KCRA 50th Anniversary Special

[mrpariot]

Should be interesting, if not completely self-aggrandizing, television Saturday (9/3) at 10pm, when Sacramento's KCRA-3 presents its 50th anniversary special.

KCRA has been the dominant television station in Sacramento for as long as most folks can remember. Few can recall that it actually started as KCRA-Radio, AM 1340, back in 1948 (the station later moved to 1320 and exists today as Entercom's KCTC). FM joined a few years later (KCRA-FM is now Infinity's KYMX-FM 96.1).

The Kelly family controlled all or part of the stations from their inception until Hearst Argyle acquired KCRA and duopoly sister KQCA in late 1999.

 

[Floyd]

KCRA actually had much better Anniversary weeklong shows back in 1995!

> Should be interesting, if not completely self-aggrandizing,
> television Saturday (9/3) at 10pm, when Sacramento's KCRA-3
> presents its 50th anniversary special.
>
> KCRA has been the dominant television station in Sacramento
> for as long as most folks can remember. Few can recall that
> it actually started as KCRA-Radio, AM 1340, back in 1948
> (the station later moved to 1320 and exists today as
> Entercom's KCTC). FM joined a few years later (KCRA-FM is
> now Infinity's KYMX-FM 96.1).
>
> The Kelly family controlled all or part of the stations from
> their inception until Hearst Argyle acquired KCRA and
> duopoly sister KQCA in late 1999.
>
Sad that the special was only 1 hour long, 10 years ago, KCRA had another 50TH Anniversary actually celebrating the 50TH anniversary of its KCRA Calls. KCRA Radio actually started in 1945, not 1948, but anyway, in 1995, KCRA celebrated with a week long string of specials including a "Captain Sacto" Reunion as well as Horror Movie Host "Bob Wilkins" hosting the bad movie "Attack Of The Mushroom People". They also showed reruns of Bonanza, The Man From Uncle and Wild Kingdom. Sad how they are celebrating the TV Stations anniversary now.

 

[mrpariot]

Re: KCRA actually had much better Anniversary weeklong shows back in 1995!

> Sad that the special was only 1 hour long, 10 years ago,
> KCRA had another 50TH Anniversary actually celebrating the
> 50TH anniversary of its KCRA Calls. KCRA Radio actually
> started in 1945, not 1948, but anyway, in 1995, KCRA
> celebrated with a week long string of specials including a
> "Captain Sacto" Reunion as well as Horror Movie Host "Bob
> Wilkins" hosting the bad movie "Attack Of The Mushroom
> People". They also showed reruns of Bonanza, The Man From
> Uncle and Wild Kingdom. Sad how they are celebrating the TV
> Stations anniversary now.
>
Absolutely agree! What a disappointment this was. I remember the five half-hour shows from 1995, complete with period wardrobe for Dave Walker and Lois Hart and different sets every night. This was just Dave and Lois shot stand-up style, most of it in KCRA's heavily air-conditioned control center.

Then again, much of KCRA is that way -- no attention to details, and no time spent making everything the best it could be. Sad.

 

[BobbyNBC10]

Re: KCRA actually had much better Anniversary weeklong shows back in 1995!

> > Sad that the special was only 1 hour long, 10 years ago,
> > KCRA had another 50TH Anniversary actually celebrating the
>
> > 50TH anniversary of its KCRA Calls. KCRA Radio actually
> > started in 1945, not 1948, but anyway, in 1995, KCRA
> > celebrated with a week long string of specials including a
>
> > "Captain Sacto" Reunion as well as Horror Movie Host "Bob
> > Wilkins" hosting the bad movie "Attack Of The Mushroom
> > People". They also showed reruns of Bonanza, The Man From
> > Uncle and Wild Kingdom. Sad how they are celebrating the
> TV
> > Stations anniversary now.
> >
> Absolutely agree! What a disappointment this was. I
> remember the five half-hour shows from 1995, complete with
> period wardrobe for Dave Walker and Lois Hart and different
> sets every night. This was just Dave and Lois shot stand-up
> style, most of it in KCRA's heavily air-conditioned control
> center.

I was very disappointed that it wasn't a 2 or 3 hour special, they could have shown clips not only of news events but classic NBC shows and maybe some syndicated shows (not reruns) that 3 had. Also they should have interviewd Stan Atkinson, Mike Boyd, Bette Vasquez, Harry Martin,Creighton Sanders, Margaret Larson (nee' Pelley) and other former KCRA personalities. I know the ones above personally and they had Dann Shively, the Live Copter 3 pilot and Tom Du Hain who I also know on the special in addition to Dave and Lois and also Chief meteorologist Mark Finan.
>
> Then again, much of KCRA is that way -- no attention to
> details, and no time spent making everything the best it
> could be. Sad.
>

 

[bpatrick]

Re: KCRA actually had much better Anniversary weeklong shows back in 1995!

> > Should be interesting, if not completely
> self-aggrandizing,
> > television Saturday (9/3) at 10pm, when Sacramento's
> KCRA-3
> > presents its 50th anniversary special.
> >
> > KCRA has been the dominant television station in
> Sacramento
> > for as long as most folks can remember. Few can recall
> that
> > it actually started as KCRA-Radio, AM 1340, back in 1948
> > (the station later moved to 1320 and exists today as
> > Entercom's KCTC). FM joined a few years later (KCRA-FM is
>
> > now Infinity's KYMX-FM 96.1).
> >
> > The Kelly family controlled all or part of the stations
> from
> > their inception until Hearst Argyle acquired KCRA and
> > duopoly sister KQCA in late 1999.
> >
> Sad that the special was only 1 hour long, 10 years ago,
> KCRA had another 50TH Anniversary actually celebrating the
> 50TH anniversary of its KCRA Calls. KCRA Radio actually
> started in 1945, not 1948, but anyway, in 1995, KCRA
> celebrated with a week long string of specials including a
> "Captain Sacto" Reunion as well as Horror Movie Host "Bob
> Wilkins" hosting the bad movie "Attack Of The Mushroom
> People". They also showed reruns of Bonanza, The Man From
> Uncle and Wild Kingdom. Sad how they are celebrating the TV
> Stations anniversary now.
>
In the '70s and '80s weeklong retrospectives of old primetime
shows seemed to be the way to celebrate stations' anniversaries.
WBTV/3 Charlotte, I remember, celebrated 25 years in 1974 by wiping
out most of CBS primetime for a week and running everything from former
CBS shows like Burns And Allen, Our Miss Brooks, December Bride,
and The Millionaire; to syndicated shows like Science Fiction
Theater, all of which the station had carried in the '50s. That
worked so well that the station began a Friday-night-at-11:30
show called Those Were The Years, where they could run these
old classics every week. It lasted well into the '80s. WSB/2
Atlanta did something similar in 1983, on its 35th anniversary.
An ABC affiliate for only three years, Channel 2 had to rely on
shows from its former network, NBC, such as Dragnet and You Bet
Your Life.

But these old retrospectives were fun. Too bad nobody seems
to do them now.