Have you heard the one about the man who never missed a day of work until one day when he fell into a routine? I'm here all week, folks!
Seriously, I am a creature of habit. Even when it comes to watching classic television; we never binge-watch, but stick to one episode a week, if possible on the night of the week when the program generally aired. This might explain why this week's TV listing is running on Wednesday, rather than Monday, for if you looked in at the start of the week (and if you didn't, why not?), you know that was the day of my entry in the TV Sidekick Blogathon. Now, I could have simply posted this later in the day, or on Tuesday, but holding to that Monday-Wednesday-Friday schedule is important. It's a routine I've become comfortable with over the years, and I try to keep to it whenever possible. This week it was possible, and so you're getting Monday's edition today. Think of it as a special Wednesday version.
Johnny Jupiter is a kids' program I hadn't heard of before, which was as good a reason as any for me to look at this late-'50s Saturday lineup. It has a checkered history, running first on DuMont and then ABC before going off the air in 1954. The always-reliable Wikipedia mentions that the ABC episodes survived, and so I suspect they may have gone into syndication, explaining why it's showing up here. Either that, or KRLD was just picking up the transmissions as they were ricocheting off of the planet Jupiter. What you see here is apparently from DuMont.
The prime time lineup would have been considered a strong one. We have Perry Como, with one of the rare color broadcasts of the time (on NBC, of course), followed by Caesar's Hour, Sid Caesar's follow-up to the hit Your Show of Shows. Caesar's Hour never achieved quite the heights of the earlier show, though. Then there's George Gobel's variety show, which at one time was one of the top-rated programs on television, and ran from 1954 to 1960.
You're not seeing things on that NBA Game of the Week. The Detroit Pistons did at one point, in fact, call Fort Wayne, Indiana home. In fact, up until 1948, they were called the Zollner Pistons after their owner, Fred Zollner. This is their last season in Fort Wayne though; next year they move to Detroit, which they've called home ever since. Their opponents are the St. Louis Hawks, who started out representing the Tri-Cities of Moline and Rock Island, Illinois, and Davenport, Iowa, before moving to Milwaukee, and then St. Louis, where they'll win the NBA championship next season. In 1968 they'll move once again, this time to Atlanta.
You might have noticed the 9:30am listing, I Married Joan. I wonder about that; even in the 1950s, where there are more live-action Saturday morning shows than later on, that seems like a very adult program. Not in terms of its themes or its seriousness; it's a sitcom starring Joan Davis and Jim Backus. No, I just mean that it was in prime time for three seasons, and it doesn't involve stories about children, like Fury or National Velvet or Sky King. It would be like putting Dick Van Dyke on Saturday mornings. There was a fair share of slapstick to it though; maybe kids liked that the way they do the Three Stooges.
You remember Channel 5's 10:30pm movie, "The Saint in Paul Springs"? It stars George Sanders, who played Simon Templar, aka The Saint, in five movies, this being the last. At the very same time, George Sanders stars in "Appointment in Berlin" here on Channel 11. And it's not even his birthday! I always enjoyed his performances, which were invariably dry, especially in his comedies, such as "A Shot in the Dark." He suffered from poor health in his later years and committed suicide in 1972, saying he was bored with life. I hope, for his sake, he was not in his right mind when he did it.
Seriously, I am a creature of habit. Even when it comes to watching classic television; we never binge-watch, but stick to one episode a week, if possible on the night of the week when the program generally aired. This might explain why this week's TV listing is running on Wednesday, rather than Monday, for if you looked in at the start of the week (and if you didn't, why not?), you know that was the day of my entry in the TV Sidekick Blogathon. Now, I could have simply posted this later in the day, or on Tuesday, but holding to that Monday-Wednesday-Friday schedule is important. It's a routine I've become comfortable with over the years, and I try to keep to it whenever possible. This week it was possible, and so you're getting Monday's edition today. Think of it as a special Wednesday version.
KRLD, Channel 4 (Dallas) (CBS) | ||
Morning | ||
08:00a | Johnny Jupiter | |
08:30a | Captain Kangaroo | |
09:30a | SMU College of the Air | |
10:30a | Texas Rangers | |
11:00a | Mighty Mouse | |
11:30a | Buffalo Bill, Jr. | |
Afternoon | ||
12:00p | The Lone Ranger | |
12:30p | Sky King | |
01:00p | NHL Hockey – Detroit Red Wings vs. Boston Bruins (last show of the series) | |
03:15p | Open Door | |
03:30p | Jill Corey | |
03:45p | TV Bible School | |
04:00p | Cartoons | |
04:15p | Questions That Count | |
04:30p | Boston Blackie | |
05:00p | Famous Playhouse | |
05:30p | Big “D” Jamboree | |
Evening | ||
06:00p | Death Valley Days | |
06:30p | The Buccaneers | |
07:00p | Jackie Gleason | |
08:00p | Oh! Susanna | |
08:30p | Hey, Jeannie! | |
09:00p | Gunsmoke | |
09:30p | You’re On Your Own | |
10:00p | The Brothers | |
10:30p | The Gourmet | |
11:00p | Wrestling |
WBAP, Channel 5 (Fort Worth) (NBC) | ||
Morning | ||
08:30a | Let’s Teach | |
09:00a | Howdy Doody | |
09:30a | Captain Midnight | |
10:00a | Fury | |
10:30a | Bobby Peters | |
11:00a | Six Gun Theater – “Colorado Serenade” | |
Afternoon | ||
12:00p | Farm News | |
12:30p | Florian Zabach | |
01:00p | This is the Answer | |
01:30p | NBA Basketball – Fort Wayne Pistons vs. St. Louis Hawks | |
03:30p | Saturday Matinee – “Kit Carson” | |
05:30p | Frankie Laine | |
05:55p | Weather (Gene Reynolds) | |
Evening | ||
06:00p | Kit Carson | |
06:30p | All Star Theater | |
07:00p | Perry Como (guests Ethel Merman, the Mills Brothers) (color) | |
08:00p | Caesar's Hour | |
09:00p | George Gobel (guests Jack Carson, Erin O’Brien) | |
09:30p | Your Hit Parade | |
10:00p | Texas News | |
10:15p | Weather | |
10:25p | News (Jack Nunnery) | |
10:30p | Movietime U.S.A. – “The Saint in Palm Springs” |
The prime time lineup would have been considered a strong one. We have Perry Como, with one of the rare color broadcasts of the time (on NBC, of course), followed by Caesar's Hour, Sid Caesar's follow-up to the hit Your Show of Shows. Caesar's Hour never achieved quite the heights of the earlier show, though. Then there's George Gobel's variety show, which at one time was one of the top-rated programs on television, and ran from 1954 to 1960.
KCEN, Channel 6 (Temple) (NBC) | ||
Morning | ||
08:55a | Program Previews | |
09:00a | Howdy Doody | |
09:30a | I Married Joan | |
10:00a | Fury | |
10:30a | Cowboy Theater | |
11:30a | Watch Mr. Wizard | |
Afternoon | ||
12:00p | Fun and Non-Such | |
12:30p | Herald of Truth | |
01:00p | Navy Diary | |
01:30p | NBA Basketball – Fort Wayne Pistons vs. St. Louis Hawks | |
03:30p | Family Theater | |
04:00p | Workshop for Living | |
04:20p | Movie – “Rogue of the Plains” | |
05:20p | News, Weather, Sports (local) | |
05:35p | Senator Jarrad Secrest | |
05:45p | Safety Film | |
Evening | ||
06:00p | Bluebonnet Barn Dance | |
06:30p | People Are Funny | |
07:00p | Perry Como (guests Ethel Merman, the Mills Brothers) (color) | |
08:00p | Sid Caesar | |
09:00p | George Gobel (guests Jack Carson, Erin O’Brien) | |
09:30p | Your Hit Parade | |
10:00p | News (Ted Lumpkin) | |
10:10p | Weather (Jim Pridgeon) | |
10:15p | Sports (Ted Lumpkin) | |
10:20p | Late Date Theater – “Woman in His Life” |
WFAA, Channel 8 (Dallas) (NBC, ABC) | ||
Morning | ||
08:00a | Agriculture on Parade | |
08:15a | Cowboy Classics – “Courageous Avenger” | |
09:15a | Off to Adventure (color) | |
09:30a | I Married Joan | |
10:00a | His Honor Homer Bell | |
10:30a | Cowboy Theater | |
11:30a | Tales of the Frontier | |
Afternoon | ||
12:00p | Quiz ‘em on TV | |
01:00p | Foreign Legionnaires | |
01:30p | NBA Basketball – Fort Wayne Pistons vs. St. Louis Hawks | |
03:30p | Bowling Time | |
04:30p | Jungle Jim | |
05:00p | Odd Man Out | |
05:30p | My Little Margie | |
Evening | ||
06:00p | Stars of Grand Ole Opry | |
06:30p | People Are Funny | |
07:00p | The Star and the Story | |
07:30p | Uncommon Valor | |
08:00p | Lawrence Welk | |
09:00p | Ozark Jubilee (guests Brenda Lee, Jim Edward and Maxine and Bonnie Brown, Speedy Haworth and Slim Wilson) | |
09:30p | Science Fiction Theater | |
10:00p | Frontier | |
10:30p | News (Joe Templeton) | |
10:45p | Sports (Jerry Haynes) | |
11:00p | Channel 8 Theater– “Sabre Jet” |
KWTX, Channel 10 (Waco) (CBS, ABC) | ||
Morning | ||
08:30a | Captain Kangaroo | |
09:30a | Mighty Mouse | |
10:00a | Winky Dink and You | |
10:30a | Let’s Explore | |
11:00a | News (local) | |
11:30a | Let’s Teach | |
Afternoon | ||
12:00p | Plan for the Future | |
12:15p | Camp Fire Circle | |
12:30p | Wild Bill Hickok | |
01:00p | NHL Hockey – Detroit vs. Boston (last show of the series) | |
03:15p | Report to the People | |
03:30p | The Big Picture (Army) | |
04:00p | Superman | |
04:30p | Eddy Arnold | |
05:00p | This is the Life | |
05:30p | Home Folks Frolic | |
Evening | ||
06:00p | Wire Service | |
07:00p | Jackie Gleason | |
08:00p | Lawrence Welk | |
09:00p | Gunsmoke | |
09:30p | Hey, Jeannie! | |
10:00p | News, Weather, Sports (local) | |
10:30p | You’re On Your Own | |
11:00p | Million Dollar Theater – “Down Missouri Way” |
I've talked about the lack of local programming today, although the morning and afternoon "news" shows seem to fill part of that gap. But local variety shows, such as Home Folks Frolic, don't seem to be as common. That's how Lawrence Welk started out, you know, as a local show host. I remember the polka show on KCMT, Channel 7, called Chmielewski Funtime. I hope, for their sake, Home Folks Frolic was better.
WFJZ, Channel 11 (Fort Worth) (Ind.) | ||
Afternoon | ||
12:00p | Channel 11 Extra | |
12:30p | Telerama | |
01:00p | Million Dollar Matinee – “Lady, Let’s Dance” | |
02:30p | New Horizons | |
03:15p | Dude Ranchers | |
03:30p | Hollywood Off-Beat | |
04:00p | Movie – Western | |
05:00p | Teen Club | |
Evening | ||
06:00p | Championship Bowling | |
07:00p | San Francisco Beat | |
07:30p | Charles Boyer Theater | |
08:00p | Million Dollar Movie – “Penitentiary” | |
09:30p | News, Weather (local) | |
09:45p | Boxing – Turner vs. Gwin (taped March 4) | |
10:30p | Command Performance – “Appointment in Berlin” |