Columns

Happy Birthday to Whoopi Goldberg, Jimmy Kimmel, Chris Noth, Steve Zahn and Peter Arnett.. Arturo Toscannini led the NBC Symphony in its first radio broadcast; the North West Territories got its first radio station as CJCD Yellowknife debuted; Izzy Asper’s Canwest Global launched a $636-million takeover bid for Vancouver’s Western International Communications; the 200th episode of ‘Frasier’ ran on NBC-TV; and Canadian impressionist Andre-Philippe Gagnon (pictured) guested with Johnny Carson on NBC’s ‘Tonight Show.’ The New Vaudeville Band performed their hit ‘Winchester Cathedral on CBS-TV’s Ed Sullivan Show, while Sonny & Cher reunited to perform ‘I Got You Babe’ on David Letterman’s late night NBC show. ALL the milestones for Nov. 13th INSIDE.

Happy Birthday to Neil Young, Al Michaels, Ryan Gosling and Megan Mullally. It’s the day Vancouver’s Red Robinson began his 60+ year radio career at CJOR AM600; San Francisco’s clear channel KPO became KNBC (now KNBR); Winnipeg got the city’s first private TV station; the BBC aired TV’s first gardening show; ABC-TV aired the 100th episode of ‘Full House’; and Bon Jovi performed on NBC-TV’s Today Show. Brenda Lee was on CBS-TV’s ‘Ed Sullivan Show’ to sing ‘Fool #1′; and Foo Fighters made their 4th appearance on ‘Saturday Night Live.’ Bowing out this date were Eve Arden (pictured) of ‘Our Miss Brooks’, Penny Singleton of ‘Blondie,’ and Dave Willock of scores of light comedy supporting roles, ALL the milestones for Nov. 12th INSIDE.

It’s the day of birth for Miranda Lambert, Tracy Morgan, Mackenzie Phillips, sportscaster J. Paul McConnell, plus the late Richard Burton, Jane Froman, and (pictured) announcer George Fenneman. ‘The Magnificent Montague’ debuted on NBC as the last original sitcom of the OTR era; Canada’s Board of Broadcast Governors was created to replace the CBC as the industry regulator; ‘Sesame Street’ debuted on the predecessor to PBS in the US; Canada’s national 10-station radio news network CKO closed down, bankrupt; and singer Jose Feliciano appeared in a dramatic role on NBC-TV’s ‘MacMillan and Wife.’ Leaving this mortal coil were Seattle’s revered voice of baseball Dave Niehaus , actors Jack Palance, Laraine Day and Chuck Connors, and BC broadcaster and station owner Joe Chesney, Details INSIDE.

Born on this date were Ed Wynn, Hedy Lamarr, Mary Travers, Nick Lachey and Tom Fogerty. ‘This is Your Life’ debuted on NBC radio; Soundgarden played on Conan’s late night TV show, the same night that Bon Jovi were guests on David Letterman; John amd Yoko met for the first time, Brian Epstein saw The Beatles play for the first time; David Bowie sang on Cher’s prime time CBS-TV hour; and Donna Reid (pictured) joined the cast of the CBS-TV show ‘Dallas’. Obits for Nov. 9th include ’60 Minutes’ Ed Bradley, Art Carney of ‘The Honeymooners,’ and deep voiced radio leading man Gerald Mohr. Details and ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

Happy Birthday to Mary Hart, Bonnie Raitt, Alfre Woodard, Rickie Lee Jones and Vancouver-born CTV journalist Craig Oliver. Red Robinson retired from daily broadcasting on C-ISL 650; Vancouver’s CBU-FM began programming separately from its AM counterpart; Kelowna got a new radio station as CKIQ 1150 signed on; ‘Days of Our Lives’ debuted on NBC-TV; and the late night talk show ‘Conan’ had its premiere on TBS and CTV. Glenn Miller’s Orchestra recorded the big band classic ‘String of Pearls’, Johnny Mathis appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show singing ‘Misty’, and singer Ricky Nelson (pictured) appeared in a dramatic role on CBS-TV daytime. ALL the milestones for Nov. 8th INSIDE.

Happy Birthday to Joni Mitchell, Buck Martinez and New Zealand’s talented Lorde. Also born Nov. 7th were the late musicians Al Hirt, Joe Bushkin, Red Ingle and Phil Spitalny. Vancouver’s CKLG began airing a syndicated ‘History of Rock & Roll’ which won them a ratings book; radio’s first sci-fi show ‘Buck Rogers in the 25th Century’ debuted on CBS; the weekly medical melodrama ‘Dr. Christian’ began its 17-year run on CBS radio; the Righteous Brothers, Peggy Lee, Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass were performing guests on CBS-TV’s Ed Sullivan Show; NBC-TV began the first airing of ‘Gone With the Wind’ over two nights; and Studio One began its decade-long run featuring anthology drama weekly on CBS-TV. Leaving us this date were Steve McQueen, Maverick’s Jack Kelly, Northern Exposure’s Peg Phillips, and Clyde Gilmour of the CBC’s Gilmour’s Albums. Details and ALL the milestones for Nov. 7th are found INSIDE.

Happy Birthday to Sally Field, Emma Stone, Ethan Hawke, Bill Henderson of Chilliwack, Fred Penner and Maria Shriver. On this date Windsor’s legendary CKLW came into being when two previous stations were merged; the first commercial TV station WGY Schenectady went on the air; ‘Meet the Press’ debuted on NBC-TV; Phil Donahue’s TV talk show debuted in Dayton, Ohio; ‘The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour’ premiered on CBS-TV; Fox-TV debuted the action series ’24′; and New York’s WOR-TV paid a record $182,000 per episode for reruns of ‘The Cosby Show.” ALL the milestones for the date are INSIDE.

Happy Birthday to Bryan Adams, Elke Sommer, Art Garfunkel, Tatum O’Neal and Sam Rockwell. The comic strip ‘The Gumps’ debuted as a series on CBS radio; ‘The Big Show’ debuted as a Sunday night 90-minute radio spectacular on NBC; Vancouver’s CKNW increased power from 1,000 watts to 5,000 at 1320 kc; the ‘Nat King Cole Show’ debuted on NBC-TV; Tom Jones guested on the soundtrack of Fox-TV’s ‘The Simpsons’; and Kenny Rogers and The First Edition made their TV debut on CBS-TV’s ‘Smothers Bros. Comedy Hour.’ Those bowing off the world stage Nov. 5th include Fred MacMurray, Johnny Horton, Bobby Hadfield of the Righteous Bothers, Bobby Nunn and Billy Guy of ‘The Coasters’ (16 years apart); bandleader Guy Lombardo (pictured), and career Canadian broadcasters Norm Marshall and Sid Boyling. ALL the milestones for the date are found INSIDE.

Happy Birthday to Michael McConaughey, Kathy Griffin, Delbert McLendon, Loretta Swit and Howie Meeker. Also born this date were Will Rogers, Art Carney (pictured), Shirley Mitchell, Kate Reid, and Vancouver-born Court Benson. The longtime radio serial ‘One Man’s Familly’ debuted on NBC Television; Van Morrison was the musical guest on ‘Saturday Night Live’; pioneer Montreal radio station CFCF aired its first commercial show; Vancouver’s CHQM introduced stereo FM to the West Coast; Kelowna’s CKOV signed on with all its 100 watts of glory; and decades later K 96.3 debuted its classic rock format as it signed on, also to serve Kelowna. ALL the milestones for Nov. 4th are found INSIDE.

It’s the date that brought us actors Charles Bronson, Dennis Miller, Roseanne Barr, Lois Smith, Peggy McCay, and singers Lulu and Jane Monheit. The sitcoms ‘The Nanny’ and ‘Dif’rent Strokes’ were seen for the first time; the CBC extended its FM Stereo network coast to coast; ‘Good Morning America’ debuted on ABC-TV; Edmonton’s heritage call letters CFRN were heard for the first time; the ‘Nashville Network’ debuted on North American cable systems; and Geraldo Rivera’s nose was broken as a riot broke out during the taping of his syndicated TV show. Details and ALL the milestones for Nov. 3rd INSIDE.