text:
1962 in television

The year 1962 involved some significant events in television. Below is a list of notable events of that year.

Events

 * January 1
 * The 1962 Rose Bowl game on NBC is the first coast-to-coast color television broadcast of a college football game in the United States.
 * NBC introduces the Laramie Peacock before a midnight showing of Laramie.
 * March 24 – Boxer Benny Kid Paret falls unconscious at the hands of fellow boxer Emile Griffith during a boxing match telecast by ABC from Madison Square Garden, and officiated by Ruby Goldstein. Paret dies ten days later.
 * April 16 – Walter Cronkite succeeds Douglas Edwards as anchorman of the CBS Evening News; he will remain so for the next 19 years.
 * May 27 - General Electric Theater airs its last episode on CBS.
 * June 26 - Alfred Hitchcock Presents airs its last half-hour episode on NBC, before expanding to one hour on September 20 as The Alfred Hitchcock Hour on CBS.
 * July 6 - Gay Byrne presents the first edition of The Late Late Show on RTÉ in the Republic of Ireland. Byrne would present the show for 37 years, the longest period through which any individual has hosted a televised talk show anywhere in the world, and the show itself becomes the world's second longest-running talk show.
 * July 23 – First publicly available live transatlantic television broadcast via Telstar 1.
 * August 24 - Indonesia begins the first television broadcast with the newly inaugurated TVRI, broadcast the opening ceremony of 1962 Asian Games. TVRI is the first national television network in Indonesia before 1989. The establishment of TVRI marked as National Television Day.
 * September 1 – Channel Television, the ITV franchise for the Channel Islands, goes on air.
 * September 9 - WNYS-TV (now WSYR-TV) signs-on the air, giving Syracuse, New York its first full-time ABC affiliate.
 * September 14 – Wales West and North Television (Teledu Cymru) goes on air to the North and West Wales region, extending ITV to the whole of the UK.
 * September 26 – Malta Television (MTV) went on the air as the first TV station in Malta.
 * Broadcast of Sábados Alegres begins, program later becomes Sábados Gigantes
 * Cigarette adverts are banned from children's programmes in the UK. Actors in these adverts now have to be over 21, and connection to social success is no longer allowed. The tobacco companies also start a policy of not advertising before 9pm.
 * The U.S. All-Channel Receiver Act requires UHF tuners to be on all consumer sets (channels 14 through 83), as well as VHF.
 * Zenith markets its first color TV, a 21" round screen set.

Programs/programmes

 * American Bandstand (1952–1989)
 * Armchair Theatre (UK) (1956–1968)
 * As the World Turns (1956–2010)
 * Ben Casey (1961–1966)
 * Blue Peter (UK) (1958–present)
 * Bonanza (1959–1973)
 * Bozo the Clown (1949–present)
 * Candid Camera (1948–present)
 * Captain Kangaroo (1955–1984)
 * Car 54, Where Are You? (1961–1963)
 * Come Dancing (UK) (1949–1995)
 * Coronation Street (UK) (1960–present)
 * Dennis the Menace (1959–1963)
 * Dixon of Dock Green (UK) (1955–1976)
 * Face the Nation (1954–present)
 * Four Corners (Australia) (1961–present)
 * Grandstand (UK) (1958–2007)
 * Gunsmoke (1955–1975)
 * Hallmark Hall of Fame (1951–present)
 * Hawaiian Eye (1959–1963)
 * Hazel (1961–1966)
 * It's Academic (1961–present)
 * Juke Box Jury (1959–1967, 1979, 1989–1990)
 * Leave It to Beaver (1957–1963)
 * Love of Life (1951–1980)
 * Meet the Press (1947–present)
 * Mister Ed (1961–1966)
 * My Three Sons (1960–1972)
 * Naked City (1958–1963)
 * Opportunity Knocks (UK) (1956–1978)
 * Panorama (UK) (1953–present)
 * Perry Mason (1957–1966)
 * Route 66 (1960–1964)
 * Search for Tomorrow (1951–1986)
 * The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952–1966)
 * The Andy Griffith Show (1960–1968)
 * The Avengers (UK) (1961–1969)
 * The Bell Telephone Hour (1959–1968)
 * The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961–1966)
 * The Donna Reed Show (1958–1966)
 * The Ed Sullivan Show (1948–1971)
 * The Edge of Night (1956–1984)
 * The Flintstones (1960–1966)
 * The Fulton Sheen Program (1961–1968)
 * The Good Old Days (UK) (1953–1983)
 * The Guiding Light (1952–2009)
 * The Jack Benny Show (1950–1965)
 * The Lawrence Welk Show (1955–1982)
 * The Lucy Show (1962–1968) (CBS)
 * The Mike Douglas Show (1961–1981)
 * The Milton Berle Show (1954–1967)
 * The Price Is Right (1956–1965)
 * The Real McCoys (1957–1963)
 * The Secret Storm (1954–1974)
 * The Sky at Night (UK) (1957–present)
 * The Today Show (1952–present)
 * The Tonight Show (1954–present)
 * The Twilight Zone (1959–1964)
 * The Untouchables (1959–1963)
 * The Voice of Firestone (1949–1963)
 * This Is Your Life (UK) (1955–2003)
 * Truth or Consequences (1950–1988)
 * Wagon Train (1957-1965)
 * Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color (1961–1969)
 * What the Papers Say (UK) (1956–2008)
 * What's My Line (1950–1967)
 * Zoo Quest (UK) (1954–1964)

Debuts

 * January 2 – Z-Cars (UK) on BBC Television (1962–1978)
 * March 8 – Oh! Those Bells on CBS (1962)
 * April 6 – Little Blue Light (Голубой огонёк, Goluboy ogonyok) in the Soviet Union (1962–present)
 * April 17 – Brothers in Law (UK) on BBC Television (1962)
 * July 6 – The Late Late Show (Ireland) on RTÉ (1962–present)
 * September 3 – The Hanna-Barbera New Cartoon Series on Syndication (1962–1963)
 * September 19 – The Virginian on NBC, beginning a nine-year run, and is the first western to air in 90-minute installments (1962–1971)
 * September 21 – Don't Call Me Charlie! on NBC (1962–1963)
 * September 23 – Ensign O'Toole on NBC (1962–1963); The Jetsons on ABC, the first program to air in color on the network (1962–1963, 1984–1985, 1987)
 * September 26 – The Beverly Hillbillies premieres on CBS (1962–1971)
 * October 1 – The Lucy Show on CBS (1962–1968); The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson on NBC (1962–1992); Discovery on ABC (1962–1971)
 * October 2 – Combat! on ABC (1962–1967)
 * October 4 – The Saint (UK) on ITV (1962–1969)
 * October 11 – McHale's Navy on ABC (1962–1966)
 * December 10- Bonne Nuit les Petits on RTF (France) and Ici Radio-Canada Télé (Canada)
 * December 31 – Match Game on NBC (1962–1969, 1973–1984, 1990–1991, 1998–1999, 2016–present)
 * To Tell the Truth on CTV (1962–1964)

Television debuts

 * Ursula Andress – Thriller
 * Tim Conway – McHale's Navy
 * Dom DeLuise – The Shari Lewis Show
 * Olympia Dukakis – Dr. Kildare
 * Peter Fonda – Naked City
 * George Furth – Going My Way
 * Sid Haig – The Untouchables
 * Clint Howard – The Andy Griffith Show
 * Lainie Kazan – Car 54, Where Are You?
 * Mako – The Lloyd Bridges Show
 * Charles Nelson Reilly – Car 54, Where Are You?
 * Barry Primus – The Defenders
 * Kurt Russell – Dennis the Menace
 * Tom Skerritt – Combat!
 * Donald Sutherland – Man of the World

title: 1962 in television


text:
1961 in television

The following television-related events took place during 1961.

Events

 * January 20 – John F. Kennedy is the first U.S. president to be inaugurated with a color telecast. NBC covers the inauguration in color.
 * January 25
 * John F. Kennedy holds the first live televised presidential press conference.
 * Danger Man (United Kingdom) (1960–1961, 1964–1966) is cancelled due to lack of interest from Australian broadcasters. The series will be revived later.
 * February 19 – CFTM-TV, future flagship station of Quebec's TVA network, begins broadcasting in Montreal.
 * March 1 - Venevision officially renamed from Televisa of Venezuela.
 * April 11 – The Eichmann trial is the first televised trial, shown on a one-day delay basis in the U.S. with videotape flown in daily from Jerusalem
 * April 29
 * Westward Television, the first ITV franchise for South West England, begins broadcasting.
 * Wide World of Sports debuts on the American Broadcasting Company.
 * May 5 – Alan B. Shepard is the first U.S. astronaut in space aboard the spacecraft Freedom 7 in a 15-min. suborbital flight. The launch is watched by 45 million U.S. viewers.
 * May 9 – In a speech on "Television and the Public Interest" to the National Association of Broadcasters in the United States, Federal Communications Commission chairman Newton N. Minow describes commercial television programming as a "vast wasteland" and tells the broadcasters that they could do a better job of serving the public.
 * May 29 – Dave Garroway announces his decision to quit the Today show on NBC in the United States.
 * July 1 – The soap opera series The Brighter Day airs its first episode after taping locations are moved from New York City to Los Angeles. As a result, key character Babby Dennis and her love interest are written out of the series; the actors who played them didn't want to relocate.
 * July 21 – Dicon Television Canal 11, as predecessor for Telefe, a major television network in Argentina, starts its first official regular broadcasting service from Buenos Aires.
 * September 1 – Border Television, the ITV franchise for the English-Scottish Border and Isle of Man, begins broadcasting.
 * September 23 – NBC begins its long-running NBC Saturday Night at the Movies participating, with a broadcast of the 1953 Marilyn Monroe picture How to Marry a Millionaire.
 * September 30 – Grampian Television, the ITV franchise for North East Scotland, begins broadcasting.
 * October 1 – CTV Television Network (CTV) is launched in Canada, the first privately owned network in the country.
 * October 29 - DZBB-TV Channel 7, the fourth television station in the Philippines owned by Republic Broadcasting System (modern-day GMA Network) of American war correspondent Robert "Uncle Bob" Stewart, is launched after the success of radio station DZBB.
 * November 4 – Radiotelevisione italiana's second television channel, Rete 2 (later named Rai 2), first broadcasts to 52% of the available households in Italy.
 * November 19 – Lucille Ball marries Gary Morton in New York City.
 * December 15 – Sam and Friends broadcasts its last episode in the United States.
 * December 31
 * Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) starts television broadcasts, bringing television to the Republic of Ireland for the first time.
 * KBS1, a major television station in South Korea, starts its first regular broadcasting service from Seoul.
 * WBNB airs the first television broadcast in the Virgin Islands. (The station would be destroyed by Hurricane Hugo in 1989.)

Debuts

 * January 5 – Mister Ed on CBS (1961–1966)
 * January 7 – The Avengers on ITV in UK (1961–1969)
 * January 23 – The Americans on NBC
 * January 30 - The Yogi Bear Show in syndication (1961-1962)
 * February 27 - Acapulco on NBC (1961)
 * March 17 – Five Star Jubilee on NBC
 * April 3 – Minna no Uta on NHK
 * Mat 26 – Inspector Hornleigh Intervenes on West Germany's WDR
 * June 4 – Sportschau on ARD
 * April 29 – ABC's Wide World of Sports (1961–2006)
 * August 19 – Four Corners, Australia's first current affairs program (1961–present)
 * September 9 – The Jo Stafford Show on ITV (1961)
 * September 17 – Car 54, Where Are You? on NBC (1961–1963)
 * September 26 - Ichabod and Me on CBS (1961-1962)
 * September 27 - Top Cat on ABC (1961-1962)
 * September 28 – Hazel on NBC (1961–1966)
 * October 1 –
 * Bus Stop on ABC (1961–1962)
 * CTV National News (1961–present)
 * Songs of Praise on BBC (1961–present)
 * October 2 –
 * Ben Casey on ABC (1961–1966)
 * Password on CBS (1961–1967)
 * Window on Main Street on CBS (1961–1962)
 * October 3 – The Dick Van Dyke Show on CBS (1961–1966)
 * October 4 –
 * The Alvin Show on CBS (1961–1962)
 * Playdate on CBC (Canada) (1961–1964)
 * October 5
 * The Investigators (1961)
 * The New Bob Cummings Show (1961–1962)
 * October 6 – Straightaway (1961–1962)
 * October 7 – It's Academic (1961–present)
 * October 30 – The News with Uncle Bob (1961-1972)
 * November 8 – KVN (Клуб, Весёлых и Находчивых, Klub Vesyólykh i Nakhódchivykh, "Club of the Funny and Inventive") on The First Channel in the Soviet Union (1961–1972, 1986–present)
 * November 13 – Camera Canada on CBC Television (1961-1963)
 * December 11 – The Mike Douglas Show (1961–1981)
 * December 31 – RTÉ News: Nine O'Clock on RTÉ One

Programs/programmes

 * Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955–1962)
 * American Bandstand (1952–1989)
 * Armchair Theatre (UK) (1956–1968)
 * As the World Turns (1956–2010)
 * Blue Peter (UK) (1958–present)
 * Bonanza (1959–1973)
 * Bozo the Clown (1949–present)
 * Bringing Up Buddy, 1960–1961
 * Candid Camera (1948–present)
 * Captain Kangaroo (1955–1984)
 * Carols by Candlelight (1952–present)
 * Cheyenne (1955–1962)
 * Come Dancing (UK) (1949–1995)
 * Coronation Street (UK) (1960–present)
 * Danger Man (UK) (1960–1961, 1964–1966)
 * Dixon of Dock Green (UK) (1955–1976)
 * Face the Nation (1954–present)
 * Grandstand (UK) (1958–2007)
 * Gunsmoke (1955–1975)
 * Hallmark Hall of Fame (1951–present)
 * Hancock's Half Hour (1956–1962)
 * Hato no kyujitsu (1953-2001)
 * Hawaiian Eye (1959–1963)
 * Inspector Hornleigh Intervenes (West Germany) (1961)
 * Juke Box Jury (1959–1967, 1979, 1989–1990)
 * Leave It to Beaver (1957–1963)
 * Love of Life (1951–1980)
 * Margie, 1961–1962
 * Meet the Press (1947–present)
 * My Three Sons (1960–1972)
 * Dagsrevyen (1958–present)
 * Opportunity Knocks (UK) (1956–1978)
 * Panorama (UK) (1953–present)
 * Rocky and His Friends (1959-1961) ends earlier in 1961 to resume later in 1961 on NBC as The Bullwinkle Show (1961–1964)
 * Search for Tomorrow (1951–1986)
 * The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952–1966)
 * The Andy Griffith Show (1960–1968)
 * The Alvin Show (1961-1962)
 * The Bell Telephone Hour (1959–1968)
 * The Bugs Bunny Show (1960-2000)
 * The Donna Reed Show (1958–1966)
 * The Ed Sullivan Show (1948–1971)
 * The Edge of Night (1956–1984)
 * The Flintstones (1960–1966)
 * The Good Old Days (UK) (1953–1983)
 * The Guiding Light (1952–2009)
 * The Huckleberry Hound Show (1958–1962)
 * The Jack Benny Show (1950–1965)
 * The Lawrence Welk Show (1955–1982)
 * The Milton Berle Show (1954–1967)
 * The Price Is Right (1956–1965)
 * The Quick Draw McGraw Show (1959–1962)
 * The Secret Storm (1954–1974)
 * The Sky at Night (UK) (1957–present)
 * The Yogi Bear Show (1961-1962)
 * The Today Show (1952–present)
 * The Tonight Show (1954–present)
 * The Twilight Zone (1959–1964, 1985–1989, 2002–2003)
 * The Voice of Firestone (1949–1963)
 * This Is Your Life (UK) (1955–2003)
 * Top Cat (1961-1962)
 * Truth or Consequences (1950–1988)
 * Walt Disney Presents (1958–1961) ends on September 17 to resume on September 24 on NBC as Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color (1961–1969)
 * What the Papers Say (UK) (1956–2008)
 * What's My Line (1950–1967)
 * WIN News (1960–present)
 * Window on Main Street (1961–1962)
 * Zoo Quest (UK) (1954–1964)

Television debuts

 * James Brolin – Follow the Sun
 * James Caan – Route 66
 * John Davis Chandler – The Asphalt Jungle
 * Julie Christie – A for Andromeda
 * Dabney Coleman – Naked City
 * Samantha Eggar – Rob Roy
 * Jane Fonda – A String of Beads
 * Gene Hackman – Tallahassee 7000
 * Dustin Hoffman – Naked City
 * John Hurt – Probation Officer
 * Derek Jacobi – BBC Sunday-Night Play
 * Tim Matheson – Window on Main Street
 * Sarah Miles – Deadline Midnight
 * Millie Perkins – Wagon Train
 * Rob Reiner – Manhunt
 * Andy Romano – Alfred Hitchcock Presents
 * W. Morgan Sheppard – Theatre Night
 * Glynn Turman – Play of the Week
 * Gene Wilder – Play of the Week

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: 1961 in television


text:
1960 in television

The year 1960 in television involved some significant events. Below is a list of television-related events during 1960.

Events

 * February 10 – Jack Paar temporarily quits his television program in the United States because his monologue had been edited the night before, in favor of a three-minute news update. Parr walks out to the audience at the beginning of the show, announces that he is quitting, says "There's got to be a better way to make a living," and then walks off the stage. After network executives apologize personally, Parr resumed hosting the program a month later. His first show back starts with the words "As I was saying before I was interrupted...".

 * February–September – In a first for US Audiences, CBS broadcasts the 1960 Winter Olympics and Summer Olympics, on an exclusive basis, for $60,000. From Squaw Valley, American viewers are treated to 31 hours of coverage, which includes a mix of alpine skiing, figure skating, ice hockey, speed skating, and ski jumping. The Winter Olympic broadcast is hosted by Walter Cronkite while a young Jim McKay, who will go on to host ABC's Olympic coverage, does the Rome Games.
 * March 1 – Philippines's third television station DZTV-TV (now owned by the Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation) started broadcasts on March 1, 1960, at 6:30 pm under the Inter-Island Broadcasting Corporation through the tri-media conglomerate of RMN-IBC-Philippine Herald owned by Andrés Soriano, Sr., the then owner of San Miguel Corporation.
 * March 2 – Lucille Ball files for divorce from Desi Arnaz, ending their 20-year marriage and the I Love Lucy franchise on CBS.
 * April 29 – RTSH started test transmissions at 6:00 pm, just only one day before an official launch.
 * June 1 – Auckland TV2, as predecessor for TVNZ 1 (Television New Zealand), a first television station in New Zealand, officially regular broadcasting service to start in Auckland.
 * June 11 - CBS broadcasts the Monaco Grand Prix Formula 1 race (which took place on May 29), possibly first broadcast of any F1 race in the United States.
 * June 20 – Nan Winton becomes the first national female newsreader on BBC television in the United Kingdom.
 * June 29 – The BBC Television Centre is opened in London.
 * July 21 – ERTU Al Oula, a member for Egyptian Radio and Television Union, a first television broadcasting service was launched in Egypt.
 * July 31 – Telecuraçao is launched as the Netherlands Antilles' first television station, and also from of the Antilliaanse Television Company (ATM).
 * August 20 – NRK1, a first television station in Norway, an officially regular broadcasting service to start in Oslo.
 * September 24 – After thirteen seasons of entertaining American children, NBC children's show Howdy Doody ends with Clarabell the Clown saying the final two words of the show ("Goodbye Kids") after being assumed to only be mute.
 * September 25 – First Japanese colour television broadcast.
 * September 26 – American presidential candidates John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon debate live by television. The candidates behavior and/or appearance during the debate may have altered the outcome of the election. In addition to being the first presidential debates to be televised, the debates also marked the first time "split screen" images were used by a network.
 * October 1 – Argentine television station, El Trece, a first officially regular broadcasting service to start in Buenos Aires.
 * October 5 – KEYC-TV signed on October 5, 1960, just in time to broadcast the first game of the World Series that night from NBC.
 * October 12 – Inejiro Asanuma, chairman of the Japan Socialist Party, is assassinated by Otoya Yamaguchi using a wakizashi (samurai sword) during a political debate in Tokyo being taped by Japanese television broadcaster NHK.
 * November 4 – The University of Chile inaugurates its TV station over Channel 9 in Santiago, Chile. Its first broadcast marks the first live broadcast of a TV show in Chile.
 * December 9 – The first episode of soap opera Coronation Street, made by Granada Television in Manchester, England, is aired on ITV. Intended as a 13-week pilot and disfavoured by critics, it has continued past its 10,000th episode in 2020 (its 60th anniversary year) as Britain's longest running soap.
 * December 31 – Norma Zimmer officially becomes Lawrence Welk's "Champagne Lady" on The Lawrence Welk Show. She would remain with the show until it ended in 1982.

Undated

 * Frank and Doris Hursley start their soap opera writing career, taking the jobs of joint head writers for the series Search for Tomorrow.
 * Nearly 90% of homes in the United States now have a television set, and over one hundred million television sets are in use worldwide.

Debuts

 * January 9 – Baseball competition Home Run Derby from Wrigley Field (Los Angeles) begins a six-month run in syndication.
 * January 25 – Series The Kate Smith Show begins a six-month run on CBS.
 * February 7 – Series Overland Trail begins a four-month run on NBC.
 * June 1 – TV One is initiated in Auckland. This is the first television transmission in New Zealand.
 * June 8 – Series Happy (1960–1961) and Tate (1960) both premiere on NBC.
 * June 13 – Series Deadline Midnight premieres on ITV (1960–1961).
 * June 28 – Series Mess Mates premieres on ITV in UK (1960–1962).
 * September 6 – Series Coronado 9 begins a six-month run on NBC (1960–1961).
 * September 11 – Series Danger Man premieres on ITV in UK; broadcast also by CBS in USA (1960–1961, 1964–1966).
 * September 17 – Series Checkmate premieres on CBS (1960–1962).
 * September 18 – Series The Tab Hunter Show premieres on NBC (1960–1961).
 * September 23 – Series Dan Raven premieres on NBC (1960–1961).
 * September 27 – Series The Tom Ewell Show premieres on CBS (1960–1961).
 * September 29 – Series My Three Sons premieres on ABC (1960–1972).
 * September 29 – Series Outlaws premieres on NBC (1960–1962).
 * September 30 – Hanna Barbera's series The Flintstones debuts on ABC (1960–1966).
 * October 1 – NBC commences airings of The Shari Lewis Show and Popeye the Sailor (Both 1960–1963)
 * October 3 – Series The Andy Griffith Show premieres on CBS (1960–1968).
 * October 4 – Series Stagecoach West premieres on ABC (1960–1961).
 * October 5 – Series My Sister Eileen premieres on CBS (1960–1961).
 * October 7 – Series Route 66 premieres on CBS (1960–1964).
 * October 10
 * Series Bringing Up Buddy premieres on CBS (1960–1961).
 * Series Klondike premieres on NBC (1960–1961).
 * October 11 – The Bugs Bunny Show, Looney Tunes' first television series (1960–2000).
 * October 12 – Series Peter Loves Mary premieres on NBC (1960–1961).
 * December 9 – Soap opera Coronation Street premieres on Granada Television in UK (1960-present).
 * Comedy show Radio Rochela (previously the La Cruzada del Buen Humor segment of El Show de las Doce) debuts on RCTV in Venezuela (1960–2010).

1940s

 * Meet the Press (1947–present).
 * Howdy Doody (1947–1960).
 * Candid Camera (1948–present).
 * The Ed Sullivan Show (1948–1971).
 * Bozo the Clown (1949–present).
 * Come Dancing (UK) (1949–1995).
 * The Voice of Firestone (1949–1963).

1950s

 * The Jack Benny Show (1950–1965).
 * Men into Space (1959–1960).
 * Truth or Consequences (1950–1988).
 * What's My Line (1950–1967).
 * Love of Life (1951–1980).
 * I Love Lucy (1951–1960)
 * Search for Tomorrow (1951–1986).
 * Hallmark Hall of Fame (1951–present).
 * American Bandstand (1952–1989).
 * The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952–1966).
 * The Guiding Light (1952–2009).
 * The Today Show (1952–present).
 * This Is Your Life (US) (1952–1961).
 * Panorama (UK) (1953–present).
 * The Good Old Days (UK) (1953–1983).
 * Face the Nation (1954–present).
 * The Brighter Day (1954–1962).
 * The Milton Berle Show (1954–1967).
 * The Secret Storm (1954–1974).
 * The Tonight Show (1954–present).
 * Zoo Quest (UK) (1954–1964).
 * Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955–1962).
 * Captain Kangaroo (1955–1984).
 * Cheyenne (1955–1962).
 * Dixon of Dock Green (UK) (1955–1976).
 * Gunsmoke (1955–1975).
 * Jubilee USA (1955–1960).
 * The Lawrence Welk Show (1955–1982).
 * This Is Your Life (UK) (1955–2003).
 * Armchair Theatre (UK) (1956–1968).
 * As the World Turns (1956–2010).
 * Hancock's Half Hour (1956–1962).
 * Opportunity Knocks (UK) (1956–1978).
 * The Edge of Night (1956–1984).
 * The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford (1956–1961).
 * The Price Is Right (1956–1965).
 * What the Papers Say (UK) (1956–2008).
 * Leave It to Beaver (1957–1963).
 * The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom (1957–1960).
 * The Army Game (UK) (1957–1961).
 * Perry Mason (1957–1966).
 * The Sky at Night (UK) (1957–present).
 * Blue Peter (UK) (1958–present).
 * General Motors Presents (Can) (1953–1956, 1958–1961)
 * Grandstand (UK) (1958–2007).
 * Peter Gunn (1958–1961).
 * The Donna Reed Show (1958–1966).
 * The Huckleberry Hound Show (1958–1962).
 * Walt Disney Presents (1958–1961).
 * Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse (1958–1960)
 * Bonanza (1959–1973).
 * Hawaiian Eye (1959–1963).
 * Juke Box Jury (1959–1967, 1979, 1989–1990).
 * The Bell Telephone Hour (1959–1968).
 * The Twilight Zone (1959-1964, 1985–1988, 2002).
 * This Man Dawson (1959–1960).
 * The Rebel (1959–1961).

Television debuts

 * Hardie Albright – Thriller
 * Jack Pennick – Wagon Train
 * Brian Keith -  The Westerner

title: 1960 in television


text:
1959 in television

The year 1959 in television involved some significant events. Below is a list of television-related events during 1959.

Events

 * January 15 – Tyne Tees Television, the Independent Television (ITV) franchise for North East England, begins broadcasting.
 * February 1 – The earliest known interracial kiss on television occurs during a live performance of the play Hot Summer Night, broadcast on the British ABC program Armchair Theatre on the ITV network. The kiss is between Andrée Melly and Lloyd Reckord, the latter of whom would be featured in another early televised interracial kiss three years later in the play You in Your Small Corner.
 * February 1 – Nihon Educational Television begins operating to the Kanto region of Japan, operating as a for-profit educational television station for its first year.
 * March 1 – Fuji Television commences its regular operations in Japan.
 * April 6 – KYW-TV in Cleveland, Ohio (later WKYC) becomes the first station to use the Eyewitness News name.
 * May 24 – Television Ecuatoriana, the first television station in Ecuador, starts a regular broadcasting service in Quito and Guayaquil.
 * May 28 – Initiation of Lebanon's first television station, Télé Liban.
 * July 13–17 – The Hate That Hate Produced, a documentary on Black nationalism in the United States, airs on WNTA-TV.
 * July 24 – The Kitchen Debate occurs in Moscow, recorded on color videotape.
 * August 21 – The Catholic University of Chile begins broadcasting a partial service over Channel 2, the first TV station in Santiago, Chile.
 * October 16 – OBXY-TV, predecessor of Panamericana Television, Peru, starts the first regular official broadcasting service in Lima.
 * October 22 – Take a Good Look, an innovative comedy series created by Ernie Kovacs, premieres on ABC in the United States.
 * October 27 – Anglia Television, the ITV franchise for Eastern England, begins broadcasting.
 * October 31 – Ulster Television, the ITV franchise for Northern Ireland, begins broadcasting.
 * October 31 – Western Nigeria Television (later known as Nigerian Television Authority) is launched in Nigeria, making it the first country to introduce television in Africa.
 * November 22 – Sandmännchen, a children's bedtime stop motion series, premieres on East German television channel Deutscher Fernsehfunk. The series will continue airing on Rundfunk Berlin–Brandenburg into the 2000s, making it the longest-running animated television series in history with the greatest episode count for a single series.
 * November 29 – The Grammy Awards are first televised as part of NBC's Sunday Showcase.
 * December 26 – BNT 1, a member of Bulgarian National Television, the first television station in Bulgaria, starts a regular official broadcasting service in Sofia.

Programs/programmes

 * Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955–1962)
 * American Bandstand (1952–1989)
 * Armchair Theatre (UK) (1956–1968)
 * As the World Turns (1956–2010)
 * Blue Peter (UK) (1958–present)
 * Bozo the Clown (1949–2001)
 * Candid Camera (1948–present)
 * Captain Kangaroo (1955–1984)
 * Cheyenne (1955–1962)
 * Come Dancing (UK) (1949–1995)
 * Dixon of Dock Green (UK) (1955–1976)
 * Face the Nation (1954–present)
 * General Motors Presents (Can) (1953–1956, 1958–1961)
 * Gillette Cavalcade of Sports (1946–1960)
 * Grandstand (UK) (1958–2007)
 * Gunsmoke (1955–1975)
 * Hallmark Hall of Fame (1951–present)
 * Hancock's Half Hour (1956–1962)
 * Have Gun – Will Travel (1957–1963)
 * Howdy Doody (1947–1960)
 * I Love Lucy (1951–1960)
 * Jubilee USA (1955–1960)
 * KPIX Dance Party (1959–1963)
 * Leave It to Beaver (1957–1963)
 * Love of Life (1951–1980)
 * Man with a Camera (1959–1960)
 * Meet the Press (1947–present)
 * Men Into Space (1959–1960)
 * Opportunity Knocks (UK) (1956–1978)
 * Panorama (UK) (1953–present)
 * Perry Mason (1957–1966)
 * Peter Gunn (1958–1961)
 * Search for Tomorrow (1951–1986)
 * Take a Good Look (1959–1961)
 * The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952–1966)
 * The Army Game (UK) (1957–1961)
 * The Bell Telephone Hour (1959–1968)
 * The Brighter Day (1954–1962)
 * The Donna Reed Show (1958–1966)
 * The Ed Sullivan Show (1948–1971)
 * The Edge of Night (1956–1984)
 * The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford (1956–1961)
 * The Gale Storm Show, Oh! Susanna (1956–1960)
 * The Good Old Days (UK) (1953–1983)
 * The Guiding Light (1952–2009)
 * The Huckleberry Hound Show (1958–1962)
 * The Jack Benny Program (1950–1965)
 * The Lawrence Welk Show (1955–1982)
 * The Milton Berle Show (1954–1967)
 * The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom (1957–1960)
 * The Price Is Right (1956–1965)
 * The Real McCoys (1957–1963)
 * The Secret Storm (1954–1974)
 * The Sky at Night (UK) (1957–present)
 * The Steve Allen Show (1956–1960)
 * The Texan (1958–1960)
 * This Man Dawson (1959–1960)
 * The Today Show (1952–present)
 * The Tonight Show (1954–present)
 * The Voice of Firestone (1949–1963)
 * This Is Your Life (UK) (1955–2003)
 * This Is Your Life (US) (1952–1961)
 * Truth or Consequences (1950–1988)
 * Walt Disney Presents (1958–1961)
 * Wanted Dead or Alive (1958–1961)
 * Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse (1958–1960)
 * What the Papers Say (UK) (1956–2008)
 * What's My Line (1950–1967)
 * Zoo Quest (UK) (1954–1964)

Debuts

 * January 9 – Rawhide, CBS (1959–1966)
 * January 12 – The Bell Telephone Hour on NBC (1959–1968)
 * February 4 – Face to Face on BBC Television (1959–1962)
 * February 12 – As Far as My Feet Will Carry Me on West Germany's ARD (1959)
 * February 16 – Emergency (1959) (Australia), one of the earliest Australian dramatic TV series
 * April 4
 * Charlesworth on BBC Television (1959)
 * Shell Presents (1959–1960) (Sydney and Melbourne Australia), Australian dramatic anthology series
 * May 2 – Markham, featuring Ray Milland, on CBS (1959–1960)
 * June 1 – Juke Box Jury on BBC Television (1959–1967, 1979, 1989–1990)
 * September 11 – The Troubleshooters on NBC (1959–1960)
 * September 12 – Bonanza on NBC, the first weekly television series broadcast completely in color (1959–1973)
 * September 12 – The Man and the Challenge on NBC (1959–1960)
 * September 15 – Laramie on NBC (1959–1963)
 * September 20 – NBC Sunday Showcase on NBC (1959–1960)
 * September 21 – Love and Marriage on NBC (1959–1960)
 * September 30 – Men Into Space on CBS (1959–1960)
 * October 2 – Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone debuts on CBS (1959–1964)
 * October 4
 * Dennis the Menace on CBS (1959–1963)
 * The Rebel on ABC (1959–1961)
 * October 5 – Bourbon Street Beat on ABC (1959–1960)
 * October 7 – Hawaiian Eye on ABC (1959–1963)
 * October 15 - The Untouchables on ABC (1959–1963)
 * November 19 - Rocky & His Friends on ABC (1959–61)
 * Unknown date
 * Adelaide Tonight – 1959–1973 (Adelaide, Australia)
 * Bandwagon (1959–1960) (Melbourne, Australia, on HSV-7)
 * The Bert Newton Show (1959–1960) (Melbourne, Australia, on GTV-9)
 * The Bobby Limb Show (1959–1964) (Australia) (title changed in 1961 to The Mobil-Limb Show)
 * Club Seven (1959–1961) (Melbourne, Australia)
 * The Quick Draw McGraw Show in syndication (1959–1962)
 * Tales of the Riverbank (1959–1963).
 * This Man Dawson in syndication (1959–1960)

Deaths

 * February 3 – Beulah Zachary, American director and producer (Kukla, Fran and Ollie) (born 1911)
 * June 16 – George Reeves, American actor (born 1914)

Television debuts

 * Peter Bowles – Dial 999
 * Veronica Cartwright – Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
 * Seymour Cassel – Naked City
 * Robert Duvall – Armstrong Circle Theatre
 * Julian Glover – A Midsummer Night's Dream
 * Ron Howard – Playhouse 90
 * Jill Ireland – The Voodoo Factor
 * Sally Kellerman – Playhouse 90
 * Telly Savalas – NBC Sunday Showcase
 * George Takei – Playhouse 90

title: 1959 in television


text:
1958 in television

The year 1958 in television involved some significant events. Below is a list of television-related events during 1958.

Events

 * January 1 – Suomen Televisio, later known as Yle TV1, begins regular broadcasting.
 * January 28 – Short-lived station KTRX signs on the air in Kennewick, Washington.
 * January 14 – Television Wales and the West (TWW), the first ITV franchise for South Wales and West of England, begins broadcasting.
 * January 17 – TV Peru, the first television channel in Peru, begins operations.
 * January 25 – Royal Thai Channel 5, officially launched in Bangkok, Thailand.
 * February 17 – Pope Pius XII designates St. Clare of Assisi the patron saint of television. Thereafter, placing her icon on a television set was said to improve reception.
 * April 19 – Chronicle Broadcasting Network, the predecessor of ABS-CBN Corporation in the Philippines, launches DZXL-TV Channel 9.
 * April 30 – Moldova TV signs on the air at 19:00, making it the very first television network in Moldova.
 * May 2 – CCTV-1 began on an experimental basis as Peking Television.
 * July 1 – The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) links television broadcasting across Canada. The CBC's microwave network between Nova Scotia and British Columbia, completed this year, makes it the longest in the world.
 * August 23 – Television Belgrade, as predecessor for RTS1, a first regular television broadcasting station officially service start in Serbia, former part of Yugoslavia.
 * August 30 – Southern Television, the ITV franchise for South Central and South East England, begins broadcasting.
 * September 16 – Orson Welles's The Fountain of Youth is broadcast on NBC-TV's Colgate Theatre. Filmed in 1956 for a proposed Desilu series, the half-hour program airs only once and becomes the only unsold pilot ever to win a Peabody Award.
 * Fall – The quiz show scandals resulted in the cancellation of the original big-money game show, CBS' "The $64,000 Question", and creating havoc within the US television industry.
 * October 1 – Shanghai Television, as early television station launched in China, first regular service to start.
 * October 3 – Television Iran, as predecessor of IRIB TV1, a first regular program service television broadcasting station launched in Iran.
 * October 17 – Fred Astaire makes his TV starring debut in the NBC special, An Evening with Fred Astaire, which later won nine Emmy Awards and is one of the first TV specials to be preserved on videotape.
 * September 20 – Radio Valencia Televisión signs on the air in Venezuela with test transmissions began on April 30.
 * November 30 – During the live broadcast of the Armchair Theatre play Underground on the ITV network in the UK, actor Gareth Jones suffers a fatal heart attack between two of his scenes while in make-up.
 * December 15 – Channel 4, the flagship station of América Televisión, as well as the first every privately owned television station in Peru, begins officially regular broadcasting service first to viewers in Lima.
 * SF DRS, the German-language Swiss television channel, debuts.
 * Ampex demonstrates their design for a color video tape recorder.
 * In the United Kingdom, the top-rated show of the year is the ITV game show Dotto, adapted from an American game show which in turn was based on children's Connect the dots game.
 * The original American version of "Dotto" was the first game show to be implicated in the quiz show scandals, and was cancelled in August.
 * Top-rated prime-time game show Twenty-One is cancelled by NBC in October after former contestant Herb Stempel charged that the series was rigged and that he had been ordered to lose a match to the popular Charles Van Doren.
 * DuMont company sells its television manufacturing assets to Emerson company. The quality decreases.

Programs/programmes

 * Gillette Cavalcade of Sports (1946–1960)
 * Howdy Doody (1947–1960)
 * Meet the Press (1947–present)
 * Candid Camera (1948–present)
 * The Ed Sullivan Show (1948–1971)
 * Bozo the Clown (1949–present)
 * Come Dancing (UK) (1949–1995)
 * The Voice of Firestone (1949–1963)
 * The Jack Benny Show (1950–1965)
 * Truth or Consequences (1950–1988)
 * What's My Line (1950–1967)
 * Your Hit Parade (1950–1959)
 * Dragnet (1951–1959)
 * Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse (1958–1960)
 * I Love Lucy (1951–1960)
 * Love of Life (1951–1980)
 * Search for Tomorrow (1951–1986)
 * Sergeant Preston of the Yukon (1955-1958)
 * Hallmark Hall of Fame (1951–present)
 * American Bandstand (1952–1989)
 * The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952–1966)
 * The Guiding Light (1952–2009)
 * The Today Show (1952–present)
 * This Is Your Life (1952–1961)
 * Panorama (UK) (1953–present)
 * The Good Old Days (UK) (1953–1983)
 * Disneyland (1954–1958) ends on September 3, to resume on September 12 as Walt Disney Presents (1958–1961)
 * Face the Nation (1954–present)
 * The Brighter Day (1954–1962)
 * The Milton Berle Show (1954–1967)
 * The Secret Storm (1954–1974)
 * The Tonight Show (1954–present)
 * Zoo Quest (UK) (1954–1964)
 * Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955–1962)
 * Captain Kangaroo (1955–1984)
 * Cheyenne (1955–1962)
 * Dixon of Dock Green (UK) (1955–1976)
 * Gunsmoke (1955–1975)
 * Jubilee USA (1955–1960)
 * Mickey Mouse Club (1955–1959)
 * The Lawrence Welk Show (1955–1982)
 * This Is Your Life (UK) (1955–2003)
 * Armchair Theatre (UK) (1956–1968)
 * As the World Turns (1956–2010)
 * The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford (1956–1961)
 * Hancock's Half Hour (UK) (1956–1962)
 * Opportunity Knocks (UK) (1956–1978)
 * The Edge of Night (1956–1984)
 * The Gale Storm Show, Oh! Susanna (1956–1960)
 * The Jane Wyman Show, Fireside Theatre (1949-1958)
 * The Price Is Right (1956–1965)
 * The Steve Allen Show (1956–1960)
 * What the Papers Say (UK) (1956–2008)
 * The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom (1957–1960)
 * The Army Game (UK) (1957–1961)
 * Leave It to Beaver (1957–1963)
 * The Real McCoys (1957-1963)
 * The Sky at Night (UK) (1957–present)
 * General Motors Presents (1953–1956, 1958–1961)

Debuts

 * January 4 – Sea Hunt in syndication (1958–1961)
 * January 20 – Love That Jill on ABC (1958)
 * March 14 – Stahlnetz on West Germany's ARD (1958–1968)
 * April 19 – The Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby on Italy's RAI 1 (1958)
 * June 16 – Variety View (1958–1959) (Melbourne, Australia)
 * June 19 – Confession, hosted by Jack Wyatt, on ABC (1958–1959)
 * June 23 – Polka Go-Round on ABC (1958–1959)
 * August 25 – Concentration on NBC (1958–1973)
 * September 6 – Wanted Dead or Alive on CBS (1958–1961)
 * September 22 – Peter Gunn on NBC (1958–1961)
 * September 24 – The Donna Reed Show on ABC (1958–1966)
 * September 29 – The Huckleberry Hound Show, Hanna Barbera's second series, in syndication (1958–1962)
 * September 30 – The Rifleman on ABC (1958–1963)
 * October 2
 * Behind Closed Doors on NBC (1958–1959)
 * The Unforeseen on CBC (1958–1960)
 * October 5
 * Lawman on ABC (1958–1962)
 * Encounter, an anthology series originating from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, began a five-week run on ABC, having been cancelled after the November 2 episode
 * October 8 – Bat Masterson on NBC (1958–1961)
 * October 10
 * 77 Sunset Strip on ABC (1958–1964)
 * Grandstand on BBC Television (1958–2007)
 * October 15 – Mole's Adventure (Japan), the oldest surviving anime television show.
 * October 16 – Blue Peter, the world's longest-running children's TV programme, debuts on BBC Television (1958–present)
 * October 17 – An Evening With Fred Astaire on NBC; first show prerecorded on color videotape, wins nine Emmy Awards
 * November 4 – Flight (1958–1959) syndicated premiere on NBC NYC; produced by California National Presentation
 * November 7 – Our Mutual Friend on BBC Television (1958–1959)
 * December 22 – Quatermass and the Pit on BBC Television (1958–1959)
 * Autumn Affair (1958–1959), the first Australian-produced television soap opera (on ATN-7 in Sydney, starting 1959 also shown on GTV-9 in Melbourne)
 * Café Continental (1958–1961) (Sydney and Melbourne Australia)
 * Don Messer's Jubilee (1958–1969)
 * The Friendly Giant (1958–1985)
 * The Shirley Abicair Show (1958) (Sydney and Melbourne Australia)
 * Your Life in Their Hands on BBC Television (1958–1964 and many revivals)
 * Unknown – This is Alice in first-run syndication (1958–1959)

Television debuts

 * Alan Alda – The Phil Silvers Show
 * Heather Angel – Studio 57
 * Bonnie Bedelia – Playhouse 90
 * Bruno Cremer – En votre ame et conscience
 * Louise Fletcher – Flight
 * Charles Grodin – Decision
 * George Hamilton – The Veil
 * Richard Harris – Play of the Week
 * Barry Humphries – Wild Life and Christmas Belles
 * Michael Lonsdale – En votre ame et conscience
 * Jan Malmsjö – Min syster och jag
 * Donald Moffat – Naked City
 * Michael J. Pollard – Omnibus
 * Vanessa Redgrave – Sunday Night Theatre
 * Oliver Reed – The Invisible Man
 * Maximilian Schell – Der Meisterdieb
 * Vic Tayback – Buckskin

title: 1958 in television


text:
1957 in television

The year 1957 in television involved some significant events. Below is a list of television-related events during 1957.

Events

 * January 6 – Elvis Presley makes his final appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.
 * January 25 – Steve Allen makes his final appearance as host of NBC's The Tonight Show. He is replaced by Jack Lescoulie and the show is changed from a talk/variety show format to be more like the series Today, with the title Tonight! America After Dark.
 * February 16 – In the United Kingdom, the "Toddlers' Truce" (an arrangement whereby there have been no TV broadcasts between 6 PM and 7 PM, to allow parents to put their children to bed) is abolished. It has been a major obstacle to the success of ITV.
 * March 7 – Portugal begins the Rádio e Televisão de Portugal television service after several months of experimentation.
 * March 31 – The first TV version of Cinderella, starring 21-year-old Julie Andrews, and with songs by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, is broadcast in color by CBS.
 * April 1
 * In Britain, the BBC's Panorama current affairs television programme presented by Richard Dimbleby broadcasts a spaghetti tree hoax report purporting to show spaghetti being harvested in Switzerland, believed to be the first April Fool's Day joke televised.
 * In the United States WYES begins broadcasting on channel 8 in New Orleans. WYES will swap channels with WVUE in 1970.
 * April 4 – Desilu films "The Ricardos Dedicate a Statue", the 180th and final first run episode of I Love Lucy. Its May 6 broadcast marks the end of an era in early television comedy.
 * April 24 – First broadcast of BBC Television astronomy series The Sky at Night in the United Kingdom presented by Patrick Moore. This will be broadcast with the same presenter until his death in December 2012.
 * May 29 – In Hong Kong, Rediffusion Television, a predecessor of ATV Home and RTHK TV 31, begins broadcasting as a bilingual subscription cable service, becoming the first television station in a Crown colony of the British Empire as well as the first station in a predominantly Chinese city.
 * June – On Tonight! America After Dark, Jack Lescoulie is unsuccessful, so NBC hires Al "Jazzbo" Collins as master of ceremonies. Collins doesn't last long; NBC is already planning to replace him and restore the original format as The Tonight Show.
 * June 24 – Front Page Challenge, television's longest continuously running panel show, starts broadcasting on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation network. It runs for 38 years.
 * July 29 – Jack Paar becomes the permanent host for NBC's The Tonight Show. The format reverts to a talk/variety show.
 * August 5 – American Bandstand begins its 30-year syndicated run on US network television.
 * August 31 – Central Scotland's independent channel Scottish Television goes on air, the first 7-day-a-week ITV franchise to do so.
 * September 7 – In the United States:
 * NBC introduces an animated version of its "living color" peacock logo.
 * WWL-TV Channel 4 signs on as New Orleans' CBS affiliate.
 * November 26 – WHDH-TV/5-Boston begins broadcasting. It soon becomes involved in controversy about its license. It finally loses its license in 1972.
 * December 25 – The British Royal Christmas Message is televised with the Queen (Elizabeth II) on camera for the first time.
 * When Nat King Cole's television series is unable to get a sponsor, Frankie Laine is the first artist to cross TV's color line, foregoing his usual salary of $10,000.00 to become the first white artist to appear as a guest. Other major performers follow suit, including Mel Tormé and Tony Bennett, but, despite an increase in ratings, the show still fails to acquire a national sponsor.
 * Gorni Kramer makes his first appearance on Italian television, in the program Il Musichiere.
 * Cyprus begins a limited television service, serving only three hours a day, twice-weekly. By 1960 a full service will be initiated.
 * CBC Television begins nationwide broadcasting of NHL games as Canada's microwave network is completed coast-to-coast. Prior to this, broadcasts had been delayed.
 * Westinghouse introduces the first rectangular tube color TV. Due to issues with convergence (aligning the guns to get a single image), the sets are withdrawn from the market. The first successful rectangular color tubes are sold during the mid-1960s.
 * Hollywood takes over New York as the dominant for prime time TV programs, upgrading most of the TV genre, changing from live broadcasts to filmed series.

Series on the air in 1957

 * Gillette Cavalcade of Sports (1946–1960)
 * Howdy Doody (1947–1960)
 * Kraft Television Theater (1947–1958)
 * Meet the Press (1947–present)
 * Candid Camera (1948–present)
 * The Ed Sullivan Show (1948–1971)
 * The Perry Como Show (1948–1963)
 * Come Dancing (UK) (1949–1995)
 * The Voice of Firestone (1949–1963)
 * The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show (1950–1958)
 * The Jack Benny Program (1950–1965)
 * Truth or Consequences (1950–1988)
 * What's My Line (1950–1967)
 * Your Hit Parade (1950–1959)
 * Dragnet (1951–1959)
 * I Love Lucy (1951–1957)
 * The Tonight Show (1954–present)
 * Hallmark Hall of Fame (1951–present)
 * Love of Life (1951–1980)
 * Search for Tomorrow (1951–1986)
 * Sergeant Preston of the Yukon (1955-1958)
 * American Bandstand (1952–1989)
 * The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952–1966)
 * Adventures of Superman (1952–1958)
 * The Guiding Light (1952–2009)
 * Today (1952–present)
 * This Is Your Life (US) (1952–1961)
 * The Danny Thomas Show (1953-1964)
 * Panorama (UK) (1953–present)
 * The Good Old Days (UK) (1953–1983)
 * Climax! (1954–1958)
 * Disneyland (1954–1958)
 * Face the Nation (1954–present)
 * Father Knows Best (1954-1960)
 * The Brighter Day (1954–1962)
 * The Milton Berle Show (1954–1967)
 * The Secret Storm (1954–1974)
 * The Tonight Show (1954–present)
 * Zoo Quest (UK) (1954–1964)
 * Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955–1962)
 * Captain Kangaroo (1955–1984)
 * Cheyenne (1955–1962)
 * Country Music Jubilee (1955–1960)
 * Dixon of Dock Green (UK) (1955–1976)
 * Gunsmoke (1955–1975)
 * Mickey Mouse Club (1955–1959)
 * The Lawrence Welk Show (1955–1982)
 * This Is Your Life (UK) (1955–2003)
 * Armchair Theatre (UK) (1956–1968)
 * As the World Turns (1956–2010)
 * The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford (1956–1961)
 * Hancock's Half Hour (1956–1962)
 * Opportunity Knocks (UK) (1956–1978)
 * The Edge of Night (1956–1984)
 * The Gale Storm Show, Oh! Susanna (1956–1960)
 * The Jane Wyman Show, Fireside Theatre (1949-1958)
 * The Price Is Right (1956–1965)
 * The Steve Allen Show (1956–1960)
 * What the Papers Say (UK) (1956–2008)
 * Bachelor Father (1957-1962)
 * The Real McCoys (1957-1963)

Debuts

 * January 4 – Mr. Adams and Eve on CBS (1957–1958)
 * April 24 – The Sky at Night (UK) presented by Patrick Moore (1957–present)
 * May 1 – Junior Television Club
 * May 7 – In Melbourne Tonight with Graham Kennedy on GTV-9
 * June 19 – The Army Game (UK) on Britain's ITV (1957–1961)
 * June 24 – Front Page Challenge (1957–1995)
 * July – Tivoli Party Time (1957) on HSV-7 (Melbourne, Australia)
 * August 15 – Australia's Amateur Hour (1957–1958) on TCN-9 and HSV-7
 * September 14 - Have Gun - Will Travel (1957-1963)
 * September 15 - Sally on NBC, first filmed series by Paramount Television (1957-1958)
 * September 18 – Wagon Train (1957–1965)
 * September 21 – Perry Mason on CBS (1957–1966), The Polly Bergen Show on NBC
 * September 22 – Maverick on ABC (1957–1961)
 * September 28 - Dick and the Duchess on CBS (1957-1958)
 * October 2 – Educated Evans (UK) on BBC (1957–1958)
 * October 3
 * The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom on ABC (1957–1960)
 * The Real McCoys on ABC (1957–1962), then CBS (1962-1963)
 * October 4 – Leave It to Beaver (1957–1963)
 * October 10 – Zorro on ABC (1957–1959)
 * October 13 – The Edsel Show, first full-length show to be recorded on videotape, first of many Bing Crosby specials
 * October 18 - The Patrice Munsel Show
 * November 6 – The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour on CBS (1957–1960)
 * November 17 – Scotland Yard on the (American network) ABC (1957–1958)
 * November – Swallow's Juniors (1957–1970) on HSV-7 (Melbourne, Australia)
 * December 14 - Hanna-Barbera's First Series, The Ruff and Reddy Show on NBC (1957-1960)
 * December 25 – Royal Christmas Message first televised with a message from Elizabeth II
 * Astor Showcase (1957–1959) on ATN-7 (Sydney, Australia)
 * Divorce Court (US) (1957–1969, 1985–1992, 1999–present)
 * The Gumby Show (1957–1968) on NBC

Television debuts

 * Bibi Andersson – Mr. Sleeman Is Coming
 * Ed Asner − Studio One
 * Warren Beatty – Kraft Theatre
 * Tony Curtis – General Electric Theater
 * Peter Falk – Robert Montgomery Presents
 * Jamie Farr – The People's Choice
 * Jean Fenwick – The Sheriff of Cochise
 * Robert Forster – Wagon Train
 * Götz George – Kolportage
 * Louis Gossett Jr. – The Big Story
 * David Hemmings – King's Rhapsody
 * Ian Holm – ITV Play of the Week
 * Earl Holliman – NBC Matinee Theater
 * Glenda Jackson – ITV Play of the Week
 * Shirley Knight – NBC Matinee Theater
 * Hedy Lamarr – Shower of Stars
 * Janet Leigh – Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
 * Joanna Lumley – Emergency Ward 10
 * Dick Miller – The Gale Storm Show
 * Julie Newmar – The Phil Silvers Show
 * Suzanne Pleshette – Harbormaster
 * Dolores del Río – Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
 * Katharine Ross – Omnibus
 * Dean Stockwell – Wagon Train
 * George Segal – Look Up and Live
 * Gian Maria Volonté – Fedra
 * Robert Walker Jr. – First Performance
 * Tuesday Weld – Goodyear Television Playhouse

title: 1957 in television


text:
1956 in television

The year 1956 in television involved some significant events. Below is a list of television-related events during 1956.

Events

 * January 1 – Beleteleradio begins transmissions as the first television channel in Belarus.
 * January 25–February 5 – The 1956 Winter Olympics staged at Cortina d'Ampezzo in Italy are the first multi-sport event to be televised to an international audience, although the broadcasts are not monetized. Warsaw Pact countries have the technology to be able to broadcast coverage with a communist slant into Finland and parts of West Germany and Austria.
 * January 28 – Elvis Presley makes his national television debut on CBS in the United States on the program Stage Show, the first of six appearances on the series.
 * January 30 – NBC swaps its Cleveland radio and TV stations to Westinghouse Broadcasting in exchange for Westinghouse's own Philadelphia radio and TV stations. The trade is eventually reversed in 1965.
 * February 14 – Television broadcasting begins in Azerbaijan (AzTV), at this time the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic.
 * February 17 – The English Midlands becomes the first part of the United Kingdom outside London to receive Independent Television (ITV), when the Associated Television Network (as ATV Midlands) begins broadcasting their weekday franchise. The weekend franchise, ABC Weekend TV, begins operation a day later.
 * February – U.M. & M. TV Corporation acquires the pre-October 1950 Paramount Pictures cartoons and theatrical shorts, except for the Popeye and Superman cartoons.
 * March 21 – TES-TV begins regular broadcasting as the first television channel in Finland.
 * April 2 – As the World Turns and The Edge of Night premiere on CBS as the first half-hour American soap operas. Previously, all soap operas have been just fifteen minutes in length.
 * April 3 – Elvis Presley appears on The Milton Berle Show in the United States.
 * April 14 – Ampex company demonstrates a videotape recorder at the 1956 NARTB (later National Association of Broadcasters) convention in Chicago, Illinois, using the first practical and commercially successful videotape format known as 2" Quadruplex. The three networks place orders for the recorders.
 * April
 * WNBQ (modern-day WMAQ-TV) in Chicago becomes the first TV station to broadcast all its local programming in color.
 * United States Senator Estes Kefauver holds congressional hearings on the rising rates of juvenile crime and publishes an article in Reader's Digest named "Let's Get Rid of Tele-Violence."
 * May 2 – Baghdad Television (BTV) goes on the air as the first television station in Iraq.
 * May 3 – Granada Television begins broadcasting, extending ITV's coverage to Northern England. ABC Weekend TV's weekend franchise begins operation two days later.
 * May 6 – Elvis Presley again appears on The Milton Berle Show.
 * May 12 – HLKZ-TV began transmissions in South Korea.
 * May 21 – Estes Kefauver and Adlai Stevenson participate in the first televised US presidential primary debate.
 * May 24 – The first Eurovision Song Contest is held in Lugano, Switzerland. It is primarily a radio program at this stage, as few Europeans can afford TV sets.
 * June 5 – Elvis Presley performs "Hound Dog" on The Milton Berle Show, scandalizing the audience with his suggestive hip movements.
 * July 1 – Elvis Presley appears on The Steve Allen Show.
 * July – HSV 7 Melbourne, Australia begins test transmissions.
 * August 5 – KUAM-TV becomes the first television station in Guam.
 * August 6 – Final telecast of the DuMont Television Network. The United States will not have a fourth major network until the launch of the Fox network in 1986.
 * September – NBC introduces a still version of its peacock color logo.
 * September 4 – Television broadcasting begins in Sweden as Radiotjänst TV goes on the air.
 * September 9 – Elvis Presley appears on The Ed Sullivan Show in the United States for the first time.
 * September 15 – Gabriel J. Fontana wins a record US$64,000 from the Super Bonus Stunt on Beat the Clock.
 * September 16 – TCN-9 Sydney becomes the first Australian television station to begin regular transmission.
 * October 1 – Ernie Kovacs becomes the host for NBC's The Tonight Show in the United States on Mondays and Tuesdays.
 * October 8 – New York Yankees pitcher Don Larsen throws the first (and to date only) perfect game in World Series history. Mel Allen (representing the Yankees) and Vin Scully (representing the Brooklyn Dodgers) call the game for NBC.
 * October 28 – La 1, the first TV channel for Television Espanola (TVE), signs on in Madrid, Spain. It is the country's first TV station.
 * October 29
 * First use of videotape in network television programming; CBS uses its Ampex VTR to record the evening news, anchored by Douglas Edwards. The tape is then fed to West Coast stations three hours later.
 * Chet Huntley and David Brinkley take over anchor duties of the NBC evening newscast in the United States, which is renamed The Huntley-Brinkley Report.
 * November 3 – The 1939 MGM movie The Wizard of Oz is shown on television for the first time in the United States, by CBS; the viewing audience is estimated at 45 million people.
 * November 4 – HSV 7 officially inaugurates on the air in Melbourne, Australia, soon after the Australia Government starts issuing television licences.
 * November 5 – The Australian Broadcasting Corporation makes its first television broadcast from its Sydney studios. It is inaugurated by Prime Minister Robert Menzies.
 * November 19 – The Australian Broadcasting Corporation begins broadcast in Melbourne. Along with its Sydney counterpart, they air the 1956 Summer Olympics.
 * November – The first use of videotape for a network television entertainment program. Jonathan Winters uses videotape and superimposing techniques to be able to play two characters in the same skit for his NBC television show.
 * December 26 – Algeria's TV1 broadcasts for the first time as RTF Television Algiers, making it the first television network in the country.
 * December 31 – Game series host Bob Barker makes his national television debut in the United States on the program Truth or Consequences.
 * Portable TV sets (black and white) are first marketed.

Programs/programmes

 * Adventures of Superman (1952–1958)
 * Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955–1962)
 * American Bandstand (1952–1989)
 * Annie Oakley (1954–1957)
 * Bozo the Clown (1949–present)
 * Candid Camera (1948–present)
 * Captain Kangaroo (1955–1984)
 * Cheyenne (1955–1962)
 * Climax! (1954–1958)
 * Come Dancing (UK) (1949–1995)
 * Disneyland (1954–1958)
 * Dixon of Dock Green (UK) (1955–1976)
 * Dragnet (1951–1959)
 * Face the Nation (1954–present)
 * General Motors Theatre (Can) (1953–1956, 1958–1961)
 * Gillette Cavalcade of Sports (1946–1960)
 * Gunsmoke (1955–1975)
 * Hallmark Hall of Fame (1951–present)
 * Howdy Doody (1947–1960)
 * I Love Lucy (1951–1960)
 * Kraft Television Theater (1947–1958)
 * Kukla, Fran and Ollie (1947–1957)
 * Life is Worth Living (1952–1957)
 * Love of Life (1951–1980)
 * Meet the Press (1947–present)
 * Mickey Mouse Club (1955–1959)
 * Our Miss Brooks (1952-1956)
 * Ozark Jubilee (1955–1960)
 * Panorama (UK) (1953–present)
 * Search for Tomorrow (1951–1986)
 * Sergeant Preston of the Yukon (1955-1958)
 * The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952–1966)
 * The Brighter Day (1954–1962)
 * The Ed Sullivan Show (1948–1972)
 * The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show (1950–1958)
 * The Good Old Days (UK) (1953–1983)
 * The Grove Family (UK) (1954–1957)
 * The Guiding Light (1952–2009)
 * The Jack Benny Program (1950–1965)
 * The Jane Wyman Show, Fireside Theatre (1949-1958)
 * The Lawrence Welk Show (1955–1982)
 * The Milton Berle Show (1954–1967)
 * The Roy Rogers Show (1951–1957)
 * The Secret Storm (1954–1974)
 * The Today Show (1952–present)
 * The Tonight Show (1954–present)
 * The Voice of Firestone (1949–1963)
 * This Is Your Life (UK) (1955–1964, 1969–2003)
 * This Is Your Life (US) (1952–1961)
 * Truth or Consequences (1950–1988)
 * What's My Line (1950–1967)
 * Your Hit Parade (1950–1959)
 * Zoo Quest (UK) (1954–1964)

Debuts

 * January 3 – Queen for a Day (1956–1964)
 * February 10 – My Friend Flicka (1956–1958)
 * March 20 - Guy Lombardo's Diamond Jubilee (1956)
 * April 2
 * As the World Turns (1956–2010)
 * The Edge of Night (1956–1984)
 * April 26 – The Eddy Arnold Show on ABC
 * July 6 – Hancock's Half Hour, broadcast by BBC Television (1956–1962)
 * July 7 – High Finance, hosted by Dennis James, on CBS (1956)
 * July 8 – The drama series Armchair Theatre, produced by ABC Weekend TV for the ITV network, begins its long run in the UK (1956–1968)
 * July 13 – It's Polka Time on ABC (1956–1957)
 * September 7 – The Adventures of Jim Bowie on ABC (1956–1958)
 * September 8 – Hey, Jeannie! starring Jeannie Carson on CBS (1956–57, then 1958 in syndication as The Jeannie Carson Show)
 * September 15 – The Adventures of Sir Lancelot (UK) on ITV (After being sold to the NBC network in the United States, it later becomes the first British television series ever to be made in colour, in this case it wouldn't premiere in the United States until 9 days later on September 24, 1956) (1956–57)
 * September 18 – Noah's Ark, featuring Paul Burke debuts on NBC (1956–1957)
 * September 25 – State Trooper featuring Rod Cameron premieres in syndication (1956–1959)
 * September 29 – The Gale Storm Show premieres on CBS (1956–1960)
 * October 4 – In the USA
 * Playhouse 90 (1956–1961)
 * The Ford Show, "Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford" (1956–1961)
 * October 27 – Accent on Strings (1956, Sydney Australia, debuts on the first "official" day of television in Australia)
 * October 29 – Fun Farm (1956–1957, first Australian-produced children's television series)
 * November 9
 * The Isador Goodman Show (1956–1957, Melbourne Australia)
 * Stairway to the Stars (1956–1958, Melbourne Australia)
 * November 11 – Air Power, narrated by Walter Cronkite, on CBS (1956–1957)
 * November 15 – TV Channell (1956–1957, Sydney and Melbourne Australia)
 * November 21 - Can Do (1956) debuts on NBC.
 * November 26 – The Price Is Right game series premieres (1956–1965).
 * December 3 – Sydney Tonight (1956–1959, Sydney Australia)
 * Opportunity Knocks on ITV (UK) (1956–1978)
 * The Steve Allen Show premieres in the US (1956–1960)
 * What the Papers Say on ITV (UK) (1956–2008)

Television debuts

 * Norman Alden – NBC Matinee Theater
 * R.G. Armstrong – The West Point Story
 * James Cagney – Robert Montgomery Presents
 * Sydney Chaplin – Kings Row
 * Sean Connery – Dixon of Dock Green
 * Bing Crosby – Ford Star Jubilee
 * Bette Davis – The 20th Century-Fox Hour
 * Patty Duke – Armstrong Circle Theatre
 * Clint Eastwood – TV Reader's Digest
 * Nigel Hawthorne – Cry Wolf!
 * Rance Howard – Kraft Television Theatre
 * George Kennedy – The Phil Silvers Show
 * George Leech – ITV Television Playhouse
 * Arthur Malet – Playwrights '56
 * Jeanette MacDonald – Screen Directors Playhouse
 * Vic Morrow – The Millionaire
 * Jack Nicholson – NBC Matinee Theater
 * Eddie Parker – Tales of the Texas Rangers
 * George Peppard – The Big Story
 * Claude Rich – Le revizor ou L'inspecteur général
 * Paul Scofield – Play of the Week
 * Barbara Stanwyck – Ford Theatre
 * Rip Torn – Omnibus
 * John Vernon – First Performance

title: 1956 in television


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Jeremy Brett

Peter Jeremy William Huggins (3 November 1933 – 12 September 1995), known professionally as Jeremy Brett, was an English actor. He played fictional detective Sherlock Holmes in four Granada TV series from 1984 to 1994 in all 41 episodes. His career spanned from stage, to television and film, to Shakespeare and musical theatre. He also played the smitten Freddy Eynsford-Hill in the 1964 Warner Bros. production of My Fair Lady.

Early life
Jeremy Brett was born Peter Jeremy William Huggins at Berkswell Grange in Berkswell, then in Warwickshire. His birthdate was actually 3 November 1933, but it has also been stated as December 1933 or 1935, according to many sources. He was the son of Lieutenant Colonel Henry William Huggins, DSO, MC, DL (1891–1965), an Army officer, and Elizabeth Edith Cadbury (née Butler; 1903–1959), of the confectionery dynasty. He had three older brothers: John Henry (1924–1999), Michael William (1927–2000) and Patrick William (1929–2017). The actor Martin Clunes is his nephew (or, according to other sources, either his cousin or 2nd cousin, once removed). Educated at Eton College, he claimed to have been an "academic disaster", attributing his learning difficulties to dyslexia. Brett belonged to the Woodmen of Arden, an archery club established in 1785. His father and brothers were also members.

Although he eventually developed precisely honed diction, he was born with rhotacism, a speech impediment that prevented him from pronouncing the "R" sound correctly. He underwent corrective surgery as a teenager and followed it with years of practising.

However, while at Eton, he excelled at singing and was a member of the college choir. He was trained by Elsie Fogerty at the Central School of Speech and Drama, then based at the Royal Albert Hall in London, graduating in 1954, but his father had demanded that he change his name for the sake of family honour, so he took his stage name from the label of his first suit, "Brett & Co."

In 1959, while Brett was playing Hamlet, his mother was killed in a car crash in the Welsh mountains. This had a tremendous effect on Brett. Later in life, he spoke about the accident, its impact on him and consequently his performance; "my mother had been killed savagely in a car accident in 1959, and I was very angry about that, because my son, when she was killed, was only three months old. There was anger—it was interesting ... there was anger in me. And I think that came through. I felt cheated—I felt my mother had been cheated—the rage of that came through." He could not believe the circumstances and channelled his anger into his performance.

Stage and screen
Brett made his professional acting debut in rep at the Library Theatre in Manchester in 1954, and his London stage debut with the Old Vic company in Troilus and Cressida in 1956. He made his first appearance in a major film with War and Peace (1956), which starred Audrey Hepburn.

Also in 1956, he appeared on Broadway as the Duke of Aumerle in Richard II. In 1959, Brett had a singing role as the romantic lead of Archie Forsyth in the West End musical Marigold. Also in 1959, he played the part of Hamlet; however, on reflection, in a BBC2 television documentary Playing the Dane, Brett later said that "I don't think I was very good as Hamlet. I think I was too young. I was too young intellectually. I was too young philosophically. I was Byronic. I was very handsome. I had qualities, but I'd much rather see other people's [version]. I wasn't convinced by me". The respected theatre critic Harold Hobson wrote of Brett's portrayal that "the incestuous bed was the centre of his performance". He played many classical roles on stage, including about a dozen Shakespearean parts at the Old Vic, in New York and four while Brett was a member of the National Theatre Company from 1967 to 1970.

From the early 1960s, Brett was often on British television. He starred in several serials, including as d'Artagnan in an adaptation of The Three Musketeers (1966). His highest profile film appearance was as Freddy Eynsford-Hill in My Fair Lady (1964), again with Audrey Hepburn. Although Brett sang well, as he later demonstrated when he played Danilo in a BBC Television broadcast of The Merry Widow (Christmas Day 1968), his singing in My Fair Lady was dubbed by Bill Shirley. Around this time, Brett was considered to replace Sean Connery as James Bond (007), but turned the part down, feeling that playing 007 would harm his career. George Lazenby was subsequently cast instead.

Some of his appearances were in classical comedic roles, such as Captain Absolute in a television version of The Rivals (1970) and Bassanio in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice (1970) in a National Theatre Company production directed by Jonathan Miller, which also featured Laurence Olivier (as Shylock) and Joan Plowright (as Portia). This was adapted for television in 1973 with the same three leads. Brett joked that, as an actor, he was rarely allowed into the 20th century and never into the present day. He did, though, appear in a few contemporary guest roles, in a couple of the ITC series such as The Baron (1967) and The Champions (1969), wherein he was cast as swarthy, smooth villains. Brett also appeared in The Incredible Hulk ("Of Guilt, Models and Murder", 1977) and starred as Maxim in the 1979 adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca opposite Joanna David.

Jeremy Brett's final, posthumous film appearance was an uncredited bit part as the artist's father in Moll Flanders, a 1996 Hollywood feature film starring Robin Wright Penn in the title role. The film (not to be confused with the 1996 ITV adaptation starring Alex Kingston) was released nearly a year after Brett's death.

Sherlock Holmes
Although Brett appeared in many different roles during his 40-year career, he is best remembered for his performance as Sherlock Holmes in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, a series of Granada Television films made between 1984 and 1994. These were adapted by John Hawkesworth and other writers from the original stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Even though he reportedly feared being typecast, Brett appeared in all 41 episodes of the Granada series, plus two television films alongside David Burke and, latterly, Edward Hardwicke as Doctor Watson. Jeremy Brett and Edward Hardwicke appeared on stage in 1988 and 1989 in The Secret of Sherlock Holmes directed by Patrick Garland.

After taking on the demanding role ("Holmes is the hardest part I have ever played—harder than Hamlet or Macbeth") Brett made few other acting appearances, and he is now widely considered to be the definitive Holmes of his era, just as Basil Rathbone was at the beginning of the 1940s and William Gillette during the first third of the 20th century. Brett had previously played Doctor Watson on stage opposite Charlton Heston as Holmes in the 1980 Los Angeles production of The Crucifer of Blood, making him one of only a small number of actors to play both Holmes and Watson professionally.

Brett was approached in February 1982 by Granada Television to play Holmes. The idea was to make a totally authentic and faithful adaptation of the character's best cases. Eventually Brett accepted the role; he wanted to be the best Sherlock Holmes the world had ever seen. He conducted extensive research on the great detective and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle himself, and was very attentive to discrepancies between the scripts he had been given and Conan Doyle's original stories. One of Brett's dearest possessions on the set was his 77-page "Baker Street File" on everything from Holmes' mannerisms to his eating and drinking habits. Brett once explained that "some actors are becomers—they try to become their characters. When it works, the actor is like a sponge, squeezing himself dry to remove his own personality, then absorbing the character's like a liquid". Brett was focused on bringing more passion to the role of Holmes. He introduced Holmes's rather eccentric hand gestures and short violent laughter. He would hurl himself on the ground just to look for a footprint, "he would leap over the furniture or jump onto the parapet of a bridge with no regard for his personal safety."

Holmes's obsessive and depressive personality fascinated and frightened Brett. In many ways Holmes's personality resembled the actor's own, with outbursts of passionate energy followed by periods of lethargy. It became difficult for him to let go of Holmes after work. He had always been told that the only way for an actor to stay sane was for him to leave his part behind at the end of the day, but Brett started dreaming about Holmes, and the dreams turned into nightmares. Brett began to refer to Holmes as "You Know Who" or simply "HIM". Terry Manners' 2001 book on Brett in the role provides some of Brett's thoughts: "'Watson describes You Know Who as a mind without a heart, which is hard to play. Hard to become. So what I have done is invent an inner life.' Brett invented an imaginary life of Holmes to fill the hollowness of Holmes's 'missing heart', his empty emotional life. He imagined: '... what You Know Who's nanny looked like. She was covered in starch. I don't think he saw his mother until he was about eight years old ...' etc." While the other actors disappeared to the canteen for lunch, Brett would sit alone on the set reading the script, looking at every nuance, reading Holmes in the weekends and on his holidays. Brett stated, "Some actors fear if they play Sherlock Holmes for a very long run the character will steal their soul, leave no corner for the original inhabitant," but also that, "Holmes has become the dark side of the moon for me. He is moody and solitary and underneath I am really sociable and gregarious. It has all got too dangerous".

A theatrical adaptation, The Secret of Sherlock Holmes, by Brett's friend, playwright Jeremy Paul, ran at Wyndham's Theatre in London's West End with Brett and Edward Hardwicke during 1988 and 1989; the production subsequently toured.

Brett's performance is regarded by many critics to have been their favourite rendition of Sherlock Holmes.

Awards
Jeremy Brett received the Légion d'honneur in 1994 for his role of Sherlock Holmes at a celebration marking ten years since the series aired. He received it in Manchester where the series was filmed.

Personal life
On 24 May 1958, Brett married the actress Anna Massey (daughter of actor Raymond Massey). Their son, David Huggins, born in 1959, is a British cartoonist, illustrator, and novelist. Brett and Massey divorced on 22 November 1962 after she claimed that he had left her for a man. In 1976, Brett married Joan Sullivan Wilson, who died of cancer in July 1985. Brett was in a romantic relationship with the actor Gary Bond, who died exactly one month after Brett. In the late 1970s, Brett was involved with Paul Shenar. Brett never disclosed his sexuality.

In the latter part of 1986, Brett exhibited wild mood swings that alarmed his family and friends, who persuaded him to seek diagnosis and treatment for manic depression, also known as bipolar disorder. Brett was prescribed lithium tablets to fight this condition. He suspected that he would never be cured, and would have to live with his malady, look for the signs of his disorder, and then deal with it. He wanted to return to work, and to play Holmes again.

The first episode to be produced after his discharge was a two-hour adaptation of The Sign of Four in 1987. From then on, the changes in Brett's appearance and behaviour slowly became more noticeable as the series developed. One of the side effects of the lithium tablets was fluid retention; Brett was putting on weight and retaining water. The drugs were also slowing him down. According to Edward Hardwicke, Brett smoked up to 60 cigarettes a day, which "didn't help his health." He also had heart troubles. His heart was twice the normal size; he had difficulties breathing and needed an oxygen mask on the set. "But, darlings, the show must go on", was his only comment.

During the final decade of his life, Brett was treated in hospital several times for his mental illness, and his health and appearance visibly deteriorated by the time he completed the later episodes of the Sherlock Holmes series. At one point, during the final series, Brett collapsed on set. During his last years, he discussed the illness candidly, encouraging people to recognise its symptoms and seek help.

Death
Brett died on 12 September 1995 at his home in Clapham, London, from heart failure. His heart valves had been scarred by rheumatic fever contracted as a child, and on top of this he had been a heavy smoker throughout his life. His body was cremated.

One of his elder brothers, John, who was a minister, spoke at his youngest brother's memorial service on 29 November 1995.

Mel Gussow wrote in an obituary for The New York Times, "Mr. Brett was regarded as the quintessential Holmes: breathtakingly analytical, given to outrageous disguises and the blackest moods and relentless in his enthusiasm for solving the most intricate crimes."

A memorial tree to the actor was planted on Clapham Common – near where Brett had lived locally for many years prior to his death – on 30 March 2007.

title: Jeremy Brett


text:
1955 in television

The year 1955 in television involved some significant events. Below is a list of television-related events during 1955.

Events

 * January 10 – Minuto de Dios begins airing on television in Colombia; it will still be running more than 60 years later.
 * March 5 – Elvis Presley appears on television for the first time. The program is Louisiana Hayride, televised locally in Shreveport, Louisiana.
 * March 12 – The first Flemish children's TV show, Kom Toch Eens Kijken, is broadcast, hosted by Bob Davidse (Nonkel Bob) and Terry Van Ginderen (Tante Terry).
 * March 15 – The play No Time for Sergeants is broadcast by the American Broadcasting Company in The United States Steel Hour series, starring Andy Griffith in his television debut.
 * April 1 – The DuMont Television Network in the United States drastically decreases its programming; just eight series keep the network operating, in anticipation of its eventual shutdown sixteen months later.
 * May 9 – In the United States:
 * Harpo Marx makes a memorable appearance on I Love Lucy.
 * Jim Henson's puppet show Sam and Friends first airs on WRC-TV in Washington, D.C.
 * May 10 – The first episode of the long-running and popular Flemish TV sitcom Schipper naast Mathilde is broadcast.
 * June 7 – The quiz show craze begins with the premiere of The 64,000 Dollar Question in the U.S. The series spawns many imitations, including Twenty-One the next year, which will later be the focus of a quiz show scandal that results in congressional hearings.
 * June 24 – Channel 4 Bang Khum Phron is launched by Thai Thorathat (Thai Television, predecessor of MCOT HD), the first official television station in Thailand.
 * June 29 – Life with the Lyons, one of the first successful British sitcoms (starring British-domiciled American couple Ben Lyon and Bebe Daniels), premieres on the BBC Television Service, having previously been broadcast only on radio. It will later transfer to ITV.
 * July 19 – Eesti Televisioon begins broadcasting from Tallinn in the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic.
 * August 1 – Austrian ORF Television, predecessor of ORF eins, an officially regular broadcasting service, starts in Vienna.
 * September 22 – Commercial television starts in the United Kingdom with the Independent Television Authority's first ITV franchise beginning broadcasting in London – Associated-Rediffusion on weekdays, ATV during weekends, ending the previous BBC monopoly. The rest of the UK receives its regional ITV franchises during the next seven years. The first advertisement shown is for Gibbs SR toothpaste.
 * September 28 – World Series baseball is broadcast in color for the first time in the U.S. WITN-TV in Washington, North Carolina, signs on the air with game 1 of the 1955 World Series as their first telecast.
 * December 10 – The first Saturday morning cartoon series debuts on U.S. television, The Mighty Mouse Playhouse on CBS.
 * December 24 – The Lennon Sisters make their television debut on The Lawrence Welk Show on ABC in the U.S.
 * December 25 – After being broadcast by radio since 1932, the Royal Christmas Message is broadcast on British television for the first time, in sound only at 3.00pm on both television channels, live from Sandringham House. The first visual Christmas message is shown in 1957.

Programs/programmes

 * Adventures of Superman (1952–1958)
 * American Bandstand (1952–1989)
 * Annie Oakley (1954–1957)
 * Aubrey and Gus (1955–1956)
 * Beau temps, mauvais temps (1955–1958)
 * Bim Bam Boom (1955–1956)
 * Bozo the Clown (1949–present)
 * Candid Camera (1948–present)
 * Cap-aux-sorciers (1955–1958)
 * Cisco Kid (1950–1956)
 * Climax! (1954–1958)
 * Come Dancing (UK) (1949–1995)
 * Country Canada (1955–2007)
 * Cross-Canada Hit Parade (1955–1960)
 * Death Valley Days (1952–1975)
 * Disneyland (1954–1958)
 * Dragnet (1951–1959)
 * Face the Nation (1954–present)
 * Father Knows Best (1954-1960)
 * General Motors Theatre (Can) (1953–1956, 1958–1961)
 * Fury (1955-1960)
 * Gillette Cavalcade of Sports (1946–1960)
 * Hallmark Hall of Fame (1951–present)
 * Hockey Night in Canada (1952–present)
 * Howdy Doody (1947–1960)
 * I Love Lucy (1951–1960)
 * Junior Magazine (1955–1962)
 * Kraft Television Theater (1947–1958)
 * Kukla, Fran and Ollie (1947–1957)
 * Life is Worth Living (1952–1957)
 * Love of Life (1951–1980)
 * Maggie Muggins (1955–1962)
 * Meet the Press (1947–present)
 * Musical Chairs (1955) – game show hosted by Bill Leyden
 * Our Miss Brooks (1952-1956)
 * Panorama (UK) (1953–present)
 * Search for Tomorrow (1951–1986)
 * Sergeant Preston of the Yukon (1955-1958)
 * Talent Varieties (1955) – country music variety show
 * The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952–1966)
 * The Brighter Day (1954–1962)
 * The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950-1955)
 * The Danny Thomas Show (1953-1964)
 * The Ed Sullivan Show (1948–1971)
 * The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show (1950–1958)
 * The Goldbergs (1949–1956)
 * The Good Old Days (UK) (1953–1983)
 * The Grove Family (UK) (1954–1957)
 * The Guiding Light (1952–present)
 * The Jack Benny Program (1950–1965)
 * The Jane Wyman Show, Fireside Theatre (1949-1958)
 * The Jimmy Durante Show (1954–1956)
 * The Milton Berle Show (1954–1967)
 * The Roy Rogers Show (1951–1957)
 * The Secret Storm (1954–1974)
 * The Today Show (1952–present)
 * The Tonight Show (1954–present)
 * The Voice of Firestone (1949–1963)
 * This Is Your Life (US) (1952–1961)
 * Truth or Consequences (1950–1988)
 * What's My Line (1950–1967)
 * Your Hit Parade (1950–1959)
 * Zoo Quest (UK) (1954–1964)

Debuts

 * January 2 – The Bob Cummings Show (also known as Love That Bob) on NBC (1955–1959)
 * January 3 - Hollywood Today on NBC (1955)
 * January 5 – Norby on NBC (1955), first regular weekly series broadcast by NBC in its new all-electronic compatible color system
 * January 15 – The Benny Hill Show (UK) on BBC Television (later moving to ITV; 1955–1989)
 * January 22 – Ozark Jubilee, the first popular country music series on American network television, on ABC (1955–1960), featuring Red Foley
 * April 9 - Science Fiction Theater also known as Beyond the Limits during syndication in the 1960s. (1955-1957)
 * May 9 - Jim Henson's First Muppet Series: Sam and Friends on WRC-TV (1955-1961)
 * June 25 – The Soldiers, an 11-episode live military comedy, aired on NBC through September 3.
 * June 28 – Talent Varieties on ABC through November 1
 * June 29 – Life With The Lyons (UK), one of the first successful British sitcoms (though starring an American, Ben Lyon), on BBC Television (1955–1960)
 * July 2 – The Lawrence Welk Show on ABC (1955–1982)
 * July 9 – Dixon of Dock Green (UK) on BBC Television (1955–1976)
 * July 20 – Frankie Laine Time on CBS (1955–1956)
 * July 29 – This Is Your Life (UK) on BBC Television (1955–2003)
 * September 10
 * Gunsmoke on CBS (1955–1975)
 * It's Always Jan, starring Janis Paige, on CBS (1955–1956)
 * September 12 – Medical Horizons on ABC (1955–1956)
 * September 20
 * Cheyenne on ABC (1955–1962)
 * Joe and Mabel on CBS (1955-1956)
 * September 26 – Jungle Jim in syndication (1955–1956)
 * September 28 – Brave Eagle on CBS (1955–1956)
 * September 29 - Sergeant Preston of the Yukon on CBS (1955-1958)
 * October 1 – The Honeymooners on CBS, starring Jackie Gleason (1955–1956)
 * October 2 – Alfred Hitchcock Presents on CBS (1955–1962)
 * October 3
 * Captain Kangaroo on CBS (1955–1984)
 * Mickey Mouse Club on ABC, featuring "Mouseketeer" Annette Funicello (1955–1959)
 * October 20 – Wanted, a crime documentary on CBS (only ran for three months) (1955–1956)
 * October 22 – Quatermass II (UK), sequel to 1953's The Quatermass Experiment, on BBC Television (ends on November 26)
 * October 31 – Matinee Theatre on NBC, a five-days-a-week live dramatic anthology, with most of the plays in the series broadcast in color (lasted until 1958)

Television debuts

 * Harry Belafonte – Front Row Center
 * Terry Burnham – Climax!
 * David Doyle – The Philco Television Playhouse
 * Zsa Zsa Gabor – Climax!
 * James Garner – Cheyenne
 * George Gaynes – NBC Opera Theatre
 * James Hong – TV Reader's Digest
 * Myrna Loy – General Electric Theater
 * Fred MacMurray – General Electric Theater
 * Tim McCoy – Indian Agent
 * Laurence Olivier – Richard III
 * Don Rickles – Stage 7
 * John Saxon – Medic
 * Maggie Smith – Sunday Night Theatre
 * Rod Taylor – Studio 57
 * Rudy Vallée – Star Tonight
 * Robert Vaughn – Medic
 * John Wayne – Gunsmoke
 * Johnny Weissmuller – Jungle Jim
 * Jane Wyman – General Electric Theater

title: 1955 in television


text:
The Osbournes

The Osbournes is an American reality television program featuring the domestic life of heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne and his family—his wife Sharon, their daughter Kelly, and their son Jack. The series premiered on MTV on March 5, 2002, and, in its first season, was cited as the most-viewed series ever on MTV. The final episode aired on March 21, 2005.

Overview
In addition to heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne, the show features his wife and manager Sharon, and their children Jack and Kelly. The Osbournes have another daughter, Aimee, who refused to participate in the show and publicly criticized her parents for their antics on the show. In most family photos shown on the show, she is either absent or blurred. The series also followed the family as they dealt with major events such as Sharon's battle with cancer and the aftermath of an ATV accident that nearly killed Ozzy.

The theme song for the show is a cover of Ozzy's song "Crazy Train" by Lewis Lamedica, done in a jazz-swing style reminiscent of Pat Boone.

Concurrent with the success of the series, Kelly Osbourne launched a brief career as a singer, while Sharon Osbourne hosted The Sharon Osbourne Show. The family also parodied their TV series during cameo appearances at awards shows and in the film Austin Powers in Goldmember.

Jack and Kelly's friend Robert Marcato made regular appearances on the show; Sharon took him in during the second season after his mother died of cancer. While a constant presence in front of the camera, few plots revolved around Robert and he had few lines. After the series ended, it was reported that the Osbournes had sent Robert back to Rhode Island to live with his father after spending a week at a psychiatric ward. The Osbournes were assumed to have adopted Robert, but Sharon Osbourne has denied this.

Another person who makes recurring appearances on the show is Melinda, Sharon's executive assistant and nanny, who is also married to Ozzy's tour manager. She is often seen trying to get Jack out of bed while he berates and belittles her, telling her to "get a real job." Melinda is originally from Australia.

Ozzy confirmed in an interview on BBC Radio 2 in May 2009 that he was "stoned during the entire filming of The Osbournes" and will not watch the episodes for this reason.

Profanity was censored during MTV broadcasts of the series in the United States. In an interview, Ozzy stated that while he was happy that the Canadian broadcasts were uncensored, he preferred the censored version because the cursing was more noticeable due to the bleeps. The Canadian broadcasts on CTV and UK broadcasts on MTV and Channel 4 are uncensored. Some episodes were also aired uncensored to Australian audiences when shown on Network Ten. It is broadcast uncensored on MTV Australia.

Staging
Jack and Kelly stated in an interview that some of the situations on the show, including the visit from the dog therapist, were arranged by MTV producers. Ozzy Osbourne's publicist denied that any reactions were staged.

After filming
On November 30 and December 1, 2007, items belonging to the Osbournes and featured in the show were auctioned off to the public. The two-day event listed memorabilia as well as furnishings of the home. Bidders could bid through the Auction Network.

In 2009, the Osbournes reunited for the debut of their new variety show Osbournes Reloaded for the Fox network. Produced by Fremantle Media North America, the series debuted on March 31, 2009, at 9:25PM ET/PT, following American Idol. It consisted of sketches, stunts, celebrity cameos, music performances, and pretaped segments. The show was canceled after airing its first episode. On its debut, 26 Fox affiliates pre-empted or delayed the program due to its racy content, which the stations felt was more appropriate for older viewers.

Since 2016, Ozzy and Jack have starred in Ozzy & Jack's World Detour, a reality-series that initially aired on History before moving to A&E for its second season. On January 23, 2018, Jack revealed on his official Instagram page that the series had been picked up for a third season. The eight-episode third season premiered on A&E on June 13, 2018, with Jack's sister Kelly Osbourne joining the cast.

More recently, The Osbournes Want to Believe was released on August 2, 2020, on Travel Channel.

2022 revival
In October 2015, Kelly Osbourne stated that she was open to the idea of a revival that was new and different, saying that "we did it on MTV and that had never been done before so if we're going to come back, we'd want to do it in a way that has never been done before either." In 2022, it was announced the show would return to follow the family in the UK.

Home releases
Only seasons one and two (released in two sets as season two and two 1/2 or 2.5 ) have been released on DVD by Miramax Home Entertainment and Buena Vista Home Entertainment.

The Osbourne Family Album, a various artists compilation based on the show, was released in June 2002.

Awards and nominations
As well as achieving the highest ratings in MTV history, The Osbournes won a 2002 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality Program.

International airings
The series aired on CTV and MusiquePlus in Canada, Channel 4 in the UK and MTV UK and Ireland in Ireland and the UK, VH1 India in India, RTÉ Two in Ireland, Network Ten and MTV Australia in Australia, TV2 Denmark, MTV Finland and Nelonen in Finland, MTV Latin America in Latin America, MTV Portugal in Portugal, TV2 in New Zealand, MTV Germany in Germany, MTV Ukraine in Ukraine, MTV Brasil in Brazil, MTV Italia in Italy, MTV Nederland in the Netherlands and MTV Europe.

In popular culture

 * The Osbournes has a slot game adaptation created by Microgaming.
 * The retro looking typeface used for the main title is called Swanky and was designed by Stuart Sandler of Font Diner.

title: The Osbournes


text:
1954 in television

The year 1954 in television involved some significant events. Below is a list of television-related events in 1954.

Events

 * January 1 – NBC broadcasts the Rose Parade from Pasadena, California in NTSC color. The broadcast uses a new mobile color TV studio (truck) and the program is carried across the continent on 21 stations.  RCA strategically places Color TV sets in public viewing areas such as hotel lobbies because the first sets only become available to the public in the spring.
 * January 3 – Programma Nazionale began transmissions in Italy, making it the first TV network in Italian television.
 * January 5 – WAYS-TV, predecessor of WCCB, signed on the air. It was North Carolina's second UHF station (after WNAO-TV in Raleigh), as well as the second television station in the Charlotte market.
 * January 10 – CBMT opens in Montreal, making that city the first in Canada to have 2 stations operating. The new station uses the English language, leaving CBFT to continue entirely in French.
 * January 11 – The first weather forecast with an in-vision presenter is televised in the UK.
 * January 12 – Experimental television begins in Norway.
 * February 28 – Telma became the first television station in Morocco. It was closed down after 15 months on the air and was left without an official TV station until 1962.
 * March 28 – WKAQ-TV became the first television station in Puerto Rico.
 * April – The American Broadcasting Company broadcasts the Army-McCarthy hearings live and in their entirety.
 * May 1
 * WAPA-TV becomes the second television station in Puerto Rico.
 * Télévision suisse romande TSR is launched as the first Italian broadcaster in Switzerland.
 * May 17–23 – One week (the so-called "Sandrewsveckan" or "Sandrews week") of experimental television broadcasts are aired in Sweden, the first such programs in the country.
 * June 5 – The last new episode of the comic variety program, Your Show of Shows, airs.
 * June 6 – The Eurovision network makes its first official transmission: it broadcasts the Narcissus Festival in Montreux, Switzerland, followed by an evening program from Rome, including a tour of the Vatican City, an address from Pope Pius XII and an apostolic blessing.
 * June 13 – Canal Nacional, predecessor of Canal 1, launched as the first Colombian television station.
 * July 5 – First actual news bulletin, News and Newsreel, aired on BBC Television, replacing Television Newsreel.
 * September 11 – The Miss America Beauty Contest airs for the first time on national television in the United States. 27 million viewers watched as Lee Ann Meriwether wins the title. Meriwether would later become a television actress, co-starring in Barnaby Jones (1973–1980).
 * September 16 – CBET-DT began transmissions as CKLW-TV at 2:50 p.m., it was the first television station in Windsor.
 * September 26 – WCAX-TV signs on the air as WMVT, making it the first television station in Vermont.
 * October 2 – The Jimmy Durante Show premieres on NBC (1954–1956).
 * October 29 – Sveriges Radio begins broadcasting TV in Sweden and apart from news and a weather forecast, the first Swedish TV programme is "En skål för televisionen" ("A Toast to Television") led by Lennart Hyland. For the first few months (until spring 1955), Swedish TV is broadcast one evening a week and for about an hour each time.
 * November 3 – Disney's Alice in Wonderland airs on ABC in the United States.
 * November 6 – LTV began broadcasting for the first time in Latvia and the oldest in the Baltic countries.
 * November 19 – Télé Monte-Carlo launched in Monaco, the first microstate to have a television network.
 * December 12 – BBC Television broadcasts its famous, and controversial, adaptation of George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four.
 * The Television Act 1954 authorises setting up the infrastructure for British commercial television.
 * The British Academy Television Awards, the most prestigious awards of the British television industry, are first awarded.
 * The RCA CT-100 and Westinghouse 15" color sets hit the market. Neither are big sellers.

Series on the air in 1954

 * Adventures of Superman (1952–1958)
 * American Bandstand (1952–1989)
 * Bozo the Clown (1949–present)
 * Buick-Berle Show (1953–1954); the show was renamed The Milton Berle Show (1954–1967) this year
 * Candid Camera (1948–2014)
 * Cavalcade of America (1952-1957)
 * Cisco Kid (1950–1956)
 * The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950-1955)
 * Come Dancing (UK) (1949–1995)
 * Death Valley Days (1952–1975)
 * Dragnet (1951–1959)
 * General Motors Theatre (Can) (1953–1956, 1958–1961)
 * Gillette Cavalcade of Sports (1946–1960)
 * Hallmark Hall of Fame (1951–present)
 * Hawkins Falls (1950, 1951–1955)
 * Hockey Night in Canada (1952–present)
 * Howdy Doody (1947–1960)
 * I Love Lucy (1951–1960)
 * Kraft Television Theater (1947–1958)
 * Kukla, Fran and Ollie (1947–1957)
 * Life is Worth Living (1952–1957)
 * Life with Elizabeth (1952–1955)
 * Love of Life (1951–1980)
 * Meet the Press (1947–present)
 * Muffin the Mule (1946–1955)
 * My Little Margie (1952–1955)
 * Our Miss Brooks (1952-1956)
 * Panorama (UK) (1953–present)
 * Search for Tomorrow (1951–1986)
 * Sky King (1951-1962)
 * The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952–1966)
 * The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950-1955)
 * The Ed Sullivan Show (1948–1971)
 * The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show (1950–1958)
 * The Goldbergs (1949–1955)
 * The Good Old Days (UK) (1953–1983)
 * The Guiding Light (1952–2009)
 * The Jack Benny Program (1950–1965)
 * The Roy Rogers Show (1951–1957)
 * The Today Show (1952–present)
 * The Voice of Firestone (1949–1963)
 * This Is Your Life (US) (1952–1961)
 * Truth or Consequences (1950–1988)
 * What's My Line (1950–1967)
 * Where's Raymond? or The Ray Bolger Show (1953–1955)
 * Your Hit Parade (1950–1959)

Debuts

 * January 1 – Annie Oakley (1954–1957)
 * January 4 – The Brighter Day (1954–1962)
 * January 23 – Stories of the Century (1954–1955)
 * February 1 - The Secret Storm (1954–1974)
 * March 11 – The Public Defender on CBS (1954–1955)
 * April 2 – The Grove Family, on BBC Television (1954–1957); generally considered the first British TV soap opera
 * April 8 – Justice on NBC (1954–1956)
 * April 18 – The Martha Wright Show on ABC
 * April 26 – The Tony Martin Show on NBC
 * July 5 - Concerning Miss Marlowe on NBC.
 * July 16 - The Best in Mystery on NBC. (1954)
 * August 5 – So You Want to Lead a Band on ABC (1954–1955)
 * August 28 – The Mickey Rooney Show: Hey, Mulligan on NBC (1954–1955)
 * September 7
 * Stop the Music premiered for the second time on ABC after a two-year hiatus
 * It's a Great Life on NBC (1954–1956)
 * September 10 – Dear Phoebe on NBC (1954–1955)
 * September 12 – Lassie on CBS (1954–1973)
 * September 18 – Willy on CBS (1954–1955)
 * September 27 – The Tonight Show on NBC (1954–present)
 * October 2
 * The Imogene Coca Show on NBC (1954–1955)
 * The Jimmy Durante Show on NBC (1954–1956)
 * October 3 - Father Knows Best on CBS (1954-60)
 * October 5 - The Elgin Hour on ABC (1954-1955)
 * October 7 – The Mail Story, subtitled Handle with Care, on ABC (1954)
 * October 14 – Flash Gordon (1954–1955), starring Steve Holland
 * October 15 – The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin on ABC (1954–1959)
 * October 21 – The CBS anthology series, Climax! (1954–1958) airs an adaptation of Ian Fleming's novel, Casino Royale, starring Barry Nelson as an Americanized version of spy James Bond; the first dramatic adaptation of a Bond novel
 * October 22 - The Jack Carson Show on NBC (1954-1955)
 * October 27 – The Walt Disney anthology series debuts as Disneyland (1954–present; as Disneyland 1954–1958)
 * November 13 – Fabian of the Yard, the first British TV police procedural, debuts on BBC (1954–1956)
 * December 21 – Zoo Quest on BBC Television (1954–1964)
 * Face the Nation on CBS (1954–present)
 * The Jo Stafford Show, a 15-minute primetime variety series, on CBS (1954–1955)
 * The National premieres as The National News on CBC (1954–present)
 * That's My Boy on CBS

Television debuts

 * Lew Ayres – Omnibus
 * Carroll Baker – The Web
 * Angie Dickinson – The Colgate Comedy Hour
 * Dennis Hopper – Cavalcade of America
 * Ruby Keeler – The Jackie Gleason Show
 * Jayne Mansfield – Lux Video Theatre
 * Ethel Merman – The Colgate Comedy Hour
 * Robert Morse – The Secret Storm
 * Nell O'Day – Studio One
 * Ginger Rogers – Producers' Showcase
 * Gilbert Roland – Ford Theatre
 * Gena Rowlands – Top Secret
 * Harry Dean Stanton – Inner Sanctum
 * Adam West – The Philco Television Playhouse

title: 1954 in television