September 11: This Day in TV History

[Stanislav]

Just a few random TV related events that happened on September 11 (a very busy day, for reasons other than the obvious). Discuss or comment as you please……

1928: Actor Earl Holliman (Police Woman) is born in Delhi, Louisiana.

1928: The first televised dramatic program takes place as “The Queen’s Messenger” is broadcast over W2XB in Schenectady, New York. The play, full of blood, guns, daggers, and poison, required three cameras and a host of technicians producing special effects. So limited was the technology, and so small the viewing screens, that only actors’ individual faces or hands could be seen at any one time. A review in the New York Herald-Tribune opined that “It was the general opinion among those that watched the experiment that the day of radio moving pictures [is] still a long, long way in the future. Whether the present system can be brought to commercial practicability and public usefulness, remains a question.” The broadcast was monitored by amateur enthusiasts across the country, including a California viewer who reported, “results only fair, due to fading of the 21-meter wave. Voices very strong with occasional glimpses of faces.”

1935: The final BBC TV transmission using John Logie Baird’s 30-line mechanical system takes place as the Beeb begins preparations for a regular high definition broadcasting service from Alexandra Palace.

1953: KSBW (channel 8 ) begins broadcasting in Salinas, California, initially in a share-time arrangement with Monterey’s KMBY-TV. (The two stations would merge under the KSBW banner in 1955.)

1954: WMBV-TV (channel 11, now WLUK-TV) signs on in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

1954: The Miss America Beauty Pageant airs for the first time on national television. 27 million viewers watch as Lee Ann Meriwether wins the crown.

1955: KFJZ-TV (channel 11, now KTVT) signs on in Dallas, Texas as that state’s first independent station.

1958: Actress Roxann Dawson (Star Trek: Voyager) is born (as Roxann Caballero) in Los Angeles.

1962: KVCR-TV (channel 24) begins broadcasting to the L.A. area from San Bernardino. It is the L.A. area’s first successful UHF station, and the first non-commercial station in Southern California (beating L.A.’s KCET to the air by more than two years).

1962: McHale’s Navy debuts on ABC.

1962: Actress Kristy McNichol (Family, Empty Nest) is born (as Christina Ann McNichol) in Los Angeles.

1966: Classic TV turkey It’s About Time premieres on CBS. Silly premise, corny acting, and a nadir of sorts for the great Imogene Coca. (No, maybe she really hit bottom in The Return of the Beverly Hillbillies as Granny’s Maw. But I digress…) It did have a catchy theme song, though. And we got to see Joe E. Ross say “Ooh! Ooh!” a lot while wearing a bearskin and surplus Beatles wig.

1967: The Carol Burnett Show debuts on CBS. Ms. Burnett’s good friend Jim Nabors is the guest star on the first show, inaugurating an annual tradition in which Nabors would always guest on each season’s premiere. (Burnett considered him her “good luck charm.”)

1970: Get Smart ends its network run on CBS, after having moved there from NBC for its final season.

1971: Lots of new cartoons debut on Saturday morning, including Help! It's the Hair Bear Bunch, The Jackson 5ive, and Pebbles & Bamm-Bamm.

1974: Little House on the Prairie debuts on NBC. So does Petrocelli.

1976: Jabberjaw premieres on ABC. How can you resist a shark who talks like Curly Howard? (Nyuck, nyuck, nyuck…)

1987: Temper, temper, Dan…..CBS broadcasts 6 minutes of dead air when Dan Rather stomps off the CBS Evening News set in anger after learning that the broadcast would be delayed and shortened due to a late-running tennis match. The match then ends earlier than expected, and affiliate control rooms across the country stare in confusion at a blank network feed until Rather can be located and put in front of the cameras.

1987: Disney’s DuckTales premieres in syndication.

1998: Geraldo Rivera’s eponymous daytime talk show Geraldo ends an 11-year run in syndication.

2001: A terrible, terrible day. We have discussed the TV-related ramifications of the attacks endlessly on this board and, while significant, they pale in comparison to the awful human loss of that day. So, as we reach another 9/11 anniversary, please reflect thoughts and prayers towards the victims (innocents, all…may they rest in peace) and their families and friends.

(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…..)

 

[bpatrick]

1964: Weekly primetime boxing ends on broadcast
television with the last telecast of ABC's "Fight Of
The Week." Also making their last appearances
that night are the bowling show "Make That Spare"
and the nighttime version of the Bill Cullen-hosted
"Price Is Right."

 

[Ultimajock]

1928: Actor Earl Holliman (Police Woman) is born in Delhi, Louisiana.

...one additional high point in Holliman's career was his appearance in the pilot episode of The Twilight Zone, "Where is Everybody?," in 1959...

1954: WMBV-TV (channel 11, now WLUK-TV) signs on in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

...actually, WMBV started life in Marinette, Wisconsin, roughly 40 miles north of Green Bay. Originally a primary NBC affiliate, WMBV was in fact built out of the assetts of Northeastern Wisconsin's previous (and failed) primary NBC affiliate, WOSH-TV/48 Oshkosh.

2001: A terrible, terrible day. We have discussed the TV-related ramifications of the attacks endlessly on this board and, while significant, they pale in comparison to the awful human loss of that day. So, as we reach another 9/11 anniversary, please reflect thoughts and prayers towards the victims (innocents, all…may they rest in peace) and their families and friends.

...an interesting piece of trivia about U.S. television on that terrible day -- HSN, like many other national networks, turned its cable and broadcast channels over to a news service. The unusual part of this was the news service HSN relayed was NewsWorld International, which was operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is undoubtedly the longest single broadcast of a Canadian program by a U.S. national network ever made, and in my opinion Peter Mansbridge did a helluva job anchoring that story from Toronto...

 

[dgendvil]

I was wondering if Mansbridge traveled to New York to do CBC's coverage from there after the attacks had happened. Am I right on that?

 

[Ultimajock]

...I only saw Mansbridge do coverage from his anchor set for The National at CBC Toronto. Any material with Mansbridge in New York certainly wasn't on 9/11 itself...

 

[RicoGregg]

Duck Tales is nearly a Gold Standard as far as latter-day (post-60s) animation goes. The stories are taken right out of Walt Disney's Comics and Stories. They added a few new characters, most notably Webigail, a female duckling about the same age as Huey, Dewey, & Louie, to be a role model for young girls.

It was novel to see occasional support characters like Gyro Gearloose and Gladstone Gander have life and voices to them.

Gladstone Gander has a story to him. To save a long story, Walt Disney, doing independent contracting work for Universal, had his first big creation, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, stolen from him by Universal. Cartoons of Oswald haven't been seen for many years, but he had black fur, and wore red shorts and white gloves. He also lived only by pure luck. Disney had planned to begin his own empire with Oswald as his #1 character, and with Oswald stolen, out of necessity created Mickey Mouse. When Gladstone Gander was created, Disney put Oswald's luck on to Gladstone. Another long story short, Oswald is now back under Disney ownership.

One of my favorite lines ever came out of Uncle Scrooge. He's on the phone, angry about a business deal gone wrong, and he yells into the phone: "I'LL SUE YOU FOR YOUR BACK TEETH!"

 

[Tim from Springfield IL]

Didn't John Ritter pass away 5 years ago this afternoon (Sept. 11, 2003) after becoming ill on the set of "8 Simple Rules?"

 

[Stanislav]

Didn't John Ritter pass away 5 years ago this afternoon (Sept. 11, 2003) after becoming ill on the set of "8 Simple Rules?"

Sure did -- don't know how I missed that one!

 

[mleach]

Didn't John Ritter pass away 5 years ago this afternoon (Sept. 11, 2003) after becoming ill on the set of "8 Simple Rules?"

I believe Johnny Cash died the same day as Ritter as well at least I know it was announced at the same time. I remeber when many radio and TV stations took those two deaths and combined them into one big news story.

 

[Mario500]

When you look at the historic moments that happened on this date on history, this calendar date should remain an ordinary day and not forever be connected to one particular day in history because of the news reports. Everyday is a new day, even today on this date.

One of my favorite lines ever came out of Uncle Scrooge. He's on the phone, angry about a business deal gone wrong, and he yells into the phone: "I'LL SUE YOU FOR YOUR BACK TEETH!"

 

[RicoGregg]

When you look at the historic moments that happened on this date on history, this calendar date should remain an ordinary day and not forever be connected to one particular day in history because of the news reports. Everyday is a new day, even today on this date.

Interesting point. Buried by the JFK assassination of 11/22/63 is the death of another notable person: writer Aldous Huxley, author of Brave, New World.

 

[Ultimajock]

When you look at the historic moments that happened on this date on history, this calendar date should remain an ordinary day and not forever be connected to one particular day in history because of the news reports. Everyday is a new day, even today on this date.

Interesting point. Buried by the JFK assassination of 11/22/63 is the death of another notable person: writer Aldous Huxley, author of Brave, New World.

...and a second famous writer, C.S. Lewis. There's a story that Liberace used to tell that, at one point on that day, he came close to committing suicide in a Pittsburgh hotel room that morning, for whatever it's worth...

 

[wbhist]

I seem to recall that CNBC's "Money Honey," Maria Bartiromo, was born on this day in 1967 - the same day The Carol Burnett Show debuted.

Speaking of Ms. Burnett, I remember reading that the first five seasons of her show are subject to "dual ownership," with veteran producer Bob Banner claiming some rights thereto. (Bob Banner Associates was listed among the production companies that administered the production of the show from its debut through about 1972.) This may explain why, on the syndicated Carol Burnett and Friends package, the earliest sketches were from the sixth (1972-73) season.

 

[mleach]

When you look at the historic moments that happened on this date on history, this calendar date should remain an ordinary day and not forever be connected to one particular day in history because of the news reports. Everyday is a new day, even today on this date.

Interesting point. Buried by the JFK assassination of 11/22/63 is the death of another notable person: writer Aldous Huxley, author of Brave, New World.

...and a second famous writer, C.S. Lewis. There's a story that Liberace used to tell that, at one point on that day, he came close to committing suicide in a Pittsburgh hotel room that morning, for whatever it's worth...

Back in 1993 when Larry King hosted a special on TNT about "where were you" on 11/22/63, I remember when Chubby Checker made a claim that his carrer came to and end with the death of JFK. He was supposed to be on some big network special ( what show was he talking about ??? I know it was NOT Ed Sullivan ) but due to the news coverage, the show and Checker's appearance was cancelled.

Of course with the Beatles and the other British groups about to make their splash in America, Chubby Checker's days of being on the charts were about to come to an end anyway JFK or not.

 

[KeithE4]

Of course with the Beatles and the other British groups about to make their splash in America, Chubby Checker's days of being on the charts were about to come to an end anyway JFK or not.

We'll never know for sure, of course, but if JFK hadn't been assassinated, maybe the Beatles and the others would never have made it in the US. The Beatles had released records in the US in '63 - to a resounding yawn. Maybe they still would have taken off, but they hadn't done well to that point.

 

[stevezodiac]

/11 events.

1955: KFJZ-TV (channel 11, now KTVT) signs on in Dallas, Texas as that state’s first independent station.

I believe KTVT had a 50th anniversary show produced but it was never shown due to the timing of the 9/11 events.

1987: Temper, temper, Dan…..CBS broadcasts 6 minutes of dead air when Dan Rather stomps off the CBS Evening News set in anger after learning that the broadcast would be delayed and shortened due to a late-running tennis match. The match then ends earlier than expected, and affiliate control rooms across the country stare in confusion at a blank network feed until Rather can be located and put in front of the cameras.

I do wish someone had this on youtube!

 

[AH3RD]

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 1967

"It's A Nice Place To Visit..." (prod. #47??) first aired at 7:30/6:30 Central Time on NBC as the 33rd episode of The Monkees. The sponsor of the week was Kellogg's™, and the song featured was "What Am I Doing Hangin' 'Round?" (Murphy / Castleman).

This episode introduced The Monkees TV series' second season on The Peacock Network. Also on this day, 12 1/2 hours before "It's A Nice Place To Visit..." was scheduled to air, The Monkees themselves, after a long, grueling summer of touring and recording (the upcoming 4th album, Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd.), reported to Screen Gems Studio 7 in Hollywood to resume production on their television show; first on the agenda was Peter Meyerson's "Hillbilly Honeymoon" (a.k.a. "Double Barrell Shotgun Wedding").

 

[AH3RD]

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 1976

The ABC Television Network welcomes a 120½-minute trifecta of new series from Hanna-Barbera Productions, as part of an all-new Funshine Saturday:

• The Tom & Jerry/Grape Ape/Mumbly Show (8:00 AM [EDT]) – The Mumbly Cartoon Show, a new H-B comedy-mystery revolving around the exploits of a snickering plainclothesman detective hound, Mumbly (voiced by the late Don Messick and patterned loosely after Muttley of Wacky Races [CBS, 1968-70] and Dastardly And Muttley In Their Flying Machines [CBS, 1969-71] fame) and his schlocky stooge, Shnooker (voiced by John Stephenson), is added to run with 2 reruns each of Tom and Jerry and Grape Ape. The 60-minute show ran for 2 months until The Great Grape Ape parted ways with the cast at midseason and left behind Tom & Jerry and Mumbly (whose main title theme was almost identical to T&J, which was natural, since they ran together) in the half-hour Tom & Jerry/Mumbly Show.
• Jabberjaw (9:00 AM [EDT]) – capitalizing on the previous year’s summer blockbuster, Jaws, this 30-minute entry concerned a witless Great White shark, Jabberjaw (voiced by Frank Welker, in a style which combined the mannerisms of Jerome “Curly” Howard of The Three Stooges and comic Rodney Dangerfield [“No respect!”]), which played drums in a teenage rock band called The Neptunes, living in a oceanic world 100 years in the future. Created by Joe Ruby and Ken Spears.

• The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour (9:30 AM [EDT]) – to the first new installments of Scooby-Doo since 1973 are added half-hour exploits (also originated by Ruby-Spears) of animated derring-do concern The Blue Falcon (voiced by Laugh-In alumni Gary Owens), a blue-caped and -cowled superhero and his robotic Doberman, Dynomutt Dog Wonder (voiced by Frank Welker, in a manner that somewhat recalled Bullwinkle J. Moose), not unlike the heroic ilk of Batman and Robin but with a more comical twist. (The hourlong series becomes The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Show at midseason in November when an extra half-hour is added to accommodate Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! repeats.)

Almost a full month before, on August 14, CBS got the jump on The Alphabet Network by replacing the soon-to-be-defected Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! with a new H-B series which in a way took on the exact same theme: Clue Club.
[/list]

 

[firepoint525]

Of course with the Beatles and the other British groups about to make their splash in America, Chubby Checker's days of being on the charts were about to come to an end anyway JFK or not.

We'll never know for sure, of course, but if JFK hadn't been assassinated, maybe the Beatles and the others would never have made it in the US. The Beatles had released records in the US in '63 - to a resounding yawn. Maybe they still would have taken off, but they hadn't done well to that point.

The two events were unrelated in the U.S., except for the following:

On the morning of November 22nd, CBS ran a feature on the Beatles on their morning show, whatever it was called at the time. They were planning on running that segment again on their evening news, except, of course, that it was bumped by ongoing coverage of President Kennedy's assassination. Fast forward to the evening of December 10th. CBS' evening news ran the feature on the Beatles that they had planned a couple of weeks earlier. A 15-year-old girl in Washington, DC, saw it, and called her local station, WWDC, and asked something to the effect of "why can't we have that music here?" A DJ at that station got ahold of an imported copy of "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and started playing it on his show, and made copies for his DJ friends in Chicago and St. Louis, and they started playing them there as well. Beatlemania began breaking out, and the single, which had been scheduled for a January 13, 1964, release, was rush-released on December 26, 1963. Very unusual for a single release between Christmas and New Year's. And the rest, as you know, is history. This is all in Bruce Spizer's book about the Beatles breaking in, in the U.S. "I Want to Hold Your Hand" was specifically written with the U.S. market in mind, so it should not come as a surprise that this was the song that broke the Beatles in the U.S. where previous singles had failed. The JFK/Beatles connection is a myth. But they came along at just the right time when the country needed a lift right after the JFK assassination. Interestingly enough, I was born between these two events, on November 29, 1963, which is ironically enough, the day "I Want to Hold Your Hand" was released in the U.K. So I always hear about the anniversary of the JFK assassination approaching my birthday (especially "landmark" anniversaries like the 40th), and the anniversary of the Beatles landing, right after.

 

[bpatrick]

Could Chubby Checker have been scheduled for the
November 23 broadcast of "American Bandstand,"
which was pre-empted? Or possibly...just possibly...
he was scheduled on Jerry Lewis' ill-fated Saturday-
night show that same night.

CBS's morning show in 1963 was the "CBS Morning
News With Mike Wallace." It aired at 10 AM (ET);
CBS wouldn't put it against "Today" until 1965.