March 9, 2015

What's on TV? Friday, March 13, 1959

We're back in the great state of Texas this week - Dallas-Fort Worth, to be exact - for a look at the listings for Friday, March 13, 1959.  No scary shows on tonight, but plenty of interesting programming.  See if you can spot your favorites!


KRLD, Channel 4 (CBS)

Morning


07:30a
Cartoons

08:00a
Captain Kangaroo

08:45a
CBS News (Richard C. Hottelet)

09:00a
Morning Playhouse

09:30a
Arthur Godfrey

10:00a
I Love Lucy

10:30a
Top Dollar

11:00a
Love of Life

11:30a
Search for Tomorrow

11:45a
The Guiding Light

Afternoon


12:00p
News (local)

12:15p
Fashions in Faces

12:30p
As the World Turns

01:00p
Jimmy Dean

01:30p
House Party (guest Bob Crosby)

02:00p
The Big Payoff

02:30p
The Verdict is Yours

03:00p
The Brighter Day

03:15p
The Secret Storm

03:30p
The Edge of Night

04:00p
Movie – “The Kid from Kansas”

05:15p
Party Time

Evening


06:00p
News, Weather (local)

06:15p
Douglas Edwards with the News

06:30p
Your Hit Parade

07:00p
Rawhide

08:00p
Phil Silvers

08:30p
Schlitz Playhouse

09:00p
Lineup

09:30p
Person to Person (guests Budd Schulberg and Sarah Gibson Blanding)

10:00p
News (local)

10:15p
Weather (local)

10:20p
People and Places

10:30p
Movie – “The King Steps Out”

A note in the listings tells us that starting next Monday, Captain Kangaroo will be seen 15 minutes later, running until 9:00am.  I believe that the CBS Morning News (or the local news, in many markets) will move into that 8am slot.  I wonder when Captain Kangaroo went to a full hour?


WBAP, Channel 5 (NBC)

Morning


06:30a
Continental Classroom (Ionization Potentials)

07:00a
Today

09:00a
Dough Re Mi

09:30a
Treasure Hunt

10:00a
The Price Is Right

10:30a
Concentration

11:00a
Tic Tac Dough

11:30a
It Could Be You

Afternoon


12:00p
News (local)

12:30p
The People’s Choice

01:00p
Truth or Consequences (color)

01:30p
Haggis Baggis (color)

02:00p
Young Dr. Malone

02:30p
From These Roots

03:00p
Queen for a Day

03:30p
County Fair

04:00p
Movie – “The Counterfeiters”

05:30p
Teen-Age Downbeat (color)

Evening


06:00p
News, Weather (local) (color)

06:15p
Huntley-Brinkley Report

06:30p
Northwest Passage (color)

07:00p
Bob Hope (guests Julie London, Guy Mitchell, Chuch Connors, Fess Parker, Gail Davis) (special)

08:00p
M Squad

08:30p
The Thin Man

09:00p
Boxing (Greaves vs. Bahama)

09:45p
Jackpot Bowling

10:00p
News (local)

10:15p
Weather (local)

10:25p
News (local)

10:30p
Sports (local)

10:35p
Jack Paar

If we don't remember Bob Hope, I don't suppose there's any hope for Bert Parks, either.  (No pun intended.)  He was, of course, the host of the Miss America pageant for many, many years.  He also hosted a daytime variety show, though, County Fair, which aired at 3:30.  It sounds like it was an ambitious idea.


KCEN, Channel 6 (Temple, TX) (NBC)

Morning


06:30a
Continental Classroom (Ionization Potentials)

07:00a
Today

09:00a
Dough Re Mi

09:30a
Treasure Hunt

10:00a
The Price Is Right

10:30a
Concentration

11:00a
Tic Tac Dough

11:30a
It Could Be You

Afternoon


12:00p
Weather (local)

12:05p
Farm Report

12:25p
News (local)

12:30p
Mr. and Mrs. North

01:00p
Truth or Consequences (color)

01:30p
Haggis Baggis (color)

02:00p
Young Dr. Malone

02:30p
From These Roots

03:00p
Queen for a Day

03:30p
County Fair

04:00p
Our Miss Brooks

04:30p
Happy Hour

05:00p
Popeye

05:30p
Gene Autry

Evening


06:00p
News, Weather (local)

06:10p
Sports (local)

06:15p
Huntley-Brinkley Report

06:30p
Northwest Passage (color)

07:00p
Bob Hope (guests Julie London, Guy Mitchell, Chuch Connors, Fess Parker, Gail Davis) (special)

08:00p
M Squad

08:30p
The Thin Man

09:00p
Boxing (Greaves vs. Bahama)

09:45p
Jackpot Bowling

10:00p
Weather, News, Sports (local)

10:30p
Jack Paar

Every few weeks I run across Haggis Baggis, and every few weeks I wonder what it was all about.  It was one of the early color broadcasts on NBC daytime, and it turns out to be nothing more than your basic game show.  Here's a (black and white) clip from a typical broadcast.


WFAA, Channel 8 (ABC)

Morning


07:30a
For Kids Only

08:30a
Romper Room

09:30a
Topper

10:00a
Susie

10:30a
Burns and Allen

11:00a
Julie Benell

11:30a
Peter Lind Hayes (guests Frank Fontaine, Don Cherry, Pino Baratti, the Anita Kerr Quartet)

Afternoon


12:30p
Play Your Hunch

01:00p
Liberace

01:30p
Our Miss Brooks

02:00p
Day in Court

02:30p
Music Bingo

03:00p
Beat the Clock

03:30p
Who Do You Trust?

04:00p
American Bandstand

05:30p
American Bandstand

Evening


06:00p
News, Weather (local)

06:20p
Sports (local)

06:30p
Rin Tin Tin

07:00p
Walt Disney

08:00p
Tombstone Territory (return)

08:30p
77 Sunset Strip

09:30p
Highway Patrol

10:00p
News (local)

10:10p
Weather (local)

10:15p
ABC News (John Daly)

10:30p
Movie – “The Brave Don’t Cry”

Day in Court was a staple of the ABC daytime schedule in the late '50s and early '60s, regularly outdoing General Hospital for many years.  Did you ever wonder what it was like?  This article will tell you more.


KWTX, Channel 10 (Waco, TX) (CBS, ABC)

Morning


08:00a
Captain Kangaroo

08:45a
CBS News (Richard C. Hottelet)

09:00a
Morning Playhouse

09:30a
Arthur Godfrey

10:00a
I Love Lucy

10:30a
Top Dollar

11:00a
Better Living

11:30a
Search for Tomorrow

11:45a
The Guiding Light

Afternoon


12:00p
CBS News (Walter Cronkite)

12:05p
News (local)

12:15p
Farm Report

01:00p
Jimmy Dean

01:30p
House Party (guest Bob Crosby)

02:00p
The Big Payoff

02:30p
The Verdict is Yours

03:00p
The Brighter Day

03:15p
The Secret Storm

03:30p
The Edge of Night

04:00p
American Bandstand

05:30p
Mickey Mouse Club

Evening


06:00p
News, Weather (local)

06:15p
Douglas Edwards with the News

06:30p
Rin Tin Tin

07:00p
Rawhide

08:00p
Phil Silvers

08:30p
Schlitz Playhouse

09:00p
Lineup

09:30p
Mike Hammer

10:00p
News (local)

10:15p
Weather (local)

10:25p
Sports (local)

10:30p
Movie – “Volcano”

The Verdict is Yours was the courtroom competitor to Day in Court for much the same time period.  A couple of notable points: unlike Day in Court, the judge and attorneys in this unscripted show were not actors, but were played by actual lawyers.  And the court reporter was none other than Jim McKay, later to go on to great fame on Wide World of Sports.  In his autobiography, McKay says working on this show was so depressing it brought him to the verge of a nervous breakdown.
  

KFJZ, Channel 11 (Ind.)

Morning


09:00a
The Little Rascals

09:45a
Movie Double Feature – “I Married an Angel”, “Down from the Stars”

11:55a
Take Five

Afternoon


12:00p
Cartoon Clubhouse

12:30p
Movie Double Feature – “The Case of Emily Cameron”, “The Phantom of Paris”

02:40p
Take Five

02:45p
Ann Alden

03:00p
I Married Joan

03:30p
Roy Rogers

04:00p
Abbott and Costello

04:30p
Early Show

05:30p
Popeye

Evening


06:00p
Annie Oakley

06:30p
The Three Stooges

06:50p
Cartoons

07:00p
Movie – “Rare Book Murder”

08:30p
Union Pacific

09:00p
Frontier Doctor

09:30p
Yancy Derringer

10:00p
Movie – “Voice of Bugle Ann”

11:30p
Movie – “Blues in the Night”

Channel 11 is now KTVT, our CBS affiliate, but it was the independent station in Dallas before that.  An unremarkable schedule, heavy on movies, but as independents go, it's a watchable station - don't you think? TV  

4 comments:

  1. Mike Doran (again)March 9, 2015 at 10:09 PM

    Attempt Number FOUR.

    ... and I'm really getting bugged by this ...

    ... so ...

    THE HELL WITH IT!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mike Doran (again?)March 10, 2015 at 11:06 PM

      Apologies for the info-road rage above.
      It is now 24 hours later ...

      - Day In Court outdoing General Hospital?
      GH didn't even get on the air until 1963.
      And since they were on the same network - each show took a turn as the other's lead-in - where exactly is the 'outdoing'?

      Day In Court's nighttime version, Accused, aired on Wednesday night.
      This week, Angela Lansbury appeared as "a high-strung woman ... on trial for the murder of her husband."
      How did ABC get Angela Lansbury for this low-budget daytime spinoff?
      Maybe because the scriptwriter was her brother Bruce Lansbury (who went on to produce Wild Wild West, Mission: Impossible, and eventually Murder She Wrote).

      - On CBS, The Verdict Is Yours, went through several court reporters.
      After the first year, Jim McKay was succeeded by Bill Stout, anchor for CBS's Los Angeles station. Stout in turn gave way to another sports guy, Jack Whittaker.

      - I had a couple of others, but I lost them to my above-mentioned rage.

      In their stead, may I introduce you to the guy whose comment appears below?

      Michael Shonk, as he notes in his comment, writes frequently for Mystery File Blog, which deserves a spot on your sidebar.
      He specializes in crime TV, old and new - but mainly old - and he and I have been sharing info for a few years now.
      Michael, if you're there (and I know you are). here's the answer to your question:
      My TV GUIDES for the two weeks in question show that Pete Kelly's Blues was supposed to premiere on Tuesday, March 31, and its listing appears there.
      But the following week's issue shows Kelly's premiering on Sunday, April 1, with the notation that it had been "postponed from an earlier date".
      Best guess: Steve Canyon, which occupied the Tuesday slot on April 3, probably went in the week before.

      See how easy this is?

      Now to see if this one (version number FIVE) gets through ...

      Delete
    2. Thanks, Mike - for the nice introduction and answer. I see you are having your usual fun.

      Delete
  2. This will involve spoilers, but I recently did a review of PETE KELLY'S BLUES (for mysteryfile.com/blog) and found two different dates for the first episode. "Billboard" and "Broadcasting" at the time have the series beginning on March 31, 1959 while modern databases claim the show first aired on April 5, 1959. What does TV GUIDE say aired on NBC Tuesday March 31 at 8pm and April 5 at 8:30pm?

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for writing! Drive safely!