Just a few random TV related events that happened on December 31. Discuss or comment as you please……
1932: Producer/director George Schlatter (Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In) is born in Birmingham, Alabama.
1938: Following almost two years of intermittent tests, the first regularly scheduled TV broadcasts take place in Moscow, U.S.S.R.
1952: WGAL (Lancaster, Pennsylvania) moves from channel 4 to channel 8 to avoid interference with Washington’s WRC-TV.
1953: WFBC-TV (channel 4, now WYFF) signs on in Greenville, South Carolina.
1953: WAYS-TV (channel 36) begins operating in Charlotte, North Carolina. A puny signal and the inherent limitations of UHF in the era cause the station to go dark 14 months later. The dormant license would be returned to the air a decade later as WCCB-TV, which would move to channel 18 two years later, and the channel would subsequently be occupied by WCTU-TV (later WRET, WPCQ-TV, and now WCNC-TV).
1956: Bob Barker makes his game show debut on Truth or Consequences, taking over hosting duties from Jack Bailey.
1960: At 10 p.m. EST, CFTO-TV (channel 9) begins broadcasting in Toronto, Ontario. The first broadcast is a telethon for the Ontario Association for Retarded Children.
1960: Norma Zimmer officially becomes Lawrence Welk's “Champagne Lady” on The Lawrence Welk Show.
1961: RTÉ (Radio Telefís Éireann) begins television broadcasts, bringing TV to the Republic of Ireland for the first time.
1962: Match Game premieres on NBC.
1971: KAID (channel 4) launches in Boise, bringing public television to Idaho.
1971: After 13 years on the air, KRSD-TV (channel 7) in Rapid City, South Dakota leaves the air for good. The channel would later be reoccupied by KEVN.
1971: Actor Pete Duel (Alias Smith and Jones), aged 31, dies from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
1981: Color TV is introduced in Turkey.
1982: Short-lived Another World spin-off Texas airs its 617th and final episode on NBC.
1982: After 19 seasons and 5,280 episodes on NBC, the soap opera The Doctors airs its final show.
1985: Musician/actor Ricky Nelson (The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet), aged 45, and six others are killed when their chartered DC-3 crashes near De Kalb, Texas. The fire and subsequent crash are officially theorized to have been caused by a defective cabin heater, but rumors continue to this day to the effect that Nelson or others were freebasing cocaine in the plane, starting the fire.
1999: Time magazine names The Simpsons “the 20th century's best television series.”
2004: Longtime WECT (Wilmington, North Carolina) anchorman Ken Murphy retires after 40 years with the station.
(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: Producer/director George Schlatter (Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In) is born in Birmingham, Alabama.
1938: Following almost two years of intermittent tests, the first regularly scheduled TV broadcasts take place in Moscow, U.S.S.R.
1952: WGAL (Lancaster, Pennsylvania) moves from channel 4 to channel 8 to avoid interference with Washington’s WRC-TV.
1953: WFBC-TV (channel 4, now WYFF) signs on in Greenville, South Carolina.
1953: WAYS-TV (channel 36) begins operating in Charlotte, North Carolina. A puny signal and the inherent limitations of UHF in the era cause the station to go dark 14 months later. The dormant license would be returned to the air a decade later as WCCB-TV, which would move to channel 18 two years later, and the channel would subsequently be occupied by WCTU-TV (later WRET, WPCQ-TV, and now WCNC-TV).
1956: Bob Barker makes his game show debut on Truth or Consequences, taking over hosting duties from Jack Bailey.
1960: At 10 p.m. EST, CFTO-TV (channel 9) begins broadcasting in Toronto, Ontario. The first broadcast is a telethon for the Ontario Association for Retarded Children.
1960: Norma Zimmer officially becomes Lawrence Welk's “Champagne Lady” on The Lawrence Welk Show.
1961: RTÉ (Radio Telefís Éireann) begins television broadcasts, bringing TV to the Republic of Ireland for the first time.
1962: Match Game premieres on NBC.
1971: KAID (channel 4) launches in Boise, bringing public television to Idaho.
1971: After 13 years on the air, KRSD-TV (channel 7) in Rapid City, South Dakota leaves the air for good. The channel would later be reoccupied by KEVN.
1971: Actor Pete Duel (Alias Smith and Jones), aged 31, dies from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
1981: Color TV is introduced in Turkey.
1982: Short-lived Another World spin-off Texas airs its 617th and final episode on NBC.
1982: After 19 seasons and 5,280 episodes on NBC, the soap opera The Doctors airs its final show.
1985: Musician/actor Ricky Nelson (The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet), aged 45, and six others are killed when their chartered DC-3 crashes near De Kalb, Texas. The fire and subsequent crash are officially theorized to have been caused by a defective cabin heater, but rumors continue to this day to the effect that Nelson or others were freebasing cocaine in the plane, starting the fire.
1999: Time magazine names The Simpsons “the 20th century's best television series.”
2004: Longtime WECT (Wilmington, North Carolina) anchorman Ken Murphy retires after 40 years with the station.
(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…..)