RETRO: New York City TV - Friday, Jan. 31, 1969 (Network O&O's)

[wbhist]

(SOURCE: TV Guide, New York Metropolitan Edition, Jan. 25-31, 1969 issue;
additional movie show title info extrapolated from The New York Times)
(C) - in color

WCBS-TV 2 (CBS)
6:30 Leave It to Beaver - "Beaver's Prize" [original airdate 10/24/59]
7:00 News (C)
7:05 CBS Morning News with Joseph Benti (C)
7:30 CBS Morning News with Joseph Benti (C)
7:55 News (C)
8:00 Captain Kangaroo (words: "under," "over," "big" and "little") (C)
9:00 Black Heritage - "The Black World of the North: 1776-1880" (Part 1) - with Prof. Edgar Toppin (C)
9:30 The Donna Reed Show - "The Busy People" [original airdate 2/23/61]
10:00 The Lucy Show - "Lucy Is Kangaroo for a Day" [original airdate 11/12/62]
10:30 The Beverly Hillbillies - "The Gorilla" (C) [original airdate 10/19/66]
11:00 The Andy Griffith Show - "Back to Nature" [original airdate 5/11/64]
11:30 The Dick Van Dyke Show - "Brother, Can You Spare $2500?" [original airdate 1/6/65]

12:00 Love of Life (C)
12:25 CBS News - Joseph Benti (C)
12:30 Search for Tomorrow (C)
1:00 The Galloping Gourmet with Graham Kerr (C)
1:30 As the World Turns (C)
2:00 Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (C)
2:30 The Guiding Light (C)
3:00 The Secret Storm (C)
3:30 The Edge of Night (C)
4:00 The Linkletter Show (Caroline Leonetti Ahmanson talks about fashion) (C)
4:25 CBS News - Douglas Edwards (C)
4:30 The Mike Douglas Show (guests: Jerry Orbach of Broadway's Promises, Promises; Robert Short, author of "Parables of Peanuts"; and comic Phil Foster) (C)

6:00 Six O'Clock Report with Jim Jensen (C)
7:00 CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite (C)
7:30 Harlem Globetrotters vs. Washington Generals at Madison Square Garden (special which pre-empted The Wild Wild West; Soupy Sales was the Trotters' coach for this fest; Jack Whitaker reported on all the shenanigans) (C)
8:30 Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. - "To Save a Life" (C)
9:00 The CBS Friday Night Movies: "Made in Paris" (1966) - Ann-Margret, Louis Jourdan (C)
11:00 Eleven O'Clock Report with Bob Young (C)
11:30 The Carol Lawrence Show (hour-long special with The Nicholas Brothers and the Baja Marimba Band) (C)
12:30 The Late Show: "The Lady Takes a Flyer" (1957) - Lana Turner, Jeff Chandler (C)
2:25 News (C)
2:30 The Late Late Show I: "I Aim at the Stars" (1960) - Curt Jurgens, Victoria Shaw
4:30 The Late Late Show II: "Johnny Stool Pigeon" (1949) - Howard Duff, Shelley Winters
6:00 Give Us This Day / sign-off (C)

WNBC-TV 4 (NBC)
6:30 Education Exchange (a summary of the ten-part series on women) (C)
7:00 Today (scheduled guests: authors David Halberstam and Jules Witcover; cartoonist Jules Feiffer; and curator Richard Leakey; plus film story on Dustin Hoffman and Mia Farrow appearing in a new movie [John and Mary, which was released at the end of 1969]) (C)
9:00 For Women Only (topic: abortion; host: Aline Saarinen) (C)
9:30 That Show with Joan Rivers (topic: what do dreams mean?; guests: actress Rita Moreno and psychiatrist Harry Gershman) (C)
10:00 Snap Judgment (guests: Godfrey Cambridge and Joanna Barnes) (C)
10:25 NBC News - Nancy Dickerson (C)
10:30 Concentration (C)
11:00 Personality (celebrities: Joel Grey, Phil Ford and Mimi Hines; on-film personality: Eddie Albert) (C)
11:30 The Hollywood Squares (players: Abby Dalton, Dom DeLuise, Nanette Fabray, Totie Fields, Noel Harrison, Jan Murray and Soupy Sales) (C)

12:00 Jeopardy (C)
12:30 Eye Guess (C)
12:55 NBC News - Edwin Newman (C)
1:00 PDQ (guests: Dick Patterson, Shari Lewis, Marty Ingels) (C)
1:30 Hidden Faces (C)
2:00 Days of our Lives (C)
2:30 The Doctors (C)
3:00 Another World (C)
3:30 You Don't Say! (guests: George Kennedy and Joanie Sommers) (C)
4:00 Match Game (guests: Jack Cassidy and Shirley Jones) (C)
4:25 NBC News - Floyd Kalber (C)
4:30 Movie Four: "Drums of Africa" (1963) - Frankie Avalon, Mariette Hartley (C)

6:00 Sixth Hour News with Lew Wood (C)
7:00 The Huntley-Brinkley Report (C)
7:30 The High Chaparral - "The Glory Soldiers" (C)
8:30 The Name of the Game - "Love-In at Ground Zero" (C)
10:00 Star Trek - "The Lights of Zetar" (C)
11:00 Eleventh Hour News with Jim Hartz (C)
11:10 Weather - Frank Field (C)
11:15 News - Jim Hartz (C)
11:25 Sports - Kyle Rote (C)
11:30 The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (scheduled: Steve Lawrence, Carol Lawrence) (C)
1:00 News - Bob Teague (C)
1:15 The Great Great Show: "The Postman Always Rings Twice" (1946) - Lana Turner, John Garfield
3:10 Sermonette / sign-off (C)

WABC-TV 7 (ABC)
6:50 News (C)
7:00 The Morning Show with Ed Nelson (C) (no relation to the 1980's show that morphed into today's Live with Regis & Kelly)
8:30 Virginia Graham's Girl Talk (guests: Hermione Gingold, Betty Walker and Larry Wilde) (C)
9:00 Prize Movie with Gloria DeHaven: "Humoresque" (1946) - Joan Crawford, John Garfield
11:00 Beat the Odds (C)
11:30 The Anniversary Game (C) (hosted by Alan Hamel, better known these days as the husband of Suzanne Somers)

12:00 Bewitched - [possibly] "My Grandson, the Warlock" [original airdate 10/7/65]
12:30 Funny You Should Ask (C)
12:55 The Children's Doctor (hosted by Dr. Lendon Smith) (C)
1:00 Dream House (C)
1:30 Let's Make a Deal (C)
2:00 The Newlywed Game (C)
2:30 The Dating Game (C)
3:00 General Hospital (C)
3:30 One Life to Live (C)
4:00 Dark Shadows (C)
4:30 The 4:30 Movie: "Wall of Noise" (1963) - Suzanne Pleshette, Ty Hardin

6:30 Eyewitness News with John Schubeck (C)
7:00 ABC Evening News with Frank Reynolds (C)
7:30 Operation: Entertainment (from Pensacola, FL Naval Air Station; host: Ed Ames; guests: Louis Nye, Joan Rivers, Dana Valery, The Three Degrees, and magic act John Daniel & Company; last show of the series) (C)
8:30 Felony Squad - "The Law and Order Blues - Part 1" (last show of the series) (C)
9:00 The Don Rickles Show (guests: Morey Amsterdam, Jack Carter, Joey Forman, Rose Marie and Jan Murray; last show of the series) (C)
10:00 Judd for the Defense - "The Law and Order Blues - Part 2" (continuation of aforementioned Felony Squad series finale) (C)
11:00 Eyewitness News with Roger Grimsby
11:30 The Joey Bishop Show (scheduled: Roger Williams, Floyd Patterson, and the comedy team of [Tom] Patchett and [Jay] Tarses) (C)
1:00 The Best of Broadway: "Fair Wind to Java" (1953) - Fred MacMurray, Victor McLaglen, Vera Ralston
2:45 sign-off (C)

 

[Stanislav]

WABC-TV 7 (ABC)

11:30 The Anniversary Game (C) (hosted by Alan Hamel, better known these days as the husband of Suzanne Somers)

And not as much of anything else -- he has damn few credits post-1980 (the demise of his Canadian show on CTV), save for producing his wife's workout videos and making a guest appearance on She's the Sheriff. Wonder what else he's been up to the last 30 years -- maybe stage, or radio, or just living off Suzanne's residuals?

 

[wbhist]

As for Channel 7's Prize Movie, hosted until c.1971 by Hollywood singer/actress Gloria DeHaven . . . this was WABC's attempt at this format, following the success of Prize Movies on two other ABC O&O's of the time, WXYZ-TV in Detroit (with Rita Bell) and WLS-TV in Chicago (with Ione Citrin). It was also WABC's third attempt at a morning movie (after their mid-to-late 1950's Morning Feature and 1963–67 Movie of the Day). Alas, it seemed WABC didn't have the success with Prize Movie that their Detroit and Chicago sisters did, and after Ms. DeHaven left, it was reconstituted as a host-less showcase, The Morning Movie (modified to The Movie in the Morning after 1977).

 

[Corky Marlowe]

11:30 The Joey Bishop Show (scheduled: Roger Williams, Floyd Patterson, and the comedy team of [Tom] Patchett and [Jay] Tarses) (C)

Who kept their partnership going, not in stand-up comedy, but as TV producers (Buffalo Bill).

 

[Tim-In-Houston]

WNBC-TV 4 (NBC)
11:00 Eleventh Hour News with Jim Hartz (C)
11:10 Weather - Frank Field (C)
11:15 News - Jim Hartz (C)
11:25 Sports - Kyle Rote (C)

I've always wondered this: why did some stations break out their newscast, especially late newscast, into seperate segments and others listed it just as "News" or the news department monikor ("Eyewitness News with Roger Grimsby")? And when did stations (or TV Guide and/or local television listing pamphlets) stop the practice?

 

[wbhist]

I've always wondered this: why did some stations break out their newscast, especially late newscast, into seperate segments and others listed it just as "News" or the news department monikor ("Eyewitness News with Roger Grimsby")? And when did stations (or TV Guide and/or local television listing pamphlets) stop the practice?

Technically, TV Guide always referred to all newscasts, regardless of what title was applied by individual stations, as "News." (The last time TV Guide's NY-Metro edition mentioned individual anchor(s) by station was 1978; after that they had a cluster of "News" with every station running them at a given time.) The full titles, as known, are applied here for descriptive purposes. Likewise for movie show titles (the last time they mentioned those was around 1968, except for the brief revival of Schaefer Award Theatre on WCBS-TV in 1970, albeit with two screenings in that year on WNBC-TV; pre-1968, it was "([channel]) MOVIE—[genre]" on the heading, with the film's description leading off with either "Late Show:" if WCBS-TV, "Movie Four:" if WNBC-TV, "Million Dollar Movie:" if WOR-TV, and so on; yet they didn't do this with every movie show).

I think it was around 1970 or '71 that WNBC's 11 P.M. newscast ceased to be compartmentalized in this form by TV Guide.

 

[wbhist]

Another thing: No such compartmentalization was listed for WNBC's 11 P.M. newscasts in The New York Times.

 

[bpatrick]

WABC-TV 7 (ABC)

11:30 The Anniversary Game (C) (hosted by Alan Hamel, better known these days as the husband of Suzanne Somers)

And not as much of anything else -- he has damn few credits post-1980 (the demise of his Canadian show on CTV), save for producing his wife's workout videos and making a guest appearance on She's the Sheriff. Wonder what else he's been up to the last 30 years -- maybe stage, or radio, or just living off Suzanne's residuals?

I know of two other shows he hosted: Mantrap, an early-'70s talk show similar to the '50s hit Leave It To The Girls, with a panel of women taking on--and usually deflating the ego of--a single male guest. I remember a pre-Lois Lane Margot Kidder as a frequent panelist on this show. Before The Anniversary Game he hosted something called Wedding Party for a few weeks on ABC in 1968. It was never quite clear whether this was a talk show or a game show; engaged or newlywed couples (I don't remember which, only that it was on just before The Newlywed Game) talked about their relationships, then played a simple game in which several prizes were shown, both partners secretly made a choice, and if they matched they won it. This show died a quick death against As The World Turns on CBS and Let's Make A Deal, then still on NBC.

 

[bpatrick]

As for Channel 7's Prize Movie, hosted until c.1971 by Hollywood singer/actress Gloria DeHaven . . . this was WABC's attempt at this format, following the success of Prize Movies on two other ABC O&O's of the time, WXYZ-TV in Detroit (with Rita Bell) and WLS-TV in Chicago (with Ione Citrin). It was also WABC's third attempt at a morning movie (after their mid-to-late 1950's Morning Feature and 1963–67 Movie of the Day). Alas, it seemed WABC didn't have the success with Prize Movie that their Detroit and Chicago sisters did, and after Ms. DeHaven left, it was reconstituted as a host-less showcase, The Morning Movie (modified to The Movie in the Morning after 1977).

Interestingly, a non-ABC o&o, Atlanta's Ch. 11, did fairly well with the Prize Movie format; it aired from around 1971 to 1975. For about a year or so, Linda Faye Carson, who was also the station's weathergirl, hosted; after her husband, Georgia Tech football coach Bud Carson, was let go and took a job with the Pittsburgh Steelers, she left the station and was replaced by former WAGA talk-show host Don Barber. Linda's version aired at 9 AM; Don's, at 3:30 PM, putting One Life To Live and ABC's 4 PM show--Love, American Style, $10,000 Pyramid--on a day-behind delay in the morning (Money Maze wasn't carried in Atlanta).

 

[John Murphy]

WABC-TV 7 (ABC)

11:30 The Anniversary Game (C) (hosted by Alan Hamel, better known these days as the husband of Suzanne Somers)

And not as much of anything else -- he has damn few credits post-1980 (the demise of his Canadian show on CTV), save for producing his wife's workout videos and making a guest appearance on She's the Sheriff. Wonder what else he's been up to the last 30 years -- maybe stage, or radio, or just living off Suzanne's residuals?

I know of two other shows he hosted: Mantrap, an early-'70s talk show similar to the '50s hit Leave It To The Girls, with a panel of women taking on--and usually deflating the ego of--a single male guest. I remember a pre-Lois Lane Margot Kidder as a frequent panelist on this show. Before The Anniversary Game he hosted something called Wedding Party for a few weeks on ABC in 1968. It was never quite clear whether this was a talk show or a game show; engaged or newlywed couples (I don't remember which, only that it was on just before The Newlywed Game) talked about their relationships, then played a simple game in which several prizes were shown, both partners secretly made a choice, and if they matched they won it. This show died a quick death against As The World Turns on CBS and Let's Make A Deal, then still on NBC.

While I was around for those shows (Mantrap aired on WOR in the NYC area, FWIW), I was too young to have cared at the time. The first time that I remember seeing Hamel was during one of his ubiquitous Acme commercials ("Tell a friend!") sometime in the second half of the '70s.

 

[bpatrick]

WABC-TV 7 (ABC)

11:30 The Anniversary Game (C) (hosted by Alan Hamel, better known these days as the husband of Suzanne Somers)

And not as much of anything else -- he has damn few credits post-1980 (the demise of his Canadian show on CTV), save for producing his wife's workout videos and making a guest appearance on She's the Sheriff. Wonder what else he's been up to the last 30 years -- maybe stage, or radio, or just living off Suzanne's residuals?

I know of two other shows he hosted: Mantrap, an early-'70s talk show similar to the '50s hit Leave It To The Girls, with a panel of women taking on--and usually deflating the ego of--a single male guest. I remember a pre-Lois Lane Margot Kidder as a frequent panelist on this show. Before The Anniversary Game he hosted something called Wedding Party for a few weeks on ABC in 1968. It was never quite clear whether this was a talk show or a game show; engaged or newlywed couples (I don't remember which, only that it was on just before The Newlywed Game) talked about their relationships, then played a simple game in which several prizes were shown, both partners secretly made a choice, and if they matched they won it. This show died a quick death against As The World Turns on CBS and Let's Make A Deal, then still on NBC.

While I was around for those shows (Mantrap aired on WOR in the NYC area, FWIW), I was too young to have cared at the time. The first time that I remember seeing Hamel was during one of his ubiquitous Acme commercials ("Tell a friend!") sometime in the second half of the '70s.

What you say about Mantrap reminds me of my attitude about Virginia Graham's Girl Talk. My mom used to watch that on WAVY Norfolk every day at 1 PM; I consciously avoided it when I wasn't in school.

I might mention something about Wedding Party. The creator-producer of that show, Art Stark, was the in-studio producer of Who Do You Trust? when Johnny Carson was host; Carson took him with him to The Tonight Show.
I point that out for two reasons: creator-executive producer of Trust, Don Fedderson, was based in LA (Trust originated in New York); and Trust was basically a talk show with a short quiz attached (even less emphasis on the quiz than on You Bet Your Life). Stark apparently decided to use the same basic format of interviews accompanied by a cursory game on Hamel's show, but since the show lasted only thirteen weeks I guess viewers decided it was a whole lot of nothing, even sandwiched between Dream House and The Newlywed Game.

I think I pointed out once before that The Anniversary Game was part of a plan by ABC to have its o&os develop programs that might make it into the syndication market. That one originated at KGO San Francisco; one that almost made it was a talk show with Ed Nelson (Dr. Michael Rossi on Peyton Place) out of WABC; another which I think had potential was Kennedy & Co. out of WLS. IIRC, Bob Kennedy was either considered or picked to host ABC's first early-morning show, A.M. America, but he died in late 1974, age 37, before the network show debuted.

There's also a mention of Beat The Odds. That was an early version of Press Your Luck, produced by Bill Carruthers; contestants could bank their winnings at any time or keep spinning and hope "Mr. Whamie" wouldn't wipe them out. Most notable about the show is its host: Jeopardy! announcer Johnny Gilbert.