Television and Radio On radio, and in 1938, Orson Welles and his troupe of radio actors interrupted the Columbia Broadcasting System’s programming to “report” that our planet had been invaded. It was actually the dramatization of H. G. Wells‘ fantasy “War of the Worlds.” According to reports, approximately 12 million people were listening when Welles’ broadcast came on the […]
Television Chet Huntley and David Brinkley teamed up for “The Huntley-Brinkley Report” in 1956, which was NBC’s flagship evening news program until July 31, 1970…On ABC’s prime time animated series “The Flintstones” in 1964, Fred must spend one night in a haunted house in order to inherit his uncle’s property…”Look What Happened to Rosemary’s Baby,” the follow-up to the 1968 theatrical thriller […]
Television Rhoda (Valerie Harper) was late to her own wedding in a one-hour episode of “Rhoda” in 1974 when scatter-brained Phyllis (Cloris Leachman) forgot to pick her up on the “Mary Tyler Moore Show” spin-off. Over 52 million had tuned in, more than half of the viewing population at the time. Two CBS sitcoms celebrated their 100th episodes: “The […]
Television “You Bet Your Life” with Groucho Marx premiered on ABC radio in 1947. He went on to host the original TV version of the comedy quiz show on NBC from 1950 to 1961. The current reboot hosted by Jay Leno is the third attempt at this series following Buddy Hackett in 1980-81 and Bill Cosby in 1991-92…The first Walt Disney show, “Disneyland,“ debuted in 1954. […]
Television Long-running “MASH” opened season 10 on CBS in 1981, which was supposed to be its final year. But a 4-to-3 vote from the cast in favor of one final abbreviated season led to 16 more episodes in 1982-83, including the historically top-rated series-finale on Feb. 28, 1983…NBC medical dramedy “St. Elsewhere,” which demonstrated the importance of the adult 18-49 demographic, opened its six […]
Television Children’s educational program “The Electric Company” debuted on PBS in 1971. The series, which ran for six seasons and aired in reruns thru 1985, was co-created by Paul Dooley and starred Morgan Freeman and Rita Moreno. “Newhart,” Bob Newhart’s second successful CBS sitcom, debuted in 1982 and stayed on the air for eight seasons. Only three of the original actors — Newhart, Mary Frann and Tom Poston — […]
Television “Kojak”, starring Telly Savalas, debuted on CBS in 1973. The series, which aired for five seasons, was introduced in the made-for television movie “The Marcus-Nelson Murders.” Short-lived NBC sitcom “The Michael Richards Show” launched in 2000, signaling what many referred to as the “Seinfeld Curse” (an assertion that the former cast from “Seinfeld” could not carry a series of their own). But […]
