WTVP.

"Dollar A Second" premiered on DuMont in 1953, but moved to ABC during the 1954-55 season. It was a game/quiz show hosted by Jan Murray and was somewhat similar to "Truth or Consequences" in which people would answer silly questions to win money, while another event was taking place outside the studio. The contestant had to quit before the outside event was completed in order to win the money. If the outside event was over before they quit, they lost their winnings. The outside event the contestants were racing against were things like the arrival of a specific train, plane or the birth of a baby which was unknown by the contestant, while the home and studio audience watched on a remote hookup. "Dollar a Second" bounced around the networks schedule having aired on DuMont, NBC and ABC from 1953 to 1957. By the way, the address on the graphic is still a TV studio!

"The Lone Ranger" was one of the original TV western series, it actually began on the Mutual radio network in the 1930's, making it's way to TV as a series of 30 minute films. The first episode told the story of how the Lone Ranger got his name and became a crimefighter. The Lone Ranger was played by Clayton Moore and John Hart. Pictured is Clayton Moore (the most remembered) and Jay Silverheels as Tonto. This is another of the probable first shows which aired on WTVP. "The Lone Ranger" also ran on weekends, as well as on weekday afternoons in syndication during the 1960's.

"Sky King", a rather unique modern day western was very "western" in it's feel. There was still a lot of transportation supplied by horseback, but Skyler King, played by Kirby Grant piloted "The Songbird" a twin engine Cessna from the "Flying Crown Ranch" which was located in Arizona. His niece and nephew lived with him played by Gloria Winters and Ron Hagerthy. "Sky King" aired on ABC from 1953 to 1954, then later aired on NBC weekends, and eventually on CBS during the early 60's as part of it's Saturday morning children's block. This was probably one of WTVP's original shows.

"Make Room for Daddy" began on ABC right after WTVP signed on the air. It was one of TV's longest running family situation comedies. The series experienced a number of changes including a name change to "The Danny Thomas Show" and the role of wife-mother, originally played by Jean Hagen changed to Marjorie Lord in 1956. It was explained that Jean Hagen's character had died and Danny remarried. Danny Thomas starred with the above actresses, with children played by Sherry Jackson, Penney Parker, Angela Cartwright ("Lost in Space") and Rusty Hamer. Other regulars included Hans Conried, Sheldon Leonard, Pat Harrington, Jr. ("One Day at a Time") and Sid Melton. This is another of the original shows from the 1953-1954 season, the premiere season for WTVP.

"Don McNeill's Breakfast Club" was broadcast on ABC and WTVP during the early years of 1953-54. The show originated from Chicago and starred McNeill and Sam Cowling. The show was the reason WTVP signed-on for just one hour from 8am to 9am, then signed-off or ran a test pattern until 3 or so in the afternoon.
I'm still trying to get a picture.

"The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp" was another ABC western series based on a real life character. This series starred Hugh O'Bryan as the famous Marshall. This ABC series was one of the network's most popular shows of the time. It ran on ABC from 1955 to 1961.

"Topper" began on CBS during the 1953-55 seasons, moved to ABC from 1955 to 1956, then on to NBC during 1956. It starred Anne Jeffreys and Robert Sterling as ghosts Marian and George Kirby who came back to "haunt" and guide Cosmo Topper played by Leo G. Carroll. It ran on ABC on Monday nights at 6:30 to 7PM CT.

"Abbott and Costello" a syndicated 30-minute comedy appeared on WTVP during 1954. The show starred movie vaudville, radio and movie comedy duo Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. The show also starred Hillary Brooke, Sid Fields and Joe Besser as "Stinky." It was produced from 1951-53 with a total of 52 episodes.

"The Rifleman" ran on ABC from 1958 to 1963. The stars were Chuck Connors and Johnny Crawford as father and son homesteaders trying to make a living. Johnny Crawford became a teen idol during the run of this series, while Chuck Connors, a former pro baseball player, continued with a TV/Film career. This was probably one of the most popular 30 minute western series running many years in reruns.

"The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet" was one of TV's longest running situation comedies. It aired on ABC from 1952 to 1966. It also came from radio with other actors playing the role of David and Ricky. "Ozzie and Harriet" aired on ABC and WTVP from 1953 until 1966. The stories were simple, many times based on everyday events and activities of the family members. A true, "show about nothing" for the 50's and early 60's.

This is the 'ABC Circle A' logo which was used from 1957 to 1962. It was modified by Paul Rand in 1962 and was then considered "ultra modern" at the time. An example of the new Paul Rand design is at the bottom of this page.

The real genius behind this entertainment empire was Ozzie Nelson. A seeming easy going guy, it would have been hard to believe that he was a definite type A personality, who utilized his family to build a TV career for everyone in his family. Even his brother was on staff as a producer/writer. Sons, David and Ricky were part of the show along with real life wife, former big band singer Harriet Hilliard. In fact Ozzie was a big band leader during the 30's and 40's. Other cast members included the wives of the sons, June (David's wife) and Kris (Rick's wife). Pictured above are Ozzie and Harriet along with the other members of the family from a Christmas show in 1964. Pictured is David and June with daughter, as well as Kris and Rick with a very young Tracy, who has an acting career as well. The show filmed 435 episodes, 26 of which were in color. This show even ran on other network affiliates, when no ABC station served some markets. Sponsors included Kodak and Pet Milk.

"Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond" aired on ABC during the 1959 to 1961 seasons. This was sort of a "Twilight Zone" which ran on ABC. It was hosted by John Newland (sort of like Rod Serling). This one featured actual case histories of supernatural phenomena and the occult. It aired on ABC on Tuesday nights from 9 to 9:30pm. Sponsor: Alcoa Aluminum.

"Leave it to Beaver" actually premiered on CBS in 1957 where it stayed until the 1958-59 season when it moved to ABC to finish out it's run to 1963. The classic sitcom ran for years in syndication and is a regular today on TVLand. The stars: Barbara Billingsley, Hugh Beaumont, Tony Down and Jerry Mathers as "The Beaver." "Leave it to Beaver" also ran on WTVP in syndication in late afternoons, after school time in the 1960's.

"The Donna Reed" Show, was one of ABC's longest running family sitcoms having aired from 1958 to 1966. Another of the shows which had a strong youth appeal, along with Donna Reed and Carl Betz, it starred Paul Peterson and Shelly Fabares. Both Peterson and Fabares had hits in the top 40 making them both teen idols. "The Donna Reed Show" also ran on ABC daytime during the 1960's.

"Man With a Camera" starred Charles Bronson as Mike Kovac a former WWII camara man, now a free lance photographer working for newspers, insurance companies, police departments and private individuals who wanted a filmed record of a crime or other event.

"The Real McCoys" was developed by Irving and Norman Pincus and financed by Danny Thomas Productions. Originally turned down by NBC, this was the beginning of "rural comedies" having been blasted by the critics, this became a long running hit for ABC. It ran from 1957 to 1963 on ABC as a first run, but later moved to CBS, where it continued in reruns. It starred Walter Brennan, Richard Crenna, Kathleen Nolan and during the final season Butch Patrick (The Munsters).


"The Honeymooners" all 39 episodes were in syndication by 1958, where it aired on Sunday evenings at 7:30 PM on WTVP. This classic TV series starred Jackie Gleason and Art Carney as the New York apartment dwellers. The series continues to be the most popular sit-coms of all time.

"Woody Woodpecker" was aired by WTVP and ABC weekday aftrnoons at 4:30pm in 1958-59. Obviously, it was not shown in color. The show was hosted by the character's creator Walter Lantz.

"Robin Hood" was actually a CBS series which aired in 1958 on Monday's at 6:30 PM. WCIA ran local news during that half hour, so WTVP, having a coax feed for CBS, aired the show instead.

By the late 1950's there was a crop of off network filmed series which were syndicated to local stations. "Mama" was one of those. It was originally on CBS during the early 1950's. It ran on WTVP on Friday nights at 7PM in 1958.

"Burns and Allen" with George and Gracie went to local TV station syndication in the late 1950's, where it popped up on WTVP.

The off network CBS network series went to syndication by the truck load in the late 1950's. The now controversial "Amos and Andy" would be popular in syndication for just a few short years, when it was removed from circulation..

Yet another of the CBS off network weekly series, which ended up on the WTVP schedule, "Our Miss Brooks" starred Eve Arden and Richard Creanna.

"Lassie" the CBS network series was passed over by WCIA when it scheduled "Zorro" which was an ABC series in the time period. So...WTVP picked up "Lassie" live from CBS in 1959 for it's Sunday night airing at 6 PM. It later was shown on WCIA.

Here's what was on....

From 1953 to 1956: You Asked for It, Frank Leahy Show, Walter Winchell, Orchid Award, Peter Potter Show, Hour of Decision, Jamie, Sky King, Of Many Things, Junior Press Conference, Big Picture, This is the Life, Cavalcade of America, Make Room for Daddy, U.S. Steel Hour/Motorola TV Theatre, Name's the Same, Inspector Mark Saber, At Issue, Through the Curtain, America in View, Wrestling from Rainbo, Lone Ranger, Quick as a Flash, Where's Raymond, Back That Fact, Kraft Television Theatre, Stu Erwin Show,Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, Pepsi-Cola Playhouse, Pride of the Family, Comeback Story, Showcase Theatre, Paul Whiteman's TV Teen Club, Leave It to the Girls, Talent Patrol, Music at the Meadowbrook, Saturday Night Fights, Fight Talk, Flight #7, Martha Wright Show, Dr. I.Q., Break the Bank, Come Closer, Voice of Firestone, Boxing from Eastern Parkway, Twenty Questions, Elgin TV Hour, Stop the Music, Disneyland, Masquerade Party, Enterprise, Mail Story, Treasury Men in Action, So You Want to Lead a Band, Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, Ray Bolger Show, Dollar A Second, The Vise, Compass Dotty Mack Show, Stork Club, Chance of a Lifetime, Original Amateur Hour, Life Begins at Eighty, Medical Horizons, Warner Brothers Presents, The Life and Times of Wyatt Earp, DuPont Calvalcade Theatre, MGM Parade, Star Tonight, Down You Go, Outside U.S.A., Ethel and Albert, Ozark Jubilee, Lawrence Welk Show, Tomorrow's Careers, Omnibus, Conflict, Cheyenne, Broken Arrow, It's Polka Time, Navy Log, Ford Theatre, Circus Time, Wire Service, Adventures of Jim Bowie, Cross Roads, Treasure Hun and the Ray Anthony Show. This list is from the network schedules at the beginning of each season. Just like today, there were probably cases in which shows were replaced by others not listed here. It would be almost impossible to name them all. Plus, as stated earlier, the network lines were a bit blurred as some ABC shows ended up on WCIA and WICS, while several CBS shows ended up on WICS and WTVP.

"The Untouchables" was a controversial series was a big winner for ABC beginning with the 1959 season. Called the most violent TV series ever(even more so than the westerns of the day), it also made enemies of the Italian Americans who objected to the stereotypical use of Italians as gansters and killers. This show was produced by Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz's Desilu Productions at the old RKO movie studios. The series was produced by Quinn Martin who went on to produce another winner for ABC "The Fugitive." It was introduced as a segment of "The Desilu Playhouse" and went on to become a hit series starring Robert Stack as Elliott Ness. Others in the cast included: Jerry Paris("Dick Van Dyke Show," director of many "Happy Days"), Abel Fernandexz and Nick Georgiade. It aired on ABC from 1959 through 1963, spending most of the time on the Thursday schedule at 9PM CT. It also ran in syndication on WTVP as well during the mid to late 1960's.

"The Untouchables" was the original Quinn Martin series that came from the Desi-lu studios. Other Quinn Martin series produced for ABC included "The New Breed"(starring Leslie Nielson), ""Twelve O'Clock High"(profiled on this site), "The Fugitive"(also profiled on this site), "The Invaders"(profiled later), "The FBI"(also profiled later) and "Dan August"(starring Burt Reynolds). All of these shows were part of the ABC schedule from 1959 through 1974. A Quinn Martin production had the distinction of having each segment prefaced with an "ACT One"...."Two" etc. then at the end of the show, an "Epilog."

Old Blue Eyes, "Frank Sinatra" showed up on the ABC schedule during the 1957 to 1958 season. After his success in the movie "From Here to Eternity" he was a hot property. ABC paid him $3-million, and game him carte blanche, for the opportunity to have them in the lineup. Frank, wanted to do a split formated series of shows with a third of them musical variety, third as dramas with him as the star, and the last third as a narrator of dramas with other stars. It didn't work, although he probably took the money.

It meant a hit song for Johnny Cash...."The Ballad of Johnny Yuma", "The Rebel" premeired on ABC in 1969 and ran to 1961, before moving to NBC for it's last season in reruns. The late Nick Adams was the star

"The Bob Cummings Show" was originally in prime time on CBS and NBC during it's run from 1955 to 1959, but was shown on WTVP as "Love That Bob" from 1959 to 1961 as part of the ABC daytime schedule.

"The Lawrence Welk Show" occupied a couple of time slots on the ABC schedule during a time in the 1950's. His "Lawrence Welk Show" ran on Saturday nights, and his "Top Tunes and New Talent" show aired on Mondays and Wednesdays during the 1956-59 seasons. His original show began in 1955 and continued on ABC until 1971. Pictured is from the 1958 season when it was called "The Dodge Dance Party." More about Lawrence Welk in Part 2.

"The Detectives", starring Robert Taylor" premeiered on ABC in 1959 where it ran for two years. The third year it aired on NBC. Screen star Robert Taylor starred in this one with Tige Andrews(later of "The Mod Squad") and Adam West(later of "Batman"). "The Detectives" aired on Friday nights on ABC following "77 Sunset Strip." "The Detectives" also was syndicated and picked up for weekends during the early 60's on WTVP.

An early network vehicle for up and coming comic, Johnny Carson. "Who Do You Trust" was the beginning of the TV partnership of Carson and Ed McMahan for ABC. "Who Do You Trust" ran weekday afternoons on ABC and WTVP during the late 1950's.


In the mid 1950's Warner Brothers seeing their movie properties not making the profit that it once had, saw a profit center on the small screen. WB entered in an agreement with ABC to supply them with an exclusive number of series, filmed like theatrical movies, for TV. Many of the actors were young, again going for the youth audience that ABC savored for years, making stars of most. Many of the stars ended up being teen idols during the late 50's into the mid 60's.	"77 Sunset Strip" was the original in a long lineup of "hip" detective series all produced by Warner Brothers for ABC. This one starred Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Roger Smith, Edd Byrnes (as "Kookie" who became a teenage idol), and Louis Quinn. Taking place in Hollywood, it guest starred a bevy of other WB contract players of the time and spawned a bunch of spinoffs including those listed here. 77 Sunset Strip ran on ABC from 1958 to 1964.	"Hawaiian Eye" was just like "77 Sunset Strip" but it took place in Honolulu. Being that Hawaii just made statehood, it was a perfect match for ABC and WB. This one premiered on ABC in 1959 and ran until 1963. The stars were: Connie Stevens ("Wendy and Me"), Bob Conrad ("The Wild Wild West"), Anthony Eisley, Grant Williams, Troy Donahue and Poncie Ponce. Even though the show took place in Hawaii, it was filmed in Hollywood. This show later ran in syndication on WCIA during the mid 1960's. Capure from Good Life TV Network	James Garner, Jack Kelly and Roger Moore starred as Bret Maverick, Bart Maverick, Beauregard Maverick. "Maverick" was a western with a sense of humor. The stars sometimes appeared together, but often times in separate stories. Several stories parodies other western TV series making this one an audience favorite and a hit for ABC from 1957 to 1962. This also ran in syndication a number of years as part o the weekday afternoon schedule on WTVP/WAND.

"Sugarfoot" starred Will Hutchins as Tom Brewster a young correspondence school law student who was a rather inept cowboy, hence the name "Sugarfoot" which is a step below "Tenderfoot." It ran on alternate weeks with "Cheyenne" during the 1957-58 season and later on alternate weeks with "Bronco Lane." This also ran in syndication on WTVP weekends during the early 1960's.	"Surfside 6" was another of the cookie cutter detective series spunoff from "77 Sunset Strip" in 1960 where it remained until 1962. This one starred Van Willaims (later "The Green Hornet") as Ken Madison along with other stars Lee Patterson, Troy Donahue and Diane McBain. "Surfside 6" took place in Miami, but was filmed in Hollywood. Capure from Good Life TV Network	Other WB series running on ABC included "Cheyenne" starring Clint Walker. This was the first of the WB roster of shows on ABC having premiered in 1955, running through 1963. It began as one of three rotating series under the umbrella title of "Warner Brothers Presents." Another WB series in the rotation was "Bronco" which aired from 1958 to 1962 and starred Ty Hardin as Bronco Layne. "Bronco" came about when Clint Walker, of "Cheyenne" quit his series in 1958. Walker returned in 1959. "The Roaring 20's" is pictured above, and was another of the Warner's series. There's a complete listing of Warner Brothers TV productions which were on ABC below. "The Roaring 20's" was an adventure series set in the 1920's at a newspaper in New York. It included the use of newsreel footage from the period. Stars were Rex Reason, Donald May, Dorothy Provine, Gary Vinson (later in McHale's Navy), John Dehner and others. This was another of the Warner Brothers produced series.	"Bourbon Street Beat" was the first of the cookie cutter detective series spunoff from "77 Sunset Strip." This one starred Van Willaims (before he went to Surfside 6), Andrew Duggan, Richard Long ("The Big Valley", "Nanny and the Professer") and Arlene Howell. BSB was the least successfull having run on ABC from 1959 to 1960. Many of the characters of "77 Sunset Strip," "Surfside 6," and "Bourbon Street Beat" all appeared on each other's shows from time to time to cross promote the entire group of shows. Capure from Good Life TV Network
"Warner Brothers Presents" was the first televison program produced by Warner Brothers Pictures for ABC during the 1955-56 season. It was a rotational formatted series with weekly episodes drawn from three different series. Each one was losely based on other Warner Brothers properties such as the movie "Kings's Row," "Casablanca," and "Cheyenne." Each episode was actually only 50 minutes or so, including commericals. The rest of the hour was filled with promotional material from Warner Brothers Pictures. This was the second such arrangement ABC had with major motion picture studios. The first being with Disney. It was also the year ABC had another arrangment with MGM with the broadcast of "MGM Parade." Many of the original "MGM Parade" shows can now be seen occasionally on Turner Classic Movies. According to the Museum of Broadcast Communications the participation of WB in the ABC programming lineup gavie the network enough prestige to attract the ad dollars of General Electric, Liggett and Myers (tobacco company) which were two of the biggest advertisers in broadcasting at the time. The sole hit of the series was the segment "Cheyenne." Other Warner Brothers series of the era included "Colt '45" (starring Chris Colt), "The Lawman" (starring John Russell and Peter Brown-later of "Days of Our Lives"), "The Alaskans(with Roger Moore),"The Dakotas" (with Larry Ward), "Temple Houston" (starring Jeffrey Hunter and Jack Elam), and "The Gallant Men" (starring Robert McQueeney and William Reynolds-later of the FBI). There were also comidies and sit coms including "Room For One More" (starring Andrew Duggan and Peggy McCay), "Wendy and Me" (described on the website-starring George Burns and Connie Stevens) and "No Time For Sergeants" (described on the website-starring Sammy Jackson).

Here are several end credits from various ABC shows.
From the left: "The Jetsons(?)," "Top Cat," "Bugs Bunny Show"("This is It"),
an early ABC logo on an unknown program
and the "ABC TV Presentation" from an episode of "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet."

(Left) is the news lineup of WTVP in 1959. Note the appearance of Dale Coleman on WTVP. He later would move to WICS in Springfield as News Director. He is pictured with an unknown sports anchor and long time weatherman Loren Boatman. (TV Guide ad courtesy of J.R. Evans)

Here's what was on....

From 1957-1960: You Asked for It, Maverick, Bowling Stars, Open Hearing, American Bandstand, Guy Mitchell Show, Bold Journey, Voice of Firestone, Lawrence Welk's Top Tunes and New Talent Show, Cheyenne, Sugarfoot, Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, Broken Arrow, Telephone Time, West Point Story, Disneyland, Tombstone Territory, Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, Walter Winchell File, Wednesday Night Fights, Circus Boy, Zorro, Real McCoys, Pat Boone-Chevy Showroom, O.S.S., Navy Log, Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, Adventures of Jim Bowie, Patrice Munsel Show, Frank Sinatra Show, Date with Angels, Colt 45, Keep It in the Family, Country Music Jubilee, Lawrence Welk's Dancing Party, Mike Wallace Interviews, The Lawman, Encounter, Bold Journey, Anybody Can Play, This is Music, The Rifleman, Naked City, Confession, Lawrence Welk's Plymouth Show, Donna Reed Show, Patti Page Show, Leave it to Beaver, Rough Riders, Traffic Court, Man with a Camera, 77 Sunset Strip, Dick Clark Show, Lawrence Welk's Dodge Dancing Party, Sammy Kay's Music from Manhattan, The Rebel, The Alaskans, Dick Clark's World of Talent, Bourbon Street Beat, Adventures in Paradise, Bronco Lane, Philip Marlowe, Alcoa Presents, Keep Talking, Court of Last Resort, Hobby Lobby Show, Hawaiian Eye, Gale Storm Show, The Untouchables, Take a Good Look, Man from Blackhawk, Robert Taylor: The Detectives, Black Saddle, High Road, Jubilee U.S.A., The Islanders, Surfside Six, Peter Gunn, Bugs Bunny Show(This is It), Stagecoach West, Hong Kong, Guestward Ho!, My Three Sons, Matty's Funday Funnies, Harrigan and Son, The Flintstones, Law and Mr. Jones and The Roaring Twenties. Plus, as stated earlier, the network lines were a bit blurred as some ABC shows ended up on WCIA and WICS, while several CBS shows ended up on WICS and WTVP. By 1959 or so, things started to lineup fairly strong along network lines. With the addition of WCHU in Champaign the network affiliation exclusitivity became easier to accomplish.

We generally think of "Peter Gunn" as being an NBC show, but during it's final season in 1960-61 it was on ABC on Monday nights, as it was on NBC. "Peter Gunn" was probably best known because of the great jazz score which was by Henry Mancini. I have a few episodes in my collection and at least judging by the one's I have, this show has been extremely over rated.

In 1961 ABC broadcast a short series of 30 minute specials with Ernie Kovaks which included many scenes from kinescopes, filmed and taped clips from his many years of his TV history, as well as new material. It won a 1961 Emmy Award. This video is an exerpt from an episode which was a winner of the Directors Guild of America Award. The last special in the series aired after his untimely death in January of 1962.

The Raymond Chandler creation "Philip Marlowe" was featured in this ABC series which ran from October 1959 through only March of 1960. One thing you'll note is the relatively "modern" approach to the production of this series. From it's mod opening credits to it's music score it would be obviously copied by other TV shows during the 1960's. The short lived ABC series starred Philip Carey as the dectective hero.

"My Three Sons" aired on ABC from 1960 to 1965 before it moved to CBS for another 7 years. Fred MacMurray was the dad, and sons included Tim Considine (see Mickey Mouse Club), Don Grady, Stanley Livngston. The housekeeper was "Bub" played by William Frawley until his death in 1964.

A color graphic from Harvey Films cartoon which ran on ABC in the late 1950's. One of the best known characters was Casper the Friendly Ghost along with Baby Huey, Little Dot, Little Lotta, Wendy the Good Little Witch, Little Audrey, Herman and Katnip and Richie Rich. It was known as "Matty's Funday Funnies." Matty, by the way was the boy mascot for "Mattel Toy Company." His name was Matty Mattel. This series also included "Beany and Cecil" which also aired on ABC in 1962 and on Saturday mornings in the 1960's.

"Adventures in Paradise" ran on ABC from 1959 to 1962 and starred Gardner McKay as the Captain of a schooner in the South Pacific. The name of the boat, "Tiki" and included the stories of the various people who hired the Tiki to take them somewhere. That's "Adventures in Paradise" star Gardner McKay on the TV Guide cover below with the red background. "Adventures in Paradise" also ended up in syndication and became a part of the weekend schedule of WCIA on late Sunday nights, after the 10PM news in 1964.

"Zorro" was one of the products of the Walt Disney Studios which starred Guy Williams as the swashbuckling hero in southern California when it was under the control of the Spanish in the early 1820's. Pictured is Guy Williams as Zorro in the mask and Gene Sheldon as Bernardo. This was in interesting situation as when "Zorro" first appeared on ABC, it didn't appear on WTVP but it did appear the following Friday night on WICS and a week later on WCIA. It had to show up on WTVP eventually because I remember watching it on Channel 17, but it's unknown when. Research continues. Capture from The Disney Channel

"Ben Casey" (left) starred Vince Edwards in the title roll, with Sam Jaffe ad Dr. Zorba, Bettye Ackerman, Harry Landers and Nick Dennis. Others who joined the cast along the way include Stella Stevens, Franchot Tone, Jim McMullan and Marlyn Mason. The success of other medical dramas owe their success to this classic TV medical drama. This often paradied series was one of the few hits of ABC during it's run from 1961 to 1966.

"Bachelor Father" began on CBS in 1957 and starred John Forsythe(later of "Dynasty"), Noreen Corcoran and Sammee Tong. As the title said, Bentley Craig(Forsythe) was a wealthy Hollywood lawyer, who became a legal guardian to neice Kelly after her parents were killed. This sitcom spent the 1957-59 seasons on CBS, then moved to NBC from 1959 to 1961. The final season was spent on ABC in 1961-1962.

"The Law and Mr. Jones" starred James Whitmore as Abraham Lincoln Jones, an attorney who fought for his clients. After this 1960-61 series was cancelled, angry viewers sent thousands of letters in support of the show. It returned in April 1962 where it ran until October of 1962


Jack Lord starred as "Stoney Burke" who was a professional rodeo rider in quest of the "Golden Buckle." The ABC series aired during the 1962-63 season. It should also be noted that Stoney didn't earn the "Golden Buckle" award which is given to the World's Champion Saddle Bronco Rider. The show also starred Robert Dowdell, Bruce Dern, Bill Hart and Warren Oates. Above is the opening of the show.	The "Patty Duke Show" ran on ABC from 1963-66 and starred Patty Duke along with William Schallert, Jean Byron and Paul O"Keefe. This video includes the opening credits and end credits from the sitcom.


WTVP News Director Dale Coleman on the news set taken in the 1960-62 era. (photo courtesy of Elmer Ruple)	WTVP News Anchor Phil Petty. (photo courtesy of Elmer Ruple)	WTVP Sports Director Dave Lauerman. (photo courtesy of Elmer Ruple)

Loren Boatman was the original weatherman for WTVP and later with WAND until the mid to late 1980's. Here he is seen in photographs from the early 1960's.

(Picture far left courtesy of
The Bob Wilcott Collection)


WTVP Election Coverage from probably 1962. It might have been a November election, but the tote boards reflect a local election, which could have taken place during the Spring of 1962. Offices shown are for Town Clerk, Justice of the Peace, Constable, Assistant Supervisor and Park Commissioners. Pictured is WTVP News Director Dale Coleman with Phil Petty, along with an unknown camera man. The camera pedistal was different than that was used in earlier photos. This style of dolly pedistal was common from the 1960's into the 1980's. The other camera was still mounted on a roll-a-bout tripod. The cameras were still RCA TK14 models. More on the TK14 below. (photo courtesy of Elmer Ruple)

"Space Angel" was a cartoon series in syndication which aired on WTVP in the early to late 1960's. It featured the Synchro-Vox lip technique. Simple animation, but the lips moved. It came from Cambria Productions. It ran in short 5 minutes episodes in multi parts. Scott McCloud, by the way was Space Angel....along with Crystal and Taurus. Originally seen in black and white, were later broadcast in color on channel 17, when they added a color camera to their film chain in 1965.

Click on PLAY to hear the opening theme for "Space Angel" and the story was called "The Encoder." Actually recorded from WAND in early 1966.

"Bing Crosby's Christmas Special" This is from one of "der Bingle's" shows around Holiday time. This snapshot was probably from a show in the early 1960's. Not to be confused by his sit com "The Bing Crosby Show" of the 1964-65 season.

"Burke's Law" starred Gene Barry, Bary Conway and Regis Toomey. He drove a Rolls Royce and was a L.A. Chief of Dectectives. Anyone think he was "on the take?" He lived in a mansion, had a chauffeur and was a babe magnet. Realistic?? Not hardly! It aired from 1963 to 1966, produced by Four Star Productions. He later became a secret agent...the series name was changed to "Amos Burke: Secret Agent."

"The Outer Limits" was a rather interesting, and sometimes terrifying science fiction anthology series which aired on ABC and WTVP from 1963 to 1965. "There is nothing wrong with your TV set....we are controlling the transmission...we can control the vertical. We can control the horizontal. For the next hour we will control all that ou see and hear and think. You are watching a drama that reaches from the inner mind to .....The Outer Limits." The sets were rather dark, and simple for the most part, and sometimes real scary. This was, in my opinion the scariest show ever on TV..... It was produced by Leslie Stevens. This is not to be confused with the recent syndicated series....these early episodes from the early 60's are incredibly frightning.


This picture is a bit of a mystery. First of all, where was it taken? It appears to be some kind of a distribution of somthing....was it a polio vacination? I remember myself doing this with small cups of a "sugar cube" type of vacination. The line of small children with other adults would be consistant in such activities with the uniformed attendents. But, what exactly is the anchor shaped wall feature and why are the cameras pointing the other way? Anyone know?? The other interesting thing are the shirts being worn by the crew members. Very nice for remote broadcasts. Anyone know who are crew members are? If you have any answers....please e-mail me! (photo courtesy of Elmer Ruple)		This was probably taken at the studios, but once again the circumstances of the picture is a bit of a mystery. If you know who any of these WTVP staff members are, please contant me via e-mail. (photo courtesy of Elmer Ruple)
		This WTVP studio camera appears to be an RCA TK-14 monochrome studio camera. According to RCA literature, for you "techies" this is a 3-inch image orthicon TV camera with the following features: New advanced yoke design obtains higher resolution, Peak electrical focus maintained by stablilized I.O. control voltage, High quality viewfinder with 7-inch kinescope, Thermostatically controlled forced ventilation of coil and tube, Protection circuit for deflection failure, "Overscan" swithc for warm-up and rehersal, Transister amplifier intercom system, Short set up time, Plug-in blower, pre-amp and yoke assemblies. (photo courtesy of Elmer Ruple)



		This TV classic started as a local dance show in Philadelphia on WFIL-TV. What was originally called "Bandstand" on WFIL, was called "American Bandstand" when it went network on ABC in 1957. It ran on weekday afternoons, and even ran on prime time for a while in 1957. This was broadcast live from Philidelphia for a number of years before moving to L.A. Some of these pictures are from the 50th Anniversary of "American Bandstand" which was broadcast on ABC and WAND. Dick Clark Productions also produced "Where The Action Is" which was a part of the ABC weekday afternoon schedule in the mid 1960's.

A realistic WWII TV series, "Combat" featured a platoon of U.S. Army soldiers in Europe after D-Day at the end of WWII. The series ran on ABC Tuesday nights, 6:30 to 7:30pm CT from 1962-67. The show starred Rick Jason, Vic Morrow, Pierre Jalbert, Jack Hogan, and others.

Another military comedy in the vain of McHale's Navy, this time it had a western theme. "F-Troop" starred Ken Berry, Forrest Tucker, Larry Storch, Melody Patterson, Frank deKova, Don Diamond, James Hampton, Bob Steele and Joe Brooks. They were on a military outpost after the Civil War. Ken Berry played the camp commander, bumbling Captain Parmenter. This one ran from 1965 to 1967, the first season in black and white, the second season in color.

"Wagon Train" was one of the orginal adult "Epic" TV westerns having premiered on NBC during the 1957-62 seasons in a 60-minute format. The show moved in September 1962 to ABC where it remained through 1965. During it's ABC run it went to a 90 minute form during the 63-64 season. The show while it was on ABC starred Terry Wilson, Frank McGrath, Scott Miller, John McIntire, Michael Burns and Robert Fuller. The original stars Ward Bond and Robert Horton left the show, when it moved to ABC. "Wagon Train" also ran on WTVP in syndication during the late weekday afternoons for a time in the 1960's.

"The Adams Family" was a TV series based on a cartoon created by Charles Addams for "The New Yorker" magazine. This sometimes macabre series premeired on the same season as "The Munsters" on CBS. This Friday night series ran from 1964 to 1966. Stars were John Astin ("I'm Dickens-He's Fenster"), Carolyn Jones, Jackie Coogan, Ted Cassidy, Blossom Rock, Ken Weatherwax and Lisa Loring.

Inger Stevens played Katy Holstrum, the "Farmer's Daughter" with Congressman Glen Morley played by William Windom. This ABC sitcom premiered in black and white in 1963, then went to color during it's last season in 1965-66. This show "jumped the shark" when the Farmer's Daughter became the Congressman's Wife on November 5, 1965. This series was based on the move with the same title which starred Loretta Young.

It was 1960, and during the same fall season, ABC premiered "The Flintstones" and "The Bugs Bunny Show: This is It." The show featured the entire Warner Brothers cartoon catalog. After it left prime tme...it continued as a Saturday morning staple on the other networks as well. It's the longest running Saturday morning series in the history of TV. It ran on Tuesdays at 6:30PM from 1960 to 1962. It was not broadcast in color on ABC, although the show itself was produced in color. Most of the catalog of cartoons were produced as pre-movie features in theaters.

Walter Brennan from "The Real McCoys" finally made it big....this time he's a millionaire, in "The Tycoon" a cantankerous and eccentric Chairman of the Board who solved problems his own way. The one season show ran from 1964 to 1965 on Tuesday night, 8PM CT on ABC and WTVP. The show also starred Van Williams (before "The Green Hornet").

"Wendy and Me" starred Connie Stevens("Hawaiian Eye") and George Burns("Burns and Allen") in a similar role of his late wife, Gracie. This sit com also starred Ron Harper(later "Land of the Giants") and J.Pat O-Malley. This short lived series, was incredibly cute and included some of the same production concept that Burns used, when he would address the audience about the the situation on the show. This was produced by Warner Brothers Television.

"The Flintstones" was one of ABC's first animated shows and was probably one of the most successful cartoon series of Hanna Barbera and brought spin off after spin off and even inspired a similar show "The Jetsons." Basically, it was "The Honeymooners" with cartoon characters living in the stone-age. It was considered an adult cartoon, with the first season actually sponsored by Winston cigarettes. Fred and Barney were actually seen smoking Winstons! It later started to take on a much more youthful attitude, with the story lines becoming softer in theme. Celebrties were featured as paradies of them selves, always with "...stone" or "...rock" in their names. Ann Margaret became Ann Margrock and the rock group "The Beau Brummels" became the "Beau Brummel-stones." The childless couples ended up with kids...and the spin-offs began during the late 60's and well into the 70's....and 80's. The original voices were provided by.... Fred: Alan Reed (also a talented ex-radio actor), Wilma: Jean VanderPyl, Barney: Mel Blanc... and Betty : by Bea Benaderet(of "Petticoat Junction" who continued until her death in 1964), later by Gerry Johnson. They also did paradies of current TV shows with the neighbors, "The Gruesomes" who were similar to the "Adams Family" and "The Munsters." "The Flintstones" was one of the first ABC shows broadcast in color in the fall of 1962, but wasn't seen on WTVP/WAND in color until 1965. When it did finally appear in color, along with the standard ABC color intro, it included sub-text which read "A WTVP Color Presentation." It ran on ABC from 1960 through 1966. Until "The Simpsons" it was the longest running animated TV series for many years.
Captures below from The Cartoon Channel's BOOM Network.


	This was one of my personal favorites. "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" was a sci-fi series, which took place on the US atomic sub "Seaview" and starred Richard Basehart, David Hedison, Robert Dowdell, Terry Becker, Henry Kulky and was created and produced by Irwin Allen (see "The Time Tunnel"). This sci-fi series ran from 1964 to 1968. This was based, loosely, on the movie of the same name and used the same sets. Irwin Allen was known for coming in well under budget on all of his projects. By utilizing stock footage and re-using sets he saved money and time. "Voyage..." ran on ABC on Monday night it's first season and Sunday's, 6PM CT on the remaining season. The final two seasons were in color.

Here's what was on....

From 1961-65: Maverick, Follow the Sun, The Lawman, Bus Stop, Adventures in Paradise, Expedition, Cheyenne, The Rifleman, Surfside Six, Ben Casey, Bugs Bunny Show, Bachelor Father, Calvin and the Colonel, New Breed, Alcoa Premiere, Steve Allen Show, Top Cat, Hawaiian Eye, Naked City, Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, Donna Reed Show, Real McCoys, My Three Sons, Margie, The Untouchables, Straightaway, The Hathaways, The Flintstones, 77 Sunset Strip, Target: TheCorruptors, Matty's Funday Funnies, Roaring Twenties, Leave it to Beaver, Lawrence Welk Show, Fight of the Week, Father Knows Best, Jetsons, ABC Sunday Night Movie, Voice of Firestone, Howard K. Smith, Stoney Burke, Combat!, Going My Way, Our Man Higgins, McHale's Navy, Gallant Men, I'm Dicken's-He's Fenster, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Show, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, The Travels of Jamie McPheeters, Arrest and Trail, 100 Grand, Outer Limits, Breaking Point, Greatest Show on Earth, The Fugitive, Patty Duke Show, Price is Right, Channing, The Jimmy Dean Show, Edie Adams Show, The Sid Caesar Show, Burke's Law, Farmer's Daughter, Hootenanny, The Jerry Lewis Show, Broadside, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, No Time for Sergeants, Wendy and Me, Bing Crosby Show, The Tycoon, Shindig, Mickey, Bewitched, Peyton Place, Jonny Quest, Addams Family, Valentine's Day, Twelve O-Clock High, The F.B.I., Legend of Jesse James, Man Called Shenandoah, F-Troop, Gidget, Big Valley, Amos Burke-Secret Agent, O.K. Crackerby, Long Hot Summer, Tammy, Honey West, King Family Show, Hollywood Palace and ABC Scope. Once again, the shows listed here were the shows which began each season. As shows were cancelled they were replaced by others, probably not listed here unless they lasted into the following season.

"Top Cat" was the second of the Hanna-Barbera animated shows to end up on the ABC schedule....this time in 1961 where it aired for one year. Top Cat was loosely based on "The Phil Silvers Show" or "Bilko" and was a similar con man much like Phil Silvers. Even the voice was close....this time furnished by Arnold Stang with Maurice Gosfield. Other voices were by Marvin Kaplan(later of "Alice"), Leo DeLyon, John Stevenson("Jonny Quest") and Allen Jenkins. Top Cat was a rather sophisticated leader of a gang of alley cats. They lived in trash cans and took phone calls on the police phone located in the alley. The cop on the beat was Officer Dibble. Reruns of "Top Cat" aired on ABC Saturday mornings from 1962 to 1963 and later on NBC in the late 1960's. It's now seen on BOOM the cartoon network late night. It was also broadcast on ABC in color, but not many ABC affiliates had color capability. Color was still far in Channel 17's future.
Captures from The Cartoon Channel's BOOM Network.

"Peyton Place" was a trend sitting TV continuing drama which ran not once a week....but twice....and sometimes three times from 1964 to 1969. It's cast was huge....over 50 regular actors/actresses over it's run including the ones pictured here....Ryan O'Neil as Rodney Harrington and Mia Farrow as Allison Mackenzie. Dorothy Malone received top biling as Constance Mackenzie. It was loosely based on the book by Grace Metalious and the movies of the 1950's. Mia Farrow, in real life....married Sinatra and left the series after the first two seasons. Meanwhile O'Neil stayed with the series for it's entire run. The series logged in at 514 episodes, none of which are seen today. The series went color in 1967.

"The Jetsons" premiered on ABC in 1962 and ran for one season...but it was the beginning of an animated franchise which is still seen today. It was on the opposite end of the time spectrum from "The Flintstones." This time, it was a family of the future....the 21st century. The Jetson family head, George(voiced by George O'Hanlon-a one reel film comedian/actor of the 1940's), wife Jane(voiced by Penny Singleton-who played Blondie Bumstead in the Dagwood movies of the 1940's), daughter Judy(voiced by Janet Waldo) and son Elroy(voiced by Daws Butler). Other voices were supplied by Mel Banc, Howard Morris(of "Your Show of Shows" and "The Andy Griffith Show"), Herschel Bernardi, Howard McNear(of "The Andy Griffith Show") and Frank Nelson(of "The Jack Benny Show"). George was employed by Spacely Sprokets owned by Cosmo Spacely(the inspiration of Cosmo Kramer-of "Seinfeld"). The series ran for years as a Saturday morning series on ABC, CBS and NBC. In the mid 1980's, an additional 41 new shows were produced bringing the total to 65 episodes. Like "The Flintstones" it was also broadcast in color on ABC, although WTVP wasn't able to broadcast in color yet.
Capture upper right from The Cartoon Channel's BOOM Network.


"McHale's Navy" is still one of absolute favorites....I have most of the episodes recorded from the old "Ha!" channel many years ago. This comedy series had an interesting beginning....as a drama. The series starred Academy Award winning actor Ernest Borgnine as Lt. Commander Quinton McHale, an experienced sailor of the south Pacific who was drafted into the US Navy as a PT Boat Captain with a bunch of unruly crew members. They were joined by Ensign Charles Parker played by Tim Conway on Taratupa, their base island in the South Pacific. Other crew members include: Carl Ballantine, Gary Vinson, Billy Sands, Edson Troll, Gavin MacLeod, John Wright and a secret Japanese POW played by Yoshio Yoda. The base Captain Bingamton was played by Joe Flynn who was always trying to "get the goods" on the crew members of the PT 73. His aid was played by radio and TV actor Bob Hastings. The series went through a change during the last season as they were all transfered to Italy. The antics of Tim Conway and Joe Flynn were stupid, but funny none the less. This series also brought forth three feature films: "McHale's Navy," "McHale's Navy Joins the Air Force" and the latest, a loosely based version, "McHale's Navy" which starred Ernest Borgnine in a cameo role as Admiral McHale. This series aired on ABC from 1962 to 1966. It was never produced in color. It also showed up in the mid to late 1960's in syndication as a weekday 4PM CT series on WTVP....later WAND. Notice the white dot on the title screen capture of "McHale's Navy." It was taken from a 16mm print of the series which cued the operator that a commercial break was just a few seconds away. By the way, the show was later syndicated after being COLORIZED in the early 1980's, but is rarely seen today. It's too bad.....because it's funny...sometimes absurd...but it's of my all time guilty favorites ever!

"No Time for Sergeants" was a TV version of the Mac Hyman hit play and classic movie which starred Andy Griffith, Nick Adams and Don Knotts. This one starred Sandy Jackson as Airman Will Stockdale. Others included Hayden Rorke(later in "I Dream of Jeannie"). This was one of the Warner Brothers productions.

Monday:
6:30PM Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
7:30PM No Time for Sergeants
8:00PM Wendy and Me
8:30PM Bing Crosby Show
9:00PM Ben Casey

Tuesday:
6:30PM Combat!
7:30PM McHale's Navy
8:00PM The Tycoon
8:30PM Peyton Place
9:00PM The Fugitive

Wednesday:
6:30PM Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
7:00PM Patty Duke Show
7:30PM Shindig
8:00PM Mickey
8:30PM Burke's Law
9:30PM ABC Scope

Here are some TV Guide full page ads from ABC. This gives you an idea as to how the ABC season in the Fall of 1964 shaped up. In my opinion, was a winner with several future classic hits. Notice the only series in color were the two Hanna Barbera series, "The Flintstones" and "Jonny Quest." WTVP was owned by Metromedia Broadcasting at the time.

Saturday:
6:30PM Outer Limits
7:30PM Lawrence Welk Show
8:30PM Hollywood Palace

Sunday:
6:00PM LOCAL
6:30PM Wagon Train
8:30PM Broadside
9:00PM ABC Sunday Night Movie

Thursday:
6:30PM The Flintstones (in COLOR)
7:00PM Donna Reed Show
7:30PM My Three Sons
8:00PM Bewitched
8:30PM Peyton Place
9:00PM Sophia Loren in Love(Special)
Jimmy Dean Show(Regular series)

ABC's Wide World of Entertainment....

Fall of 1964.

Friday:
6:30PM Jonny Quest (in COLOR)
7:00PM Farmer's Daughter
7:30PM Addams Family
8:00PM Valentine's Day
8:30PM Twelve O'Clock High
9:30PM LOCAL

"The Patty Duke Show" aired on ABC from 1963 to 1966 and starred Academy Award winning film star Patty Duke in a duel role as cousins Patty and Cathy Lane. Patty Lane was a typical teen whose father was played by William Schallert. Cathy Lane was the daughter of Patty's dad, who was a secret agent of sorts in England. Cathy spoke with a British accent and was very prim and propper. Others appearing in the series were John McGiver, Jean Bryon and Paul O'Keefe. Pop artists would make guest appearances such as Bobby Vinton, Chad and Jeremy and Frankie Avalon among others. A bit of trivia....Patty Duke's stand in for those double back of the head shots....Rita McLaughlin.

"Jonny Quest" another of the Hanna-Barbera Productions of the 1960's. This one was totally different from the others, in that this one was somewhat realistic.....at least based in some facts....sorta. This one was an adventure series with sci-fi themes with an 11-year old Jonny Quest(voiced by Tim Matheson-of "Animal House" fame) along with his father, Dr. Benton Quest(voiced by John Stephenson and later by Don Messick), and his assistant Race Bannon(voiced by Mike Road) and Asian friend Hadji(voiced by Danny Bravo). This ABC series aired in COLOR for one season in 1964-1965. It also ran on Saturday mornings on CBS from 1967-70, ABC from 1970-72 and NBC from 1979-80. Later, much like "The Jetsons" additional episodes were produced to add to the original 25 or so episodes. This one was broadcast in color on WTVP as it was preceeded by the ABC color introduction with text identifying it as "A WTVP Color Presentation."
Captures from The Cartoon Channel's BOOM Network.

Another WWII drama, this time with planes. "Twelve O'Clock High" featured the 918th Bombardment Group of the US 8th Air Force. This series was loosely based on the Gregory Peck movie of the same name. The series starred Robert Lansing, John Larkin, Frank Overton and Paul Burke. It aired on ABC and WTVP from 1964 to 1967. This was one of many ABC shows produced by Quinn Martin. See more about Quinn Martin Productions above with "The Untouchables."

"The Les Crane Show" was ABC's attempt at a late night talk show against NBC's "The Tonight Show." Les Crane was a San Francisco talk show host that was very popular there. He conversed with his audience, sometimes was a bit controversial and went for a variety of guests including William Buckley, Groucho Marx, and others. Les left the series after 4 months and was replaced by several hosts including Dave Garroway, Pat Boone and others. Crane returned several months later joined by game show guest Nipsy Russell. The show originally aired from New York, then moved to Hollywood right before it left the air....about one year after it's premiere. The biggest problem with this series, was that local ABC stations, like WTVP chose to video tape the 10:30 PM broadcast and air it after the end of the 10:30 PM movie, most of the time after Midnight. The same problem befell the Joey Bishop Show as well.

"The Bowery Boys" movie series was a regular staple of WTVP....later WAND during the 1960's. It showed up on weekends...as well as weekday mornings at 7:30. During the mid 1960's, channel 17 aired a color version of a country music show, "Ranch Party" with classic performances....followed by "The Bowery Boys." Many of these BB episodes were re-edited down to 60 minutes(including commericals) from their original 80 minutes lengths.

"and starring Miss Barbara Stanwyck" as Victoria Barkley on "The Big Valley." Another of the "adult" westerns of the 1960's, this one ran from 1965 to 1969 on ABC and WTVP...later WAND. It also ran in syndication as a weekday 5PM lead-in to local news at 6PM.

"Honey West"(left) starred Anne Francis Jr. as TV's first female priviate detective. It premiered in black and white in 1965 with a 30-minute format. The show also starred John Ericson as her assistant. It ran on ABC Friday nights during the 1965-66 season.

Where as NBC was the first TV network to broadcast at least some of it's schedule is color, ABC was generally the second. The first ABC series to be broadcst in color was "The Flintstones" and "The Jetsons" in the Fall of 1962. Even through "The Flintstones" were produced in color even during the first season (1960-61), the series wouldn't appear in color for at least one year, and only in a few markets where TV stations could broadcast the network in color. ABC was the first TV network to broadcast an animated product in prime time. WTVP wouldn't broadcast in color until 1966. Along with the Warner Brothers dramas (see above), the Warner deal also had ABC airing it's animated product as well with "The Bugs Bunny Show: This is It." The animated cartoon producer with the most success during the late 50's and early 60's, was Hanna-Barbera Productions.

Hanna-Barbera Productions were formed when MGM shut down it's animation department in 1957. From 1957 through the 1980's, Hanna-Barbera produced some of the most beloved cartoon characters on television. "The Ruff and Reddy Show"was the first series, showing up on NBC in 1957. William Hanna and Joseph Barbera made a deal with Screen Gems to bring working capitol to the animators and give Screen Gems distribution rights. The company was criticized for it's less than detailed animation technique. H-B supplied programming for all three networks, and also for syndication. Hanna-Barbera Productions was behind "Loopy De Loop," "The Flintstones," "Huckleberry Hound Show," "Yogi Bear Show," "Quick Draw McGraw," "Wally Gater," "The Magilla Gorilla Show," " Top Cat," "Jonny Quest," "The Jetsons," "The Wacky Races" and the opening credits to "Bewitched." All of the mentioned series were all produced before 1965.

"The Soupy Sales Show" was syndicated on WTVP....later WAND for weekday afternoons. It was originally on ABC from January 1962 to April 1962 on Friday nights. It's short life, led to a syndication deal in 1964 which kept the popular performer on local TV for several years and on WTVP weekday afternoons. His supporting characters included puppets White Fang, Black Tooth, Pookie and Hippo. Probably one of the more "adult" kids shows, it was visited at one time by "Rat Packers" Sammy Davis Junior and Frank Sinatra to particpate in a trademarked pie fight. A great show!

"Jimmy Dean Show" ran on ABC on various nights from 1963 to 1966. It was probably best known for giving Jim Henson one of his first breaks as "Rowlf" was one of his original creations, one of the 1st Muppets.

"Dennis the Menace" ran weekday afternoons on WTVP. It was the off network run of the series from the comic strip. Jay North played Dennis the Menace, while supporting characters were Gloria Henry as his mother, and Herbert Anderson as his dad. "Hey Mr. Wilson!" was played by long time radio actor Joseph Kearns until his death, when he was replaced by Gale Gordon

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WTVP changes ownership for the first.... and second time

On April 2nd, 1958, it was announced that the controlling interest in Prairie Television was to be transferred to a Chicago group. George A. Bolas, who was listed as a Chicago advertising executive, headed the investment group. His partner was unnamed, and the purchase price was not announced at the time either. W.L. Shellabarger was the initial controlling stockholder and with this sale, he would continue to be stockholder and would now act in “an advisory capacity.”

By May 29th, of 1958 the FCC approved the sale and the purchase price was stated as being $200,000. The approval also stated Shellabarger’s holdings at 5.3% of Prairie Television.

The ownership merry-go-round continued for WTVP once again in 1960. On January 14, 1960 WTVP and Prairie Television was sold to Metropolitan Broadcasting of New York for an undisclosed amount.

WTVP gets it's first Video Tape Recorder/Player

	Here WTVP under the ownership of Metropolitan Broadcasting receives it's first RCA Video Tape Recorder/Player. This 2" tape machine was four rack panels wide, and would record and playback in glorious black and white. Note the tube accesiblity from the front of the unit. This RCA TRT-1B unit was part of the RCA offerings from 1959, it appears to be a "new" unit(not used), so this photo series was probably taken during the late Fall, Winter or early Spring of 1959-1960. Pictured in the upper left photo, is more than likely General Manager Robert King(in the truck). The gentleman in the white shirt with rolled up sleeves has been identified as Wayne Semple. The others pictured are unknown. Once again, if you know the identities of anyone in any pictures, please contact me via e-mail. (photos courtesy of Elmer Ruple)

WTVP's ties to the DuMont Television Network

According to the Wikipedia, Metromedia was the company, which arose from the ashes of the former DuMont Television Network. In 1955 the company shut down its TV network operations, but continued to operate TV and radio stations. Among DuMont’s stations were WABD in New York, WTTG in Washington D.C.. In 1956, the company spun off WABD and WTTG to shareholders of the DuMont Broadcasting Corporation. Meanwhile, in 1957 DuMont Broadcasting changed its name to the Metropolitan Broadcasting Corporation as a public relations move to clean the slate of any reference to the former DuMont television failure.

	At the time of the WTVP Prairie Television acquisition, Metropolitan owned two radio stations in New York (WNEW AM/FM) as well as four other TV stations located in New York City (WABD), Washington D.C. (WTTG), Cleveland (WHK-TV) and Stockton, California (KOVR). Metropolitan Broadcasting in 1959 would eventually own WTVH, Channel 19 in Peoria as well. The year of 1960 saw the addition of WIP-AM/FM in Philadelphia along with a name change from Metropolitan Broadcasting to Metromedia. After the name change the company continued to add to it’s inventory of radio and television stations with the addition of KMBC AM-TV in Kansas City and in 1963 KTTV and later KLAC AM/FM in Los Angeles. They were also owners of the production facility known as Metromedia Square in Los Angeles, where Truth or Consequences and the original Merv Griffin Show was produced in the late 1960's. Metromedia owned WTVP for a relatively short time from 1958 to 1965 when it was sold to LIN Broadcasting. More on that in Part 2.
Movies were a big part of the schedules of local TV, and WTVP was no exception...in fact it would probably be regarded as "the movie station" although WCIA would be a close second. Many of the WTVP movies were "B" movie- movie packages....but occasionally a few good ones would show up.

In 1964, here was "the four with the score" onWTVP. (staring at top left: Bob Billman(News Director-main anchor), Greg Liptak(morning news anchor), Bill Wohlforth(Sports Director-anchor), and Loren Boatman(Weather Anchor).	"An Evening With Dennis Day" was a syndicated half hour musical special with the former Jack Benny Show tenor, Dennis Day. Probably a St. Patrick's Day special. By the way, the "17" logo was used during the Metromedia era of ownership....the same style of font used for WTVH, Channel 19 in Peoria as well also owned by Metromedia.

WTVP expands it's coverage area with the addition of W-70-AF

The problems of being a UHF broadcaster within a larger geographic market than a TV station could cover became evident pretty quickly for Metromedia. WCIA with it’s VHF signal could cover virtually all of the central Illinois market, with Springfield being the only grade B-C signal community. WTVP could claim that Springfield, Champaign and certainly Danville were communities in its coverage area that was receiving a grade B-C or no signal at all, in the case of Danville. The biggest concern was with Champaign-Urbana. The location of the transmitter site on Decatur’s south side, made getting a reliable signal across Decatur and into Champaign-Urbana a real struggle for viewers there. Add that to the fact that Champaign-Urbana was so dominated by WCIA and it’s VHF signal and it was easy to see that something extraordinary was going to have to be done to add those Champaign-Urbana viewers to the potential viewership of WTVP. The technology of having TV transmitters at several million watts of power into antennas which would be over 1,000 feet high was still in research and development and was not an option for several more years at WTVP.

It was all about money and attracting households to a stations potential audience and delivering them to national and regional advertisers. Those advertisers wouldn’t even consider a TV station as an advertising vehicle unless the TV station covered the entire market. The coverage area of WCIA was at a maximum.... That was the goal of WTVP....and later WICS with WICD/WCHU. It was imperative that WTVP maximized the number of households which could be delivered a class A signal of the station. The logical community to add was Champaign-Urbana.

(above: newspaper picture from the Urbana Courier with W-70-AF tower and transmitter building)

On May 23, 1961 Metromedia and WTVP and WTVH’s Vice-President and General Manager Robert King announced that an application had been filed to bring ABC and WTVP programming to Champaign by use of a UHF transmitter and tower which would broadcast on Channel 77. The “translator” station would pick up WTVP’s broadcast on channel 17, and then rebroadcast that signal on channel 77 from a 300-foot tower located northwest of Champaign-Urbana.

By June of 1961, the petition for the new UHF translator would go through some changes. First, because of the newly proposed Midwest Program on Airborne TV initiative for education programming for schools would broadcast on channel 76, the application was changed to show the new translator would broadcast on channel 70 at a much lower power level than initiated. Now, it was said that Channel 70 would broadcast only to the immediate Champaign-Urbana area. It was never specified as to what the original power output would have been. By early September of 1961, testing was underway on the 1,180 watt Channel 70 TV station broadcasting from a 300-foot broadcast tower located 3 miles north-northwest of Champaign-Urbana according to Hubert T. Abrfalter, the Chief Engineer of WTVP.

The tower was located one mile north of Champaign and a quarter of a mile west of Prospect Avenue Road on the Gilbert Lange Farm. The original tower stood for quite some time until being removed sometime during the early 2000's. It was just to the northeast of the I-57 and Olympia Drive exit near a water retention pond, which was used, for the construction of the overpass of Olympia Drive. It is unknown what the tower was used for in recent years, but it served as the transmitter tower/antenna for W-70-AF only during the early to mid 1960's.

The testing of Channel 70 proved to be successful as many viewers reported a “loud and clear” signal, so the wait was underway for the FCC approval of the translator station. By special arrangement on September 20th of 1961, W-70-AF went on the air that evening as ABC broadcast the New York-Baltimore baseball game in which Roger Maris needed 3 home runs to beat Babe Ruth’s home run record. The official on-air date was set the day after, September 21, 1961 at 6PM with the broadcast of the WTVP local news.

The signal of W-70-AF did cover the Champaign-Urbana community with a Class A signal, technically, but in all reality reception was just as difficult with Channel 70, as it was to receive WTVP from Decatur. Those living on the west side of Champaign probably had better success receiving Channel 17 than Channel 70. Using a directional UHF antenna on a rotor would have necessary as the direction of the tower of Channel 70 was to the northwest of Champaign-Urbana, while the antenna of competitor WCHU was located in downtown Champaign and the tower of WCIA was located to the west of the communities.

On December 23, 1965, it was announced that Metromedia had filed an application for renewal of translator W-70-AF. This would be the last filing that Metromedia would place before the FCC for WTVP.

This ad is from the era between the purchase of WAND of LIN Broadcasting and the the time of the new tower and transmitter near Argenta. Notice the use of Channel 70 for Champaign-Urbana.

The last days of Metromedia at WTVP

Metromedia continued to operate WTVP through 1965. Programming included some of the Metromedia produced programming of the era originating with WNEW-TV’s Wonderama hosted by long time television game show host Sonny Fox. Wonderama was a long running children’s program which ran from 1955 to 1977. The Soupy Sales Show also ran for a couple of years during the 1960's. It was produced by WNEW-TV, the flagship of Metromedia Broadcasting. WTVH was purchased in 1959, while WTVP was purchased in 1960.

Metromedia also operated WTVH in nearby Peoria, Illinois. Here on this ad in TV Guide from August 1965, it promoted something....not quite sure what it was. They called it D.E.F., the "newest visual concept in television news." Again, D.E.F. was rather vague, but whatever it was, both WTVP and WTVH had it! I guess that was why they were called "The Big Ones!"

WTVP Personalities from the early years...

This has been a very difficult search as most of the employee’s names, news people, special program hosts and such have been lost to history. But, this is what names have come up either by newspaper stories from WTVP’s press releases or by scanning the TV Guides of the era through 1965. Many of the early editions of the once great weekly TV schedule included the names of news anchors, weathermen, sports anchors for both weekdays and weekends. Among the names uncovered are: W.L. Shellabarger (President of Prairie Broadcasters 1953-58), Harold Cowgill (General Manager 1953-54), James Wulliman (Chief Engineer 1953-54), Paul Taff (Program Director 1953-54), James E. Crowell (News Director 1953-54), Downey Hewey (Sales Manager 1953-54), Al Pigg (Farm Director/Program Host 1953-1956, 195?-196?, he’s listed as being Farm Show host in 1956 on WICS as well), Dick Shaugnessy (Program Host 1953-54), Dorothy Ryan (Program Host 1953-54), Kim Wilson (Program Host 1954-5?, also listed as being a program hostess for WICS later), Bob Schade (News Anchor 1954-?), Max Bolen (10 PM Weathercaster 1954-?), Loren Boatman (6 PM Weathercaster 1953-8?), Phil Petty(News Anchor 1959?-1963?), Earl Hickerson (Sports Director 1954-?), Steve Pozhay (General Manager 1954-59), Bob King (General Manager 1959-65), Dale Coleman (News Director 1957-63), Dave Lauerman(Sports Director 1960-63?), Calvin Coleman(Acct. Exec.) and scores of others with will be mentioned later..

By 1968, the anchor team at WAND consisted of Bob Billman(Anchor), Jim Clayton(Anchor-Reporter), Fred Straub(Reporter), PatAlee(Reporter), Loren Boatman(Weather) and Bill Wohlfarth(Sports).

If you know of any more people associated with WTVP during the years described here or in later years please e-mail me at dougquick at dougquick.com. Let me know the name, position and years of employment.

More on personalities in future parts.....

More on the history of WTVP...including a series of big changes....in Part 2.

thanks to recent contributors Michelle Eckes-Kaufman, Bruce Frey, Downey Hewey, Jim Wulliman and J.R. Evans..
thanks to Bob Wilcott for his many photo contributions on this page and all of the later pages of the History of WTVP/WAND.
thanks to Elmer Ruple and his source of many pics from the late 1950's into the early 1960's.

Page 2 is next...