February 27: This Day in TV History

[Stanislav]

Just a few random TV related events that happened on February 27. Discuss or comment as you please……

1910: Actress Joan Bennett (Dark Shadows) is born in Palisades Park, New Jersey.

1937: Actress Barbara Babcock (Dallas, Hill Street Blues) is born in Pasadena, California.

1940: Actor Howard Hesseman (WKRP in Cincinnati, Head of the Class) is born in Lebanon, Oregon.

1943: Actress Mary Frann (Days of Our Lives, Newhart) is born (as Mary Frances Luecke) in St. Louis, Missouri.

1966: The Perry Mason episode "The Case of the Twice-Told Twist," first aired this night on CBS, is the only episode of the series to have been filmed and broadcast in color.

1977: Fed up with excessive violence and sex on TV, the Reverend Donald Wildmon (remember him?) declares "Turn the Television Off Week." He is, for the most part, ignored.

2003: It’s a terrible day in the neighborhood as Fred Rogers (Mister Roger’s Neighborhood) dies of stomach cancer, aged 74.

2008: Longtime Pittsburgh Steelers sportscaster Myron Cope dies in Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania of respiratory failure, aged 79.

2008: Author and commentator William F. Buckley, Jr. (Firing Line) dies in Stamford, Connecticut of complications from emphysema and diabetes, aged 82.

(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…..)

 

[mleach]

1977: Fed up with excessive violence and sex on TV, the Reverend Donald Wildmon (remember him?) declares "Turn the Television Off Week." He is, for the most part, ignored.

Found this tidbit..well actually its a bit long about Mr. Wildmon..

http://www.mediacoalition.org/reports/wildmon_report.htm

Even though it wasn't mentioned in the article I do remember hearing over the years where Wildmon has gone after local radio stations over various reasons, mainly sex related content and stuff. About a year or so ago, maybe it was two but anyway I remember listening to a radio talk show one night on Buffalo's WWKB 1520 that brought up Wildmon and his "people" , how either he ( or his few followers ) were upset at Dallas oldies radio station 98.7 KLUV-FM because one of their weekend announcers had an ..OMG...a profile on an adult website. Who cares !!! Well KLUV I guess didn't care since I assume that jock wasn't fired since well..if he was I am sure it would had been discussed on this site. Nothing about that on Radio-Info or elsewhere for the matter.

And another thing if those people were against such stuff..why were they looking at an adult website in the first place? Nevermind !!!!!!

You are right..he is pretty much ignored today.

 

[RicoGregg]

1977: Fed up with excessive violence and sex on TV, the Reverend Donald Wildmon (remember him?) declares "Turn the Television Off Week." He is, for the most part, ignored.

You are right..he is pretty much ignored today.

Rev. Donald Who?

 

[Ultimajock]

1977: Fed up with excessive violence and sex on TV, the Reverend Donald Wildmon (remember him?) declares "Turn the Television Off Week." He is, for the most part, ignored.

You are right..he is pretty much ignored today.

Rev. Donald Who?

...problem is, he owns more "public" radio stations in Mississippi than Mississippi Public Broadcasting does. In the Laurel-Hattiesburg market alone, there's one NPR affiliate (owned by Southern Mississippi University) while Wildmon owns three stations on non-commercial allocated frequencies. So I'd hardly say nobody's paying attention to him anymore...

 

[Stanislav]

1977: Fed up with excessive violence and sex on TV, the Reverend Donald Wildmon (remember him?) declares "Turn the Television Off Week." He is, for the most part, ignored.

You are right..he is pretty much ignored today.

Rev. Donald Who?

...problem is, he owns more "public" radio stations in Mississippi than Mississippi Public Broadcasting does. In the Laurel-Hattiesburg market alone, there's one NPR affiliate (owned by Southern Mississippi University) while Wildmon owns three stations on non-commercial allocated frequencies. So I'd hardly say nobody's paying attention to him anymore...

That practice -- awarding "educational" frequencies to these evangelical religious groups -- sticks in my craw. There are also a slew of educational TV allocations that have been hijacked by Trinity Broadcasting and the like. Yes, I know that the frequencies are pegged as "non-commercial," and churches are technically "non-profit" (some far less "non" than others, tho) but one expects these frequencies and channels to be used for something educational and/or cultural. There's nothing "educational" about the programming on these stations -- if anything, it is anti-educational.

Of course, the FCC standards are so lax that TBN's stations can get by with a few hours a week of borderline educational shows (and even some of those have a religious bent), and then it's wall-to-wall preaching the rest of the time. And it's hard to call them "non-commercial" when they rake in millions in donations every year. (Of course, those interminable PBS/NPR pledge drives can be quite annoying, too...)

 

[Tim from Springfield IL]

1962: Actor Adam Baldwin (Chuck) is born in Chicago.

 

[FreddyE1977]

2003: It’s a terrible day in the neighborhood as Fred Rogers (Mister Roger’s Neighborhood) dies of stomach cancer, aged 74.

2008: Longtime Pittsburgh Steelers sportscaster Myron Cope dies in Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania of respiratory failure, aged 79.

It had somehow eluded me that Pittsburgh lost two broadcast legends (and beloved members of the community)
on the same date.