Today's listings come from New York City, with a touch of Connecticut thrown in. And, as promised, there's plenty of Christmas commentary thrown in.
2 WCBS (CBS) | ||
MORNING | ||
7:55 | NEWS | |
8:15 | PREVIEWS | |
8:20 | GIVE US THIS DAY—Religion | |
8:25 | NEWS | |
8:30 | MY LITTLE MARGIE—Comedy | |
9:00 | PEOPLE’S CHOICE—Comedy | |
9:30 | WAY TO GO—Religion | |
10:00 | CHRISTMAS, U.S.A. SPECIAL “Lamp Unto My Feet” and “Look Up and Live” will not be seen this morning | |
11:00 | UN IN ACTION—Novins | |
11:30 | CAMERA THREE | |
AFTERNOON | ||
12:00 | CBS TELEVISION WORKSHOP | |
12:55 | NEWS—Harry Reasoner | |
1:00 | MOVIE—Comedy “The Emperor Waltz” (1948) | |
2:30 | MOVIE—Drama “David Copperfield” (1934) | |
3:45 | THIS IS WCBS-TV | |
4:30 | NEW YORK FORUM | |
5:00 | CHRISTMAS STARTIME SPECIAL COLOR “Amateur Hour” and “G-E College Bowl” will not be seen today | |
EVENING | ||
6:00 | BURNS AND ALLEN—Comedy Last show of the series | |
6:30 | TWENTIETH CENTURY Admiral Byrd | |
7:00 | LASSIE—Drama | |
7:30 | DENNIS THE MENACE | |
8:00 | ED SULLIVAN—Variety Guests: Alfred Drake, Roberta Peters, Odetta, the Baird puppet, the Robert Shaw Chorale, Marji Lee | |
9:00 | G.E. THEATER—Drama “The Other Wise Man” | |
9:30 | JACK BENNY—Comedy | |
10:00 | CANDID CAMERA Guest: Dorothy Collins | |
10:30 | WHAT’S MY LINE? | |
11:00 | NEWS—Walter Cronkite | |
11:15 | MOVIE—Drama Late Show: “Remember the Night” (1940) | |
1:00 | MOVIE—Comedy Late Late Show: “Larceny, Inc.” (1942) Time approximate | |
2:50 | NEWS | |
2:55 | GIVE US THIS DAY | |
3 WTIC (HARTFORD) (CBS) | ||
MORNING | ||
8:00 | BIG PICTURE—Army | |
8:30 | CHRISTOPHERS—Religion | |
9:00 | SPEAK UP—Education | |
9:30 | UNDERSTANDING OUR WORLD—Educaton | |
10:00 | CHRISTMAS, U.S.A. SPECIAL “Lamp Unto My Feet” and “Look Up and Live” will not be seen this morning | |
11:00 | UN IN ACTION—Novins | |
11:30 | CAMERA THREE | |
AFTERNOON | ||
12:00 | INSIGHTS—Education | |
12:30 | WE BELIEVE—Religion | |
1:00 | YOUR COMMUNITY | |
1:15 | YESTERDAY’S NEWSREEL | |
1:30 | PERCEPTION—Education | |
2:00 | MOVIE—Drama “The Little Kidnappers” (English; 1954) | |
3:30 | MOVIE—Comedy “Androcles and the Lion” (1952) | |
EVENING | ||
6:00 | INTERNATIONAL ZONE | |
6:30 | TWENTIETH CENTURY Admiral Byrd | |
7:00 | IVANHOE—Adventure | |
7:30 | DENNIS THE MENACE | |
8:00 | ED SULLIVAN—Variety Guests: Alfred Drake, Roberta Peters, Odetta, the Baird puppet, the Robert Shaw Chorale, Marji Lee | |
9:00 | G.E. THEATER—Drama “The Other Wise Man” | |
9:30 | JACK BENNY—Comedy | |
10:00 | CANDID CAMERA Guest: Dorothy Collins | |
10:30 | WHAT’S MY LINE? | |
11:00 | NEWS—Walter Cronkite | |
11:15 | MOVIE—Opera “The Barber of Seville” (Italian; 1947) | |
12:50 | NEWS AND WEATHER | |
12:55 | MOMENT OF MEDITATION | |
At noon, CBS Television Workshop ends its run with a Christmas-themed story of passengers on an American plane headed for Moscow that develops engine trouble. Later in the afternoon, Leonard Bernstein hosts Christmas Startime, first shown last year, with the New York Philharmonic, the St. Paul's Cathedral Boys Choir of London, and the great Marian Anderson.
4 WNBC (NBC) | ||
MORNING | ||
7:40 | SERMONETTE—Religion | |
7:45 | MODERN FARMER | |
8:45 | PROTESTANT FOURTH R | |
9:00 | LET’S TALK ABOUT GOD | |
9:15 | JEWISH FOURTH R—Religion | |
9:30 | LIBRARY LIONS | |
10:00 | PROTESTANT HERITAGE | |
10:30 | FILM DRAMA | |
11:00 | INVITATION TO ART | |
11:30 | MOVIE—Drama “The Pied Piper” (1942) | |
AFTERNOON | ||
1:00 | YOUTH FOURMS—Gordon | |
1:30 | ETERNAL LIGHT—Religion Guests: Maurice Samuel, Mark Van Doren | |
2:00 | MOVIE—Drama Movie Four: “The Bells of St. Mary’s” (1945) | |
3:30 | DIRECT LINE—Interview | |
4:00 | NBC OPERA COMPANY SPECIAL “Amahl and the Night Visitors” | |
5:00 | CELEBRITY GOLF Dennis O’Keefe vs. Sam Snead | |
5:30 | CHET HUNTLEY | |
EVENING | ||
6:00 | MEET THE PRESS—Interview COLOR Dr. Henry Heald, president of the Ford Foundation | |
6:30 | PEOPLE ARE FUNNY | |
7:00 | SHIRLEY TEMPLE COLOR “Babes in Toyland” | |
8:00 | NATIONAL VELVET—Drama | |
8:30 | TAB HUNTER—Comedy | |
9:00 | DINAH SHORE—Variety COLOR Guests: Vukiji Asoka, the Kotetsu jugglers, Ohmari brothers dancers, top-spinner Komo Zura, acrobat Katchi Namba, singers Tony Toyoda and Matsumi Maki, musicians the Yamakawa sisters, musician Junko Hara | |
10:00 | LORETTA YOUNG—Drama | |
10:30 | THIS IS YOUR LIFE—Edwards | |
11:00 | NEWS—Frank Blair | |
11:10 | MOVIE—Drama Movie Four: “Pepote” (Spanish; 1957) | |
1:00 | MOVIE—Mystery “Fair Warning” (1937) | |
2:30 | SERMONETTE—Religion | |
On Eternal Light, Maurise Samuel and Mark Van Doren discuss "Mr. Lincoln and the Bible." The matinee movie at 2:00 p.m. is The Bells of St. Mary's, the sequel to Going My Way, with Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman in a story against a Christmas backdrop; Bing gets his second Oscar nomination for playing Fr. Chuck O'Malley. That's followed at 4:00 p.m. by NBC's eleventh presentation of the stirring Amahl and the Night Visitors, with Kirk Jordan and Rosemary Khulmann. And at 7:00 p.m., Shirley Temple presents Victor Herbert's Babes in Toyland, with Jonathan Winters, Jerry Colonna, Joe Besser and Carl Ballantine as the bad guys.
5 WNEW (IND.) | ||
MORNING | ||
7:45 | UNDERSTANDING | |
8:15 | CARDINAL SPELLMAN | |
8:30 | WONDERAMA—Children | |
9:00 | WONDERAMA—Sonny Fox | |
AFTERNOON | ||
1:00 | CHRISTMAS CARTOONS | |
2:00 | HOLIDAY THEATER—Drama | |
3:00 | MOVIE—Drama “A Christmas Carol” (English; 1951) | |
5:00 | THEATER 5—Drama | |
EVENING | ||
6:00 | MOVIE—Drama “Call Northside 777” (1948) | |
8:00 | ALBERT BURKE—Comment | |
8:30 | SCIENCE REPORTER | |
9:00 | AMERICAN FORUM | |
9:30 | MEDIC—Drama | |
10:00 | CHARLIE CHAN—Mystery | |
10:15 | NEWS | |
10:30 | SHERLOCK HOLMES | |
11:00 | MOVIE—Mystery “Woman on the Run” (1950) | |
12:45 | NEWS; CALL TO PRAYER | |
After the four-hour Wonderama Christmas spectacular, WNEW presents an hour of Christmas cartoons; later, it's a rerun of the Alasair Sim Christmas Carol. At 5:00 p.m., Theater 5 has "Meet Mr. Kringle," which is, in fact, the made-for-TV version of Miracle on 34th Street with Thomas Mitchell as Kris Kringle; it also stars Macdonald Carey and Teresa Wright as Fred and Doris, and Sandy Deschler as Natalie Wood. You can read more about the Wonderama Christmas specials, by the way, here; you'll also want to keep that site open for another program coming up.
7 WABC (ABC) | ||
MORNING | ||
7:56 | MORNING PRAYER—Religion | |
8:00 | CARTOON FESTIVAL—Children | |
9:30 | ROCKY AND HIS FRIENDS | |
10:00 | ASTRONOMY FOR YOU | |
10:30 | FOCUS—Documentary | |
11:00 | FAITH FOR TODAY | |
11:30 | THIS IS THE ANSWER | |
AFTERNOON | ||
12:00 | DAMON RUNYON THEATER | |
12:30 | PIP THE PIPER—Children | |
1:00 | DIRECTIONS ’61 | |
2:00 | MOVIE—Drama “Miracle on 34th Street” (1947) | |
3:30 | CHAMPIONSHIP BRIDGE | |
4:00 | HAWKEYE—Adventure | |
4:30 | PAUL WINCHELL—Variety | |
5:00 | MATTY’S FUNDAY FUNNIES | |
5:30 | ROCKY AND HIS FRIENDS | |
EVENING | ||
6:00 | IVANHOE—Adventure | |
6:30 | WALT DISNEY—Cartoon | |
7:30 | MAVERICK—Western | |
8:30 | LAWMAN—Western | |
9:00 | REBEL—Western | |
9:30 | ISLANDERS—Adventure | |
10:30 | CHRISTMAS NIGHT SPECIAL “The Gift of Song” Guests: June Valli, Susan Reed, Bill Hayes, Lois Hunt “Winston Churchill: The Valiant Years” will not be seen | |
11:00 | MOVIE—Musical Comedy Night Show: “Sun Valley Serenade” (1941) | |
1:00 | EVENING PRAYER—Religion | |
At 6:30 p.m., Walt Disney presents "From All of Us to All of You," his much-loved Christmas show first shown in 1958, featuring Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and more of Walt's most popular animated characters. And at 10:30 p.m., it's Music for a Christmas Night—The Gift of Song, a pleasant half-hour of Yuletide favorites.
8 WNHC (NEW HAVEN) (ABC) | ||
MORNING | ||
8:00 | ALBERTA MAGNUS CHOIR | |
8:25 | NEWS | |
8:30 | THIS IS THE LIFE | |
9:00 | CHRISTMAS SONGS University of Connecticut and Southern Connecticut State glee clubs | |
9:30 | CHRISTMAS SONGS Yale Glee Club, Wiffenpoofs | |
10:00 | CHRISTMAS SONGS University of Connecticut and Southern Connecticut State glee clubs | |
10:30 | LIVING WORD—Religion | |
10:45 | LIGHT TIME—Religion | |
11:00 | FAITH FOR TODAY | |
11:30 | THIS OUR FAITH—Religion | |
AFTERNOON | ||
12:00 | CHAMPIONSHIP BRIDGE | |
12:30 | PIP THE PIPER—Children | |
1:00 | DIRECTIONS ’61 | |
2:00 | HIGHWAY PATROL—Police | |
2:30 | WEST POINT—Drama | |
3:00 | PAUL WINCHELL—Variety | |
3:30 | CHRISTMAS SONGS University of Connecticut and Southern Connecticut State glee clubs | |
4:00 | BOWLING—Milford | |
5:00 | YALE GLEE CLUB CONCERT | |
5:30 | ROCKY AND HIS FRIENDS | |
EVENING | ||
6:00 | SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS | |
6:30 | SEA HUNT—Adventure | |
7:00 | LASSIE—Drama | |
7:30 | MAVERICK—Western | |
8:30 | LAWMAN—Western | |
9:00 | REBEL—Western | |
9:30 | ISLANDERS—Adventure | |
11:00 | MOVIE—Dave Kiernan | |
11:10 | WEATHER—Joe Francis | |
11:15 | MOVIE—Comedy “Christmas in Connecticut” (1945) | |
1:15 | NEWS | |
No question about it, you're going to get plenty of opportunities to see the University of Connecticut and Southern Connecticut State glee clubs today, plus the Yale Glee Club. I wonder if they're allowed to do concerts like this anymore? At 3:00 p.m., Paul Winchell's weekly series returns; he plays Santa Claus, and Jerry Mahoney is Santa's helper. With help like that. . .
I like the way WNHC ends the evening: with the classic Christmas in Connecticut, starring Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan, Sydney Greenstreet and Reginald Gardiner. How appropriate that it's being shown on Christmas, in Connecticut.
9 WOR (Ind.) | ||
MORNING | ||
10:20 | NEWS AND WEATHER | |
10:25 | ALMANAC NEWSREEL | |
10:30 | MOVIE—Musical “March of the Wooden Soldiers” (1934) | |
AFTERNOON | ||
12:00 | ORAL ROBERTS—Religion | |
12:30 | CHRISTIAN SCIENCE | |
12:45 | EVANGEL HOUR—Religion | |
1:15 | TEEN CHALLENGE | |
1:30 | MOVIE—Adventure Million Dollar Movie: “Blackbeard, the Pirate” (1952) | |
3:00 | MOVIE—Adventure Million Dollar Movie: “Blackbeard, the Pirate” (1952) | |
4:30 | MOVIE—Adventure Million Dollar Movie: “Blackbeard, the Pirate” (1952) | |
EVENING | ||
6:00 | FILM DRAMA “Christmas is Magic” | |
6:30 | FILM DRAMA “Heart of Gold” | |
7:00 | TERRYTOONS—Kirchner | |
7:30 | MOVIE—Drama “From This Day Forward” (1946) | |
9:00 | MOVIE—Drama “The Virgin of Guadalupe” (1942) | |
10:30 | MOVIE—Drama “Here Comes Mr. Jordan” (1941) | |
12:00 | ALMANAC NEWSREEL | |
One thing for sure: if WOR paid one million dollars for Blackbeard, the Pirate, they were going to be damned sure they got their money's worth out of it. I'd opt for Laurel and Hardy's March of the Wooden Soldiers, a very loose adaptation of the Babes in Toyland story we saw on Shirley Temple's show. Don't watch it for the story, though, but for Stan and Ollie, especially when Stan tries to teach Ollie how to play pee-wees. Surprisingly, the best version you're going to see is the colorized one, which is really well done.
11 WPIX (Ind.) | ||
MORNING | ||
9:00 | LET’S HAVE FUN—Children | |
AFTERNOON | ||
12:30 | CHRISTMAS PARTY Chuck McCann, Bozo the Clown, Captain Jack, Officer Joe Bolton The following will not be seen today: “Encounter,” “Continental Miniatures,” “The Big Picture,” “Mark Saber,” “Captured,” “Public Defender,” “City Detective,” and “Laurel and Hardy” | |
5:00 | CASEY JONES—Adventure | |
5:30 | SUPERMAN—Adventure | |
EVENING | ||
6:00 | BRAVE STALLION—Adventure | |
6:30 | WHIRLYBIRDS—Adventure | |
7:00 | PIONEERS—Western | |
7:30 | ENCOUNTER—Religion | |
8:00 | AIR FORCE ADVENTURE | |
8:30 | TO BE ANNOUNCED | |
9:00 | MOVIE—Drama “Thunder in the Valley” (1947) | |
10:30 | TARGET—Adolphe Menjou | |
11:00 | MOVIE—Drama “How Green Was My Valley” (1941) | |
From 1959 to 1963, the Christmas Party was a tradition on WPIX; the second half of this article goes into loving detail regarding the festivities that are still warmly remembered over a half-century later.
13 WNTA (Ind.) | ||
MORNING | ||
10:00 | RELIGIOUS PROGRAM | |
11:00 | CROSSROADS—Religion | |
11:30 | IRVING CAESAR SHOW | |
AFTERNOON | ||
12:00 | BETWEEN THE LINES | |
12:30 | GOV. ROBERT MEYNER | |
1:00 | MOVIE—Western “Apache Warrior” (1957) | |
2:30 | MOVIE—To Be Announced | |
4:00 | OSCAR LEVANT—Conversation | |
4:55 | PLAYBACK—Music | |
5:00 | MOVIE—Drama Picture of the Week: “God is My Partner” (1957) | |
EVENING | ||
6:30 | GREAT MUSIC—Chicago Guest: Rosalind Elias | |
7:30 | PLAY OF THE WEEK—Drama “Emmanuel” | |
9:30 | WIND OF CHANGE | |
10:00 | OPEN END—David Susskind | |
Metropolitan Opera star Rosalind Elias is the guest on an evening of Christmas music with the Chicago Symphony on Great Music. That's followed by a rerun of last night's Play of the Week, "Emmanuel."
And there you have it. Not a bad way to spend Christmas, is it? TV