During
the 70's and 80's, WICD-TV developed a local news
presence
with personalities including Ron Davis, Bruce Jakubowski, Geni Roark,
Art
Barron, Rich Porter, Demetria Kaye, Susan Rieke, Sandra Chapman, Mark
Schanowski, and weather caster Keith
Page among many others.
Even though most of the programming was received from WICS-TV, WICD-TV
could and would away and air either NBC programming when it was
pre-empted
at WICS, or air it's own local originated programming.
Programs
during this period from NBC included,
"The Bill Cosby Show", "Julia",
"Then
Came Bronson", "The Monkees", "Dragnet", "Rowan and Martin's Laugh In",
"Flip Wilson", "Dean Martin", "The Bold Ones", "Ironside", "Emergency",
"Little House on the Prairie", "Police Story", "Sanford and Son",
"Chico
and the Man" and "Chips".
Syndicated
Shows included I Love Lucy,
Gilligan's Island, The Brady Bunch, Batman,
Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley, Richard Simmons, The Newlywed Game,
Mama's Family, The
Dating Game, Grizzly Adams, Scooby Doo, Tom & Jerry, The
Jeffersons,
Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune, Too Close for Comfort, The Andy Griffith
Show and others.
Also
during 1986, stereo broadcasting began from WICD-TV with a major
upgrade
in the audio chain of the station. Not only were NBC stereo
programs
broadcast in two actual discreet stereo channels, but local programming
could be broadcast in stereo as well.
It was also from
the late 1980's through 1994 WICD and WICS were under
separate ownership. The stations were operated as a "regional
network" to simulcast most of the locally originated syndicated
proramming. That separation lasted 8 years.
In the early 1990's WICD published a "Discount Club" flyer which
contained coupons from participating advertisers. It was also a
promotional piece for the Channel 15 News. Pictured above is
(front row) Keith Page, Kathleen Quinn, Dan Swaney. (back row)
Sandra
Chapman, Beth Morgan, Scott
Andresen, Debra Linz. This also promoted the fact that WICD was
now
broadcasting in stereo.
It wasn't until the Guy
Gannett ownership tenure in
September of
1994, was the ownership once again shared between the two central
Illinois NBC affiliates. It was that separation in ownership,
which
contributed to the failings of WICD during the early 1990's, along with
some bad luck. Cash flow suffered during the early 1990's, which
necessitated the cutting of operating expenses. One act which was
rather short sighted, was the lowering of the power output of the
station, to cut the electric bill. Unfortunately, that set up a
situtation which later, when permission was requested to the FCC to
raise power to the the levels of the late 1960's, permission was
denied. The station continued to operate, not at just over a
million
watts as was the original output, but now at 600,000 watts. The
range
of the station, though, benefits from the nearly 1400-foot antenna
height.
A stroke of bad luck took the station off the air for an extended
length of time during the early 1990's as well. During the winter
months, the transmission line shorted out along the tower, between the
transmitter and antenna. It was during this time, that WICD
returned
to broadcast, but at a significantly lower power output. This
continued for quite some time, which forced many cable operators, which
received the stations off air signal, to select other NBC stations in
surrounding markets to bring to subscribers. The off air signal
for
WICD barely covered Danville and Urbana for a number of weeks.
It was also, during the early 1990's, the impending sale of the station
brought about a hiring freeze and a reduction of staff members, some
holding important responsibilities to the proper care and feeding of a
television station. WICD was suffering from substantial neglect
by the
time of the Guy Gannett purchase in 1994. The news operation was
just
an attempt to keep the station alive, but didn't have the tools which
were being displayed by the other stations in the market. WICD
had no
live capability outside the studio, no computer newsroom operations, a
minimum number of staffers, an office/studio which was outdated and
inefficient, and a public image which was less than desirable. During
the late 80's, Plains Television Partners sold WICS-TV to other owners
and
later
it was sold to Guy Gannett Communications of Portland, Maine.
Even
though WICS, the Central Illinois "flagship station" was sold,
Plains
Television continued to operate WICD-TV until Guy Gannett purchased the
station two years later in August of 1994. Guy Gannett,
realized that the best way to grow the stations was to put a better
effort on the east side of the market. That was when a serious
attempt was made to improve the facility of WICD along with an
expansion of staff to better serve East Central Illinois.
That effort was one which was going to take several years...and later
another owner.
It is of this era from 1979 to 1994 we continue
on with the history of WICD....
By the late 1970's, it was evident that the studios/offices of WICD
were quite substandard if the station was to be competitive in east
central Illinois. The effort which was going to be made to
increase it's news department in the 1980's needed a larger factility,
and a more modern one. In 1978, WICD, Channel 15 moved from
it's location at the Inman Hotel, to a converted slot car track and
stamp store showroom at the Country Fair Shopping Center. Both
units at 250 South Country Fair Drive were converted to a television
studio, master control , production facitlity, news room, as well as
sales office, lobby and several individual offices and rest
rooms. The pictures above and below describe what an undertaking
it was.
(Above left) A shot of the former home of WICD, the Inman Hotel taken
from the final days of having WICD located there. (Above
left-center): The outside of the soon to be WICDstudios. The
photo shows the front wall of the facility missing. This allowed
construction to be easier on the studio, production control,
master control and newsroom . (Above center-right and right) It's
unknown what areas were shown in these two photos. (Below left),
The master control area is being set up on a suspended flooring
system. This allowed the running of cables under the floor and
easy access as large sections are able to be removed. (Below
center-left) another shot of construction. (Below center-right) A
shot of the new sidewalk leading to the lobby at WICD's Television
Plaza. (Below right) A shot from the early 1980's of the front of
Television Plaza showing both the courtyard and the newsroom wing of
the facility.
A shot of the new Master Control
Room at WICD in 1978.
This is Production Control with
the audio control board on the left.
Production Control showing the
electronic text generator left with
video switcher on the right.
The new Newsroom at WICD.
A much larger news set was
possible with the new studio at
250 South Country Fair Drive. Here Ron Davis(right) is with Tom
Stocker(left).
A rafter shot showing the much expanded news set at WICD, Channel 15.
Here is a shot of an unkown news anchor talking with Roger
Francisco(right) who was weekend weathercaster at WICD during much of
the 1980's and early 1990's.
The weekend news, sports and weather
anchors at the new WICD news set. Probably taken sometime in 1978
or 1979.
BobHope continued
his Christmas Tour Highlight shows on NBC during the
1980's and early 1990's. This one from the early 1980's, had an
all star cast with over 200 stars appearing from Jack Benny to Bing
Crosby, from Zsa Zsa Gabor to the Village People. Brought to you
by Texaco, while NBC was "Proud as a Peacock. The other stations
lister on the ad were W-TWO in Terre Haute, Indiana; Channel 20, WICS
in Springfield and Channel 25, WEEK in Peoria.
From the 1960's through the mid
90's, the most frequently heard voice on WICD was Keith Page. He
was a "booth announcer" and commerical announcer for the station for a
number of years, as well as weathercaster.
This was an artists view of the new WICD studios at 250 Country Fair
Drive on Champaign's west side(right behind the Zayre Department
Store). Click on any of these pictures for larger versions.
Pictured here were the managers at WICD in 1978. Top left Station
Manager, Joe Norris. He was in that postition until the sale of
WICD to Guy Gannett in 1994. He was heard during the 1990's as
the station ID voice. Also pictured in the top right is Plains
Television Vice-President and WICS/WICD General Manager Milton
Friedland. At the lower left is Vince Daube, the Operations
Manager of WICD, and at the lower right was Dave Boyer, Chief Engineer
at WICD. He held that postition through the late 1990's.
Here's the "sophisticated equipment" that was used by WICD in 1978 to
produce local commericals for clients.
Here's the story of how WICD uses computers to schedule
commericals for it's clients.
Ron Davis was the News Director when the station moved to it's new
location. Here he uses a "word processer" to edit a newscast.
Here is the estimated coverage of WICD. Notice that 40% of it's
coverage is east of the state line, into Indiana.
Tom
Stocker was a sports anchor at WICD from the late 1970's through the
early 80's. The interesting thing about this ID slide, was
the "TELEVISION PLAZA", the new name of the new studio location.
Pictured above and to the right are images from the early 1980's of
WICD's Local News Broadcasts. Pictured was the first set after
relocating to 250 South Country Fair Drive on Champaign's west
side. Pictured, above, is Mark Schanowski, sports and Tom
Millburn, news anchor. Upper right, Tom Millburn. Lower
right center longtime weathercaster Keith Page and far left,
Schanowski.
Bruce Jakubowski, former radio news anchor at WLRW, found a home at
WICD in the early 80's, where he became the main news anchor .
"David
Letterman" hosted a daytime series in 1980, which led him to
latenight. The title of the 1980 show is pictured to the left,
while
Letterman is pictured from the final daytime show in October of 1980.
Prominent News People of the Era:
Tom Stocker(sports), Ron Davis(anchor 10 years), Bruce Jakubowski(ND
and anchor), Art Barron(anchor), Demetria Kaye(anchor), Rich
Porter(anchor), Susan Ricki(anchor), Sandra Chapman(anchor), Mark
Schanowski(sports), Keith Page(weather), Lorne Tate(sports), Larry
Stirewalt(anchor-reporter), Kathleen Quinn(anchor), Diana
Morgan(anchor), Chuck Nagle(sports) Ronald Clark(sports), Becky
McRae(wkend anchor), Pan Hanson(anchor), Dan Swaney(sports), Liz
Merdian(anchor-reporter), Roger Francisco(weather), Tom Milbourn(ND and
anchor), Mark Erwin(reporter), Barbara Leach(public service), Geni
Roarck(public service and promotions), Jack Keefe(ND and sometimes
anchor), Karen Greer(anchor-reporter), Susan Boller(anchor), April
Robertson(anchor), Joan Lovelace(anchor), Jeff Friend(anchor), Rebecca
Roe(anchor), Doris McGee(anchor-reporter)
Around 1983, WICD
15 News became, "NewsWatch 15" with a new set, new anchor, and new
graphics designed by staffers. One of the short comings of the
production set up, was the inability to project scene boxes, called
over the shoulder graphics. So, the use of front projection
televisions were used to show graphics during the newscast. The
scene with Demetria Kaye, illustrates how the use of those front
projection TVs were used.
It was Sci-Fi and action adventure again with "Buck
Rogers" with Gil Garard, Erin Grey, Tim O'Conner and William Conrad
along with the voice of Mel Blanc as "Twiki" the Robot.
Another daytime entry in the NBC schedule of 1978 through 81, was "Card
Sharks" which was hosted by Jim Perry and Bob Eubanks during
it's run
on NBC.
"Diff'rent Strokes" ran
on NBC from 1978 to 1985, when it moved to ABC
from 1985 to 1986. Gary Coleman, Todd Bridges, Conrad Bain(from
Maude), and Dana Plato starred.
"The Facts of Life" ran
on NBC from 1979-1988 and was a spin off of "Diff'rent Strokes."
It starred Charlotte Rae as a housemother to
seven young girls at a girls school in Peekskill, New York.
NBC's first 1980's nighttime soap, this time "Flamingo Road." It
was loosely based on the old Joan Crawford movie, this time an update
starring John Beck, Howard Duff, Woody Brown, Peter Donat, Morgan
Fairchild and Kevin McCarthy.
"Gimme a Break!" ran on
NBC from 1981 to 1983 and starred Nell Carter,
Dolph Sweet, Kari Michaelsen, Jauri Hendler, Lara Jill Miller, Howard
Morris, Jane Dulo and others. Joey Lawrence joined the cast the
second season as a six year old orphan.
It was a
new era in police drama when "Hill
Street Blues" premiered on NBC in
1981. This series made stars out of many actors, and got
the attention of the critics. The theme was by Mike Post, who did
other police dramas in the 1970's. Very stylish, very realistic
and topped out at #21 in the ratings in 1982-83.
What Hill
Street Blues did for police dramas, "St.
Elsewhere" did for hospital
dramas. Lots of emotion, lots of real life drama and once again a
great cast. Pictured is Howie Mandell who played Dr. Wayne
Fiscus. St. Elsewhere ran on NBC from 1982to 1988.
In 1976, the "Proud N"
NBC logo was introduced to replace
the "snake NBC" logo which was used from 1959. After it was
introduced, NBC was sued by Nebraska Educational TV for copyright
infringement. It seems the logos for both networks were nearly
the same. Both networks settled with Nebraska ETV getting new
broadcast equipment and an allowance to develop a new logo.
Meanwhile the aggreement allowed NBC to continue it's use. Later
the frequent use of the 12 feathered peacock was initiated to acquaint
viewers to a new logo which would come a few years later.
"Assignment 15" was
the title of the Sunday morning public
affairs program hosted by the main news anchor of WICD at the
time. It would include various lawmakers, newsmakers and
community leaders talking of the issues of the day.
"Family Ties"
launched the career of Michael J. Fox.
The idea, was a liberal set of parents whose oldest son was an ultra
conservative, while his sisters couldn't care less, and were more
normal. The theme was sung by Johnny Mathis and Denice
Williams. The setting was Columbus, Ohio where the father, Steve
Keaton(Michael Gross) was a manager of a public TV station. The
mother was played by Meredith Baxter-Birney, while the daughters were
Mallory(Justine Bateman) and Jennifer(Tina Yothers). This
series ran on NBC from 1982 to 1989, but also in syndication on WICD
from the late 1980's to 1994.
From 1980 to 1985, the NBC lineup consisted of Disney's
Wonderful World of Color, CHiPs, The NBC Big Event, Little House on the
Prairie, Lobo, B.J. and the Bear, Steve Allen Comedy Hour, Real People,
Diff'rent Strokes, Facts of Life, Quincy M.E., Games People Play,
Marie, Speak Up America, Barbara Mandrell and the Mandrell Sisters,
Walking Tall, Hill Street Blues, Here's Boomer, Father Murphy, Bret
Maverick, Flamingo Road, Love Sidney, Harper Valley, Lewis and Clark,
Gimme A Break, McClain's Law, Nashville Palace, Fitz and Bones,
Voyagers, Little House: a New Beginning, Gavilan, St. Elsewhere, Family
Ties, Fame, Cheers, Taxi, Powers of Mathew Star, Knight Rider,
Remington Steele(pictured above), Silver Spoons, First Camera,Boone,
The A-Team, Bay City Blues, Facts of Life, Mama's Family, We Got it
Maid, Mr. Smith, Jennifer Slept Here, Manimal, For Love and Honor, The
Rousters, Yellow Rose, Punky Brewster, Bloopers and Practical Jokes,
Riptide, Highway to Heaven, It's Your Move, Cosby Show, Night Court, V,
Hunter, Miami Vice, Partners in Crime, Hot Pursuit, Amazing Stories,
Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Helltown, Golden Girls and 227.
This aircheck of WICD includes a station ID along with the opening for
Superman from 1983.
This 1983 Aircheck was during the broadcast of "The Enforcer" with
Clint Eastwood. It includes NBC promos, Movie of the Week title
graphics and WICD News promo and ID's.
This promo features Geni Roark, the Promotions director at WICD in
1983, promoting a news special called "Gallery."
"Cheers"
cast Ted Danson, George Wendt, Woody Harrelson and John
Ratzenberger. The shows title song was called "Where Everybody
Knows Your Name."
"Cheers"
ran on NBC from 1982 to May 20, 1993. Several cast changes
actually made this series better through time. The show was a
true "buddy show" with a crazy bunch of friends who pretty much live at
"Cheers" The cast included Ted Danson, Shelley Long, Rhea
Perlman, Nicholas Colasanto(who died during the run and was replaced by
Woody Harrelson), Geroge Wendt, John Ratzenberger, Kelsey Grammer(as
Dr. Frazier Crane), Kirstie Alley and others.
This one
was a spin off of the long running CBS variety show, "The Carol Burnett
Show." On Burnett's show, the stars did a segment with
much
younger Vicki Lawrence as Thelma "Mama" Harper. She was joined in
"Mama's Family" by
Rue McClanahan, Ken Berry, Dorothy Lyman, Eric Brown
and was joined by Carol Burnett, Harvey Korman and others. It ran
on NBC from 1983 to 1985, then went to syndication where it ran on WICD
from 1986 to 1990.
Johnny
Carson continued well after his 20th year with "The Tonight Show" on
NBC! To the right is Carson with Dudley Moore.
The Independent Network News ran on WICD during the Noon
hour. WICS ran it's own local news, but WICD filled the same half
hour with it's own programming. The INN News filled the bill for
a while, but after it was discontinued, it was replaced by reruns of
"Family Ties."
WICD aired "Jeopardy"
and "The Wheel of Fortune" for a
number of years in the 1980's and early 1990's. The original NBC
daytime game show was originally hosted by Chuck Woolery in 1975 , but
grew in popularity in nighttime syndication with Pat Sajak, where it
began in 1983. It's been running ever since....just not on WICD
A local PSA/Station ID from the early 1980's.
"Riptide" ran on NBC
from 1984 to 1986. The show
starred Joe Penny(pictured in an NBC promo) with Perry King and Thom
Bray. It was a story of some beach bumbs who become private
eyes. It was canceled four months before the last episode airred
on NBC on August 22nd, 1986.
"Knight Rider" ran
on NBC from 1982 to 1986. Starring
David Hasselhoff before he hit the beach on Baywatch(which ran on WICD
in syndication for years). The series co-starred William Daniels
as the voice of KITT, the car, as well as Edward Mulhare as Michael
Knight's(Hasselhoff) boss.
"Blockbuster" ran on NBC
daytime, hosted by Bill Cullen from 1980 to
1982.
"Taxi" switched networks
after being a part of the ABC schedule from
1978 to 1982. From 1982 to 1983 it ended it's run with NBC. The
classic sitcom starred Judd Hirsch, Tony Danza, Danny De Vito, Marilu
Henner, Christopher Lloyd, Andy Kaufman, Jeff Conaway, Carol Kane and
others.
"The Doctors" ran on NBC
from 1963 to 1982, a total of 5, 280
episodes. The show was sponsored during it's run by
Colgate-Polmolive.
"The Tomorrow Show" was
hosted by Tom Snyder on NBC and it followed
either the Tonight Show or Late Night with David Letterman for a time
during the 1970's and early 1980's.
"Thicke of the Night"
was a syndicated late night talker
which was hosted by Alan Thicke and featured regulars: Richard Belzer,
Gilbert Gottfried, Arsenio Hall and others. It ran from 1983
through 1984, being produced by long time NBC programmer Fred
Silverson. It didn't last nationally, partly because many network
affiliates ran it after midnight. WICD scheduled the "Thicke of
the Night" after "The Tonight Show."
This long time CBS prime time staple, "The Jeffersons" ran
from 1975-1985. By the early 80's, the series also ended up in
syndication, and ran on WICS/WICD for several years in the 5PM time
slot. The series stared Sherman Hemsley, Isabel Sanford, Mike
Evans, Roxie Roker, and others and was produced by Norman Lear.
It was also another spin off from "All in the Family."
This screen capture is from a weather promotional
announcement of WICD from the mid 1980's.
Tom Milbourn was News Director and main Anchor on WICD for several
years during the early to mid 1980's. This ad is from an edition
of TV Guide.
"TV's Bloopers and
Practical Jokes" ran on NBC from 1984
through 1991, and popped up from time to time through the early
00's. This one was hosed by Dick Clark and Ed McMahon and
included bloopers capured on film from TV shows and movies over the
years. It was also a great promotional tool for various NBC shows
at the time, in which the star would show up with a blooper reel from
their show.
Detective Sonny Crockett and Ricardo Tubbs were played by
Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas on the NBC, 1984-89 series "Miami
Vice." A stylish, series, influenced by the MTV generation
of
video styles, clothing styles and included cameos from many celebrities
who wanted to appear "hip."
Just a technical note, that it was the 70's, that local
stations began a weather warn system of putting a "W" in the corner of
the screen. That was to alert the audience that there was a
"weather situation" they should be aware of. In this promo, it
was explained what would be displayed if there was a tornado warning in
the area, or a severe thunderstorm in the area. Since then, it
was shortened back to just a "W" for most stations. The biggest
problem, is defining, who is involved in a partcular warning situation.
Geni Roark was the Promotions Director for WICD during most
of the 1980's, into the early 1990's. She also hosted various
public service programs. Here is a promo for a 4 mininute feature
called "Today in Champaign"
which ran right before, and during the 8:25
AM news break during the "Today Show."
In 1979, the peacock returned to NBC as part of the "Proud
N" logo. This marked the first time the peacock was actually used
as part of it's logo, even though, it was used to introduce color
programs from the 1950's. This logo was used by NBC from 1979 to
1985. The 12 feathered peacock was later abreviated to six
feathers, and the "N" was eliminated.
Tom Brokaw was made a co-host of "The
Today Show" in 1976,
and by 1982 he was anchoring the NBC Nightly News. He continued
in that role until 2004.
"Bare Essence" was
a short lived attempt by NBC to get
into the nighttime soap business. This one was to compete with
Dynasty, the Colbys and Dallas. It starred Jennifer O'Neill,
Jaime Lyn Bauer, Jessica Walter and Al Corley(from Dynasty).
The TV Special "Motown 25: Yesterday,
Today and Forever"
airred on May 16, 1983 and the "moonwalk" of Michael Jackson blew
everyone away and was one of the highlights of the year on network TV.
"The A-Team" aired on NBC
and WICD from 1983-87. The action
adventure series starred George Pepard, Mr. T., Dirk Benedict and
Dwight Schultz.
"Too Close for Comfort"
aired on ABC from 1980 to 1983, and
in spite of only airing 3 seasons, it was offered in syndication.
It ran on WICD for a period during the mid 1980's. It starred Ted
Knight from the old Mary Tyler Moore Show.
NBC daytime included this spinoff series from "Another World." In
fact it was called "Another World:
Texas" for a while. It ran on
NBC daytime from 1980 to 1982. It was the first hour long daytime
soap from it's beginning.
"Silver Spoons"
ran on NBC from 1982 to 1986. It
starred Ricky Schroder, Erin Gray, Joel Higgins and others.
"Hunter" ran on NBC from
1984 to 1991 and starred Fred Dryer, Stephanie
Kramer, John Amos, Bruce Davidson and others.
"Highway to Heaven" ran
from 1984 to 1989 and starred Michael Landon
and Victor Frence. It was the third popular show starring Michael
Landon after Bonanza and Little House on the Prairie. The show
was discontinued when Victor French died of lung cancer in 1989.
The "Cosby Show" was
Thursday's first "Must See TV" series. It premiered in 1984 where
it ran through 1992 on NBC. The Show starred Bill Cosby, Phylicia
Rashad, Lisa Bonet, Malcolm Jamal Warner, Tempestt Bledsoe and Keshia
Knight Pulliam. This series, has an interesting start, having
been proposed as a comedy about a blue collar worker, and was turned
down by ABC and NBC. Bill Cosby's real life wife, talked Cos into
changing the characters to upscale professionals. It was still
turned down by ABC, but NBC in it a flash of wisdom, picked it
up. The rest is history..
Here's one of the strangest sit coms ever, but it still
holds a cult following. "Alf"
was a puppett who was actually an
alien who landed in the sit com families garage, and was accepted by
the family as it's newest member. It ran on NBC from 1986-1990.
"The Golden Girls" ran
on NBC from 1985 through 1992 on
NBC. It won at least 10 emmy awards. It also ran in daytime
on NBC from 1989 to 1990.
Bryant Gumble replaced Tom Brokaw as co-host of "The Today
Show." Here he is shown with Jane Pauley.
(Left): This aircheck of WICD was recorded in 1984 and includes the
intro/outro for Bosom Buddies(the pilot episode-the former ABC series
ran in reruns on NBC during the Summer of 1984.) This is from
July of 1984 and also includes a unique intro for Mama's Family which
followed. The video includes NBC promos and WICD promos/IDs.
(Right): A WICD aircheck from December of 1987 surrounding a Bob Hope
Special.
Above are various NBC logos from the 1980's It shows the
transition from the "Proud N", "Peacock N" and later the 12
feathered peacock logo without the N.
Below are various scenes from WICD as the logo was changed with the
"stacked-15" look, a metalic looking logo with reflections. The
logo carried over to station ID's and promotional
announcements. Pictured are Geni Roark and Keith Page.
In 1984, WICD celebrated it's 25th Aniversary. Somehow, though, a
good part of it's history was "lost." Evidently the people in
charge was not aware of it's history back to 1953 with WDAN-TV, which
later became WICD in 1960. The history, instead chose to go back
to the WCHU history, which would only take it back to 1959. Oh,
well..... The good thing about it, is that I have a video copy of
the anniversary show, which was hosted by Keith Page. Many of the
screen grabs come from that special broadcast.
Above and
right is the WICD news set with the "stacked-15 logo." Anchors
include Art Barron and Kim Khazei. It's believed the sports
anchor was MarkSchanowski.
At the far right was the later "modern 15" logo with Art Barron used
after 1986.
"Saturday Night Live" had
a few rough years in the 1980's,
but, in spite of the show, just not being all that funny, it
continued. Pictured is Joe Piscopo doing an impression of Joan
Rivers on a promo.
Another nightime soap attempt, "Berrenger's"
starred Sam Wannamaker,
Robert Strand and Anita Morris, Yvette Mimieux, Ben Murphy and
others. It ran for 11 episodes in 1985.
WICD-TV, Channel 15 logo used right before the transition of the
station to stereo in 1986.
In 1986, during a broadcast of the network's 60th
Anniversary Celebration the new 6 feather logo was introduced. It
remains the logo of NBC, and is one of the most recognized logos in the
world.
"Generations" was a
daytime soap which ran from 1989 to 1991. It
was the first soap to have an African-American family as main
characters. The show eventually moved to cables BET and ran
through 1993.
Mr. T. from the A-Team in an
NBC promo "NBC Be There."
WICD graphics which were shown with a listing of community
announcements.
Along the new 6 feather
logo, NBC
began the slogan "Come Home to NBC" in 1986.
NBC
Slogans during the 1980-1994 period
1982-
"We're NBC, Just Watch Us Now
1983- "Be
There"
1984-
"Let's All Be There"
1986-
"Come Home to NBC"
1988-
"Come Home to the Best...Only on NBC"
1990-
"The Place to Be"
1991-
"It's a Whole New NBC"
1992-
"NBC is the Only One"
1993-
"Just Turn Us On NBC"
Susan Rieke, a former nursing supervisor at Burnham Hospital
was hired by Station Manager Joe Norris to
be a co-anchor for awhile in the late 1980's. She had no TV news
experience, no background in journalism...she was hired to just READ
the news. She joined Art
Barron at the anchor desk. It's been said that her hiring caused
hard feelings in the newsroom as everyone there had to prepare what she
read....plus she made a lot more money than they did.
What more can be said? "The Tonight Show"
continued with
Johnny Carson.
In 1986, WICD was the
first station in east central Illinois
to broadcast in stereo. WICD passed NBC programming in full
descrete stereo(as opposed to a simulated stereo audio signal).
Tom Brokaw anchoring NBC
Nightly News, and representing NBC
News during one of the NBC Anniversary Celebration Specials of the
early 1990's.
WICD was able to bring viewers who had stereo TV receivers a
television broadcast of the movie "The Jagged Edge" in stereo.
Keith Page with details about the weather forecast from the
late 1980's
Sandra Chapman, anchor on WICD. This shot is from 1993.
"Baywatch" ran on
NBC for one season, 1989, then ran in
syndication and was the most watched TV show in the world with over 1.1
billion viewers. Stars included David Hasselhoff, Pamela
Anderson, Yasmine Bleeth, Alexandra Paul and David Charvet. After
it left NBC, WICD ran "Baywatch" late night weekends.
From 1986 to 1994, "L.A.
Law" probably did more to
increase enrollments at law schools around the country than anything
else. It was a great show, and set the pattern to today's shows
from Boston Legal to E.R. and many others. The show starred
Harry Hamlin, Susan Dey, Corbin Bernsen, Jimmy Smits, Jill Eikenbery,
Alan Rachins, Michele Greene, Michael Tucker, Susan Ruttan and Richard
Dysart....along with a great set of additional cast members to numerous
to mention. It was original "Must See TV" on Thursdays.
"David Letterman"
hosted a daytime series in 1980, which led him to
latenight. The title of the 1980 show is pictured to the left,
while Letterman is pictured from the final daytime show in October of
1980.
"The Place
to Be" was the slogan of NBC from 1990.
Shown above is the new late 1980's WICD
logo with peacock and the Stereo logo. For the rest of the 1980's
and well into the 1990's, WICD was the only station in the market which
was able to broadcast in stereo. Center is Jeff Friend who was
main anchor for a time in the late 1980's and early 90's. He
originally was with WAND in Decatur. (Right below) is weekend
weathercaster Pam Land with weekend anchor Kathleen Quinn. It's
also, unfortunate that
that was the end of the success story for the station under it's
original ownership. A streak of technical bad luck-the failure of
a transmition line along the tower, bad decisions-like lowering
the power to save on the electric bill, adversiting sales failures, and
the end of ownership support pending a sale brought the station on hard
times through the early 1990's. It wasn't until the sale of the
station to Guy Gannett did things begin to look more favorable.
"Fresh Pince of Bel Air"
premiered on NBC in September of
1990 and ran through 1996. It was also a syndicated weekday
afternoon series on WICS/WICD during the 1990's as well. It ran
in conjuction with "Full House" on the stations through the late 1990's.
OK, it's my website, and if I want to include a shot of me
in it, I will. Here's one from January 1990, about four years
before I was employed by WICD. Here I was talking about the
WDAN/WDNL Bridal Show which I headed as GM of the radio stations.
I was being interviewed by WICD news as the station covered the event.
"Coach" ran on ABC
beginning in 1989 and ran into 1997. It
starred Craig T. Nelson as Hayden Fox, coach of the Minnesota State
University "Screaming Eagles." The series also starred,
Danville's own Jerry Van Dyke as Luther, one of the assistant
coaches. It also ran in syndication on WICS/WICD for several
years beginning in 1993 at 6:30pm CT. It was ultimately replaced
by reruns of Seinfeld. "Coach" also filled some programming gaps,
such as 12:30pm weekday afternoons, as well as Saturdays at
6:30pm. Part of the appeal of the show here was the fact that Van
Dyke was a Danville native.
The Anchor Lineups....as they are
remembered..... Ron Davis, Loren
Tate(sports), Keith Page(weather) Ron Davis, Susan Boller,
Tom Stocker(sports), Keith Page Ron Davis, Diana Morgan,
Tock Stocker, Keith Page Ron Davis, Larry
Stirewalt, Ronald Clark, Keith Page Tom Milbourn, Joan
Lovelace, Chuck Nagel(sports), Keith Page Bruce Jackabowski,
Demetra "Kay" Kalodemos, Mark Schanowski,
and Keith Page Art Barron, Susan Rieke,
Mark Schanowski, Keith Page Jeff Friend, Sandra
Chapman, Dan Swaney, Keith Page Rich Porter, (1995) Paul Donahue,
Stacy Case, Scott Musgrave(sports), Keith Page Paul Donahue, Stacy
Case, Scott Musgrave, Jerome Ritchie Eric Rinderle, Tiffani
Sargent, Scott Musgrave, Jerome Ritchie others include: Larry
Stirewalt, April Robinson, Tamara Gibbs, Pam Land, Beth Morgan, Barbara
Leach, Doris McGee, Becky McRae, Scott Andresen, Rebecca Roe, Kathleen
Quinn, Diana Morgan(WICD's first black female anchor), Pam Hanson, Liz
Merdian, Roger Francisco, Jack Keefe(News Director), Rich Porter(News
Director), Ronald Clark(WICD's first black sports anchor).
A scene of
the short intro which NBC used to introduce a special program, many
times a Bob Hope Special, a Holiday Special or the like.
Seinfeld brought
some good fortune to NBC in 1990. It
began rather weak, but built an audience to become the anchor for "Must
See TV" Thursday night, 8PM CT time slot. It also appeared on
WICD in prime time access, 6:30PM CT beginning in 1997, where it
continued until mid 2007 when it was moved to 10:35pm after WICD became
an ABC affiliate. It was replaced at 6:30pm by "Entertainemnt
Tonight."
NBC shows from 1986 to 1989
include: Easy Street, Valerie, Alf, Amazing Stories, Matlock, Crime
Story, 1986, Highway to Heaven, Gimme a Break, You Again, St.
Elsewhere, Cosby Show, Family Ties, Cheers, Night Court, Hill Street
Blues, The A-Team, Miami Vice, L.A. Law, Facts of Life, 227, Golden
Girls, Amen, Hunter, Our House, My Two Dads, J.J. Starbuck, A Year in
the Life, Rags to Riches, Miami Vice, Private Eye, Golden Girls, Amen,
Magical World of Disney, Day by Day, Hogan Family, In the Heat of the
Night, Midnight Caller, Unsolved Mysteries, Baby Boom, Tattingers, A
Different World, Dear John, Sonny Spoon, Something Out There, 227,
Empty Nest, Sister Kate, Quantum Leap, Baywatch, Hardball and Mancuso
FBI,
"Law and
Order" began on NBC in 1990 and has continued to spin off other
variations of the successful drama.
It ended
up being a TV classic beginning it's run in 1982. It almost
didn't make it out of it's first season when it ended up dead last in
the ratings, but NBC took a chance and created a classic! It
ended up being in the top 10 during eight of it's 11 seasons on
NBC. The show also spun off "Frasier"
in the the 1990's.
Another
attempt of sci-fi from NBC, this one starred Scott Bakula and former
child star Dean Stockwell. "Quantum
Leap" ran from 1989 to 1993.
Not quite a classic, but it does have a cult
following. "Night Court"
ran on NBC and WICD from 1984 to
1992. It starred Harry Anderson, John Larroquette, Markie Post,
Richard Mull, Marsha Warfield and classic TV's Selma Diamond.
"Santa Barbara" was
another NBC daytime drama which ran from
1984 to 1993.
"Wings" ran on NBC
from 1990 to 1997 and starred Timothy
Daly, Steve Weber, Crystal Bernard, David Schramm and others.
This was another of the "cult" sit coms of the era along with "Night
Court" and "Alf."
NBC shows from 1990 to 1994
include: Hull High, Lifestories, Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Ferris
Bueller, Matlock, In the Heat of the Night, Law and Order, Unsolved
Mysteries, Fanelli Boys, Dear John, Hunter, Cosby Show, A Different
World, Cheers, Grand, L.A. Law, Quantum Leap, Night Court, Wings,
Midnight Caller, Parenthood, Working It Out, Golden Girls, Empty Nest,
Carol and Company, American Dreamer, Adventures of Mark and Brian,
Eerie Indiana, Man of the People, Pacific Station, Blossom, I'll Fly
Away, Seinfeld, Real Life with Jane Pauley, Expose, Flesh n Blood,
Reasonable Doubts, The Torkelsons, Nurses, Sisters and others.
