Just a few random TV related events that happened on May 3. Discuss or comment as you please……
1926: Actress Ann B. Davis (The Bob Cummings Show, The John Forsythe Show, The Brady Bunch and its clones) is born in Schenectady, New York.
1946: Sportscaster Greg Gumbel is born in New Orleans, Louisiana.
1948: The CBS-TV News, anchored by Douglas Edwards, debuts. A 15-minute nightly newscast that airs every weeknight at 7:30 PM, it is the first regularly scheduled television news program. In 1950, the name of the program would change to Douglas Edwards with the News. In 1951 it would become the first news program to be broadcast on both coasts, thanks to the new coaxial cable connection.
1953: WTVO-TV (channel 39, later channel 17) begins broadcasting in Rockford, Illinois. The channel switch would take place in 1967.
1954: WHA-TV (channel 21) signs on from The University of Wisconsin in Madison. It would ultimately become the flagship of Wisconsin Public Television, although the first additional satellite station (WHLA-TV in La Crosse) would not sign on for another two decades.
1966: WDHO-TV (channel 24, now WNWO-TV) signs on in Toledo, Ohio. Unable to secure a Big Three network affiliation (NBC opting to retain its secondary affiliations with the two existing VHF stations in the market), WDHO becomes, on paper at least, the unlikely flagship of The Overmyer Network, soon to be renamed The United Network. With no actual programming available from their “network” yet (the Bill Dana-hosted Las Vegas Show not launching until one year later), WDHO functions in practice as an independent. They would not have a “real” affiliation until 1970, when ABC was persuaded to move its programming there.
1969: Cinematographer Karl Freund (I Love Lucy) dies in Santa Monica, California, aged 79. After a long career in motion pictures (including such films as “Metropolis,” “Dracula,” “The Good Earth,” and "Key Largo”), Freund was persuaded by Desi Arnaz to be the cinematographer for his new television series. Freund is credited with the show's excellent black and white cinematography, but more importantly, he also perfected the system of simultaneous three-camera coverage of the show as it was performed in front of a live audience.
1975: Actress Christina Hendricks (Firefly, Mad Men) is born in Knoxville, Tennessee.
1975: Actor Dulé Hill (The West Wing, Psych) is born (as Karim Dulé Hill) in East Brunswick, New Jersey.
1991: Dallas airs its final original episode on CBS. In the two-hour finale, J.R. is confronted by in a dream by what he believes to be an angel, but who turns out to be Satan and (after some lengthy “It’s a Wonderful Life-ish” schtick) tries to get J.R. to kill himself. J.R. wakes up, a gunshot rings out, and viewers don't know if he lives or dies until the TV reunion movie J.R. Returns in 1996. (Spoiler alert: He lives. Just shot the mirror, not himself. Even though no glass was heard shattering in the finale....hmm. Kind of a retcon cop-out, there. They should have done something cool, like have him transported to the Genesis Planet, where he is resurrected. Or has that idea already been done?)
2000: Party of Five ends a six-season run on Fox.
(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…..)
1926: Actress Ann B. Davis (The Bob Cummings Show, The John Forsythe Show, The Brady Bunch and its clones) is born in Schenectady, New York.
1946: Sportscaster Greg Gumbel is born in New Orleans, Louisiana.
1948: The CBS-TV News, anchored by Douglas Edwards, debuts. A 15-minute nightly newscast that airs every weeknight at 7:30 PM, it is the first regularly scheduled television news program. In 1950, the name of the program would change to Douglas Edwards with the News. In 1951 it would become the first news program to be broadcast on both coasts, thanks to the new coaxial cable connection.
1953: WTVO-TV (channel 39, later channel 17) begins broadcasting in Rockford, Illinois. The channel switch would take place in 1967.
1954: WHA-TV (channel 21) signs on from The University of Wisconsin in Madison. It would ultimately become the flagship of Wisconsin Public Television, although the first additional satellite station (WHLA-TV in La Crosse) would not sign on for another two decades.
1966: WDHO-TV (channel 24, now WNWO-TV) signs on in Toledo, Ohio. Unable to secure a Big Three network affiliation (NBC opting to retain its secondary affiliations with the two existing VHF stations in the market), WDHO becomes, on paper at least, the unlikely flagship of The Overmyer Network, soon to be renamed The United Network. With no actual programming available from their “network” yet (the Bill Dana-hosted Las Vegas Show not launching until one year later), WDHO functions in practice as an independent. They would not have a “real” affiliation until 1970, when ABC was persuaded to move its programming there.
1969: Cinematographer Karl Freund (I Love Lucy) dies in Santa Monica, California, aged 79. After a long career in motion pictures (including such films as “Metropolis,” “Dracula,” “The Good Earth,” and "Key Largo”), Freund was persuaded by Desi Arnaz to be the cinematographer for his new television series. Freund is credited with the show's excellent black and white cinematography, but more importantly, he also perfected the system of simultaneous three-camera coverage of the show as it was performed in front of a live audience.
1975: Actress Christina Hendricks (Firefly, Mad Men) is born in Knoxville, Tennessee.
1975: Actor Dulé Hill (The West Wing, Psych) is born (as Karim Dulé Hill) in East Brunswick, New Jersey.
1991: Dallas airs its final original episode on CBS. In the two-hour finale, J.R. is confronted by in a dream by what he believes to be an angel, but who turns out to be Satan and (after some lengthy “It’s a Wonderful Life-ish” schtick) tries to get J.R. to kill himself. J.R. wakes up, a gunshot rings out, and viewers don't know if he lives or dies until the TV reunion movie J.R. Returns in 1996. (Spoiler alert: He lives. Just shot the mirror, not himself. Even though no glass was heard shattering in the finale....hmm. Kind of a retcon cop-out, there. They should have done something cool, like have him transported to the Genesis Planet, where he is resurrected. Or has that idea already been done?)
2000: Party of Five ends a six-season run on Fox.
(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…..)
