July 4: This Day in TV History

[Stanislav]

Just a few random TV related events that happened on July 4. Discuss or comment as you please……

1911: Musician Mitch Miller (Sing Along with Mitch) is born in Rochester, New York.

1953: WHP-TV (channel 55) begins broadcasting in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. (The station would move to channel 21 in 1957.)

1954: WMSL-TV (channel 23) begins operating as an NBC affiliate in Decatur, Alabama. (It would later switch to ABC, then back to NBC, and the calls would eventually change to WAFF-TV.) In the late 60’s, due to the exponential growth of Huntsville as a NASA space center, the station sought and received FCC permission to move the station’s transmitter and studio there. As a condition of the move, WMSL had to move to channel 48 to avoid short-spacing issues with WHIQ-TV (channel 25) in Huntsville.

1957: Actress Judy Tyler (Howdy Doody) dies in an auto accident near Rock River, Wyoming, aged 23. (As the character Princess Summerfall Winterspring, Tyler’s great beauty encouraged more than a few Dads to spend time in front of the TV set watching Howdy with their kids!) At the time of her death, she had recently completed filming the movie “Jailhouse Rock” with Elvis Presley, who later claimed that he could never watch the movie because he was so saddened by Tyler’s death.

1971: Hogan’s Heroes ends its CBS network run.

1974: CBS airs the first Bicentennial Minute.

1975: The Odd Couple airs its final network episode on ABC. The show’s audience had dwindled through a series of time slot changes, but the show would find new life in syndication and become even more popular.

1981: Showtime ends its part-time status and inaugurates a 24/7 schedule.

1984: Real People ends after 5 seasons on NBC.

1985: The Gannett Company changes WDVM's (channel 9) call letters to WUSA, reflecting both the station’s being located in the nation's capital, and Gannett's ownership of USA Today.

1988: Family Feud (with new host Ray Combs, replacing Richard Dawson) returns to TV after a 3-year hiatus.

1994: Cable channel CNBC launches a “spin-off” sister channel, America’s Talking. Apparently, America didn’t talk enough about the channel, and it folded just two years later.

1995: Actress Eva Gabor (Green Acres) dies in Los Angeles, aged 76. Her death is attributed to respiratory failure and pneumonia resulting from food poisoning contracted while on vacation in Mexico. She was the youngest of the three Gabor sisters, yet the first to die.

1997: Journalist Charles Kurault (CBS Sunday Morning, “On the Road” segments for CBS Evening News) dies of complications from lupus in New York City, aged 62.

2001: While shooting footage of the Clinton River near Detroit, WXYZ-TV cameraman Dave Meinhard saves a kayaker from drowning, and is subsequently awarded the American Red Cross “Everyday Hero Award.” Ironically, Meinhard was shooting footage of the river for a news report about a previous drowning that had just recently taken place.

2003: The transmitting tower of KETV (channel 7, Omaha, Nebraska) collapses during installation of an antenna for their digital signal on channel 20. Fortunately, the accident happens late at night, and no one is injured.

(Just a little featurette I hope to do as time permits…..don’t expect it every single day. 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…..)

 

[bk77]

Just a few random TV related events that happened on July 4. Discuss or comment as you please……

1911: Musician Mitch Miller (Sing Along with Mitch) is born in Rochester, New York.

Mitch Miller !!! One of rock and country music biggest foes in the 50's !!!! However I think by the late 60's, Miller came around and started to, well somewhat at least started to like rock and roll since I think he did do an LP covering some tunes by the Beatles thanks to that Sargent Pepper album.

Come to think of it, it does seemed that a lot of people who hated rock did actually like that album and their anti-rock words, did pretty much stop after that.

 

[Tim from Springfield IL]

1976: Can't forget TV's coverage of America's Bicentennial festivities. I've found many highlights of Bicentennial coverage on YouTube (including network coverage of the celebrations, and portions of local newscasts from that day), including one from ABC hosted by Harry Reasoner (in 5 parts):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ng1mXt7yyDA (Part 1 of 5)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzIlLEaB-Oc&feature=related (Part 2 of 5)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmDgPCd9EGc&feature=related (Part 3 of 5)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLAbYLGiHEM&feature=related (Part 4 of 5--was slow for me to load today. Consists completely of President Ford's speech at Philadelphia).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nrCJiORso4&feature=related (Part 5 of 5--conclusion of President Ford's speech).

 

[Stanislav]

Just a few random TV related events that happened on July 4. Discuss or comment as you please……

1911: Musician Mitch Miller (Sing Along with Mitch) is born in Rochester, New York.

Mitch Miller !!! One of rock and country music biggest foes in the 50's !!!! However I think by the late 60's, Miller came around and started to, well somewhat at least started to like rock and roll since I think he did do an LP covering some tunes by the Beatles thanks to that Sargent Pepper album.

Come to think of it, it does seemed that a lot of people who hated rock did actually like that album and their anti-rock words, did pretty much stop after that.

Really, it's not surprising, as Sgt. Pepper is hardly a "rock" album anyway. Aside from the title track (and its brief reprise), there's nothing on the album that is anywhere near stereotypical rock. The sheer variety of musical styles on that album (and, indeed, in the entire output of the group) is amazing to me, and even though some Beatles fans would vote Revolver or another album ahead of Pepper, that was IMHO the album that really brought home to the general public the fact that The Beatles were not a run of the mill "rock group," nor any longer the cute and innocent moptop kids of a few years earlier, but rather very talented, rapidly maturing, and consummate musicians and composers that could not be pigeonholed into musical boxes or labels. It's not a shock that even Mitch Miller started viewing them with more respect by this time.

 

[radioman148]

Just a few random TV related events that happened on July 4. Discuss or comment as you please……

1911: Musician Mitch Miller (Sing Along with Mitch) is born in Rochester, New York.

Mitch Miller !!! One of rock and country music biggest foes in the 50's !!!! However I think by the late 60's, Miller came around and started to, well somewhat at least started to like rock and roll since I think he did do an LP covering some tunes by the Beatles thanks to that Sargent Pepper album.

Come to think of it, it does seemed that a lot of people who hated rock did actually like that album and their anti-rock words, did pretty much stop after that.

Really, it's not surprising, as Sgt. Pepper is hardly a "rock" album anyway. Aside from the title track (and its brief reprise), there's nothing on the album that is anywhere near stereotypical rock. The sheer variety of musical styles on that album (and, indeed, in the entire output of the group) is amazing to me, and even though some Beatles fans would vote Revolver or another album ahead of Pepper, that was IMHO the album that really brought home to the general public the fact that The Beatles were not a run of the mill "rock group," nor any longer the cute and innocent moptop kids of a few years earlier, but rather very talented, rapidly maturing, and consummate musicians and composers that could not be pigeonholed into musical boxes or labels. It's not a shock that even Mitch Miller started viewing them with more respect by this time.

Very well said Stan. I totally agree.

 

[mleach]

Just a few random TV related events that happened on July 4. Discuss or comment as you please……


1981: Showtime ends its part-time status and inaugurates a 24/7 schedule.

And not to be outdone HBO would go 24/7 the week after Christmas 1981.

Believe it or not I still have it on tape that "HBO goes around the clock" special that the comedy team of Stiller & Meara hosted in January 1982. I was checking it out the other day and from the special HBO's new 24/7 format would be dayparted. Mornings...kids ( Fraggle Rock was big then on HBO ) follwed by a blockbuster at 9 or 10am ( PG no R ) followed at noon by something for women ( Marlo Thomas, Consumer Reports or Dick Cavett's "Remember When" ) then another family movie or a special and of course regular HBO at 8 EST. One thing Jerry Stiller promised "No R rated programming during the day". Going after Showtime there since at the time they were showing R flicks at Noon during the week like American Gigolo and Fast Times at Ridgemont High but I believe that came to an end by 1983 interesting as I can remember people were going after HBO for doing the R flicks during the day route even though it was really Showtime that was actually doing it.

For some reason back in those days HBO seemed to get the complaints about the nudity, violence, foul language they were airing but it was quite rare for anyone to bash Showtime for the same thing even though they were doing it more. Never quite understood that bit of logic. ???

 

[The King Bee]

Mitch Miller was so far in bed with ASCAP that he had to denigrate the overwhwlmingly BMI-affiliated rhythm & blues, country & western and early rock & roll performers, writers and music publishers. He had so many sweetheart deals with ASCAP members (in exchange for TV show exposure and recordings) that the term "vested interest" doesn't begin to describe his involvement!

Besides, his record company employer, the giant Columbia, got left cold at the starting gate when rock took off in 1954-56, while major labels Victor, Decca and Mercury joined the classic R&B indie labels (Atlantic, King, Sun, Chess, Duke/Peacock, Modern, Imperial, Vee Jay, et al) in the rock and roll explosion.

After the early 1960s, when rock was well-entrenched and began to be listed with some ASCAP-affiliated publishers, rock tunes soon began to be re-arranged for Miller's TV chorus show on NBC.

 

[radioman148]

Mitch Miller was so far in bed with ASCAP that he had to denigrate the overwhwlmingly BMI-affiliated rhythm & blues, country & western and early rock & roll performers, writers and music publishers. He had so many sweetheart deals with ASCAP members (in exchange for TV show exposure and recordings) that the term "vested interest" doesn't begin to describe his involvement!

Besides, his record company employer, the giant Columbia, got left cold at the starting gate when rock took off in 1954-56, while major labels Victor, Decca and Mercury joined the classic R&B indie labels (Atlantic, King, Sun, Chess, Duke/Peacock, Modern, Imperial, Vee Jay, et al) in the rock and roll explosion.

After the early 1960s, when rock was well-entrenched and began to be listed with some ASCAP-affiliated publishers, rock tunes soon began to be re-arranged for Miller's TV chorus show on NBC.

Thanks King Bee. That explains alot.

 

[Corky Marlowe]

Mitch Miller was so far in bed with ASCAP that he had to denigrate the overwhwlmingly BMI-affiliated rhythm & blues, country & western and early rock & roll performers, writers and music publishers. He had so many sweetheart deals with ASCAP members (in exchange for TV show exposure and recordings) that the term "vested interest" doesn't begin to describe his involvement!

Besides, his record company employer, the giant Columbia, got left cold at the starting gate when rock took off in 1954-56, while major labels Victor, Decca and Mercury joined the classic R&B indie labels (Atlantic, King, Sun, Chess, Duke/Peacock, Modern, Imperial, Vee Jay, et al) in the rock and roll explosion.

After the early 1960s, when rock was well-entrenched and began to be listed with some ASCAP-affiliated publishers, rock tunes soon began to be re-arranged for Miller's TV chorus show on NBC.

The term "p***ing match" is way too mild to describe the all out war between ASCAP and BMI. As far as Miller hating rock and roll, I really don't think it was hatred as much as it was a business decision, and maybe even an understandable one. There's a quote by Miller in Ben Fong-Torres' book "The Hits Just Keep On Coming" where he downplays the buying power of teenagers and tweens to justlify ignoring rock (again, dead wrong, but understandable at the time.) Also, I remember my mom once telling me that when Elvis first exploded onto the scene, roughly about the same time Pat Boone did, a lot of people thought he would be done in a year or so, and that Boone would be the bigger star!

 

[LKellerIII]

...I remember my mom once telling me that when Elvis first exploded onto the scene, roughly about the same time Pat Boone did, a lot of people thought he would be done in a year or so, and that Boone would be the bigger star!

I'm neither a big Elvis fan or a Pat Boone hater....though that "heavy metal" bad-boy act Boone tried about a decade ago was more than a little creepy.

But I can't forget that Pat Boone initial success was based on singing sanitized and soul-less covers of great songs by African-American artists: Ain't That a Shame (Fats Domino), Tutti Fruitti and Long Tall Sally (Little Richard), I'll be Home (Flamingos) and many others.

Caucasian or not, Elvis was the real thing.

 

[Tim from Springfield IL]

2003: The transmitting tower of KETV (channel 7, Omaha, Nebraska) collapses during installation of an antenna for their digital signal on channel 20. Fortunately, the accident happens late at night, and no one is injured.

Then over 400 miles away to the east early the next morning (July 5, 2003), severe storms topple the tower of WIFR-23 Rockford, IL (CBS).

 

[RyanHoward]

Just a few random TV related events that happened on July 4. Discuss or comment as you please……

1994: Cable channel CNBC launches a “spin-off” sister channel, America’s Talking. Apparently, America didn’t talk enough about the channel, and it folded just two years later.

Actually, it would turn into MSNBC, which is an all-news channel run by NBC and Microsoft.

 

[KML0224]

Today is the 80th birthday of legendary New York Yankees owner George M. Steinbrenner and the 62nd birthday of radio voice John Sterling. Sadly, it is also the death anniversary of Barry White, who passed on this date in 2003.

 

[RyanHoward]

1900: Legendary singer/trumpeteer Louis Armstrong (died: July 6, 1971) is born in New Orleans.

 

[AH3RD]

1971: Hogan’s Heroes ends its CBS network run.

Also on this date, Batman, an exciting action motion picture released in 1966 by 20th Century-Fox loosely based on the 1966-68 ABC primetime series of the same name, had its network television premiere. The Alphabet Network, which previously intravenously fed Batfans 120 installments of the TV series, aired the movie as part of its ABC Sunday Night Movie @ 9 PM Eastern/8 PM Central Time, opposite repeats of Bonanza and The Bold Ones on NBC and another Sunday Night Movie (A Step Out Of Line) and Ice Palace on CBS.

Interesting Note: one of the guests on Ice Palace that week was none other than The Riddler himself, Frank Gorshin!

 

[Ultimajock]

Mitch Miller was so far in bed with ASCAP that he had to denigrate the overwhwlmingly BMI-affiliated rhythm & blues, country & western and early rock & roll performers, writers and music publishers. He had so many sweetheart deals with ASCAP members (in exchange for TV show exposure and recordings) that the term "vested interest" doesn't begin to describe his involvement!

Besides, his record company employer, the giant Columbia, got left cold at the starting gate when rock took off in 1954-56, while major labels Victor, Decca and Mercury joined the classic R&B indie labels (Atlantic, King, Sun, Chess, Duke/Peacock, Modern, Imperial, Vee Jay, et al) in the rock and roll explosion.

...after it finally sank in that rock 'n roll wasn't going to go away anytime soon, Miller started an alleged "rock 'n roll" subsidiary label for Columbia, called Date. As it turned out, Date's original artist lineup was made entirely of white singers making cover versions of hits by African-American performers for other labels. (Rather ironic, since in the '60s one of Date's more successful post-Miller acts was Peaches & Herb.) Alan Freed was so disgusted by the exercise that he publicly announced his own boycott of all Date label material from his radio and TV shows...