Columns

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.

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...

IT WAS AUG. 2nd .. when the TV station now known as KCPQ (FOX 13) in Tacoma-Seattle, began broadcasting as KMO-TV Tacoma… When Canadian-born CBS correspondent Morley Safer (pictured) sent the first TV report from Vietnam indicating the US was losing the war… When CHUM-owned TV stations in Victoria, London, Barrie, Wingham, Windsor and Ottawa became A-Channels… …and when radio station WHTZ-FM, Newark, New Jersey (serving New York City and environs) – signed on as “Z100” with Scott Shannon and the “Morning Zoo”. It went from “worst to first” in just a few months. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

IT WAS JULY 30th … when radio crime drama ‘The Shadow’ began its 24 year run, the first two years on CBS…. When the popular radio soap opera, ‘The Guiding Light’, was seen for the first time on CBS television… When the soap opera “Santa Barbara” debuted on NBC TV; day 1 of an 8 1/2 year run… ..and when NBC’s ‘L.A. Law’ was nominated for 20 Emmy Awards, one shy of the record held by ‘Hill Street Blues.’ ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

IT WAS JULY 29th … when the CBC’s prairie powerhouse CBK-540 signed on with 50,000 watts from Watrous, Saskatchewan, as the only CBC radio outlet between Winnipeg and Vancouver… When decades later Toronto's CBC Radio One service was approved for a move to FM.... When Jack Paar (pictured) began his five-year run as host of NBC-TV’s “Tonight Show”… When Jim Hartz was named to join Barbara Walters as co-host of the Today show on NBC…. …and when millions around the world watched on television as Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer were wed in London. ALL the milestones for July 29th INSIDE.

It’s the date of birth of radio announcer Bill Goodwin and TV announcer Art Hannes, producer Dick Ebersol and 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley. Judy Garland recorded her iconic ‘Over the Rainbow,’ Regina got Saskatchewan’s 1st TV station, Toronto’s Crew Cuts had their only #1 song hit, Jerry Lee Lewis made his TV debut, Kathie Lee Gifford (pictured) made her last appearance on TV’s ‘Live with Regis & Kathie Lee’, and Rosemary Clooney had a #1 hit with ‘Come On-a My House.’ Obits include radio announcing heavyweights Truman Bradley and Jackson Beck, actress Eileen Brennan and radio’s first Lone Ranger, George Seaton. Details of these and scores more milestones for July 28th INSIDE.

IT WAS JULY 27th .. when Moose Jaw radio station CJRM signed on with 500 watts at 665 KHz. It was later moved to Regina and became CKRM …. When Okanagan Broadcasters Ltd. was incorporated, as Kelowna’s first radio station (CKOV) was moving from experimental to commercial status…. When Steve Allen (pictured) began a local late-night TV talk show in New York City that the following year went national on NBC-TV as ‘The Tonight Show’ …. When a summer replacement series “Dean Martin Presents The Bobby Darin Amusement Company” debuted on NBC-TV… .. and when NBC-TV removed the daily Dinah’s Place from its programming roster. The move brought Dinah Shore’s 23-year association with the Peacock Network to a close. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.