Just a few random TV related events that happened on October 17. Discuss or comment as you please……
1902: Actress Irene Ryan (The Beverly Hillbillies) is born in San Francisco, California.
1921: Actor Tom Poston (The Steve Allen Show, Mork and Mindy, Newhart) is born in Columbus, Ohio.
1926: Actress Beverly Garland (My Three Sons, Scarecrow and Mrs. King, 7th Heaven) is born (as Beverly Lucy Fessenden) in Santa Cruz, California.
1948: Actor George Wendt (Cheers) is born in Chicago.
1950: RCA files suit against the FCC in the Federal District Court in Chicago to halt the start of CBS’s non-compatible colorcasts, which had been approved 6 days earlier. This started a quixotic legal process that, although rulings eventually went in favor of the FCC and CBS, allowed extra time for millions more black-and-white TV sets (not compatible with the CBS system) to be sold. This delaying tactic on RCA’s part threw the momentum to their own compatible system, effectively letting the marketplace do what the courts would not.
1951: Television broadcasts begin in Argentina from Primera Televisora Argentina on channel 7, Buenos Aires.
1958: Fred Astaire makes his starring TV debut in the NBC color broadcast of "An Evening With Fred Astaire," which was to win many awards including 9 Emmys. The broadcast was one of the first to be produced and edited on color videotape and, having been restored thirty years later in 1988, remains the earliest surviving color videotape of an entertainment program.
1966: Hollywood Squares begins its long daytime run on NBC. The original five “regular” panelists are Cliff Arquette (as "Charley Weaver"), Wally Cox, Rose Marie, Morey Amsterdam, and Abby Dalton.
1966: Also on this date at NBC, for the first time all NBC newscasts are now broadcast in color.
1989: At 5:04 Pacific Time, the 6.0 magnitude Loma Prieta Earthquake strikes the San Francisco Bay area. In addition to the massive destruction of buildings and infrastructure, the quake disrupts preparations for Game 3 of the World Series between the Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park. ABC is on the air with their pre-game show as the quake strikes, one of the only times a major earthquake has occurred during a live network telecast from the affected area. The feed from Candlestick goes down for a time, as ABC first puts up a static slide with phone-line audio from Al Michaels, and switches to their “rain delay” backup programming for a time. They eventually re-establish a full video link with Michaels, who reports on the quake through much of the evening (along with Ted Koppel in Washington) and would later be nominated for an Emmy for his cool and professional performance.
1991: Singer Tennessee Ernie Ford dies of liver failure in a Virginia hospital. His death comes just hours after leaving a state dinner at the White House with President George H.W. Bush, and 36 years to the day after the release of his breakout hit “Sixteen Tons.”
1993: Late Night with Conan O'Brien debuts on NBC.
1998: Actress Joan Hickson (Miss Marple) dies in Colchester, England, aged 92. She portrayed Agatha Christie’s famous sleuthing spinster between 1984 and 1992 in 12 one-hour BBC adaptations of the original novels.
2006: Journalist Christopher Glenn dies of liver cancer in Norwalk, Connecticut, aged 68. Although much of his 35-year career at CBS was spent on radio, he is well-remembered by TV geeks of a certain age as the narrating voice of CBS’s “In the News” segments that ran during children’s programming.
2007: And then there were none....Actor Joey Bishop, the last “Rat Pack” member, dies in Newport Beach, California, aged 89.
(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…..)
1902: Actress Irene Ryan (The Beverly Hillbillies) is born in San Francisco, California.
1921: Actor Tom Poston (The Steve Allen Show, Mork and Mindy, Newhart) is born in Columbus, Ohio.
1926: Actress Beverly Garland (My Three Sons, Scarecrow and Mrs. King, 7th Heaven) is born (as Beverly Lucy Fessenden) in Santa Cruz, California.
1948: Actor George Wendt (Cheers) is born in Chicago.
1950: RCA files suit against the FCC in the Federal District Court in Chicago to halt the start of CBS’s non-compatible colorcasts, which had been approved 6 days earlier. This started a quixotic legal process that, although rulings eventually went in favor of the FCC and CBS, allowed extra time for millions more black-and-white TV sets (not compatible with the CBS system) to be sold. This delaying tactic on RCA’s part threw the momentum to their own compatible system, effectively letting the marketplace do what the courts would not.
1951: Television broadcasts begin in Argentina from Primera Televisora Argentina on channel 7, Buenos Aires.
1958: Fred Astaire makes his starring TV debut in the NBC color broadcast of "An Evening With Fred Astaire," which was to win many awards including 9 Emmys. The broadcast was one of the first to be produced and edited on color videotape and, having been restored thirty years later in 1988, remains the earliest surviving color videotape of an entertainment program.
1966: Hollywood Squares begins its long daytime run on NBC. The original five “regular” panelists are Cliff Arquette (as "Charley Weaver"), Wally Cox, Rose Marie, Morey Amsterdam, and Abby Dalton.
1966: Also on this date at NBC, for the first time all NBC newscasts are now broadcast in color.
1989: At 5:04 Pacific Time, the 6.0 magnitude Loma Prieta Earthquake strikes the San Francisco Bay area. In addition to the massive destruction of buildings and infrastructure, the quake disrupts preparations for Game 3 of the World Series between the Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park. ABC is on the air with their pre-game show as the quake strikes, one of the only times a major earthquake has occurred during a live network telecast from the affected area. The feed from Candlestick goes down for a time, as ABC first puts up a static slide with phone-line audio from Al Michaels, and switches to their “rain delay” backup programming for a time. They eventually re-establish a full video link with Michaels, who reports on the quake through much of the evening (along with Ted Koppel in Washington) and would later be nominated for an Emmy for his cool and professional performance.
1991: Singer Tennessee Ernie Ford dies of liver failure in a Virginia hospital. His death comes just hours after leaving a state dinner at the White House with President George H.W. Bush, and 36 years to the day after the release of his breakout hit “Sixteen Tons.”
1993: Late Night with Conan O'Brien debuts on NBC.
1998: Actress Joan Hickson (Miss Marple) dies in Colchester, England, aged 92. She portrayed Agatha Christie’s famous sleuthing spinster between 1984 and 1992 in 12 one-hour BBC adaptations of the original novels.
2006: Journalist Christopher Glenn dies of liver cancer in Norwalk, Connecticut, aged 68. Although much of his 35-year career at CBS was spent on radio, he is well-remembered by TV geeks of a certain age as the narrating voice of CBS’s “In the News” segments that ran during children’s programming.
2007: And then there were none....Actor Joey Bishop, the last “Rat Pack” member, dies in Newport Beach, California, aged 89.
(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…..)
