As I mentioned last week, RadioDiscussions.com is no more. It had a great classic TV discussion board (which I hope will be resurrected at another site in the near future), a place where TV nerds like me could compare notes on things like old television programming listings. Whenever I linked to one of my TV Guide pieces, I'd always include the listings from a typical day, as a snapshot of what was going on that week.
I don't know if I'll continue to do that here on a regular basis, but the week seems kind of empty otherwise, so here's the schedule from last week's TV Guide - the date is Monday, December 12, 1966*, and it's the Minnesota State Edition of TVG, which includes listings from stations in outstate Minnesota. Posting it here also gives me a chance to provide some more in-depth comments on various programs and personalities - it's from my TV viewing lifetime, so I know the time well. So here goes!
KTCA, Channel 2 (Educ.)
Morning
09:00a
Classroom
Afternoon
05:00p
Kindergarten
05:30p
Children’s Fair
Evening
06:00p
Now See This
07:00p
Holiday Festival
08:00p
Profile (Henrik Ibsen)
08:30p
Hamline University
09:00p
Choosing Your Career
09:30p
Folio
10:00p
Monday for Medicine
As you can see, educational television really was that, back in the mid 60s. Classroom
ran throughout the school day, not giving way to other programming until 5:30. KTCA was not officially listed as an affiliate of NET (the precursor to PBS), so almost all of the programming here is locally or regionally produced.
KDAL, Channel 3 (Duluth) (CBS)
Morning
07:35a
Farm and Home
07:45a
Treetop House
08:00a
Captain Kangaroo
09:00a
Candid Camera
09:30a
Beverly Hillbillies
10:00a
Andy Griffith
10:30a
Dick Van Dyke
11:00a
Love of Life
11:25a
CBS News (color)
11:30a
Search for Tomorrow
11:45a
Guiding Light
Afternoon
12:00p
Town and Country
12:30p
As the World Turns
01:00p
Password (Jim Backus, Elizabeth Montgomery) (color)
01:30p
House Party (William Demarest, Elaine McKenna) (color)
02:00p
To Tell The Truth
02:25p
CBS News (color)
02:30p
The Edge of Night
03:00p
The Secret Storm
03:30p
Mike Douglas (Ann Sothern, Gary Crosby, Buddy Rich, Flip Wilson, Constance Towers, Anne Schuster)
05:00p
Leave It to Beaver
05:30p
CBS News (Harry Reasoner) (color)
Evening
06:00p
News (local)
06:30p
Gilligan’s Island (color)
07:00p
Run, Buddy, Run (color)
07:30p
Lucille Ball (color)
08:00p
Andy Griffith (color)
08:30p
Family Affair (color)
09:00p
To Tell The Truth (Orson Bean, Peggy Cass, Tom Poston, Kitty Carlisle) (color)
09:30p
I’ve Got a Secret (Victor Borge, Henry Morgan, Bess Myerson, Bill Cullen, Betsy Palmer)
10:00p
News (local)
10:15p
Movie – “The Young Stranger”
One of the nice things about a TV Guide with multiple network affiliates is that you can find out what programs weren't carried by your own local channel. WCCO, for example, never carried the CBS Morning News, here hosted by Joseph Benti. In the 70s you could see it on Channel 9, the independent station.
The Mike Douglas Show,
as was the case with many syndicated shows, ran on different schedules depending on the station you watched it on. On KDAL, you see a completely different lineup than you will on WCCO.
WCCO, Channel 4 (CBS)
Morning
06:00a
Sunrise Semester
06:30a
Siegfried and His Flying Saucer
07:00a
Clancy and Company (color)
08:00a
Captain Kangaroo
09:00a
Dr. Reuben K. Youngdahl (color)
09:05a
News (local) (color)
09:10a
Hi Neighbor (color)
09:30a
Beverly Hillbillies
10:00a
Andy Griffith
10:30a
Dick Van Dyke
11:00a
Love of Life
11:25a
CBS News (color)
11:30a
Search for Tomorrow
11:45a
Guiding Light
Afternoon
12:00p
News (local) (color)
12:20p
Something Special (color)
12:30p
As the World Turns
01:00p
Password (Jim Backus, Elizabeth Montgomery) (color)
01:30p
House Party (William Demarest, Elaine McKenna) (color)
02:00p
To Tell The Truth
02:25p
CBS News (color)
02:30p
The Edge of Night
03:00p
The Secret Storm
03:30p
Candid Camera
04:00p
Mike Douglas (Allan Sherman, Elsa Lanchester, Shani Wallis, the Royal Showband, Natalie Keaton)
05:30p
CBS News (Harry Reasoner) (color)
Evening
06:00p
News (local) (color)
06:30p
Gilligan’s Island (color)
07:00p
Run, Buddy, Run (color)
07:30p
Lucille Ball (color)
08:00p
Andy Griffith (color)
08:30p
Family Affair (color)
09:00p
To Tell The Truth (Orson Bean, Peggy Cass, Tom Poston, Kitty Carlisle) (color)
09:30p
I’ve Got a Secret (Victor Borge, Henry Morgan, Bess Myerson, Bill Cullen, Betsy Palmer)
10:00p
News (local) (color)
10:30p
Our Men in Vietnam (color)
10:40p
Merv Griffin (John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, Hugh O’Brian, Howard Keel, Sloane Simpson, Rufino Tamayo, Warren Avis)
12:10a
Movie – “The Amazing Transparent Man”
Siegfried and His Flying Saucer
was a local cartoon program that featured Wallace the Weather Bear giving kids the day's forecast. Both Siegfried and Wallace were unanimated line drawings. Siegfried
was followed by Clancy the Cop, itself the successor to Axel's Tree House
,and the reason you didn't get to see Joe Benti and the news.
By the way, did you see that lineup on Merv Griffin's show? This isn't the CBS version, although it's airing on a CBS affiliate, but Merv's syndicated chatfest. It should be noted that the first four stars were interviewed together in Mexico, where they were working on a movie.
KSTP, Channel 5 (NBC)
Morning
06:00a
Continental Classroom – “The Constitutional Convention”
06:30a
City and Country (color)
07:00a
Today (Minnesota Fats, Justino Diaz, Wendy Hiller, Dr. Michael de Bakey, Dr. Adrian Kamtrowitz) (color)
09:00a
Eye Guess
09:25a
NBC News (color)
09:30a
Concentration (color)
10:00a
Pat Boone (Margaret Whiting, George Lindsey) (color)
10:30a
Hollywood Squares (Glenn Ford, Michael Landon, Judy Carne, Peter Deuel) (color)
11:00a
Jeopardy (color)
11:30a
Swingin’ Country (Leslie Uggams) (color)
11:55a
NBC News (color)
Afternoon
12:00p
News (local) (color)
12:15p
Dialing for Dollars (color)
12:30p
Let’s Make a Deal (color)
12:55p
NBC News (color)
01:00p
Days of Our Lives (color)
01:30p
The Doctors (color)
02:00p
Another World (color)
02:30p
You Don’t Say! (Keely Smith, Mel Torme) (color)
03:00p
The Match Game (Henry Morgan, Vivian Vance) (color)
03:25p
NBC News (color)
03:30p
Dialing for Dollars (color)
04:30p
Of Lands and Seas
05:25p
Doctor’s House Call (color)
05:30p
NBC News (Huntley/Brinkley) (color)
Evening
06:00p
News (local) (color)
06:30p
The Monkees (color)
07:00p
I Dream of Jeannie (color)
07:30p
Roger Miller (Frank Gorshin, Brothers Castro) (color)
08:00p
The Road West (color)
09:00p
Run For Your Life (color)
10:00p
News (local) (color)
10:30p
Johnny Carson (Woody Allen) (color)
12:15a
M Squad
I don't know who hosts City and Country
, but KSTP had a tradition of local programming in the morning; David Stone hosted a short music program for many years prior to the Today Show.
Speaking of variety, I find it interesting how many variety shows NBC had on their daytime lineup - Pat Boone
and Swingin' Country.
Beats what they put on the air nowadays.
I don't suppose there was a market anywhere that didn't have some version of Dialing For Dollars
, often included as part of an afternoon matinee movie.
KMMT , Channel 6 (Austin) (ABC)
Morning
10:00a
Market Sweep
10:30a
The Dating Game
11:00a
Donna Reed
11:30a
Father Knows Best
Afternoon
12:00p
Ben Casey
01:00p
The Newlywed Game
01:30p
Time For Us
01:55p
ABC News (Marlene Sanders)
02:00p
General Hospital
02:30p
The Nurses
03:00p
Dark Shadows
03:30p
Where the Action Is (Peter and Gordon, Keith Allison)
04:00p
Movie – “Man Without a Body”
05:30p
Trails West
Evening
06:00p
ABC News (Peter Jennings)
06:15p
News, Sports, Weather (local)
06:30p
Iron Horse (color)
07:30p
The Rat Patrol (color)
08:00p
Felony Squad (color)
08:30p
Peyton Place (color)
09:00p
The Big Valley (color)
10:00p
News (local)
10:30p
Movie – “Man Without a Body” (rerun)
12:00a
News (local)
KMMT is now KAAL, and it's still the ABC affiliate in Austin. It's strange to think of a station that doesn't start airing until 10am, but that was the case back then.
ABC does not have a particularly impressive daytime lineup, but compared to where it was a few years previously, it's grown by leaps and bounds - The Dating Game
and The Newlywed Game
are big hits, Dark Shadows
remains a cult favorite, and General Hospital
is one of the few programs from this listing that is still on the air. But, like CBS, the lineup includes reruns of old series. When Ben Casey
finishes its run, it's replaced at noontime by The Fugitive.
KCMT, Channel 7 (Alex) (NBC/ABC)
Morning
07:00a
Today (Minnesota Fats, Justino Diaz, Wendy Hiller, Dr. Michael de Bakey, Dr. Adrian Kamtrowitz) (color)
09:00a
Eye Guess
09:25a
NBC News (color)
09:30a
Concentration (color)
10:00a
Pat Boone (Margaret Whiting, George Lindsey) (color)
10:30a
Hollywood Squares (Glenn Ford, Michael Landon, Judy Carne, Peter Deuel) (color)
11:00a
Jeopardy (color)
11:30a
Swingin’ Country (Leslie Uggams) (color)
11:55a
NBC News (color)
Afternoon
12:00p
News (local)
12:20p
Trading Post
12:30p
Let’s Make a Deal (color)
12:55p
LNBC News (color)
01:00p
Days of Our Lives (color)
01:30p
The Doctors (color)
02:00p
Another World (color)
02:30p
You Don’t Say! (Keely Smith, Mel Torme) (color)
03:00p
The Match Game (Henry Morgan, Vivian Vance) (color)
03:25p
NBC News (color)
03:30p
General Hospital
04:00p
Welcome Inn
04:30p
Beatles
05:00p
St. Benedict High School Choir
05:30p
NBC News (Huntley/Brinkley) (color)
Evening
06:00p
News (local)
06:30p
The Monkees (color)
07:00p
I Dream of Jeannie (color)
07:30p
Roger Miller (Frank Gorshin, Brothers Castro) (color)
08:00p
The Road West (color)
09:00p
Run For Your Life (color)
10:00p
News (local)
10:30p
Johnny Carson (Woody Allen) (color)
I could fill volumes writing about KCMT, a station which no longer exists. It was the station I was stuck with after we moved to the world's worst town when I was a teenager. It was a dual NBC/ABC affiliate, with most of the daytime and primetime programming belonging to the Peacock Network, and the ABC shows (such as General Hospital
and the animated Beatles
) appearing during local hours. You could see more of this alternate programming during the weekend, when KCMT would occasionally pick up college football and other sporting events.
Welcome Inn
was a local variety show, co-hosted by the station's weatherman. Out of charity, I'll refrain from further comments. I love the high school choirs singing Christmas music in the afternoon, though. My high school was on there once - the show ran short, and to fill the time the music director asked them to sing three verses of a song to which the choir only knew the first verse. It was so typical.
KMSP, Channel 9 (ABC)
Morning
07:30a
Soupy Sales
08:00a
Linus the Lionhearted (color)
08:30a
Romper Room
09:30a
Jack LaLanne (color)
10:00a
Market Sweep
10:30a
The Dating Game
11:00a
Donna Reed
11:30a
Father Knows Best
Afternoon
12:00p
Ben Casey
01:00p
The Newlywed Game
01:30p
Time For Us
01:55p
ABC News (Marlene Sanders )
02:00p
General Hospital
02:30p
The Nurses
03:00p
Dark Shadows
03:30p
Where the Action Is (Peter and Gordon, Keith Allison)
04:00p
Route 66
05:00p
ABC News (Peter Jennings)
05:15p
News (local)
05:30p
Leave It to Beaver
Evening
06:00p
Northwest Passage (color)
06:30p
Iron Horse (color)
07:30p
The Rat Patrol (color)
08:00p
Felony Squad (color)
08:30p
Peyton Place (color)
09:00p
The Big Valley (color)
10:00p
News (local)
10:30p
Movie – “Captain Horatio Hornblower” (color)
You notice that Peter Jennings and the News
is still only 15 minutes long - it won't expand to a full half-hour until next year. Later that week, Jennings and the rest of ABC's major correspondents appear at a luncheon/news symposium at the Leamington Hotel in downtown Minneapolis. Only $3.75 per person. It looks as if it would have been pretty interesting - Vietnam correspondent Lou Cioffy, White House corrspondent Bill Lawrence, John Scali from the State Department, Louis Rukeyser from London, and others. I wonder who was left to host the national news that night?
ABC's afternoon programming does run longer than that of the other networks, bidding to capture the after-school teen audience with Where the Action Is.
You see that it's followed by Route 66
, which was in syndication back then. No wonder I always thought it was an ABC show, rather than CBS.
KROC, Channel 10 (Rochester) (NBC)
Morning
07:00a
Today (Minnesota Fats, Justino Diaz, Wendy Hiller, Dr. Michael de Bakey, Dr. Adrian Kamtrowitz) (color)
09:00a
Cartoons
09:30a
Concentration (color)
10:00a
Pat Boone (Margaret Whiting, George Lindsey) (color)
10:30a
Hollywood Squares (Glenn Ford, Michael Landon, Judy Carne, Peter Deuel) (color)
11:00a
Jeopardy (color)
11:30a
Swingin’ Country (Leslie Uggams) (color)
11:55a
NBC News (color)
Afternoon
12:00p
News (local)
12:20p
Memos From Mary Bea
12:30p
Let’s Make a Deal (color)
12:55p
NBC News (color)
01:00p
Days of Our Lives (color)
01:30p
The Doctors (color)
02:00p
Another World (color)
02:30p
You Don’t Say! (Keely Smith, Mel Torme) (color)
03:00p
The Match Game (Henry Morgan, Vivian Vance) (color)
03:25p
NBC News (color)
03:30p
Sergeant Preston
04:00p
Mister Ed
04:30p
Leave It to Beaver
05:00p
Cisco Kid
05:30p
NBC News (Huntley/Brinkley) (color)
Evening
06:00p
News (local)
06:30p
The Monkees (color)
07:00p
I Dream of Jeannie (color)
07:30p
Barn Dance (color)
08:00p
The Road West (color)
09:00p
Run For Your Life (color)
10:00p
News (local)
10:30p
Johnny Carson (Woody Allen) (color)
Definitely kid-centric programming on KROC, which since 1976 has been known as KTTC. It's still the NBC affiliate, though. Interesting how the station substitutes Barn Dance
in place of Roger Miller
at 7:30. I wonder if they aired Miller at another time?
Unlike KSTP, KROC and KCMT both carried the 90-minute version of Carson. KSTP carried the full hour and 45 minutes.
WTCN, Channel 11 (Ind.)
Morning
09:00a
Casey Junior
09:05a
Hank and Casey
09:20a
News, Weather, Sports (local)
09:30a
Exercise With Gloria (color)
10:00a
Girl Talk (Aline MacMahon, Paula Trueman, Velma Royton)
10:30a
Movie – “Pharaoh’s Curse”
11:55a
News (local)
Afternoon
12:00p
Lunch With Casey
01:00p
Movie – “Guns Don’t Argue”
02:40p
Mel’s Notebook
02:55p
News (local)
03:00p
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
03:30p
Mister Ed
04:00p
Popeye and Pete
04:30p
Casey and Roundhouse
05:30p
The Flintstones (color)
Evening
06:00p
The Rifleman
06:30p
Patty Duke
07:00p
The Twilight Zone
07:30p
The Addams Family
08:00p
Movie – “Two Women”
10:05p
News, Weather, Sports (local) (time approximate)
10:35p
Movie – “Flight of the Lost Balloon” (time approximate)
WTCN, now known as KARE (and an NBC affiliate), was the big local independent station. This is perhaps an unfortunate snapshot of the station's programming; WTCN carried most of the local sports teams, including the Twins, the North Stars (starting in 1967), and the University of Minnesota. Without them, their schedule looks kind of bare.
The 9:30am show, Exercise With Gloria,
was an exercise program; Gloria was the distaff version of Jack LaLanne. Many people had fond thoughts about her. The "Mel" in the 2:40pm show, Mel's Notebook
, was Mel Jass, who hosted the matinee movie. I mean this with all affection when I say that Mel Jass was the kind of guy who really, really got on your nerves when you watched him, but after matinee movies became a thing of the past you realize you actually kind of missed him.
KEYC, Channel 12 (Mankato) (CBS)
Morning
07:30a
CBS Morning News (Joseph Benti) (color)
07:55a
Film Short
08:00a
Captain Kangaroo
09:30a
Beverly Hillbillies
10:00a
Andy Griffith
10:30a
Dick Van Dyke
11:00a
Love of Life
11:25a
CBS News (color)
11:30a
Search for Tomorrow
11:45a
Guiding Light
Afternoon
12:00p
News (local)
12:30p
As the World Turns
01:00p
Password (Jim Backus, Elizabeth Montgomery) (color)
01:30p
House Party (William Demarest, Elaine McKenna) (color)
02:00p
To Tell The Truth
02:25p
CBS News (color)
02:30p
The Edge of Night
03:00p
The Secret Storm
03:30p
Sounds of Christmas (Mankato High School Choir)
04:00p
Bart’s Clubhouse
04:30p
Rocky and His Friends
04:45p
Bart’s Clubhouse
05:00p
Sounds of Christmas (Springfield High School Choir)
05:30p
CBS News (Harry Reasoner) (color)
Evening
06:00p
News (local)
06:30p
Gilligan’s Island (color)
07:00p
Run, Buddy, Run (color)
07:30p
Lucille Ball (color)
08:00p
Andy Griffith (color)
08:30p
Family Affair (color)
09:00p
To Tell The Truth (Orson Bean, Peggy Cass, Tom Poston, Kitty Carlisle) (color)
09:30p
Bandwagon
10:00p
News (local)
10:30p
I’ve Got a Secret (Bud Collyer)
11:00p
Film Feature
More high school choirs - do they even broadcast these kinds of programs anymore? More than that, I wonder if high school choirs are allowed to sing religious Christmas carols nowadays?
Note that I've Got a Secret doesn't air in the 9:30 timeslot - another local music program, it looks like. And the episode that does air at 10:30 doesn't look like the same one that was on the other CBS affiliates - probably the previous week's episode.
For any of you out there who happen to have this TV Guide from another market, I'd be interested to hear from you with any differences in the kinds of local programming!