Central Illinois' On-Line Broadcast Museum
The History of WICS, Channel 20, Springfield, IL
1953 - 1966
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The Scramble for Channel 2
In April of 1952, it appeared that Springfield, Illinois, would be assigned allocations for VHF channel 2 along with UHF channels 20 and 26. Channel 26 would be set aside for educational television broadcasting with a plan yet to be determined.
WTAX Application
It didn't take long for the allocation of VHF channel 2 to be targeted with an application filed in June 1952. The owner/operator for Springfield's WTAX AM/FM applied for the lone VHF allocation and proposed Springfield's first television station. Sangamon Valley Broadcasters proposed the station operating with a power of 100 kW from a 521-foot tower at the studio location a quarter of a mile north of the intersection of Bypass US-66 and Illinois Route 29. This was also the location of the transmitter/tower of WTAX AM/FM. The station's construction cost was $331,275, with a first-year operating cost of $325,000. The application described the use of a DuMont transmitter and an RCA antenna. The applicant also projected the first year revenue of $370,000. The ownership of the proposed station consisted of principals: Oliver .J. Keller (32.5%); F.M. (Merrill) Lindsey Jr. ( 27.5%); H.B. Bartholf (3.7%); Ernest L. Ives family (2.5%) and Adlai E. Stevenson (2.5%).
The latter principle of the proposed TV property would dispose of his interest in the proposed channel 2. Adlai Stevenson already owned 25% of the Bloomington, Illinois, Pantagraph newspaper and WJBC AM/FM under the name of the Bloomington Broadcasting Corporation. By early August, Mr. Stevenson decided to sell off his share of Sangamon Valley Broadcasting TV as he felt media ownership was improper as a presidential candidate at the time. The remaining WTAX AM/FM owners would pick up their share of the TV station. That ownership included Mr. Stevenson's sister, Elizabeth S. Ives; his brother-in-law, Ernest L. Ives; and Ives' son, Timothy Read Ives, whose share increased from 2.5 to 7.5%.
WCVS Application
In July of 1952, WCBS Inc. would file for channel 2 with a proposed station operating at 6.11kw with an RCA transmitter from an RCA antenna atop a 426-foot tower located at 3000 South 4th Street in south Springfield. (The call letters of WCBS were changed in 1946 to WCVS, but the name of the Illinois State Journal-Register-owned company, WCBS, Inc., remained through much of the 1950s.) WCVS radio operated a transmitter for its radio station at that same address. The estimated construction cost was $125,058, with the first-year operating cost at $134,370, and the revenue was projected to be $150,000.
The principal owners of the proposed WCVS television station were Harold L. Dewing (25%), A.W. Shipton (1% ) and L.G. Pefferle (25%). It's assumed the remaining shares were made up of various other local investors. In a matter of weeks, this application would be withdrawn and filed again with an application for channel 20. (see below).
WMAY Application
During the same week as the WCVS application came one from WMAY-TV Inc., operators of another Springfield radio station. This proposal, like the one from WTAX, was more serious than the WCVS application. This proposal included a television station with the maximum VHF power at channel 2 at 100kw from an antenna 550 feet. The construction cost was $383,594, with the first-year operating cost at $325,000 with a rather ambitious revenue projection of $385,000. The company office address was 504 East Monroe Street in Springfield, with a studio location at 101 South Fifth Street. The tower and RCA transmitter were to be located near U.S. 54 (now Illinois Route 54), about 7 ½ miles northeast of Springfield and ½ mile south of Spaulding, Illinois.
This was the existing site of the WMAY Radio transmitter and its multi-tower array. The principals of the WMAY-TV group included Gordon Sherman at 20.6%, Melvin Feldman at 15%, Syl Binkin at 12.1%, Robert Weiner at 12.1%; Edward J. Barrett at 10%, Sherrill C. Corwin at 10%; Edward G. Burke Jr. at 10% and Ralph E. Stolkin at 10%. Later, there were several changes in the application for WMAY-TV. Those changes are described in the next section with additional investors, which would bring a significant player to the table.
In 1953, the general manager of WMAY Radio in Springfield announced the details of the proposed WMAY-TV if it was to be granted a permit for the station. The Springfield Journal-Register published the details. The announcement also mentioned the other application for the channel filed by Sangamon Valley Television Corporation, the WTAX Radio part owners, and the WCVS Radio application.
The principal stockholder of WMAY-TV was the Lincoln Broadcasting Company, with owners Mr. Sherman, WMAY chief engineer Melvin Feldman, WMAY program director Syi Binkin, and WMAY public affairs director Robert Weiner. WMAY staff members Mel Kampe and John O'Shea were also listed as local backers.
The company also had outside interests in Lee Ruwitch, the vice president and general manager of WTVJ in Miami, Florida. He had agreed to leave his position there and move to Springfield to take a managerial position at the proposed station. Others included an assistant manager of a local restaurant, “The Mill” Richard Cohen, who would be a member of the business department at the station.
The most notable name in the group was Lee Ruwitch. He had a reputation as being one of the television industry's most prominent people. His station in Miami, WTVJ, was considered one of the most progressive TV stations in the country, and many broadcast pioneers were trained at the station he managed.
Mr. Ruwitch was also involved in a company producing films for television broadcasts. This was mentioned in a way that led one to believe that WMAY-TV would benefit from better quality and a better variety of programming.
Lee Ruwitch
(Broadcasting-Telecasting)
Gordon Sherman also announced the station would sign on at 6:55 am and sign off at 11:15 pm, with sign-off after midnight on Friday and Saturday nights. This was also a nod to a possible network affiliation with NBC as they were the only network with that early morning sign-on with “The Today Show,” which began at 7 am.
The proposed Channel 2 would build a “modernistic” studio on By-pass 66 just south of Springfield, including the broadcast facility, business offices, and the station's transmitter and tower. It would also be equipped to broadcast color as soon as the equipment was available. It would operate on channel 2 with a maximum allowable power of 100,000 watts from a tower at 751 feet. It would cover an area of 65 miles in diameter. The newspaper article included the cities of Decatur, Jacksonville, Bloomington, Lincoln, Alton, Canton, Pekin, and Vandalia.
Even though two others were vying for the channel 2 allocation, WMAY-TV was the closest to having the prized construction permit. It seems that WMAY-TV felt it had the FCC's blessing, as a staff was already chosen and hired, just waiting for the go-ahead. This wait would go on for several years.
I was curious as to the identity and credentials of Mr. Lee Ruwitch and found a wealth of information on this well-known, successful South Florida broadcaster. His widow and son Robert have established the Lee Ruwitch Endowed Scholarship Fund, which awards scholarships to Floridians who pursue their education at the School of Business at the University of Miami. Lee Rutwitch was born in 1931 in Escanaba, Michigan, serving in the U.S. Navy during WWII after obtaining a B.A. At the University of Minnesota. He and his wife Francine (Chaney) settled in Miami in 1945. He would become manager of WTVJ, Florida's first television station. He died on April 23, 1999. Little did that group, or for that matter, the WTAX group, know that their quest for channel 2 would be one of the most expensive, controversial television assignments ever and would even come up before the U.S. Supreme Court!
Meanwhile, Applications Filed for Channel 20
WCBS, Inc. Re-Application
The earlier application for channel 2 by WCBS Inc. would be modified and changed to an application for channel 20. The WCBS Inc. application proposed a station operating at 19.45kw from a tower 426 feet. That proposed facility's construction cost was $125,058, with first-year operation costing $134,370. Their revenue was projected at $150,00, a little more ambitious than Great Plains. The company's address was listed as 523 East Capitol Avenue in Springfield, also serving as the studio/office location. The transmitter was proposed for 3000 South 4th Street, just south of Springfield, at the site of the WCVS Radio tower. Its transmitter and tower were both listed as coming from RCA.
Even though the two groups competing for channel 20 could have tied up the granting process for quite some time, it appears that some "arrangement" was made between Great Plains and WCBS, Inc. to have WCBS, Inc. withdraw its application. That arrangement was hinted at in an engineering document penned by the former chief engineer of WICS, Gerald Merritt, when he told of the radio station leaving the shared space of WICS and WCBS after the "dissolution of their (WCBS, Inc.) interest in WICS." Part of that agreement may have also included leasing space by WICS at the WCVS studio and transmitter site.
Great Plains Television Properties Application
In early August of 1952, Great Plains Television Properties Inc. applied for Channel 20 in Springfield, Illinois. This would be the first filing for the UHF allocation for the capital city. Great Plains would propose a UHF station operating at 18kw from a tower 355 feet tall located one-mile southeast of Springfield. The station would cost $214,900 to construct, with a yearly operating cost of $125,000 during its first year. It was projected to collect revenue of $125,000 during its first year. The technical aspects of Channel 20 would include a DuMont transmitter and an RCA antenna.
Part ownership of the proposed station consisted of an out-of-town group comprised of Herbert Scheftel, Alfred G. Burger, and Stuart S. Scheftel. The applicant was a part of Transcontinental Properties Inc., a real estate company in New York, where Scheftel and Burger each had 25%. Harry and Elmer Balaban owned the other half.
The application filed by Great Plains would list the proposed television station transmitter at the WCVS transmitter site, with the antenna atop the WCVS tower. The proposed TV antennas would replace a mast that held the WCVS-FM antenna atop the same tower. The granting of the television station to either applicant spelled doom to the FM radio station operating on 102.9 MHz (channel 275) by June 17, 1953. When the license for WCVS-FM was turned back into the FCC, the FM station would go dark. The FM channel would be picked up by WSOY Radio in Decatur, Illinois, and become WSOY-FM.
Wh
In March 1953, the FCC granted channel 20 to Plains Television Company. This would make Plains Television the first non-local television station owner in mid-Illinois. It was the same week Channel 3 was granted to Midwest Television Inc. Plains Television already had gained permits in Little Rock, Arkansas, with KETV(TV) as well as in Duluth, Minnesota, with WFTV(TV), and in Sioux City, Iowa, with KWTV(TV).
The Balaban Brothers
As mentioned above, the company was owned by two major entities, one a real estate company in New York and the other being the Balaban Brothers, Harry and Elmer. Barney Balaban, the oldest brother of Harry and Elmer, was Paramount Pictures's president from 1936 to 1964.
There were other Balaban brothers, Abe, John, and Max, along with Barney, who, with Sam Katz, formed Balaban and Katz, owners of many Chicago movie theaters, including the famous Chicago Theater. Harry and Elmer Balaban were running their own set of theaters, apart from the Balaban and Katz operation. Their theaters numbered around 40 at one time. The Misters Balaban would develop some broadcast properties beginning after World War II. Their company would gain notoriety as pioneering the concept of cable television and pay television during the 1940s and 50s. During the late 1940s and the early 1960s, the company would team with real estate investors in Chicago and New York to apply for construction permits for television stations throughout the Midwest. The parent company of Plains Television was Transcontinental Properties. Among those stations is an application for channel 20 in Springfield, Illinois.
On a side note, the actor Bob Balaban, probably best known as playing the NBC programming executive on "Seinfeld," is the son of Elmer and Eleanor Balaban. Bob Balaban has also appeared in several popular TV shows, "Miami Vice" and "Friends." He also appeared in "Midnight Cowboy" in 1969 and 1977's "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." He also is a producer and director of several television and movie projects.
In March of 1954, the FCC would look into multi-ownership rules and exceptions. Transcontinental Properties had three members of the board who were also on the board of directors of Westinghouse Electric Corporation, the parent company for the Westinghouse Broadcasting Company. They asked for the FCC's patience in complying with the rules as board members dispose of their ownership shares. Among the stations owned by Transcontinental and Plains Television were those owned by Westinghouse and included WPTZ(TV) and KYW Radio in Philadelphia; WBZ AM/FM/TV in Boston; WBZA AM/FM in Springfield, Massachusetts; KDKA AM/FM in Pittsburgh; KEX AM/FM in Portland Oregon and WOWO Radio in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
The WCVS tower/antenna on Springfield's south side. Now home to WFMB-AM/FM.
(Doug Quick Collection)
The original post of the Great Plains Television application for channel 20
from August 4, 1952
(Broadcasting-Telecasting Magazine)
Harry and Elmer Balaban were part owners
of WICS and later WICD as part of Plains Television Partners. Their company also owned a number of radio properties as well including WIL-Radio, St. Louis in the 1950s and early 1960s. (See RADIO HISTORY above and click on Midwest Legendary Radio Stations and WIL Radio).
Older brother Barney was President of Paramount Movie Studios from 1936 through 1964. Elmer and Harry were owners of WICD, their last property, until 1994. A. J. Balaban was a partner in Balaban and Katz, a subsidiary of United Paramount Theaters. The company merged with ABC in 1953 which created a relationship with ABC President Leonard Goldenson and the entire Balaban family. That link would eventually connect Goldenson's charity United Cerebral Palsey with WICS airing the UCP telethons throughout the 1950s through the 1980s. See more info below.
Construction Begins on WICS
It's difficult to determine just how serious the owners of WICS were in the Springfield property. There was significant uncertainty as to the future of the station even before it was to be built and signed on. That uncertainty was the Springfield allocation for channel 2. They knew that when the allocation for channel 2 was awarded, it would be difficult, if not impossible, for the UHF station to survive. It was hard to imagine Plains Television wanting to invest highly in the future of Channel 20. However, in later years, they would fight tirelessly against Midwest Television and its operation of VHF channel 3, WCIA. If Plains Television was so concerned about the damage of a VHF station 90 miles to the east, how would they approach a monster VHF station in the same town?
When the Illinois State Journal-Register featured a story about WICS going on air, they described the station as "Springfield's first television station...." assuming there would be at least one other. The other television station could have been locally owned WTAX-TV or WMAY-TV, operating on channel 2. Investing in the success of WICS was a gamble. Primary network affiliation was undoubtedly a key to a thriving local TV station, even without the threat of a VHF competitor. Those local TV stations would exist on the network compensation to ensure cash flow for a station that would no doubt struggle with weak local advertising sales and the fact that most households didn't have a TV.
The most critical key, though, was being a VHF channel. The television receivers in use in 1953-54 were manufactured before the UHF band was set aside for local TV broadcasting. Being a UHF station would further decrease the number of potential viewers, but they weren't alone. It was a similar plight for Decatur's WTVP. Receiving UHF broadcasts required a converter box that would act as an "add-on" tuner. Viewers would have to invest in installing another style of antenna and a separate strand of coax connecting the antenna to the converter box.
It was no secret that the TV networks preferred those VHF stations for the reasons above and the fact they had vastly larger coverage areas, also increasing the potential of having more viewers. If Springfield were to gain a VHF station, it would have been the choice of any network; in this case, it probably would have been NBC. That's what NBC also thought when WICS signed on, as the programming agreement between NBC and WICS was in effect only as a month-to-month agreement. ABC had already affiliated with nearby Decatur and Bloomington, but as low-powered UHF stations, those ABC affiliates didn't have significant viewers in Springfield.
WCIA had already affiliated with CBS, and another CBS station in central Illinois would have brought too much overlap between the signals to ensure market exclusivity for either station. That would have left ABC for WICS if it was to continue to exist at all. In later years, as technology improved and with the installation of new transmitters, there would have been too much overlap between those ABC stations for all to exist simultaneously. ABC would have had to pull its affiliation with one or two of the three stations.
Independent TV stations without network affiliation hardly existed in those early years. With the possible threat of non-existence, the construction of WICS began in the Illinois capital city. Sharing facilities with WCVS Radio would help bring down the initial investment in the station. The radio and television stations that couldn't be shared included the cameras, lights, video/audio switchers, transmitter-coax, office equipment, and employees. If the worst were to occur, what equipment was purchased for the television station could either be used at one of the company's other stations or sold on the open market.
(above): WICS received its microwave network link from NBC just before it went on the air. That allowed the station (as well as WTVP) to broadcast the 1953 World Series live. (Article from Aug 21, 1953 Taylorville Breeze-Courier Newspaper)
(right): WICS went on the air unofficially on September 20, 1953. (Story from Sept 21, 1953 Taylorville Breeze Courier)
WICS Springfield's First Television Station
Details of the construction of WICS are few, but the most visible construction was indoors. The studios and office space were within the walls of the Leland Hotel, while the only visible construction took place at the WCVS Radio tower site. Newspaper accounts of the construction described the installation of the station's 50-foot, 3-thousand-pound RCA antenna atop the WCVS Radio tower. The installation of the transmitter and antenna was said to give WICS a power of around 18,000 watts and a broadcast range of about 35 miles in all directions.
Former chief engineer Gerald Merritt well documented the technical aspects of the station in the 1980s. His description of the station included the RCA transmitter as a TTU-1B, 1.0-kilowatt unit housed in a building separate from the WCVS transmitter at the base of the shared tower. The tower was a 430-foot self-supporting tower located at 3000 South 4th Street in south Springfield or Southern View. The top-mounted antenna was also RCA, the model TFU-24DL, a slot-type antenna with an effective radiated power of 18.2kw.
Along with the transmitter site, the studio and office facility would also be shared with WCVS. It was located at 523 E. Capitol in the Leland Hotel Annex Building. In 1955, WCVS moved from that site to relocate in a building at their transmitter site on south 4th Street. WICS would fill the former radio studios and offices, but the need for a much larger facility would remain. The building housing Mr. Merritt described WICS as being very old with problems with access.
WICS was the second central Illinois television station. Its official sign-on was September 30, 1953. Channel 20's first broadcast was the 1953 Major League Baseball World Series between the New York Yankees and the Brooklyn Dodgers. Mel Allen and Red Barber would undertake the play-by-play of the World Series.
Bernie Waterman, the station's first sportscaster, would appear in a pre-game show from the WICS studios, making that the first local TV production. Outside of a few taverns and bars equipped with television, very few homes received those initial broadcasts. Newspaper accounts of those first days of broadcasting for WICS would include descriptions of the excitement of being able to watch a broadcast of a game that would take place over a thousand miles away. A massive microwave transmission tower and antenna installed on top of the Bell Building at 422 South Fifth Street in downtown Springfield would make the game's reception live from the network possible. The link installation was completed in time for the initial broadcast from NBC and the national microwave coaxial cable network. A microwave link was also completed in time for WTVP in Decatur to receive live network coverage of the World Series. The station would go on the air at 11:30 am on September 30, 1953, without much “pomp and fanfare,” delaying the opening ceremonies until the station started regular programming the next day.
On Monday, October 1st, regular scheduled programming began with local news, weather, sports, and a Kinescope of “Captain Video” and “Dragnet.” “Captain Video” was from the DuMont network, and “Dragnet” would come from NBC. The challenge of receiving network programming with WICS going on the air when it did benefited greatly from the completion of a good part of the microwave transmission network, which enabled it to broadcast live network programming.
Before the live network hookup, stations had to rely on only two programming sources: live in-studio or film. Commercials and station promotional announcements would either be on TV Cards or photographs. The network hookup allowed a better way to broadcast network productions in much better quality than Kinescopes or 16mm film. At that time, the broadcast day took a great deal of production, especially with commercials that were produced live around program segments.
How the Central Illinois Stations Received Network Video
The main coax line was installed across western Illinois from Chicago, passing through Peoria, which appeared to feed both WEEK and WTVH, then run along the Illinois River Valley to St. Louis. Near Meredosia, a tap was installed along the coaxial run to transmit the networks' video signals via microwave signals to Springfield and further east to Decatur. There were repeaters probably just north of Jacksonville, then near New Berlin, and atop the Bell Telephone building in downtown Springfield. There, it was split off to WICS at the Leland Hotel Annex. The signal would also be sent from the Bell Telephone Building in Springfield to another microwave relay near Harristown that would go to WTVP in Decatur.
Meanwhile, WCIA in Champaign would receive its network signal from a tap at the Danville Telephone building downtown on Walnut Street near Main at the phone company. That tap came from the coax from Chicago through Danville to Terre Haute and Evansville, Indiana. Later, that tap would be eliminated and changed to another coax between Terre Haute and St. Louis, which came more directly from the East Coast. A microwave would send the network signal to WCIA by a microwave antenna on the top of the former First National Bank Building at Vermilion and Main Street.
The relay system relied on small towers with two-sided reflector/antenna structures at the top to receive, boost, and re-transmit the signal. Remember that the methodology, although sound in theory, was based on tube technology and probably brought nightmares of constant network dropouts and lousy video. That's one reason the reflectors at the top of the towers reflected the signal to antennas on the top of the tower shacks. The reflectors held no electronic components, keeping those components on the ground for easier maintenance. The bandwidth of the video signal was only able to broadcast a black-and-white signal, and better repeaters would be needed to broadcast color eventually. The audio signal was received via phone lines, probably 8,000-hertz phone lines similar to what was used for network radio. Since video and audio were coming from two independent paths, it was common for stations to lose one path, leaving viewers with a picture and no sound or sound with no picture.
September 1953. From Illinois State Journal
September 1953. From Illinois State Journal
September 1953. From Illinois State Journal
John Begue with an advertising card about the new TV station in Springfield, WICS, Channel 20. Notice the network affiliation shows all available TV networks at the time
(picture from WICS)
The Sports director (editor) Bernie Waterman was the first WICS staff member on the air with a pre-game show before the first telecast of the 1953 World Series between the New York Yankees and the Brooklyn Dodgers. That would occur before the "official" first broadcast the following day, October 1, 1953
(picture from WICS)
A pre-sign-on declaration of the WICS station facilities from Broadcassting-Telecasting Almanac.
A WICS Ad with their prime-time broadcast schedule
from March 24, 1954
(TV Guide-Doug Quick Collection)
WICS Airs More and More Programs from NBC
During the early years of WICS, even though the station was listed as a primary NBC network affiliate, it would also air ABC and CBS programming. This seemingly unusual situation came about because of the technical limitations of the central Illinois TV stations as well as the network television system of the era. Since the coverage areas of WICS, WTVP, and WBLN barely would reach beyond 30 miles from the transmitter/towers of each, there wasn't much overlap in the major cities that were home to these stations. The fact that WTVP and WBLN were both ABC affiliates meant very little as their respective signals didn't overlap, even though today, having stations of the same network so close would never happen, at least not in the same market.
WICS being NBC made little difference to the network as WCIA would become a secondary NBC affiliate. Even though the signal of WCIA did penetrate the capital city, the signal of WICS didn't even come close to reaching Champaign. WICS was barely receivable in Decatur!
Another factor in the blurring of the network affiliations was the network television system, which made virtually all network programming more like infomercials. Since programming was controlled by the advertising agencies that employed the producers and stars, they also chose where their programs were placed. Even though WICS was an NBC affiliate, they couldn't broadcast a network program unless they had the right to air it and, in return, would receive network compensation. The networks sometimes pull a show from an affiliate and place it on a competing station. Such was the case for “Zorro” in the mid to late 1950s. Even though ABC technically distributed it, it was pulled from the WTVP schedule and placed instead with WICS. WICS had to be listed as a secondary affiliate of ABC because, legally, WTVP had exclusive rights to ABC programming for the Decatur market, and WICS would have rights for Springfield.
It may have been a situation in which the agency only had a limited amount of money to purchase the time in central Illinois, thus purchasing on WICS and not WTVP. There were exceptions to this network and affiliate arrangement, as you will see later on the page for WDAN-TV in Danville. This arrangement of cherry-picking time on television stations also worked to the benefit of all of the stations in mid-Illinois as well. During the mid-1950s, Falstaff Brewing Company sponsored and controlled the CBS Baseball Game of the Week. The ad agency for Falstaff would purchase air time on all of the central Illinois stations, WCIA, WICS, WTVP, WBLN, and WDAN-TV. It took time for the ad agencies to “connect” with WICS and the other local network affiliates. In some cases with popular NBC programs, it would be 5 years or longer, if ever, to be seen on WICS.
The ad agencies already set Many of the budgets a year or so in the future and would only book their shows with the stations, which could guarantee audience numbers at a lower cost per household. Often, station sales personnel would have to call on those agency buyers in person to convince them that their station had potential value to the sales of the product being sold. Looking at the schedule of WICS above, you'll notice the lack of NBC programming. WICS, in a much smaller market with smaller audience numbers, had to “earn its stripes” before becoming even a minor player for NBC.
Jack Bowers with an RCA studio camera
Bette Muller and Jack Hoskins at the film editor
Malden Jones with James Herelson
Jack Bowers with an RCA studio camera
Top view- August 9, 1954 edition of Taylorville Breeze Courier
Bottom view- August 9, 1954 edition of Taylorville Breeze Courier
Bottom view- January 3, 1955 edition of Taylorville Breeze Courier
Top view- August 9, 1954 edition of Taylorville Breeze Courier
1954-1956
1952-1955
1954-1956
A Selection of NBC
Shows from 1953-65
A Selection of Syndicated
Shows 1953-1964
This edition of the "Buick Berle Show" aired on NBC and WICS on December 1, 1953. The guest star includes Jack Webb of "Dragnet."
(YouTube)
CBS had Lucy, NBC had Joan Davis, and "I Married Joan," also starring Jim Bacus, aired on NBC and WICS from 1952-1955. It was one of the original NBC shows aired on WICS in the fall of 1953. This episode was broadcast on NBC and WICS on January 12, 1955.
(YouTube)
The NBC logo from the first years of WICS began in 1953.
(YouTube)
"You Bet Your Life," also known as "The Groucho Show," aired on NBC from 1950 to 1961 and was one of the original NBC shows that popped up in the schedule for WICS in the early days. This particular show aired on February 18, 1954
(YouTube)
In May of 1956, WICS did a remote broadcast from the Armory in downtown Springfield. The event is unclear, but the WICS camera crew pictures are pretty good.
The pictures were taken by long-time Central Illinois broadcaster and journalist Ben Kiningham and contributed to the Central Illinois On-Line Broadcast Museum.
The UPC Balaban-Goldenson Connection
In 1936, Barney Balaban, the oldest brother in the large Balaban family, was made president of Paramount Pictures in Hollywood. Paramount consisted of the studios and the ownership of many theaters. Leonard Goldenson ruled the theater half. The government separated the theater half of Paramount from the studio half through anti-monopoly laws. The theater half was merged with ABC in 1953 to become ABC-Paramount Theaters. It was that merger that went on to make Leonard Goldenson the president of ABC from 1953 into the 1980s.
Mr. Goldenson and his wife were parents of a young girl with Cerebral Palsy. The Goldenson's founded the United Cerebral Palsy organization and used his influence to raise money to help those families and support their efforts for the welfare of those children.
Now, here's the connection to WICS. Plains Television was co-owned by Harry and Elmer Balaban (also theater owners in the Chicago area). That connection with Leonard Goldenson placed WICS in the position of staging and hosting a UPC Telethon, as it was done as a favor to Goldenson.
Above is the TV Guide's full-page coverage of the 1954 UPC Telethon hosted by WICS from the Leland Hotel in downtown Springfield and the WICS studios.
This is from the Broadcasting Yearbook from the 1955-56 edition with information about WICS.
Bernard Waterman
Bernie Waterman began a stint in the U.S. Navy with a passion for journalism. That was stated in the University of Missouri School of Journalism online profile. He graduated in 1949 after being in the Navy for four years. He worked for a Navy newspaper. He met his wife, Edith Bryant, while his ship was docked in Mobile, Alabama. The couple married in August of 1946.
His resume has him working for the Kansas City Star and the St. Louis Star-Times, then moving to Springfield, Illinois, in 1951 to work as a sports editor for the Illinois State Journal, then moved to the new TV station, WICS right before the station went on the air. In 1956, he purchased his first radio station in Worcester, Massachusetts, and then owned others in Massachusetts and Texas into the 1960s.
In 1977, he and his wife purchased WBBH-TV(NBC2) in Fort Myers, FL (sold in 2023 to Hearst), then in 1986 purchased WVIR-TV(NBC29) in Charlottesville, VA (sold in 2019 in a complex sale to Gray Television), and entered in a management contract with Moncliar Communications to operate WZVN-TV (ABC7) Fort Myers, FL in 1994. The agreement with Montclair will continue with Hearst.
Bernard Waterman died on November 12, 2017, at 96.
Bernie Waterman (shown above) here in 1956, hosting a mid-day news/information and entertainment live show from the WICS studios in 1956. He was the first person to have his voice and image broadcast on WICS (see above).
(from Randy Miller Collection)
WICS Acts on the Threat of Channel 2
In April of 1955, WICS and its owners petitioned the FCC to suggest a change in the allocation table for Springfield and to head off the threat of issuing a grant for VHF channel 2 in Springfield. The Capitol City was allocated channels 2, 20, and 66, with the latter being set aside for educational use. At that time, the competition for the license for Channel 2 was fierce between Sangamon Valley TV Corp. (WTAX) and WMAY-TV Inc., with WMAY-TV being favored in an initial decision announced in December of 1954. WICS was trying to make central Illinois an all-UHF market, thus giving WICS a level playing field for any additional local competition.
The petition was also tied in a request for Peoria to eliminate channel 8 from its roster. Plains Television requested that the allocation for channel 2 be moved to St. Louis and replaced with channel 41. Interestingly, to date, this was the first mention of moving the allocation of channel 2 to St. Louis. It's unknown what the impetus was for channel 2 being moved to St. Louis, but the idea would grow as time passed. It's possible that Henry Tenenbaum of WTVI approached someone with Plains Television or Mr. Friedland with the concept. Based on the efforts of Mr. Tenenbaum, the theory is very plausible. See the history of WTVI.
WICS Becomes a Licensed TV Station
From its initial permit through April 26, 1955, WICS operated on a construction permit. This would
allow for the purchase of equipment and the actual building of a broadcast facility and any desired updating of equipment under scrutiny of the FCC.
On April 27, 1955, WICS would be granted a full broadcast license.
On April 26, 1955, WICS had this programming schedule for its last day before being fully licensed. Click for a larger view. (TV Guide)
WICS Faces Additional Fights for Survival
In late August of 1955, a change in an FCC ruling would have increased the coverage area of VHF stations. Until then, the maximum tower height of a VHF station was 1,000 feet. Because of tower construction technology improvements, tower height above 1,000 feet was not only possible, but it was also considered a way for UHF stations to achieve parity with their VHF cousins. Now, the VHF community was seeking the advantages of increased range and penetration of signals in their current coverage areas with the benefits of a higher antenna.
Several UHF stations filed a protest with the FCC, asking them to reconsider the new rule for those VHF stations in Zone 1, the middle and northeast states east of the Mississippi. The FCC delayed the implementation of the new rule based on the protests of UHF stations in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Illinois. Those stations asked the FCC to set aside the new rule and schedule an oral argument. The stations stated that the new rule would greatly aggravate the VHF/UHF intermixture situations. They said it casts “serious doubt upon the sincerity” of the FCC's expressions favoring the development and success of UHF television broadcasting. Among those stations was WICS.
By September, WICS would again file a petition with the FCC, this time for a stay issuance of the final decision on channel 2 in Springfield, until the deintermixture question for central Illinois was answered through the commission and the courts. In October 1955, Plains Television executive and part owner Elmer Balaban represented WICS and WTVO, its co-owned Rockford television station. Signal Hill president Harry Tennenbaum represented KTVI in a meeting with the FCC and other UHF broadcasters. The group was requesting the FCC hold up on decisions of assigning VHF stations in markets in which intermixture was threatening the existence of their stations.
Color Broadcasting is coming soon to WICS
By November of 1955, NBC announced that 104 affiliates were already equipped to re-transmit network color programming. Its parent company, RCA, had installed equipment and worked out arrangements with AT&T to allow even the most remote NBC station to receive the NBC feed in color. WICS would not be among the affiliates to broadcast in color...yet.
The Channel 2 Situation Continues to be a Concern
In November 1955, the FCC would “wipe the deintermixture slate clean.” All pending petitions to change markets to all UHF or a mixture of VHF/UHF were denied. This set the stage for a complete overhaul of the allocation tables for the entire country. Those denied petitions included de-intermixture cases for Peoria (channel 8) and Springfield (channel 2).
The following week, additional petitions were announced as being filed for the Peoria case by WEEK-TV and WTVH-TV. For the Channel 2 case, petitions were filed by WICS and by KTVI (channel 36 in St. Louis). The FCC was behind in issuing licenses to prospective TV station owners, with 40 applicants standing in line at the Commission. Among those were those applying for channel 8 in Peoria and channel 2 in Springfield.
Earlier in the year, the FCC issued initial decisions in favor of WIRL Radio for channel 8, while the Sangamon Valley TV Corp. received favored status for channel 2. The designation of “favored status” would ultimately mean nothing in the process, and using the designation was nothing but a means to shake down the other applicants. The FCC would conduct a pole hearing, including the concerns of all television broadcasters and their opinions on the TV allocation problems. By late February, the FCC would turn down petitions of WEEK-TV and WTVH-TV in Peoria, saying the plea to conduct a hearing was too late.
The picture above is from an ad placed in the Illinois State Journal by WICS. Published January 29, 1956.
WICS Seeks More Viewers
Once it appeared that there was a strong possibility that the Channel 2 allocation would be shifted to St. Louis, Plains Television began to look to the future. The biggest challenge of the Springfield UHF station was increasing its coverage area and increasing the number of households to compete with WTVP. WTVP was already going through steps to improve its household numbers by power increases from its home in Decatur. Channel 17 had a sizeable 700-foot tower in its backyard, and power increases accomplished by more powerful transmitters and amplifiers were accomplishing just that. Its more central location in Decatur was giving it at least increased numbers from Springfield and a few from Champaign.
WICS was restricted as the station was on a short, self-supported tower on the south side of Springfield. Increased power could increase signal density within its current coverage area, but because UHF signals traveled “line of sight,” Channel 20 couldn't do much to expand its coverage area to the east without a significant increase in tower height. This was an investment that Plains was unwilling to make quite yet. The apparent solution was constructing a fully powered translator in east central Illinois with even more power from a taller tower than WICS.
On September 25, 1956, Plains Television applied for a construction permit for a proposed television station on channel 21 near White Heath, Illinois. This particular location was near the site of the proposed tower and transmitter of WCIA in 1953. It is on a specific high ridge just north of White Heath, Illinois, north of what is now Interstate 72, near what was then Illinois Route 105. The high elevation at that site would boost a 600-foot tower to achieve the same as a 650-foot tower. The proposed channel 21 would have 200kw of power. Its construction cost was $175,000, with an operating cost of $75,000. It wouldn't be counted on for much revenue, estimated at just $125,000. It was a relatively lowball operation as it was proposed as a satellite of WICS and would duplicate programming 100 percent.
If this station would go on the air, it would have blanketed both Decatur and Champaign-Urbana with a near-city grade signal and would throw at least a fringe signal even into Danville, Bloomington, and Mattoon. This would have quadrupled the household reach of just WICS. No other information was available on why the application was rejected or pulled from
consideration. There was a change to the initial application filed in late December of 1956, but no information was published on those changes. The record shows a change in power to 178kw, along with changes in the antenna, tower height, and other equipment, but there were no other details. I can only speculate that the adjacent channel to 20 at 21 could have interfered with WICS, especially in the Decatur area. If WICS had ever relocated its tower/transmitter and increased tower height, the potential of interference would have significantly increased. The solution to the adjacent channel issue was to change the application to apply for allocated channel 33. It's unknown what the reaction was of Midwest Television and August Meyer when learning of this application and why it was never acted upon by the FCC or Plains Television.
Channel 2 Controversy Continues
In October of 1956, the FCC was inviting comments from other broadcasters who might be affected by the move of channel 2 to St. Louis. This plan would also delete channel 36 from St. Louis and move the allocation to Springfield, Illinois. A shuffle of allocations would delete channel 29 in Jacksonville, giving the city channel 49. Channel 36 would also be given to the Quad Cities market by replacing channel 68. A note is that if channel 36 were assigned and used in Springfield, it would have to be located
to meet minimum spacing and coverage requirements.
The following month, Plains Television would again file a petition to delete channel 2 from Springfield and assign it to Terre Haute, Indiana, and St. Louis. The request also included assigning channel 26 and either 36 or 39 to Springfield and making channel 66 an educational assignment.
By December, the FCC was reviewing some of the comments from other broadcasters. They included the information submitted by WICS and that from KTVI, WTVP, and even the American Broadcasting Company, which contained the same plan of moving channel 2 to St. Louis and allowing a channel 2 in Terre Haute, Indiana. WTHI-TV in Terre Haute would have no part of channel 2 in Terre Haute, so their idea was to reassign channel 2 just to Salem, Illinois. WCIA proposed that the FCC add channels 26 and 36 to Springfield and favored moving channel 2 to Cape Girardeau, Missouri. WSIL in Harrisburg, Illinois, was not in favor of the move of channel 2 to Cape Girardeau, instead moving it to St. Louis, and they wanted a shift from their present UHF channel to a “drop-in” on channel 8. It was a hot potato for all of the above stations. No one wanted Channel 2 in their backyard. WMAY-TV, as you would imagine, wanted it to stay in Springfield. They later requested to resend any changes made to the channel 2 allocation and asked for time to file additional comments on their behalf. The FCC denied the requests of WMAY-TV.
The Plains Television/Balaban Family Grows
On November 29, 1956, it was announced that the FCC would grant channel 42 to the groups owned and associated with the Balaban Brothers in Birmingham, Alabama. The group owned 50% of WICS along with WTVO (Rockford, IL), WMCN (Grand Rapids, Michigan), and WRIT Radio (Milwaukee, Wisconsin). With the issuance of that grant, it was said the group had an application
pending for a WICS satellite television station in White Heath, Illinois, and had an application for interest in KFBI (Wichita, Kansas). The facility of the Birmingham station included 16.6kw power from a 770-foot tower with a relatively low construction cost of $134,000.
Channel 2 Moves to St. Louis
In January of 1957, at the time of the granting of St. Louis' channel 11 to CBS, it was also announced that channel 2 was gone from Springfield, moved to St. Louis, and awarded to KTVI(TV), which was then operating on channel 36. (See St. Louis TV).
Then, using the option stated with the “grant,” WMAY-TV would be granted channel 36 in Springfield. Other decisions were also announced, including moving channel 8 from Peoria to Rock Island (Quad Cities) and granting WIRL-TV a construction permit on channel 25 in Peoria.
These decisions would de-intermix Peoria, creating a 100% UHF market in central Illinois and de-intermixing the Springfield market (at the time, not a part of the entire Central Illinois market). This would also create a 4-station VHF market for St. Louis and open the possibility of making Terre Haute, Indiana, a 2-VHF station market. This was an incredibly significant set of decisions, but the controversy wasn't over yet! For WICS, this was great news! If they were going to get competition, the contest for audience and business would occur on an even basis.
Plains Makes Major Investment in the Future of WICS
Upon the move of channel 2 from Springfield, the decision to invest in WICS became easier. By the end of January 1957, WICS would file for a facility change for Channel 20, although the exact improvements were not published, other than the output request was for 811kw. This would surely take a city-grade signal into Decatur and intensify the signal for areas in and around the capital city.,
WICS would not be the only central Illinois station to re-invest in its facilities after the FCC decision of late 1956. Plains Television would choose a new broadcast transmitter/tower site that aligns with the reception of other stations in Central Illinois.
As most Springfield viewers were using antennas for home reception, having the station in line with Channel 17 and Champaign's Channel 3, most viewers could watch all three stations from a fixed antenna position from Capitol City. A 40-acre site was chosen 10 miles east of the center of Springfield on Mechanicsburg Road.
RCA would report shipping a UHF pylon ultra-gain antenna to WICS in early October 1958. It appeared that work was progressing on the power/tower upgrade for WICS. The construction included using an RCA TTU-12B 12.5kw transmitter and a 46-gain RCA TFU-46CL antenna with a 1,000-foot tower. This would give WICS a reach of 56 miles, reaching the west edge of Champaign. The WICS signal in Decatur would be considered “city grade.” The transmitter building was 30 by 50 feet of concrete block and brick construction. The roof was made of “prestressed” concrete slabs to protect the building from falling ice that may occur from the tower.
The Balaban's Increases Their Holdings
In May of 1957, H and H Balaban Corporation purchased a small group of radio stations comprised of WIL in St. Louis and WWIL in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for $650,000. WIL was a St. Louis radio powerhouse of 5kw operating at 1340kc. WWIL was a 1,000-watt station at 1580kc. This outlay of cash to purchase these radio stations could have affected the construction cost of the TV station at Champaign, WCHU, Channel 33.
1950s view of Leland Hotel, home of the original studios of WICS, from Randy Miller and Spfld Rewind
Milton Friedland, WICS GM/VP from 1953-1986
1964 Closer look at studio cameras. Camera 1 had a teleprompter, Camera 2 did not.
1950s view of Leland Hotel, home of the original studios of WICS, from Randy Miller and Spfld Rewind
The "Howdy Doody Show" was a well-liked children's program that aired on NBC from 1947 to 1960. Although it debuted in 1953, it was not broadcast on WICS until several years later when Saturday morning TV was added to the schedule. The shown episode aired on November 16, 1958, on both NBC and WICS. It is presently available on YouTube.s presently available on YouTube.
Everyone thinks of Bob Barker as the only host of "The Price is Right," but the long-time game show originated on NBC with host Bill Cullen. The game was much different in the early days. This episode is from May 31, 1957. Note that the announcer, Don Pardo, was the announcer for "Saturday Night Live" some 50 years later!
(YouTube)
By January 10, 1960, "The Dinah Shore Chevy Show" was broadcast in color and videotaped for posterity. Unfortunately, the original commercials have been removed, but having a portion of the show is better than having none.
(YouTube)
By 1958, WICS could pass network programming in color, although there were just a few households that could view any color broadcast. This video is a short excerpt of a very rare color kinescope (filmed) recording of a live broadcast from NBC from April 12, 1958, and shown in color on WICS.
(YouTube)
"Riverboat" aired on NBC from 1959 to 1961 and starred Darren McGaven and Burt Reynolds. This episode is from October 25, 1959, called "Escape to Memphis."
(YouTube)
"The Steve Allen Show" starred the former "Tonight Show" host in his comedy variety hour opposite "The Ed Sullivan Show" on CBS.
Steve Allen was one of the more popular talents on NBC. This show aired on July 1, 1956, with guests Andy Griffith, Elvis Presley, and Imogene Coca.
(YouTube)
1956 Daytime lineup ad, TV Guide® Doug Quick Collection
1957 News Anchors for WICS, TV Guide® Doug Quick Collection
1964, NBC, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, the first showing of the Holiday Classic, TV Guide® Doug Quick Collection
1956 Daytime lineup ad, TV Guide® Doug Quick Collection
Nov 2, 1958 Huntley-Brinkley Report, Decatur Herald
Nov 4, 1958, Election Returns with Huntley-Brinkley, Decatur Herald
Sept 9, 1963 Huntley Brinkley News, Decatur Herald
Nov 2, 1958 Huntley-Brinkley Report, Decatur Herald
Click on the button to see the program schedule from the dates indicated above.
Pegwill Ranch and Pegwill Circus
Pegwill Ranch and Pegwill Circus entertained Springfield area kids for nearly ten years beginning in 1955. This weekday afternoon children's show was sponsored by the Pegwill Packing Company, which Bill Wingerter owned. Mr. Wingerter was one of the founders of WFMB radio and WBHW(TV), now WRSP, Channel 55 in Springfield.
(pictures above from Randy Miller)
The color pictures above right are both sides of a Happy Birthday postcard sent to viewers of Pegwill Circus.
(picture from Katheryn Dinardo)
The cartoons shown during Pegwill Ranch and Pegwill Circus was the standard issue Warner Brothers cartoons
1956 July, Pegwill Pete and Margie plan to perform at the Illinois State Fair as well as on WICS
1955, Pegwill Pete announces the winner of a contest to name two twin cows.
Ann Marshall on the Pegwill Circus. She would go on to be an olympic swimmer, TV anchor and actor in throughout the 1960s. Courtesy of Ann Marshall
1956 July, Pegwill Pete and Margie plan to perform at the Illinois State Fair as well as on WICS
Go to Ann Marshall's website by clicking here.
Plains Television Fights WCIA
Along with fighting the VHF allocation of channel 2 in Springfield, Plains Television and WICS would fight another central Illinois VHF entity, WCIA, at channel 3. On July 26, 1957, a story was published in the Champaign-Urbana Courier telling of a nine-point petition filed with the FCC by Plains Television and Prairie Television (WTVP). Plains Television, after appearing to slay one VHF dragon with the move of the channel 2 allocation to St. Louis, would now file and lead an effort to eliminate the other VHF allocation in central. Illinois is on channel 3.
Plains would claim the deletion of channel three was necessary to show the FCC’s commitment to the success of UHF television broadcasting and would be consistent with that policy. Midwest Television refuted those claims of Plains Television, saying that Channel 3 was outside the central Illinois UHF area and that eliminating Channel 3 was unnecessary to ensure the UHF stations’ survival in Springfield and Decatur. August C. Meyer, president of Midwest Television, claimed that eliminating the VHF channel would “deprive significant numbers of people of service, particularly residents of small communities and rural areas...” Plus, those areas “serviced by WCIA (had a) very low proportion of sets (which) can receive UHF signals.” Meyer said that WCIA should not be put to the “burden and expense” of a proceeding before the commission “based on the flimsy showing made in the petitions of the Springfield and Decatur interests.”
This confrontation is explained in greater detail in the History of WCIA. August C. Meyer, though, would strike at Plains Television and WICS as being controlled by New York and Chicago interests, which have been seeking to move channel 3 from Madison, Wisconsin, to Rockford, Illinois. This request had already been denied by the FCC as the parent company of Plains Television had been seeking a VHF channel for its station currently operating on UHF channel 39. Mr. Meyer would also add that Plains had a permit to operate channel 33 in Champaign but, to date, had yet to make an effort to complete the station, and if and when it did, it would merely be a satellite of WICS.
Plains would also make a few improbable claims about developing other UHF stations in some of the secondary markets in east central Illinois to fill in where channel 3 would lose viewers, such as in Mattoon, Kankakee, or Streator. Mr. Meyer would school the commission in his response about the pure economics of local television broadcasting and the complete absurdity of the statements of Plains Television about the probability of such a crop of new UHF stations in those fringe markets. The FCC would hand down a denial to the petition from Plains Television and Prairie Television. Plains and Prairie’s “stab in the dark” ridiculous attempt to derail WCIA had failed this time.
Plains Television Wants the FCC to Revisit the Channel 3 Issue
In June 1958, Plains Television demanded the FCC reconsider the deintermixture argument in central Illinois regarding channel 3. WICS claimed denial of “due process,” which could take the issue to the federal courts if it is not resolved to the satisfaction of WICS and WTVP. Once again, the argument is discussed in detail in the History of WCIA.
Plains Television, at this time, made a threat that because of the decision of the FCC to keep channel 3 in place, it would have to scale back the proposed construction of its Champaign area television station and described it as having “lesser facilities initially than specified in its present permit.” The construction permit issued by the FCC and published in late May of 1957 reflected a station that would broadcast from a tower at 570 feet and have a power of 22.5kw. It was not exactly a powerhouse station, but it was considered a full-powered UHF station in those days.
Plains followed through on its threat to downscale its facility in Champaign. In November of 1957, the FCC approved the call letters of WCHU(TV) to be used with the proposed television station operating at channel 33. Plans were being made to construct a station that would duplicate programming from WICS by simply rebroadcasting the off-air signal from Channel 20 as received in Champaign. The engineers at WICS believed the increased tower height of the WICS antenna with the newly constructed tower/antenna would allow for reception of the station in Champaign if a more extraordinary receiving antenna could be used from a site on top of one of the tallest buildings in Champaign.
That was the plan, but execution would take time. The FCC granted a request for an extension of the completion date for WCHU in May of 1958 to take the proposed station to completion by November of 1958. It was common practice to have extensions, especially early in the industry, as equipment delays would push back the operation date. Still, this time, the uncertainty of the feasibility of investing in a full-powered television translator was questionable.
The Jerry Lewis Show was one of the rotation variety shows featured in 1957. It was a way to sell RCA color TV to the masses. This was the first in the series that aired on January 19, 1957, at 8 pm ET. It is a kinescope of a color broadcast in black and white and features a black and white peacock. Listen for the announcer to stumble as he says, "The following program is brought to you in living color on NBC."
(YouTube)
WICS Broadcasts NBC Color
Among the investments made by Plains Television in WICS was the installation of equipment to broadcast the NBC network color programming. Color-casting would begin on September 2, 1957.
This would include the broadcasts of the 1957 World Series plus those programs on the new NBC fall season of 1957-58 which were presented in color.
This is the 1959 daytime edition of "Concentration," which was usually hosted by Hugh Downs. He was replaced on this one by Art James, another game show host of the era.
(YouTube)
Medical dramas were becoming popular replacing the western genre in the early 1960s. Along with ABC's Ben Casey, NBC had "Dr. Kildare" based on the old radio and movie series of the 1940s-50s. This is a preview from Warner Archives, as no complete episodes are available on YouTube
(from Warner Archive Instant and YouTube)
(YouTube)
Three WICS news directors/anchors after Malden Jones are pictured above. (left): is G.B. Gordon, who served through 1958. (center) former WTVP news editor Dale Coleman was named in 1960 as news director. (right) Wayne Cox would report/anchor from the early to late 1960s. He was a former employee at WBLN in Bloomington in 1958.
(from WICS and Randy Miller)
G.B Gordon with Anita Bryant, WICS
WICS Nick Alexander
Allen Crane, 1967, TV Guide from the Doug Quick Collection
G.B Gordon with Anita Bryant, WICS
Kim Wilson
Kim Wilson started at WTVP in Decatur before moving to WICS in the late 1950s. This highly versatile local performer was popular with women and kids.
photos: top left-from Teresa Wilson Ericson
left: with Rory Calhoun from WICS; top: from WICS;
mid right: with Virginia Graham from WICS
above: TV Guide® ad from J.R. Evans
WICS Builds a New Facility in 1964
(Photo from Randy Miller)
The following description of the new WICS studios was in a document written by former chief engineer Jerry Merritt in 1981:
"In 1964, ground was broken at 2680 E. Cook Street on a one-acre site. Construction began in late summer, and operations commenced in January 1965.
"The east-side location gave an unobstructed path for the Studio-to-Transmitter Microwave Link, good highway adjacency, and easy client access. The Studio was the largest downstate, measuring 50' x 60' with 19' ceilings. Large drive-thru doors would accommodate cars, boats, and even trucks in studio productions.
"The parking lot provided ample parking and was ~ accessed both on Livingston and Cook Streets. The total building floor area was 14,000 square feet. The Studio and Control Rooms were in the center of the building, with offices surrounding the east, north, and west sides. Construction is concrete block and brick veneer with bar joist and pan flat roof/tar and gravel.
"Two control rooms provide separate on-air and production programming but are consolidated for direct on-air presentations. A separate film projection and videotape room services both control rooms. Management, Sales, and Accounting offices are just off the Lobby entrance on Livingston Street (east) side for availability to the public. Programming and Traffic offices are along Cook Street (north) side, and Film, Prop Storage, and delivery handling are on the west end adjacent to the Cook Street entrance."
--Jerry Merritt, Chief Engineer 3/23/81
"Bonanza" premiered on September 12, 1959, and was sponsored by Chevrolet and continued on January 16, 1973. This was NBC's epic adult western, broadcast in color for its entire run. It sold more Chevrolets and RCA TVs than any other program.
(YouTube)
Here are two recorded peacock color intros used to designate color programming broadcast on NBC and your local station. It was done to create a sense of "missing out" by those watching in black and white. After all, NBC was in the business of selling RCA color TVs. The announcer is Mel Brandt. The music was by Jack Easton. John J. Grahm designed the peacock. Even though WICS could pass NBC color programming to those few viewers who could watch, it would be another 10 years before local color would be a reality for central Illinois.
Click on the button to see the program schedule from the dates indicated above.
Disney moved from ABC to NBC in September 1961 as ABC or its affiliates could not broadcast color. NBC had color capabilities from 1954 since RCA was co-owned and equipment was somewhat plentiful. When it made the move, it was renamed "Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color." WICS broadcast in color, along with WCHU, in 1962, but WICD would only broadcast in color once it was reconstructed as Channel 15 in 1967.
(YouTube)
"The Virginian" was NBC's 90-minute western epic based on a novel written in 1902 and a movie produced in 1929. This NBC series saw several cast changes, although James Drury as the Virginian remained throughout.
(YouTube)
"Flipper" was NBC's only regular color program when it went on the air Saturday nights in 1964, then moved to Sunday nights where it ran through 1968.
(YouTube)
Unlike "Get Smart", "Man From U.N.C.L.E" aired from 1964 to 1968 and made stars from Robert Vaughn and David McCallum. Its companion series, "The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.," starred Stephanie Powers and only aired during the 1966-67 series. It starred Stephanie Powers and Noel Harrison.
(YouTube)
"Get Smart" was produced by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry and was based on the famous secret agent movies, especially the James Bond films. Maxwell Smart bungled through each episode only to be saved by his partner Agent 99.
(YouTube)
"I Dream of Jeannie" was one of the "magic" series along with "Bewitched" on ABC and "The Smothers Brothers Show" on CBS. This Barbara Eden and Larry Hagman sitcom aired from 1965 to 1970. The series's first season was produced in black and white, with all other seasons in color.
(YouTube)
This installment of "The Bob Hope Show" was still produced in black and white." This one was presented on September 25, 1964, when it aired on WICS. The last black and white Bob Hope Show aired on December 15, 1965.
(YouTube)
This is the NBC 1965-66 Season preview as shown to affiliates and advertisers ahead of the new TV season later in the September.
(YouTube)
In 1959, WCHU, Channel 33, Champaign, was added to the central Illinois network that originated at WICS. Soon after, in 1961, WICD, Channel 24 from Danville, was added, and in 1964, a translator at Channel 75 was added for Mattoon.
Clicka T. Clack (William R. Miller)
1960s Clicka T. Clack, played by Bill Miller, WICS
1964 WICS hosts a part for staff members kids, from Lincoln Library, Randy Miller
1960s Clicka T. Clack, played by Bill Miller, Lincoln Library, Randy Miller
1960s Clicka T. Clack, played by Bill Miller, WICS
Clicka T. Clack was another WICS children's show host from the late 1950s into the mid-1960s. His initial show featured him as a train conductor and used a clip from a Warner Brothers cartoon of a train coming into the station. The sound effects ushered in another installment of games, interviews with local kids (which I never had the opportunity to be a part of), but I was a loyal viewer anyway. The children's panel show also featured those Warner Brothers cartoons with Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck.
1963-0909 Huntley-Brinkley Report ad, Decatur Herald
1964 NBC Andy Williams Show, TV Guide Doug Quick Collection
1965 Pepsi Dance Party, WICS
1963-0909 Huntley-Brinkley Report ad, Decatur Herald
Feb 3, 1966, Lineup, Decatur Herald
Feb 4, 1966, Lineup, Decatur Herald
Sept 24, 1966, Lineup, Decatur Herald
Feb 3, 1966, Lineup, Decatur Herald
Plans Are Made to Blanket East Central Illinois with WICS and WICD
Sometime in 1964, WICS would pick up a translator station to broadcast its signal to Mattoon, Illinois. The lack of facility of WCHU left Mattoon without NBC programming, but even more importantly, it was an opportunity to add even more households to the coverage of WICS. W-75-AD served the Mattoon area with a low-powered re-broadcast of programming from WICS.
In 1966, the development of a full-powered UHF station on the former Bloomington allocation on channel 15 would occur after it was reallocated to Champaign. This was planned to take place in early 1967, but an ice storm took down the tower of the new Channel 15 right as it was going on the air. Plains would rebuild the 1380-foot tower at the original site between Homer and Fithian, Illinois, on the banks of the Salt Fork Creek in Vermilion County, Illinois. That tower is still in use to support the antenna of WICD and WCCU ATSC 1.0 signals and the NextgenTV signals of ATSC 3.0 of WCIA, WAND, WBUI, and WICD and WCCU.
This new station would replace W-75-AD in Mattoon, WCHU at Channel 33 in Champaign, and WICD at Channel 24 in Danville, and in color too! All three stations would be discontinued at the premiere of the new WICD, Channel 15. With the new replacement tower, it would be the tallest man-made structure in Illinois for a time. WICD would continue to originate at least some local programming, including some local news. Local commercials would air in place of local commercials on WICS. Switching was accomplished live and sometimes very sloppily as operators would cut in and out of commercial sets and sometimes chop off the beginnings of local and network programs. Those problems would be corrected until the digital conversion of the stations in the 20-teens.
All narrative segments above on this page are edited and updated from "Pictures on the Prairie: The First Ten Years of Mid-Illinois Broadcasting" by Doug Quick.
This is the first part of a multi-part report on the 70th Anniversary of WICS. The interview is conducted by A.J. Gersh with Doug Quick. It was broadcast on Monday, October 2, 2023.
(WICS/YouTube)
This video was prepared by the promotions department of WICS for the 60th Anniversary of WICS in 2013.
(WICS/YouTube)
The complete interview with Doug Quick on the History of WICS with A.J. Gersh will be posted here soon.
(WICS/YouTube)
Here presented in no particular order are those
who have served at WICS, job descriptions/title,
dates
Milton D. Friedland-v-president/general manager 53-
Jame "Jack" Harelson-program manager 53-54
Bazil O-Hagen-chief engineer 53-56
Jack Hoskins-film director/program director 53-
John Begue-sales/promotion/weathercaster 53-60
Carroll W. Neeld-sales 53-
Ken Spengler-sales 53-
Frank Harbauer-sales 53-
Dick Ashenfelter-engineer 53-
Helen Kimmer-executive secretary of the general mgr 53-
Bob Margan-announcer 55-
Bill "Clickety Clack" Miller 60-
Malden Jones-news editor 53-54
Edwin Pool-engineer 53-
Jack Bowers-engineer 53-
Gerald "Jerry" Merritt-engineer/chief engineer 53-
Bernice Warner-community director 53-
Bernie Waterman-sports editor 53-
Bette Muller-asst to film director 53-
Frank Martin-weathercaster 54-
Marty Roberts-talent host 55-56
Julie Craig-talent host 54-56
Bob Wilson-talent/engineering 55-
G.B. Gordon-news editor 55-59
Mariam "Mari-Ann" Ellis -talent host 54-
Pete Wetzel-talent/Pegwill Shows 55-
Larry Spiller-continuity editor 55-
Phil Young-sales 56-
Bryan S. Halter Jr.-continuity asst/announcer 56-
Marion Leimbeck-continuity/traffic assist 56-
Bernie Johnson-talent/host 54-60
Wally Gair-sportscaster, talent/host 58-
Bob Warren-weathercaster/news editor/anchor 58-59
Dale Coleman-news editor/anchor 60
Wayne Cox-news reporter/anchor 60
Nick Alexander-weathercaster/news reporter/anchor 60-
Alan Crane-news reporter/anchor 1962
Charles Bauman-farm director 1954-55
Bill "Pegwill Pete" Wingerter-talent/host 55-
Marge ????-talent with "Pegwill" programs 55-
Ann Marshall-talent with "Pegwill" programs, 1950's
Bill Shaw-photographer 57-
Warren King-Sales mgr 57-
Robert B. Farrow-sales 60-
Lorene Brown-announcer 62-
Kim Wilson-talent/host 59-
Doug Kimball-1962
* a contributor to this site
This list is by no means complete.... if you are or know a WICS employee, sales, administration, programming, news, or creative services...drop me an e-mail.
Include that person's name, title, or job description and approximate dates of employees, if you know.
Sources:
Network screen grabs were from the collection of Bob Lee
WICS for the studio talent pictures
Les Vann
Jo Warfield for sharing her recollections
WICD-TV
Randy Miller for his picture contributions
Broadcasting-Telecasting Magazine
The Illinois State Journal-Register
The Urbana Courier Newspaper
The News-Gazette
The Decatur Herald-Review Newspaper
The Bloomington Pantagraph
The Taylorville Breeze-Courier
TV Guide (1954-1959) from the Doug Quick Collection
Lincoln Library-Springfield
Danville Public Library
Champaign Public Library
Decatur Public Library
Urbana Free Library
The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network Shows
by Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh
Total Television by Alex McNeil
Fort Myers, FL News-Press
Contributors:
Bob Lee, for the vast majority of program titles, screengrabs
WICS, Channel 20, Springfield, Rick Lipps
Cindy Larson and others at WICS
Randy Miller and his Facebook Photo Collection
Teresa Wilson Ericson
Ann Marshall
J.R. Evans
Ben Kiningham
Neuhoff Broadcasting-Danville
James Isley
Kathryn Dinardo
Dave Heller (who produced the 40th Anniversary of WICS and several screengrabs were taken)
Creative Services at WICS during the 60th Anniversary of WICS, from which the recreation of the WICS logo (1st in Springfield) was included as the first graphic of this page
YouTube videos are the property of the individual copyright holders and are only posted for their historical significance.
They are subject to removal by the contributors and YouTube.
Click on the image at the left to continue with
the story of WICS from 1967 to 2020