On this day in 1955, ABC added a local Los Angeles musical variety show to its prime-time schedule as a summer replacement series. That show — The Lawrence Welk Show — went on to air on ABC for 16 years. (At one point, from 1956 to 1959, the network gave Welk a second one-hour time slot for a second show, Lawrence Welk's Top Tunes and New Talent.) The show featured big band leader Lawrence Welk and a host of singers and musicians performing a range of standards. At times,

2012

Jul

1941: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TELEVISION! By Christy Slewinski

This day in 1941 marked the first day of commercial television broadcasting. Although "experimental" television had been around since 1939, July 1, 1941 was the day that the Federal Communications Commission licenses went into effect, permitting broadcasters to transmit programs and advertising. The first channels to receive FCC licenses were New York's WNBT (the precursor to WNBC), operated by the National Broadcasting Company, and WCBW (now CBS) operated by the Columbia Broadcasting System.

2012

Jun

1955: 'THE JOHNNY CARSON SHOW' DEBUTS ON CBS By Christy Slewinski

On this day in 1955, CBS introduced the prime-time variety show, The Johnny Carson Show. The half-hour program was one of the first starring vehicles for Carson, a Los Angeles-based comedian who came to the network's attention as a monologue writer for The Red Skelton Show. One could say it was a practice run for his eventual role as the long-running host of NBC's The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Ironically the CBS show wasn't well-received, and was cancelled eleven months la

2012

Jun

1951: RADIO'S 'AMOS 'N' ANDY' MOVES TO TV By Christy Slewinski

On this day in 1951, CBS debuted Amos 'n' Andy, the television version of the longest-running (and one of the most popular) radio programs in broadcast history. The television show was produced by the radio show's stars, Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll. Since both men were white, African-American actors — including (left to right) Spencer Williams Jr. as Andy, Alvin Childress as Amos and Tim Moore as George "The Kingfish" Stevens — were brought in for the television adaptation.T

2012

Jun

1983: KURALT'S "ON THE ROAD" GOES PRIMETIME By Christy Slewinski

On this day in 1983, CBS gave newsman Charles Kuralt a half-hour primetime spot to showcase the folksy vignettes he'd perfected for the CBS Evening News beginning in 1967. On the Road with Charles Kuralt allowed Kuralt to present more in-depth pieces about the people and places he encountered during his treks along the nation's back roads in a motor home. The primetime On the Road lasted just two months. Kuralt continued producing On the Road pieces for CBS News until October, 1980. In 1984, K

2012

Jun

1955: LAST TELECAST OF IMOGENE COCA'S SOLO SHOW By Christy Slewinski

The day in 1955 marked the last telecast of the short-lived The Imogene Coca Show. Not long after Your Show of Shows ended in June, 1954, its stars returned to television in their own NBC shows. Sid Caesar's Caesar's Hour debuted on September 27, on NBC. Five days later, on October 2, Imogene Coca's self-titled series made its debut.Coca's show had major identity problems from the very start. Initially the show was a sitcom, and Coca played an actress whose real-life activities became the basi

2012

Jun

1949: 'HOPALONG CASSIDY' BEGINS AIRING ON NBC By Christy Slewinski

On this day in 1949, feature film star William Boyd brought big-screen cowboy Hopalong Cassidy to NBC's prime time lineup. The early Hopalong Cassidy shows were actually re-edited versions of Boyd's feature films, to which Boyd had wisely purchased the rights. Before long, Boyd was producing all-new shows specifically for television, starring Edgar Buchanan as his sidekick, Red Connors. Hopalong was television's first Western and the precursor to future hits such as The Gene Autry Show and Th

2012

Jun

1980: DAVID LETTERMAN TAKES ON DAYTIME By Christy Slewinski

On this day in 1980, NBC premiered The David Letterman Show — a 90-minute daytime show...

2012

Jun

1965: LINKLETTER'S 'HOLLYWOOD TALENT SCOUTS' DEBUTS By Christy Slewinski

On this day in 1965, CBS introduced the variety show Hollywood Talent Scouts, a program hosted by Art Linkletter on CBS. On it, Hollywood celebrities brought unknown talent into the studio to make their television debut.A few future stars actually did make debuts during the show's run. On March 7, 1966, Tom and Dick Smothers introduced a comic by the name of Pat Paulsen. Paulsen later became a star in 1967 as a regular on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. Other future stars to appear on the s

2012

Jun

2006: 'AMERICA'S GOT TALENT' DEBUTS ON NBC By Christy Slewinski

On this day in 2006, NBC introduced America's Got Talent, a competition show in the same vein as the hit singing competition, American Idol. Or, perhaps, The Gong Show, depending on your institutional memory.The show, produced by Idol's Simon Cowell, featured talents ranging from dancing and singing to acrobatics and stand-up comedy. And the featured performers ranged from elementary school-age kids to grandparents. The judges for the show's debut season were singer/actress Brandy Norwood, Dav

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