Today in History: Wednesday, June 9, 2021

Television:
NBC variety series “The Doodles Weaver Show” debuted in 1951 as a summer replacement for Sid Caesar’s “Your Show of Shows.“ It was telecast from June to September with Weaver, his wife Lois, vocalist Marian Colby, and the comedy team of Dick Dana and Peanuts Mann. It only aired for that one summer…The “Milton Berle Show/Texaco Star Theater” concluded on NBC in 1953….NBC sitcom “Singer & Sons,“ starring Harold Gould (“Rhoda”) and Esther Rolle (“Good Times”), premiered in 1990. Just four episodes aired…MTV introduced its first scripted drama, “Dead at 21,” in 1994. Thirteen episodes in total were produced…Original “The View” co-host Meredith Viera exited the ABC morning talk show in 2006 to replace Katie Couric on NBC’s “Today” show. She did, however, maintain her hosting chores on the syndicated version on game show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire“…Ali Stroker became the first individual in a wheel chair to win a Tony Award in 2019. It was for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for the remake of “Oklahoma.“

Movies:
Donald Duck debuted in theatrical movie cartoon “The Wise Little Hen” in 1934. It was based on the fairy tale “The Little Ren Hen”…Movie releases: “The Bad News Bears Go to Japan” in 1978; “Star Trek V: The Final Frontier” in 1989.

Music:
“Jelly-Roll Blues” was recorded by jazz pioneer pianist and composer Jelly Roll Morton in 1924…Tony Bennett debuted in concert at Carnegie Hall in New York City in 1962…The Monkees performed at the Hollywood Bowl in 1967…Paul McCartney’s album “Ram” went gold in 1971…Tony Orlando & Dawn received a gold record for “He Don’t Love You” in 1975…Cyndi Lauper got her first U.S. #1 hit with “Time After Time” in 1984…Also topping the charts were “Love You Inside Out” by the Bee Gees in 1979; and “Hold On” by Wilson Phillips in 1990. “Hold On” was heard in comedy theatrical “Bridesmaids” in 2011.

Celebrity Birthdays
ESPN sports analysts Dick Vitale is 81; Bishop T.D. Jakes is 64; Emmy winner Michael J. Fox is 60; “The West Wing” creator Aaron Sorkin is also 60; Actor Johnny Depp is 58; actress Gloria Reuben (“ER”) is 57; Oscar winner Natalie Portman (“Black Swan”) is 40; actress Mae Whitman (“Good Girls”) is 33.

Did You Know?
The premise behind “The Doodles Weaver Show” involved Weaver dealing with an assignment to stage a no-budget television series using only the discarded costumes, sets and props left behind by more popular network television shows away for the summer. It was an early example of why viewers often fled network television in droves after Memorial Day weekend…Bishop T.D. Jakes hosted the short-lived daytime talker “The T.D. Jakes Show,“ produced by Tegna Media and distributed by Sony Pictures Television, until the show’s cancellation in March 2017.