This week we've advanced a bit in the late '50s - we're up to 1959, and although we may not see it here, I think we're entering an era where television starts to get a little more sophisticated, the technical aspects a tad more sophisticated. Not when we compare it to the '70s, of course, or even the late '60s, but progress is being made nonetheless. Let's see what kind of shows stand out.
KRLD, Channel 4 (Dallas) (CBS) | ||
Morning | ||
07:30a | Cartoons | |
08:00a | CBS Morning News with Richard C. Hottelet | |
08:15a | Captain Kangaroo | |
08:45a | News (local) | |
09:00a | On the Go | |
09:30a | Sam Levenson (guest Mrs. Andy Griffith) | |
10:00a | I Love Lucy | |
10:30a | Top Dollar | |
11:00a | Love of Life | |
11:30a | Search for Tomorrow | |
11:45a | The Guiding Light | |
Afternoon | ||
12:00p | News (local) | |
12:15p | Fashions in Faces | |
12:30p | As the World Turns | |
01:00p | Jimmy Dean | |
01:30p | House Party | |
02:00p | The Big Payoff | |
02:30p | The Verdict is Yours | |
03:00p | The Brighter Day | |
03:15p | The Secret Storm | |
03:30p | The Edge of Night | |
04:00p | Movie – “Destiny” | |
05:15p | Party Time | |
Evening | ||
06:00p | News, Weather (local) | |
06:15p | Douglas Edwards with the News | |
06:30p | Twilight Theater | |
07:00p | Keep Talking | |
07:30p | Trackdown | |
08:00p | The Millionaire | |
08:30p | I’ve Got a Secret | |
09:00p | Armstrong Circle Theater | |
10:00p | News (local) | |
10:15p | Weather (local) | |
10:20p | People and Places | |
10:30p | Movie – “This Is the Life” | |
I referred to Sam Levenson a couple of weeks ago, I believe. His guest is Barbara Griffith, the first of the three Mrs. Andy Griffiths. I always blanch a bit when I see a woman referred to as "Mrs. So-and-So"; I don't think you have to be a raving feminist to recognize that women have an existence and an identity separate from their husbands. Even if their primary (only?) claim to fame is through their spouse, they deserve to be recognized for who they are, not just what they are.
WBAP, Channel 5 (Fort Worth) (NBC) | ||
Morning | ||
07:00a | Today (guests former heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey, singer Arlyne Frank) | |
09:00a | Dough Re Mi | |
09:30a | Treasure Hunt | |
10:00a | The Price is Right | |
10:30a | Concentration | |
11:00a | Tic Tac Dough | |
11:30a | It Could Be You | |
Afternoon | ||
12:00p | News (local) | |
12:30p | The People’s Choice | |
01:00p | Queen for a Day | |
01:30p | Court of Human Relations | |
02:00p | Young Dr. Malone | |
02:30p | From These Roots | |
03:00p | Truth or Consequences (color) | |
03:30p | County Fair | |
04:00p | Movie – “She’s Got Everything” | |
05:30p | Teen-Age Downbeat (color) | |
Evening | ||
06:00p | News, Weather (color) | |
06:15p | The Huntley-Brinkley Report | |
06:30p | Wagon Train | |
07:30p | The Price is Right (color) | |
08:00p | Dave King (color) | |
08:30p | Bat Masterson | |
09:00p | This Is Your Life | |
09:30p | Deadline | |
10:00p | News (local) | |
10:15p | Weather (local) | |
10:25p | News (Charles Vaughn) | |
10:30p | Sports (Bud Sherman) | |
10:35p | Jack Paar Tonight (guests Danny Scholl, Carmel Quinn) | |
12:00a | News (Charles Murphy) | |
Nice to see Jack Dempsey guesting on the Today show. It's been 33 years since Dempsey was world heavyweight champion, and at this point his celebrity probably rests on his New York City restaurant, which opened in 1935 and didn't close its doors until 1974. nine years before his death. I don't see anything else in his biography to suggest why he might have been on TV at this particular time.
KCEN, Channel 6 (Temple) (NBC) | ||
Morning | ||
07:00a | Today (guests former heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey, singer Arlyne Frank) | |
09:00a | Dough Re Mi | |
09:30a | Treasure Hunt | |
10:00a | The Price is Right | |
10:30a | Concentration | |
11:00a | Tic Tac Dough | |
11:30a | It Could Be You | |
Afternoon | ||
12:00p | Weather (Eddie Schuster) | |
12:05p | Farm Report | |
12:25p | News (Eddie Schuster) | |
12:30p | TV Reader’s Digest | |
01:00p | Queen for a Day | |
01:30p | Court of Human Relations | |
02:00p | Young Dr. Malone | |
02:30p | From These Roots | |
03:00p | Truth or Consequences (color) | |
03:30p | County Fair | |
04:00p | Our Miss Brooks | |
04:30p | Happy Hour | |
05:00p | Popeye | |
05:30p | Roy Rogers | |
Evening | ||
06:00p | News (local) | |
06:10p | Sports (Eddie Schuster) | |
06:15p | The Huntley-Brinkley Report | |
06:30p | Wagon Train | |
07:30p | The Price is Right (color) | |
08:00p | Death Valley Days | |
08:30p | The Gray Ghost | |
09:00p | This Is Your Life | |
09:30p | U.S. Border Patrol | |
10:00p | Weather, News, Sports | |
10:30p | Jack Paar Tonight (guests Danny Scholl, Carmel Quinn) | |
Does anyone remember Bert Parks? For many years he was the host of the Miss America pageant. "There she goes, Miss America" - it all comes back now, doesn't it? What fewer people remember was his role as host of the afternoon game show County Fair, succinctly described as a "daytime game show filled with music and variety." You just don't have shows like that anymore, do you?
WFAA, Channel 8 (Dallas) (ABC) | ||
Morning | ||
07:30a | Sherwood Forest (aka Robin Hood) | |
08:00a | Topper | |
08:30a | Romper Room | |
09:30a | The Life of Riley | |
10:00a | Burns and Allen | |
10:30a | Julie Benell | |
11:00a | TV Hour of Stars | |
Afternoon | ||
12:00p | Across the Board | |
12:30p | Pantomime Clubhouse | |
01:00p | Music Bingo | |
01:30p | Our Miss Brooks | |
02:00p | Day in Court | |
02:30p | Gale Storm | |
03:00p | Beat the Clock | |
03:30p | Who Do You Trust? | |
04:00p | American Bandstand (guest Bobby Dell) | |
05:30p | The Mickey Mouse Club | |
Evening | ||
06:00p | News (local) | |
06:20p | Sports (Wes Wise) | |
06:30p | Music for a Summer Night (guests Jacqueling McKeever, Elaine Malbin, Theodor Uppmann, Jack Russell, Alice Ghostley, Earl Wild, Buddy Weed) | |
07:30p | The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet | |
08:00p | The Wednesday Night Fights (Bobby Scanlon vs. Mario Vecchiato) | |
08:45p | Locker Room | |
09:00p | Donna Reed | |
09:30p | Colonel Flack | |
10:00p | News (local) | |
10:15p | Weather (local) | |
10:20p | Sports (Wes Wise) | |
10:30p | Movie – “Island Retreat” | |
Wes Wise, who gave the sports on WFAA, was a mainstay of Dallas television for decades. His primary fame came at KRLD, where in addition to being sports director he played a pivotal role in the station's coverage of the Kennedy assassination. So well known was he for being on TV, he was elected to the Dallas City Council in 1967, and became mayor in 1971.
KWTX, Channel 10 (Waco) (CBS, ABC) | ||
Morning | ||
08:00a | CBS Morning News with Richard C. Hottelet | |
08:15a | Captain Kangaroo | |
09:00a | On the Go | |
09:30a | Sam Levenson (guest Mrs. Andy Griffith) | |
10:00a | I Love Lucy | |
10:30a | Top Dollar | |
11:00a | Better Living | |
11:30a | Search for Tomorrow | |
11:45a | The Guiding Light | |
Afternoon | ||
12:00p | CBS News (Walter Cronkite) | |
12:05p | News (Joe Saragusa) | |
12:15p | Farm Report (Johnny Watkins) | |
01:00p | Jimmy Dean | |
01:30p | House Party | |
02:00p | The Big Payoff | |
02:30p | The Verdict is Yours | |
03:00p | The Brighter Day | |
03:15p | The Secret Storm | |
03:30p | The Edge of Night | |
04:00p | American Bandstand (guest Bobby Dell) | |
05:30p | The Mickey Mouse Club | |
Evening | ||
06:00p | News (local) | |
06:15p | Douglas Edwards with the News | |
06:30p | Disneyland | |
07:30p | Zorro | |
08:00p | The Millionaire | |
08:30p | I’ve Got a Secret | |
09:00p | U.S. Marshall | |
09:30p | Bold Venture | |
10:00p | News (local) | |
10:15p | Weather (local) | |
10:20p | Sports (Ben Vaughn) | |
10:30p | TV Theater | |
According to this issue, Friday is the last day for Jimmy Dean's afternoon variety show, which aired on CBS. I think we may have seen it before, but it's worth reliving: the show in which Jimmy broke the news to his viewers, and had a few choice words to say in the bargain.
KFJZ, Channel 11 (Fort Worth) (Ind.) | ||
Morning | ||
09:00a | The Little Rascals | |
09:45a | Movie Double Feature – “Straight, Place and Show”, “Havana Widows” | |
11:55a | Take Five | |
Afternoon | ||
12:00p | Cartoon Clubhouse | |
12:45p | Movie Double Feature – “A Long Way from Texas”, “As the Earth Turns” | |
02:40p | Take Five | |
02:45p | Ann Alden | |
03:00p | I Married Joan | |
03:30p | Roy Rogers | |
04:00p | Abbott and Costello | |
04:30p | Early Show | |
05:30p | Popeye | |
Evening | ||
06:00p | Wild Bill Hickok | |
06:30p | The Three Stooges | |
06:50p | Bugs Bunny | |
07:00p | Casey Jones | |
07:30p | Baseball Warmup | |
07:45p | Baseball (Indianapolis Indians vs. Fort Worth Cats) | |
10:00p | Movie Double Feature – “Law of the Tropics”, “Nine Girls | |
I like the second half of the afternoon double feature - As the Earth Turns. I can envision a couple of television executives sitting around a room bouncing some ideas off each other. "That would be a great title for a daytime show, wouldn't it? As the Earth Turns. Catchy, but philosophical as well. Ties in to the circle of life and all, you know."
"Yeah, but we can't get the rights to the title. Besides, the movie didn't have anything to do with that."
"Wait a minute, I just had an idea. What if we just changed the title a little bit..."
"Yeah, but we can't get the rights to the title. Besides, the movie didn't have anything to do with that."
"Wait a minute, I just had an idea. What if we just changed the title a little bit..."