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Welcome to Central Illinois' On-Line Broadcast Museum. This website documents in detail the history of each of the viewable TV stations, past and present, across mid-Illinois in text, photos, and videos, as well as each station's current status. This site also includes local radio history and automated analog formats, again told in pictures, videos, and text.

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It was the first time my image was seen on a television screen. This was me in 1956.

Doug Quick
Radio/TV Broadcaster/Historian, Author, Webmaster
complete bio available here.

Videos of the Week

From now through Christmas, I'll be sharing some of the popular YouTube Videos of Classic Television shows with a Christmas theme each week. I include classic sitcoms and variety shows with performers we often hear and see each Holiday season. This week, enjoy the videos below through the evening of Saturday, December 7th. Then, I'll have three and a half weeks of Holiday videos through Wednesday, December 25th.

If you like videos, you should visit my YouTube Channel. Explore my channel, give me a "LIKE" for the videos you watch, and subscribe to the channel. Just click on the "YouTube" logo below to go directly to my Channel—and enjoy!

The Perry Como Christmas Show from 1953 and CBS

Click on the image to watch the video directly from YouTube.

The Perry Como Christmas Show (1953) CBS

In the early TV days, CBS presented several 15-minute musical series hosted by everyone from Bob Crosby to Faye Emerson. They were featured in the late afternoon into primetime. One often-scheduled performer was Perry Como from 1950 to 1955. His show was sponsored by Liggett and Myers' Chesterfield cigarettes and aired on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evenings following the CBS network newscasts.

This video is from Christmas evening, December 25, 1953. By September 15, 1956, Perry would move to NBC, where he would star in a weekly hour-long variety show broadcast in color from the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York. That was one of the first weekly color TV shows. By 1959, Mr. Como would become the host of the Kraft Music Hall, where he would host for eight years.

His holiday specials would follow for many years through 1994.

TV listings for Perry Como 1953 from Chicago Tribune

This early TV Christmas selection wasn't seen anywhere across mid-Illinois or even in St. Louis, as no TV stations were on the air, and St. Louis had no CBS affiliate at the time of its broadcast. This newspaper listing is from the Chicago Tribune on December 25, 1953, showing "Perry Como" airing at 6:45 pm (CT) on WBBM, Channel 2, Chicago.

Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color from 1962, Christmas at Disneyland.

Click on the image to watch the video directly from YouTube.

Holiday Time at Disneyland (1962) NBC

This was produced in 1962, the year of my second visit to Disneyland. It brings back a flood of memories of what I saw when I was 8 years old.

This edition of "Disney's Wonderful World of Color" features the many "holidays" celebrated at the original Disney theme park.

The original video was broadcast on Sunday, December 23, 1962, on NBC in Living Color and on WCHU, WICD(in black and white), WEEK, WGEM-TV, and KSD-TV.

TV Listings from Bloomington Pantagraph for "Holiday Time at Disney" 1962

This is the TV listing of the "Holiday Time at Disneyland" episode above with Walt Disney from 1962. It was published in the TV listings the day before it was broadcast on December 22, 1962, in the Bloomington Pantagraph.

The KSD-TV advertisement is from the December 23, 1962, edition of the St. Louis Post Dispatch. It features the "Holiday Time at Disneyland" telecast from the video above.

KSD-TV Ad from 1962 for Holiday Time at Disneyland, 1962

Dick Van Dyke Show Christmas Show-"The Alan Brady Show" from 1963.

Click on the image to watch the video directly from YouTube.

The Dick Van Dyke Show (1963) Christmas Episode

"The Alan Brady Show Presents" Christmas show is a show within a show broadcast on December 18, 1963. Head writer Rob Petre (Dick Van Dyke) explains to the audience of The Alan Brady Show, in flashback, how the creation of the show developed. It was then followed by segments featuring the writing staff, Buddy and Sally (Morey Amsterdam and Rose Marie), with Rob's wife, Laura (Mary Tyler Moore), and producer Mel Cooley (Richard Deacon). Alan Brady played Santa (Carl Reiner).

We must make note that this week Dick Van Dyke will celebrate his 99th birthday on December 13. Rose Marie passed away in 2017, making Mr. Van Dyke the last remaining adult cast member of the show.

The Dick Van Dyke aired on CBS during its entire run from 1961 to 1966. It was seen throughout mid-Illinois on WCIA, WMBD-TV, WTHI-TV, KHQA, and KMOX-TV.

TV listings from Decatur Herald/Review 1963 for The Dick Van Dyke Show

This description of "The Dick Van Dyke Show" is from the Decatur Herald and Review on the day of the broadcast of the episode called "The Alan Brady Show" Christmas episode, December 18, 1963. Watch the complete episode above.

From The Dick Van Dyke Show Christmas episode, "The Alan Brady Show"

The Dean Martin Show with the Sinatra's form 1967.

Click on the image to watch the video directly from YouTube.

Dean Martin Christmas Show with the Sinatras (1967) NBC

The top two Rat Pack members unite with their families at Christmas time for this 1967 NBC Holiday edition of "The Dean Martin Show." This memorable show features more than a dozen holiday classic songs and a medley of their favorites.

This includes family members who have been successful independently, Nancy Sinatra, Frank Sinatra Jr., and Tina Sinatra, all from his first wife, Nancy Sr. The Martins are represented by Mrs. (Dean)Barbara Martin, along with Dean Paul Martin Jr., Claudia, Craig, Deana, Gail, Gina, and Ricci Martin.

Frank Sinatra Jr. was kidnapped in December of 1963, with his father paying a $240,000 ransom. At the time of this broadcast, Frank was married to Mia Farrow on July 19, 1966. By August of 1968, they were divorced.

The Martin family included future son-in-law Carl Wilson (of the Beach Boys), who was married to Gina from 1987 until his death in 1998. Future wives of John Paul Martin were actress Olivia Hussey and figure skater Dorothy Hamill. Craig was married to Lou Costello's daughter Carole until her death by a stroke. Dean Paul Martin was killed in a crash while flying his F-4 Phantom II jet fighter for the California Air National Guard on March 21, 1987.

The Dean Martin Christmas Show with the Sinatras aired throughout mid-Illinois on WICS, WICD, WEEK, WTWO, WGEM-TV, and KSD-TV.

A publicity story/picture from the Bloomington Pantagraph

Bloomington Pantagraph TV listings for "The Dean Martin Show"

Both images above and to the left are from the Bloomington Pantagraph. The one above is a publicity photo furnished by NBC to the media featuring the "Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra Family Holiday Show. At the left is the regular listing from the TV schedules of the Pantagarph.

The Homecoming, and pilot show for "The Walton's" from 1971.

Click on the image to watch the video directly from YouTube.

The Homecoming: A Christmas Story (1971) CBS

IMDb Description: "On Christmas Eve 1933, a rural Virginia clan, the Waltons, are preparing to celebrate the holiday. However, patriarch John Walton (Andrew Duggan), who has gone to the big city in search of work, still hasn't returned home, and a heavy snowstorm only adds more cause for worry. Teenage son John-Boy (Richard Thomas) tries to distract his siblings by explaining the real meaning of Christmas to them before his mother (Patricia Neal) finally sends John-Boy out to find his father."

Written by Earl Hamner Jr., this telecast remains one of the most remembered Holiday specials ever on television. Later, it became a hit CBS television series called "The Waltons," with a number of cast changes from this presumed pilot episode.

This Christmas Special aired on December 19, 1971, and the remaining series of episodes were seen across mid-Illinois on WCIA, WMBD-TV, KHQA, WTHI-TV, and KMOX-TV. "The Waltons" can be seen on weekday mornings on MeTV.

From the Bloomington Pantagraph, listings for The Homecoming and 1971

This listing is from the TV listings published on the Saturday before the broadcast of "The Homecoming" by the Bloomington Pantagraph. It is from December 19, 1971. It indicates it was on Channel 2, WBBM, Chicago along with WCIA, and WMBD-TV.

The Carpenters: A Christmas Portrait from 1978 and ABC

Click on the image to watch the video directly from YouTube.

The Carpenters: A Christmas Portrait (1978) ABC

"The Carpenters: A Christmas Portrait" aired on December 19, 1978, on ABC Television. This was the second Christmas special from the Carpenters, recorded in October 1978. It promoted the group's Christmas album, which was certified platinum. Their Holiday songs have remained popular throughout the years, so much so that younger generations only know of them from those recordings.

This video was the final Christmas special of two Holiday specials from the soft rock/pop duo. 1978 and 79 became a turning point in both siblings' health and careers. Richard dealt with a prescription drug addiction, and Karen with anorexia nervosa, which would finally end her life on February 4, 1983. Richard went through addiction therapy for six weeks in 1979 and returned to produce remixes of recordings from the Carpenters music catalog, including some previously unreleased songs with Karen through the 1980s.

On June 1, 2008, a fire at Universal Studios would destroy a 3-acre portion of the Universal backlot, including the amusement park attraction for King Kong. That fire destroyed 40 to 50 thousand archived digital videos and films of television series and movies and up to 175,000 audio master tapes held by the Universal Music Group. That included recordings of Karen and Richard Carpenter. Meanwhile, Richard was looking to utilize the masters to remix some of the existing Carpenter songs once again. It's reported that he had made numerous inquiries for the tapes before the fire, but Universal did not release them to him. Later, as Richard tells the story, a Universal employee tells him the recordings were lost in the fire. To read more about this tragic event, visit the 2008 Universal Studios Fire.

"The Carpenters: A Christmas Portrait" was shown on ABC affiliates in mid-Illinois, including WAND, WRAU, WBAK, and KTVI.

Listings from the Bloomington Pantagaph for The Carpenters: Christmas Portrait Special, 1978.

The "Carpenters-Portrait" was broadcast on ABC at Christmas time in 1978. The listing to the left was published in the TV section of the Bloomington Pantagraph the Saturday before the broadcast on December 1978 on the ABC stations listed.

Click on the image to watch the video directly from YouTube.

SNL-It's a Wonderful Life: The Lost Ending (1986) NBC

This segment of Saturday Night Live is presented as a lost ending of the Holiday Classic, "It's a Wonderful Life." In this 1986 skit, the lost ending ties up many of the questions that many people have asked for years with the original movie's ending. Be looking for Dana Carvey (as the Jimmy Stewart character, George Baily), Phil Hartman(as Uncle Billy), and Jon Lovitz(as Mr. Potter).

This has aired on several SNL Holiday specials from 1987 into the 2000s. It originally aired on NBC affiliates WICS, WICD, WEEK, WGEM-TV, WWTO, and KSD-TV. After 2005 and the NBC/ABC affiliate Central Illinois switch, the reruns would have aired on WAND, WEEK, WGEM-TV, WWTO, and KSD-TV.

Classic Radio

Bob Hope-Bing Crosby WWII Broadcast 12/24/1943

Click on the image to listen to the video directly from YouTube.

WWII Broadcast hosted by Bob Hope and Bing Crosby (1943) All Radio Networks

From YouTube: "Bob Hope Hosts Christmas Eve At The Front. This Show Stars Bob Hope and Bing Crosby. Original Air Date Was 12/24/1943. Originally broadcast from 10-11:15 pm(ET), and carried on all four broadcast networks {NBC, CBS, Blue, Mutual}; this was the NBC feed."

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"Pictures on the Prairie: The First Ten Years of Central Illinois Television" by Doug Quick

I hope to have a new edition of my book Pictures on the Prairie: The First Ten Years of Mid-Illinois Television available as an e-book sometime in 2024.

Taylorville, Christian County Courthouse

Frisina Drive In Theater, Taylorville, IL

Memories of the Capitol Theatre and Frisina Drive-In Theatre

Latest Updates to the Museum

2024-1112 Big Changes for KHQA, KTVO and the Champaign Studios of WICD/WCCU. Click here for the latest changes.

2024-1114 New material for the history of WTIM/WEEE. That material includes a newspaper ad announcemeing the new Frisina Hotel studio open house from 1956. Also some revisions and additions to the photo gallery from the 1950s-early 1960s.

2024-1116 Updated a few subchannels on TV Today as Scripps News ceased operations and was replaced with other avialble sub-channel networks.

2024-1123 Added another related newspaper story find from June of 1953 concerning the proposed educational TV station at the University of Illinois. Go here to see the update on WILL-TV.

2024-1123 Many of what was idendified as "ION+" subchannels have now been updated to "Defy." It seems that Defy has gone through a reformat and perhaps those ION+ channels were temporary placeholders for a network that was previously known as "Dare". That's indicated by their new website avialable here. Defy is also owned by the same company (Free TV Networks) that owns LIve365 and Outlaw. See the changes on the "TV Now" pages on this site.

(Thanks to Daniel Kolb for the heads-up on this change)

2024-1126 The Chicago Sports Net is added to the WHOI-TV channel lineup. (thanks to Daniel Kolb for the tip) I found that there are plans to add other markets into the Chicago Sports Net coverage area. Among the markets: Champaign/Springfield, Quincy, and Indianapolis. Be watching here for the information coming soon.

Previously on Videos

of the Week...

If you've missed any of the "Videos of the Week" or "Classic Radio" recordings, you'll find them here. Unfortunately, there's no narrative to go along with each. You have to visit each week for that.