Just a few random TV related events that happened on September 10. Discuss or comment as you please……
1949: Fox News commentator Bill O’Reilly is born in New York City.
1955: Gunsmoke begins its 20-year CBS network run. The initial episode is preceded by a filmed introduction by John Wayne in which he recommends the show (and the then relatively unknown actor James Arness) to viewers.
1957: Private Secretary ends its CBS network run after 103 episodes. (It was re-titled Susie for reruns and syndication.)
1958: D’oh!! Actor and voice artist Dan Castelanetta (The Simpsons) is born in Chicago.
1960: Nippon TV (Japan) begins color broadcasting, using a slight variation of the NTSC system known as NTSC-J.
1962: WDCN (channel 2) begins operating in Nashville, Tennessee. It is the state’s second non-commercial station (after Memphis’ WKNO-TV.) 11 years later, they would trade dial positions with WSIX-TV (channel 8 ). The station is now known as WNPT (Nashville Public Television), since the transfer of the license from local Nashville government to an independent community group.
1967: The Who destroy their instruments (including Pete Townsend blowing up his drum kit) during a performance on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. It was a repeat of the routine famously done at the Monterey Pop Festival earlier that year.
1974: The controversial made-for-TV movie Born Innocent, starring Linda Blair, is first broadcast on NBC. The film draws heavy criticism for a brutal all-female rape scene, the first ever seen on American television. The scene was deleted in subsequent repeats after a group of girls assaulted an eight-year-old with a pop bottle, influenced by the scene in the film.
1978: WPTY-TV (channel 24) signs on as Memphis, Tennessee’s first UHF station.
1983: One of professional wrestling’s most notable local programs comes to an end as Wrestling at the Chase ends a 14-year run on St. Louis’ KPLR-TV.
1984: Jeopardy! returns to TV in a new syndicated version hosted by Alex Trebek. The new version has to date aired over 5500 episodes; the series as a whole nearly 8500.
1984: The last in a series of 11 stations of South Carolina Educational Television (SCETV) signs on, as WNEH-TV in Greenwood begins broadcasting on channel 38.
1990: The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air premieres on NBC, quickly propelling rapper Will Smith (a/k/a Fresh Prince) to national stardom.
1991: A one-season revival of the game show The Joker’s Wild debuts in syndication.
1993: The Truth is Out There…..and it’s on Fox: The X-Files premieres.
1995: At 1 a.m., Miami’s WCIX (channel 6) and WTVJ (channel 4) swap channels. WCIX also changes call letters to WFOR-TV to reflect their new dial position.
1995: At midnight, WPRI-TV (channel 12) and WLNE-TV (channel 6) reverse their 1977 network swap, with WPRI rejoining CBS and WLNE returning to ABC. WPRI had aired a vigorous promotional campaign called "Survive the Switch" so viewers in the Providence-New Bedford market would be prepared for the changeover.
(Just a little featurette I hope to do as time permits…..don’t expect it every single day. 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…..)
1949: Fox News commentator Bill O’Reilly is born in New York City.
1955: Gunsmoke begins its 20-year CBS network run. The initial episode is preceded by a filmed introduction by John Wayne in which he recommends the show (and the then relatively unknown actor James Arness) to viewers.
1957: Private Secretary ends its CBS network run after 103 episodes. (It was re-titled Susie for reruns and syndication.)
1958: D’oh!! Actor and voice artist Dan Castelanetta (The Simpsons) is born in Chicago.
1960: Nippon TV (Japan) begins color broadcasting, using a slight variation of the NTSC system known as NTSC-J.
1962: WDCN (channel 2) begins operating in Nashville, Tennessee. It is the state’s second non-commercial station (after Memphis’ WKNO-TV.) 11 years later, they would trade dial positions with WSIX-TV (channel 8 ). The station is now known as WNPT (Nashville Public Television), since the transfer of the license from local Nashville government to an independent community group.
1967: The Who destroy their instruments (including Pete Townsend blowing up his drum kit) during a performance on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. It was a repeat of the routine famously done at the Monterey Pop Festival earlier that year.
1974: The controversial made-for-TV movie Born Innocent, starring Linda Blair, is first broadcast on NBC. The film draws heavy criticism for a brutal all-female rape scene, the first ever seen on American television. The scene was deleted in subsequent repeats after a group of girls assaulted an eight-year-old with a pop bottle, influenced by the scene in the film.
1978: WPTY-TV (channel 24) signs on as Memphis, Tennessee’s first UHF station.
1983: One of professional wrestling’s most notable local programs comes to an end as Wrestling at the Chase ends a 14-year run on St. Louis’ KPLR-TV.
1984: Jeopardy! returns to TV in a new syndicated version hosted by Alex Trebek. The new version has to date aired over 5500 episodes; the series as a whole nearly 8500.
1984: The last in a series of 11 stations of South Carolina Educational Television (SCETV) signs on, as WNEH-TV in Greenwood begins broadcasting on channel 38.
1990: The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air premieres on NBC, quickly propelling rapper Will Smith (a/k/a Fresh Prince) to national stardom.
1991: A one-season revival of the game show The Joker’s Wild debuts in syndication.
1993: The Truth is Out There…..and it’s on Fox: The X-Files premieres.
1995: At 1 a.m., Miami’s WCIX (channel 6) and WTVJ (channel 4) swap channels. WCIX also changes call letters to WFOR-TV to reflect their new dial position.
1995: At midnight, WPRI-TV (channel 12) and WLNE-TV (channel 6) reverse their 1977 network swap, with WPRI rejoining CBS and WLNE returning to ABC. WPRI had aired a vigorous promotional campaign called "Survive the Switch" so viewers in the Providence-New Bedford market would be prepared for the changeover.
(Just a little featurette I hope to do as time permits…..don’t expect it every single day. 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…..)
