Just a few random TV related events that happened on February 1. Discuss or comment as you please……
1937: Comedian/actor Garrett Morris (Saturday Night Live) is born in New Orleans, Louisiana.
1938: Actor Sherman Hemsley (The Jeffersons, Amen) is born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1939: The first experimental TV transmission in Ukraine (then Ukranian SSR) takes place in Kiev. The 40-minute broadcast is of a portrait of Politburo member (and buddy of Stalin) Sergo Ordzhonikidze.
1947: Journalist Jessica Savitch is born in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.
1953: “But will it play in Peoria?” WEEK-TV (channel 25) tries to answer that age-old question, as it becomes the first TV station serving the city.
1953: Japanese television goes on the air for the first time, as JOAK-TV signs on from Tokyo.
1953: General Electric Theater airs the first of what would be 200 broadcasts over a decade on CBS.
1954: L.A.’s KECA-TV (channel 7) changes its calls to (still current) KABC-TV.
1956: WSAV-TV (channel 3) begins operating in Savannah, Georgia.
1958: WLOF-TV (channel 9, now WFTV) signs on in Orlando, Florida.
1967: KZAZ (channel 11, now KMSB-TV) signs on, bringing an independent station to the Nogales-Tucson market for the first time. It would become a charter Fox affiliate in 1986, an affiliation it retains to this day.
1970: WMAA-TV (channel 29, now WMPN-TV) begins broadcasting in Jackson, Mississippi (the last state east of the Mississippi River to sign on a public broadcasting station).
1971: Actor Michael C. Hall (Six Feet Under, Dexter) is born in Raleigh, North Carolina.
1974: KIVI (channel 6) hits the air in Nampa, Idaho.
1974: Good Times premieres on CBS.
1976: The first installment of the 12-hour miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man airs on ABC.
1977: Color TV transmissions begin in Italy from Rai Uno and Rai Due.
1982: Late Night with David Letterman debuts on NBC.
2002: Actress and “Varga Girl” model Irish McCalla (Sheena Queen of the Jungle) dies of a stroke and complications from her fourth (!) brain tumor (her first occurred in 1969), aged 73.
2003: Space Shuttle Columbia, its left wing damaged from a debris strike during lift-off, breaks up over Texas on its approach to landing in Florida, killing all 7 astronauts aboard. Videos (both amateur and professional) of the shuttle breaking up are aired repeatedly on TV, and these videos would also prove invaluable to the Columbia Accident Investigation Board in establishing the sequence of events leading to the vehicle’s disintegration.
2004: “Wardrobe malfunction.” (Need I say more?) :
2008: Actress Shell Kepler (General Hospital) dies of renal failure in Portland, Oregon, aged 49.
(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…..)
1937: Comedian/actor Garrett Morris (Saturday Night Live) is born in New Orleans, Louisiana.
1938: Actor Sherman Hemsley (The Jeffersons, Amen) is born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1939: The first experimental TV transmission in Ukraine (then Ukranian SSR) takes place in Kiev. The 40-minute broadcast is of a portrait of Politburo member (and buddy of Stalin) Sergo Ordzhonikidze.
1947: Journalist Jessica Savitch is born in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.
1953: “But will it play in Peoria?” WEEK-TV (channel 25) tries to answer that age-old question, as it becomes the first TV station serving the city.
1953: Japanese television goes on the air for the first time, as JOAK-TV signs on from Tokyo.
1953: General Electric Theater airs the first of what would be 200 broadcasts over a decade on CBS.
1954: L.A.’s KECA-TV (channel 7) changes its calls to (still current) KABC-TV.
1956: WSAV-TV (channel 3) begins operating in Savannah, Georgia.
1958: WLOF-TV (channel 9, now WFTV) signs on in Orlando, Florida.
1967: KZAZ (channel 11, now KMSB-TV) signs on, bringing an independent station to the Nogales-Tucson market for the first time. It would become a charter Fox affiliate in 1986, an affiliation it retains to this day.
1970: WMAA-TV (channel 29, now WMPN-TV) begins broadcasting in Jackson, Mississippi (the last state east of the Mississippi River to sign on a public broadcasting station).
1971: Actor Michael C. Hall (Six Feet Under, Dexter) is born in Raleigh, North Carolina.
1974: KIVI (channel 6) hits the air in Nampa, Idaho.
1974: Good Times premieres on CBS.
1976: The first installment of the 12-hour miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man airs on ABC.
1977: Color TV transmissions begin in Italy from Rai Uno and Rai Due.
1982: Late Night with David Letterman debuts on NBC.
2002: Actress and “Varga Girl” model Irish McCalla (Sheena Queen of the Jungle) dies of a stroke and complications from her fourth (!) brain tumor (her first occurred in 1969), aged 73.
2003: Space Shuttle Columbia, its left wing damaged from a debris strike during lift-off, breaks up over Texas on its approach to landing in Florida, killing all 7 astronauts aboard. Videos (both amateur and professional) of the shuttle breaking up are aired repeatedly on TV, and these videos would also prove invaluable to the Columbia Accident Investigation Board in establishing the sequence of events leading to the vehicle’s disintegration.
2004: “Wardrobe malfunction.” (Need I say more?) :
2008: Actress Shell Kepler (General Hospital) dies of renal failure in Portland, Oregon, aged 49.
(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…..)