Columns

Happy Birthday today to Luke Perry, David Morse, Joan Cusack, Emily Deschanel, Jane Krakowski and Daryl Hall. The 'American Album of Familiar Music' began its long Sunday night run on NBC radio; Hugh Downs left both 'NBC-tv's 'Today show' and Concentration' for a year off; Canada's first hockey telecast aired in French on Montreal's CBFT; Rod Stewart got his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame; Elton John's 'Candle in the Wind' began its 12-week run atop the charts; and Bob Dylan played Vancouver's Pacific Coliseum. Bowing out this date sadly were CBS newsman Douglas Edwards, ventriloquist Wayland Flowers, singers Connee Boswell, Tex Williams and Russ Hamilton, and actor/sportscaster Gil Stratton Jr. Details and ALL the Oct. 11th milestones INSIDE.

Born this date were Helen Hayes, Peter Coyote, Ivory Joe Hunter, Ben Vereen, Tanya Tucker, Mario Lopez, David Lee Roth and Thelonious Monk. The first of 165 episodes of '77 Sunset Strip' aired on ABC-TV; 'Zorro' and later 'The Geena Davis Show' also had their premieres on ABC. Frank Sinatra recorded his iconic 'Come Fly With Me'; The Supremes appeared for the 1st time on CBS-TV's 'Ed Sullivan Show'; Queen released 'Bohemian Rhapsody' as a single; Neil Diamond scored his first #1 hit with 'Cracklin' Rosie'; the BBC inexplicably banned the PG-rated 'Monster Mash'; and Victoria got country music back when CKXM AM1200 signed on, replacing CKDA. Obits Oct 10th include Redd Foxx, Eddie Cantor, Christopher Reeve, Alex Karras, Solomon Burke, and announcer Tony Marvin. Details and ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

Celebrating birthdays this date are Sharon Osbourne, Scott Bakula, John O'Hurley, Jackson Browne, and Fyvush Finkel. It was not only the late John Lennon's date of birth, it was the day he met Yoko, and the date she gave birth to his son Sean. Dupont's 'Cavalcade of America' debuted on CBS radio; it was the day the Vancouver Canucks debuted on Hockey Night in Canada, with Jim Robson at the mike; Howard Stern began his legendary morning show career at WCCC radio in Hartford Conn.; 'Topper' began its run on CBS-TV, Doc Severinsen took over leadership of NBC-TV's 'Tonight Show' band, and Joan Rivers started her ill-fated 'Late Show' on the Fox TV network. The regional sports network 'CTV Sportsnet' debuted on Canadian cable systems, and 'Hit the Road Jack' by Ray Charles was the #1 song. ALL the milestones for Oct. 9th are INSIDE.

Happy Birthday to Nick Cannon, Matt Damon, Bruno Mars, Dawna Friesen, Sigourney Weaver, Angus T. Jones, and Chevy Chase. Ozzie & Harriet got married this date, and nine years later to the day began their weekly radio sitcom on CBS; the radio show with the distinctive opening, 'Grand Central Station' also debuted on CBS; 'Quirks & Quarks' began its long run on CBC Radio; 'Empty Nest' and 'Ed' had their premieres on NBC-TV, 'Royal Canadian Air Farce' began its weekly TV run on the CBC; 'Cagney and Lacey' got their start as a TV movie on ABC; Jerry Lee Lewis recorded his smash hit 'Great Balls pf Fire'; and Stan Freberg's satirical 'St. George and the Dragonet' was the #1 recording. Departing this 'veil of tears' were actors Fernando Lamas, Nigel Bruce and Karl Swenson, musicians Roger Williams and Jimmy Ferguson (Irish Rovers), and NBC newsman Frank Bourgholtzer. Details and ALL the milestones for Oct. 8th INSIDE.

It's the birthday of Simon Cowell, Joy Behar, John Mellancamp, Toni Braxton, Andy Devine and Vaughb Monroe. The Fox News channel began programming on US cablesystems; the CBC began an ill-fated experiment with a 9 pm TV newscast; the original Hawaiian Eye aired the first of its 134 episodes on ABC-TV; the predecessor to American Bandstand started on WFIL-TV Philadelphia; The Rolling Stones performed on NBC's Satirday Night Live; Bruce Springsteen was interviewed on CBS-TV's 60 minutes; and Dennis Reid received the OK to sell his three Cariboo radio stations in BC. Alanna Morissette became the first Canadian woman to top the Billboard album chart; and obits include singers Billy Daniels and Mario Lanza, and Winnipeg media mogul Izzy Asper. ALL the milestones for Sept. 7th INSIDE.

It's the birthday of CBS president Les Moonves, actors Jeremy Sisto and Ioan Gruffudd, plus the late Robert Mitchum, Canadian radio inventor Reginald Fessenden, and early Vancouver broadcaster Gerry Wilmot. The human interest radio show 'Hobby Lobby' debuted on NBC; 'The Ed Wynn Show' became the first regular live TV origination from the West Coast; Pat Boone guested on Rod Serling's NBC-TV show 'Night Gallery'; 21-yr old Barbra Streisand guested on CBS=TV's 'Judy Garland Show'; 'Dear John' starring Judd Hirsch debuted on NBC-TV; theTV special 'Ray Charles:50 Years of Music' aired on FOX; and Howard Stern announced he would soon be moving to satellite radio. ALL the milestones for Oct. 6th can be found INSIDE.

It's the birthday of Kate Winslet, Bob Geldof, Daniel Baldwin, Steve Miller, and the late Bernie Mac, Allen Ludden and Godfrey announcer Tony Marvin. CBS radio's 'Hollywood Hotel' became the first major national show to originate from Hollywood;'The Honeymooners' were seen for the first time on the old Dumont Network; 'Inner Sanctum Mysteries' aired for the final time on ABC Radio, while 'Gilmour's Albums' began its 40 year run on CBC radio, and Danny Finkleman began his 20 year run with 'Finkleman's 45's' Saturday night on the CBC. 'Meet the Press', still with us 69 years later, aired for the 1st time on Mutual radio, Details and ALL the milestones for Oct. 5th INSIDE.

It's the date whenVictoria's 2nd TV station, 'The New VI' signed on; when Bob Hope made his radio debut, when Gordon MacRae hosted and sang on radio's very first 'Railroad Hour'; and when two Eastern radio stations aired game one of the first complete World Series to be broadcast. Bryant Gumbel began his run as co-host of NBC-TV's Today Show; Barbara Walters became the first woman to co-anchor a network newscast (ABC); CBS premiered the TV shows December Bride, Playhouse 90 and Leave It To Beaver. CBC Vancouver broadcast its first live hockey game, and CBC News aired the first show in the 'This Hour Has Seven Days' series. Louis Armstrong and Pat Boone were headliners on CBS-TV's Ed Sullivan Show; and Blondie starring Penny Singleton made the move from comic strips and radio to the TV screen. ALL the milestones for Oct. 4th can be found INSIDE.

Oct. 3rd gave birth to musicians Stevie Ray Vaughan, Tommy Lee, Chubby Checker, Eddie Cochrane and Gwen Stefani. Some legendary family TV fare first aired this date, including the Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet, The Real McCoys and the Mickey Mouse Club (ABC); Father Knows Best, The Andy Griffith Show, Captain Kangaroo and The Dick Van Dyke Show (CBS). Desperate Housewives and According to Jim also premiered (ABC), as did Quincy ME (NBC). Among the legendary broadcasters and entertainers who died Oct. 3rd were Charles Collingwood, Woody Guthrie, Del Wood, Janet Leigh, Ronnie Barker and Zachary Scott. Details and ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

Born this date were Groucho Marx, Bud Abbott, Kelly Ripa, Don Maclean, Lorraine Bracco, and movie critic Rex Reed. The Lutheran Hour debuted on radio, as did The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (w/Basil Rathbone), The Cisco Kid, and the predecessor to the longrunning daytime soap Pepper Young's Family. The Aldrich Family began a 4-year run on NBC-TV, Combat and Ben Casey had their premieres on ABC-TV, while The Twilight Zone and Edward R. Murrow's celebrity interview show, Person to Person, got their starts on CBS-TV. Obituaries include Rock Hudson, Frank Lovejoy, Gene Autry, Lon Clark, Nipsey Russell, Harriet Nelson and Canadian bandleader Denny Vaughan. More milestones for Oct. 2nd INSIDE.