Columns

IT WAS MARCH 24th when one of the most powerful signals from the US mountain west, KSL radio of Salt Lake City began broadcasting…. When Major Bowes’ Original “Amateur Hour” went national on the NBC Radio Network, after a year airing locally on WHN New York… When “Hannah Montana” with Miley Cyrus debuted on the Disney Channel in the US .. When ABC’s late night Iran Hostage crisis program was renamed “Nightline with Ted Koppel”…. and when Whoopi Goldberg was host for the 74th Academy Awards telecast. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

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 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 18th when a daytime drama based on the Bible “Light of the World” was first heard on NBC radio…. When Joan Rivers made the first of some 62 guest appearances with Johnny Carson on NBC-TV’s ‘Tonight Show’… When the debut episode of “The Greatest American Hero” aired on ABC-TV… When a KOMO-TV news helicopter crashed near the Space Needle, killing the pilot and a photographer.. and when Pat Cashman (pictured) left KJR-FM after 12 years doing morning drive at various Seattle stations. 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.

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 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.