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An early ABC logo, probably from the late 1940's
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A circle ABC within an eagle figure with lightning
bolts. This was the ABC logo of the early and mid 1950's.
Eventually it was animated to reveal the ABC script in the center of
the shield.
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"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. On WDAN-TV from 1954 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."
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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."
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"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.
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"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 WDAN-TV
from 1953 until 1961.
Here's the real genius of the
empire Ozzie, always playing
the klutzy husband with no visible means of making a living, and
Harriet the most loving, understanding wife and mother on TV.
There's more about Ozzie and Harriett on the WAND pages. |
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Above 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.
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"Dollar A Second"
premiered on DuMont in 1953, but wasn't
seen on WDAN-TV until it 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. The graphic above was to get studio
participants. Note the address: ABC, 7 West 66th Street, New
York, 23, NY.
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| Walt Disney Productions entered in an exclusive agreement
with ABC to supply programming around the opening of a family theme
park in California called Disneyland. The Mickey Mouse Club was
programming for the youngsters. It included an assembly of
"Mousketeers" who would sing, dance and appear in skits all led by the
only adult in the group, Jimmy Dodd and Roy Williams.
There were also filmed segments with an ongoing series of stories which
starred the young actors in the Disney contract players. Probably
the most poplular series was "Spin and Marty" which starred Tim
Considine("My Three Sons"). Many
times the show would feature other Disney cartoons. Each day of
the week had a theme, and the entire show would revolve around
that theme. Many of the Mousketeers became stars in the own
right. This ABC series ran on weekday afternoons. The
original Mouseketeers included: Paul Peterson("Donna Reed Show"),
Annette Funicello(various teen beach movies), Johnny Crawford("The
Rifleman"), Bobby Burgess("The Lawrence Welk Show"), Doreen Tracey,
Karen Pendleton, Darlene Gillespie and others.
The Disney Studios was the first of the major Hollywood
studios to enter into an agreement with a TV network to supply
programming. It was that agreement that helped to finance the
building of Disneyland at Anaheim, California in the early
1950's. ABC was willing to pay Disney a half a million dollars
plus $50,000 per program. The series and Disneyland were both
successes, being ABC's first hit show. "Disneyland" ran on ABC
from 1954 to 1961 when it moved to NBC. Interestly enough, it
moved at the same time that WDAN-TV moved from ABC to NBC therefore not
missing a single episode. 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. |
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"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, 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.
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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.
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Sky King" one of
the contemporary westerns of the 1950's,
starred a twin engine Cessna called "the Songbird" along with the
living cast of Kirby Grant as Sky King and his neice and nephew, played
by Gloria Winers and Ron Hagerthy. Sky King ended up as weekend
fair on NBC, CBS and ABC after it's original run in prime time during
the 1953-54 season. This is a series which also ran on network
radio from 1946 to 1954. Sponsor: Nabisco.
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"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.
Again, though, after the ownership/network change in July of 1960 it
was no longer seen
on Channel 24.
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During 1957 the
logo for ABC changed to the "ABC Circle A"
style. This logo was used until 1962.
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| This series 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.
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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.
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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.
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| "American Bandstand" was ABC's longest running afternoon
show for teens. American Bandstand during the 1950's and until
1963 as a weekday afternoon series at 3PM CT. Incidently, it was
the first show after daily sign-on of WDAN-TV in 1957-58. After
1963 it moved to a weekend series. It also ran during prime time
during the fall of 1957 on Monday nights. Graphic from 50th Anniversary of A-B on ABC
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Each show featured a regular bunch of kids from Philadelphia
who danced to the hits. The dancers also participated in the
"Rate a Record" segment in which they would rate two up and coming
songs as to their hit potential. Graphic from 50th Anniversary of A-B on ABC |
Each "American Bandstand" show would feature a couple of
current pop artists lip singing to their hits. Occasionally,
though, a celebrity would show up, like this one with Johnny
Carson. Carson was a drummer. Graphic from 50th Anniversary of A-B on ABC
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The set of "American Bandstand" originally was set up to
mimic a record store. The back of the set was made up to look
like the inside of storefront windows. Here Dick Clark, America's
Oldest Teenager, MC'd the show from behind the podium. Graphic from 50th Anniversary of A-B on
ABC.
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Clark would often time make his way to the audience to get a
reaction or comment from a few of the dancers. They would also be
introduced by their name and age. "American Bandstand" like no
other series during the 1950's help set the stage to establish ABC as
the youth network, which would continue to through the 1970's. Graphic from 50th
Anniversary of A-B on ABC. |
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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 WDAN. You'll notice the listing
for this show on the WDAN-TV log is "Do You Trust Your Wife." I
think it was another version of this show, probably hosted by Carson as
well.
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| 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.
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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.
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"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.
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This ABC series 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 also ran in reruns. It starred Walter Brennan, Richard Crenna,
Kathleen Nolan and during the final season Butch Patrick(The
Munsters). Obviously, it ran on WDAN-TV only through July of 1960
with the ownership/network change. |
"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 recod of a crime or other event.
This one ran on ABC and WDAN-TV from 1958 to 1960.
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This 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 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 ran on WDAN-TV
until the ownership/network change in July of 1960.
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