KNX Newspaper Ad

[oldtimeradio]

I'll put this up here and see if anybody is interested.

I try to check this blog weekly (http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thedailymirror/) and I am usually able to find something interesting.

The latest is a newspaper ad for KNX radio in Los Angeles. Their entire weekday program schedule is listed...in detail.
Here's the link: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thedailymirror/2011/02/paul-coates-feb-28-1961.html

 

[LKellerIII]

That's a great piece of radio history. Note the Bob Crane morning show - before Crane went off to TV fame in Hogan's Heroes. He had kept his radio show prior to Hogan, even though he was getting TV acting gigs from time to time. Humorist Pat Buttram was another TV actor who had a show on KNX - most notably as Mr. Haney on Green Acres.

I had forgotten the KNX's branding slogan from that era - Full Range Radio.

 

[oldtimeradio]

I read that Bob Crane would finish his radio show at KNX and head to the nearby studio of Screen Gems/Columbia for his regular role on the Donna Reed Show.

 

[joeybabe25]

I have heard that Bob Crane was seriously considered for the role of the "Tonight Show" host in 1962 when Jack Paar stepped down. I've also heard this about Dick Van Dyke?

Any corroboration ladies and men?

Joe

 

[FreddyE1977]

Crane's replacement at KNX was very popular Pittsburgh morning man Rege Cordic,
who had been with both WWSW and KDKA. Cordic also had a TV and movie acting
career after settling in Hollywood (though not nearly as successful as Crane's had been)

 

[Savage]

And Bob Crane's early radio career was marked with a stint at the station which was my first job in radio - WLEA in Hornell, NY. The station still has publicity photos of Crane cueing up a disc at the station in the mid-50s. It's unclear whether it was taken at the station's original (and current) studio-transmitter site on Ashbaugh Hill or whether it was at the downtown studios WLEA occupied from the 1960s to about 1980.

 

[FredLeonard]

Johnny Carson was considered for the role of Rob Petrie on what became The Dick Van Dyke Show, but Carl Reiner and Sheldon Leonard decided to go with Van Dyke who could work musical numbers into the show.

I can't make out the dates but the ad lists programs starting on the hour, so this must have been before CBS started doing 10 minute top of the hour newscasts. In which, CBS would still have been running their afternoon block of soap operas, which I don't see mentioned in the ad.

 

[joeybabe25]

This ad is from 1961. By then CBS had eviserated the afternoon network schedule. All of CBS' remaining soapers were thrown off the web Thanksgiving weekend 1960.

Shame. Bill Paley tried to keep CBS Radio afloat with much more enthusiasm that the other networks. And for that he does deserve great credit.

Joe

 

[FredLeonard]

This ad is from 1961. By then CBS had eviserated the afternoon network schedule. All of CBS' remaining soapers were thrown off the web Thanksgiving weekend 1960.

Shame. Bill Paley tried to keep CBS Radio afloat with much more enthusiasm that the other networks. And for that he does deserve great credit.

Joe

Not sure that CBS kept the radio network afloat with "more enthusiasm" than the others. NBC kept going with a schedule of old time radio shows until 1957, despite losing their Westinghouse affiliates and others who went with music and news schedules. NBC also introduced Monitor, a terrific and innovative program, in 1955 and stayed with it for 20 years. ABC tried to build on the continued success of Don McNeil's Breakfast Club (and CBS' Godfrey) with a series of live talk variety programs. Admittedly, Mutual didn't do much.

It should be noted that the FCC put a freeze on new TV license applications until 1957, so markets that did not get TV early were without TV through most of the 50s (and still listened to network radio).

 

[Joseph_Gallant]

It should be noted that the FCC put a freeze on new TV license applications until 1957, so markets that did not get TV early were without TV through most of the 50s (and still listened to network radio).

The "freeze" was actually lifted in the Spring of 1952.

However, there were some areas that didn't get much TV service (read: a full complement of three commercial stations so ABC, CBS, and NBC each had a full-time affiliate) until the late 1950's, and in some areas (such as Albany/Schenectady/Troy and Pittsburgh), there was only one commercial VHF station for quite a few years in the middle 1950's, but one or more UHF outlets. In such markets, the VHF station had nearly all the viewers.

 

[KeithE4]

However, there were some areas that didn't get much TV service (read: a full complement of three commercial stations so ABC, CBS, and NBC each had a full-time affiliate) until the late 1950's...

Some didn't get a full complement until the '70s - the smallest markets even later. Some still don't and probably never will. Presque Isle ME and Glendive MT come to mind immediately, although DTV now allows them to not have to have more than one network on a channel.