Columns

IT WAS MAY 16th … when the quiz show for the intelligentsia “Information Please!” began its 10-year run on radio, the first 2.5 years on the NBC Blue Network… When the final episode of Groucho’s radio/TV quiz show “You Bet Your Life” was taped … When the Elton John TV special “Say Goodbye To Norma Jean And Other Things” aired on ABC… When Barry Manilow guested on the season finale of ‘Murphy Brown’ on CBS-TV … ..and when NBC-TV paid $5 million for the rights to air the 1939 movie blockbuster “Gone with the Wind” just one time. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

IT WAS MAY 16th … when the first radio broadcast of the Kentucky Derby was heard via Louisville’s WHAS … When the popular radio thriller ‘The Whistler’ debuted on Columbia’s West Coast network, sponsored by Signal Oil … When ‘Cross Canada Check Up,’ the national open line show, debuted on CBC Radio. It has continued for 55 years so far… When ABC aired what turned out to be the final TV special from The Carpenters … When the popular series ‘In the Heat of the Night,’ ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’ and ‘Baywatch Nights’ ended their first runs on US national TV. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

IT WAS MAY 13th ….when “Gene Autry’s Melody Ranch” ended its 16 years as a Sunday afternoon staple on CBS Radio (Gene is pictured)… When the ‘Kraft Music Hall,’ now starring Milton Berle, ended a record 26 years on NBC radio & TV …. When the game-changing ‘Pat Burns Hotline’ debuted on AM 600 CJOR in Vancouver … When the 200th episode of the sitcom 'Murphy Brown' aired on CBS TV .... ..and when the CBC’s flagship TV news shows The National and The Journal were moved from 10 pm to 9 pm. (The move was a failure & was soon reversed.) ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

IT WAS MAY 12th .. when syndicated gossip columnist Walter Winchell (pictured) made his radio debut on New York’s WABC… When after 46 years Toronto-born Morley Safer announced his retirement from CBS TV's 60 Minutes ... When Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley (just back from his military service in Germany) appeared on the ABC TV special ‘Welcome Back Elvis”… When CBS-TV’s Ed Sullivan Show was headlined by Gary Puckett and the Union Gap, along with comedians Richard Pryor and Rodney Dangerfield … When shares in CHUM Radio were first traded on the Toronto stock exchange ... ..and when the final episode of “The Incredible Hulk” was first telecast on CBS. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

IT WAS MAY 11th …. when the Bureau of Broadcast Measurement (BBM) was formed as a non-profit Canadian radio ratings service… When the pioneering kids TV show, The Pinky Lee Show, aired for the final time on NBC-TV… When Buddy Holly and the Crickets auditioned for CBS-TV’s “Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts,” but were rejected and didn’t get to the air… When the Monty Python comedy troupe was formed in the UK…. ..and when John Lennon appeared (with wife Yoko Ono) on ABC TV’s “Dick Cavett Show” (pictured). ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

IT WAS MAY 9th … when future legendary radio announcer & voice actor Gary Owens (pictured) was born in Mitchell South Dakota… When The Jackson Five made their second appearance on CBS-TV’s Ed Sullivan Show, together with comedians Don Rickles and George Carlin… When Top 40 formatted radio station WABC New York played its last record before adopting a Talk Radio format. It was John Lennon’s “Imagine”… When a long-anticipated wedding took place on NBC Radio’s ‘Great Gildersleeve’ … .. and when the last episode of “Laverne & Shirley” aired on ABC-TV. ALL the milestones for May 10th INSIDE.

IT WAS MAY 8th .. when two Canadian musical superstars, Hank Snow and Don Messer, were born … When a fire caused extensive water damage to New Westminster radio station CKNW, which was forced to use studios in downtown Vancouver while their building was renovated…. When the final episode of the hit TV sitcom ‘The Golden Girls’ aired on NBC… When Bruce Springsteen (pictured) made his TV debut, singing three songs on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” … and when Victoria radio stations The Q and The Zone were sold to Jim Pattison. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

IT WAS MAY 8th … when V-E Day was celebrated, marking the end of WWII in Europe, and radio carried the news … When the BBC banned the song “Such a Night” by Johnnie Ray after listeners complained about its “suggestiveness” …. When radio station CKGO AM 1490 Hope BC went on the air with 250 watts… ..and when Edmonton’s CHQT was heard in its last live day as Cool 8-80, before switching twelve days later to All News as iNews880.com. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

IT WAS MAY 6th … when Fishers Blend radio stations KJR & KOMO in Seattle swapped frequencies. KOMO was moved to 1000 kc where its power could be increased, while KJR, now at 950, was sold two years later to the department store Marshall Field … When the final episode of “I Love Lucy” aired for the first time on CBS-TV… When Johnny Carson signed a new deal with NBC which had his Tonight Show cut from 90 minutes to one hour, and his work week reduced to just 4 nights, while his pay was boosted to about $5 million a year… When after 5 years the finale of "Jake & the Fatman" ran on CBS-TV .. ..and when the 100th episode of “The Golden Girls” aired on NBC-TV. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

IT WAS MAY 4th …. when radio station KNX Los Angeles, the longtime West Coast flagship of the Columbia Broadcasting System, signed on for the first time… When ABC-TV debuted the weekly “Alan Freed’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Revue,” which was cancelled after 4 episodes… When Canada’s Johnny Wayne and Frank Shuster (pictured) made their first of a record 67 appearances on CBS TV’s Ed Sullivan Show… When the 100th episode of the syndicated TV musicfest 'Soul Train' aired ... ..and when two long-running daytime TV dramas debuted on the same day. “Another World” on NBC, “As the World Turns” on CBS. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.