Just a few random TV related events that happened on April 1. (FOR REAL this time....no gags!) Discuss or comment as you please……
1932: Actress Debbie Reynolds is born (as Mary Frances Reynolds) in El Paso, Texas.
1932: Actor Gordon Jump (WKRP in Cincinnati) is born in Dayton, Ohio.
1942: The U.S. War Production Board halts the manufacture of television and radio equipment for consumer use. The ban would be lifted October 1, 1945.
1954: WQED (channel 13) launches in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is the fifth public TV station (and the first community sponsored) in the U.S.
1955: WTVT (channel 13) begins broadcasting in Tampa, Florida.
1955: Captain Video fights his last battle on DuMont. The show is dropped, along with several other entertainment programs, in the first wave of the gradual demise of the original fourth network.
1957: WYES-TV (channel 8, later channel12) begins operating in New Orleans, Louisiana.
1957: The BBC current affairs program Panorama broadcasts the legendary “spaghetti trees” hoax report for April Fool’s Day.
1958: KVIQ (channel 6) signs on in Eureka, California.
1960: Original episodes of Art Linkletter’s People Are Funny come to an end on NBC. So-called “encore” episodes would continue to be broadcast for another year; it is said that this is the first case of a game show airing repeats.
1963: Battling medical soaps: General Hospital debuts on ABC, while The Doctors premieres on NBC.
1966: The last original prime-time episode of The Flintstones airs on ABC. Of course, as we all know, Fred, Barney and the gang lived on through many subsequent series, specials, movies, and umpteen commercials.
1968: The Andy Griffith Show ends its CBS run, and would morph into Mayberry, R.F.D. (a/k/a “Basically The Andy Griffith Show Without Andy Griffith”) in the fall.
1977: This Week in Baseball premieres in syndication.
1978: The final original episode of The Bob Newhart Show is broadcast on CBS. (No, he doesn't wake up in an inn in Vermont having just dreamed that he was a psychologist in Chicago...) ;D
1981: The cable channel formerly known as Pinwheel re-launches nationally as Nickelodeon.
1984: WHNS (channel 21) signs on in Asheville, North Carolina.
1988: After a 46-year career in radio and TV, journalist Douglas Edwards retires from CBS News.
2005: ABC’s Peter Jennings anchors what will turn out to be his final World News Tonight telecast. He would die four months later.
(Just a little featurette I hope to do as time permits. It’s an entirely random selection based on a quick Net search, and is not meant to be comprehensive. So, don’t post nasty messages about “you forgot THIS” or “how could you not mention THAT?” Do so, and I’ll just take my keyboard and go home…..)
1932: Actress Debbie Reynolds is born (as Mary Frances Reynolds) in El Paso, Texas.
1932: Actor Gordon Jump (WKRP in Cincinnati) is born in Dayton, Ohio.
1942: The U.S. War Production Board halts the manufacture of television and radio equipment for consumer use. The ban would be lifted October 1, 1945.
1954: WQED (channel 13) launches in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is the fifth public TV station (and the first community sponsored) in the U.S.
1955: WTVT (channel 13) begins broadcasting in Tampa, Florida.
1955: Captain Video fights his last battle on DuMont. The show is dropped, along with several other entertainment programs, in the first wave of the gradual demise of the original fourth network.
1957: WYES-TV (channel 8, later channel12) begins operating in New Orleans, Louisiana.
1957: The BBC current affairs program Panorama broadcasts the legendary “spaghetti trees” hoax report for April Fool’s Day.
1958: KVIQ (channel 6) signs on in Eureka, California.
1960: Original episodes of Art Linkletter’s People Are Funny come to an end on NBC. So-called “encore” episodes would continue to be broadcast for another year; it is said that this is the first case of a game show airing repeats.
1963: Battling medical soaps: General Hospital debuts on ABC, while The Doctors premieres on NBC.
1966: The last original prime-time episode of The Flintstones airs on ABC. Of course, as we all know, Fred, Barney and the gang lived on through many subsequent series, specials, movies, and umpteen commercials.
1968: The Andy Griffith Show ends its CBS run, and would morph into Mayberry, R.F.D. (a/k/a “Basically The Andy Griffith Show Without Andy Griffith”) in the fall.
1977: This Week in Baseball premieres in syndication.
1978: The final original episode of The Bob Newhart Show is broadcast on CBS. (No, he doesn't wake up in an inn in Vermont having just dreamed that he was a psychologist in Chicago...) ;D
1981: The cable channel formerly known as Pinwheel re-launches nationally as Nickelodeon.
1984: WHNS (channel 21) signs on in Asheville, North Carolina.
1988: After a 46-year career in radio and TV, journalist Douglas Edwards retires from CBS News.
2005: ABC’s Peter Jennings anchors what will turn out to be his final World News Tonight telecast. He would die four months later.
(Just a little featurette I hope to do as time permits. It’s an entirely random selection based on a quick Net search, and is not meant to be comprehensive. So, don’t post nasty messages about “you forgot THIS” or “how could you not mention THAT?” Do so, and I’ll just take my keyboard and go home…..)