Fifties Television When baby boomers think of fifties television, wed like to believe that television got started the same time we did---in the early fifties. Truth is, while television did boom in the early fifties right along with our birth rates, the real roots of fifties television were actually planted in the late 30s. Roots of Fifties Television On April 19, 1938, the New York Times ran an article announcing that A regular television schedule of five hours a week, for at least a month, begins today under the auspices of the National Broadcasting Company. Programs could be received in the New York metro area within a 50-mile radius TV test pattern of television aerials mounted on top of the Empire State Building. That five hour weekly schedule was actually one hour of live talent and films aired from 8 to 9 PM on both Tuesday and Thursday nights, while the other three hours were only still pictures and charts broadcast from 3 to 4 PM on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday afternoons so engineers could study the actual transmissions. The next milestone for early television was the 1939 Worlds Fair, when RCA introduced 9 and 12 sets together with sound, selling for about $600 each. Audiences grew slowly at first, with only about 2000 sets in use by April 1940. Production of all television sets and equipment came to a halt during the war years (1942-45), but resumed in 1946. By the late 40s, RCA and other manufacturers began mass production of TV sets, and by the end of 1950 there were over 8 million sets in the US alone. Not everyone predicted the success of television the way that RCA and its president at the time, David Sarnoff, did. In 1946, the head of 20th Century Fox Movies, Darryl F. Zanuck,1946 TV was quoted as saying, Television wont be able to hold on to any market it might capture after the first six months. People will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night. Well, perhaps Mr. Zanuck underestimated what would ultimately develop inside that plywood box! Seventy years later, were still staring! Highlights for fifties television: NBC broadcasts the first hour-long music variety show, Hourglass, over three stations in New York City, Philadelphia, and Schenectady, on May 9, 1946. 140,000 people watch the first televised heavyweight fight between Joe Louis and Billy Conn on June 19, 1946. The Dumont Network broadcast the first soap opera, aptly named Faraway Hills, on October 2, 1946. In 1947, radios (40 million) far outnumber TV sets (44,000) in the US. First telecast of a World Series game---New York Yankees vs. the Brooklyn Dodgers---airs on September 30, 1947. Harry Truman is the first American president to appear on television from the White House, discussing the international food crisis, on October 5, 1947. Televisions longest running show, Meet the Press, premiers on a local NBC station in Washington, DC on November 6, 1947, and goes nationwide two weeks later. Howdy Dowdy Time premiers Buffalo Bob and Howdy Doody on December 29, 1947, and in 1949 its merchandise sales tops $11 million. In 1948, only one in every ten Americans had ever seen a TV set. I Love Lucy premiers on October 15, 1951, and is seen in a record 10.6 million households by April, 1952. The FCC approves UHF channels 14 thru 83 on April 14, 1952. While its technical standards were approved by the FCC in 1953, color television didnt become profitable until the early 60s. The Tournament of Roses Parade from Pasadena on January 1, 1954, is the first presentation in the US televised in color nation-wide (21 network cities). Unfortunately, most sets at the time were black and white, with only about 200 color TV sets in use and able to receive it in color. In April 1954, RCA begins selling its Model CT-100 color TV set for $1000 each; sales increase from just under 5000 in 1954 to 20,000 in 1955. Gunsmoke premiers on September 10, 1955, beginning a twenty year run. The Mickey Mouse Club (on ABC) and Captain Kangaroo (on CBS) each premier on October 3, 1955. The soap opera As the World Turns premiers on April 2, 1956. Admiral TV ad By 1957, over 40 million homes in the US have at least on television set. Perry Mason (September 21) and Leave It to Beaver (October 4) each premier in 1957. Bonanza is the first western to be televised in color, starting September 12, 1959. The Twilight Zone on CBS premiers on October 2, 1959. So, fifties television really began to flourish during the decade, transforming entertainment in American households from radio to that new plywood box that everyone would stare at! You remember fifties television---how old were you when you first started watching? Top Rated Shows Fifties Television/October 1950 - April 1951 season: Lone Ranger Texaco Star Theatre Fireside Theatre Philco TV Playhouse Your Show of Shows The Colgate Comedy Hour Gillette Cavalcade of Stars The Lone Ranger Arthur Godfreys Talent Scouts Hopalong Cassidy Mama Robert Montgomery Presents Martin Lane, Private Eye Man Against Crime Kraft Televison Theatre The Toast of the Town Fifties Television/October 1951 - April 1952 season: I Love Lucy Arthur Godfreys Talent Scouts Texaco Star Theatre I Love Lucy The Red Skelton Show The Colgate Comedy Hour Arthur Godfrey and His Friends Fireside Theatre Your Show of Shows The Jack Benny Show You Bet Your Life Mama Philco TV Playhouse Amos N Andy Gangbusters Big Town Fifties Television/October 1952 - April 1953 season: Arthur Godfrey photo I Love Lucy Arthur Godfreys Talent Scouts Arthur Godfrey and His Friends Dragnet>/li Texaco Star Theatre The Buick Circus Hour The Colgate Comedy Hour Gangbusters You Bet Your Life Fireside Theatre The Red Buttons Show The Jack Benny Show Life With Luigi Pabst Blue Ribbon Bouts Goodyear TV Playhouse Fifties Television/October 1953 - April 1954 season: Jack Webb photo I Love Lucy Dragnet Arthur Godfreys Talent Scouts You Bet Your Life The Chevy Show (Bob Hope) The Milton Berle Show Arthur Godfrey and His Friends The Ford Show The Jackie Gleason Show Fireside Theatre The Colgate Comedy Hour This Is Your Life The Red Buttons Show The Life of Riley Our Miss Brooks Fifties Television/October 1954 - April 1955 season: Jackie Gleason and Audrey Meadows photo I Love Lucy The Jackie Gleason Show Jackie Gleason Show Dragnet You Bet Your Life The Toast of the Town Disneyland The Chevy Show (Bob Hope) The Jack Benny Show The Martha Raye Show The George Gobel Show Ford Theatre December Bride Buick-Berle Show This Is Your Life Ive Got A Secret Fifties Television/October 1955 - April 1956 season: The $64,000 Question Ed Sullivan show I Love Lucy The Ed Sullivan Show The Jackie Gleason Show Disneyland The Jack Benny Show December Bride You Bet Your Life Dragnet The Millionaire Ive Got A Secret General Electric Theatre Private Secretary Ford Theatre The Red Skelton Show The George Gobel Show Fifties Television/October 1956 - April 1957 season: James Arness I Love Lucy The Ed Sullivan Show General Electric Theatre The $64,000 Question December Bride Alfred Hitchcock Presents Ive Got A Secret Gunsmoke The Perry Como Show The Jack Benny Show Dragnet Arthur Godfreys Talent Scouts The Millionaire Disneyland The Red Skelton Show Fifties Television/October 1957 - April 1958 season: Alfred Hitchcock Gunsmoke The Danny Thomas Show Tales of Wells Fargo Have Gun Will Travel Ive Got A Secret The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp General Electric Theatre The Restless Gun December Bride You Bet Your Life The Perry Como Show Alfred Hitchcock Presents Red Skelton photo Cheyenne The Ford Show The Red Skelton Show The Gale Storm Show The Millionaire The Lineup This Is Your Life The $64,000 Question Zane Grey Theatre Lassie Wagon Train Sugarfoot Father Knows Best Fifties Television/October 1958 - April 1959 season: Wagon Train Gunsmoke Wagon Train Have Gun Will Travel The Rifleman The Danny Thomas Show Maverick Tales of Wells Fargo The Real McCoys Ive Got A Secret The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp The Price Is Right The Red Skelton Show Zane Grey Theatre Father Knows Best The Texan Wanted: Dead or Alive Peter Gunn Cheyenne Perry Mason The Ford Show Sugarfoot The Ann Southern Show The Perry Como Show Alfred Hitchcock Presents Name That Tune Fifties Television/October 1959 - April 1960: Father Knows Best Gunsmoke Wagon Train Have Gun Will Travel The Danny Thomas Show The Red Skelton Show Father Knows Best 77 Sunset Strip The Price Is Right Wanted: Dead Or Alive Perry Mason The Real McCoys The Ed Sullivan Show The Bing Cosby Show The Rifleman The Ford Show The Lawman Dennis The Menace Cheyenne Rawhide Maverick The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp Mr. Lucky Zane Grey Theatre General Electric Theatre The Ann Southern FRIENDS (TV Show)
Posted on: Mon, 02 Dec 2013 02:40:39 +0000
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