Columns

IT WAS JULY 13th .. when Allan Slaight bought rocker CFOX in Montreal and within two weeks turned its music to Country .. When BBC Radio banned “No One Is Innocent” by the Sex Pistols…. When sportscaster Howard Cosell said that he was “tired of being tied to the football mentality” and asked to be released from duties on ABC’s Monday Night Football… ..and when Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler (pictured) announced he was leaving FOX-TV’s American Idol after two seasons, to focus his attention back on the band. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

IT WAS JULY 12th .. when the Toronto Daily Star’s pioneering radio station CFCA had its Grand Opening. Foster Hewitt broadcast his first hockey game on CFCA seven months later. .. When The Adventures of Sam Spade was heard for the first time, on ABC Radio. Howard Duff (pictured) starred as the San Francisco detective in the summer replacement series which quickly won a year-round following … When PBS began airing concerts by the Boston Pops Orchestra… …and when the daytime game show “Family Feud” premiered on ABC-TV with Richard Dawson as host. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

Actors Tab Hunter and Sela Ward, announcer Harry Von Zelll and Canadian guitarist Liona Boyd were born on July 11th. Elvis had his final Sun Records session, Mac Davis debuted his summer CBS-TV variety show, Rupert Holmes hosted NBC-TV’s Midnight Special, and Frank Sinatra got married for the 4th time. Orson Welles debuted his Mercury Theatre players as a weekly prime time feature of CBS radio. Obits this date include Vancouver talk radio host Gary Bannerman (pictured), composer George Gershwin, singers Helen Forrest and Frances Langford, actors Laurence Olivier and Ray Collins, and iconic New York Yankee P.A. announcer Bob Sheppard. All the milestones for July 11th are INSIDE.

IT WAS JULY 10th … when a radio show of international intrigue ‘The Man Called X,’ debuted on CBS radio, beginning an 8-year run on the networks …. When New York’s WINS Radio announced the hiring of pioneer rock deejay Alan Freed to be the host of their “Rock ‘n’ Roll Party’… When the longtime radio hit ‘Your Hit Parade’ debuted on NBC-TV, starring two Canadian female vocalists, Dorothy Collins & Gisele MacKenzie (pictured)…. When the short-lived “Gladys Knight & the Pips” Summer Series premiered on NBC-TV… .. and when Victoria’s first radio station CJVI AM900 cut costs by dropping its talk shows and went back to playing hits of the 60s, 70s and 80s. ALL the milestones for July 10th are found INSIDE.

A lot of radio personalities are initially attracted to the medium because of the music. But some hosts, like Sylvia Alvarado, go far beyond a passing interest.

IT WAS JULY 8th … when Storer Broadcasting Company purchased WINS radio in New York City for $10 million, the highest price paid for a radio station to that time… When “The Everly Brothers Show” was launched on ABC-TV as a summer series, replacing Johnny Cash… When the final episode of “Mr. Belvedere” aired on ABC TV… …and when the televised Iran-Contra hearings made Lt. Col. Oliver North (pictured) a daytime TV star, outrating the serials and the game shows. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

IT WAS JULY 7th .. when ‘Flashgun Casey’ debuted on CBS radio. It evolved into ‘Casey, Crime Photographer’ and ran for 12 years!.. When ‘Escape’ (pictured) was heard for the first time on CBS. The critically-acclaimed anthology series continued on an erratic and largely sponsorless schedule (18 different time slots!) through 1954… When Jack Webb’s ‘Dragnet’ was first heard on NBC radio. The program was the first to dramatize cases from actual police files… ..and when a live summer replacement for Dinah Shore, “The Eddy Arnold Show” debuted on NBC-TV. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE

IT WAS JULY 6th … when Canadian soprano Sarah Fischer sang 30 minutes of excerpts from Carmen in the first opera telecast by the BBC… When following on years in supporting radio roles with Rudy Vallee, Paul Whiteman and Edgar Bergen, Judy Canova (pictured) began her own weekly comedy-and-music show on CBS… When a hidden microphone eavesdropped on unsuspecting people for the first time, as Candid Microphone hit the ABC radio airwaves. Allen Funt was the host… When Garrison Keeler's 'A Prairie Home Companion' had its premiere on National Public Radio .... ..and when Karen & Richard Carpenter hosted the debut of their summer series, 'Make Your Own Kind of Music', on NBC-TV. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

IT WAS JULY 5th … when Ann Southern starred on CBS Radio as “Maisie” for the first time, beginning a six-year run …. When “My Favorite Husband”, starring Lucille Ball (pictured), debuted on CBS Radio, laying the groundwork for the redhead’s later superstardom on TV… When Fred Davis, the longtime host of CBC-TV's ‘Front Page Challenge’ passed away at age 74 … When Anne Murray hosted “The Midnight Special” on NBC-TV, singing five songs including “You Won’t See Me,” “Robbie’s Song For Jesus” and “He Thinks I Still Care”…. ..and when the pilot episode of the landmark TV comedy”Seinfeld” aired on NBC. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

IT WAS JULY 4th … when the radio panel show Life Begins at 80, with host Jack Barry, debuted on Mutual… When L.A. deejay Casey Kasem launched the longrunning ‘American Top 40’ as a weekly four hour syndicated radio feature… When the third episode of CBS-TV’s Sunday night talent showcase ‘Toast of the Town” hosted by Ed Sullivan, starred baseball icon Joe DiMaggio and dancer Bill Bojangles Robinson… … and when the “Tony Orlando and Dawn” TV show debuted on CBS as a summer replacement for Sonny & Cher. ALL the milestones for July the 4th INSIDE!