Today in Broadcast History

Happy Birthday to Kim Basinger, Teri Hatcher, Wendell Pierce, Sinead O’Connor and Jerry Butler. FDR (pictured) gave his iconic ‘Date that will live in infamy’ address one day after the Pearl Harbor attack; Americans cost-to-coast heard the first NFL championship game via Mutual radio ; Ringo Starr hosted ‘Sat. Night Live’ on NBC-TV; the last ‘Wiseguy’ episode aired on CBS-TV; and the Bravo channel debuted on US cable systems. Canadian radio stations CJAD Montreal and Edmonton’s Magic 99 signed on. John Lennon was shot dead by Mark Chapman; other Dec. 8th deaths include singers Marty Robbins, Martha Tilton, and John Mills Sr. of ‘The Mills Brothers,’ plus actors Robert Prosky, Howard Rollins Jr., Luther Adler, Slim Pickens and Anne Seymour. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

Dec. 7th gave us radio’s king of horror writing Arch Oboler, WKRP’s Ted Knight, music men Tom Waits and Harry Chapin, and actors Rod Cameron and Ellen Burstyn. Radio brought us the news of Japan’s sneak attack on Pearl Harbour; KCTS signed on on Seattle channel 9 bringing Public Television to the Northwest; CHPQ AM1370 in Parksville signed on; some 35 years later KSQM 91.5 Sequim Wash. signed on; Instant Replay was used for the first time on CBS-TV’s telecast of the Army-Navy football game; ‘Frosty the Snowman’ (pictured) aired for the first time; and Harry Reasoner joined Howard K. Smith to co-anchor ABC-TV’s Evening News. ALL the milestones for Dec. 7th INSIDE.

It’s the date of birth for the late Agnes Moorehead, Wally Cox and Bobby Van. Calvin Coolidge gave the first presidential address to be carried on radio; ‘Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer’ was seen for the first time on NBC; ‘Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts,’ already a hit on radio, became a simulcast on CBS-TV; psychologist Joyce Brothers (pictured) won the top prize on CBS-TV’s ‘$64,000 Question’; and Moose Jaw’s pioneer radio station CHAB moved to its current dial position at 800 KHz. Obits include Toronto news anchor Mark Dailey, actor Don Ameche, puppeteer Burr Tillstrom of Kukla, Fran and Olly, and ‘Aunt Bee’ of ‘The Andy Griffith Show,’ Frances Bavier. ALL the milestones for Dec 6th INSIDE.

Happy Birthday to Canadian comedian Dave Broadfoot, to singer Little Richard and actor Frankie Muniz. Bing Crosby (pictured) took over the hosting of NBC radio’s ‘Kraft Music Hall; “The Green Hornet’ aired its last original episode after 15 years on network radio; ‘Jack Webb’s ‘Dragnet’ debuted on NBC-TV; and Bob Dylan gave a rare interview to CBS-TV’s ’60 Minutes.’ Obits Dec. 5th include Canadians Art Hallman and Wilf Carter, Roone Arledge of ABC News, and jazz giant Dave Brubeck. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

It’s the birth date of actors Jeff Bridges, Donnelly Rhodes, Marisa Tomei, Patricia Wettig and Victor French; of the music world’s Dennis Wilson, Deanna Durbin, Chris Hillman, Freddy Cannon and Eddie Heywood; and of broadcasters Wink Martindale and Alan Jackson. ‘The Eveready Hour’ began its pioneering radio variety show run on New York’s WEAF; Walter Winchell began his longrunning Sunday night news and gossip radio show on NBC Blue; the iconic radio soap ‘Ma Perkins’ moved from Cincinnati’s WLW to the NBC Red network; Frank Reynolds co-anchored his final ABC-TV evening newscast; and ‘Falcon Crest’ began its 9-year prime time run on CBS-TV. It’s the date we lost two iconic Calgarians, country music’s Wilf Carter and sportscaster Ed Whalen (pictured). Details and ALL the Dec 4th milestones INSIDE.

Born this date were Julianne Moore, Amanda Seyfried, Connee Boswell, Jaye P Morgan, Daryl Hannah and Ozzie Osbourne, ‘The Voice of Firestone’ started a 35 year run on radio; Paul Harvey News & Comment began a 58 year run on ABC Radio; CTV’s Harvey Kirck (pictured) became the frst 20-year man anchoring a Canadian network newscast; the late New York disk jockey Alan Freed was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame; and CBS-TV aired the 200th episode of ‘Knots Landing.’ Fraser Valley transmitters on the AM band fell silent, as the original stations in Chilliwack, Abbotsford and Hope completed their transfer to the FM band, Details and ALL the milestones for Dec. 3rd INSIDE.

Born this date were Britney Spears, Nelly Furtado, Lucy Liu, Cathy Lee Crosby, Ray Walston and Hy Gardner. ‘The Advenutres of Charlie Chan’ debuted on radio’s NBC Blue network; Don Imus brought his shock-jock radio schtick from Cleveland to New York’s WNBC; Jungle Jay Nelson (pictured) did his first morning show on Toronto’s CHUM radio; NBC-TV’s ‘This is Your Life’ surprised their subject of the week Bobby Darin; after nearly half a century the amazing Alan Waters stepped down as head of CHUM broadcasting; and Brian Williams took over the anchor chair at NBC’s Nightly News. Celebrity deaths include folksinger Odetta, actors Robert Cummings and Desi Arnaz, jazz star Bob Haggart, actresses Gail Fisher and Roxie Roker, as well as Canada’s Fifi D’Orsay and broadcast magnate Ted Rogers Jr. Details and ALL the milestones for Dec. 2nd INSIDE.

Born this date were Richard Pryor, Woody Allen, Dick Shawn, David Doyle, Mary Martin, Lou Rawls, Bette Midler, Treat Williams and Sarah Silverman. Victoria's CHEK-TV signed on, becoming the first private TV station in Western Canada; Tom Brokaw (pictured) stepped down after two decades as anchor at NBC News; 'Edge of Night' became the first TV soap to switch networks, from CBS to ABC; CKWX became the first radio station in Western Canada to afiliate with a US network (Mutual- Don Lee); Gene Autry took a job at WLS radio in Chicago, singing for $35 a week;'The Abbott and Costello Show' began its 52-episode run in syndicated TV; and 'The Mike Douglas Show' began its 20-year run as a popular US daytime variety show. Details and ALL the milestones for Dec. 1st INSIDE.

It’s a day that brought us a wealth of talent, Dick Clark, Richard Crenna, Ben Stiller, Colin Mochrie, Mandy Patinkin, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Brownie McGhee, Kaley Cuoco, Allan Sherman and Johnny Horton. CBS-TV first used videotape for the West Coast delayed airing of the Evening News; after 74 straight wins Ken Jennings lost on ‘Jeopardy’; Eric Sevareid retired from CBS News; the critically-acclaimed ‘Brian’s Song’ (pictured) was the Movie of the Week on ABC; David Bowie dueted with Bing Crosby on CBS-TV on a Christmas special taped before Crosby’s death 6 weeks earlier; and Whistler BC got its own FM station, CISQ debuting at 104.9. Taking a final bow were Evel Knievel, Pierre Berton, Tiny Tim, and the Phillip Morris poster boy, Johnny Roventini. ALL the milestones for Nov. 30th INSIDE.

Many entertainers were born this date including Vin Scully, Howie Mandel, Don Cheadle, Diane Ladd, Garry Shandling, Merle Travis, Dagmar, Tom Sizemore, Denny Doherty, and TV newsman Frank Reynolds. NBC radio began using the 3-note chimes; the early radio show ‘Calling All Cars’ debuted on the CBS West Coast network; the Chicago puppet show ‘Kukla Fran & Ollie’ (pictured) moved to the NBC-TV network; the Metropolitan Opera was first televised on WJZ-TV; for the first time the ‘Grammy Awards’ made it to TV; and PBS televised a taped concert honoring Bruce Springsteen. Obits for Nov. 29th include Natalie Wood, George Harrison, Gene Rayburn, Ray Smith and Godfrey Cambridge. Details and ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.