Columns

IT WAS SEPT. 4th … when BC-born actor Raymond Burr starred in the last original episode of the CBS-TV courtroom drama, Perry Mason… When Jerry Butler & the Impressions made their national TV debut on ABC-TV’s “American Bandstand”… When the short-lived Carol Burnett-Richard Hayes Show, a 20-minute nightly variety package, debuted on CBS Radio… ..and when the last of 98 original episodes of “Gilligan’s Island” aired on CBS-TV. It would continue for decades in syndicated reruns. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE!

IT WAS SEPT. 3rd .. when CHAB-TV Moose Jaw and CHRE-TV Regina switched to CBK call letters as Moffatt completed their forced sale to the CBC… When the last original episode of ‘The Lone Ranger’ aired on ABC Radio after nearly 3,000 episodes …. When ‘The Lawrence Welk Show’ aired for the last time on ABC-TV, enroute to becomng a syndicated property… ..and when Jerry Lewis smashed all previous records for TV charity fund-raising, as $32,074,566 was pledged on the Labor Day Telethon for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE!

IT WAS SEPT. 2nd … when the radio show “15 Minutes with Bing Crosby” debuted on CBS. For the first six months it ran six nights a week…. When “The CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite” expanded from 15 to 30 minutes, becoming US television’s first half-hour nightly newscast… When the CJOR call letters and its News/Talk format disappeared from 600 on Vancouver’s AM dial, as Classic Rock CHRX was born in its place… ..and when Hootie & The Blowfish made their national T.V. debut on NBC’s Late Night With David Letterman. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE!

IT WAS SEPT. 1st .. when radio station CKNW officially signed on, with 250 watts on 1230 KHz, some two decades after AM radio had begun on the lower mainland… When CFRB Toronto moved to 1010 KHz as Canada’s first 50,000 watt radio station …. When colour television officially arrived in Canada, courtesy of CTV …. When Edmonton and Vancouver each got their third TV stations, two years apart … When Courtenay and Port Hardy each signed on local AM radio stations, 20 years apart … ..and when the last episode of “I Dream of Jeannie” aired on NBC-TV, after a 5-year run. ALL the milestones for Sept. 1st INSIDE!

IT WAS AUG. 31st .. when the first news program on radio was aired in Detroit, when election returns were broadcast on 8MK, (later to become WWJ), owned by the Detroit Evening News. Only some 30 homes in the city were equipped with radio receivers… When “The Great Gildersleeve”, a spin-off of radio’s longtime laughfest “Fibber McGee and Molly,” began its two-decade run on NBC’s Red Network… When “The Adventures of Superman” started on network radio on the Mutual Broadcasting System, quickly becoming one of the era’s most iconic series… ..and when “The Partridge Family” TV show aired its last episode, leaving David Cassidy free to pursue a solo music career. ALL the milestones for the last day of August INSIDE.

IT WAS AUG. 30th .. when, as the TV era kicked into high gear, “Screen Directors Playhouse” ended its 2.5 year run on NBC Radio… When “American Bandstand” aired for the final time as a daily show on ABC-TV, becoming a weekly hour on Saturdays for another 26 years… When ‘Northern Exposure’ and ‘ Murphy Brown’ were big CBS winners at the Emmy Awards… When, after five years, ABC-TV’s “The Brady Bunch” came to an end … ..and when the “Late Show with David Letterman” debuted on CBS-TV, with guests Bill Murray (pictured) & Billy Joel. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

Andrew Beckler is the morning host at X92.9 in Calgary. The station is pretty special in that it started nearly 13 years ago, has only had 1 program director in its time, and has been building it's audience since 2007 starting with a Hot Hot Heat concert to ring in the New Year in 2008. The station has also had very low staff turnover and developed a culture unlike any other in Canada; comparable only to KNDD 107.7 the End in Seattle. Anyhow - more about Andrew... who was raised in Saskatoon and still sports a watermelon hat and a green jersey

IT WAS AUG. 29th .. when Calgary’s CFAC, the radio station of the Calgary Daily Herald, had its official opening at 7:45 p.m. with a concert by the Salvation Army Band… When the summertime replacement show Paul Whiteman Presents, with hostess Dinah Shore, was heard on NBC radio for the last time.. When after a 23 year run Jurgen Gothe's final "Disc Drive" was broadcast from Vancouver on CBC Radio Two... .. and when the 120th and final episode of the ratings sensation The Fugitive aired, attracting the largest TV audience ever to that point. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

IT WAS AUG. 28th .. when U.S. radio’s first commercial was heard on WEAF in New York, as announcer H.M. Blackwell touted Hawthorne Court, a group of apartment buildings in Queens. The realty company had bought 10 minutes of commercial air time for $100… When 16 years after leaving the CBC air, Canada’s Happy Gang musical troupe reunited for two sold out reunion concerts at Toronto’s Canadian National Exhibition… When the 40th Annual Emmy Awards gave top honors to 30something, The Wonder Years and Richard Kiley… ..and when The Jamie Foxx Show began its 4-and-a-half-year run on the WB network. ALL the milestones for Aug. 28th INSIDE!

IT WAS AUG. 27th … when CBLT Toronto moved down the dial from Channel 9 to Channel 6… When the country program that had first showcased the likes of Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jim Reeves, Johnny Horton and Lefty Frizell, ‘Louisiana Hayride,’ aired for the last time on KWKH/1130 AM in Shreveport… When singer Connie Francis signed in as the celebrity mystery guest on CBS-TV’s panel show ‘What’s My Line?’… ..and when Diane Sawyer became the fifth reporter on the top-rated TV newsmagazine, ’60 Minutes,’ alongside (pictured) Mike Wallace, Morley Safer, Harry Reasoner and Ed Bradley. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE!