Columns

IT WAS MAY 23rd .. when pioneering Seattle radio station KOL first signed on …. When CBS gave Johnny Carson a summer TV game show called ‘Earn Your Vacation’… When ‘Star Trek: the Next Generation,’ ‘Star Trek: Voyager,’ and the ABC-TV sitcom ‘Full House’ aired their final episodes … When ABC televised its third Barry Manilow Special, with John Denver as special guest … ,,and when Jordin Sparks (pictured), at age 17, became the youngest-ever winner of FOX-TV’s American Idol on its season-ending telecast. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

IT WAS MAY 21st … when Kamloops B.C. got its first FM station as CFFM 98.3 signed on … When CBS-TV’s Ed Sullivan Show aired from Montreal’s Expo 67, and featured Petula Clark and The Seekers, with comedian Alan King… When after 18 years of losing Susan Lucci finally won Best Daytime Actress Emmy …. When after a 5 year run, the final episode of ‘Miami Vice’ aired on NBC-TV… .. and when after 8 seasons the finale of the sitcom ‘Newhart’ was seen on CBS-TV. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

It was May 20th … when the Canadian Marconi Company station X-W-A, later CFCF, in Montreal aired a musical concert, the first scheduled radio broadcast in North America, and possibly the world… When CBS-TV’s Ed Sullivan Show featured Peggy Lee, The Brothers Four (from Seattle), and retired baseball great Jackie Robinson …. When the 25th Emmy Awards gave top honors to The Waltons, All in the Family & Mary Tyler Moore… ..and when the final episodes of ‘Barney Miller’ and the original run of ‘Roseanne’ (pictured) aired on ABC-TV… and the ‘Cheers’ finale was seen on NBC. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

IT WAS MAY 18th … when radio’s espionage adventure drama Counterspy premiered on the Blue Network, beginning a 15-year run… When 18-year-old singer Jackie DeShannon made her network television debut on CBS-TV’s Jackie Gleason Show… When the final episode of “Baretta” aired on ABC TV, and the last of the original “Murphy Brown” series ran on CBS … ..and when after 50 years with the station Jack Cullen aired his final “Owl Prowl” on CKNW as the station moved to a fulltime news/talk format. ALL the milestones for May 18th INSIDE.

IT WAS MAY 17th … when the quiz show for the intelligentsia “Information Please!” began its 10-year run on radio, the first 2.5 years on the NBC Blue Network… When the final episode of Groucho’s radio/TV quiz show “You Bet Your Life” was taped … When the Elton John TV special “Say Goodbye To Norma Jean And Other Things” aired on ABC… When Barry Manilow guested on the season finale of ‘Murphy Brown’ on CBS-TV … ..and when NBC-TV paid $5 million for the rights to air the 1939 movie blockbuster “Gone with the Wind” just one time. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

IT WAS MAY 15th … when Victoria radio station CJVI 1480 moved to AM 900 and doubled its power to 1,000 watts … When 16 year old Brenda Lee guested as struggling singer “Tina Davis” on an episode of the CBS-TV sitcom “Make Room For Daddy”… When the 91st and final episode of the original series”Starsky and Hutch”(pictured) aired on ABC-TV… ..and when one of Canada’s most successful entertainment exports, “SCTV Network, ” a 90-minute variety/comedy show debuted on NBC. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

IT WAS MAY 14th .. when the Ernie Kovacs Show, a highly innovative TV variety show, debuted on NBC…(Kovacs is pictured)… When ‘Rowan & Martin’s Laugh In’ ended its sensational 5-year run on NBC-TV … When CBC TV stations in Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto were linked for the first time, the first step in creating a national network … When Victoria radio station CFAX was sold to Clare G. Copeland, who changed it from a daytime only station to 24/7 at 1070 KHz .. When 84-year old Lowell Thomas wrapped up his 46-year career as a nightly radio newscaster … ..and when Paul McCartney and John Lennon were guests on NBC-TV’s “Tonight Show” .. but with Joe Garagiola as guest host. ALL the milestones for May 14th INSIDE.

IT WAS MAY 13th ….when “Gene Autry’s Melody Ranch” ended its 16 years as a Sunday afternoon staple on CBS Radio (Gene is pictured)… When the ‘Kraft Music Hall,’ now starring Milton Berle, ended a record 26 years on NBC radio & TV …. When the game-changing ‘Pat Burns Hotline’ debuted on AM 600 CJOR in Vancouver … When the 200th episode of the sitcom ‘Murphy Brown’ aired on CBS TV …. ..and when the CBC’s flagship TV news shows The National and The Journal were moved from 10 pm to 9 pm. (The move was a failure & was soon reversed.) ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

IT WAS MAY 12th .. when syndicated gossip columnist Walter Winchell (pictured) made his radio debut on New York’s WABC… When after 46 years Toronto-born Morley Safer announced his retirement from CBS TV’s 60 Minutes … When Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley (just back from his military service in Germany) appeared on the ABC TV special ‘Welcome Back Elvis”… When CBS-TV’s Ed Sullivan Show was headlined by Gary Puckett and the Union Gap, along with comedians Richard Pryor and Rodney Dangerfield … When shares in CHUM Radio were first traded on the Toronto stock exchange … ..and when the final episode of “The Incredible Hulk” was first telecast on CBS. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

IT WAS MAY 11th …. when the Bureau of Broadcast Measurement (BBM) was formed as a non-profit Canadian radio ratings service… When the pioneering kids TV show, The Pinky Lee Show, aired for the final time on NBC-TV… When Buddy Holly and the Crickets auditioned for CBS-TV’s “Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts,” but were rejected and didn’t get to the air… When the Monty Python comedy troupe was formed in the UK…. ..and when John Lennon appeared (with wife Yoko Ono) on ABC TV’s “Dick Cavett Show” (pictured). ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.