Columns

IT WAS MARCH 23rd .. when the Vancouver World newspaper launched the BC city’s third radio station… When 20-year old Foster Hewitt (pictured) called his first hockey game over the Toronto Star’s pioneer radio station CFCA… When two radio classics, ‘Truth or Consequences’ and ‘ Beat the Clock’ first appeared, ten years apart .. When Elvis Presley auditioned (unsuccessfully) for Arthur Godfrey’a Talent Scouts on CBS radio & TV… When after 15 years Hugh Downs hosted the final NBC episode of the daytime quiz show ‘Concentration’… and when the 30-minute daytime drama “The Bold & the Beautiful” had its premiere on CBS-TV. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

IT WAS MARCH 22nd when NBC Radio’s “Voice of Firestone”, a 30-minute showcase of semi-classical music, became the first commercial radio program to be carried simultaneously on both AM and FM stations… When Vancouver’s CFMI 101.1 FM signed on with an automated rock/country hybrid format … When Barry Manilow made his first television appearance, performing “Mandy” and “It’s A Miracle” on ABC’s “American Bandstand”… When Glen Campbell, Johnny Cash & Roger Miller guested on an ABC John Denver TV special … and when two disparate music acts Bob Dylan and Liberace played NBC-TV’s Late Night with David Letterman. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

IT WAS MARCH 21st .. when Portland radio station KGW began broadcasting…. When Shirley Booth (pictured) made her TV acting debut in “The Hostess with the Mostest” on Playhouse 90 on CBS…. When CBS-TV’s Ed Sullivan Show starred Gary Lewis & the Playboys singing “This Diamond Ring”…. and when on the CBS-TV prime time soap “Dallas,” JR was shot. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

IT WAS MARCH 20th … when the original Lucky Strike Hit Parade premiered on NBC radio, featuring the top 15 tunes of the week… When Eugene Ormandy conducted the Philadelphia Orchestra on CBS in the first symphony concert to be televised in North America… When a protege of Dick Clark Bobby Rydell (pictured) made his first TV appearance, during the second season of Clark’s daily “American Bandstand” on ABC… When Gibsons BC’s CKAY began testing at 91.7… and when Edmonton public radio station CKUA went dark for five weeks after it ran out of money. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE;

IT WAS MARCH 19th … when the first televised prize fight aired in ‘living color’ saw Joey Giardello knock out Willie Troy on NBC …. When Vancouver’s C-FUN AM 1410 flipped to a Top 40 format …. When singer Lesley Gore guest-starred on the last episode of the ABC-TV sitcom “The Donna Reed Show”… And when the final episode of the iconic “Mary Tyler Moore Show” (pictured) aired on CBS-TV. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

IT WAS MARCH 17th when Kate Smith (pictured) came out of vaudeville to begin a 3-decade radio career with Kate Smith Sings, a quarter-hour several times a week on NBC. When the live country TV program “Five Star Jubilee” premiered on N-B-C… When Pres. George W. Bush took to TV to issue an ultimatum to Iraq’s Saddam Hussein .. And when CBS-TV’s Ed Sullivan Show featured singers Paul Anka, the Chad Mitchell Trio and the McGuire Sisters. ALL the milestones for St. Patrick’s Day INSIDE.

Howard Kroeger was there in 2002 when a new radio format was launched in Winnipeg. The program director of Hot AC Q94.3 was apart of the programming team that had recently acquired AC Magic 99.9 from Standard Radio. It was obvious that Magic would no longer be an AC station, but what would it become in Winnipeg's competitive radio market? This is when BOB was born.

IT WAS MARCH 16th … when the president’s daughter, Margaret Truman (pictured), made her professional singing debut in an ABC Radio broadcast from Detroit that attracted 15 million listeners …. When the big winners at the Emmy Awards were The Phil Silvers Show, Robert Young and Loretta Young … When the musical headliners on CBS-TV’s Ed Sullivan Show were singers Janis Joplin and Ed Ames, plus Chet Atkins, Floyd Cramer and Boots Randolph… And when Bell Canada acquired another 84 radio stations and 35 cable TV channels from Astral Media for $3.38 billion …. Details and ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

IT WAS MARCH 15th… when BC got its second radio station, this one operated by The Vancouver Sun, two days after The Province station debuted… When future Montreal rock radio powerhouse CFOX hit the airwaves, under the ownership of Gordon Sinclair Jr… When CBS television introduced its ‘Morning Show’ (pictured), hosted by future iconic news anchor Walter Cronkite… When the first episode of the TV sitcom ‘Mr. Belvedere’ aired on ABC… and when CBS announced it was cancelling its Sunday night lynchpin ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’ after 23 seasons. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

It was March 14th when Pete Parker, on radio station CKCK Regina, called the world’s first play-by-play of a complete professional hockey game, just days ahead of Foster Hewitt… when comedians Fred Allen and Jack Benny (pictured) began their 12-year-long ‘feud’ in an NBC broadcast from the Hotel Pierre in New York City, attracting the second largest audience in the history of radio… when Arthur Godfrey turned down the chance to sign Elvis Presley for his CBS TV Talent Scouts Show. Instead at the same audition he signed singer Pat Boone… and when ABC-TV aired the final episode of the original Batman, starring Adam West and Burt Ward. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.