Today in History: Wednesday, January 17, 2024

Television
The original version of sitcom “The Goldbergs,” based on the then popular radio series, opened on CBS in 1949. It starred Gertrude Berg and Philip Loeb…Crime drama “Baretta,” starring Robert Blake, debuted on ABC in 1975. Originally conceived as a continuation of “Toma,” which was in search of a new lead actor after Tony Musante exited, “Toma” morphed into “Baretta” and the location shifted from New Jersey to California.

Music
Asylum Records released Joni Michell’s sixth studio album, “Court and Spark”, in 1974. The songs featured included “Help Me” and “Free Man In Paris”…Barry Manilow single “I Write the Songs” rose to No. 1 on the U.S. charts in 1976.

News
The first jazz concert was performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City in 1938. Benny Goodman and his orchestra and Count Basie, among others, played at the iconic venue.

Celebrity Birthdays
Steve Harvey is 67; Jim Carrey is 62; “New Girl” star Zooey Deschanel is 44.

Did You Know?
In 1950, Philip Loeb was blacklisted and pressure was placed on Gertrude Berg (who owned the television version of “The Goldbergs”) to fire him. When she refused, General Foods canceled their sponsorship and CBS dropped it from their schedule in June 1951. When NBC picked the series for the 1952 to 53 season (in a twice weekly 15-minute format), it insisted on not including Philip Loeb. Harold J. Stone and then Robert H. Harris ultimately replaced Loeb. In 1954, “The Goldbergs” reverted to a weekly half-hour and moved to the DuMont network, and a final version aired in first-run syndication from 1955 to 1956.