Columns

IT WAS SEPT. 7th … when pioneer Vancouver radio station CKFC first took to the air from First Congregational Church… When the final episode of (pictured) the original “Dick Van Dyke Show” featuring Mary Tyler Moore, as well as the last “Beverly Hillbillies” episode, aired on CBS-TV… When ESPN, the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, made its debut on US cable TV as the world’s first fulltime sports TV station… .. and when CJRY-FM Edmonton signed on as Shine-FM, with 100,000 watts at 105.9 MHz. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE!

As I have explored more about the making of movies and visited movie sets, I have been amused by the similarities between a movie director and radio programmer. Both are tasked with mobilizing a team to tell a compelling story; both must set an overall direction, establish a context and provide ongoing feedback to those in the production. Both are the stewards of the plot and it is their job to keep the story on course.

IT WAS SEPT 6th … when the first prizefight to be broadcast blow-by-blow was heard on WWJ Detroit, as heavyweight champ Jack Dempsey scored a third-round knockout … When (pictured) Lionel Barrymore introduced us to his latest crowd-pleasing character as ‘Mayor of the Town’ debuted on the NBC Red radio network, co-starring Agnes Moorehead… When Canadian television debuted as Montreal’s CBFT aired the drama ‘Oedipus Rex’ in French…. ..and when the hit radio sitcom “Fibber McGee and Molly” ended after an almost 25 year run. ALL the milestones for Sept. 6th INSIDE!

IT WAS SEPT. 5th .. when the populat daytime drama ‘Life Can Be Beautiful’ began its 16 year run on NBC radio… When Frank Sinatra was instrumental in the reuniting of Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin live on Jerry’s Labor Day telethon… When the US got its first network hour-long news show as the Public Broadcasting System’s “MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour” expanded to 60 minutes… ..and when “American Bandstand,” hosted by Dick Clark on ABC, was cancelled after 30 years on television. ALL the milestones for Sept. 5 INSIDE!

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 Lawrence Welk Show’ aired for the last time on ABC-TV, enroute to becomng a syndicated property… When enormous ratings were racked up for the finale of the “Mary Tyler Moore Show” on CBS-TV.,, ..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 …. ..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 the longtime laughfest “Fibber McGee and Molly,” began its two-decade run on NBC Radio’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.

The battle for success is going to be a battle fought around personality.