May 4: This Day in TV History

[Stanislav]

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

1956: KSHO-TV (channel 13, now KTNV) signs on in Las Vegas, Nevada.

1964: Another World premieres on NBC, beginning a 35-year run that would see 8,891 episodes broadcast.

1964: KIII-TV (channel 3) begins operating in Corpus Christi, Texas.

1966: The final first-run Patty Duke Show is broadcast on ABC.

1977: The studios and transmitter of KFVD-TV (channel 50, formerly channel 21) in Fort Dodge, Iowa are destroyed by a tornado. The station would never be rebuilt.

1977: The first of the 4 90-minute Frost/Nixon interview specials is telecast. David Frost famously opens the first interview (devoted to Watergate) of former President Richard M. Nixon with the blunt question, “Why didn’t you burn the tapes?” The premiere episode draws 45 million viewers, the largest television audience ever for a political interview.

1984: Game show host Jack Barry (Twenty One, Tic-Tac-Dough, The Joker’s Wild) dies of a massive cardiac arrest in New York City, aged 66.

1987: Actress Cathryn Damon (Soap, Webster) dies of cancer in Los Angeles, aged 56.

1987: The game show revival Classic Concentration premieres on NBC with host Alex Trebek.

1996: Sisters ends its 6-season NBC run.

1997: Actor Alvy Moore (Green Acres) dies in Palm Desert, California of heart failure, aged 75.

1999: The last first-run episode of NewsRadio airs on NBC.

2001: Nash Bridges airs its final original episode on CBS.

(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…..)

 

[therealjm12]

1997: Actor Alvy Moore (Green Acres) dies in Palm Desert, California of heart failure, aged 75.

I remember him on Green Acres. He played Hank Agent the County Kimball. Who we talking about again?


He always was Les Nesman's father.

 

[radioman148]

1997: Actor Alvy Moore (Green Acres) dies in Palm Desert, California of heart failure, aged 75.

I remember him on Green Acres. He played Hank Agent the County Kimball. Who we talking about again?


He always was Les Nesman's father.

Yes, Mr. Kimball was confusing at best.

 

[Stanislav]

1997: Actor Alvy Moore (Green Acres) dies in Palm Desert, California of heart failure, aged 75.

I remember him on Green Acres. He played Hank Agent the County Kimball. Who we talking about again?

Yes, Mr. Kimball was confusing at best.

I loved Moore as Mr. Kimball -- IMHO, he was the funniest supporting character on the show. The facial expressions, the confused double-talk, the perfect comic timing. To this day, after umpteen reruns, I still never fail to break into a smile when he comes into a scene.

 

[Cincinnati Kid]

Jack Barry will also be recalled as the host of the 1950's Saturday morning show "Winky Dink and You" which - thanks to a plastic sheet you had to send away for - allowed children to draw on their TV screens. Would that have been the first "Interactive" TV show for kids?

 

[mleach]

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


1977: The studios and transmitter of KFVD-TV (channel 50, formerly channel 21) in Fort Dodge, Iowa are destroyed by a tornado. The station would never be rebuilt.

Wonder why they didn't rebuild? No inusurance or lack thereof? Already losing money and why bother?

For some reason I have always had this interest of TV stations who for one reason or another had went dark and more/less never came back. I know there is a website called TV Morgue but the updates there are few and far between but it is well done. WKBS in Philly, everyone knows that story. WYVN in West Virginia, I have personal ties to that place.

Still would love to know what happened to Fredericksburg, VA's WHFV NBC 69? Fast growing area, booming population, between two markets ( DC & Richmond ), lots of businesses ( money ) there...yet they still went dark after being on the air for less than TWO years ( 1973-1975 ). Today NOBODY remembers !! Even some of firends who live in that area, they had no idea their own city once sported their own TV station. Wonder whatever happened to WHFV?

Hmmmmmmmmmm

 

[Stanislav]

1977: The studios and transmitter of KFVD-TV (channel 50, formerly channel 21) in Fort Dodge, Iowa are destroyed by a tornado. The station would never be rebuilt.

Wonder why they didn't rebuild? No inusurance or lack thereof? Already losing money and why bother?

If I recall what I read, mostly the latter. And the principal owner passed away not long after, which put affairs into more disarray.

Still would love to know what happened to Fredericksburg, VA's WHFV NBC 69? Fast growing area, booming population, between two markets ( DC & Richmond ), lots of businesses ( money ) there...yet they still went dark after being on the air for less than TWO years ( 1973-1975 ). Today NOBODY remembers !! Even some of firends who live in that area, they had no idea their own city once sported their own TV station. Wonder whatever happened to WHFV?

The website simplyfredericksburg.com mentions WHFV, and simply attributes their demise to "financial difficulties."

Also a brief discussion on the station towards the end of this thread on this board about 3 years ago.

The UHF Morgue website has WHFV as one of its "coming soon" entries.

 

[LKellerIII]

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

1964: KIII-TV (channel 3) begins operating in Corpus Christi, Texas.

K- III - roman numeral for "3." Very cute...one of the better call letter/channel number combo ideas.

 

[mleach]

The UHF Morgue website has WHFV as one of its "coming soon" entries.

That "coming soon" has been up on that site for I know a good three years.

 

[Corky Marlowe]

K- III - roman numeral for "3." Very cute...one of the better call letter/channel number combo ideas.

Don't know what the calls are now, but Channel 19 in Cincinnati was once WXIX.

 

[Smittian]

K- III - roman numeral for "3." Very cute...one of the better call letter/channel number combo ideas.

Don't know what the calls are now, but Channel 19 in Cincinnati was once WXIX.

Beginning in 1969, KIII had a satellite/sister station in Victoria(80 mi. away) which was KXIX, channel 19. Nowdays, Channel 19 in Victoria is KVCT, a FOX affiliate.

For most of the past 45 years, KIII has been the dominant news operation in the Coastal Bend of South Texas. Only recently, has KRIS, the NBC affiliate begun to overtake them

 

[KML0224]

Channel 19 of Newport, KY (Cincinnati market) is still known as WXIX-TV/DT.

 

[Tim L]

Channel 19 in Cleveland has been known as WOIO since its May 1985 launch..The WOIO call letters had been on an AM Daytimer in Canton, Ohio on 1060 khz in the late 1960's and early 70's. For the life of me, I cant understand why the radio station would give up great calls like WOIO..

OT:Channel 19's original licensee, Forest City Enterprises, would have used the call letters WHK-TV, if they had ever made it on the air..

 

[Tim from Springfield IL]

1977: The studios and transmitter of KFVD-TV (channel 50, formerly channel 21) in Fort Dodge, Iowa are destroyed by a tornado. The station would never be rebuilt.

Wonder why they didn't rebuild? No inusurance or lack thereof? Already losing money and why bother?

IIRC, KVFD had originally moved from channel 21 to channel 50 to accomodate the Iowa Public Television repeater for the Fort Dodge area, which signed on as channel 21.

 

[fybush]

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

1964: KIII-TV (channel 3) begins operating in Corpus Christi, Texas.

K- III - roman numeral for "3." Very cute...one of the better call letter/channel number combo ideas.

I sense a "roman numeral" thread coming on.

A few more entries:

WIVB 4 Buffalo NY, WCIV 4 Charleston SC, WDIV 4 Detroit, KTIV 4 Sioux City IA
WCVB 5 Boston
WPVI 6 Philadelphia, KIVI 6 Nampa/Boise ID, KPVI 6 Pocatello ID
WVII 7 Bangor ME, KVII 7 Amarillo TX
WIXT 9 (now WSYR-TV) Syracuse NY, KIXE 9 Redding CA
KXTV 10 Sacramento CA, KLVX 10 Las Vegas NV
WPXI 11 Pittsburgh, WXIA 11 Atlanta
KXII 12 Sherman OK, WXII 12 Winston-Salem NC
WXIV 14 (now WGSR 39) Reidsville NC
KNXV 15 Phoenix
WTXX 20 Waterbury CT
WXXI 21 Rochester NY
WXXV 25 Biloxi MS, KXXV 25 Waco TX
WXLV 45 Winston-Salem NC
WLVI 56 Cambridge MA
WLXI 61 Winston-Salem NC
KLXV 65 (now KKPX) San Jose CA

 

[radioman148]

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

1964: KIII-TV (channel 3) begins operating in Corpus Christi, Texas.

K- III - roman numeral for "3." Very cute...one of the better call letter/channel number combo ideas.

I sense a "roman numeral" thread coming on.

A few more entries:

WIVB 4 Buffalo NY, WCIV 4 Charleston SC, WDIV 4 Detroit, KTIV 4 Sioux City IA
WCVB 5 Boston
WPVI 6 Philadelphia, KIVI 6 Nampa/Boise ID, KPVI 6 Pocatello ID
WVII 7 Bangor ME, KVII 7 Amarillo TX
WIXT 9 (now WSYR-TV) Syracuse NY, KIXE 9 Redding CA
KXTV 10 Sacramento CA, KLVX 10 Las Vegas NV
WPXI 11 Pittsburgh, WXIA 11 Atlanta
KXII 12 Sherman OK, WXII 12 Winston-Salem NC
WXIV 14 (now WGSR 39) Reidsville NC
KNXV 15 Phoenix
WTXX 20 Waterbury CT
WXXI 21 Rochester NY
WXXV 25 Biloxi MS, KXXV 25 Waco TX
WXLV 45 Winston-Salem NC
WLVI 56 Cambridge MA
WLXI 61 Winston-Salem NC
KLXV 65 (now KKPX) San Jose CA

I think some of us have way to much time on our hands ;D

 

[rwells2265]

Count me as one without a life. ;D

WXVT-15 / Greenville, Miss.

--Russell

 

[firepoint525]

If you only need one Roman numeral letter in your calls (as given in at least one example above), then you could add WTVF-Newschannel 5 here in Nashville.

 

[fybush]

If you only need one Roman numeral letter in your calls (as given in at least one example above), then you could add WTVF-Newschannel 5 here in Nashville.

Except that I don't think the "V" in that callsign (or in WTVH 5 Syracuse) stands for "five" - doesn't WTVF stand for "TeleVision Five"?

WCVB, by contrast, was picked specifically to stand for "Channel V Boston."

 

[Tim from Springfield IL]

1955: Lynne Spears, the mother of Britney and Jamie Lynn Spears (Zoey 101) is born (as Lynne Irene Bridges) in McComb, MS.