Television: New York City’s WPIX Channel 11 began broadcasting in 1948…Country-themed variety hour “Hee Haw,” hosted by Roy Clark and Buck Owens and inspired by “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In,“ premiered on CBS in 1969. A victim of the infamous “rural purge,” the network canceled “Hee Haw” in 1971 (along with sitcom “The Beverly Hillbillies,“ “Green Acres” and “Mayberry R.F.D.”). But it immediately found a new home in first-run syndication […]
Television: Summer variety hour “The Steve Allen Show” premiered on CBS in 1967.The cast included Jayne Meadows, Louise Nye, Ruth Buzzi and John Byner…Kooky talent show “The Gong Show,” hosted by Chuck Barris, debuted on NBC in daytime in 1976. It also aired in first-run syndication (from 1976 to 1980), on Game Show Network (as “Extreme Gong”) from 1998-99, on Comedy Central (as “The Gong Show with Dave Attell”) in […]
Posted in:
DC announced a new four-issue DC Black Label comic book miniseries launching in September, Plastic Man No More! The Eisner-nominated creative team of Christopher Cantwell (Batman: The Brave and The Bold, Briar, Halt and Catch Fire) and Alex Lins (Briar, Monarch, Immortal Hulk) brings you the five words you thought you’d never read in a press release. Hard-Boiled […]
Television: Musical/variety series “The Sammy Kaye Show” concluded on CBS in 1959…NBC’s “Tomorrow Coast to Coast” aired one of the most famous interviews of host Tom Snyder’s career: his sit-down with Charles Manson in 1981. Manson was sentenced to life in prison for his involvement in the 1969 murders of nine people…Crime drama “The Closer” starring Kyra Sedgwick as the CIA-trained Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson debuted […]
HAPPY SUPERMAN DAY! Television: The National Baseball Hall of Fame was officially dedicated in the town of Cooperstown, New York in 1939…NBC sitcom “Mister Peepers,” starring Wally Cox, Marion Lorne and Tony Randall, concluded after three seasons in 1955. Marion Lorne, of course, went on to play Aunt Clara on “Bewitched” and Tony Randall as Felix in “The Odd Couple.“ ABC game show “Make Me Laugh,“ hosted by Robert Q. […]
Television: Sitcom “Amos ‘N’ Andy,“ based on the radio show of the same name, concluded on CBS in 1953 following ongoing protests from the NAACP and other civil rights groups on its depiction of the black community. An additional 13 episodes was produced for 1954-55 to be added to the syndicated rerun package…American game show history was […]
Television: HBO horror anthology “Tales From the Crypt” debuted in 1989. It aired for seven seasons, producing 93 episodes…Surrealistic serialized drama “Twin Peaks” concluded on ABC in 1991 after a two season (and 30-episode) run. It was revived as a miniseries on Showtime in 2017. Syndicated talker “The Rosie O’Donnell Show” premiered in 1996. Although it lasted just […]
