Columns

This is year three of the pandemic. Three years of being stuck in our houses. When was the last time you went for a walk with your friends? One of the nest things that came out of the pandemic was reconnecting with the simople act of going for a walk.

IT WAS JUNE 15th .. when the first-ever radio broadcast of live music took place from Chelmsford, England, featuring Australian soprano Dame Nellie Melba… When the rural TV comedy/musical show “Hee Haw” with Roy Clark, Buck Owens & Canadian Don Harron, premiered on CBS… When Rev. David Mainse broadcast the first “100 Huntley Street” program out of its studios at the said address in downtown Toronto… ..and when 83-year-old Bob Barker’s final appearance as emcee of CBS TV’s”The Price Is Right” aired. He had hosted the game show for 35 years! ALL the milestones for June 15th INSIDE.

IT WAS JUNE 14th … when a U.S. President was heard on the radio for the first time. President Warren G. Harding dedicated the Francis Scott Key Memorial and was heard on Baltimore’s WEAR … When “The Happy Gang” troupe of musicians, led by Bert Pearl, made their first broadcast on station CRCT, the C-B-C flagship station in Toronto. It became a NATIONAL listening habit 4 months later… When after 12 years Harold Peary played the role of 'The Great Gildersleeve' on NBC radio for the last time … When Toronto's CHUM Radio published its final hit music chart ... ..and when NBC-TV’s action-adventure series “A Team,” aired for the last time. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

IT WAS JUNE 13th … when the Rolling Stones made an appearance on ABC-TV’s “Hollywood Palace,” during their first tour of North America …. When John Lennon made his last TV appearance on an ABC-TV salute to UK entertainment mogul Sir Lew Grade that had been taped in April…. When NBC’ late night TV host Tom Snyder interviewed serial killer Charles Manson on what has since become the most famous edition of his “Tomorrow” Show… ..and when Garrison Keilor (pictured), host and storyteller on the award-winning US public radio series, A Prairie Home Companion, left the show and its delightful shores of Lake Wobegon for Denmark where he intended to spend his time writing (he returned to the U.S… and the program … two years later). ALL the milestones for June 13th INSIDE.

IT WAS JUNE 12th … when pioneer Toronto radio station CFCA had its Grand Opening. Foster Hewitt broadcast his first hockey game on CFCA eight months later…. When Pittsburgh’s KDKA became the first 50,000 watt radio station… When the Sunday night TV extravaganza that would be must-see family viewing for the next twenty years, “Toast of the Town,” (later the Ed Sullivan Show), made its debut on CBS… ..and when the early TV comedy hit “Mr Peepers” starring Wally Cox with Tony Randall, aired for the last time on NBC. ALL the milestones for June 12th INSIDE.

IT WAS JUNE 11th … when Hank Williams made his debut on the Grand Ole Opry. His performance, with the audience demanding several encores of “Lovesick Blues,” is still considered one of the Opry’s greatest moments… When the all-black TV sitcom “Amos ‘n Andy” was driven from the air in the heat of the civil rights movement, for its so-called stereotypical characterizations, though the radio version continued for 7 years more … When the first episode of “Fear Factor” with host Joe Rogan, aired on NBC-TV… ..and the final episode of ‘The Sopranos’ aired on HBO. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

IT WAS JUNE 10th … when Ed Sullivan’s 19th Anniversary Show on CBS-TV featured Spanky & Our Gang with their big hit, “Sunday Will Never Be the Same”…. When Gary Lewis and the Playboys (pictured) performed their biggest hit “This Diamond Ring” on NBC-TV’s “Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson.” When the TV horror anthology series “Tales From The Crypt” aired the first of its 93 episodes on US cable channel HBO… ..and when the quirky TV serial drama “Twin Peaks” (the original series) aired for the final time on ABC. ALL the milestones for June 10th INSIDE.

In 1915, one of the most influential guitarists in pop music history, Les Paul was born. In 1958, “The Purple People Eater” by Sheb Wooley topped the singles charts and stayed there for 6 weeks. Chilliwack’s CHWK AM1270 received approval to flip to FM.. in 2017, Glen Campbell‘s (pictured) 64th and final album “Adios” was released.  He would be dead two months later.

IT WAS JUNE 8th .. in the earliest experimental days of television when WGY-TV in Schenectady, NY revamped its regular program schedule. While continuing to broadcast three days a week, there were only two times each day that viewers could watch TV: 1:30 to 2:00 p.m. and 11:30 to Midnight… It was a different June 8th …..when ‘Lassie’ debuted on ABC radio. It was a 15-minute show about an extraordinary collie… When the future ‘Mr. Television’ Milton Berle made his debut as host of NBC-TV’s ‘Texaco Star Theatre’…. When Saskatoon radio listeners were first treated to programming from CKOM … ..and when the show that introduced us to John Travolta, “Welcome Back, Kotter” aired its final episode on ABC TV. ALL the milestones for June 8th INSIDE.

IT WAS JUNE 7th … when NBC radio presented The Lux Radio Theatre for the final time. For almost all of its 21 years it had brightened the CBS Radio schedule … When children’s puppet show stars Kukla, Fran Allison and Ollie (at right), along with the Boston Pops Orchestra, were stars of the first network TV broadcast shown in “compatible color”… When the “Johnny Cash Show” debuted as a summer series on ABC-TV … ..and when bandleader Ricky Minor jumped from FOX-TV to NBC’s “Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” replacing Kevin Eubanks. ALL the milestones for June 7th INSIDE.