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December 15: This Day in TV History

S

Stanislav

Just a few random TV related events that happened on December 15. Discuss or comment as you please……

1933: Actor/comedian Tim Conway is born in Willoughby, Ohio.

1952: KONA-TV (channel 2, now KHON) signs on in Honolulu, Hawaii.

1956: WRAL-TV (channel 5) hits the airwaves in Raleigh, North Carolina. Its first broadcast is the 1947 movie “Miracle on 34th Street.”

1956: KGW-TV begins operating on channel 8 in Portland, Oregon.

1966: Walt Disney dies of cancer, aged 65.

1970: Actor Michael Shanks (Stargate SG-1) is born in Kamloops, British Columbia.

1979: Actor Adam Brody (The Gilmore Girls, The O.C.) is born in San Diego, California.

(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…..) ;)
 
Stanislav said:
1933: Actor/comedian Tim Conway is born in Willoughby, Ohio.
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And we all know why he became Tim: his original first name was the same as actor Tom Conway (George Sanders' brother).
 
wbhist said:
Stanislav said:
1933: Actor/comedian Tim Conway is born in Willoughby, Ohio.
Click to expand...
And we all know why he became Tim: his original first name was the same as actor Tom Conway (George Sanders' brother).
Click to expand...

Yes..In his early days in Cleveland Television, he was known as "Tom" Conway
 
Stanislav said:
1966: Walt Disney dies of cancer, aged 65.
Click to expand...


This is one of those "I remember where I was when I heard the news" moments for me.

I was a junior in high school, coming back to class following lunch, and our teacher, first thing, tells the class that "One of America's greatest showmen has died - Walt Disney." Gasps permeated the classroom. The news item itself didn't bother me, but what did was the way the teacher told us - like he was putting on a performance of sorts himself. It was like he was anxious to tell us the bad news. I guess it was the equivalent of adult life where when bad news happens, suddenly everybody you know starts calling you. Finally, when the phone rings, you pick up the receiver and instead of saying hello, you just say "Yes, I heard!"

For most people over 50, we have vivid memories of Walt Disney not only being alive, but being on TV all the time. He was a fixture, much like Ed Sullivan or Walter Cronkite were. The fact that he wasn't going to be around anymore was a shock to our young systems.

If you went to Disneyland during his lifetime, you actually had a halfway decent chance of seeing him there. He wasn't afraid to mingle with the crowds, shake hands, sign autographs, and pose for pictures. He kept an apartment on Main Street right above the fire station, which is still maintained today, and is on public display today.

When I went to Disneyland back then, I always hoped that I'd at least get a glance at him, but it never happened. One time though, I missed him by two hours, and I was mad when I found out. That particular day, because of an older sister, our trip to Disneyland was delayed by two and a half hours! Thanks a lot, Sis! :mad:
 
Walt Disney was the first celebrity I ever met. My father worked at Disney Studios in Burbank on Mary Poppins in 1963. My mother and I went to visit him at work, and ran into Walt in the elevator. He was eating saltine crackers at the time, and offered me one (I was 11). Sounds silly, but he was very nice, and I was very impressed.
 
Tim L said:
wbhist said:
Stanislav said:
1933: Actor/comedian Tim Conway is born in Willoughby, Ohio.
Click to expand...
And we all know why he became Tim: his original first name was the same as actor Tom Conway (George Sanders' brother).
Click to expand...

Yes..In his early days in Cleveland Television, he was known as "Tom" Conway
Click to expand...

...and his frequent partner in video crime was Ernie "Ghoulardi" Anderson, legendary ABC utility announcer frequently referenced in this corner of cyberspace. Oddly enough, I think the only time I ever saw Ernie on-camera was in a movie, playing the news anchor Quant O'Neill in TunnelVision...
 
Ultimajock said:
Tim L said:
Yes..In his early days in Cleveland Television, he was known as "Tom" Conway
Click to expand...

...and his frequent partner in video crime was Ernie "Ghoulardi" Anderson, legendary ABC utility announcer frequently referenced in this corner of cyberspace. Oddly enough, I think the only time I ever saw Ernie on-camera was in a movie, playing the news anchor Quant O'Neill in TunnelVision...
Click to expand...

Mr. Anderson also took Lyle Waggoner's place as announcer for The Carol Burnett Show (albeit for off-camera only) in 1974 . . . and Mr. Conway became that show's regular just a year later.
 
wbhist said:
Ultimajock said:
Tim L said:
Yes..In his early days in Cleveland Television, he was known as "Tom" Conway
Click to expand...

...and his frequent partner in video crime was Ernie "Ghoulardi" Anderson, legendary ABC utility announcer frequently referenced in this corner of cyberspace. Oddly enough, I think the only time I ever saw Ernie on-camera was in a movie, playing the news anchor Quant O'Neill in TunnelVision...
Click to expand...

Mr. Anderson also took Lyle Waggoner's place as announcer for The Carol Burnett Show (albeit for off-camera only) in 1974 . . . and Mr. Conway became that show's regular just a year later.
Click to expand...

I know i've told this before, but after Conway had been out in Californina to do "Steve Allen" and returned to WJW-TV to work with Ernie, he got the offer for "McHale's Navy". He went in to get some "advice" fron Channel 8's General Manager. Conway didnt want to leave home, as he was having too good a time working with Anderson..

The GM's response was basically "Are You nuts?..This is a huge opportunity in Hollywood!"..If you dont go out to California, you're fired!" So he fired Conway on the spot, and he had no choce but to go out there..and the rest is history..
 
1921: Legendary Cleveland and NYC disc jockey--and best-known for his involvement in the Payola scandal--Alan Freed (d. 1965) is born in Windber, PA. He did have some TV roles, as an afternoon movie show host on WXEL-9 (now WJW-8) in Cleveland in 1950, and his short-lived ABC series, "The Big Beat."
 
Tim from Springfield said:
1963: Actress Helen Slater, whose resume includes guest appearances on "Smallville," is born in Massapequa, NY.
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Which is somehow appropriate, since she played Supergirl in the movie of the same name.
 
2010: Blake Edwards passed away on this date in Santa Monica, CA of pneumonia complications. Besides his long film career, Edwards worked on several of the 1950s-era anthology shows, as well as Richard Diamond Private Detective, Peter Gunn, and helped bring to life the animated Pink Panther episodes that ran on TV for years after having first been used as in-theater warm-up acts to the early live-action Pink Panther movies. Edwards was 88.
 
2010: Weigel Broadcasting launched MeTV on a national level. This coming from the same company that launched This TV in 2008. MeTV at the moment only has 3 affiliates & are Weigel stations: WWME-LD 23.1/WCIU 26.3 Chicago, WBME 49.1 Racine/Milwaukee, & WBND-LD 57.2 South bend Indiana.
 
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