Today in Broadcast History

ON THIS DAY in 1907 jazz musician Benny Carter was born in Harlem.  The versatile alto saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader was a major figure in...

IT WAS AUG. 7th … when just months before the US was pulled into WWII, WNBT, Channel 4 in New York City, broadcast TV’s first audience-participation show in which studio guests played charades…. When Martin Kane, Private Eye was first heard on Mutual radio…. When 16-year-old Paul Anka (pictured) made his U.S. television debut on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand, lip-synching to his first hit “Diana”… ..and when the reality series Gene Simmons’ Family Jewels had its premiere on the A&E cable network. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

IT WAS AUG. 6th … when one of radio’s first serials, Real Folks debuted on NBC radio… When singer Dinah Shore started her own Sunday evening show on the NBC Blue radio network. Later Dinah would also have a successful TV career spanning more than three decades… When Chubby Checker appeared on Dick Clark’s Saturday Night Beechnut Show (ABC TV) and introduced ‘The Twist’… When Jon Stewart closed out his 16 years as host of 'The Daily Show' ... When MOJO RADIO debuted in Vancouver on AM730 with “talk radio for guys” (which would prove to be a mistake)… ..and after establishing himself on Mexican border powerhouses, Wolfman Jack (pictured) debuted on WNBC Radio New York. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

IT WAS AUGUST 5th .. when KDKA Pittsburgh aired the first-ever baseball play by play, with pioneering announcer Harold Arlin at the mike … When the daily radio drama “Backstage Wife” first aired on a network (Mutual), after proving popular for a few months on Chicago’s WGN. It moved to NBC a year later, and to CBS two decades later!… When after becoming a huge TV hit in Philadelphia, Dick Clark’s “American Bandstand” made its debut on ABC… .. and when Prince George (BC) got its second private radio station as CJCI 620 signed on the air. “C.I.” stood for Central Interior… ALL the milestones for Aug. 5th INSIDE!

IT WAS AUG. 2nd .. when the TV station now known as KCPQ (FOX 13) in Tacoma-Seattle, began broadcasting as KMO-TV Tacoma… When Canadian-born CBS correspondent Morley Safer (pictured) sent the first TV report from Vietnam indicating the US was losing the war… When CHUM-owned TV stations in Victoria, London, Barrie, Wingham, Windsor and Ottawa became A-Channels… …and when radio station WHTZ-FM, Newark, New Jersey (serving New York City and environs) – signed on as “Z100” with Scott Shannon and the “Morning Zoo”. It went from “worst to first” in just a few months. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

IT WAS AUG. 1st …when CKWX signed on from studios in Vancouver’s Belmont Hotel, after being known previously as CFDC Nanaimo … When Mutual radio debuted “The Goodwill Hour”, with its familiar phrase, “You have a friend and advisor in John J. Anthony”… When Victoria radio station CKDA 1340 moved to AM 1280 and increased its power from 250 watts to 5000 watts… When an era ended on Vancouver's CKNW as both Philip Till and Bill Good closed out their talk show careers .... When Kelowna’s AM 1150 switched from a country music format to Oldies…. ..and when “The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour” launched on CBS-TV with a short summer run followed by three successful regular seasons. ALL the milestones for Aug. 1st INSIDE.

IT WAS JULY 30th … when radio crime drama ‘The Shadow’ began its 24 year run, the first two years on CBS…. When the popular radio soap opera, ‘The Guiding Light’, was seen for the first time on CBS television… When the soap opera “Santa Barbara” debuted on NBC TV; day 1 of an 8 1/2 year run… ..and when NBC’s ‘L.A. Law’ was nominated for 20 Emmy Awards, one shy of the record held by ‘Hill Street Blues.’ ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

IT WAS JULY 29th … when the CBC’s prairie powerhouse CBK-540 signed on with 50,000 watts from Watrous, Saskatchewan, as the only CBC radio outlet between Winnipeg and Vancouver… When decades later Toronto's CBC Radio One service was approved for a move to FM.... When Jack Paar (pictured) began his five-year run as host of NBC-TV’s “Tonight Show”… When Jim Hartz was named to join Barbara Walters as co-host of the Today show on NBC…. …and when millions around the world watched on television as Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer were wed in London. ALL the milestones for July 29th INSIDE.

IT WAS JULY 27th .. when Moose Jaw radio station CJRM signed on with 500 watts at 665 KHz. It was later moved to Regina and became CKRM …. When Okanagan Broadcasters Ltd. was incorporated, as Kelowna’s first radio station (CKOV) was moving from experimental to commercial status…. When Steve Allen (pictured) began a local late-night TV talk show in New York City that the following year went national on NBC-TV as ‘The Tonight Show’ …. When a summer replacement series “Dean Martin Presents The Bobby Darin Amusement Company” debuted on NBC-TV… .. and when NBC-TV removed the daily Dinah’s Place from its programming roster. The move brought Dinah Shore’s 23-year association with the Peacock Network to a close. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

IT WAS JULY 26th .. when the Abe Burrows Show premiered on CBS radio, as the comedy writer got his own 15 minute program… When UBC radio station CiTR was approved for operation on 650 KHz via AM carrier current, to cover the Point Grey campus only…. When the ABC-TV daytime soap General Hospital taped its 7,000th episode… ..and when legendary radio personality Don Percy (pictured) did his last morning show on Vancouver’s oldies station CISL AM 650, before returning to Winnipeg. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.