Columns

IT WAS APRIL 6th .. when the comic strip ‘Little Orphan Annie’ came to life for the first time on NBC radio … When ‘This is Your FBI’ debuted as a weekly 30-minute drama on ABC radio .. When Swanson & sons introduced their frozen ‘TV Dinner’… When Bob Hope (pictured) hosted the 31st Annual Academy Awards that named ‘Gigi’ best picture… and when singers Peggy Lee & Tony Bennett, and comics Rodney Dangerfield & Joan Rivers headlined the Easter Sunday edition of CBS-TV’s Ed Sullivan Show. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

IT WAS APRIL 5th … when less than five months after the first NBC network broadcast from New York, the Pacific Coast-based NBC ‘Orange’ network aired its first programmming from temporary studios in San Francisco…. When 19-year old Barbra Streisand (pictured) made her first network television appearance on NBC’s late night “Jack Paar Show” with guest host Orson Bean… When the final episode of the original ‘Hawaii Five-0’ aired on CBS-TV… and when the FOX Broadcasting Company debuted coast-to-coast in the US with two Sunday night comedy shows, Married..With Children and The Tracey Ullman Show. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

IT WAS APRIL 4th .. when Kate Smith began a new daily quarter-hour talk show in the noon hour at CBS radio… When the ill-fated CBC-FM Network signed on, with connected stations only in Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal… When Johnny Carson quit The Tonight Show in a salary dispute with NBC. He returned three weeks later with an additional $30,000 a week!… and when, after six years, the final episode of the WWII prison camp sitcom “Hogan’s Heroes” aired on CBS TV. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

IT WAS APRIL 3rd … when two staples of NBC radio made their debuts three years apart, ‘Mr. District Attorney,’ and ‘People Are Funny’… When the comedy team of (Dean) Martin & (Jerry) Lewis (pictured) began their own weekly series on NBC radio … When radio station CKSA Lloydminster had its official grand opening, with 1000 watts at 1450 KHz… and when John Chancellor stepped down as anchor of the The NBC Nightly News, to be succeeded by the team of Roger Mudd and Tom Brokaw as coanchors. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

IT WAS APRIL 2nd .. when the newspaper-based docudrama ‘The Big Story’ began its 8-year run on NBC radio.. When two very successful & long-running daytime dramas ‘The Edge of Night’ and ‘As The World Turns’ premiered on the same day on CBS TV… When CBS Radio began to produce News On the Hour 24/7… When the sci-fi soap opera “Dark Shadows” concluded an almost 5 year run on ABC TV… and when J.R. Ewing and the clan arrived at Southfork, as ‘Dallas’ debuted in prime time on CBS-TV. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

On APRIL FIRST .. Victoria’s first radio station CFCL went on the air for the first time, broadcasting the Easter Sunday sunrise service from the top of Mt. Tolmie. The same day the predecessor to Vancouver’s CKWX went on the air in Nanaimo .. with a whopping 10 watts of power, 23 years later on April 1st, Port Alberni got its own 250 watter, CJAV AM 1240. It was April 1st when Chet Huntley (pictured) began his career with NBC News.. and when ‘General Hospital’ began its record-setting run (57 years so far) as a key part of the ABC-TV daytime schedule. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

MARCH 31st … was the birthdate of legendary radio entertainers Arthur Godfrey (pictured) and Henry Morgan. It was the date Quebec City FM radio station CJMF was ordered off the air by the CRTC for playing contemporary hit music in contravention of the terms of its licence. And when Madonna’s appearance on “Late Show With David Letterman” caused headaches for C-B-S censors. The network deleted 13 offending words from the audio track before the show aired. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

IT WAS MARCH 30th … When Bette Davis starred on the premiere of the anthology series ‘Academy Award’ on CBS Radio… When the TV game show ‘ Jeopardy,’ developed by Merv Griffin, began an 11 year daytime run on NBC… When the final episode of “Police Woman” starring Angie Dickenson aired on NBC-TV… and when the season-ending episode of CBS-TV’s ‘The Waltons’ featured the return to the household of Grandma after a stroke that had left her (actress Ellen Corby, pictured) virtually speechless. ALL the milestones for March 30th INSIDE.

IT WAS MARCH 29th when Jack Benny appeared on radio for the first time, on newspaper columnist Ed Sullivan’s interview show in New York City… When the melodramatic radio serial ‘Our Gal Sunday’ debuted at 12:45 ET on CBS Radio, where it would remain for the next 22 years!… When the great frequency switch of 1941 sent Vancouver’s CKWX 950 to AM 980, CFCT 1450 Victoria became CJVI 1480, and Vancouver’s CBR 1100 moved to AM 1130…. When the CBC first announced it would be removing all commercials from its radio stations… and when Jack Paar (pictured) left his wildly-popular NBC-TV ‘Tonight Show’ after five years. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

IT WAS MARCH 28th when one of Chicago’s great radio stations, WGN 720 first took to the air… When the New York Times classical music station WQXR banned singing commercials from its schedule… When UK pirate radio station Radio Caroline began broadcasting from a ship off the British coast …. When we lost a Toronto radio legend Wally Crouter …. And when New Westminster’s Raymond Burr (pictured) starred in an NBC movie ‘Ironside,’ which became (after Perry Mason) his second longrunning TV series. ALL the milestones for March 28th INSIDE.