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Ralph
Edward's "This is Your Life"
ran on NBC TV for nine years starting in
1952, when it had already aired for a number of years on CBS and NBC
radio. The format of "This is Your Life" featured some
unsuspecting celebrity or common person, who would be greeting in
public with the statement "This is Your Life." They would then be
transported to the TV studio, and a parade of people from that person's
past would be brought out to reflect on aspects of the honored person's
life. The person of honor would receive prizes, along with a film
print of the show and a 16mm movie projector to show the film
with.
It was interesting to note that most of the announcements to the
featured person, were done by complete surprise to them, but NBC always
had a kinescope cued and ready in case someone didn't agree to be
featured on the program.
Newer versions of "This is Your Life" popped up in syndication in 1970
and again in 1983.
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"Mister Peepers" starred Wally Cox
as Robinson Peepers, a science teacher at Jefferson High School.
This sitcom was performed live across NBC from 1952 to 1955. Only
a small handful of episodes exist today on very poor kinescopes.
Other stars included Marion Lorne(Aunt Clara on "Bewitched") and a
young Tony Randall. It was sponsored by Ford.
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"Judge for Yourself" was one of the
first TV shows on WICS, having premiered on NBC in 1952 where it ran
until 1954. It was seen on Tuesday evenings at 9PM CT during it's
run. It was hosted by radio veteran Fred Allen. The
original format of the show, consisted of a talent "American Idol" type
of talent show. The format changed during it's second season, in
which top hits of the era were performed and celebrity panelists rated
them as to their hit potential.
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NBC was the first TV network to program
a regular network newscast. It began in 1939 when Lowell
Thomas(seen on a "M*A*S*H" episode in the 1970's) was featured as the
first newscaster. The show included maps, diagrams prepared by
NBC, but also included background music by organ! Newscasts were
suspended during WWII, as most commercial TV activity, but in 1944 in
returned as "The War As it Happens" and has been a part of network
operations ever since.
By 1953, John Cameron Swayze was the first one to be called "Anchorman"
as he hosted the "Camel News Caravan"
on NBC. He anchored the NBC
news until 1956 when he was replaced by Chet Huntley and David Brinkley.
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Milton Berle's "Texaco Star Theater"
helped to sell more TV's than
any other TV series at the time. "Uncle Miltie" or "Mr.
Television" was so popular with viewers that we was awarded a decades
long contract with NBC. The show consisted of musical
numbers, comedy acts, skits and pretty much set the format for variety
shows for years. But in 1954 Texaco decided to drop sponsorship
in favor of "Jimmy Durante" and "Donald O'Connor" Shows.
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After Texaco dropped sponsorship, Milton Berle's show became "The Buick
Berle Show" for awhile. But, competition was getting
tough, and
the sponsorship of General Motors was dropped within a year. It
later was just called "The Milton Berle Show" until it's eventual
cancellation. His show which had been a part of
NBC from 1948, was dropped from NBC's lineup in 1956. Tuesday
nights wouldn't be the same, as he occupied the 7-8PM CT time slot,
ever since most people purchased their first TV.
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This is one of small group of TV shows that could be named as an
example of TV's Golden Age. "Your
Show of Shows" starred Sid
Caesar and Imogene Coca along with Carl Reiner, Howard Morris, Bill
Hayes and many others who would later be a part of the first half
century of television. Writers of the series became stars in the
own right, geniuses like Mel Brooks, Neil Simon, Woody Allen and Larry
Gelbart. It was 90 minutes LIVE each week and it was all
considered very, very good! Unfortunately, it didn't last long
enough to be enjoyed by most households, because the penetration of
households with TV simply wasn't all that large, even in 1954.
So, some 6 months or so, after WICS signed on the air in Springfield,
"Your Show of Shows" went off the air.
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Jack Webb, who starred in a number of radio crime dramas, P.I. shows,
developed the concept of "Dragnet"
for network radio in 1949. By
1952, the show was ready for TV as well. These half hour filmed
episodes were produced in documentary style, with realistic side plots,
which gave the officers a connection to the viewers. Jack Webb
played Joe Friday, an L.A. police detective who would solve various
crimes with his partner. His partner over the years were played
by Barton Yarborough, Barney Phillips, Ben Alexander and Herb
Ellis. By January of 1953, it was a weekly series on NBC, and was
part of the lineup of WICS during it's early years.
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"Name That Tune" was hosted by Red
Benson from 1953 to 1954 on NBC. It moved to CBS in 1954, where
it continued through 1959. Contestants tried to identify popular
songs as played by the shows in-house orchestra.
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"Gang Busters" ran on NBC during
it's 1952 season as an alternative to "Dragnet"(right). It was a
stopgap show that was basically produced to fill time. That said,
the show was a tremendous success anyway, but was still canceled after
one season. Episodes ran in syndication for quite some time, and
on WICS during the 1950's. It was based on the long running radio
police drama which ran from the 1930's to the 1950's.
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"I Married Joan"
was NBC's try at the success of "I Love Lucy" on
CBS. This TV series starred "TV's Queen of Comedy" as she was
billed, Joan Davis. Davis was a screen comedian in several
B-pictures of the 1940's. Her character Joan Stevens was the wife
of Judge Brad Stevens, played by Jim Backus. The series was
produced on film, similarly to how Desi and Lucy's show was produced,
but the results were less than spectacular. One of the more
unique aspects of the show, was the fact that the musical accompaniment
was done accapella by a male singing group. The various “do-weee”
and “do-waas” were dropped in to the various dramatic, or comedic
places in the plot. Even the theme song was done accapella.
"I Married Joan....what a wife, what a wife, what a life!" Joans
character was somewhat similar to Lucy’s as well, having her get
herself into some scheme and relying on slapstick action to get her
out. It ran on NBC from 1952 to 1955, on Wednesday evenings from
7 to 7:30 CT, making it one of the original network shows on
WICS. If you ever get a chance to see any of this TV series,
you'll see just how silly it all was, and didn't have the writing, the
acting, or the production elements of "I Love Lucy" which pretty much
is the reason why you'll never see this one broadcast again!
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"The Colgate Comedy Hour"
was a big budget live variety show which began for NBC in 1950 and
continued through 1955. Hosts over the time included Eddie
Cantor, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, Donald O'Connor, Abbott and
Costello(see stills above), Jimmy Durante, Gordon MacRae and Robert
Page. It was mostly a comedy series and originated from Hollywood
and included the first NBC colorcast on November 23, 1953, before WICS
went on the air. It wouldn't have made any difference anyway, as
WICS, and probably most NBC affiliates at the time didn't have the
ability to broadcast color. That didn't even include the fact
that very very few viewers even had the ability to view color
TV. The TV classic featured many other broadcast firsts
over it's life, including broadcasts taking place at remote
locations over the country, where ever some "big" event took
place. It was always featured in the Sunday night,
7-8PM CT time slot.
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"The Today Show"
began before WICS went on the air in January of 1952. The morning
news and entertainment program was hosted by Dave Garroway(shown
above). It was developed by Pat Weaver for NBC, who also created
"Tonight" for NBC(below). The show, which was produced live for
the eastern time zone from 7am-9am was split for the central time
zone. The second hour for the eastern zone, was the first hour
for the central zone. Early on, before the use of video tape, a
third hour was produced for the central time zone's second hour, and
the first hour was only seen as the first hour in the eastern time
zone. One of the unique production techniques was the use of the
sidewalk studio, which would feature an "audience" outside on the
sidewalk of Rockefeller Center in New York. Others on
staff included Jack Lescoulie and Frank Blair. One other cast
member who was featured was a chimp named J. Fred Muggs. After he
became uncontrollable, he was dropped. Dave Garroway was the main
host from 1952 to 1961.
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"Tonight" premiered in 1953 as a
local show on the NBC Flagship station in New York, WNBT.
The host of Steve Allen when it finally premiered on NBC in September
of 1954, less than a year after WICS went on the air. The variety
talk show included Allen, along with a cast of regulars who performed
skits, live. The show showcased the many talents of Steve
Allen, who along with a comedian, was also a songwriter, a performer,
he played piano, and was an actor. He continued through 1956,
when he left the show to be replaced by Ernie Kovaks. Others on
the show included Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme, Andy Williams, Gene
Rayburn(who also read a short newscast during one of the breaks), and
band leader Skitch Henderson.
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Here is a listing of the
prime time NBC shows which aired from 1953 to 1955 which aired on
WICS: The Paul WinchellShow, Mr. Peepers, Colgate Comedy Hour,
The Philco TV Playhouse, Goodyear TV Playhouse, Letter to Loretta, Man
Against Crime, Arthur Murray Dance Party, Name That Tune, Voice of
Firestone, RCA Victor Show Starring Dennis Day, Robert Montgomery
Presents, Who Said That?, Dinah Shore, Buick Berle Show, Fireside
Theatre, Armstrong Circle Theatre, Judge for Yourself, On the Line with
Considine, Coke Time, I Married Joan, My Little Margie, Kraft
Television Theatre, This is Your Life, You Bet Your Life, Treasury Men
in Action, Dragnet, Ford Theatre, Marin Kane Private Eye, Dave Garroway
Show, Life of Riley, Big Story, Campbell Soundstage, Gillette Cavalcade
of Sports, Greatest Fights, Mr. Wizard, Ethel and Albert, Bonino, The
Original Amateur Hour, Your Show of Shows, Your Hit Parade, People are
Funny, Loretta Young Show, The Hunter, Tony Martin, Caesar's Hour,
medic, Truth or Consequences, It's a Great Life, Big Town, Justice,
Dragnet, Ford Theatre, Lux Video Theatre, Red Buttons Show, Dear
Phoebe, Mickey Rooney Show, Place the Face, Imogene Coca Show, Texaco
Star Theatre, George Gobel Show, Frontier, Colgate Variety Hour, Tony
Martin Show, Screen Director's Playhouse, Father Knows Best, Midwestern
Hayride, Star Stage, Perry Como Show and People are Funny.
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"Watch
Mr. Wizard" was a children's science program which originated in
Chicago from 1951 to 1955. In 1955 it moved to New York as was
part of the NBC Saturday morning lineup until 1965. Don Herbert
was Mr. Wizard playing the role of teacher, with an assistant who was a
young boy or girl or perhaps both at the same time. He would conduct
science experiments, to which the young assistants would say "Gee Mr.
Wizard!" It was produced by the Public Affairs Department of NBC
News.
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From 1951 to 1957, "The Roy Rogers
Show" ran on NBC, primarily on Sunday evenings from 5:30-6 pm
CT. Along with Roy viewers saw Dale Evans and Pat Brady, along
with Trigger, Dale's horse Buttermilk, their dog Bullet and the
Jeep Nellybelle. Yes, Jeep, as this was a modern day "western"
taking place at the Double R Bar Ranch.
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"Wagon Train"
premeired on NBC in 1957 where it ran until 1962. It was the
first of the epic TV westerns. Stars included Ward Bond and
Robert Horton, along with Terry Wilson and Frank
McGrath. It moved to ABC from 1962 to 1965 with quite a few cast
changes.
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"The Lux Show Starring Rosemary Clooney"
ran on NBC from 1957 to 1958 and starred George Clooney's Aunt
Rosemary. The show also starred Frank DeVol and his Orchestra,
Paula Kelly and the Modernaires before being replaced by The Jones Boys
in 1958. This variety series aired on Thursday's at 9-9:30 pm CT.
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He
was called "Lonesome George", George Gobel, probably one of the
funniest guys in the business during the 1950's, and even in the
1960's, after his comedy was out of date. Gobel hosted "The George Gobel Show" on NBC from
1954 through 1959. In 1959-60, it moved to CBS. The show
featured many classic performers during the time including Eddie
Fisher, Joe Flynn, Anita Bryant, Harry Von Zell, the Johnny Mann
Singers, Peggy King and the Modernaires. The show featured comedy
skits along with musical numbers.
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"Zorro" was a product of the Walt
Disney Studios" as part of their package of programs for ABC. In
this case, it appears that the ad agency which represented products
which sponsored the show, purchased time on WICS independently from the
network. TV Guide even featured an ad with "Zorro" and an ABC
logo, even though WICS was a primary NBC affiliate. It ran via film
distribution the following night after originally being aired on ABC
Thursdays at 7:00-7:30 pm CT. WICS ran the show the following
night(or perhaps a week and a night later) at 7:30-8:00 pm CT.
The title character was played by Guy Williams and starred George J.
Lewis, Gene Sheldon, Britt Lomond, Jan Arvan, Henry Calvin, and
others. The show's theme became a hit record, recored by the
Chordettes in 1958.xIt
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"Break the Bank" made the rounds
among the networks in the 1950's. It ended up on NBC during the
Summer of 1953, before WICS signed on, but returned again during the
Fall of 1956 and Winter of 1957. This game show began on Radio
and featured Burt Parks. In 1956, it was called "The $250,000
Break the Bank," but during it's run, one one ever won $250,000.
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Art
Linkletter was a mainstay at CBS during the 1950's, but at the same
time, he hosted "People are Funny" on
NBC from 1954 to 1961. It was a contestant stunt show which would
win participants cash and prizes. It also featured the first use
of a computer to match single people together for dating. It ran at
various times on the NBC prime time schedule over it's run.
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"Queen for a Day" was TV game show
which had it's beginnings in radio. Prizes were awarded to the person
who told the best hard luck story as voted on by the audience "applause
meter." The NBC show which ran from 1956 to 1964 was hosted by
Jack Bailey. It was probably one of the first examples of reality
programming.
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"The Nat 'King' Cole Show" was the
first network program hosted by a black performer. Unfortunately,
it never attracted much of an audience, it was also said his race had
something to do with not attracting a sponsor as well. He was
truly well ahead of his time! The show ran in 15-minute and
30-minute versions from 1956 to 1957 on NBC and WICS.
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"Blondie" was based on the comic
strip which still runs in newspapers today! This was the first
attempt at making a sit com based on the strip. It starred Arthur
Lake, Pamela Britton, Blorenz Ames and Hal "The Great Gildersleeve"
Peary as neighbor Herb Woodley. "Blondie" ran on NBC from January
through December of 1957. It was also the basis of several movies
as well.
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Mark Goodson and Bill Todman developed this game show for NBC in
1957. One of the potential hosts for the long running game show
was Dick Van Dyke, who auditioned for the job in 1957. A rare
picture from his audition is left. Bill Cullen ultimately ended
up as the host. This version was different from the Bob Barker
version of the show with the same name. This had a panel of
contestants who made bids on products, and would win prizes.
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"You
Bet Your Life" was one of the longest running shows on NBC during the
1950's. Groucho Marx was the host, in which people would win cash
by answering questions. It was more of a vehicle to showcase the
wit of Groucho, and worked for NBC from 1950 through 1961. It had
always run on Thursday during it's entire run.
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Bob Hope was an NBC regular from the early 1950's through the 1980's
with "The Bob Hope Show."
He would star in several TV big event "specials" each TV season,
usually during ratings periods, as his show would normally end up in
the top 10, if not number one, for the week. His show's were
simple, with a format which was developed during his long run on "The
Pepsodent Show" on network radio during the 1940's. The monolog,
would be followed by a musical number, a skit, another musical number
and finally another climatic comedy skit. The laughs were plenty,
the cue cards were plenty and the great looking female guests were
plenty as well. There were election specials(in which he was a
well known Republican-well, not everyone's perfect), there were
Christmas specials, specials based on football season, baseball World
Series contests and more. Sponsors included Texaco, The Chrysler
Corporation and others. Bing Crosby would guest star in many of
these yearly specials too.
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"The Bob Cummings Show" premiered on
NBC in January of 1955 and run through September of that year, before
switching to CBS through 1957. In September of 1957, it returned
to NBC where it ran for two more seasons. Bob Cummings starred
with Rosemary DeCamp(Death Valley Days), Ann B. Davis(Brady Bunch),
Dwayne Hickman(Dobie Gillis), Nancy Kulp(Beverly Hillbillies), Lyle
Talbot(Ozzie and Harriett), King Donovan, Joi Lancing(Beverly
Hillbillies). The show also ran on ABC daytime during the early
1960's as "Love That Bob!"
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Dinah
Shore starred in two long running NBC series during the 1950's. "The Dinah Shore Show" first
premiered in 1951 and ran until 1957. It was a twice weekly
variety music series which ran on Tuesday and Thursdays from 6:30 to
6:45pm CT. The first series also starred the Notables, the
Skylarks, Ticker Freeman the Harry Zimmerman Orchestra and the
Vic Schoen Orchestra. The second series was called "The Dinah
Shore Chevy Show" obviously sponsored by General Motors' Chevrolet
Division. Dinah would sing, "See the U.S.A. in your
Chevrolet....."
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"Lucky
Strike's Hit Parade" ran on NBC from 1950 to 1958 on NBC before it
moved to CBS for it's final season in 1959. It starred many
singers who would recreate the hit songs of the day in skit and
performance. Stars included: Snooky Lanson, Dorothy Collins,
Gisele MacKenzie, Johnny Dismond and many more.
By September of 1957, "Lucky Strike's Hit Parade"
was broadcast in color, and it was the premiere of the NBC Peacock
shown below. The sequence was 10-seconds long, and in spite of
the use of the well known peacock image at the end, the first part was
much different. This early version of the Peacock was used until the
much more familiar version in 1962. Both versions preceded
programs that were broadcast in color on NBC.
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"My Little Margie" was another of
the series which put on miles being shuttled between networks.
This one ran on CBS and NBC in alternate years. It was on NBC in
1952 from October to November, then again from 1953 to 1955. It
starred Gale Storm, a b-movie actress who also sang, and had a hit
record in the early 1950's. Playing her troubled father was
former b-movie actor Charles Farrell, along with Hillary Brooke.
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Big
Screen actor Robert Montgomery hosted "Robert
Montgomery Presents" and was one of the big-budget dramatic
anthology shows which ran from 1950 to 1957. It would star a
number of many well known stars of the time, including his real life
daughter, Elizabeth Montgomery("Bewitched"). It ran on Monday
night at 8:30 to 9:30pm CT during it's entire run on NBC.
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"The Loretta Young Show" was an
anthology series, in which she starred in about half. The half
hour show always began with her trademark entrance in her full skirt to
introduce the place of the night. It ran on NBC from 1953 to 1961
on Sunday nights. It also ran on NBC daytime from 1960 to 1964,
called "The Loretta Young Theater."
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Here is a listing of the prime time NBC shows which aired from 1956 to
1960 which aired on WICS: Tales of the 77th Bengal Lancers,
Circus Boy, Steve Allen Show, Goodyear TV Playhouse, Alcoa Hour,
Loretta Young Show, National Bowling Championships, The Nat King Cole
Show, Adventures of Sir Lancelot, Stanley, Medic, Robert Montgomery
Presents, Jonathan Winters Show, Big Surprise, Noah's Ark, Jane Wyman,
Armstrong Circle Theatre, Kaiser Aluminum Hour, Break the $250,000
Bank, Eddie Fisher Show, Adventures of Hiram Holiday, Father Knows
Best, Kraft Television Theatre, This is Your Life, Twenty-One, You Bet
Your Life, Dragnet, People's Choice, Ford Show with Tennessee Ernie
Ford, Lux Video Theatre, Life of Riley, Walter Winchell Show, On Trail,
Big Story, Gillette Cavalcade of Sports, Red Barber's Corner, People
are Funny, Perry Como Show, Caesar's Hour, George Gobel Show, Your Hit
Parade, Original Amateur Hour, Sally, Dinah Shore Chevy Show, Meet
McGraw, Bob Cummings Show, The Californians, Tic Tac Dough, Lux Show
starring Rosemary Clooney, Jane Wyman Show, Sabor of London, Court of
Last Resort, M Squad, Thin Man, Polly Bergan Show, Club Oasis, Gisele
MacKenzie Show, What's it For, Northwest Passage, Restless Gun, Tales
of Wells Fargo, Peter Gunn, Arthur Murray Dance Party, George Burns
Show, Wagon Train, Price is Right, Milton Berle in the Kraft Music
Hall, Bat Masterson, Jefferson Drum, Ed Wynn Show, Behind Closed
Drawers, Masquerade Party, Buckskin, Adventures of Ellery Queen, Steve
Canyon, Cimarron City, Brains and Brawn, Riverboat, Sunday Showcase,
Richard Diamond-Private Detective, Love and Marriage, Laramie, Fibber
McGee and Molly, Startime, Wichita Town, Law of Plainsman, Staccato,
Bachelor Father, The Lawless Years, The Trouble Shooters, Bell
Telephone Hour, Bonanza, Man and the Challenge, The Deputy, Five
Fingers and It Could Be You.
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October 17, 1958, "Another Evening
with Fred Astaire" as broadcast on NBC. Viewers probably
didn't
know it, but it was the first color show to be pre-recorded on video
tape at NBC's new "Color City" state of the art new studios in
Burbank. This TV special pre-empted "M-Squad" and "The Thin Man"
that evening. The NBC special was sponsored by The Chrysler
Corporation. "Another Evening with Fred Astaire" won several Emmy
Awards in 1959.
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Perry Como Show" bounced back
and forth between NBC, then CBS and NBC again by 1955 through
1963. This music variety show also featured announcer Frank
Gallop, and later the familiar Ed Herlihy who is best known as the
announcer for the Kraft commercials after he became host of the Kraft
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"Peter Gunn" starred Craig Stevens
in the title role, along with Lola Albright, Herschel Bernardi, Hope
Emerson(replaced by Minerva Urecal). This very stylistic, crime
drama featured the work of one detective Gunn who hung out a jazz
nightclub, called Mothers where his girlfriend Edie(Albright) was a
singer. The jazz score of the show was from Henry Mancini.
"Peter Gunn" was a part of the NBC schedule from 1958 to 1960, where it
moved to ABC from 1960 to 1961.
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"Howdy Doody" was
one of the pioneering children's programs which raon on NBC from 1947
to 1960. Although, it was on the air in 1953, it wasn't seen on
WICS for at least a couple of years, as WICS didn't sign on until after
the show aired live across the network on Saturday mornings.
Since the show was presented live, WICS later ran kinescopes of the
show on Saturday afternoon right after it's sign-on. It was also
a pioneer in color TV as well, as it was presented in color during the
late 1950's and in 1960 as a way to help RCA(the owner of NBC) sell
color TV sets. Bob "Buffalo Bob" Smith was the cowboy host of the
show and provided the voice of the marionette "Howdy Doody."
Howdy wasn't the only puppet, as his sister was featured "Heidi."
Other puppet characters were Doodyville Mayor Phineas T. Bluster,
Dilly Dally, Princess Summerfall Winterspring and Flub-a-Dub.
There were live characters as well, including Clarabell the Clown,
Chief Thunderthud(who came up with the word 'kowabonga') and later the
Princess became a live character played by Judy Tyler. Clarabell,
who was mute, was first played by bob Keeshan(who later became Captain
Kangaroo). A scene during the final episode of the series in 1960
had Clarabell(pictured far right above) saying "Goodbye
kids." WICS, when the decision was made to sign-on early on
Saturday(around 1957) to air the lineup of kids programming later ran
"Howdy Doody" live as it came across the network.
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In 1956, after
covering the political conventions during the election year, Chet
Huntley and David Brinkley replaced John Cameron Swayze as the
"anchormen" of NBC News. "The Huntley-Brinkley Report" ran
on NBC for nearly 14 years. The early years were 15 minutes in
length, but by 1963, the newscast was taken to 30 minutes. This
was done within a week of CBS taking their newscast from 15 to 30
minutes as well.
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"Bonanza" began as a production of NBC, sponsored by major
corporate sponsor General Motors, primarily Chevrolet. It was a
replacement for "The Dinah Shore Chevy Show" which was canceled in
1959. "Bonanza" premiered in 1959 and ran through 1973. It
was a promotional partnership which would be extended much further than
the actual broadcast of the TV show. One of the more unique
disadvantages of this partnership, was that the product couldn't be
shown as part of the show itself! "Bonanza" was also a color TV
pioneer, as it was broadcast in color throughout it's entire run, with
many scenes designed to showcase the advantage of watching the show in
color, hopefully on an RCA color TV no doubt. There was also a
tour of a duplicate set of the "Pondorosa" ranch house exterior which
made appearances at state fairs and other events across the country
during the early 1960's. These displays also featured the latest
models of Chevrolet vehicles
The series was set on a ranch, which included many thousands of square
miles called "The Pondorosa" owned by patriarch of a family of all half
brothers. Adam Cartright was the father, played by Lorne Green,
with sons Adam(Pernell Roberts), Eric"Hoss"(Dan Blocker), Joe "Little
Joe"(Michael Landon). Others in the cast during the early years
included Ray Teal as Sheriff Coffee and Victor Sen Yung as their cook
Hop Sing. The series concentrated more on the relationship of the
cast with guest characters. Many episodes would feature the drama
surrounding just one or two of the main characters, but still included
at least short cameos of the other members of the cast. The show
also was featured in syndication and in reruns in other time periods as
"The Pondorosa."
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The
Jack Paar version of "Tonight" premiered in July of 1957 and ran on NBC
through March of 1962. The announcer/co-host was Hugh
Downs(pictured far left below), along with other regulars which
included Dody Goodman, Cliff Arquette as Charlie Weaver, Pat Harrington
Jr., Hans Conried, Peggy Cass, Joey Bishop, Florence Henderson, Buddy
Hackett, Betty White and others. This version of the late
night variety show was much different than the Steve Allen version, as
it included more interviews with the very emotional Jack Paar. As
pictured here he interviewed politicians such as Richard Nixon, John
Kennedy, Robert Kennedy and others. He was very opinionated and
brought his pet concerns to the limelight with various episodes.
NBC, after having complaints about some of his opinions and actions,
decided to use video tape to delay his shows after being edited for
content. This did allow for reruns of the show to be run on
Friday's, giving him a 4 night work week.
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Construction
on WCHU began in November of 1958, and the station originally went on
the air in September of
1959 as a low power UHF station and a translator of WICS.
The original coverage of
area of WCHU was estimated to be no more than 15 miles from the
transmitter site at the Inman Hotel in downtown Champaign. The
power output on the new WCHU was 5.5 kilowatts visual and 2.96
kilowatts aural from a short antenna mounted on top of the Inman Hotel
in downtown Champaign, the corner of Neil and University. Now by 1959,
Champaign-Urbana could receive NBC programming full time....and in
color by 1961.
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Late in 1960, the exact date is unclear, but Northwest Publishing,
owner of WDAN-TV sold the station to Plains Television
Partners which then renamed the station WICD-TV to become a satellite
station of
WCHU which was a satellite of WICS in Springfield. The original
WDAN-TV
studios on North Washington Street in Danville after the sale, was
leased from Northwest Publishing. The original facility also
housed
the WDAN-AM studio and transmitter while the television station was
located there. Later
during the early and mid 1960's Champaign's
WCHU did originate local programming which was simulcast on
WICD-TV,
including local news, children's programming and local
commercials. |
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"The Westerner" was a short lived
western series which aired on NBC from September through December of
1960. It starred Brian Keith and long time radio and TV western
guest star John Dehner. It also starred a pet dog which traveled
with Dave Blassingame(Keith). Interesting bit of trivia-this was
the same dog who played "Old Yeller" in the Walt Disney movie of the
early 1960's.
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"The Life of Riley" had two lives,
maybe even more if you count the radio version of the 1940's and
50's. The first TV version ran on NBC Television in 1949-50 and
starred Jackie Gleason in the role which originated by William Bendix
on radio. The show didn't last long, but was recast with William Bendix
when it appeared in the 1953 to 1958 version for NBC. His wife
was played by Marjorie Reynolds, with kids Wesley Morgan and
Lugene Sanders. His friend Gillis was played by Tom
D'Andrea. Later George O'Hanlon joined the cast as Calvan
Dudley(he provided the voice for George Jetson) and Martin Milner(Route
66, Adam 12) played a boyfriend and later husband for his daughter.
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This
30-minute sitcom has the distinction as being broadcast by all three
networks during it's run. "Bachelor
Father" started in September 1957 on CBS when it moved in June
of 1959 to NBC where it run until September 1961. The next month
it popped up on ABC where it ran for another year-until 1962.
John Forsythe(Dynasty) starred as a well to do bachelor Hollywood
lawyer who was forced to adopt his 13 year old niece, Kelly, after her
parents were killed. The cast also included his "house boy"
Sammee Tong. On one episode, a friend of Kelly's came to visit,
one young actress named Linda Evans, who later played his wife in the
ABC series Dynasty some 20 years later.
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This
Nat Hiken show starred a great cast of comedians a couple of whom would
work together again in the future. "Car 54 Where Are You" was shot in
New York, featuring a police department in New York, The actors
included: Joe E. Ross, Fred Gwynne, Bea Pons, Nipsey Russell, Paul
Reed, Albert Henderson, Al Lewis and Charlotte Rae. Of course,
Fred Gwynne and Al Lewis would work together later in the decade in
"The Munsters." Joe E. Ross is probably best remembered with his
catch phrase, "Ooh-ooh....."which preceded just about every line he
delivered. A great show, with a great friendly feel to it and a
live audience. Nat Hiken also produced "The Phil Silvers Show."
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NBC
had the chance to air a TV series with one of the greatest actors in
history, and they wasted him on a western. "The Deputy" ran for two years on
NBC from 1959-61. Even though, he was listed as the star, there
were many episodes which he didn't appear, he did serve as a narrator
for each episode. The co-stars were Alan Case, Wallace Ford,
Betty Lou Keim and Read Morgan. It ran on Saturday nights from
8-8:30pm CT on NBC and WICS.
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"Play Your Hunch" was
emceed by Merv Griffin, with announcer Johnny Olson. Teams of
related individuals were given problems to solve. Each problem
solved would earn points worth $100. The winners would keep
playing against other teams until the end of the show. The prime
time version ran on NBC from 1960 to 1962.
"Play Your Hunch" actually ran on all three networks during daytime
from June 1958 to 1963. The daytime emcees included: Merv
Griffin, Robert Q. Lewis, Richard Hayes and Gene Rayburn.
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"The
"The Bob Hope
Show" ran on NBC as a series of Specials on the network. Here he
is pictured with guest stars Frank Sinatra, Lucille Ball and Jack Benny.
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"Dr. Kildare" was
one of the most popular TV medical dramas in the history of TV.
He was played by Richard Chamberlain. His co-stars were played by
Raymond Massey, Eddie Ryder, Jud Taylor, Joan Patrich and Lee
Kurty. It aired on NBC from 1961 to 1966. If this series
was produced in color, it probably would have been seen more in
syndication later, but it's pretty much disappeared off the radar
screen. The series was based on a series of 1940's
B-movies. During it's run, the young Dr. Kildare went from being
an intern to a resident. The hour long show also went to being
aired as a two part, 2-half hours sho | |
