Just a few random TV related events that happened on February 4. Discuss or comment as you please……
1915: Actor William Talman (Perry Mason) is born in Detroit, Michigan.
1923: Actor Conrad Bain (Maude, Diff’rent Strokes) is born in Lethbridge, Alberta.
1924: Voice artist Janet Waldo (The Jetsons) is born in Yakima, Washington. Maybe. (Some sources show her birth year as 1918, but 1924 is the generally accepted date; apparently, Ms. Waldo ain’t talkin’...) DYK: She is the only surviving member of the original Jetsons voice cast (with George O’Hanlon, Penny Singleton, Daws Butler, Don Messick, Jean Vander Pyl, and Mel Blanc ALL having left us).
1925: Actor Chuck Zink is born in South Bend, Indiana. His half a century in South Florida television is most fondly remembered for his character of Skipper Chuck, who hosted a WTVJ children’s show from 1957 to 1979. He was also the local host for the Muscular Dystrophy Telethon for 24 years, hosted the Orange Bowl parade for 22, and spent 12 years announcing for Jackie Gleason.
1938: The first broadcast (as opposed to closed-circuit) demonstration of color television is presented as a surprise item at the Dominion Theatre, Tottenham Court Road, London, England, by John Logie Baird. 3,000 people watch pictures transmitted from Crystal Palace on a 12 ft. by 9 ft. screen. The achievement represents a triple first for Baird: first color television transmitted by radio link, first color TV demonstrated to the public in a theater, and the first outdoor scenes televised in color.
1940: Actor John Schuck (McMillan and Wife, Holmes and Yoyo) is born is Boston, Massachusetts. DYK: As Captain Waldowski in the movie “M*A*S*H,” he was allegedly the first actor to utter the F-word in a major motion picture.
1959: Actress Pamela Ferdyn (The Odd Couple) is born in Los Angeles.
1977: American Bandstand celebrates its 25th anniversary on television with a special hosted by Dick Clark. As the featured highlight, an "all-star band" made up of Chuck Berry, Seals & Crofts, Gregg Allman, Junior Walker, Johnny Rivers, the Pointer Sisters, Charlie Daniels, Doc Severinsen, Les McCann, Donald Byrd, Chuck Mangione, and three members of Booker T and the MGs performs "Roll Over Beethoven."
1979: Co-Ed Fever, one of three attempted clones of “Animal House” (along with ABC's Delta House and NBC's Brothers and Sisters) is premiered as a “special preview” by CBS (immediately after the airing of the motion picture “Rocky”). Unfortunately, it fared the poorest by far of the three, being subsequently canceled before its scheduled February 19 launch, thus becoming one of a handful of TV’s infamous “One-episode Blunders.”
1980: The Young and the Restless expands to an hour, filling the time slot vacated the previous Friday by Love of Life.
1987: Pianist/entertainer Liberace (neé Wladziu Valentino Liberace) dies in Palm Springs, California, aged 67, due to complications from AIDS.
1994: The Days of our Lives nighttime special “Winter Heat” airs on NBC.
2005: Actor Ossie Davis (Evening Shade, Promised Land, Touched by an Angel) dies in Miami Beach, Florida, aged 87.
2007: Singer/actress Barbara McNair dies in Los Angeles of throat cancer, aged 72.
(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…..)
1915: Actor William Talman (Perry Mason) is born in Detroit, Michigan.
1923: Actor Conrad Bain (Maude, Diff’rent Strokes) is born in Lethbridge, Alberta.
1924: Voice artist Janet Waldo (The Jetsons) is born in Yakima, Washington. Maybe. (Some sources show her birth year as 1918, but 1924 is the generally accepted date; apparently, Ms. Waldo ain’t talkin’...) DYK: She is the only surviving member of the original Jetsons voice cast (with George O’Hanlon, Penny Singleton, Daws Butler, Don Messick, Jean Vander Pyl, and Mel Blanc ALL having left us).
1925: Actor Chuck Zink is born in South Bend, Indiana. His half a century in South Florida television is most fondly remembered for his character of Skipper Chuck, who hosted a WTVJ children’s show from 1957 to 1979. He was also the local host for the Muscular Dystrophy Telethon for 24 years, hosted the Orange Bowl parade for 22, and spent 12 years announcing for Jackie Gleason.
1938: The first broadcast (as opposed to closed-circuit) demonstration of color television is presented as a surprise item at the Dominion Theatre, Tottenham Court Road, London, England, by John Logie Baird. 3,000 people watch pictures transmitted from Crystal Palace on a 12 ft. by 9 ft. screen. The achievement represents a triple first for Baird: first color television transmitted by radio link, first color TV demonstrated to the public in a theater, and the first outdoor scenes televised in color.
1940: Actor John Schuck (McMillan and Wife, Holmes and Yoyo) is born is Boston, Massachusetts. DYK: As Captain Waldowski in the movie “M*A*S*H,” he was allegedly the first actor to utter the F-word in a major motion picture.
1959: Actress Pamela Ferdyn (The Odd Couple) is born in Los Angeles.
1977: American Bandstand celebrates its 25th anniversary on television with a special hosted by Dick Clark. As the featured highlight, an "all-star band" made up of Chuck Berry, Seals & Crofts, Gregg Allman, Junior Walker, Johnny Rivers, the Pointer Sisters, Charlie Daniels, Doc Severinsen, Les McCann, Donald Byrd, Chuck Mangione, and three members of Booker T and the MGs performs "Roll Over Beethoven."
1979: Co-Ed Fever, one of three attempted clones of “Animal House” (along with ABC's Delta House and NBC's Brothers and Sisters) is premiered as a “special preview” by CBS (immediately after the airing of the motion picture “Rocky”). Unfortunately, it fared the poorest by far of the three, being subsequently canceled before its scheduled February 19 launch, thus becoming one of a handful of TV’s infamous “One-episode Blunders.”
1980: The Young and the Restless expands to an hour, filling the time slot vacated the previous Friday by Love of Life.
1987: Pianist/entertainer Liberace (neé Wladziu Valentino Liberace) dies in Palm Springs, California, aged 67, due to complications from AIDS.
1994: The Days of our Lives nighttime special “Winter Heat” airs on NBC.
2005: Actor Ossie Davis (Evening Shade, Promised Land, Touched by an Angel) dies in Miami Beach, Florida, aged 87.
2007: Singer/actress Barbara McNair dies in Los Angeles of throat cancer, aged 72.
(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…..)
