October 31: This Day in TV History

[Stanislav]

Just a few random TV related events that happened on October 31. Discuss or comment as you please……

1922: Actress Barbara Bel Geddes (Dallas) is born in New York City.

1931: The Soviet Union begins offering 30-line electromechanical TV test broadcasts in Moscow.

1931: Journalist Dan Rather is born in Wharton, Texas.

1936: Actor Michael Landon (Bonanza, Little House on the Prairie, Highway to Heaven) is born (as Eugene Maurice Orowitz) in Forest Hills, New York.

1942: Actor David Ogden Stiers (M*A*S*H) is born in Peoria, Illinois. DYK: Charles Winchester’s love of classical music wasn’t a stretch for the actor – Stiers is himself a passionate fan of the classics. He has been a guest conductor for over 50 orchestras in North America, and maintains a position as Associate Conductor of The Newport Symphony Orchestra.

1948: NBC launches its fourth of five original NBC owned and operated stations as WNBK (channel 4, later WKYC-TV on channel 3) signs on in Cleveland.

1949: The Illinois/Iowa Quad Cities get their first TV station as WOC-TV (channel 6, now KWQC-TV) begins broadcasting.

1950: Actor John Candy (SCTV) is born in Toronto, Ontario.

1953: NBC presents a special colorcast of the opera “Carmen” from its Colonial Theater studio at Broadway and 62nd St. in New York. It marks the first time an opera is telecast in color, as well as the first production of a full hour-long program in compatible color TV.

1954: KREM-TV (channel 2) signs on in Spokane, Washington.

1959: Ulster Television, the ITV franchise for Northern Ireland, goes on air.

1967: KHAR-TV (channel 13, later KIMO) signs on in Anchorage, Alaska.

1975: ABC broadcasts the TV-movie “The Night That Panicked America,” dramatizing events surrounding Orson Welles's infamous “War of the Worlds” radio broadcast of October 30, 1938, which had led some Americans to believe that an invasion of Martians was occurring in New Jersey.

1988: Actor John Houseman (The Paper Chase) dies in Malibu, California, aged 86.

(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…..)

 

[RicoGregg]

Just a few random TV related events that happened……

1967: KHAR-TV (channel 13, later KIMO) signs on in Anchorage, Alaska.

1975: ABC broadcasts the TV-movie “The Night That Panicked America,” dramatizing events surrounding Orson Welles's infamous “War of the Worlds” radio broadcast of October 30, 1938, which had led some Americans to believe that an invasion of Martians was occurring in New Jersey.

1988: Actor John Houseman (The Paper Chase) dies in Malibu, California, aged 86.

KHAR: Considering the present-day political scene in Alaska (Sarah Palin, Ted Stevens), those would be great call letters for an Anchorage station to have now.

War of the Worlds: Not meaning to nitpick, but you may want to re-check the network. IIRC, CBS not only televised "The Night That Panicked America", but helped finance and produce it.

John Houseman not only had a great career, but also a great life. He EEEEAAAAARRRRNNED it!

 

[bpatrick]

No, it was ABC that aired "The Night That
Panicked America," because I remember
watching it. I remember that Paul Shenar
played Orson Welles.

 

[RicoGregg]

I would have sworn that it was CBS that showed "Panicked", but I double-checked, and it was indeed ABC that showed it. I stand corrected.

You'll have to excuse me now, Pomona has just been invaded by little green men from the planet Gorkytron, and I'm getting out my Super Soaker water gun and helping out the other volunteers.

 

[mleach]

10/31/83 The great Frederick County, Virginia ( Winchester ) Tire Fire or as the locals had said..TARR FARR !

Millions of tire had caught fire ( I think it was arson ) on a farm some 10-15 miles west of Winchester, Virginia. The fire bruned for months and during the first day or two, schools were closed, businesses were shut down and several towns in the region like Hagerstown, Maryland had to deal with overcast skies as a result.

TV connection?

This fire more/less put two rather small TV stations on the map. Harrisonburg, VA's WHSV-TV 3 and Hagerstown, MD's WHAG-TV 25 as both stations despite their size ( and despite the Frederick County being in the Washington DMA ) feed coverage to the national networks. I think I still have a tape somewhere of WHAG's Roger Hovermale on the NBC Nightly Newscast holding a "25 Alive" mic flag.

Maybe there were a few times before this incident where a small market TV was seen nationwide on a national newscast, if there was I don't remember it. Usually when something like this happens ( a big story ) that happens in a rural area and ends up on the national newscast usually its a major market station reporter who is seen on location.

For example when Virginia Beach had their infamous riots back in 1989, it was DC stations who provided the coverage to the national networks, not Norfolk's, Richmond's or even Raleigh-Durham's even though those stations were on the scene as well. And a few years after that ( 1994 ) when Frank Sinatra preformed one of his last live shows and I believe he fell on stage, it was DC's WUSA who "provided" coverage to CBS News even though WUSA wasn't even in Richmond when this happened. It was actually Richmond's local affilate WTVR who had a crew right there in the audience but it was WUSA who got the credit.

 

[Tim L]

[1948: NBC launches its fourth of five original NBC owned and operated stations as WNBK (channel 4, later WKYC-TV on channel 3) signs on in Cleveland.

Here, from Cleveland Classic Media, The most recent postings..Including a 60th anniversary WKYC Tribute..

Not as complete as I'd like, but there is some video, and rare TV Guide/TV Today ads from the WNBK days..

http://clevelandclassicmedia.blogspot.com/2008_10_01_archive.html

Scroll down a bit for the WKYC Posts..

 

[oldschooler1]

1975: ABC broadcasts the TV-movie “The Night That Panicked America,” dramatizing events surrounding Orson Welles's infamous “War of the Worlds” radio broadcast of October 30, 1938, which had led some Americans to believe that an invasion of Martians was occurring in New Jersey.

I, too, distinctly remember watching that movie on ABC (ch. 9, Syracuse). It was a pretty neat flick - showing all the behind-the-scenes tricks of the radio broadcast, during the show and leading up to it. Casey Casem was in it, as one of the radio show cast members. They rather "beefed up" the dramatic acting -- if you listen to the original recording, it's pretty flatly acted, compared to the 1975 movie.

I wonder if it's available on DVD anywhere...?

 

[Corky Marlowe]

I, too, distinctly remember watching that movie on ABC (ch. 9, Syracuse). It was a pretty neat flick - showing all the behind-the-scenes tricks of the radio broadcast, during the show and leading up to it. Casey Casem was in it, as one of the radio show cast members. They rather "beefed up" the dramatic acting -- if you listen to the original recording, it's pretty flatly acted, compared to the 1975 movie.
In the movie, there was a scene where the sfx guys slowly unscrewed the cap of a mason jar inside a toilet to create the sound of the lid of the spacecraft opening. As far as the original broadcast sounding "flat", I imagine Welles and company wanted to sound as real as possible.

 

[bpatrick]

Welles and company were simulating news bulletins;
his inspiration had come from the frequent interruptions
for updates on the Sudetenland crisis in September 1938.

A former CBS staff announcer, either Dwight Weist or
Art Hannes (I'm not sure which), played an actor in the film.

I watched this movie on Ch. 11 in Atlanta.

 

[Ultimajock]

...2008: Studs Terkel dies in Chicago at 96. Among his many Windy City broadcasting accomplishments was headlining the comedy/variety series Studs' Place from November 1949 to August 1950 on NBC and October 1950 to January 1952 on ABC...

 

[WMC2006]

...2008: Studs Terkel dies in Chicago at 96. Among his many Windy City broadcasting accomplishments was headlining the comedy/variety series Studs' Place

And don't forget the early 90's Fox game show Studs

 

[Tim from Springfield IL]

1949: The Illinois/Iowa Quad Cities get their first TV station as WOC-TV (channel 6, now KWQC-TV) begins broadcasting.

Tomorrow will mark KWQC's 60th anniversary in broadcasting (it switched from analog channel 5 to 6 in 1953, and changed its calls to KWQC-TV in fall 1986. Unfortunately, I have not found any recognition of their milestone on their website (unless there will be a feature on their news tomorrow).

KWQC is licensed to Davenport, IA, making it the oldest television station in Iowa (WOI-TV Ames/Des Moines signed on in 1950).

 

[Tim from Springfield IL]

1949: The Illinois/Iowa Quad Cities get their first TV station as WOC-TV (channel 6, now KWQC-TV) begins broadcasting.

Tomorrow will mark KWQC's 60th anniversary in broadcasting (it switched from analog channel 5 to 6 in 1953, and changed its calls to KWQC-TV in fall 1986. Unfortunately, I have not found any recognition of their milestone on their website (unless there will be a feature on their news tomorrow).

KWQC is licensed to Davenport, IA, making it the oldest television station in Iowa (WOI-TV Ames/Des Moines signed on in 1950).

KWQC (then WOC-TV) is the oldest TV station in Iowa (WOI Ames/Des Moines signed on a year later). The first downstate Illinois TV station (outside of Chicago) also occurred in the Quad Cities market less than a year later, with WHBF-4's sign-on on July 1, 1950.

 

[Tim from Springfield IL]

1949: The Illinois/Iowa Quad Cities get their first TV station as WOC-TV (channel 6, now KWQC-TV) begins broadcasting.

KWQC (then WOC-TV) is the oldest TV station in Iowa (WOI Ames/Des Moines signed on a year later).

The first downstate Illinois TV station (outside of Chicago) also occurred in the Quad Cities market less than a year later, with WHBF-4's sign-on on July 1, 1950 (licensed to Rock Island, IL).

Meanwhile, the Quad Cities would not obtain one primary affiliate each of the "Big Three" until WQAD-8 (licensed to Moline, IL) signed on August 1, 1963 (after the channel 8 allotment was moved from Peoria to Moline when the former market was decreed all-UHF). Interestingly, then and now even with the all-UHF channel lineup in the Peoria market, Grade B signals of most of the Quad Cities TV stations reached Peoria city proper.