Mitchell Hadley's Blog: It's About TV!, page 67
September 12, 2022
What's on TV? Saturday, September 11, 1954
To be perfectly honest—and that's a terribly important thing around here, in case you hadn't noticed—there's not a whole lot to report on in Chicagoland today. We push on, nevertheless, and find some tidbits worth knowing. For instance, I'm the Law, a first-run syndicated police show on WBBM starring movie tough-guy George Raft (who, at least in the handful of episodes I've seen, is remarkably wooden) and is produced by Lou Costello and his brother, Pat. You can see Lou and his partner, Bud Abbott, in the morning on WBBM. Meanwhile, WNBQ has NBC's Canadian Football coverage, with one of two games from the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union (the Eastern Conference for short), and WGN has a White Sox game. WBKB has the science fiction serial Rocky Jones, Space Ranger, and, perhaps surprisingly, you'll soon be reading about that as one of the shows I've been watching. And then, of course, there's the Miss America pageant, so I guess there is something important after all.❷ WBBM (CBS) MORNING 6:55 Today’s Thoughts 7:00 Ray Rayner Show (Five minutes of local news, 7:55, 8:55.) 9:00 True Picture—Film 9:30 Winky Dink And You 9:45 Fashion Magic—Women 10:00 Capt. Midnight—Adventure 10:30 Abbot & Costello—Comedy 11:00 Big Top—Circus Fun AFTERNOON 12:00 Lone Ranger—Western 12:30 Ray Rayner Show—Variety 1:30 Junior Cameraman—Hobby 2:00 Buster Crabbe—Western 2:30 Choose Your Career 3:00 Operation New Horizons 3:30 Sports—Fahey Flynn 3:45 News Roundup 4:00 MOVIE—Western Frontier Theater: “Rocky Mountain Rangers” 5:00 Standout—News Features 5:15 Barker Bill’s Cartoons 5:30 Range Rider—Adventure EVENING 6:00 Theater At Dusk—Drama 6:30 Beat The Clock—Games Emcee: Bud Collyer 7:00 STAGE SHOW—Variety Guests: Jerry Colonna, Phil Foster 8:00 TWO FOR THE MONEY 8:30 MY FAVORITE HUSBAND RETURN 9:00 THAT’S MY BOY—Comedy 9:30 STAR SHOWCASE—Drama “Never Trust a Lady” 10:00 MOVIE—Drama “The Big Wheel” 11:30 I’m The Law—Police Drama 12:00 News 12:05 MOVIE—Espionage ”Secrets Of The Underground”
4 WTMJ (MILWAUKEE) (NBC) MORNING 10:00 Space Patrol—Adventure 10:30 Cowboy G-Men—Adventure 11:00 Wild West Theater—Film 11:30 Smilin’ Ed—Kids AFTERNOON 12:00 What’s New In The Kitchen 12:45 News 1:00 Wild Bill Hickok—Western 1:30 Farm Program—Discussion 2:00 MOVIE—Musical “Here Comes Elmer” 3:30 Big Picture—Army Films 4:00 Hot Show Review—Musical 5:00 Lone Ranger—Western 5:30 Cisco Kid—Western EVENING 6:00 News—Paul Skinner 6:10 Weather—Bill Carlsen 6:15 Sports—Lloyd Pettit 6:30 Ethel And Albert 7:00 MICKEY ROONEY SHOW 7:30 AMATEUR HOUR—Talent Ted Mack emcees. Final show of the current series. Next week: The Duke, starring Paul Gilbert 8:00 SATURDAY NIGHT REVIEW Host: Eddie Albert. Guest: Alan Young 9:30 MOVIE—Suspense “The Big Cat” 10:55 WEATHER 11:00 Tony Martin Show—Music 11:15 The Hunter—Adventure 11:45 Boston Blackie—Mystery 12:15 News—Tom Mercein 12:20 MOVIE—Musical Comedy “That’s My Gal”
❺ WNBQ (NBC) AFTERNOON 12:45 FOOTBALL—Canada Ottawa at Toronto or Hamilton at Montreal 3:45 The Other Guy—Religious 4:00 Youth Wants to Know Guest: David Beck, president of the Teamsters 4:30 Industry On Parade—Film 4:45 Hobby Time—Crafts RETURN 5:00 Mr. Wizard—Science 5:30 MOVIE—Western EVENING 6:30 Ethel And Albert 7:00 MICKEY ROONEY SHOW 7:30 AMATEUR HOUR—Talent Ted Mack emcees. Final show of the current series. Next week: The Duke, starring Paul Gilbert 8:00 SATURDAY NIGHT REVIEW Host: Eddie Albert. Guest: Alan Young 9:30 YOUR HIT PARADE RETURN 10:00 INNER SANCTUM—Mystery 10:30 JANET DEAN, R.N.—Drama 11:00 MOVIE—Mystery “The Westland Case” 12:00 Faces In The Window
❼ WBKB (ABC) MORNING 9:45 Cartoon Time—Kids 10:00 Space Patrol—Adventure 10:30 Roundup Time—Western 11:00 MOVIE—Drama “When The Lights Go On Again” AFTERNOON 12:30 The Center Of Things—Film 1:00 MOVIE—Western “Wild Horse” 2:00 MOVIE—Adventure “Isle Of Forgotten Sins” 3:30 Ramar Of The Jungle—Adventure 4:00 Smilin’ Ed’s Gang—Kids 4:30 Cisco Kid—Western 5:00 Superman—Adventure 5:30 Rocky Jones—Space Ranger EVENING 6:00 Cowboy G-Men—Adventure 6:30 Sports Final—Duggan 7:00 FOOTBALL ’54—Sport SPECIAL 7:30 GREATEST SPORTS THRILLS 8:00 BOXING—Cincinnati Joe Miceli vs. Wallace “Bud” Smith 8:45 BATTER’S BOX—Quiz 9:00 PLAYHOUSE—Drama 9:30 MISS AMERICA PAGEANT 11:00 MOVIE—Intrigue “The Argyle Secrets” 12:15 MOVIE—Drama “Heads We Go”
❾ WGN (Du Mont) MORNING 9:00 Great Americans—Documentary 9:30 This Is The Life—Religious 10:00 MOVIE—Western “Range Busters—Thunder River Road” 10:30 Bob Atcher’s Playtime 11:00 F Bar F Ranch—Education 11:30 MOVIE—Western “Gun Packer” AFTERNOON 1:00 Batting Practice—Warm Up 1:10 Lead-Off Man—Interviews 1:25 BASEBALL—Sox vs. Yankees From Comiskey Park 3:45 Tenth Inning Interviews 4:00 MOVIE—Western Frontier Playhouse: Western feature EVENING 6:00 MOVIE—Western Six-Shooter Theater: “Law Of The Lash” 7:00 MOVIE—Drama “Shadows Of The Orient” 8:15 SENATOR’S REPORT—Talks Senators Dirkson and Douglas 8:30 WRESTLING—Marigold 11:00 MOVIE—Comedy “ ’Neath Brooklyn Bridge” 12:00 Commercial TV
September 10, 2022
This week in TV Guide: September 11, 1954
Some of you might have been wondering, after my comments last week about my boss and her charm—or lack thereof—whether or not there would be any repercussions. I'm happy to say that there were not, so far, although I'm not surprised, since—as I told you then—something as gauche as classic television operates outside her sphere of influence. Of course, if it were to come to her attention, I'd have to deny any of it ever happened, and blame one or more of you for hacking into the website in an effort to get me into trouble. It won't happen, though, so I don't want any of you to worry about it, but it's always a good idea to have a backup plan, or, as some people see it, an excuse. In any event, if I start asking for money next week, you'll know I miscalculated.Something else you also read about last week in these pages was the Miss America Parade, the existence of which may have been a surprise to many of you. This week it's the pageant itself, which I'm guessing you are familiar with, and if you were one of the 27 million watching the broadcast on Saturday night (9:30 p.m. ET, ABC), you'd be among the audience seeing the pageant on national TV for the first time. John Daly and former winner Bess Myerson are the television hosts for this historic broadcast, while Grace Kelly is one of the judges and Bob Russell is the on-stage emcee. (He'll be replaced next year by a newcomer named Bert Parks.*)
So who takes the honors as Miss America 1955, and will we have heard of her? Yes! The winner is 19-year-old Lee Ann Meriwether, surely one of the most popular and successful post-pageant winners ever. In fact, the very next night she'll be
one of the guests
on What's My Line?, hosted by none other than John Daly. Her resume is long and impressive, so I'll sum it up thusly: The Today Show, The Time Tunnell, The Batman Movie (in which she played Catwoman), and Barnaby Jones. There's much more, of course, but that ain't bad.*Fun fact: Bob Russell is credited with having created the 1961 game show Yours for a Song, which was hosted by: Bert Parks! It began in primetime before moving to ABC's daytime lineup, where it was replaced in 1963 by a new soap opera called General Hospital. Yes, we got a lot out of this one, didn't we?
Miss America is presented in living black-and-white, but the discussion about color broadcasting is growing. This week's As We See It points out that NBC and CBS are increasing the use of color in their spectaculars, but there's one problem: no color programming during the day, when stores are open and the public is shopping. This might sound odd to contemporary ears, but remember: stories didn't used to stay open in the evenings; at most, they might be open one night a week. And since most women do the shopping, and most women don't work, there's no problem! We can debate this another day, but the point Merrill Panitt is making is sound: why spend a bundle of bucks on a color set when you can't go to a store and see one in operation? "Perhaps," Panitt speculates, "the networks hope that dealers will stay open until 9 or 10 o'clock at night and that folks are curious enough about color to visit showrooms after dinner." So far, though, there's no evidence that such curiosity exists.
In the meantime, though, a couple of those color spectaculars make their debut this week. On Sunday at 6:30 p.m., NBC presents the first of impresario Max Liebman's live monthly specials, Satins and Spurs, an original musical comedy by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans, starring Broadway and movie star (and this week's cover girl) Betty Hutton (Annie Get Your Gun) in her television debut. The revues are mixed, causing Hutton to temporarily retire, but you can judge for yourself in
this black-and-white kinescope
that's of remarkably good quality. Meanwhile, Livingston and Evans have better luck with one of their later works—the theme for Bonanza.On Wednesday night, CBS comes back with a color special of its own, on the monthly program Best of Broadway. (9:00 p.m.) It's the George S. Kaufman—Edna Ferber comedy "The Royal Family," recounting "the life and times of America's number one family of the theater," with an all-star cast including Charles Coburn, Claudette Colbert, Helen Hayes, Frederic Marsh, and Nancy Olson.
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Let's stay with this week's programming for another minute, for a couple of series premieres. They may be in black and white, but I think you'll agree that they're fairly significant in the classic TV lexicon.
Monday at 8:00 p.m., NBC debuts Medic, the new medical drama starring Richard Boone as Dr. Konrad Styner, narrator and occasional star of the series. Medic is generally considered the first "realistic" medical show, one that concentrated on illness and procedure as opposed to the personal lives and loves of doctors and nurses (like, say, General Hospital)—hardly a surprise since the show was created by James Moser, frequent writer for Dragnet. Even though it only lasts a couple of seasons in first-run, it's a regular in syndication for many years, and sets the standard for a different kind of medical drama. NBC's ad boldly announces "no compromise with truth."
And on Sunday, it's the debut of one of the longest-running and most-loved series of all time, Lassie (6:00 p.m., CBS). Lassie's fame didn't start with television; there had been seven feature films between 1943 and 1951, the first of which, Lassie Come Home, starred Elizabeth Taylor and Roddy McDowell, which means you weren't likely to forget about it; and so by 1954, the collie was a well-known commodity. His companion for the first few seasons, starting tonight, is eleven-year-old Jeff Miller (Tommy Rettig), and the adventures will continue until the final episode, on March 24, 1973.l l l
How many times has this happened to you: you and your family are gathered in the living room, watching your favorite television program, when all of a sudden the doorbell rings. You look out the window, and it's Brad and Carol, the couple down the street. You sigh; they're nice enough, but they never know when to go home, and you've been waiting all week to watch this show. You'd pause the disc, or maybe just record the end of the show and watch it later, but neither the DVD nor the DVR have been invented yet, and that drives you even crazier. What do you do? What do you do?
It's obvious that television has introduced a whole new aspect to home etiquette, with all kinds of ramifications accordingly. Good thing we've got Amy Vanderbilt, author of Amy Vanderbilt's Complete Book of Etiquette, on hand to answer all your questions.
For instance, to answer your first question, you're not obligated to turn off the TV just because you have uninvited guests. Amy says, "The hostess, taking the initiative, may say: 'We were just watching a program we enjoy very much. Would you like to join us? Or would you prefer to chat with me in the next room until it's over?'" This is not only courteous, it has the added benefit of giving your guests the hint that they're not welcome while the television is on. You also determine to never turn your TV off again. (Actually, I added that last part for comic relief.) Miss Vanderbilt's suggestion is far preferable to my own; I used to tell people to get the hell out and call first the next time. It may help explain why I've gone through life with so few friends.Among other things, the mistress of etiquette says that if you're a guest in someone's home while they're watching TV, you should watch the program quietly, or, if you came on an errand, finish it as quickly as possible and then leave. If someone calls you while you're watching a favorite show, it's not rude to ask your caller if you can call back after the show's done. If you've planned to have guests over to watch TV but they'd rather do something else, you should feel free to suggest that they come on another evening--gently, of course. And respect your children's wishes if there's a conflict over what to watch. That doesn't mean you should let them control the dial, but it does mean you should respect their own favorites, and try to work out a compromise.
If, on the other hand, you happen to be a guest on someone's TV show, you should not try to upstage the host by dressing inappropriately or trying to top the star's jokes And above all, don't act as if you're doing the host a favor by appearing on their show, even if you are. Remember who the host is, especially if you hope to get a return invitation sometime. Yes, it seems, even celebrities have to follow the rules of etiquette.
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After that lighthearted interlude, we should be able to stomach a slightly more serious special, airing Monday at 7:00 p.m. on NBC. It's the Project Twenty documentary "Three, Two, One—Zero," exploring "the impact of the Atomic Age on the human race." Remember, and this is the part that really hits home for me when I think about it, this documentary airs only nine years after the dropping of the bomb in Japan. This isn't a look back; it's contemporary.
The show covers the history of the atom, and how many atomic scientists are, ironically, driven out of Germany due to Hitler's racial policies. We see the successful test on July 16, 1945, and the two uses in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. We look at Klaus Fuchs and the Rosenbergs, and how the Soviet Union develops and explodes its own bomb. The race continues, climaxing with the first test of the hydrogen bomb. The program ends with a prayer by Stephen Vincent Benet. The show is produced by Henry Solomon Jr., who did Victory at Sea, with narration by Project Twenty veteran Alexander Scourby and music from Robert Russell Bennett. The description of the program takes up an entire column in the issue.
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You know, there aren't really any new ideas. I used to enjoy watching the British version of Whose Line Is It Anyway? hosted by Clive Anderson. It was an improv fan's delight, watching stars doing skits based on audience suggestions. It was imported to the United States, where Drew Carey hosted a version that featured many of the same improv stars as the original.
Well, it turns out that in 1954 there's another British import that's made its way to the American airwaves, specifically DuMont: One Minute, Please, and while it isn't exactly the same thing, it speaks a similar language. As Frank DeBlois explains in "Program of the Week," One Minute, Please, features a host (John K. M. McCaffery) and a panel (British comedienne Hermoine Gingold, joined by such American luminaries as Cleveland Amory, Marc Connelly, and Ernie Kovacs), who are tasked with talking for a full minute nonstop on "some impossible subject." "This sounds easy," DeBlois says, "but actually—as those who have appeared on the program will avow—it's often tough."
The subjects have included such scintillating topics as "Why I Wear Sneakers," "The Perfect Woman," "Whale Blubber," and "Zebras." DeBlois is right: as someone who used to compete in speech contests and worked for a company that trained executives in proper speaking techniques, 60 seconds is a lot longer than you think. (Try counting to 60 sometime, and you'll see how time seems to expand.) And once you've talked for a half-minute on something like "How to Make Glue," horrified contests will discover they're only halfway through. DeBlois's verdict: "Although none of this fare will leave you gasping, some of it—particularly when Miss Gingold is activating that wonderful face—is quietly amusing. It rates more than one minute, please, of your time."
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And in next week's issue of TV Guide, available on newsstands now:
Don't go there. Just. . . don't. TV
September 9, 2022
Around the dial
Before we get to our regular programming, just a reminder that I'm down to
two copies
of The Electronic Mirror. If you'd like a free copy (save only for shipping and handling), send me an email. These books need a good home!The Horn Section is back, and this week it's back to Love That Bob!, with the 1957 episode " Air Force Calls, Grandpa Answers ." Grandpa, of course, is played by Bob Cummings, who also directs this episode, the 100th of the series' history.
You probably know that David has been working his way through his project of watching at least one episode of every prime time television series that aired in the 1970s, and at Comfort TV you can read the results as he's now reached Fridays in 1970 . See if your memories match his.
At bare-bones e-zine, Jack continues the Hitchcock Project with the second of Kathleen Hite's contributions to the series: the 1958 episode " Two for Tea ," with Margaret Leighton, Marsha Hunt, and Murray Matheson making up a nasty little triangle.
I vaguely remember the 1984 primetime soap Glitter, although you would have had to prompt me to recall it. That's why these blogs exist, though, and at RealWeegieMidget, Gill rectifies this with a review of the series pilot , starring Morgan Brittany and David Birney. Do you remember it?
I've enjoyed several classic Doctor Who audio stories by the studio Big Finish, so when John at Cult TV Blog reviews " The Passenger ," a 2005 Big Finish release of Sapphire & Steel with David Warner and Susannah Harker as the two principals, I figured it would be a quality production, and it is.
It's another quality interview by Rick at Classic Film & TV Cafe, this time with Nancy Olson Livingston , who went from a Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for Sunset Boulevard to a long career in movies and television. If you look closely, you'll see her name in tomorrow's TV Guide article!
I don't know why I remember Roller Derby from my youth--who knows how or why we retain such memories?--but they start with black-and-white broadcasts, followed by the more "modern" matches from the late 1960s and early 1970s. I even wrote to receive the newsletter, so I could stay on top of the "action." So there's a nostalgic delight to Paul's article at Drunk TV, reviewing a pair of documentaries on the sport's long and colorful history.
Finally, the passing yesterday of Queen Elizabeth II marks, unquestionably, the end of an era. The telecast of her coronation in 1953, by contrast, took place at the beginning of an era: the era of television. And yet, all these decades later, and until the coronation of Charles III takes place, it remains the only telecast of a British monarch being crowned. I wrote about that, along with a look at that TV Guide, last year . The Queen was, indeed, a remarkable woman. TV
September 7, 2022
That Bing Crosby special: the rest of the story
You might recall a video I shared a couple of weeks ago of a
non-holiday Bing Crosby special
. (Then again, you might not. I do, though, and that's the important thing.) In discussing that show, which aired on February 15, 1964, I mentioned that guests Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin had originally been scheduled to appear on an earlier Crosby special, but that they'd been "canceled" from the program by the network. I also mentioned that The New York Times probably had some of the details, but that I wasn't in a position to pay to find out. Well, the mighty Jodie Peeler, from Garroway at Large, has come to the rescue! She's provided me, and by extension the rest of you, with a couple of articles that give us the lowdown on what actually happened behind the scenes, and it just adds another layer of interest to this program.
The first article, dated October 1, 1963 and written by Val Adams, speculates that the cancelation may have had something to do with music rights, but there was no definite answer. Adams's follow-up article from October 30, however, gives us a far more salacious reason: General Motors, parent company of Pontiac, one of the show's sponsors, objected to Sinatra's appearance because of his possible connections to "underworld leader" Salvatore "Sam" Giancana. Martin then withdrew from the show in sympathy with Sinatra. Since Pontiac is not sponsoring Crosby's February special, Sinatra and Martin will make their appearance then. I've cut and pasted the two stories so they'd fit the space better, but the content remains the same.
You may recognize Sam Giancana's name; besides being a renowned gangster, his mistress, Judith Exner (who was previously married to actor William Campbell, whom you might recognize from a couple of appearances on the original Star Trek), was also reportedly used as a go-between with President John Kennedy, with whom she was also having an affair. Giancana is also a favorite among conspiracy buffs as one of the mobsters involved in the assassination of Kennedy, which occurs less than one month after the appearance of Adams's second article. I tell you, this is another of those gifts that just keeps on giving!
My thanks again to Jodie, for reading my initial piece and responding to my covert cry for help. As Jackie Gleason might have said, It's About TV readers are the greatest readers in the world. TV
September 5, 2022
What's on TV? September 8, 1960
As you know, when I'm writing up the Saturday TV Guide, I always like to leave something for today, and in this case, it's part one of the two-part Untouchables episode "The Unhired Assassin," the story of the mob's contract on Chicago mayor Anton Cermak, which overlaps with Joseph Zangara's determination to assassinate president-elect Franklin Roosevelt. The Roosevelt element, at the very least, is based on truth, but was Capone's gang really after Cermak? It's plausible. One thing that's beyond dispute is that today's listings come from the Nebraska State Edition, and contains a lot of familiar names.-3- KMTV (OMAHA) (NBC) MORNING 7:00 TODAY—Dave Garroway Local news at 7:25 and 8:25 A.M. 9:00 DOUGH RE MI 9:30 PLAY YOUR HUNCH Guest: Nick Adams. Host: Merv Griffin 10:00 PRICE IS RIGHT COLOR 10:30 CONCENTRATION 11:00 TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES—Game 11:30 IT COULD BE YOU—Bill Leyden COLOR AFTERNOON 12:00 NEWS—Bill Talbot COLOR 12:20 GARDEN FENCE COLOR 12:30 CONVERSATIONS—Marianne COLOR 12:45 NAME AND CLAIM COLOR 1:00 JAN MURRAY—Contest COLOR 1:30 LORETTA YOUNG—Drama 2:00 YOUNG DR. MALONE 2:30 FROM THESE ROOTS 3:00 THIN MAN—Mystery 3:30 BUCKSKIN—Western 4:00 MY LITTLE MARGIE—Comedy 4:30 POPEYE—Cartoons 5:00 CARTOONS—Children 5:30 HUCKLEBERRY HOUND—Cartoons EVENING 6:00 WEATHER, NEWS, SPORTS 6:15 NEWS—Chet Huntley, David Brinkley 6:30 PLAINSMAN—Western 7:00 BAT MASTERSON—Western 7:30 PRODUCERS’ CHOICE “Guys Like O’Malley” 8:00 BACHELOR FATHER 8:30 WRANGLER—Western 9:00 GROUCHO MARX—Quiz 9:30 TOP PLAYS—Drama 10:00 WEATHER, NEWS AND SPORTS 10:30 JACK PAAR—Variety Guest Host: Jonathan Winters
-4- KTIV (SIOUX CITY) (NBC) MORNING 6:55 NEWS—Irv Glanz 7:00 TODAY—Dave Garroway Local news at 7:25 and 8:25 A.M. 8:30 ROMPER ROOM—Miss Ruth 9:00 DOUGH RE MI 9:30 PLAY YOUR HUNCH Guest: Nick Adams. Host: Merv Griffin 10:00 PRICE IS RIGHT COLOR 10:30 CONCENTRATION 11:00 TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES—Game 11:30 IT COULD BE YOU—Bill Leyden COLOR AFTERNOON 12:00 CARTOONS—Children 12:30 NEWS AND MARKETS 1:00 JAN MURRAY—Contest COLOR 1:30 LORETTA YOUNG—Drama 2:00 YOUNG DR. MALONE 2:30 FROM THESE ROOTS 3:00 THIN MAN—Mystery 3:30 BUCKSKIN—Western 4:00 CLUB HIGHLIGHTS—Glanz 4:15 THROUGH THE PORTHOLE 4:30 BUGS BUNNY—Cartoons 5:30 ROCKY AND HIS FRIENDS EVENING 6:00 WEATHER AND SPORTS 6:15 NEWS—Chet Huntley, David Brinkley 6:30 PLAINSMAN—Western 7:00 BAT MASTERSON—Western 7:30 PRODUCERS’ CHOICE “Guys Like O’Malley” 8:00 BACHELOR FATHER 8:30 WRANGLER—Western 9:00 GROUCHO MARX—Quiz 9:30 MANHUNT—Police 10:00 WEATHER, NEWS AND SPORTS 10:30 JACK PAAR—Variety Guest Host: Jonathan Winters
-5- KHAS (HASTINGS) (NBC) MORNING 7:00 TODAY—Dave Garroway Local news at 7:25 and 8:25 A.M. 9:00 DOUGH RE MI 9:30 PLAY YOUR HUNCH Guest: Nick Adams. Host: Merv Griffin 10:00 PRICE IS RIGHT COLOR 10:30 CONCENTRATION 11:00 TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES—Game 11:30 IT COULD BE YOU—Bill Leyden COLOR AFTERNOON 12:00 WEATHER AND FARM NEWS 12:30 TODAY WITH FRAN—Women 1:00 JAN MURRAY—Contest COLOR 1:30 LORETTA YOUNG—Drama 2:00 YOUNG DR. MALONE 2:30 FROM THESE ROOTS 3:00 THIN MAN—Mystery 3:30 BUCKSKIN—Western 4:00 AMERICAN BANDSTAND Guests: The Drifters. Host: Dick Clark 5:30 ROCKY AND HIS FRIENDS EVENING 6:00 NEWS, WEATHER, SPORTS 6:15 NEWS—Chet Huntley, David Brinkley 6:30 WRESTLING—Hastings 7:30 PRODUCERS’ CHOICE “Guys Like O’Malley” 8:00 BACHELOR FATHER 8:30 WRANGLER—Western 9:00 GROUCHO MARX—Quiz 9:30 MARKHAM—Mystery 10:00 NEWS, WEATHER, SPORTS 10:30 PLANSMAN—Western 11:00 JACK PAAR—Variety Guest Host: Jonathan Winters
-6- WOW (OMAHA) (CBS) MORNING 7:15 ART OF THE THEATER 7:45 ROMPER ROOM—Miss Sally 8:15 CAPTAIN KANGAROO—Children 9:00 DECEMBER BRIDE 9:30 VIDEO VILLAGE—Narz 10:00 I LOVE LUCY—Comedy 10:30 CLEAR HORIZON—Serial 11:00 LOVE OF LIFE—Serial 11:30 SEARCH FOR TOMORROW—Serial 11:45 GUIDING LIGHT—Serial AFTERNOON 12:00 NEWS—Ray Clark 12:30 AS THE WORLD TURNS—Serial 1:00 FULL CIRCLE—Serial 1:30 HOUSE PARTY—Art Linkletter 2:00 MILLIONAIRE—Drama 2:30 VERDICT IS YOURS—Drama 3:00 BRIGHTER DAY—Serial 3:15 SECRET STORM—Serial 3:30 EDGE OF NIGHT—Serial 4:00 NEWS—Ray Clark 4:15 BOZO THE CLOWN—Children 5:30 BURNS AND ALLEN—Comedy EVENING 6:00 NEWS AND WEATHER 6:15 NEWS—Douglas Edwards 6:30 LYLE’S PATIO—Cooking 7:00 OLYLMPIC GAMES—Rome SPECIAL 7:30 JOHNNY RINGO 8:00 ZANE GREY 8:30 MARKHAM—Mystery 9:00 R.C.M.P.—Police 9:30 TO TELL THE TRUTH—Panel 10:00 WEATHER, NEWS AND SPORTS 10:25 ALMANAC – NEWS 10:30 OLYMPIC GAMES—Rome SPECIAL 11:00 MOVIE—Drama “Where Ladies Meet” (1941)
-7- KETV (OMAHA) (ABC) MORNING 9:55 THOUGHT FOR THE DAY 10:00 BETTER LIVING—Women 10:30 MOVIE—Drama “Central Airport” (1933) AFTERNOON 12:00 RESTLESS GUN—Western 12:30 TOPPER—Comedy 1:00 ABOUT FACES—Alexander 1:30 QUEEN FOR A DAY—Jack Bailey 2:00 DAY IN COURT—Drama 2:30 GAIL STORM—Comedy 3:00 BEAT THE CLOCK Host: Bud Collyer 3:30 WHO DO YOU TRUST? 4:00 MOVIE—Comedy Adventure “Here Comes the Navy” (1934) 5:45 NEWS—Eric Adams EVENING 6:00 RESCUE 8—Drama 6:30 AMATEUR HOUR—Ted Mack 7:00 DONNA REED—Comedy 7:30 REAL McCOYS—Comedy 8:00 JEANNE CARSON—Comedy 8:30 UNTOUCHABLES—Drama 9:30 NEWS—Eric Adams 9:40 MOVIE—Musical “The Star Maker” (1939) 11:20 MOVIE—Drama “Sorority House” (1939)
-9- KVTV (SIOUX CITY) (CBS) MORNING 7:45 POPEYE—Children 8:00 NEWS—Richard Hottelet 8:15 CAPTAIN KANGAROO—Children 9:00 DECEMBER BRIDE 9:30 VIDEO VILLAGE—Narz 10:00 I LOVE LUCY—Comedy 10:30 CLEAR HORIZON—Serial 11:00 LOVE OF LIFE—Serial 11:30 SEARCH FOR TOMORROW—Serial 11:45 GUIDING LIGHT—Serial AFTERNOON 12:00 WEATHER, NEWS, MARKETS 12:15 DOWN TO EARTH 12:30 AS THE WORLD TURNS—Serial 1:00 FULL CIRCLE—Serial 1:30 HOUSE PARTY—Art Linkletter 2:00 MILLIONAIRE—Drama 2:30 VERDICT IS YOURS—Drama 3:00 BRIGHTER DAY—Serial 3:15 SECRET STORM—Serial 3:30 EDGE OF NIGHT—Serial 4:00 LIFE OF RILEY—Comedy 4:30 KIDS’ KORNER—Canyon Kid 4:45 POPEYE—Cartoons 5:15 HUCKLEBERRY HOUND—Cartoons 5:45 NEWS—Douglas Edwards EVENING 6:00 NEWS, SPORTS, WEATHER 6:20 MARKETS—Warren Kester 6:30 DONNA REED—Comedy 7:00 OLYMPIC GAMES—Rome SPECIAL 7:30 REAL McCOYS—Comedy 8:00 ZANE GREY 8:30 UNTOUCHABLES—Drama 9:30 MILLIONAIRE—Drama 10:00 U.S. MARSHAL—Police 10:30 WEATHER, NEWS, SPORTS 10:55 OLYMPIC GAMES—Rome SPECIAL 11:30 MOVIE—Drama “Thunder in the Valley” (1947)
10 KOLN (LINCOLN) (CBS) MORNING 6:50 CARTOONS—Children 7:00 MORNING SHOW—Wayne West Local news at 7:10, 7:30 and 7:50 A.M. 8:00 NEWS—Richard Hottelet 8:15 CAPTAIN KANGAROO—Children 9:00 DECEMBER BRIDE 9:30 CREATIVE COOKERY—Hulberg 10:00 I LOVE LUCY—Comedy 10:30 CLEAR HORIZON—Serial 11:00 LOVE OF LIFE—Serial 11:30 STATE FAIR HI-LITES—Lincoln AFTERNOON 12:00 RESTLESS GUN—Western 12:30 WEATHER, MARKETS, NEWS 1:00 FULL CIRCLE—Serial 1:30 HOUSE PARTY—Art Linkletter 2:00 DAY IN COURT—Drama 2:30 VERDICT IS YOURS—Drama 3:00 BEAT THE CLOCK Host: Bud Collyer 3:30 SIX FAT DUTCHMEN—Lincoln 4:00 MR. MYSTIC—Cartoons 4:30 WAYNE WEST SHOW 5:30 COMEDY PLAYHOUSE 5:45 NEWS—Douglas Edwards EVENING 6:00 WEATHER, NEWS, SPORTS 6:30 INVISIBLE MAN—Drama 7:00 OLYMPIC GAMES—Rome SPECIAL 7:30 JOHNNY RINGO 8:00 ZANE GREY 8:30 MARKHAM—Mystery 9:00 TO BE ANNOUNCED 9:30 TO TELL THE TRUTH—Panel 10:00 WEATHER, NEWS AND SPORTS 10:30 OLYMPIC GAMES—Rome SPECIAL 11:00 MOVIE—Drama “The Late George Apley” (1947)
11 KELO (SIOUX FALLS) (CBS, ABC) MORNING 7:40 THOUGHT FOR TODAY 7:45 CARTOONS—Children 7:55 WEATHER 8:00 NEWS—Richard Hottelet 8:15 CAPTAIN KANGAROO—Children 9:00 FULL CIRCLE—Serial 9:30 VIDEO VILLAGE—Narz 10:00 I LOVE LUCY—Comedy 10:30 CLEAR HORIZON—Serial 11:00 LOVE OF LIFE—Serial 11:30 SEARCH FOR TOMORROW—Serial 11:45 GUIDING LIGHT—Serial AFTERNOON 12:00 REPORT TO MIDWEST FARMER 12:05 JOHNNY WHITE—Music 12:15 NEWS AND MARKETS 12:40 FARM HOME ROUNDUP—Stewart 1:00 TRADING POST—Dave Dedrick 1:15 CLUB HIGHLIGHTS 1:30 HOUSE PARTY—Art Linkletter 2:00 MILLIONAIRE—Drama 2:30 VERDICT IS YOURS—Drama 3:00 BRIGHTER DAY—Serial 3:15 SECRET STORM—Serial 3:30 EDGE OF NIGHT—Serial 4:00 AS THE WORLD TURNS—Serial 4:30 CAPTAIN 11—Children 5:00 HUCKLEBERRY HOUND—Cartoons 5:30 CARTOONS—Children 5:45 NEWS—Douglas Edwards EVENING 6:00 NEWS, SPORTS, WEATHER 6:30 HERALD PLAYHOUSE—Drama 7:00 OLYMPIC GAMES—Rome SPECIAL 7:30 JOHNNY RINGO 8:00 ZANE GREY 8:30 MARKHAM—Mystery 9:00 LOCK UP—Drama 9:30 ALCOA PRESENTS—Drama 10:00 WEATHER, NEWS AND SPORTS 10:25 NIGHT FINAL—Will Carlson 10:30 OLYMPIC GAMES—Rome SPECIAL 11:00 HAWAIIAN EYE—Mystery 11:30 AMOS ‘N’ ANDY—Comedy
12 KUON (LINCOLN) (Educ.) AFTERNOON 5:30 WHAT’S NEW?—Children Evening 6:00 EVENING PRELUDE—Music 6:30 MEANT FOR READING—Dodds 7:00 LANGUAGE AND LINGUSTCS 7:30 HERITAGE—Dr. Charles Malik 8:00 HEREDITY—Education 8:30 JAZZ MEETS THE CLASSICS 9:00 HISTORY—Herb Hake
13 KHOL (HOLDREDGE) (CBS) MORNING 9:00 I LOVE LUCY—Comedy 9:30 CLEAR HORIZON—Serial 10:00 LOVE OF LIFE—Serial 10:30 SEARCH FOR TOMORROW—Serial 10:45 GUIDING LIGHT—Serial 11:00 SUSIE—Comedy 11:30 AS THE WORLD TURNS—Serial AFTERNOON 12:00 TOWN AND COUNTRY REPORT 12:30 HOUSE PARTY—Art Linkletter 1:30 VERDICT IS YOURS—Drama 2:00 BRIGHTER DAY—Serial 2:15 SECRET STORM—Serial 2:30 EDGE OF NIGHT—Serial 3:00 BEAT THE CLOCK Host: Bud Collyer 3:30 WHO DO YOU TRUST? 4:00 AMERICAN BANDSTAND Guests: The Drifters. Host: Dick Clark 5:00 CARTOONS—Children 5:30 QUICK DRAW McGRAW—Cartoons EVENING 6:00 NEWS AND WEATHER 6:15 NEWS—Douglas Edwards 6:30 DONNA REED—Comedy 7:00 OLYMPIC GAMES—Rome SPECIAL 7:30 JOHNNY RINGO 8:00 ZANE GREY 8:30 UNTOUCHABLES—Drama 9:30 DETECTIVES—Robert Taylor 10:00 NEWS AND WEATHER 10:30 OLYMPIC GAMES—Rome SPECIAL 11:00 JUBILEE U.S.A.—Red Foley
TV
September 3, 2022
This week in TV Guide: September 3, 1960
I've probably said this before, but as I mentioned last week, and as television networks have known for years, it's not easy to come up with new material. In the case of the Olympics, I've frequently made the point, although perhaps not in so many words, that less is better. Less glitz, less coverage, less "up close and personal." But no matter how many times I've written this, and no matter how many more times I've said it out loud (but you wouldn't know about that, would you?), it's safe to say that I've never written about it from the perspective of the 1960 Summer Olympics, the second week of which is prominent in this TV Guide. So there, to those of you who think I'm about to repeat myself. The Summer Olympics, being held in Rome, are being treated like a big deal, and they are a big deal. Remember, television coverage of the Olympics is new, at least in the United States; the 1960 Winter Olympics, held in Squaw Valley, California a few months ago, were the first to be broadcast in the U.S., and we can say likewise for the Rome Olympics, which, according to the always-reliable Wikipedia, were the first Summer Olympics ever telecast in North America. CBS (see, you young'uns out there, the Olympics weren't always shown on NBC) paid the astronomical amount of $394,000 for the exclusive American rights, and for that, you get—well, here's what you get:Saturday, September 3: one hour and 15 minutes in the afternoon, 30 minutes in prime time, 30 minutes late night.Sunday, September 4: One hour in the afternoon, 15 minutes late night.Monday, September 5: An hour in the late afternoon, 30 minutes late night.Tuesday, September 6: A half-hour in primetime, 30 minutes late night.Wednesday, September 7: An hour at the beginning of primetime, 30 minutes late night.Thursday, September 8: A half-hour in primetime, 30 minutes late night.Friday, September 9: A half-hour in primetime, 30 minutes late night.But before you get too excited, "not all telecasts will be carried by all channels."
That's what, less than 10 hours of coverage? Last week's schedule was probably similar. But you know what? Most of the events you see this week are the finals, the ones that count. No fluff, very few heat races, just what's important. What's even more impressive, considering that the videotape was edited in Rome, fed to Paris where they were re-recorded, and then flown to New York and beamed via mobile units to CBS, where Jim McKay (who else?) did the commentary, is that most events were seen in the United States on the same day they were held. And to think that NBC's been knocked for taping events instead of showing them live, just to put them in prime time.The 1960 Summer Olympics was a moment in time, probably the last great Summer Olympiad held in Europe, the last Olympics to have a scheduled Sunday off (it was Rome, after all), and one of the greatest collections of athletes to this day: Wilma Rudolph, Rafer Johnson, Abebe Bikila, Cassius Clay. (David Maraniss wrote a wonderful book about it that I highly recommend). Not likely we'll see their likes again—nor that of an Olympics that wasn't too little, wasn't too much, but was maybe just about right.
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To my boss, the word "charm" is a totally alien concept, as foreign an idea as wings on an elephant, so naturally I wondered if Arlene Francis's article on "the secrets of real charm" might provide her with some tips. I thought better of it, though, since "humor" runs closely behind "charm" in the category of qualities she lacks. (And for those of you wondering if I'm not worried that she might see this and take offense—a quality she doesn't lack—don't be concerned; television is far too gauche for her arts-and-croissants crowd. Besides, I'm only 478 days away from retirement.)
But let's get back to Arlene, a woman as charming as any to ever grace the airwaves. She says that the secret of real charm is easy: just be yourself. Of course, we all know that it isn't that simple; after all, my boss is always being herself, and look where it's gotten her, and the rest of us. But, as a regular panelist on What's My Line? and the host of the NBC daytime show Home, Miss Francis has met a lot of people over the years, people she'd talked to, and who had talked back to her. "Meeting strangers every day and helping them to expose, at the very least, capsules of their personalities has acquainted me with all sorts of charmers; real, false, and snake. After a while one can separate the haves from the have-nots."
As we suspected earlier, it's not enough to be yourself "unless one is dedicated to a program of enlightened self-interest," which means "actively developing one's best self." Your goal should be to arrive at "a personality that takes an unmotivated interest in other people." Think of those who've retained your affection over the years; "you don't have to win a beauty contest or a spelling bee to have that certain something. But you will charm the person who did if you are interested in how he did it."There are other, physical, things you can do that will help you along the way. Smile, for instance; "not like a ninny at all times, but as if you were expecting the best to happen instead of the worst." Be sure to have a firm handshake; it "gives you a sense of well-being and communicates itself immediately." As my mother used to say, nobody wants to shake hands with a limp fish. It's important to look, but "see whom or what you look at. It takes interested observation to give a subject dimension." When you speak, remember that "a little compliment goes a long way if you mean it." (Did you hear that, boss?) And when you walk, do so "with your head high and your shoulders bac, even if your feet hurt. An uplifted carriage uplifts your ego." And it's also essential to be well-organized, including budgeting time for the unexpected. "You simply learn to accept these things as unavoidable, acceptance being more conductive to health and happiness than annoyance." If this sounds a lot like projecting confidence, it is; who doesn't find an easy self-confidence to be charming?
At all times, remember this: the best use of communication is "to create an area of understanding between people. And the finest use of ourselves in everyday living is to communicate—to relate to others. You don't need a college diploma, perfect diction or a honeyed cadence in your educated throad to do this. You only need to care about other people and other things."
It's not that hard to be charming, Arlene concludes. The plusses are "decency, respect, trust and confidence. The minuses are envy, intolerance, prejudice and egocentricity." And, best of all, "everyone has the potential to achieve true charm. There's plenty to go around." Ain't that the truth.
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As it turns out, Arlene Francis can do more than appear on panel shows and give lessons in charm. People may forget it, but she was a very good actress, especially in light comic roles, as we can see on Wednesday when she co-stars with Hans Conried in "When in Rome" on The United States Steel Hour (9:00 p.m. CT, CBS). It's the story of a woman whose husband inherits a large sum of money from a women Iin memory of three divine days and nights in Rome." I sense a misunderstanding somewhere.
And that's not the only feminine beauty on display this week. On Tuesday, CBS presents live coverage of the Miss America Parade from Atlantic City, New Jersey (7:00 p.m.). What's that, you say? You never heard of the Miss America Parade? It just goes to show why you can't afford to miss this weekly feature—imagine being the only person at a cocktail party who didn't know there was a Miss America Parade? Conversely, you might be the only person who did know about the Parade, thanks to having read this—and just think about how impressed your friends would be! Actually, the parade is a one-mile review up the Boardwalk, in which contestants from the 50 states, plus the District of Columbia, New York City, Chicago and Canada get a chance to show off their wares. Margaret Cahill, the first Miss America in 1921, is Grand Marshal. Bert Parks does the interviews, and Douglas Edwards and former Miss America Marilyn Van Derbur describe the parade. You can read about the pageant in next week's issue—if you have it.Ed Sullivan opens his new season on Sunday (7:00 p.m., CBS), having scrapped his original plans in favor of a special tribute to the late lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II, who died on August 23. Joining Ed in this show from Madison Square Garden in New York City are singers Jill Corey, Georgia Gibbs, Della Reese and Teddy Randazzo, singing songs that Hammerstein had written with Richard Rodgers, Jerome Kern, and Sigmund Romberg. The stars of the Ice Capades also skate in a special presentation.
While Ed's beginning his season, Tuesday sees the final episode of David Janssen's classic jazz detective series, Richard Diamond, Private Detective (8:00 p.m., NBC). Replacing Diamond next week: "Thriller, with Boris Karloff hosting hour-long mystery stories." That's not the only swan song this week; on Saturday, The Man and the Challenge, with George Nader (7:30 p.m., NBC), makes way for The Tall Man, with Barry Sullivan and Clu Gulager as, respectively, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid.
On Sunday, the ABC-WB western series Lawman (7:30 p.m., following the immensely popular Maverick) features Marshal Dan Troop (John Russell) and his deputy, young Johnny McKay (Peter Brown) are on the trail of trapper Lucas Beyer, on the run after accidentally killing his Cheyenne wife. I mention this because of the headline on the cover, "Mother Was the Dragon Lady": I knew some of you would have questions if I didn't say something. It's nothing quite so salacious as you'd think, though; it's Peter Brown, talking about his mother, actress Mina Reaume Brown, who played the Dragon Lady in the radio serial Terry and the Pirates. Brown, who's 24 but is supposed to be playing a 19-year-old, has a solid career, playing his McKay character on Maverick and appearing in other Warner Bros. series, including Cheyenne and Colt .45, and had a long run on the soap opera Days of Our Lives.
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Now here's something that sounds interesting: Kevin McCarthy, Rip Torn, and Vladimir Sokoloff in Murder and the Android (Monday, 9:00 p.m., NBC), a color special written by the great science fiction author Alfred Bester based on his short story "Fondly Fahrenheit," which originally aired last October. "It is hundreds of years from now, man has conquered space and human beings inhabit planets in galaxies far from the Earth's solar system. Manual labor no longer is required of humans; androids, chemical creations of synthetic tissue, perform such tasks. James Jason Valentine [McCarthy] owns a special android named Rex [Torn]." Critic John Crosby had these thoughts when the show originally aired:
"Despite the fact that the androids refer contemptuously to human beings as people who suffer from glandular disorders called emotions, Torn wants very much to suffer from these disorders himself. Eventually, he does. I have no intention of unraveling the whole plot which was not so much complicated as psychologically dense. If I understand him correctly, Mr. Bester is trying to say that having androids to free us of mundane preoccupations like work is by no means good for us. His humans are pretty close to being bums."
Bester has created a latter-day Pinocchio, but with some shrewd observations on the necessity—indeed, the nobility—of work and the accompanying sense of accomplishment. It's an inspiring message, but also a little depressing that we seem to have forgotten it so in our rush to eliminate as much human labor as possible.
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This week's starlet is Claudia Barrett, who at the age of 24 already has 150 television appearances to her credit—from Public Defender and The Lone Ranger to The Lineup and Peter Gunn. She also spends her summers as a singing and dancing instructor at a Girl Scout camp in Las Vegas. Our intrepid but unbilled reporter spends most of the space detailing how Claudia managed to get a large tree stump from Vegas to her home in Los Angeles, where she had it sandblasted down to 18 inches and had it turned into the base of a glass top coffee table.
Claudia and the infamous coffee tableGood reporting on the table, but perhaps not so good at math. In fact, Claudia eased seven years off her life (I wish I could do that), meaning she's not 24 but 31. That makes the report that she was married at age 17 off as well; according to Wikipedia, she was actually 24 when that happened. Of course, this kind of thing is hardly uncommon in Hollywood; it's just fun to catch it in the act, so to speak.
Claudia Barrett died just last year, age 91 (or was it 84?), and if you're a fan of bad sci-fi movies you'll remember her as Alice in the so-bad-it's-really-bad movie Robot Monster. Catch it the next time it's on MST3K.
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Finally, I'm hungry, and while you probably couldn't care less about that, unless you're hungry too, I have just the thing: a dandy recipe for a "Super-Sub Sandwich":
Slice 1 large loaf Italian bread twice horizontally. (The bread can be scooped out of the bottom crust for easier eating.) Spoon chicken salad on bottom layer. Cover with center slice and line with ham rolls and smoked tongue, or salami rolls. Add top layer of bread. Diagonally cut package of cheddar-cheese slices twice. Overlap these cheese triangles on top of sandwich, end to end. (Top layer can be placed under broiler to melt cheese.) Slice loaf downward into 4 to 6 servings.
As for the chicken salad, take 3 cups cut-up cooked chicken; ½ cup celery, diced; 1 cup raw apple, diced; 6 slices crisp bacon, crumbled; 1 cup mayonnaise; ½ tsp. onion salad. Salt and pepper to taste. Combine seasonings and mayonnaise, blend with remaining ingredients, chill.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have some business to take care of. TVSeptember 2, 2022
Around the dial
Ah, remember that? Back in the good old days, when Labor Day was actually something to look forward to (other than getting a three-day weekend, which was always pretty nice). I'm afraid those days are gone now, but, as you'll see, we can still read about them.Here's something I found particularly interesting, and hopefully you do as well: from the Broadcasting Archives, a link to a video showing how directors choreographed camera shots and stage directions in the era of live television. I think it's well worth at least a few minutes of your time.
At RealWeegieMidget, Gill has another of her great blogathons, this one on the career of the great Donald Pleasence . (Well, that is, if you ignore The Pumaman.) He was such an elegant actor, capable of playing sensitive, weak, determined, or evil characters; there should be some very good pieces in this.
I'm not quite sure why, but I've been thinking of space movies lately, perhaps as a reaction to what's on the news nowadays, so I like this a lot: the Secret Sanctum of Captain Video looks at comic adaptations of movies and TV shows that took place on the moon . And no, it's not true that all of them were on MST3K.
John's not round the bend at Cult TV Blog, but he is looking at an Australian children's series called Round the Twist, another entry in the "TV in a Time of Strife" series. John points to this episode, "Know All," as one that "best demonstrates the quality of this show in that it can be understood on several different levels and never ever talks down to the kids."
Television's New Frontier: the 1960s is back with a closer look at the 1962 episodes of Hazel , the sitcom standard that starred Oscar-winner Shirley Booth as the "indefatigable and unconventional maid" who wasn't afraid to take anyone on, and was usually right.
Herbie J. Pilato makes an eloquent statement on the value of classic television as he discusses the Classic TV Preservation Society: "We celebrate the integrity of classic television." There, in seven words, he says more about the value of classic TV than I've been able to do in a dozen years. Read more here .
That's a wrap; hopefully I'll see you back here tomorrow, but if you're traveling or otherwise on holiday, have a great Labor Day weekend, and remember to be safe or be sorry. TV
August 31, 2022
Fame vs. Greatness: In Television, Does It Matter?
by David Hofstede
His name was Edwin Arlington Robinson. And I’d wager if you asked the nextthousand people you meet who he was, not one could tell you.But 100 years ago, when Americans read more books and universities stillespoused a liberal arts education (now supplanted by mere liberal indoctrination), it wouldn’t take long to find someone familiar with Robinson’s work. He won three Pulitzer Prizes for his poetry and was nominated four times for the Nobel Prize in literature, achievements that placed him at the pinnacle of his artistic endeavor.
His poems are not widely known today, and his name even less so. Teenagers might have read “Richard Cory,” in high school, as its macabre final verse is just the thing to rouse bored students from their stupor in English Lit. But if they read it they certainly long forgot who wrote it.
Fame can be fleeting (or even non-existent) for poets. How many Americans could identify the country’s current poet laureate? But is television fame any less so?
One would think a mass visual medium that beams pictures of attractive, talented people into millions of homes would confer some level of enduring recognition. But once their shows disappear, or get lost amidst a rerun universe of hundreds of channels and streaming options, once exalted personages are often reduced back to mere faces in the crowd.
A friend who teaches college told me that during COVID he taught a business class online in which his students appeared on the computer screen in rows of boxes. “It looks like The Brady Bunch,” he said, and was greeted with blank stares from the 20-somethings in the class.It says something that a show with that high of a pop culture profile is now on the verge of being unknown. Is that important? Should it matter? Or did The Brady Bunch just connect with the children who grew up at the same time as the Brady kids, only to pass into obsolescence when they do?
These days television fame is more transitory than ever. Survivor castaways and RuPaul’s Drag Race hopefuls achieve it for a time without even winning their respective contests. How many of this month’s most buzzed about streaming shows will anyone remember in, say, five years? At least syndication kept the Bradys relevant for at least two generations.
Some facets of art and culture do last. And perhaps here is where we need to draw a distinction between fame and greatness, as one does not always accompany the other. Poets can achieve greatness without fame. Television personalities can achieve fame without greatness.
The works of great authors, painters, sculptors, composers, and playwrights may be venerated for hundreds of years. Movies are the closest medium to television, and even here cinephiles recognize names like Chaplin and Bogart, Hitchcock and Capra. Their odds for continued recognition now rest on whether future generations designate them for cancellation for being too white, male, straight, and/or religious. Will the same be said for those that achieved not just fame but greatness in television? Rod Serling? Lucille Ball? Sid Caesar? Mary Tyler Moore? Ernie Kovacs? Will their work endure? If I had to guess I would say no, because television then and now is largely perceived as a disposable medium— a pleasant distraction, but not an art form comparable to a great book or a classic film. That’s disheartening to those of us who love it, but I see no basis on which to believe otherwise.
This isn’t the first time I’ve wondered about this – one of the first pieces I wrote for my Comfort TV blog was titled, “ Will Your Granddaughter Think Keith Partridge is Groovy? ” That was ten years ago. Why is this still on my mind?
I struggled to find the right words until I read a column by Los Angeles writer and radio personality Doug McIntyre. He had just returned from a Hollywood Bowl tribute to Frank Sinatra and Peggy Lee, in which current pop star Billie Eilish sang the praises of these musical icons, before singing some of their greatest hits."Peggy Lee and Frank Sinatra were once enormous stars. Today, young people are likely to ask, 'Peggy who?', or 'That old mafia guy?' When the things we loved all our lives draw a blank from our kids, it’s hard not to feel a sense of loss," McIntyre wrote. But if their legacies live on through subsequent generations of singers, perhaps their names will never be forgotten. "We want our world to be remembered," he admits, "even if we are not."
Maybe that’s it. Maybe this is really more about us than the entertainers whose prominence we want so ardently to preserve. I’m still not confident it will happen with television the way it might in music. I’ll try to be optimistic, but these times were not made for optimists. With all the advances of western civilization under constant assault, what chance do a few old TV shows have to survive?
The best we can hope for now, I think, is for even the greatest of these shows to be mostly forgotten, but hopefully still accessible. Like the poems of Edwin Arlington Robinson, you might have to dig through a lot of other stuff to find them. Hopefully, those that do will decide they were worth the effort. TV
David Hofstede is the founder of the Comfort TV blog, as well as the author of several books on television history. His most recent book is When Television Brought Us Together: Celebrating the Shows and the Values That Shaped America's First Television Viewing Generations .
August 29, 2022
What's on TV? Friday, September 8, 1967
With NBC Week not debuting until next week, the network has some time to fill, and you can see it in tonight's listings, with four programs that apparently didn't make it to the new season. First up, Tim Matthieson [sic] and Rick Gates are The Hardy Boys in "The Mystery of the Chinese Junk," with Richard Anderson as dad. Next, Kerwin Matthews and Diana Van der Vils are a university professor and a lady hypnotist who help detective Norma Fell solve supernatural murders in Ghostbreaker. That's followed by Police Story, which has nothing to do with either Jackie Chan movies or the anthology series of the 1970s; it's a Gene Roddenberry-helmed cop drama with Steve Ihnet as Captain James Paige (wonder what his middle initial is?) on the search for a shotgun terrorist. Finally, it's Three For Danger, with Larry Pennell, Alejandro Rey, and Charles Carlson as three adventurers caught up in crime and intrigue in Acapulco. Only two of the five NBC affiliates in Minnesota took advantage of this night of failed pilots (anti-NBC Week?); the other three found solace with the Minnesota Twins and Baltimore Orioles. Good choice. -2- KTCA (EDUC.) Morning 10:25 CLASSROOM—Education Evening 6:00 MAN AND THE UNIVERSE 6:30 SMART SEWING—Arch 7:00 FOLK GUITAR-Music 7:30 INQUIRY—Discussion 8:00 LET’S LIP READ—Education 8:30 YOUR WORLD THIS WEEK 9:00 LITERATURE—Existentialism 9:30 RADICAL AMERICANS--Politics 10:00 AUTHORS, ETC. 10:30 BIG PICTURE—Army
-3- KDAL (DULUTH) (CBS) Morning 7:05 NEWS—Joseph Benti 7:55 NEWS 8:00 CAPTAIN KANGAROO—Children COLOR 9:00 CANDID CAMERA—Comedy 9:30 BEVERLY HILLBILLIES 10:00 ANDY GRIFFITH—Comedy 10:30 DICK VAN DYKE—Comedy 11:00 LOVE OF LIFE—Serial COLOR 11:25 NEWS COLOR 11:30 SEARCH FOR TOMORROW—Serial COLOR 11:45 GUIDING LIGHT—Serial COLOR Afternoon 12:00 TOWN AND COUNTRY—Becker 12:30 AS THE WORLD TURNS—Serial COLOR 1:00 PASSWORD COLOR Guests: Jim Backus, Dorothy Loudin 1:30 HOUSE PARTY COLOR Guest: Dennis Weaver 2:00 TO TELL THE TRUTH—Game COLOR 2:25 NEWS COLOR 2:30 EDGE OF NIGHT—Serial COLOR 3:00 SECRET STORM—Serial 3:30 MIKE DOUGLAS—Variety COLOR Guests: Roberta Peters, Eroll Garner, Lt. Dieter Dengler, McCall and Brill 5:00 McHALE’S NAVY—Comedy 5:30 NEWS—Walter Cronkite COLOR Evening 6:00 NEWS 6:30 WILD WILD WEST—Western COLOR 7:30 GOMER PYLE, USMC—Comedy COLOR 8:00 MOVIE—Comedy COLOR “Beach Party” (1963) 10:00 NEWS 10:25 EDITOR’S CHOICE—Krueger 10:30 Movie—Science Fiction “Most Dangerous Man Alive” (1961)
3 KGLO (MASON CITY) (CBS) Morning 7:30 NEWS—Joseph Benti COLOR 7:55 NEWS 8:00 CAPTAIN KANGAROO—Children COLOR 9:00 JACK LA LANNE COLOR 9:30 BEVERLY HILLBILLIES 10:00 ANDY GRIFFITH—Comedy 10:30 DICK VAN DYKE—Comedy 11:00 LOVE OF LIFE—Serial COLOR 11:25 NEWS COLOR 11:30 SEARCH FOR TOMORROW—Serial COLOR 11:45 GUIDING LIGHT—Serial COLOR Afternoon 12:00 NEWS 12:30 AS THE WORLD TURNS—Serial COLOR 1:00 PASSWORD COLOR Guests: Jim Backus, Dorothy Loudin 1:30 HOUSE PARTY COLOR Guest: Dennis Weaver 2:00 TO TELL THE TRUTH—Game COLOR 2:25 NEWS COLOR 2:30 EDGE OF NIGHT—Serial COLOR 3:00 SECRET STORM—Serial 3:30 SUMMER SEMESTER 4:00 BART’S CLUBHOUSE—Children 5:00 CANDID CAMERA—Comedy 5:30 NEWS—Walter Cronkite COLOR Evening 6:00 NEWS 6:30 WILD WILD WEST—Western COLOR 7:30 GOMER PYLE, USMC—Comedy COLOR 8:00 MOVIE—Comedy COLOR “Beach Party” (1963) 10:00 NEWS 10:40 MOVIE—Western “San Antonio” (1953) 12:10 NEWS
-4- WCCO (CBS) Morning 6:00 SUMMER SEMESTER—Education 6:30 SIEGFRIED—Children 7:00 CLANCY—Children COLOR 8:00 CAPTAIN KANGAROO—Children COLOR 9:00 DR. YOUNGDAHL COLOR 9:05 MERV GRIFFIN—Variety COLOR Guests: Conrad Hilton, Jack Carter, Genevieve, Jaye Kennedy, the Everly Brothers, Clair and McMahon 10:00 ANDY GRIFFITH—Comedy 10:30 DICK VAN DYKE—Comedy 11:00 LOVE OF LIFE—Serial COLOR 11:25 NEWS COLOR 11:30 SEARCH FOR TOMORROW—Serial COLOR 11:45 GUIDING LIGHT—Serial COLOR Afternoon 12:00 NEWS COLOR 12:20 SOMETHING SPECIAL COLOR 12:30 AS THE WORLD TURNS—Serial COLOR 1:00 PASSWORD COLOR Guests: Jim Backus, Dorothy Loudin 1:30 HOUSE PARTY COLOR Guest: Dennis Weaver 2:00 TO TELL THE TRUTH—Game COLOR 2:25 NEWS COLOR 2:30 EDGE OF NIGHT—Serial COLOR 3:00 SECRET STORM—Serial 3:30 BEVERLY HILLBILLIES—Comedy 4:00 MIKE DOUGLAS—Variety 5:30 NEWS—Walter Cronkite COLOR Evening 6:00 NEWS COLOR 6:30 WILD WILD WEST—Western COLOR 7:30 GOMER PYLE, USMC—Comedy COLOR 8:00 MOVIE—Comedy COLOR “Beach Party” (1963) 10:00 NEWS COLOR 10:30 MOVIE—Comedy COLOR “Gidget” (1959) 12:20 MOVIE—Adventure COLOR Time approximate. “Conqueror of the Desert” (Italian; 1958)
-5- KSTP (NBC) Morning 6:15 DAVID STONE—Music COLOR 6:30 CITY AND COUNTRY COLOR 6:55 DOCTOR’S HOUSE CALL—James Rogers Fox COLOR 7:00 TODAY COLOR Guest: Peter Ustinov Local news at 7:25 and 8:25 A.M. 9:00 SNAP JUDGMENT COLOR Guests: Bob Hope, Patricia Harty. Host: Ed McMahon 9:25 NEWS COLOR 9:30 CONCENTRATION—Game COLOR 10:00 PERSONALITY COLOR Celebrities: Jim Backus, Rose Marie, Dick Shawn 10:30 HOLLYWOOD SQUARES—Game COLOR Guests: Steve Allen, Morey Amsterdam, Jayne Meadows, Victor Buono, Wally Cox, Ruta Lee, Rose Marie, Dick Patterson, Charley Weaver. Host: Peter Marshall 11:00 JEOPARDY—Game COLOR 11:30 EYE GUESS—Game COLOR 11:55 NEWS COLOR Afternoon 12:00 NEWS COLOR 12:15 DIALING FOR DOLLARS—Game COLOR 12:30 LET’S MAKE A DEAL—Game COLOR 12:55 NEWS COLOR 1:00 DAYS OF OUR LIVES—Serial COLOR 1:30 DOCTORS—Serial COLOR 2:00 ANOTHER WORLD—Serial COLOR 2:30 YOU DON’T SAY!—Game COLOR Guests: Sherry Jackson, Paul Lynde 3:00 MATCH GAME COLOR Guests: Bess Myerson, Bert Parks 3:25 NEWS COLOR 3:30 DIALING FOR DOLLARS—Game COLOR 4:30 OF LANDS AND SEAS COLOR 5:25 NEWS—Gene Berry COLOR 5:30 NEWS—Chet Huntley, David Brinkley COLOR Evening 6:00 NEWS COLOR 6:30 HARDY BOYS—Adventure COLOR Regular programming is pre-empted 7:30 GHOSTBREAKER—Adventure Regular programming is pre-empted 8:30 POLICE STORY—Drama COLOR 9:00 THREE FOR DANGER COLOR Regular programming is pre-empted 10:00 NEWS COLOR 10:30 JOHNNY CARSON—Variety COLOR 12:00 MOVIE—Melodrama “House of Dracula” (1945)
-6- WDSM (DULUTH) (NBC) Morning 7:00 TODAY COLOR Guest: Peter Ustinov Local news at 7:25 and 8:25 A.M. 9:00 JACK LA LANNE—Exercise 9:25 NEWS COLOR 9:30 CONCENTRATION—Game COLOR 10:00 PERSONALITY COLOR Celebrities: Jim Backus, Rose Marie, Dick Shawn 10:30 HOLLYWOOD SQUARES—Game COLOR Guests: Steve Allen, Morey Amsterdam, Jayne Meadows, Victor Buono, Wally Cox, Ruta Lee, Rose Marie, Dick Patterson, Charley Weaver. Host: Peter Marshall 11:00 JEOPARDY—Game COLOR 11:30 EYE GUESS—Game COLOR 11:55 NEWS COLOR Afternoon 12:00 VIRGINIA GRAHAM—Interviews 12:30 LET’S MAKE A DEAL—Game COLOR 12:55 NEWS COLOR 1:00 DAYS OF OUR LIVES—Serial COLOR 1:30 DOCTORS—Serial COLOR 2:00 ANOTHER WORLD—Serial COLOR 2:30 YOU DON’T SAY!—Game COLOR Guests: Sherry Jackson, Paul Lynde 3:00 MATCH GAME COLOR Guests: Bess Myerson, Bert Parks 3:25 NEWS COLOR 3:30 SNAP JUDGMENT—Game Guests: Bob Hope, Patricia Harty. Host: Ed McMahon 3:25 BOZO AND HIS PALS COLOR 5:00 TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES—Game COLOR 5:30 NEWS—Chet Huntley, David Brinkley COLOR Evening 6:00 NEWS, ROCKY TELLER COLOR 6:30 HARDY BOYS—Adventure COLOR Regular programming is pre-empted 7:30 GHOSTBREAKER—Adventure Regular programming is pre-empted 8:30 POLICE STORY—Drama COLOR 9:00 THREE FOR DANGER COLOR Regular programming is pre-empted 10:00 NEWS COLOR 10:30 JOHNNY CARSON—Variety COLOR
6 KMMT (AUSTIN) (ABC) Morning 9:00 AGRICULTURE 9:30 DATELINE: HOLLYWOOD Guest: Jackie Coogan 9:55 CHILDREN’S DOCTOR—Advice COLOR 10:00 HONEYMOON RACE—Game COLOR 10:30 FAMILY GAME 11:00 EVERYBODY’S TALKING—Game Guests: David Hedison, Nipsey Russell, Jane Withers 11:30 DONNA REED—Comedy Afternoon 12:00 FUGITIVE—Drama 1:00 NEWLYWED GAME COLOR 1:30 DREAM GIRL—Contest COLOR Guests: Ken Berry, Troy Donahue, Marty Ingels, Dana Wynter 1:55 NEWS COLOR 2:00 GENERAL HOSPITAL 2:30 DARK SHADOWS—Serial COLOR 3:00 DATING GAME COLOR 3:30 YOU ASKED FOR IT—Smith 4:00 CHEYENNE—Western 5:00 NEWS—Peter Jennings COLOR 5:30 HAVE GUN—WILL TRAVEL Evening 6:00 NEWS 6:30 OFF TO SEE THE WIZARD—Movie DEBUT COLOR “Clarence the Cross-eyed Lion” (1965) 7:30 HONDO—Western DEBUT COLOR 8:30 GUNS OF WILL SONNETT—Western DEBUT COLOR 9:00 JUDD—Drama DEBUT COLOR 10:00 NEWS 10:30 JOEY BISHOP—Variety COLOR Guests: Henny Youngman, the Blossoms 12:00 NEWS
-7- KCMT (ALEXANDRIA) (NBC, ABC) Morning 7:00 TODAY COLOR Guest: Peter Ustinov Local news at 7:25 and 8:25 A.M. 9:00 SNAP JUDGMENT COLOR Guests: Bob Hope, Patricia Harty. Host: Ed McMahon 9:25 NEWS COLOR 9:30 CONCENTRATION—Game COLOR 10:00 PERSONALITY COLOR Celebrities: Jim Backus, Rose Marie, Dick Shawn 10:30 HOLLYWOOD SQUARES—Game COLOR Guests: Steve Allen, Morey Amsterdam, Jayne Meadows, Victor Buono, Wally Cox, Ruta Lee, Rose Marie, Dick Patterson, Charley Weaver. Host: Peter Marshall 11:00 JEOPARDY—Game COLOR 11:30 EYE GUESS—Game COLOR 11:55 NEWS COLOR Afternoon 12:00 NEWS 12:20 TRADING POST—Jon Haaven 12:30 LET’S MAKE A DEAL—Game COLOR 12:55 NEWS COLOR 1:00 DAYS OF OUR LIVES—Serial COLOR 1:30 DOCTORS—Serial COLOR 2:00 ANOTHER WORLD—Serial COLOR 2:30 YOU DON’T SAY!—Game COLOR Guests: Sherry Jackson, Paul Lynde 3:00 MATCH GAME COLOR Guests: Bess Myerson, Bert Parks 3:25 NEWS COLOR 3:30 GENERAL HOSPITAL—Serial 4:00 WELCOME INN—Variety 4:30 HOPPITY HOOPER—Cartoons 5:00 BATMAN—Adventure Guest villain: Liberace (Chandell) 5:30 NEWS—Chet Huntley, David Brinkley COLOR Evening 6:00 NEWS 6:30 TWILIGHT ZONE—Drama 7:00 BASEBALL—Twins COLOR Minnesota Twins at Baltimore Orioles Regular programs are pre-empted 10:00 NEWS Time approximate 10:30 JOHNNY CARSON—Variety COLOR Time approximate
-8- WDSE (DULUTH) (EDUC.) Afternoon 5:30 MANAGERS IN ACTION Evening 6:00 FRENCH CHEF—Cooking 6:30 WHAT’S NEW—Children 7:00 ACCENT ON ACTION COLOR 7:30 INQUIRY—Discussion 8:00 FILM FEATURE 9:00 NET PLAYHOUSE—Drama “The Comedy of Errors” 10:30 FILM FEATURE
8 WKBT (LA CROSSE) (CBS) Morning 7:30 NEWS—Joseph Benti COLOR 7:55 NEWS 8:00 CAPTAIN KANGAROO—Children COLOR 9:00 CANDID CAMERA—Comedy 9:30 BEVERLY HILLBILLIES 10:00 ANDY GRIFFITH—Comedy 10:30 DICK VAN DYKE—Comedy 11:00 LOVE OF LIFE—Serial COLOR 11:25 NEWS COLOR 11:30 SEARCH FOR TOMORROW—Serial COLOR Afternoon 12:00 NEWS 12:30 AS THE WORLD TURNS—Serial COLOR 1:00 PASSWORD COLOR Guests: Jim Backus, Dorothy Loudin 1:30 HOUSE PARTY COLOR Guest: Dennis Weaver 2:00 TO TELL THE TRUTH—Game COLOR 2:25 NEWS COLOR 2:30 EDGE OF NIGHT—Serial COLOR 3:00 SECRET STORM—Serial 3:30 GENERAL HOSPITAL—Serial 4:00 NEWLYWED GAME 4:30 BULLWINKLE—Cartoons 5:00 DEATH VALLEY DAYS—Drama 5:30 NEWS—Walter Cronkite COLOR Evening 6:00 NEWS 6:30 WILD WILD WEST—Western COLOR 7:30 GOMER PYLE, USMC—Comedy COLOR 8:00 MOVIE—Comedy COLOR “Beach Party” (1963) 10:00 NEWS 10:25 FILM SHORT 10:30 MOVIE—Drama “Battle Circus” (1953)
-9- KMSP (ABC) Morning 7:30 MORNING SHOW—Smith COLOR 8:00 DATELINE: HOLLYWOOD Guest: Tony Bennett 8:25 CHILDREN’S DOCTOR—Advice 8:30 ROMPER ROOM COLOR 9:30 DOBIE GILLIS—Comedy 10:00 HONEYMOON RACE—Game COLOR 10:30 FAMILY GAME 11:00 EVERYBODY’S TALKING—Game Guests: David Hedison, Nipsey Russell, Jane Withers 11:30 DONNA REED—Comedy Afternoon 12:00 FUGITIVE—Drama 1:00 NEWLYWED GAME COLOR 1:30 DREAM GIRL—Contest COLOR Guests: Ken Berry, Troy Donahue, Marty Ingels, Dana Wynter 1:55 NEWS COLOR 2:00 GENERAL HOSPITAL 2:30 DARK SHADOWS—Serial COLOR 3:00 DATING GAME COLOR 3:30 MOVIE—Comedy “Out of the Blue” (1947) 5:00 NEWS—Peter Jennings COLOR 5:30 TIMMY AND LASSIE—Drama Evening 6:00 McHALE’S NAVY—Comedy 6:30 OFF TO SEE THE WIZARD—Movie DEBUT COLOR “Clarence the Cross-eyed Lion” (1965) 7:30 HONDO—Western DEBUT COLOR 8:30 GUNS OF WILL SONNETT—Western DEBUT COLOR 9:00 JUDD—Drama DEBUT COLOR 10:00 NEWS COLOR 10:30 MOVIE—Musical COLOR “Gentleman Prefer Blondes” (1953)
10 WDIO (DULUTH) (ABC) Morning 8:50 COLOR BAR COLOR 8:55 MR. MAGOO—Cartoon 9:00 ROMPER ROOM—Children 9:30 DATELINE: HOLLYWOOD Guest: Jackie Coogan 9:55 CHILDREN’S DOCTOR—Advice COLOR 10:00 HONEYMOON RACE—Game COLOR 10:30 FAMILY GAME 11:00 EVERYBODY’S TALKING—Game Guests: David Hedison, Nipsey Russell, Jane Withers 11:30 DONNA REED—Comedy Afternoon 12:00 FUGITIVE—Drama 1:00 NEWLYWED GAME COLOR 1:30 DREAM GIRL—Contest COLOR Guests: Ken Berry, Troy Donahue, Marty Ingels, Dana Wynter 1:55 NEWS COLOR 2:00 GENERAL HOSPITAL 2:30 DARK SHADOWS—Serial COLOR 3:00 DATING GAME COLOR 3:30 HOLIDAY HOUSE—Women 4:00 MOVIE—Western “Raton Pass” (1951) 5:30 NEWS—Peter Jennings COLOR Evening 6:00 NEWS 6:30 OFF TO SEE THE WIZARD—Movie DEBUT COLOR “Clarence the Cross-eyed Lion” (1965) 7:30 HONDO—Western DEBUT COLOR 8:30 GUNS OF WILL SONNETT—Western DEBUT COLOR 9:00 JUDD—Drama DEBUT COLOR 10:00 NEWS 10:25 MOVIE—Science Fiction “Satellite in the Sky” (English; 1956) 12:00 JOEY BISHOP—Variety COLOR Guests: Henny Youngman, the Blossoms
10 KROC (ROCHESTER) (NBC) Morning 7:00 TODAY COLOR Guest: Peter Ustinov Local news at 7:25 and 8:25 A.M. 9:00 SNAP JUDGMENT COLOR Guests: Bob Hope, Patricia Harty. Host: Ed McMahon 9:25 NEWS COLOR 9:30 CONCENTRATION—Game COLOR 10:00 PERSONALITY COLOR Celebrities: Jim Backus, Rose Marie, Dick Shawn 10:30 HOLLYWOOD SQUARES—Game COLOR Guests: Steve Allen, Morey Amsterdam, Jayne Meadows, Victor Buono, Wally Cox, Ruta Lee, Rose Marie, Dick Patterson, Charley Weaver. Host: Peter Marshall 11:00 JEOPARDY—Game COLOR 11:30 EYE GUESS—Game COLOR 11:55 NEWS COLOR Afternoon 12:00 NEWS 12:20 MEMOS FROM MARY BEA 12:30 LET’S MAKE A DEAL—Game COLOR 12:55 NEWS COLOR 1:00 DAYS OF OUR LIVES—Serial COLOR 1:30 DOCTORS—Serial COLOR 2:00 ANOTHER WORLD—Serial COLOR 2:30 YOU DON’T SAY!—Game COLOR Guests: Sherry Jackson, Paul Lynde 3:00 MATCH GAME COLOR Guests: Bess Myerson, Bert Parks 3:25 NEWS COLOR 3:30 DOODLES THE CLOWN—Children 4:00 MIKE DOUGLAS—Variety COLOR Guests: Dom DeLuise, Carol Arthur, Sandy Baron, Vicki Carr, Adela Rogers St. Johns 5:30 NEWS—Chet Huntley, David Brinkley COLOR Evening 6:00 NEWS 6:30 LEAVE IT TO BEAVER—Comedy 7:00 BASEBALL—Twins COLOR Minnesota Twins at Baltimore Orioles Regular programs are pre-empted 10:00 NEWS Time approximate 10:30 JOHNNY CARSON—Variety COLOR Time approximate
11 WTCN (IND.) Morning 8:30 NEWS—Gil Amundson 9:00 CARTOON CARNIVAL COLOR 9:30 ED ALLEN TIME COLOR 10:00 DANGER IS MY BUSINESS COLOR 10:30 WHIRLYBIRDS—Adventure 11:00 ONE STEP BEYOND—Drama 11:30 COOKING WITH HANK 11:45 NEWS—Gil Amundson Afternoon 12:00 LUNCH WITH CASEY—Children 12:30 MOVIE—Melodrama “House on Haunted Hill” (1959) 2:45 MEL’S NOTEBOOK—Interview 3:00 VIRGINIA GRAHAM—Interviews Guests: Diana Sands, Bonnie Bedelia, Genevieve 3:30 BAT MASTERSON—Western 4:00 POPEYE AND PETE—Children 4:30 CASEY AND ROUNDHOUSE 5:30 FLINTSTONE—Cartoon COLOR Evening 6:00 YOGI BEAR—Cartoons COLOR 6:30 HARMON KILLEBREW COLOR 6:40 HALSEY HALL COLOR 6:55 BASEBALL—Twins COLOR Minnesota Twins at Baltimore Orioles 9:45 SCOREBOARD—Blanchard Time approximate 10:00 NEWS Time approximate 10:30 MOVIE—Drama Time approximate “Convicted” (1950)
12 KEYC (MANKATO) (CBS) Morning 7:30 NEWS—Joseph Benti COLOR 7:55 FILM SHORT 8:00 CAPTAIN KANGAROO—Children COLOR 9:00 JACK LA LANNE COLOR 9:30 BEVERLY HILLBILLIES 10:00 ANDY GRIFFITH—Comedy 10:30 DICK VAN DYKE—Comedy 11:00 LOVE OF LIFE—Serial COLOR 11:25 NEWS COLOR 11:30 SEARCH FOR TOMORROW—Serial COLOR 11:45 GUIDING LIGHT—Serial COLOR Afternoon 12:00 NEWS 12:30 AS THE WORLD TURNS—Serial COLOR 1:00 PASSWORD COLOR Guests: Jim Backus, Dorothy Loudin 1:30 HOUSE PARTY COLOR Guest: Dennis Weaver 2:00 TO TELL THE TRUTH—Game COLOR 2:25 NEWS COLOR 2:30 EDGE OF NIGHT—Serial COLOR 3:00 SECRET STORM—Serial 3:30 CANDID CAMERA—Comedy 4:00 FOCUS AT FOUR—Pasek 4:30 BART’S CLUBHOUSE—Children 5:00 SUMMER SEMESTER 5:30 NEWS—Walter Cronkite COLOR Evening 6:00 NEWS 6:30 WILD WILD WEST—Western COLOR 7:30 GOMER PYLE, USMC—Comedy COLOR 8:00 MOVIE—Comedy COLOR “Beach Party” (1963) 10:00 NEWS 10:40 MOVIE—Western “San Antonio” (1953)
13 WEAU (EAU CLAIRE) (NBC) Morning 7:00 TODAY COLOR Guest: Peter Ustinov Local news at 7:25 and 8:25 A.M. 9:00 SNAP JUDGMENT COLOR Guests: Bob Hope, Patricia Harty. Host: Ed McMahon 9:25 NEWS COLOR 9:30 CONCENTRATION—Game COLOR 10:00 PERSONALITY COLOR Celebrities: Jim Backus, Rose Marie, Dick Shawn 10:30 HOLLYWOOD SQUARES—Game COLOR Guests: Steve Allen, Morey Amsterdam, Jayne Meadows, Victor Buono, Wally Cox, Ruta Lee, Rose Marie, Dick Patterson, Charley Weaver. Host: Peter Marshall 11:00 JEOPARDY—Game COLOR 11:30 EYE GUESS—Game COLOR 11:55 NEWS COLOR Afternoon 12:00 FARM AND HOME—Discussion 1:00 DAYS OF OUR LIVES—Serial COLOR 1:30 DOCTORS—Serial COLOR 2:00 ANOTHER WORLD—Serial COLOR 2:30 YOU DON’T SAY!—Game COLOR Guests: Sherry Jackson, Paul Lynde 3:00 MATCH GAME COLOR Guests: Bess Myerson, Bert Parks 3:25 NEWS COLOR 3:30 DARK SHADOWS—Serial 4:00 DONNA REED—Comedy 4:30 FUGITIVE—Drama 5:30 NEWS—Chet Huntley, David Brinkley COLOR Evening 6:00 NEWS 6:30 EXCLUSIVELY OUTDOORS 7:00 BASEBALL—Twins COLOR Minnesota Twins at Baltimore Orioles Regular programs are pre-empted 10:00 NEWS Time approximate 10:30 JOHNNY CARSON—Variety COLOR Time approximate 12:00 MOVIE—Comedy “Just My Luck” (English; 1958)
TV
August 27, 2022
This week in TV Guide: September 2, 1967
This is, by my count (and I actually did check!), the 538th edition of "This Week in TV Guide," and even when you allow for a number of reruns I've done over the years, that still makes for a lot of issues. It's also true that one of the drawbacks you run into when you've covered that many issues is finding out that some of the most interesting stories, the ones you think you might like to write about, are ones that you've already written about previously.For example, Richard K. Doan reports that NET has booked an exclusive interview with Stalin's daughter, Mrs. Svetlana Alliluyeva, in October. That's old news to you out there, since you read about it here six years ago . Doan also mentioned that Jacqueline Kennedy's sister, Lee Radziwill, will be making her TV acting debut next winter in ABC's Laura remake. But you knew that already —you've even read the reviews. A musical comedy version of Aladdin done by the Prince Street Players of New York? We saw them adapting Pinocchio . (And they're doing The Emperor's New Clothes this Sunday anyway.) The ABC WWII action series Garrison's Gorillas premieres Tuesday; I've already reviewed it here . And so on.
The temptation is to just throw your hands up in the air and give up; nothing new to see here! But you'd be wrong! There's plenty of spanking newness here, courtesy of ABC and CBS, who are busy rolling out some of their new shows already, even though the Fall Preview isn't until next week. And you know, some of these are pretty good! In addition to the aforementioned Garrison's Gorillas, ABC debuts the excellent half-hour police drama N.Y.P.D. (Tuesday, 8:30 p.m. CT, which—whoops!—I already wrote about
here
); Custer (Wednesday, 6:30 p.m.), with Wayne Maunder in a series that lasted only slightly longer than the Battle of the Little Big Horn; The Second Hundred Years (Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.), starring Monte Markham in a dual role that doesn't really double your fun; The Flying Nun (Thursday, 6:30 p.m.), a show that's both ridiculous and a product of the Second Vatican Council; Good Company (Thursday, 9:00 p.m.), in which famed attorney F. Lee Bailey tries (and fails) to duplicate the success of Person to Person; Off to See the Wizard (Friday, 6:30 p.m.), ABC's version of The Wonderful World of Color; a pair of Westerns trying to defy the dying genre in Hondo (Friday, 7:30 p.m.) with Ralph Taeger and The Guns of Will Sonnett starring Walter Brennan; and the courtroom drama Judd for the Defense (Friday, 9:00 p.m.), which—as you know—I favorably covered
here
. I count four series which made it to my rotation, which is pretty good.
Meanwhile, the Tiffany Network has some stars of its own, starting with the comedy Good Morning World (Tuesday, 8:30 p.m.), with Joby Baker and Ronnie Schell as radio DJs; He & She (Wednesday, 8:30 p.m.), the very stylish comedy with Richard Benjamin and Paula Prentiss that may have been just a little ahead of its time; Dundee and the Culhane (Wednesday, 9:00 p.m.), and I just don't know how they hoped to sell a series with a title like that; and Cimarron Strip (Thursday, 6:30 p.m.), a 90-minute Western with Stuart Whitman hanging on to that horse for dear life—seriously, have you ever seen the opening credits to this series? Go
here
and watch them now and tell me I'm wrong about that; I'll wait. Now, it should be noted that three of CBS's most successful series aren't in this this week's issue: Gentle Ben, Mannix, and The Carol Burnett Show. They'll be along in the next week or two, and that's where the network makes its impact.As for NBC? Well, I believe NBC Week is next week, although we do get a sneak peek on Saturday Night at the Movies of one of the network's upcoming hits: the pilot for Ironside.
l l l
It's true, though, that in order to make room for these new shows, some of our favorites have to go, although they couldn't have been favorites of all that many people, or else they would have stayed a little bit longer. So farewell to Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre; so long to Please Don't Eat the Daisies; see you in the daytime, Candid Camera and Let's Make a Deal; Godspeed, The Saint; it was nice knowing you, summer replacements Away We Go, Piccadilly Palace, and Our Place, You all made our TV viewing worthwhile!
And then there were the shows that didn't follow the typical path. Coronet Blue, the enigmatic spy series that was a surprise summer hit, makes its enigmatic farewell with an episode that answers none of the questions raised by the preceding 10 episodes (two of the original 13 were unrun); ABC gloats that the popularity of Coronet's young star, Frank Converse, will spill over into his new series, N.Y.P.D. And Gilligan's Island still has the ratings to continue for another season, but it says bon voyage because the show that's replacing it on Monday nights, Gunsmoke, is the favorite of one very important person: Babe Paley, the wife of the network's legendary president, William S. Paley. In cases like that, it doesn't really matter how many fans you've got; it's a battle you're going to lose, so don't bother even trying to fight it.
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During the 60s, the Ed Sullivan Show and The Hollywood Palace were the premiere variety shows on television. Whenever they appear in TV Guide together, we'll match them up and see who has the best lineup.Sullivan: The Smothers Brothers, Mel Tormé and the Woody Herman orchestra, singers Enzo Stuarti and Gail Martin (Dean's daughter), comedians Nipsey Russell and George Carlin, the banjo-playing Your Father's Mustache, and the Seven Staneks, a balancing act.
Palace: Bing Crosby opens the fifth season at the Palace, with Jimmy Durante and Milton Berle; singer Diahann Carroll; singer-dancer Joey Heatherton; Indian musician Ravi Shankar; and Every Mothers' Son, vocal group.
It's something old and something new this week, a rerun from last season on Ed's show while Bing is the traditional season-opening host for the Palace. And each show boasts a strong lineup. But while it's always hard to go against Bing (especially when he has Durante as one of his guests), I'm afraid this week there's just too much depth on the Sullivan bench. Mel Tormé and the Woody Herman orchestra! This time the Palace opens the season in winning fashion.
But that's not all. ABC, in its infinite wisdom, has moved The Hollywood Palace to Saturday night (don't worry; it won't be there for long), but Piccadilly Palace, the show's summer replacement, appears in the old timeslot this week (meaning two Palaces for the price of one), with singers Millicent Martin and Frank Ifield and comic Bruce Forsythe. Sorry, but this week even two Palaces don't equal one Sullivan.
l l l
Since we're on the subject of season premieres, are you ready for some football? Well, ready or not, here it comes, as NBC kicks off its third season of American Football League coverage on Sunday with the Boston Patriots taking on the Broncos at Denver (3:30 p.m.) The Patriots are coming off an 8-4-2 season, led by MVP Jim Nance; the Broncos, on the other hand, struggled through a 4-10 season. For Denver, the good news is that they're already 25 percent of the way to matching that total, as they take Boston 26-21. The bad news is that they'll only win two more games the rest of the way. But then, the Patriots will only win three games themselves. Unlike the AFL, the NFL season doesn't start until next week, but all's not lost, as CBS comes up with a practice—I mean exhibition—I mean preseason game between the defending champion Green Bay Packers and Cleveland Browns, live from Cleveland (Saturday 8:30 p.m.). That's probably what keeps Mannix from premiering until next week.
But don't forget about baseball! There's a month to go in the American League's Great Race, and on Saturday's Game of the Week (1:00 p.m., NBC), the scheduled game you'll see is either the Chicago White Sox vs. Boston Red Sox, or Detroit Tigers vs. Minnesota Twins, with a note that if these teams are still in contention, coverage may alternate between both games. I don't know whether NBC did or not, but all four teams are indeed still in contention, and will remain so until the final weekend of the season, in one of the great pennant races of all time.
And in case you hadn't noticed, and there's really no reason why you should have, Monday is Labor Day, which explains why CBS has golf on at 3:30 p.m. Monday afternoon. It's the final round of the $200,000 Carling World Golf Championship, from the Board of Trade Golf Club in Toronto. (And have you ever heard of a less-romantic name for a golf course than that? Maybe the National Cash Register Country Club in Dayton, Ohio.) An international field tees off in search of the $35,000 first prize, which was quite an amount back then, but in the end a pair of Americans duel for the title, with Billy Casper defeating Al Geiberger in a sudden-death playoff. It is the last Carling World Championship after having been played since 1953.
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A couple of political notes, because in 1967 you can't really go for long without running into something political. Monday night on NET, radical activist Saul Alinsky is interviewed about his work as director of Chicago's Industrial Areas Foundation (10:00 p.m., WDSE). Alinsky died in 1973, but his influence in politics, both in America and around the world, remains as strong as, if not stronger than, ever.
On Tuesday, Harry Reasoner takes a look at the South Vietnamese elections (9:30 p.m., CBS), with General Nguyễn Văn Thiệu winning with 35 percent of the vote, easily defeating civilian candidate Trương Đình Dzu. Don't expect election night coverage like you'd get here; no exit polls or projections, I suspect.
I looked for something else that might cleanse the palate, but no such luck.
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Finally, there's one last series making its final bow this week, and I think it deserves a place all to itself.
Point number one: What's My Line? debuted on CBS on February 7, 1950. By October of that year, it had settled in on Sunday nights at 9:30 p.m. Central, and it would remain there for the next 17 years. Think about that for a minute—today's network programs often change dates and times multiple times each season, while WML maintained the same spot in the schedule for more than 800 weeks. During its long run, not one but two regular panelists—Fred Allen and Dorothy Kilgallen—died. When it left the air, only Ed Sullivan and Ted Mack had been on primetime longer..
Point number two: During the entire run of WML, the show never aired a rerun. It was often broadcast live, especially during the first nine or ten years, and it was preempted perhaps 20 times during the course of its run. But it aired 876 episodes during its time, and not one of them was a rerun.Point number three: For all but four of those episodes, WML was hosted by John Daly, perhaps the most urbane man ever to host a network television program. Keep in mind that during the first ten years of WML, Daly was also vice president in charge of news for ABC, hosting the network's evening news, as well as other major news events. When Daly went to Chicago and Los Angeles to cover the national political conventions, WML went on the road with him. The three most familiar regular panelists—Arlene Francis, Bennett Cerf, and Dorothy Kilgallen—would occasionally take vacations, go on assignment, or make public appearances. For the show's long run, the only true constant was John Daly.
On Sunday night, What's My Line? airs on network television for the last time. Arlene and Bennett, the longest serving panelists, are there, along with Steve Allen, who had been a regular for several years, and Martin Gabel, Arlene's husband, who had appeared on the show more often than any other guest panelist. The contestants from that very first episode in 1950 were back, as they had been on a previous anniversary show. But the highlight of the show—perhaps the highlight of the entire run of WML—was the identity of the Mystery Guest.
For years John Daly had been the emergency Mystery Guest in case something had gone wrong or a guest had failed to show, and a couple of times it had looked as if he might have to fill in, but it had never happened, and in retrospect it seems as if there could have been only one man to fill the bill. It's one of the great moments of television.
It's true that What's My Line? had been showing its age for the last few years; it's also true that the winds of change were blowing through the world of television at an increasing speed. But What's My Line? represented something different: a style and élan, a time when men wore tuxedos and women dressed in evening gowns and everyone was called Mr. and Mrs. (or Miss). There was a je ne sais quoi that's absent not only from today's television, but from life in general. It's that, not the genteel parlor game, that remains irreplaceable.
And of course I already wrote about all this, too . Could we end today any other way? TV
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Insightful commentary on how classic TV shows mirrored and influenced American society, tracing the impact of iconic series on national identity, cultural change, and the challenges we face today.
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