Columns

It was a March 13th when the radio era officially began hereabouts as the Vancouver Province newspaper started testing its new 2000 watt radio service with music .. and a newscast at 8:30 pm… …when the Manitoba Government Telephone service put Winnipeg’s CKY radio on the air for the first time …. …when Edward R. Murrow (pictured) was first heard on radio, reporting for CBS from Vienna… ..when UK pop singer Tom Jones made his TV performing debut on the BBC ..and when the Merv Griffin TV Show made its debut in daytime syndication across the US. In Southwest BC it was seen in prime time via KVOS-TV Bellingham. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

It was March 12th when the newly elected President of the US Franklin Roosevelt used radio to deliver his first Fireside Chat… ..when singer Fabian (pictured) was named “Most Promising New Talent” in a poll of “American Bandstand” viewers… ..when the TV movie “Wonder Woman” starring Cathy Lee Crosby came to ABC .. ..when Bob Dylan cancelled an “Ed Sullivan Show” television appearance after being told he could not sing “Talking John Birch Paranoid Blues” because it was too political… ..and when syndicated TV’s venerable Entertainment Tonight aired its 3,000th show. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

It was a March 11th when Charles Van Doren (pictured) finally lost on NBC-TV’s rigged game show “21.” He left with $129,000. The scandal overn answers leaked to Van Doren had not yet erupted… When the FCC decreed that 8 to 11 pm would be TV’s prime time controlled and programmed by ABC, CBS and NBC… When Aerosmith was featured on CBS-TV’s 60 Minutes… and when talk show host Glenn Beck singled out Bruce Springsteen’s “Born In The USA” as a perfect example of the progressive politics he said were destroying the country. Details and many more milestones for the date INSIDE.

It was March 10th when 20-year old Julie Andrews (pictured) made her US television debut on NBC’s Ford Star Jubilee…. When Bobby Darin appeared on television for the first time, singing “Rock Island Line” on CBS-TV’s “Dorsey Brothers Stage Show”… When Sonny and Cher guest-starred as “Jerry and Ramona” on ‘The Man From U.N.C.L.E.’ on NBC-TV…. and when Willard Scott became the weatherman on NBC-TV’s ‘Today Show.’ Details and ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

It was a March 9th nearly 100 years ago when Seattle’s KJR began radio broadcasting… when Edward R. Murrow on CBS-TV’s ‘See It Now’ exposed Senator Joseph McCarthy for the bullying fraud that he was… when New York’s WNBT broadcast the first local TV commercials in colour… when the Grand Old Opry aired its final Saturday night brodcast from the Ryman Auditorium … and when Dan Rather took over as CBS-TV anchorman, replacing Walter Cronkite. Specifics, and ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE

It was March 8th when ”Transit Through Fire: An Odyssey of 1942,” the first opera commissioned by the CBC, was aired on radio coast-to-coast. When Vancouver’s CKWX adopted a country music format. When CBS-TV’s General Electric Theatre featured the only joint television appearance by The Marx Brothers in an almost-silent 30-minute episode called “The Incredible Jewel Robbery.” When the UK’s Dave Clark 5 made their first appearance on CBS TV’s “Ed Sullivan Show,” performing “Glad All Over.” And when the last original episode of “The Brady Bunch” was televised on ABC. Details and many more milestones for the date INSIDE.

It was a March 7th when radio station KARI 550 signed on the air from Blaine, Washington with a Christian-spoken word format… ..when the “Beatles” made their broadcasting debut on BBC radio in England. ..when ”Peter Pan”, with Mary Martin and Cyril Richard, was presented as a live TV special on NBC’s Producer’s Showcase. ..when Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin co-hosted the 82nd Academy Awards telecast .. ..and when Vancouver’s CKWX 1130 dropped its adult contemporary music and became a country music station. Specifics, and ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

It was March 6th when the first US telecast from an airplane was aired from the skies over New York City… when NBC-TV aired the musical special “An Evening With Diana Ross” (pictured) …. when the 100th episode of “The Six Million Dollar Man” aired on ABC-TV… and when Walter Cronkite signed off the CBS Evening News for the final time, to be replaced by Dan Rather. Specifics, and many more March 6th milestones INSIDE.

It was a March 5th when Milton Berle was the mystery guest on CBS-TV’s ‘I’ve Got a Secret.’ When Dionne Warwick, Gwen Verdon, Rodney Dangerfield and Alan King headlined the Ed Sullivan Show. When singer Smokey Robinson appeared in a dramatic role on NBC-TV’s ‘Police Story.’ When US President Jimmy Carter took 42 questions on a radio call-in program moderated by Walter Cronkite. And when Vancouver radio legend Fred Latremouille (pictured) died at age 69. Details and ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

It was March 4th a decade before radio as we know it got going, when Lee De Forest conducted an experimental broadcast from New York City. It’s the date when Edmonton first heard the signal of CHED radio at 1080KHz … …when Shirley Temple (pictured) starred in the first episode of ‘Junior Miss’ on CBS radio… and when CBS-TV aired the 200th episode of the classic sitcom ‘All in the Family.’ Details and ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.