Today in Broadcast History

Frank Gifford was born in Santa Monica Calif, Elvis Presley (Picture) had died in his Memphis mansion at the age of 42. Jack Paar replaced Walter Cronkite as host of CBS-TV’s “The Morning Show.” longtime host of CBC-TV’s Man Alive, Roy Bonisteel, succumbed to cancer at age 83. Plus who is celebrating a birthday today, and hit songs over the early years

IT WAS AUG. 15th .. when CBS inaugurated the first nightly TV news broadcast, a 15-minute feature with anchorman Douglas Edwards reporting the day’s events. At first it was seen only in five cities in the Eastern Time zone… When Peck’s bad boy of Vancouver radio Jack Cullen (pictured) made the move from CKMO to CKNW, taking his Owl Prowl program with him… When Vancouver radio station CKWX moved from 980 to 1130 on the AM dial where it still resides as News 1130… ..and when the CBC locked out 5500 employees coast to coast, all members of the Canadian Media Guild. The labour dispute was not resolved until October. ALL the milestones for Aug. 15th INSIDE.

in 1942, Garry Moore (pictured) hosted a new radio program on NBC. “The Show Without a Name” was an effort to crack the morning show dominance of Arthur Godfrey (CBS) and “Don McNeil’s Breakfast Club” (ABC). In 1958, Elvis Presley‘s mother, Gladys, died at the tender age of 46, from a heart attack brought on by hepatitis Also in 1962, Roy Orbison was in Nashville to record his next single, “Leah” b/w “Workin’ for the Man.”  Both sides made it to the Billboard Top 40 More Stories, Birthdays and hit songs from yesteryear ALL INSIDE

In 1969, in Chicago, the Guess Who recorded “American Woman,” with lyrics originally ad-libbed by Burton Cummings In 1964, in Detroit The Supremes recorded ‘Baby Love,’ which went on to be the group’s second US No. 1 single. In 1981, the last new episode of “The Waltons” aired on CBS-TV. Neil Diamond played the first of six sold-out nights at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

IT WAS AUG. 12th … when comedian Red Skelton (pictured) got his first national exposure as a guest on NBC’s Rudy Vallee radio show …. When rock jock “Cousin Brucie” (Bruce Morrow) did his last show on WNBC-AM, New York City… When XM Satellite Radio began broadcasting in the US… ..and when disc jockey Jim Brady did his final show on radio station CFTR, Toronto. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

IT WAS AUG. 11th .. when New York’s WCBS-TV became the first station to televise a baseball game in color .. in fact, a doubleheader between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Boston Braves…. When CBS-TV’s Sunday night variety showcase, The Ed Sullivan Show featured Buddy Knox singing his two rockabilly hits ‘Party Doll’ and ‘Hula Love’… When the folksinging Kingston Trio signed in as the “mystery guests” on CBS-TV’s “What’s My Line?”… ..and when Edmonton radio station CJAX-FM began operations on 92.5 MHz with 100,000 watts. The call letters are now CKNG FM, with a branding of 92.5 The Chuck. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

ON THIS DAY in 1876 Telephone inventor Alexander Graham Bell made the world’s first long-distance call from Brantford to the Bell homestead in Paris, Ontario, using a 13...In 1991, longtime CKNW sportscaster Al Davidson (pictured) died at age 66.  He was the irascible, mercurial sports voice of the station for 30 years before his termination 4 years earlier.

IT WAS AUG. 9th … when radio brought word of a 2nd atomic bomb explosion that would lead to Japan’s surrender & the end of World War II… When the TV program “Ready Steady Go!” premiered on ITV in the UK. The show gave early exposure to such music luminaries as Bob Dylan and The Rolling Stones… When two popular Toronto deejays John Spragge and Bob MacAdorey were fired from radio station CHUM… ..and when, following the enormous success of the “Motown 25” TV special two years earlier, NBC debuted the ill-fated “Motown Revue” variety series hosted by Smokey Robinson, which lasted only five weeks. ALL the milestones for Aug. 9th INSIDE.

In 1934, Bing Crosby became the first singer to record for the US branch of Decca Records.  Johnny Cash was at Owen Bradley’s studio in Nashville to record nine tracks during the afternoo Barbara Bel Geddes (pictured), best remembered as matriarch Eleanor “Miss Ellie” Ewing in the TV drama ‘Dallas’, lost her battle with lung cancer at age 82.n and evening, mostly for his first Columbia album “The Fabulous Johnny Cash.”

IT WAS AUG. 7th … when just months before the US was pulled into WWII, WNBT, Channel 4 in New York City, broadcast TV’s first audience-participation show in which studio guests played charades…. Peter Jennings (pictured) When Martin Kane, Private Eye was first heard on Mutual radio…. When 16-year-old Paul Anka made his U.S. television debut on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand, lip-synching to his first hit “Diana”… ..and when the reality series Gene Simmons’ Family Jewels had its premiere on the A&E cable network. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.