May 23, 2016

What's on TV: Friday, June 1, 1956

Friday is my favorite evening of the work week, and I'm sure I'm not alone in that opinion. It's also my favorite night for TV, even more than Saturday night. (Although that's kind of like asking whether you prefer chocolate or popcorn - you can't lose.) That's why I always enjoy looking at the Friday listings; sometimes you'll find the stations broadcast later, there are more late night movies, there's something more exciting about it all.

Today's listings - which, by the way, are from Dallas-Fort Worth - are not extremely interesting, at least not to our eyes today. They're fun, as these always are, but nothing jumps off the page. Imagine yourself back in 1956 though, home after a long week of work. Now you can relax, the two of you, loosen your tie and put your feet up on the ottoman and let the tube take your mind off your worries. Of course, that Wednesday had been Memorial Day - they still celebrated it on May 30 back then - and so you might have been lucky enough to get the rest of the week off. Still, there's nothing like Friday!

Maybe it's Steve Allen and his revolutionary new talk show Tonight on Channel 5. Or it could be the suspense movie on Channel 11's Starlight Theater,  Models, Inc. with Howard Duff and Coleen Gray as a gangster and his moll. If you're in the mood for a little spy fun, it could be I Was an American Spy, the Late Date Theater on Channel 6.

Whatever you're looking for, chances are one of these six stations will have it for you, as you wind down for the weekend.


KRLD, Channel 4 (Dallas) (CBS)

Morning


05:55a
Give Us This Day

06:00a
Good Morning

07:00a
Captain Kangaroo

08:00a
Garry Moore (guest Doodles Weaver)

09:30a
Strike it Rich

10:00a
Valiant Lady

10:15a
Love of Life

10:30a
Search for Tomorrow

10:45a
The Guiding Light

11:00a
CBS News (Charles Collingwood)

11:10a
Stand Up and Be Counted

11:30a
As the World Turns

Afternoon


12:00p
News (local)

12:15p
Fashions in Faces

12:30p
House Party

01:00p
The Big Payoff

01:30p
Bob Crosby

02:00p
The Brighter Day

02:15p
The Secret Storm

02:30p
The Edge of Night

03:00p
Variety Fair

03:30p
Mary Carter’s Cookbook

04:00p
Movie – “So This Is Washington”

05:15p
Douglas Edwards with the News

05:30p
Space Adventures

Evening


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

06:30p
My Friend Flicka

07:00p
The Crusader

07:30p
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars

08:00p
Line-Up

08:30p
Person to Person

09:00p
Turning Point

09:30p
Our Miss Brooks

10:00p
Your Favorite Story

10:30p
N.O.P.D.

11:00p
Nighttime Movie – “Six Men”



WBAP, Channel 5 (Fort Worth) (NBC, ABC)

Morning


06:50a
Let’s Go Fishing

07:00a
Sunup

08:00a
Ding Dong School

08:30a
Ernie Kovacs

09:00a
Home (guest boat designer George Pacock)

10:00a
Kitty’s Wonderland

11:00a
Texas Living (color)

11:45a
This Is the Story

Afternoon


12:00p
News (local) (color)

12:30p
Ann Alden (color)

12:45p
Strange Adventure

01:00p
Matinee Theater (color)

02:00p
A Date with Life

02:15p
Modern Romances

02:30p
Queen for a Day

03:00p
Movie Marquee – “Man in the Iron Mask”

04:15p
News, Weather (local)

04:30p
Tricks and Treats

05:00p
The Mickey Mouse Club

Evening


06:00p
Cowboy Thrills

06:30p
The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin

07:00p
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet

07:30p
Crossroads

08:00p
Dollar a Second

08:30p
The Vice

09:00p
Ethel and Albert

09:30p
Douglas Fairbanks

10:00p
Texas News

10:15a
Weather, News (local)

10:30p
Suspense

11:00p
Tonight



KCEN, Channel 6 (Temple) (NBC)

Morning


06:55a
Program Previews

07:00a
Today

08:00a
Ding Dong School

08:30a
Ernie Kovacs

09:00a
Home (guest boat designer George Pacock)

10:00a
Tennessee Ernie Ford

10:30a
Feather Your Nest

11:00a
Movie – “In Old Indiana”

Afternoon


12:15p
RFD No. 6

12:45p
Religion in Life

01:00p
Matinee Theater

02:00p
News, Weather, Sports (local)

02:15p
Modern Romances

02:30p
Queen for a Day

03:00p
I Married Joan

03:30p
Howdy Doody

04:00p
Cathy’s Corner

04:45p
Tales of the West­ – “Fighting Cowboy”

05:45p
Camel News Caravan

Evening


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

06:30p
Sports Review

07:00p
Dr. Hudson’s Secret Journal

07:30p
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars

08:00p
Gillette Cavalcade of Sports (Boardman vs. Ryff boxing)

08:45p
Red Barber’s Corner

09:00p
Steve Donovan

09:30p
The Life of Riley

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

10:20p
Late Date Theater – “I Was an American Spy”



WFAA, Channel 8 (Dallas) (NBC, ABC)

Morning


06:55a
Morning Devotional

07:00a
Today

08:00a
Beulah

08:30a
Grandma’s Magic Locket

09:00a
Romper Room

10:00a
Tennessee Ernie Ford

10:30a
Feather Your Nest

11:00a
Julie Benell

Afternoon


12:00p
News (local)

12:05p
Open House

12:30p
Ray Milland

01:00p
Afternoon Film Festival

03:00p
I Married Joan

03:30p
Howdy Doody (color)

04:00p
Frontier Playhouse

04:30p
My Little Margie

05:00p
Jukebox

05:30p
Eddie Fisher

05:45p
Camel News Caravan

Evening


06:00p
News (Joe Templeton)

06:10p
Weather (Warren Culbertson)

06:15p
John Daly and the News

06:30p
The Life of Riley

07:00p
The Big Story

07:30p
Star Stage

08:00p
Gillette Cavalcade of Sports (Boardman vs. Ryff boxing)

08:45p
Red Barber’s Corner

09:00p
Truth or Consequences

09:30p
The Man Called X

10:00p
News (Joe Templeton)

10:15p
Weather, Sports (local)

10:30p
Mystery Playhouse

11:00p
Channel 8 Theater – “The Walls Come Tumbling Down”



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

Morning


06:00a
Good Morning

06:55a
Tips on Ten

07:00a
Captain Kangaroo

08:00a
Garry Moore (guest Doodles Weaver)

09:30a
Strike it Rich

10:00a
Valiant Lady

10:15a
Love of Life

10:30a
Search for Tomorrow

10:45a
The Guiding Light

11:00a
Better Living

11:30a
As the World Turns

Afternoon


12:00p
News (local)

12:15p
Farms and Gardens

01:00p
The Big Payoff

01:30p
Bob Crosby

02:00p
The Brighter Day

02:15p
The Secret Storm

02:30p
The Edge of Night

03:00p
Cactus Theater – “Terrors on Horseback”

05:00p
The Mickey Mouse Club

Evening


06:00p
Home Folks

06:15p
Douglas Edwards with the News

06:30p
The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin

07:00p
Times Square Playhouse

07:30p
Crossroads

08:00p
Highway Patrol

08:30p
Person to Person

09:00p
Line-Up

09:30p
Life with Elizabeth

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

10:30p
Million Dollar Movie – “The Hoosier Schoolmaster”



KFJZ, Channel 11 (Fort Worth) (Ind.)

Afternoon


02:30p
Date with Drama

03:00p
Theater 11 – “Abilene Town”

04:15p
Looney Tunes

04:25p
News (Jim Abbott)

04:30p
Movie – “Young Buffalo Bill”

05:30p
Watch the Birdie

05:45p
Looney Tunes

Evening


06:00p
Range Rider

06:30p
News, Sports, Weather (local)

07:00p
The Little Rascals

07:25p
Les Paul and Mary Ford

07:30p
Movie – “Angel on the Amazon”

08:55p
News (Dan Allison)

09:00p
Top Plays of ‘56

09:30p
The Man Behind the Badge

10:00p
News (Porter Randall)

10:15p
Weather, Sports (local)

10:30p
Starlight Theater – “Models, Inc.”

12:00a
Labor Savers

TV  

3 comments:

  1. I'm going to be spending most of this morning working my way backwards over the last few posts.
    This is going to be Odds & Ends (and very Odd Ends they are):

    - In my Chicago edition: Garry Moore's guest is identified as Roger "Droodles" Price, not Doodles Weaver.
    Roger Price was a comedy writer who affected a professorial look.
    Droodles is a contraction of 'cartoons' and 'doodles'. It's kind of hard to explain without showing examples; they're sort of visual puns, line drawings which only make sense when Price gives the captions.
    The Garry Moore Show was where Price introduced Droodles; He'd written a sketch for Garry and Durward Kirby which was running long and had to be cut. To fill the few available minutes, Price got a board and crayon and started drawing - and had a hit on his hands.
    Droodles became a small craze for a while, and launched Roger Price into a lucrative second career as a publisher of humor books, in partnership with another comedy writer, Leonard Stern (who created MadLibs for Steve Allen).
    I got much of the above from a book called Ladies and Gentlemen, THE GARRY MOORE SHOW, all about the CBS morning show.

    - Comparing the Texas listings to the Chicago ones, I note that all the network shows seem to be on an hour earlier in Texas than in Chicago, which would seem odd, given the fact that both are in the Central time zone.
    ... that is, unless Texas wasn't observing Daylight Savings Time (don't know for sure, please confirm).

    - I don't know how detailed the loglines are in your issue (I'm not even sure if that term was in use in '56), but they're pretty detailed in Chicago.
    The Crossroads episode sounds interesting:
    " ... the true story of a Presbyterian missionary of the 1880s who risks his career and reputation by advocating the return of Alaska to Russia ... to save thousands of Alaskan Indians from annihilation."
    The minister is played by Richard Erdman, who usually played funny con men; he's still active today at age 90, most recently in the sitcom Community.

    - Did you know that Johnny Carson had an afternoon show on CBS this season?
    It was supposed to air at 1pm in the Central zone, which would have put it at noon in non-Daylight Texas.
    But all the CBS stations seem to be carrying newscasts at noon, so Johnny gets shut out.
    Them's the breaks ...

    Now I gotta go back over the last few posts to see if I can add anything.
    See you there ...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Why were stations running OUR MISS BROOKS and THE LIFE OF RILEY in late evening slots?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think I covered the answer to that in my comment above, however inadvertently.

      Apparently (I still can't say for certain) Texas didn't observe Daylight Savings Time.
      In order to carry certain live broadcasts directly from the network feeds, it became necessary to delay early evening shows to the later times.

      I might also point out that the whole notion of "early evening" and "late evening" shows wasn't a hard-and-fast rule in the mid-50s.

      Delete

Thanks for writing! Drive safely!