
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
|
![]() |
![]() |
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
|
|
![]() |
|
![]() |
![]() |
|
![]() |
||
![]() |
||
![]() |
||
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
| WICD,
Channel 15, Champaign, Illinois History |
| Page 1: The
Northwest Publishing/WDAN-TV Years(1953-1960) |
![]() |
![]() |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| When WDAN-TV signed on the air on December 19, 1953, the first few weeks of broadcasting featured only programming from ABC. Equipment was not yet received and installed to allow for any local programming origination. The raw network feed was only broadcast with a test pattern displayed during local station breaks. ....Also the first week or so, the vertical synch module in the transmitter failed, and viewers were greeted with a picture that "rolled." | "The Beulah Show" came from radio as a spinoff from "Fibber McGee and Molly." She was TV's first African-American female 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 may have run on WDAN-TV, but right now it's never been verified. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
![]() |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Make Room for Daddy" began on ABC right before WDAN-TV hit the airwaves in 1953. It too 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, along with children played by Sherry Jackson, Penny 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. | "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 crime fighter. The Lone Ranger was played by Clayton Moore and John Hart. Pictured is Clayton Moore(the most remembered) and Jay Silverheels as Tonto. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() |
(Left): Was the newest ABC logo contained in a circle that looked more like a hub cap. This remained the ABC logo until it went to the little "a" center circle ABC in 1957. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
"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. |
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. |
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. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| This western 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. It ran on WDAN-TV until 1961 when the
station became an NBC affiliate along with WCHU-TV in Champaign.
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. |
"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. It finished it's run on WDAN-TV in July of 1960. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() |
![]() |
|
![]() |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Old Blue Eyes, Frank Sinatra showed up on the ABC schedule in "The Frank Sinatra Show" 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 formatted 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. | "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." This one aired on WDAN-TV from 1958 to the ownership/network change in July of 1960. | Lawrence Welk, began his empire on ABC during the 1950's. In 1958, pictured, he hosted the "Lawrence Welk's Dodge Dancing Party" on Saturday nights. This was the time slot he held for over 20 years. He also hosted "Lawrence Welk Talent Show" in the 1956 ABC primetime season on Monday nights. Then during the 1957 season he hosted "Lawrence Welk's Top Tunes and New Talent Show." |
"Man With a Camera" starred Charles Bronson as Mike Kovac a former WWII camera man, now a free lance photographer working for newspapers, insurance companies, police departments and private individuals who wanted a filmed record of a crime or other event. This one ran on ABC and WDAN-TV from 1958 to 1960. | "The Untouchables" was a highly 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 gangsters 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 Fernandez and Nick Georgiade. It ran on WDAN-TV until the ownership/network change in July of 1960. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
During the period from 1953 to 1960 ABC and WDAN-TV aired the following prime time network programs: You Asked for It, Frank Leahy Show, Walter Winchell Show, Peter Potter Show, Hour of Decision, 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 Rainbow, The Lone Ranger, Quick as a Flash, Where's Raymond, Back the Fact, Kraft Television Theatre, Stu Erwin Show, Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, Pepsi-Cola Playhouse, Price of the Family, Comeback Story, Showcase Theater, Paul Whiteman's TV Teen Club, Leave it to the Girls, Talent Patrol, Music at the Meadowbrook, Saturday Night Fights, You Asked for It, Flight #7, Martha Wright Show, Dr. IQ, Break the Bank, Kukla Fran and Ollie, Come Closer, Voice of Firestone, Boxing from Eastern Parkway, Twenty Questions, Stop the Music, Disneyland, Masquerade Party, Enterprise, Treasury Man in Action, So You Want to Lead a Band, Adventures of Rin-Tin-Tin, Ray Bolger Show, Dollar a Second, The Vise, Dotty Mack Show, Chance of a Lifetime, Original Amateur Hour, Life Begins at Eighty, Topper, Medical Horizons, Warner Brothers Presents, DuPont Cavalcade Theater, Talent Varieties, MGM Parade, Life is Worth Living, Star Tonight, Down You Go, Crossroads, Ethyl and Albert, Ozark Jubilee, Tomorrow's Careers, Omnibus, Bold Journey, Danny Thomas Show, Lawrence Welk Talent Show, Conflict, Cheyenne, Broken Arrow, It's Polka Time, Ford Theater, Circus Time, Treasure Hunt, The Vise, Ray Anthony Show, Maverick, Bowling Stars, All-American Football Game of the Week, American Bandstand, Guy Mitchell Show, Lawrence Welk's Top Tunes and New Talent Show, Sugarfoot, Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, West Point Story, Tombstone Territory, Walter Winchell File, Circus Boy, Zorro, Real McCoys, Pat Boone Chevy Showroom, O.S.S., Navy Log, Adventures of Jim Bowie, Patrice Munsel Show, Frank Sinatra Show, Dale with the Angels, Colt .45, Keep it in the Family, Country Music Jubilee, Lawrence Welk's Dancing Party, Mike Wallace Interviews, The Lawman, Encounter, Jubilee USA, Anybody Can Play, This is Music, The Rifleman, Naked City, Confession, Lawrence Welk's Plymouth Show, Donna Reed Show, Patti Page Olds Show, Leave it to Beaver, Rough Riders, Traffic Court, Man With a Camera, 77 Sunset Strip, Dick Clark Show, Sammy Kaye's Music from Manhattan, The Rebel, The Alaskans, Bourbon Street Beat, Adventures in Paradise, Bronco Layne, Court of Last Resort, Hobby Lobby Show, Hawaiian Eye, Gale Storm Show, The Untouchables, Take a Good Look, Walt Disney Presents, Man from Blackhawk, Robert Taylor(The Detectives), Black Saddle, High Road,. Many of the shows which premiered during the 1960-61 TV season probably didn't appear on WDAN-TV as the ownership and network affiliation change happened in June of 1960 before some of the shows premiered. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ABBREVIATIONS: M-Music, V-Variety, CH-Children, Q-Quiz, RE-Religious, AG-Agriculture, ED-Education, N-News, Dis-Discussion, T-Talk, SP-Sports, NBC-National Broadcasting Company, CBS-Columbia Broadcasting System, DUM-DuMont Television Network, ABC-American Broadcasting Company, LS-Local Sustaining, LC-Local Commerical, NC-National Commerical, C-Commercial, S-Sustaining, FI-Film Identification, SI-Silent Film, SOF-Sound on Film, A-Annoucement, ET-Electrical Transcription, R-Record, SL-Slide, CA-Camera, LA-Live Announcement, NEMO-Remote Pickup, K-Kinescope, SA-Spot Announcement, NCSA-Public Serivce Spot, P-Participating | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Notes on the above: 1. American Bandstand-seems to have 2 separate parts, one running from 3-3:30pm, then the second part from 4-5pm. 2. Do You Trust Your Wife-starred a young Johnny Carson with Ed McMahon on a comedy quiz show.(see "Who Do You Trust?" above) 3. Woody Woodpecker-the cartoon half hour hosted by creator Walter Lantz. 4. Mickey Mouse Show-see programs above for details. 5. 15 minutes of local news followed by ABC news with John Daly, host of CBS game shows like "What's My Line" It's unknown who the news, sports and weather anchor(s) were. Anyone know for sure??? 6. Circus Boy-starred Mickey Braddack, who later changed his name to his real last name of Dolenz. Mickey Dolenz was a member of the "The Monkees" during the late 1960's. His daughter is the actress Amy Dolenz. Later in 1958, Circus Boy was replaced by "Leave it to Beaver." 7. Zorro-another Disney production(see programs above for Walt Disney) A great adventure series! 8. The Show "O.S.S." is probably a WWII documentary. The next show "Navy Log" was a government produced documentary from WWII and ran on ABC. 9. Stage 24 was the theme title of the nightly movie. It's unknown what the movie was as it was not indicated on the program log. 10. Notice the lack of local commercials. Many station breaks, were filled with short promos or PSA's. Also notice that station breaks were only 30-seconds long! The actual program log above is now property of the Vermilion County Museum. |
It was in July of 1960 that WDAN-TV, Channel 24 was purchased by Plains Television and consolidated with WCHU, Channel 33 in Champaign-Urbana. WCHU had gone on the air in September of 1959 to re-broadcast the signal of WICS in Springfield. Both WCHU and WICS were NBC affiliates. With that purchase the signals of WCHU and WDAN-TV were in simulcast with that of WICS. The call letters of WDAN-TV were changed to WICD-TV. The short range of the signal of WCHU, estimated to be about 15 miles from the transmitter site at the Inman Hotel made the reception of WCHU nearly impossible to the Danville area. Therefore the signal of WDAN-TV increased the coverage area of WICS into the Danville and even into the west central Indiana area. By September of 1960, WCHU was broadcasting NBC shows in color, but WICD as channel 24 never broadcast in color. More on the history of WCHU in Part 2.... |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
| updated 1/17/2010 web master: Doug Quick copyright © 2001-2010 Doug Quick |