Retro: Alabama Tuesday, August 14, 1962

[bpatrick]

From TV Guide, Alabama Edition (which covered the entire state
except the Mobile market and was divided later that year into
Northern Alabama and Southern Alabama editions).

Chs. 3 and 9 are listed Central Time.

WDIQ Ch. 2 Dozier/WCIQ Ch. 7 Cheaha State Park/WBIQ Ch. 10
Birmingham (NET)

2:30 Today's Home
3 PM Ham Operator's Club
3:30 Compass
4 PM History Of Jazz
4:30 Glass Wall
5 PM Fun At Five (this is not ABC's catchall name for five kids'
shows at that time in 1957-58)
5:30 Big Picture
6 PM What's New
6:30 German
7 PM Weather (violent storms in Alabama autumns)
7:30 Astronomy
8 PM Time To Grow
8:30 Life Patterns
9 PM Focus (the relation of radiation to atomic structure)
9:30 Sculptor Visits (types of sculpture used in modern architecture)
sign off 10 PM

WRBL Ch. 3 Columbus, GA (CBS/NBC)

6:25 Thought For Today
6:30 News, Weather
6:45 Debbie Drake
7 AM Captain Kangaroo
8 AM Gale Storm
8:30 At Home With Rozell
9 AM Calendar (Harry Reasoner/Mary Fickett)
9:30 I Love Lucy
10 AM Verdict Is Yours
10:30 Brighter Day
10:55 CBS News (Harry Reasoner)
11 AM Love Of Life
11:30 Search For Tomorrow
11:45 Guiding Light
12 N News, Sports, Weather
12:15 Chattahoochee Classroom
12:30 As The World Turns
1 PM Password (announcer Jack Clark subs for Allen Ludden;
celebrity guests are Hal March and Agnes Moorehead)
1:30 Art Linkletter's House Party (guest is bandleader Russ
Morgan ("Music in the Morgan Manner"))
2 PM Millionaire (the check goes to a plainclothes cop who
killed a gangster in a gun battle and is now the target
of the victim's vengeful brother)
2:30 To Tell The Truth (Barry Nelson, Phyllis Newman, Richard
Hayes, Sally Ann Howes)
2:55 CBS News (Douglas Edwards)
3 PM Secret Storm
3:30 Edge Of Night
4 PM Life Of Riley
4:30 Colonel Chick (local kids' show--does it make you think of
Colonel Sanders as it does me?)
5:15 Mr. Magoo
5:45 Personal Opinion
5:50 Sports (Walter Graham)
5:55 Magic Moments In Sports
6 PM News
6:10 Weather
6:15 CBS News (Walter Cronkite)
6:30 Marshal Dillon (reruns of the half-hour "Gunsmoke"s)
7 PM Password (Dina Merrill, Darren McGavin; Jack Clark subs
for Allen Ludden)
7:30 Dobie Gillis
8 PM Comedy Spot (Don Porter and Phyllis Avery in "I Love My
Doctor," about a doctor who sets up practice in a small
suburban community and finds himself the center of a
good deal of female attention.)
8:30 Play Your Hunch (guest: Jack Paar's bandleader Jose Melis,
NBC, delay from Wed 9 PM)
9 PM Talent Scouts (Jim Backus welcomes scouts Liberace, Red
Buttons, Joan Bennett, Jack E. Leonard, and Kathryn Grayson;
talent: singers Billy Fields and Joshua Hecht, comedian Lou
Alexander, singers the Sylte Sisters, the instrumental Herb
Handcock Trio)
10 PM News (David Lea)
10:15 Personal Opinion
10:20 Weather, Sports
10:30 Man From Interpol

WTVY Ch. 4 Dothan (CBS/ABC)

7 AM Civics Film
7:30 Cartoons
8 AM Captain Kangaroo
9 AM Calendar
9:30 I Love Lucy
10 AM Verdict Is Yours
10:30 Brighter Day
10:55 CBS News
11 AM Love Of Life
11:30 Search For Tomorrow
11:45 Guiding Light
12 N Farm News (Gene Ragan)
12:25 Local News (John Gause)
12:30 As The World Turns
1 PM Password
1:30 Art Linkletter's House Party
2 PM Millionaire
2:30 To Tell The Truth
2:55 CBS News
3 PM Secret Storm
3:30 Edge Of Night
4 PM Popeye
5 PM Lone Ranger
5:30 Highway Patrol
5:55 Sports Scope (Karl Perkins, no, not Carl Perkins,
the singer)
6 PM News
6:10 Weather
6:15 CBS News
6:30 Farm Show (Gene Ragan)
7 PM Jim And Jesse And The Virginia Boys (labeled as
"hillbilly music")
7:30 Dobie Gillis
8 PM Comedy Spot
8:30 Dick Van Dyke (delay from Wed 8:30 PM)
9 PM Talent Scouts
10 PM Untouchables (ABC, delay from Thu 9 PM)
sign off 11 PM

WBRC Ch. 6 Birmingham (ABC)

5 AM Religious Town Meeting
5:30 Morning Devotional
5:35 Agricultural Film
5:45 Market Reports
6 AM Country Boy Eddie
7 AM Morning Show (Tom York)
8 AM Amos 'n' Andy
8:30 Search For Tomorrow
8:45 Guiding Light
9 AM Calendar
9:30 I Love Lucy
10 AM Tennessee Ernie Ford Show (guest is ragtime
pianist Big Tiny Little, a former regular on
"The Lawrence Welk Show")
10:30 Yours For A Song (Bert Parks)
11 AM Jane Wyman Presents
11:30 Camouflage
11:55 ABC News (Alex Dreier)
12 N As The World Turns
12:30 December Bride
1 PM Day In Court
1:30 Seven Keys
2 PM Queen For A Day (Smilin' Jack Smith, of "You
Asked For It" fame, subs for Jack Bailey)
2:30 Who Do You Trust? (Johnny Carson)
3 PM Secret Storm
3:30 Young People's World
3:35 Bozo The Clown
4 PM Bugs Bunny (separate from the ABC series which
airs later)
4:30 Whirlybirds
5 PM Highway Patrol
5:30 News, Sports
5:45 ABC News (Ron Cochran)
6 PM The Deputy
6:30 Bugs Bunny
7 PM Bachelor Father
7:30 The New Breed
8:30 Yours For A Song
9 PM Shelley Berman: A Personal Appearance
10 PM Hennesey (CBS, delay from Mon 9 PM)
10:30 The Lively Ones (Vic Damone's guests are
trumpeter Shorty Rogers and His Giants,
Peter Nero, the New Christy Minstrels,
folksingers Joe and Eddie, Stan Kenton,
NBC, delay from Thu 8:30 PM)
11 PM News (Harry Mabry)
11:05 Movie: "Double Exposure"

WSLA (WAKA) Ch. 8 Selma, AL (ABC)

1 PM Day In Court
1:30 Seven Keys
2 PM Queen For A Day
2:30 Who Do You Trust?
3 PM Cannonball
3:30 Star Showcase
4 PM Highway Holiday (travelogue)
4:30 Film Feature
5 PM Little Rascals
5:30 News, Sports
5:45 ABC News
6 PM Interpol Calling
6:30 Bugs Bunny
7 PM Bachelor Father
7:30 The New Breed
8:30 Yours For A Song
9 PM Shelley Berman: A Personal Appearance
10 PM News, Weather
10:15 Broken Arrow
10:45 New York Confidential
sign off 11:15 PM

WTVM Ch. 9 Columbus, GA (NBC/ABC)

6 AM Today (substitute host Martin Agronsky talks
with two African students who are spending
the summer with American families on a trip
sponsored by the Experiment in International
Living; Joe Garagiola talks about sandlot baseball
with Max Case, sportswriter for the New York
Journal-American (now defunct, but possibly remembered
for having Dorothy Kilgallen as a writer)
8 AM Miss Patsy's Playhouse
9 AM Say When!
9:30 Play Your Hunch (COLOR)
10 AM Tennessee Ernie Ford Show
10:30 Concentration
11 AM Jane Wyman Presents
11:30 Camouflage
11:55 ABC News
12 N News, Market Reports
12:20 Bulletin Board
12:30 It's A Great Life
1 PM Day In Court
1:30 Seven Keys
2 PM Queen For A Day
2:30 Who Do You Trust?
3 PM American Bandstand (guests: the Duprees,
singing "You Belong To Me")
3:50 American Newsstand (Roger Sharp)
4 PM Cap'n O'Hap (I wonder if this is the same guy who
turned up a couple of years later on Ch. 12 in
New Bern, NC?)
5:15 Deputy Dawg
5:45 Weather, Sports
6 PM News
6:15 Huntley-Brinkley Report
6:30 Bugs Bunny
7 PM The LeFevres (gospel music)
7:30 The New Breed
8:30 Political Talk (Georgia gubernatorial candidate and
eventual winner Carl Sanders)
9 PM Shelley Berman: A Personal Appearance
10 PM ABC News (Murphy Martin)
10:10 News, Sports
10:15 Tonight Show (Hugh Downs hosts this week, his final
one in connection with the show, COLOR)
12 M ABC News (Murphy Martin--I don't know why Ch. 9
aired this a second time.)

WSFA Ch. 12 Montgomery (NBC)

7 AM Today
9 AM Say When!
9:30 Play Your Hunch (COLOR)
10 AM Price Is Right (COLOR)
10:30 Concentration
11 AM Your First Impression (show producer Monty Hall subs
for Bill Leyden, COLOR)
11:30 Truth Or Consequences
11:55 NBC News (Ray Scherer)
12 N Farm And Home Hour
1 PM Jan Murray (COLOR)
1:25 NBC News (Floyd Kalber)
1:30 Loretta Young
2 PM Young Dr. Malone
2:30 Our Five Daughters
3 PM Make Room For Daddy
3:30 Here's Hollywood (Helen O'Connell talks with folk group
the Limeliters about teenagers; Jack Linkletter interviews
actor Otto Kruger.)
3:55 NBC News (Sander Vanocur)
4 PM Popeye
5 PM Bullwinkle (delay from Sun 6 PM)
5:30 Guest Room (Ralph Williams)
5:45 Huntley-Brinkley Report
6 PM News, Weather, Sports
6:30 Laramie (COLOR)
7:30 Third Man
8 PM Dick Powell
9 PM Cain's Hundred
10 PM Nightbeat
10:30 Alfred Hitchcock Presents (delay from 7:30 PM)
11 PM Tonight Show
sign off 12 M

WAPI (WVTM) Ch. 13 Birmingham (NBC/CBS)

6 AM Continental Classroom
6:30 News, Weather
6:45 Debbie Drake
7 AM Today
8 AM Captain Kangaroo
9 AM Say When!
9:30 Play Your Hunch (COLOR)
10 AM Price Is Right (COLOR)
10:30 Concentration
11 AM Your First Impression (COLOR)
11:30 Truth Or Consequences
11:55 NBC News
12 N Movie: "Gallant Sons"
1:25 News, Weather
1:30 Loretta Young
2 PM Young Dr. Malone
2:30 Our Five Daughters
3 PM Make Room For Daddy
3:30 Here's Hollywood
3:55 NBC News
4 PM Popeye/Three Stooges
4:30 Rocky And His Friends
4:45 Popeye/Three Stooges
5 PM Yogi Bear
5:30 News, Sports
5:45 CBS News
6 PM News
6:15 Huntley-Brinkley Report
6:30 Laramie (COLOR)
7:30 Alfred Hitchcock Presents
8 PM The Tall Man (NBC, delay from Sat 7:30 PM)
8:30 Comedy Spot
9 PM Talent Scouts
10 PM Dick Powell
11 PM Tonight Show
12 M Debbie Drake
sign off 12:15 AM

WOWL (WHDF) Ch. 15 Florence, AL (NBC/CBS)

7 AM Today
9 AM Say When!
9:30 Play Your Hunch (COLOR)
10 AM Price Is Right (COLOR)
10:30 Concentration
11 AM Your First Impression (COLOR)
11:30 Truth Or Consequences
11:55 NBC News
12 N News, Sports, Weather
12:15 Noonday Devotional
12:30 As The World Turns
1 PM Jan Murray (COLOR)
1:25 News, Weather
1:30 Loretta Young
2 PM Young Dr. Malone
2:30 Our Five Daughters
3 PM Make Room For Daddy
3:30 Here's Hollywood
3:55 NBC News
4 PM Planet 15
4:30 Earline In Storyland
4:45 Televisit With The Bible
5 PM Encore Theater
5:30 Outlook (Frank Mosler)
5:55 Television Tonight (wonder if this was like NBC's
"What's On Tonight" that opened primetime every
night in 1972?)
6 PM News
6:15 Huntley-Brinkley Report
6:30 Laramie (COLOR)
7:30 My Three Sons (ABC, delay from Thu 8 PM)
8 PM Dick Powell
9 PM Cain's Hundred
10 PM Window On Main Street (Robert Young's one failure,
CBS, delay from Wed 7 PM)
10:30 Tonight Show
sign off 12 M

WCOV Ch. 20 Montgomery (CBS)

8 AM Captain Kangaroo
9 AM Calendar
9:30 I Love Lucy
10 AM Verdict Is Yours
10:30 Brighter Day
10:55 CBS News
11 AM Love Of Life
11:30 Romper Room
12 N At Home (Martha Hall)
12:25 Life Line
12:30 As The World Turns
1 PM Password
1:30 Art Linkletter's House Party
2 PM Millionaire
2:30 To Tell The Truth
2:55 CBS News
3 PM Secret Storm
3:30 Edge Of Night
4 PM Captain Zoomar
5 PM Movie: "Ghost Town Gold"
6 PM News
6:15 CBS News
6:30 Note Book
7 PM Password
7:30 Dobie Gillis
8 PM Comedy Spot
8:30 Rescue 8
9 PM Talent Scouts
10 PM Movie: "The Man Who Broke The Bank At
Monte Carlo"
11:30 ABC News (Murphy Martin--odd that Ch. 20
would carry this since the ABC affiliate did
at 10 PM)

WMSL Ch. 23 (WAFF Ch. 48) Decatur, AL (NBC/CBS)

11 AM Your First Impression (COLOR)
11:30 Truth Or Consequences
11:55 NBC News
12 N Cartoons
12:30 Local News
12:45 Film Feature
1 PM Jan Murray (COLOR)
1:25 NBC News
1:30 Loretta Young
2 PM Young Dr. Malone
2:30 Our Five Daughters
3 PM Make Room For Daddy
3:30 Here's Hollywood
3:55 NBC News
4 PM Cartoons
4:30 Film Feature
5 PM Kiddie Circus
5:30 News, Sports
5:45 Huntley-Brinkley Report
6 PM Variety Time (Bob Gleason, no relation to
Jackie)
6:15 CBS News
6:30 Laramie (COLOR)
7:30 Alfred Hitchcock Presents
8 PM Dick Powell
9 PM Cain's Hundred
10 PM News, Sports, Weather
10:15 Tonight Show (COLOR)
sign off 12 M

WAFG (WAAY) Ch. 31 Huntsville (ABC)

10 AM Tennessee Ernie Ford Show
10:30 Yours For A Song
11 AM Jane Wyman Presents
11:30 Camouflage
11:55 ABC News
12 N Film Feature
12:30 Holiday (travelogue)
1 PM Day In Court
1:30 Seven Keys
2 PM Queen For A Day
2:30 Who Do You Trust?
3 PM American Bandstand
3:50 American Newsstand
4 PM Cartoons
4:15 Popeye
4:30 Western Theater
5 PM Evening Report (this may have been Ron Cochran)
5:15 Roy Rogers
5:45 Popeye
6 PM News, Weather, Sports
6:30 Bugs Bunny
7 PM Bachelor Father
7:30 New Breed
8:30 Yours For A Song
9 PM Shelley Berman: A Personal Appearance
10 PM ABC News (Murphy Martin)
10:10 News, Sports
10:20 Story Behind The Story
10:30 Starlight Playhouse
11 PM Interpol Calling
sign off 11:30 PM

WCCB (WNCF) Ch. 32 Montgomery (ABC)
NOTE: WCCB is now FOX18 in Charlotte.

9:55 Today's Thought
10 AM Tennessee Ernie Ford Show
10:30 Yours For A Song
11 AM Jane Wyman Presents
11:30 Camouflage
11:55 ABC News
12 N Highway Patrol
12:30 Sea Hunt
1 PM Day In Court
1:30 Seven Keys
2 PM Queen For A Day
2:30 Who Do You Trust?
3 PM American Bandstand
3:50 American Newsstand
4 PM Movie: "Hotel Berlin"
6 PM ABC News
6:15 News, Weather, Sports
6:30 Bugs Bunny
7 PM Bachelor Father
7:30 New Breed
8:30 Yours For A Song
9 PM Shelley Berman: A Personal Appearance
10 PM ABC News
10:10 News, Sports
10:30 Whirlybirds
sign off 11 PM

 

[Joseph_Gallant]

I couldn't imagine the short-lived late-night ABC newscast airing twice on the same station on the same night.

Could the WTVM-9 listing had been in error and either local news aired from 10 to 10:15 P.M. EST, or another local newscast aired at 12 Midnight EST??

 

[bpatrick]

Or possibly Ch. 9 aired local news from 10-10:15 and delayed
ABC's newscast to midnight; in later years, when ABC had late
newscasts on weekends only, it was common for affiliates to
delay them until just before sign-off.

There are a number of errors in this edition of TV Guide, and
you just may have hit one.

 

[Charles1]

Living in Birmingham, this is fascinating. I was only 2-1/2 in August '62, so I don't remember this.

What gets me is that WBRC not only carried several CBS soaps (I remember that), but they also managed to squeeze in an NBC show not cleared by Channel 13. So, the question begs, were there any other NBC shows that Channel 6 carried that week? (I'm assuming you have the complete edition). I know that Channel 6 picked up the AFL package from NBC in the days before Channel 42 signed on.

And wacky as it might sound, did Channel 13 end up with any ABC shows that week?

 

[bpatrick]

"The Lively Ones" was the only NBC show on 6 that week;
13 did not have any ABC shows and, to my knowledge, never
has, unless it was in the earliest days of Birmingham TV, for
which I have no listings (Russell Wells may be able to help
you there).

 

[Charles1]

Until Channel 6 dropped CBS for ABC in '61, Channel 13 was a secondary ABC affiliate. I know I've seen listings from the '50's that showed Channel 13 carrying such ABC shows as "The Name's the Same" and Disney.

 

[bpatrick]

I don't doubt it but that was '61 and these listings are from '62.
We had a similar situation in Raleigh/Durham; WRAL switched from
NBC to ABC about two weeks before these listings (August 1, to
be exact) and held onto a few NBC daytime shows even after the
switch ("Today," "Play Your Hunch," "Young Dr. Malone," "Our Five
Daughters," and "Make Room For Daddy"), as well as "Wagon Train"
at night. Prior to the switch both WRAL and WTVD had secondary
ABC affiliations; unlike Birmingham's Channel 13, WTVD became a
CBS primary/NBC secondary after the switch.

And WRAL did carry a few CBS programs in the '60s: Jackie Gleason,
nighttime "Password," "I've Got A Secret," and "Stump The Stars" (the
renamed "Pantomime Quiz"), the latter two on delay, in the 1962-63 season;
it also carried "My Three Sons" even after the switch to CBS. But WTVD
would not carry another ABC program until it became an o&o in 1985.

I can still give you the 10 AM-5 PM daytime schedules for Raleigh/Durham
immediately after the '62 switch:

WRAL 10 AM Time Out (local civic clubs compete in a quiz)
10:30 Play Your Hunch
11 AM Tennessee Ernie Ford Show
11:30 Yours For A Song
12 N Jane Wyman Presents
12:30 Camouflage
12:55 ABC News
1 PM Queen For A Day (delay from 3 PM)
1:30 Who Do You Trust? (delay from 3:30 PM)
2 PM Day In Court
2:30 Seven Keys
3 PM Young Dr. Malone
3:30 Our Five Daughters
4 PM Make Room For Daddy
4:30 American Bandstand (joined in progress)
4:50 American Newsstand

WTVD 10 AM Say When!
10:30 I Love Lucy
11 AM Price Is Right
11:30 Concentration
12 N Love Of Life
12:30 Truth Or Consequences
12:55 NBC News
1 PM Peggy Mann
1:30 As The World Turns
2 PM Password
2:30 Art Linkletter's House Party
3 PM Millionaire
3:30 To Tell The Truth
3:55 CBS News
4 PM Secret Storm
4:30 Edge Of Night

 

[rwells2265]

"The Lively Ones" was the only NBC show on 6 that week;
13 did not have any ABC shows and, to my knowledge, never
has, unless it was in the earliest days of Birmingham TV, for
which I have no listings (Russell Wells may be able to help
you there).

That's the first I've been aware of 6 airing an NBC show in the '60s! I scanned this listing, and it slipped right past me.

Yes, 13 was ABC secondary prior to 1961 ... even then, its carriage of ABC product was quite slim.

Prior to about 1968, WBRC-6 retained some of the high-rated CBS soaps. But that NBC entry IS most puzzling. Then again, "puzzling" just about describes Birmingham television in the 1960s!

--Russell

 

[bpatrick]

By the time I moved to Birmingham in the summer of '69, the
only soaps left on 6 were the existing ABC ones: "General
Hospital" (2 PM), "One Life To Live" (2:30), and "Dark Shadows"
(3 PM). 13 and 42 divided the CBS soaps; 13 had "Search For
Tomorrow," "As The World Turns," "Love Is A Many Splendored
Thing," and "Guiding Light"; 42 had "Love Of Life," "Secret Storm,"
and "Edge Of Night," and would add "Where The Heart Is" in September.
Of course, 42 got all the CBS soaps when it became the market's
exclusive CBS affiliate (sorry, Tuscaloosa and Anniston were separate
markets then) in May 1970, while 13 got all the NBC soaps: "Days Of
Our Lives," "The Doctors," "Another World," "Bright Promise," and "Somerset."

For the record, here are 13 and 42's daytime schedules (9 AM-3:30 PM) in
the summer of '69:

WAPI (WVTM)/13 9 AM The Lucy Show (CBS)
9:30 Concentration (NBC)
10 AM Personality (NBC)
10:30 Hollywood Squares (NBC)
11 AM Jeopardy! (NBC)
11:30 Search For Tomorrow (CBS)
12 N Local News
12:15 Mid-Day (Rosemary Lucas, Dick Breit)
12:30 As The World Turns (CBS)
1 PM Love Is A Many Splendored Thing (CBS)
1:30 Guiding Light (CBS)
2 PM The Linkletter Show (CBS, delay from 3 PM)
2:30 You Don't Say! (NBC)
3 PM Match Game (NBC)
3:25 Movie (to get a five-minute head start on 6's
3:30 movie)

WBMG (WIAT)/42 9 AM It Takes Two (NBC)
9:25 NBC News (Nancy Dickerson)
9:30 Beverly Hillbillies (CBS)
10 AM Andy Griffith (CBS)
10:30 Dick Van Dyke (CBS)
11 AM Love Of Life (CBS)
11:25 CBS News (Douglas Edwards)
11:30 Eye Guess (NBC)
11:55 NBC News (Floyd Kalber)
12 N Truth Or Consequences
12:30 You're Putting Me On (NBC)
1 PM Days Of Our Lives (NBC)
1:30 The Doctors (NBC)
2 PM Secret Storm (CBS)
2:30 Edge Of Night (CBS)
3 PM Ann Sothern Show

 

[Charles1]

True confession: in the fall of '66 I was in the first grade. Before starting to school, I made a regular habit out of watching the 10:30 reruns of Dick Van Dyke on Channel 42, then switching over to Channel 13 to watch Jeopardy! There was a day, maybe five or six weeks after I started to school that I realized just how much I was missing Rob and Laura and the crew and Uncle Art. Being the enterprising young lad that I was I decided around 9:30 or so that I had a stomach ache and that my mom needed to come to the school to take me home. Being that we lived only four blocks from the school, my mom made it there in no time flat, and we were back home by 10:30. Amazingly, my stomach ache was miraculously cured by 11:30. When my mom caught onto my little charade, she threatened me within an inch of my life!

I don't think I've had another stomach ache in the 46+ years since...