Columns

IT WAS APRIL 21st .. when the quiz show with a top prize of $64, ‘Take it or Leave it” made its debut on CBS radio … When ten-year old Leonard Ross became TV’s youngest big money prize winner with $100,000 won on NBC-TV’s“The Big Surprise”… When Canada lost the original voice of hockey as Foster Hewitt died … When the Beach Boys (pictured) appeared on ABC-TV’s pop music showcase “Shindig!” performing “Help Me Rhonda” and “Do You Wanna Dance”.. and when the final episode of “WKRP in Cincinnati” aired on CBS-TV. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

You know Geoff Allan's voice. No, really, you do. If you've ever heard an ad for Burger King, Bud Light, or Hardee's, you've probably heard Geoff's dulcet tones announcing the return of the biggest burger you've ever seen.

IT WAS APRIL 20th … when Radio Specialties Ltd opened the predecessor to Vancouver’s C-FUN & CKMO using 40 watts of power on 450 meters (666 khz). The studios of CFCQ were at 791 Dunsmuir…. When “Your Hit Parade” debuted on NBC Radio as a one-hour Saturday night program, featuring 15 of the week’s top songs… When “The Big Show” with hostess Talullah Bankhead (pictured) completed its two year run on NBC Radio… and when the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) gave approval for FM stereo broadcasting. ALL the broadcast milestones for the date INSIDE.

IT WAS APRIL 19th … when the Chicago Barn Dance first aired on WLS. In a few short years it became the National Barn Dance on NBC radio… When the ABC Television Network began operations, only in Philadelphia and Washington at first… When New York AM station WINS became the world’s first all-news radio outlet… and when our TV screens were filled with images of destruction from Oklahoma City, after a truck bomb destroyed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, killing 168. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

IT WAS APRIL 18th … when future late night TV host Johnny Carson played a bored New Jersey husband with a gift for picking horse-racing winners, in a Playhouse 90 production on CBS-TV… When the reality TV show “Real People” debuted, featuring John Barbour, Sarah Purcell, Byron Allen, Skip Stephenson, and Bill Rafferty… When the TV movie “Summer Dreams: The Story of the Beach Boys” aired on ABC… and when Arsenio Hall (pictured)l announced (for the first time) he would end his five-year-old late-night TV talk show the following month… ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

IT WAS APRIL 17th .. when San Francisco radio station KPO (now KNBR) took to the airwaves with 50 watts of power… When writer/producer Wyllis Cooper brought Lights Out to NBC radio for what would be acclaimed as the medium’s ultimate horror show… When CBS-TV’s Ed Sullivan Show featured Petula Clark singing “Sign of the Times’, and The Animals performing “Don’t Bring Me Down”… and when comedian Joey Bishop (pictured) got the opportunity to try to unseat the king of late night, Johnny Carson, courtesy of ABC-TV. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

IT WAS APRIL 16th … in the early years of radio when Vancouver’s CNRV became CRCV 1100 as the Canadian Radio Commission took over operations from the CNR… When the soon-to-be highly popular “Fibber McGee & Molly” radio program debuted on the N-B-C Blue Network from Chicago… When Polly Bergen (pictured) starred in “The Helen Morgan Story” on CBS TV’s live drama showcase Playhouse 90… and when Walter Cronkite succeeded Douglas Edwards as anchor of “The CBS Evening News.” ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

IT WAS APRIL 15th .. when the world’s first all colour TV station was dedicated. Chicago’s WNBQ-TV has since evolved into WMAQ-TV… When CFRO FM 102.7 Vancouver Co-Op Radio signed on, after three months of trials… When “In Living Color,” FOX-TV’s sketch comedy show starring its creators Keenan Ivory Wayans and Damon Wayans,and introducing Canadian Jim Carrey (pictured), began its four year run… and when Bill Rancic beat out Kwame Jackson to win the first season of NBC’s “The Apprentice” with Donald Trump. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

IT WAS APRIL 14th .. when Robert Ripley hosted his first ‘Believe It or Not Broadcast’ on NBC, the beginning of an 18 year radio run… When WGN radio carried the first play-by-play broadcast of a regular season Chicago Cub baseball game… When Chilliwack’s CHWK moved up the dial from 1340 to 1230 KHz, enroute to its longtime home at 1270… When piano virtuoso Van Cliburn appeared on US national TV for the first time, as Jack Paar’s guest on NBC-TV’s ‘Tonight Show’… and when CBS-TV aired the Johnny Cash special ‘Spring Fever’ in prime time, with guests Waylon Jennings, June Carter Cash, and Rosanne Cash. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

It's not often that we hear a British accent on the radio in Canada. Especially outside of Toronto, or maybe Vancouver, most of our talent is home-grown. Chris Ash is a notable exception to that rule.