December 30, 2015

Bonus! What's on TV? Saturday, December 26, 1964

On Facebook, reader Jeremy Clark read the "This Week in TV Guide" for December 26, 1964 and asked it if might be possible to see the TV listings from that particular Saturday. I'm happy when I can oblige with this kind of request, because I love sharing with you all, and I get a great deal of pleasure when I can give you the kinds of things you enjoy.

Just a reminder that if you'd like to see the listings from a particular date, or if you'd like me to write up a specific TV Guide, or if you'd just like to let me know what you're interested in, please send me an email or contact me via Facebook, and I'll make every effort to comply. One reader has asked me do write about the NBC series Smithsonian, and I'm assembling information on that for an article early next year. If, like Jeremy, you've read about an issue I've done and want to know about the listings from a certain date, it only takes me a few minutes to whip one out.

So let's get to it, shall we?


WCCO, Channel 4 (CBS)

Morning

06:30a
Sunrise Semester

07:00a
Mister Mayor

08:00a
The Alvin Show

08:30a
Tennessee Tuxedo

09:00a
Quick Draw McGraw

09:30a
Mighty Mouse

10:00a
Linus the Lionhearted

10:30a
The Jetsons

11:00a
Sky King

11:30a
My Friend Flicka

Afternoon

12:00p
News (Don Dahl)

12:15p
Weather (Bob Potter)

12:20p
Sports (Hal Scott)

12:30p
Hobbies and Handicrafts

12:45p
Movie – “High Society”

02:00p
Divorce Court

03:00p
Roller Derby

04:00p
Mora High School Choir (special)

04:30p
The Year in Sports (special)

05:30p
Battle Line

Evening


06:00p
News (Dave Moore)

06:15p
Sports (Don Dahl)

06:25p
Weather (Don O’Brien)

06:30p
Jackie Gleason

07:30p
Gilligan’s Island

08:00p
Mr. Broadway

09:00p
Gunsmoke

10:00p
News (Dave Moore)

10:15p
Weather (Bud Kraehling)

10:20p
Sports (Don Dahl)

10:30p
Critics Award Theater – “It Happened to Jane”

12:00a
The Bedtime Nooz

12:15a
Movie – “News Hounds”

01:15a
Night Kappers

I may have mentioned this in the past, but Mister Mayor was a series developed by Bob Keeshan and CBS in an effort to force out a third party which shared ownership of Kangaroo with Keeshan and the network, If the third party refused to give way, the plan was to ax the Captain and replace him with the Major Monday through Friday as well. They were, evidently, successful in their efforts. 

Another mister, Mr. Broadway, starred Craig Stevens in his follow-up series to Peter Gunn. It was, I believe, produced by David Susskind's group, and one of the problems was how to explain why Stevens, a Broadway producer, had to always carry a gun and inevitably got involved in solving mysteries.


KSTP, Channel 5 (NBC)

Morning

07:30a
Minnesota Farm Scene

08:00a
Andy’s Gang

08:30a
Hector Heathcote (color)

09:00a
Underdog (color)

09:30a
Fireball XL-5

10:00a
Dennis the Menace

10:30a
Fury

11:00a
Exploring (color)

Afternoon

12:00p
Hobby Showcase (color)

12:30p
Love That Bob!

01:00p
Men Into Space

01:30p
Southern Baptist Hour (special) (color)

02:30p
NBC Sports Special (bowl preview)

03:00p
Sun Bowl (Georgia vs. Texas Tech) (special)

Evening


06:00p
News (Bob Ryan) (color)

06:15p
Weather (Johnny Morris) (color)

06:20p
Sports (Al Tighe) (color)

06:30p
Flipper (color)

07:00p
The New Adventures of Mr. Magoo (color)

07:30p
Kentucky Jones

08:00p
Saturday Night at the Movies – “Adam’s Rib”

10:00p
News (Bob Ryan) (color)

10:15p
Weather (Johnny Morris) (color)

10:20p
Sports (Al Tighe) (color)

10:30p
Movie – “The Astounding She-Monster”

11:45p
Movie – “Night Monster”

Something else I've commented on in the past - I'm fascinated that Channel 5's top news team of Bob Ryan, Johnny Morris and Al Tighe did the Saturday news as well as Monday through Friday (although I think John MacDougall did the 10pm news during the week). I know that later in the decade, Chet Huntley and David Brinkley would introduce a Saturday version of The Huntley-Brinkley Report. Of course, Saturday used to be treated like a mini workday, with many offices open until noon that day. Personally, I'm glad that part of midcentury American no longer exists.
  

KMSP, Channel 9 (ABC)

Morning

08:30a
Buffalo Bill, Jr.

09:00a
Shenanigans

09:30a
Annie Oakley

10:00a
Casper the Friendly Ghost

10:30a
Porky Pig

11:00a
Bugs Bunny

11:30a
Hoppity Hooper (color)

Afternoon

12:00p
American Bandstand (guests Gene Barry, Bobby Vee, Mel Carter)

01:00p
AFL Championship (San Diego at Buffalo) (special)

03:45p
All-Pro Scoreboard (last show of the series)

04:00p
Wide World of Sports (National Open Polo Championship, Australian Rules Football Grand Final)

05:30p
ABC Scope

Evening


06:00p
Dobie Gillis

06:30p
The Outer Limits

07:30p
Lawrence Welk

08:30p
The Hollywood Palace (host Van Johnson, guests Betty Grable, Sergio Franchi, Jackie Mason, Mimi Zerbini, Paul Gilbert, Jambaz balancing act, Bal Caron Trio dancers, Zeros knife throwing act)

09:30p
The Rebel

10:00p
News (local)

10:15p
Weather (Mort Garren)

10:20p
Sports (D.J. Leary)

10:30p
Movie – “The Master of Ballantrae”

I would have been very interested to see how Wide World of Sports explained the mechanics of Australian Rules Football, a sport that seems to operate from the same rulebook as fizbin. I love watching it, though - those guys are tough!

I mentioned the AFL Championship in the TV Guide article on this week, and I couldn't help thinking about it again today when I was reading about how fans in San Diego were coping with the prospect of the Chargers moving to Los Angeles for next season. This is a city that provided the old AFL with some of their strongest support in the early days, and have been with the team through thick and thin. Of course, the owners aren't getting a free, shiny new stadium, and so they're taking their toy to a market where some fools will pay for it. A pox on their house.



WTCN, Channel 11 (Ind.)

Morning

10:15a
News (local)

10:30a
Pinky Lee

11:00a
Exploring Nature

11:30a
The King and Odie

Afternoon

12:00p
Lunch With Casey

01:00p
Roundhouse Rodney

01:30p
Whirlybirds

02:00p
Championship Bowling (Ron Winger vs. Jim St. John)

03:00p
Rocky and His Friends

03:30p
Movie – “The Fall of Rome”

05:30p
Sea Hunt

Evening


06:00p
All Star Wrestling

07:30p
Movie – “Moon over Burma”

09:00p
One Step Beyond

09:30p
News (Gil Amundson)

09:45p
Weather (Stuart A. Lindman)

09:50p
Sports (Beutel/Horner)

10:00p
Movie – “Beau Geste”

12:30a
Amos ‘n’ Andy (time approximate)

Amos 'n' Andy is on Twin Cities television throughout most of the '60s, disappearing for good some time around 1967 or 68, I think. But even in 1964, it's on late at night.

The 90 minute block of Lunch With Casey and Roundhouse Rodney was some of the most invigorating, enjoyable television I would experience each week. TV  

7 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. Australian Rules is a winter sport. The major league has its grand final in September. I can't imagine why it's taken 3 months to get a mention on WWOS? Maybe it just took that long to get footage from Australia in those days pre-satellites :)

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    Replies
    1. Actually, WWOS (an anthology series, often featuring sports obscure to Americans) could and would air sporting events up to four months old in those days. Undoubtedly, it just found a quiet time to air the event; that would have been the only time that year that Australian Football would get coverage.

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    2. Ah that makes sense. I guess the Australian WWOS was a bit different in that it was a Saturday afternoon sports update with the latest results, live coverage of some events and footage of various sports from during the week.

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  3. CBS (which syndicated the reruns of the "Amos 'N Andy" TV series) stopped distributing it in 1966.

    I suspect stations that were under contract to air the reruns could continue to do so until their contracts ran out, but couldn't renew, and no new stations could start running it.

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  4. All times listed are CENTRAL. "THE CBS SATURDAY NEWS WITH ROBERT TROUT" [at 1:30pm(et)] was not seen on Channel 4.

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  5. Why I didn't notice this back in the day ...

    Mr. Broadway came about because David Susskind and James Aubrey spent the whole previous season arguing about how downbeat East Side/West Side was.
    Aubrey's argument to Susskind was something like "Glamorous people have problems too, you know."
    So, when ES/WS was dropped, Susskind got together with Garson Kanin and created Mr. Broadway with Craig Stevens as a press agent who dealt with glamorous peoples's problems (no gun, no crimes, and as it turned out, no audience ...).
    #lookthingsup

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for writing! Drive safely!