Columns

IT WAS JUNE 13th … when the Rolling Stones made an appearance on ABC-TV’s “Hollywood Palace,” during their first tour of North America …. When John Lennon made his last TV appearance on an ABC-TV salute to UK entertainment mogul Sir Lew Grade that had been taped in April…. When NBC’ late night TV host Tom Snyder interviewed serial killer Charles Manson on what has since become the most famous edition of his “Tomorrow” Show… ..and when Garrison Keilor (pictured), host and storyteller on the award-winning US public radio series, A Prairie Home Companion, left the show and its delightful shores of Lake Wobegon for Denmark where he intended to spend his time writing (he returned to the U.S… and the program … two years later). ALL the milestones for June 13th INSIDE.

IT WAS JUNE 12th … when pioneer Toronto radio station CFCA had its Grand Opening. Foster Hewitt broadcast his first hockey game on CFCA eight months later…. When Pittsburgh’s KDKA became the first 50,000 watt radio staation… When the Sunday night TV extravaganza that would be must-see family viewing for the next twenty years, “Toast of the Town,” (later the Ed Sullivan Show), made its debut on CBS… ..and when the TV comedy “Mr Peepers” starring Wally Cox with Tony Randall, aired for the last time on NBC. ALL the milestones for June 12th INSIDE.

IT WAS JUNE 11th … when Hank Williams made his debut on the Grand Ole Opry. His performance, with the audience demanding several encores of “Lovesick Blues,” is still considered one of the Opry’s greatest moments… When the all-black TV sitcom “Amos ‘n Andy” was driven from the air in the heat of the civil rights movement, for its so-called stereotypical characterizations, though the radio version continued for 7 years more … When the first episode of “Fear Factor” with host Joe Rogan, aired on NBC-TV… ..and the final episode of ‘The Sopranos’ aired on HBO. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

IT WAS JUNE 10th … when Ed Sullivan’s 19th Anniversary Show on CBS-TV featured Spanky & Our Gang with their big hit, “Sunday Will Never Be the Same”…. When Gary Lewis and the Playboys (Pictured) performed their biggest hit “This Diamond Ring” on NBC-TV’s “Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson.” When the TV horror anthology series “Tales From The Crypt” aired the first of its 93 episodes on US cable channel HBO… ..and when the quirky TV serial drama “Twin Peaks” aired for the final time on ABC. ALL the milestones for June 10th INSIDE.

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IT WAS JUNE 9th … when Barbra Streisand made her third appearance on CBS TV’s “Ed Sullivan Show,” and later Andy Williams signed in as the Mystery Guest on the same network’s “What’s My Line”… When Chilliwack’s CHWK AM1270 received CRTC approval to flip to 104.9 FM…. When Canadian party leaders (pictured) debated policy on television for the first time (Pierre Trudeau, Robert Stanfleld, Tommy Douglas and Real Caouette)… .. and when Green Day was the musical guest on NBC-TV’s Last Call With Carson Daly for the first of four consecutive nights. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

IT WAS JUNE 8th .. in the earliest experimental days of television when WGY-TV in Schenectady, NY revamped its regular program schedule. While continuing to broadcast three days a week, there were only two times each day that viewers could watch TV: 1:30 to 2:00 p.m. and 11:30 to Midnight… When Lassie debuted on ABC radio. It was a 15-minute show about an extraordinary collie… When the future ‘Mr. Television’ Milton Berle made his debut as host of NBC-TV’s ‘Texaco Star Theatre’…. ..and when the show that introduced us to John Travolta, “Welcome Back, Kotter” aired its final episode on ABC TV. ALL the milestones for June 8th INSIDE.

Last month I was invited to make a presentation at Canadian Music Week in Toronto. The loose subject matter I was asked to talk about was something that fell under the umbrella of “Building the Stars of the Future”

IT WAS JUNE 7th … when NBC radio presented The Lux Radio Theatre for the final time. For almost all of its 21 years it had brightened the CBS Radio schedule … When children’s puppet show stars Kukla, Fran Allison and Ollie (at right), along with the Boston Pops Orchestra, were stars of the first network TV broadcast shown in “compatible color”… When the “Johnny Cash Show” debuted as a summer series on ABC-TV … ..and when bandleader Ricky Minor jumped from FOX-TV to NBC’s “Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” replacing Kevin Eubanks. ALL the milestones for June 7th INSIDE.

IT WAS JUNE 6th … in fact D-Day on the beaches of Normandy, when 44-year-old Toronto Star reporter Gordon Sinclair (pictured) began a daily series of popular broadcasts on CFRB Radio, that continued until his death… When CBC TV aired the first program in the long-running news-panel show “Front Page Challenge.” It continued for 38 years… When after 23 years The Ed Sullivan Show left CBS-TV. Gladys Knight & The Pips and singer Jerry Vale appeared on the final show… ..and when CHUM 1050 Toronto, the station with North America’s longest-running hit record chart, abandoned its Top-40 format for a mixture of soft rock and oldies. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.