Today in History: Friday, March 1, 2024

Television
“Ripley’s Believe it or Not,” based on the radio show, debuted on NBC in 1949.  It ran through September 1950 and was revived in 1982 on ABC with Jack Palance as host. A third incarnation, hosted by Dean Cain, debuted on TBS in 2000 and aired three years. The next revival aired on Travel Channel hosted by Bruce Campbell in 2019.

The 100th episode of NBC’s “Adam-12,” featuring Martin Milner and Kent McCord, aired in 1972. The half-hour crime drama ran through May 20, 1975 and was revived in first-run syndication in 1990 for two seasons…Infamous variety program “Pink Lady and Jeff” premiered on NBC in 1980. Then-NBC president Fred Silverman and producers Sid and Marty Krofft developed the show about the Japanese duo of Mitsuyo “Mie” Nemoto and Keiko “Kei” Masuda who scored a modest hit song “Kiss in the Dark” in the U.S. in 1979. American comedian Jeff Altman, already under contract at NBC, was tapped as co-host to compensate for Pink Lady’s lack of English language knowledge. “Pink Lady and Jeff” had a brief run of five episodes and in a July 2002 issue of TV Guide magazine, it ranked as the 35th worst TV show of all-time.

MTV premiered its iconic “I Want My MTV” ad campaign in 1982…Valerie Harper starred in family sitcom “Valerie” that debuted on NBC in 1986. She portrayed a mother to three teenage sons (the oldest, played by Jason Bateman) while her airline pilot husband (Josh Taylor) was frequently away. Due to contract disputes, Harper’s character was killed off the show in 1987. Sandy Duncan joined the cast as the sister of Valerie’s husband. The show was retitled as “Valerie’s Family” in the third season, then as “The Hogan Family” in the fourth season, and switched to CBS in 1990 for its sixth and final season.

Part one of “I’ll Take Manhattan” premiered on CBS in 1987. Based on Judith Krantz’s bestselling novel, the four-part miniseries starred Valerie Bertinelli, Barry Bostwick, Jane Kaczmarek, Perry King, Jack Scalia, Tim Daly, Julianne Moore and Ken Olin. Airing across four consecutive nights (through Mar. 4, 1987), it averaged a 22.9 household rating and ranked as TV’s highest-rated miniseries of the 1986-87 season.

In between creating hits “NYPD Blue” and “Deadwood”, David Milch co-created the detective drama “Big Apple,” which debuted in CBS in 2001. It starred Ed O’Neill, Jeffrey Pierce, Kim Dickens, Michael Madsen, David Strathairn, a pre-“Bosch” Titus Welliver and a pre-“Blue Bloods” Donnie Wahlberg. Despite leading out of “CSI” on Thursdays and a brief two-week stint out of “Survivor” on Wednesdays, its low ratings prompted its cancellation after its sixth episode had aired.

Fox debuted two short-lived series: the romance reality competition “Forever Eden” in 2004 and the semi-improvisational comedy “Free Ride” in 2006…Jay Leno returned to NBC’s “The Tonight Show” in 2010 after his failed 10 p.m. weeknight variety strip…Drama “Awake” premiered on NBC in 2012. It starred Jason Isaacs as a detective who lives in two different parallel realities. Despite early positive critical feedback, the series lasted only 13 episodes…Also in 2012, the series finale of CBS sitcom “¡Rob!” aired. The series, which starred Rob Schneider and Cheech Marin, only ran for eight episodes…Three series debuted in 2015: murder mystery “Secrets and Lies” on ABC starring Juliette Lewis and Ryan Philippe (it ran for two condensed seasons); post-apocalyptic comedy “Last Man on Earth” on Fox starring Will Forte, Kristen Schaal and January Jones (it lasted four seasons); detective dramedy “Battle Creek” on CBS starring Josh Duhamel, Dean Winters and Kal Penn (it aired for just 13 episodes)…In 2017, reality competition “Hunted” concluded its lone season of eight episodes on CBS…Also in 207: NBC launched “Chicago Justice” starring Philip Winchester, Carl Weathers and Jon Seda, Dick Wolf‘s attempt at extending his “One Chicago” universe to four series (joining “Chicago Fire”, “Chicago P.D.” and “Chicago Med”). It lasted only 13 episodes…Fantasy anthology series “Dispatches from Elsewhere” debuted on AMC in 2020. It was created by and starred Jason Segel. The show is centered on a group of four strangers attempt to solve a puzzle in order to uncover a bigger mystery of life. It also starred Sally Field, Andre Benjamin (aka Andre 3000 of Outkast) and Richard E. Grant. Ten episodes aired.

Two series debuted but only lasted 13 episodes apiece: science-fiction drama “Debris” on NBC in 2021; and, “True Lies“, the TV series adaptation of the blockbuster 1994 action-comedy film, starring Steve Howey, Ginger Gonzaga and Omar Benson Miller, on CBS in 2023.

Music
Paul Whiteman and his orchestra recorded single “Ol’ Man River” for Victor Records featuring Bing Crosby in 1928…Single “Crazy Arms” was released by Ray Price in 1956. It was named Billboard Song of the Year…Pink Floyd released their album “Dark Side of the Moon” in 1973.

Sports:
New York Yankees legend Mickey Mantle announced his retirement due to persistent knee injuries in 1969. He finished his18-season career with 536 home runs and a .298 batting average.

Books:
Captain America created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby was first published by Timely Comics in 1941.

Celebrity Birthdays:
The Who lead singer Roger Daltrey is 80; Manfred Mann singer Mike d’Abo is 80; actor and director Ron Howard is 70; “The Dukes of Hazzard” star Catherine Bach is also 70; actor Tim Daly (“Wings”) is 68; actor Russell Wong is 61; actor George Eads (“MacGyver”, “CSI”) is 59; actor Javier Bardem (“No Country for Old Men”) is 55; actor Jack Davenport (“Coupling”) is 51; actor Mark-Paul Gosselaar (“Saved By The Bell”) is 50; actor Jensen Ackles (“Supernatural”) is 46; actress Lupita Nyong’o (“Black Panther”) is 41; singer Kesha is 36; singer Justin Bieber is 30.

Did You Know?
The original “Adam-12,” created by Jack Webb, featured crossover episodes with two other NBC series at the time: “Dragnet” (starring Jack Webb) and “Emergency,” which was produced by Webb.