Columns

BJ Shea is the morning show host at the legendary KISW in Seattle. The BJ and Migs show has anchored the station since 2005

IT WAS MARCH 16th … when the president’s daughter, Margaret Truman (pictured), made her professional singing debut in an ABC Radio broadcast from Detroit that attracted 15 million listeners …. When the big winners at the Emmy Awards were The Phil Silvers Show, Robert Young and Loretta Young … When the musical headliners on CBS-TV’s Ed Sullivan Show were singers Janis Joplin and Ed Ames, plus Chet Atkins, Floyd Cramer and Boots Randolph… And when Bell Canada acquired another 84 radio stations and 35 cable TV channels from Astral Media for $3.38 billion …. Details and ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

IT WAS MARCH 15th… when BC got its second radio station, this one operated by The Vancouver Sun, two days after The Province station debuted… When future Montreal rock radio powerhouse CFOX hit the airwaves, under the ownership of Gordon Sinclair Jr… When CBS television introduced its ‘Morning Show’ (pictured), hosted by future iconic news anchor Walter Cronkite… When the first episode of the TV sitcom ‘Mr. Belvedere’ aired on ABC… and when CBS announced it was cancelling its Sunday night lynchpin ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’ after 23 seasons. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

It was March 14th when Pete Parker, on radio station CKCK Regina, called the world’s first play-by-play of a complete professional hockey game, just days ahead of Foster Hewitt… when comedians Fred Allen and Jack Benny (pictured) began their 12-year-long ‘feud’ in an NBC broadcast from the Hotel Pierre in New York City, attracting the second largest audience in the history of radio… when Arthur Godfrey turned down the chance to sign Elvis Presley for his CBS TV Talent Scouts Show. Instead at the same audition he signed singer Pat Boone… and when ABC-TV aired the final episode of the original Batman, starring Adam West and Burt Ward. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

It was a March 13th when the radio era officially began hereabouts as the Vancouver Province newspaper started testing its new 2000 watt radio service with music .. and a newscast at 8:30 pm… …when the Manitoba Government Telephone service put Winnipeg’s CKY radio on the air for the first time …. …when Edward R. Murrow (pictured) was first heard on radio, reporting for CBS from Vienna… ..when UK pop singer Tom Jones made his TV performing debut on the BBC ..and when the Merv Griffin TV Show made its debut in daytime syndication across the US. In Southwest BC it was seen in prime time via KVOS-TV Bellingham. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

It was March 12th when the newly elected President of the US Franklin Roosevelt used radio to deliver his first Fireside Chat… ..when singer Fabian (pictured) was named “Most Promising New Talent” in a poll of “American Bandstand” viewers… ..when the TV movie “Wonder Woman” starring Cathy Lee Crosby came to ABC .. ..when Bob Dylan cancelled an “Ed Sullivan Show” television appearance after being told he could not sing “Talking John Birch Paranoid Blues” because it was too political… ..and when syndicated TV’s venerable Entertainment Tonight aired its 3,000th show. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

It was a March 11th when Charles Van Doren (pictured) finally lost on NBC-TV’s rigged game show “21.” He left with $129,000. The scandal overn answers leaked to Van Doren had not yet erupted… When the FCC decreed that 8 to 11 pm would be TV’s prime time controlled and programmed by ABC, CBS and NBC… When Aerosmith was featured on CBS-TV’s 60 Minutes… and when talk show host Glenn Beck singled out Bruce Springsteen’s “Born In The USA” as a perfect example of the progressive politics he said were destroying the country. Details and many more milestones for the date INSIDE.

It was March 10th when 20-year old Julie Andrews (pictured) made her US television debut on NBC’s Ford Star Jubilee…. When Bobby Darin appeared on television for the first time, singing “Rock Island Line” on CBS-TV’s “Dorsey Brothers Stage Show”… When Sonny and Cher guest-starred as “Jerry and Ramona” on ‘The Man From U.N.C.L.E.’ on NBC-TV…. and when Willard Scott became the weatherman on NBC-TV’s ‘Today Show.’ Details and ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

It was a March 9th nearly 100 years ago when Seattle’s KJR began radio broadcasting… when Edward R. Murrow on CBS-TV’s ‘See It Now’ exposed Senator Joseph McCarthy for the bullying fraud that he was… when New York’s WNBT broadcast the first local TV commercials in colour… when the Grand Old Opry aired its final Saturday night brodcast from the Ryman Auditorium … and when Dan Rather took over as CBS-TV anchorman, replacing Walter Cronkite. Specifics, and ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE

It was March 8th when ”Transit Through Fire: An Odyssey of 1942,” the first opera commissioned by the CBC, was aired on radio coast-to-coast. When Vancouver’s CKWX adopted a country music format. When CBS-TV’s General Electric Theatre featured the only joint television appearance by The Marx Brothers in an almost-silent 30-minute episode called “The Incredible Jewel Robbery.” When the UK’s Dave Clark 5 made their first appearance on CBS TV’s “Ed Sullivan Show,” performing “Glad All Over.” And when the last original episode of “The Brady Bunch” was televised on ABC. Details and many more milestones for the date INSIDE.