January 6: This Day in TV History

[Stanislav]

Just a few random TV related events that happened on January 6. Discuss or comment as you please……

1912: Actor/comedian Danny Thomas is born (as Amos Alphonsus Muzyad Yaqoob) in Deerfield, Michigan.

1913: Actress Loretta Young is born (as Gretchen Young) in Salt Lake City, Utah.

1932: Experimental mechanical TV station W6XAH (96 lines, 20 FPS) launches in Bakersfield, California.

1944: Actress Bonnie Franklin (One Day at a Time) is born in Santa Monica, California.

1955: Actor/comedian Rowan Atkinson (Blackadder, The Thin Blue Line, Mr. Bean) is born in Consett, County Durham, England.

1957: Elvis Presley makes final appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.

1958: WIPR-TV (channel 6) begins broadcasting in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is the island’s first educational TV station, as well as one of the first in Latin America.

1963: Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom debuts on NBC.

1967: KHTV (channel 39, now KIAH) signs on in Houston, Texas.

1974: The Global Television Network launches in Canada. Despite the grandiose implications of the name, it initially consists of just six transmitters – a flagship station on channel 6 in Paris plus five repeaters (3 UHF and 2 VHF) – serving the more populous areas of Ontario.

1974: Schoolhouse Rock! premieres on ABC. It would become fondly remembered by a certain generation of kids, many of whom to this day could probably still sing “Zero, My Hero,” “I’m Just a Bill,” or “Conjunction Junction, What’s Your Function” on cue....

1975: What would eventually become a mega-successful worldwide franchise has its humble beginnings on daytime TV as Wheel of Fortune premieres on NBC.

1976: Actor Danny Pintauro (Who’s the Boss?) is born in Milltown, New Jersey.

1976: Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman debuts in syndication.

1986: A revamped revival of Card Sharks, with Bob Eubanks as host, premieres on CBS.

1987: Inspector Morse premieres in the U.K. on IT.

1992: World News Now debuts on ABC.

1997: The U.K.’s Channel 4 closes down (signs off) for the last time – starting this day at 6 a.m., the network begins broadcasting 24/7.

1997: Sunset Beach premieres on NBC.

2006: The WB drops its weekday afternoon “Kids' WB” animation block.

2008: Announcer Bob LeMond dies in Bonsall, California, aged 94. Following a long radio career, he was the announcer for many early TV shows, including Leave It to Beaver, The Red Skelton Show, Bat Masterson, Our Miss Brooks, My Friend Irma, and Life With Luigi, as well as for many special events including the Academy Awards and the Tournament of Roses Parade.

(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…..)

 

[bpatrick]

Also on January 6, 1975, "Another World" became
the first soap to go to an hour (90 minutes proved
too much when it expanded to that length in 1979,
reverting to an hour on August 4, 1980 with the debut
of spinoff "Texas").

Today, only "The Bold And The Beautiful" maintains
a 30-minute length, and John McCook (Eric Forrester)
and Susan Flannery (Stephanie Forrester) have said
they'll quit if the show ever goes to an hour.

 

[azumanga]

1974: The Global Television Network launches in Canada. Despite the grandiose implications of the name, it initially consists of just six transmitters – a flagship station on channel 6 in Paris plus five repeaters (3 UHF and 2 VHF) – serving the more populous areas of Ontario.

And during its first year, it almost went broke. I also read somewhere that it wasn't on the air in the mornings during this period.

1974: Schoolhouse Rock! premieres on ABC. It would become fondly remembered by a certain generation of kids, many of whom to this day could probably still sing “Zero, My Hero,” “I’m Just a Bill,” or “Conjunction Junction, What’s Your Function” on cue....

Actually, "Schoolhouse Rock" debuted in 1972, originally as "Multiplication Rock" (as time tables were all there was that first season).

 

[wbhist]

I think it was around 1974-75 that the second set of Schoolhouse Rock segments, called "Grammar Rock," debuted. That was where such mainstays as "Conjunction Junction" and "Interjections!" were first introduced.

 

[mleach]

1944: Actress Bonnie Franklin (One Day at a Time) is born in Santa Monica, California.

For some reason I have always thought that Franklin came from Indianapolis. I have heard over the years it was her idea that her show "One Day At A Time" was to be based in that city even though other than the opening credits ( and that was in the later seasons ) there was very little of "Indianapolis" even mentioned on One Day at a Time.

 

[RicoGregg]

1944: Actress Bonnie Franklin (One Day at a Time) is born in Santa Monica, California.

For some reason I have always thought that Franklin came from Indianapolis. I have heard over the years it was her idea that her show "One Day At A Time" was to be based in that city even though other than the opening credits ( and that was in the later seasons ) there was very little of "Indianapolis" even mentioned on One Day at a Time.

The basic concept of One Day at a Time was loosely based on the real life experiences of producer Whitney Blake.

A more detailed history of the show:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_day_at_a_time

 

[Bluenoser]

1974: The Global Television Network launches in Canada. Despite the grandiose implications of the name, it initially consists of just six transmitters – a flagship station on channel 6 in Paris plus five repeaters (3 UHF and 2 VHF) – serving the more populous areas of Ontario.

And during its first year, it almost went broke. I also read somewhere that it wasn't on the air in the mornings during this period.

That's right...Global usually signed-on in the early afternoon, between noon and 2.

 

[firepoint525]

This would mean that Bonnie Franklin was just 31 when One Day at a Time first went on the air!  (Unless she lied about her age, of course!)  I only point this out because Ann Romano was the mom of two teenage daughters!  Valerie Bertinelli was about 15 when ODAAT first premiered, and she's in her late 40s now.  And she played the younger daughter on that show!    Wow, that Ann Romano started young, didn't she?

And there was a reference to Indiana at least once on that show when Barbara berated Mark (who would later become her husband!) for taking her on a date to Kokomo, Indiana!

 

[LKellerIII]

This would mean that Bonnie Franklin was just 31 when One Day at a Time first went on the air! (Unless she lied about her age, of course!) I only point this out because Ann Romano was the mom of two teenage daughters! Valerie Bertinelli was about 15 when ODAAT first premiered, and she's in her late 40s now. And she played the younger daughter on that show! Wow, that Ann Romano started young, didn't she?

Uh...cute observation...except that acting is make believe, of course. So Bonnie may have been 31, but if Ann Romano was supposed to be 33 (just 2 years older), she could have had a 15 year old daughter at age 18. I don't think that's too much of a stretch.

 

[firepoint525]

I think it was around 1974-75 that the second set of Schoolhouse Rock segments, called "Grammar Rock," debuted. That was where such mainstays as "Conjunction Junction" and "Interjections!" were first introduced.

I must have been a year or two too old to have appreciated Schoolhouse Rock. I'm 45 now, and while I had heard about the show, for some reason, I just never watched it! :'(

 

[firepoint525]

This would mean that Bonnie Franklin was just 31 when One Day at a Time first went on the air! (Unless she lied about her age, of course!) I only point this out because Ann Romano was the mom of two teenage daughters! Valerie Bertinelli was about 15 when ODAAT first premiered, and she's in her late 40s now. And she played the younger daughter on that show! Wow, that Ann Romano started young, didn't she?

Uh...cute observation...except that acting is make believe, of course. So Bonnie may have been 31, but if Ann Romano was supposed to be 33 (just 2 years older), she could have had a 15 year old daughter at age 18. I don't think that's too much of a stretch.

Okay, but keep in mind that Valerie Bertinelli played the younger daughter! I don't know how old Mackenzie Phillips was about that time (1975), but my guess would be about 17, maybe 18.

 

[LKellerIII]

This would mean that Bonnie Franklin was just 31 when One Day at a Time first went on the air! (Unless she lied about her age, of course!) I only point this out because Ann Romano was the mom of two teenage daughters! Valerie Bertinelli was about 15 when ODAAT first premiered, and she's in her late 40s now. And she played the younger daughter on that show! Wow, that Ann Romano started young, didn't she?

Uh...cute observation...except that acting is make believe, of course. So Bonnie may have been 31, but if Ann Romano was supposed to be 33 (just 2 years older), she could have had a 15 year old daughter at age 18. I don't think that's too much of a stretch.

Okay, but keep in mind that Valerie Bertinelli played the younger daughter! I don't know how old Mackenzie Phillips was about that time (1975), but my guess would be about 17, maybe 18.

Yes..but again...since this was make believe, Mackenzie could have been 18 in real life, and played a 15 year old on TV. As you probably know, it's typical to use young-looking adults to play teenagers in TV since there are fewer labor laws to contend with.

Billy Gray was 25 when Father Knows Best ended its run in 1963, but still presumed to be a teenager on the show

Actually, a quick check of the imdb reveals that Phillips and Bertinelli are only one year apart in real life...but I believe there was a bigger difference in their ages on the show. Phillips (born 1959) was 16 when the show started, so Bertinelli (born 1960) would have been 15.

 

[bk77]

I wish I remembered where I heard this but didn't Bonnie Franklin wanted to put a statue of herself, Valerie Bertinelli and Mackenzie Phillips inside the Circle Center Mall in downtown Indianapolis only to have that city say "..no thank you" ?

I would imagine if it was John Mellencamp asking for the same thing ( I think it was he who got the Hard Rock Cafe chain to open up a location in that city ), I am sure the city of Indianapolis would jump at the chance.

 

[onairb]

I think it was around 1974-75 that the second set of Schoolhouse Rock segments, called "Grammar Rock," debuted. That was where such mainstays as "Conjunction Junction" and "Interjections!" were first introduced.

I must have been a year or two too old to have appreciated Schoolhouse Rock. I'm 45 now, and while I had heard about the show, for some reason, I just never watched it! :'(

Yeah, you would have been about 14 when it was getting started, and that's a normal age to quit watching cartoons. I had given up cartoons by that age...but then, I never really had a chance to 'outgrow' Schoolhouse Rock, because I was just 10, and still very much a Saturday cartoon viewer, when ABC cancelled it(for that Godawful 'Fun Fit' with Mary Lou Retton, as ABC continued to beat the 1984 Olympics dead horse)
ABC temporarily brought back 'SR' in the '90s(and maybe even as recently as 2001), with a mix of new and old cartoons. I actually stopped and watched those if I surfed by them, but I wasn't making the effort to watch by then.

 

[Stanislav]

1974: The Global Television Network launches in Canada. Despite the grandiose implications of the name, it initially consists of just six transmitters – a flagship station on channel 6 in Paris plus five repeaters (3 UHF and 2 VHF) – serving the more populous areas of Ontario.

And during its first year, it almost went broke. I also read somewhere that it wasn't on the air in the mornings during this period.

FWIW, there are a couple of nice Global sign-off videos on YouTube....

One from 1979:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbdq3bFZJOU

And one from 1984:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjLXlplXb1U

This is the sort of thing that endears YouTube to TV geeks. Certainly NOT the multitude of amateur handheld videos that seem to be shot from 1/2 mile away during a total eclipse by someone with Parkinson's disease.... :

 

[firepoint525]

I think it was around 1974-75 that the second set of Schoolhouse Rock segments, called "Grammar Rock," debuted. That was where such mainstays as "Conjunction Junction" and "Interjections!" were first introduced.

I must have been a year or two too old to have appreciated Schoolhouse Rock. I'm 45 now, and while I had heard about the show, for some reason, I just never watched it! :'(

If it was starting during the 1973-74 school year, I would have been about 10 when it started. It may have continued until I was about 14; I don't know, because I never watched it.

I remember being among the first generation to watch PBS shows like Sesame Street and the Electric Company. I later watched Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood (and Captain Kangaroo on CBS in the summertime), but by then, I would have been, at most, in the 4th grade.

Yeah, you would have been about 14 when it was getting started, and that's a normal age to quit watching cartoons. I had given up cartoons by that age...but then, I never really had a chance to 'outgrow' Schoolhouse Rock, because I was just 10, and still very much a Saturday cartoon viewer, when ABC cancelled it(for that Godawful 'Fun Fit' with Mary Lou Retton, as ABC continued to beat the 1984 Olympics dead horse)
ABC temporarily brought back 'SR' in the '90s(and maybe even as recently as 2001), with a mix of new and old cartoons. I actually stopped and watched those if I surfed by them, but I wasn't making the effort to watch by then.

 

[firepoint525]

This would mean that Bonnie Franklin was just 31 when One Day at a Time first went on the air! (Unless she lied about her age, of course!) I only point this out because Ann Romano was the mom of two teenage daughters! Valerie Bertinelli was about 15 when ODAAT first premiered, and she's in her late 40s now. And she played the younger daughter on that show! Wow, that Ann Romano started young, didn't she?

Uh...cute observation...except that acting is make believe, of course. So Bonnie may have been 31, but if Ann Romano was supposed to be 33 (just 2 years older), she could have had a 15 year old daughter at age 18. I don't think that's too much of a stretch.

Okay, but keep in mind that Valerie Bertinelli played the younger daughter! I don't know how old Mackenzie Phillips was about that time (1975), but my guess would be about 17, maybe 18.

Yes..but again...since this was make believe, Mackenzie could have been 18 in real life, and played a 15 year old on TV. As you probably know, it's typical to use young-looking adults to play teenagers in TV since there are fewer labor laws to contend with.

Billy Gray was 25 when Father Knows Best ended its run in 1963, but still presumed to be a teenager on the show

Actually, a quick check of the imdb reveals that Phillips and Bertinelli are only one year apart in real life...but I believe there was a bigger difference in their ages on the show. Phillips (born 1959) was 16 when the show started, so Bertinelli (born 1960) would have been 15.

Bonnie Franklin looked a little older once she got her hair cut during the show's run. Unfortunately, Mackenzie Phillips also began to look a lot older once she had her drug problems. Interesting casting for her to later play a drug rehab counselor on 90210. On the subject of 90210, some of the older high school students on that show were close to my age! Gabrielle Carteris was born in either 1962 or 1965, depending on which source you believe, and Luke Perry was born in 1966. If Carteris was born in 1962, that would make her older than me!

 

[Tim from Springfield IL]

This event would have implications for the following month's Winter Olympic games--and an event that would later that year be grossly overshadowed and forgotten due to the O.J. Simpson arrest and trial:

1994: Figure skater and gold medal contender Nancy Kerrigan is clubbed in the knee with a collapsible baton at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Detroit, part of a scheme masterminded by rival Tonya Harding's ex-boyfriend Jeff Gillooly.

 

[Ultimajock]

This event would have implications for the following month's Winter Olympic games--and an event that would later that year be grossly overshadowed and forgotten due to the O.J. Simpson arrest and trial:

1994: Figure skater and gold medal contender Nancy Kerrigan is clubbed in the knee with a collapsible baton at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Detroit, part of a scheme masterminded by rival Tonya Harding's ex-boyfriend Jeff Gillooly.

...amusingly, Paul Harvey passed a comment in relation to this scandal when yet another arose shortly afterwards: he repeatedly described the crime that Lorena Bobbitt was charged with as "cutting off her husband's gillooly" ;-) ...

 

[mjlarochelle]

1974: The Global Television Network launches in Canada. Despite the grandiose implications of the name, it initially consists of just six transmitters – a flagship station on channel 6 in Paris plus five repeaters (3 UHF and 2 VHF) – serving the more populous areas of Ontario.

And during its first year, it almost went broke. I also read somewhere that it wasn't on the air in the mornings during this period.

I believe it signed on at 3 PM in the beginning. In Ottawa, one of the two cable systems of the day carried CFCF 12 from Montreal on the same channel as Global during the morning and early afternoon when it wasn't broadcasting.

When TQS first launched in 1986, it signed on even later in the day - I believe 4:30. Radio-Quebec also signed on late in the day when it first went on the air. As late as 1987, CFTM 10 was the only French station in Montreal broadcasting before 9 AM, as TQS, Radio-Canada, and Radio-Quebec did not program early mornings.