Television Jane Fonda made her television acting debut in NBC movie “A String of Beads” in 1961…Variety hour “This Is Tom Jones” debuted on ABC in 1969. It aired for three seasons…One of the most expensive failures in the history of television, “Supertrain,” debuted in 1979. Developed after the success of “The Love Boat,” this inane NBC anthology set […]
Television Sitcom “Mister Ed” concluded in 1966. It launched in first-run syndication on Jan. 5, 1961, and moved to CBS the following fall…Seven part miniseries “The Winds of War,” based on the book of the same name by Herman Wouk, debuted on ABC in 1983. It starred Robert Mitchum, Ali MacGraw, John Houseman and Jan-Michael Vincent…In 2012, musical dramedy “Smash”debuted on NBC. It aired for two half seasons…Jay Leno hosted NBC’s “The […]
Television “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour” debuted on CBS in 1967…“Turn-On,” a half-hour sketch comedy on ABC patterned on “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In” was turned off in 1969 after just one episode. It was co-created by “Laugh-In” producer George Schlatter. Tim Conway was the guest host…In 1971, Apollo 14 astronauts Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell stepped onto the surface of the moon in the first of two lunar excursions…”Barney Miller” spin-off sitcom “Fish” […]
Television and Radio CBS sitcom “Co-Ed Fever”, inspired by blockbuster 1979 theatrical “Animal House”, came and went after one episode in 1979…Alex Trebek in 1991 became the first person to host three game shows at the same time (“Jeopardy!“, “Classic Concentration”, “To Tell the Truth”)…Part one of NBC miniseries “Gulliver’s Travels” debuted on NBC in 1996…Kathy Bates made her […]
Television and Radio The early, live, half-hour variety program “The Victor Borge Show” debuted on NBC in 1951. Borge’s blend of music and comedy earned him the nicknames “The Clown Prince of Denmark,” “The Unmelancholy Dane,” and “The Great Dane”…Also on this day: Fred bought Wilma a piano for their 10th anniversary on ABC’s “The Flintstones” in 1961; Ida Morgenstern (Nancy Walker) […]
Television Game show “What’s My Line,” hosted by John Daly, debuted on CBS in 1950. The panel on the first telecast was former New Jersey governor Harold Hoffman, columnist Dorothy Kilgallen, poet Louis Untermeyer, and psychiatrist Richard Hoffmann…”The Midnight Special“, the weekly 90-minute showcase of rock, pop and soul music acts, debuted in its regular Friday late-night time slot following “The Tonight […]
Television CBS sitcom “Private Secretary,” starring Ann Sothern, launched in 1953. It ran through 1957 and initially alternated with the “The Jack Benny Show”…News-themed “You Are There” with Walter Cronkite premiered on CBS in 1953. It started as a radio program in 1947. This first TV telecast featured a re-enactment of the Hindenburg disaster…CBS daytime drama “The Secret Storm” opened in 1954 and stayed on the air for 20 […]
