Well, Christmas Eve is finally here - at least in this issue of TV Guide - and let's see what people are watching when they're not getting together with family, opening presents, or going to church!
KTCA, Channel 2 (Educ.)
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Afternoon
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04:15p
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A Speck of Progress (special)
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04:30p
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Adventures in Hand Arts
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05:00p
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Magic Doorways
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05:15p
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Triptych for Christmas Eve (special)
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05:30p
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Shepherds and the Magi (special)
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Evening
|
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06:00p
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Graphic Arts
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06:30p
|
Briefing Session
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07:00p
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Christmas in New England (special)
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07:30p
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Ten for Survival
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08:00p
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Private College Hour
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08:30p
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Private College Hour
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09:00p
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Minority Problems
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09:30p
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Holiday Readings (special)
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10:00p
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Linguistics
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10:30p
|
Christmas Paintings (special)
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Adventures in Hand Arts - I know what you're thinking, and you should be ashamed of yourself.
KDAL, Channel 3 (Duluth) (CBS)
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Morning
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08:00a
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Captain Kangaroo
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08:45a
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CBS News
(Stuart Novins)
|
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09:00a
|
For Love or Money
|
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09:30a
|
Play Your Hunch
|
|
10:00a
|
Arthur Godfrey
|
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10:30a
|
Top Dollar
|
|
11:00a
|
Love of Life
|
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11:30a
|
Search for Tomorrow
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11:45a
|
The Guiding Light
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Afternoon
|
||
12:00p
|
CBS News
(Walter Cronkite)
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12:05p
|
Town and Country
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12:30p
|
As the World Turns
|
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01:00p
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Jimmy Dean (guest Anita Bryant)
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01:30p
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House Party (guest Jim Backus)
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02:00p
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The Big Payoff
|
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02:30p
|
The Verdict is Yours
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03:00p
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The Brighter Day
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03:15p
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The Secret Storm
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03:30p
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The Edge of Night
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04:00p
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TV Hour of Stars
|
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05:00p
|
Bandstand
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05:30p
|
Mickey Mouse Club
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Evening
|
||
06:00p
|
News (local)
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06:15p
|
CBS News
(Douglas Edwards)
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06:30p
|
This is Alice
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07:00p
|
Pursuit
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08:00p
|
The Millionaire
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08:30p
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I’ve Got a Secret
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09:00p
|
Armstrong Circle Theater (special)
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10:00p
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News (local)
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10:15p
|
St. Thomas
Boys Choir (special)
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10:30p
|
Church Service
(Episcopal)
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11:00p
|
Movie – “A
Christmas Carol” (Owen)
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11:30p
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Christmas Eve
Pageant (Catholic)
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Reginald Owen's A Christmas Carol is, I think, a bit overdone in comparison to the better-known Sim and Scott versions. A nice touch casting the Lockhart family as the Cratchit's, though. Gene, who plays Bob Cratchit, is perhaps more famous in the pantheon of Christmas movies as the judge in Miracle on 34th Street. One of the uncredited Cratchit daughters is June Lockhart, later of Lassie.
KGLO, Channel 3 (Mason City IA) (CBS)
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Morning
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08:00a
|
Captain Kangaroo
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08:45a
|
CBS News
(Stuart Novins)
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|
09:00a
|
For Love or Money
|
|
09:30a
|
Play Your Hunch
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|
10:00a
|
Arthur Godfrey
|
|
10:30a
|
Top Dollar
|
|
11:00a
|
Love of Life
|
|
11:30a
|
Search for Tomorrow
|
|
11:45a
|
The Guiding Light
|
|
Afternoon
|
||
12:00p
|
News (local)
|
|
12:30p
|
As the World Turns
|
|
01:00p
|
Jimmy Dean (guest Anita Bryant)
|
|
01:30p
|
House Party (guest Jim Backus)
|
|
02:00p
|
The Big Payoff
|
|
02:30p
|
The Verdict is Yours
|
|
03:00p
|
The Brighter Day
|
|
03:15p
|
The Secret Storm
|
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03:30p
|
The Edge of Night
|
|
04:00p
|
Bob Cavanaugh
|
|
05:00p
|
Bart’s Clubhouse
|
|
05:45p
|
CBS News
(Douglas Edwards)
|
|
Evening
|
||
06:00p
|
Farm Reporter
|
|
06:05p
|
Sports, News
(local)
|
|
06:30p
|
Bart’s Clubhouse
|
|
07:00p
|
Boots and Saddles
|
|
07:30p
|
Silent Service
|
|
08:00p
|
The Millionaire
|
|
08:30p
|
I’ve Got a Secret
|
|
09:00p
|
Armstrong Circle Theater (special)
|
|
10:00p
|
News (local)
|
|
10:30p
|
Church Service
(Episcopal)
|
|
11:30p
|
Christmas Eve
Pageant (Catholic)
|
|
CBS traditionally carried Christmas Eve church services - I think they still do to this day.
WCCO, Channel 4 (CBS)
|
||
Morning
|
||
07:00a
|
Siegfried and His Flying Saucer
|
|
08:00a
|
Captain Kangaroo
|
|
08:45a
|
Reuben K.
Youngdahl
|
|
08:55a
|
News (local)
|
|
09:00a
|
For Love or Money
|
|
09:30a
|
Play Your Hunch
|
|
10:00a
|
Arthur Godfrey
|
|
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
|
Take Five
|
|
12:20p
|
Weather
(local)
|
|
12:30p
|
As the World Turns
|
|
01:00p
|
Jimmy Dean (guest Anita Bryant)
|
|
01:30p
|
House Party (guest Jim Backus)
|
|
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
|
Around the Town
|
|
04:30p
|
Axel and His Dog
|
|
05:00p
|
Woody Woodpecker
|
|
05:30p
|
Popeye Clubhouse
|
|
05:55p
|
News, Weather,
Sports (local)
|
|
Evening
|
||
06:15p
|
CBS News
(Douglas Edwards)
|
|
06:30p
|
Rescue 8
|
|
07:00p
|
Pursuit
|
|
08:00p
|
It’s Christmas Time
|
|
08:30p
|
I’ve Got a Secret
|
|
09:00p
|
Armstrong Circle Theater (special)
|
|
10:00p
|
News (local)
|
|
10:30p
|
Cedric Adams Playhouse
|
|
11:00p
|
Church Service
(Episcopal)
|
|
11:30p
|
Christmas Eve
Pageant (Catholic)
|
|
It's Christmas Time, which preempted The Millionaire on Channel 4, "shows the sights and sounds of a group of strolling carolers singing their way through town." Nice.
KSTP, Channel 5 (NBC)
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Morning
|
||
06:05a
|
David Stone
|
|
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)
|
|
12:20p
|
Treasure Chest
|
|
01:00p
|
Truth or Consequences (color)
|
|
01:30p
|
Haggis Baggis (color)
|
|
02:00p
|
Today Is Ours
|
|
02:30p
|
From These Roots
|
|
03:00p
|
Queen for a Day
|
|
03:30p
|
County Fair
|
|
04:00p
|
My Little Margie
|
|
04:30p
|
Hawkeye
|
|
05:00p
|
Sherwood Forest
|
|
05:30p
|
NBC News
(Huntley/Brinkley)
|
|
Evening
|
||
06:00p
|
News (local)
|
|
06:20p
|
You Should Know
|
|
06:30p
|
Wagon Train
|
|
07:30p
|
The Price is Right (color)
|
|
08:00p
|
Kraft Music Hall (Milton Berle, guests Janis Paige,
Peter Lorre, the George Arnold Ice Revue) (color)
|
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08:30p
|
Bat Masterson
|
|
09:00p
|
This is Your Life
|
|
09:30p
|
Flight
|
|
10:00p
|
News (local)
|
|
10:30p
|
Mr. District Attorney
|
|
11:00p
|
Church Service
(Catholic)
|
|
Kraft Music Hall sure packs a lot into a half-hour, doesn't it? Milton Berle's latest variety show isn't quite as manic, or as successful, as his Texaco Star Theater.
KDSM, Channel 6 (Duluth) (NBC)
|
||
Morning
|
||
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)
|
|
12:05p
|
Movie – “Treasure
Island”
|
|
02:00p
|
Today Is Ours
|
|
02:30p
|
From These Roots
|
|
03:00p
|
Queen for a Day
|
|
03:30p
|
County Fair
|
|
04:00p
|
Popeye
|
|
Evening
|
||
06:00p
|
News (local)
|
|
06:15p
|
NBC News
(Huntley/Brinkley)
|
|
06:30p
|
Wagon Train
|
|
07:30p
|
The Price is Right (color)
|
|
08:00p
|
Kraft Music Hall (Milton Berle, guests Janis Paige,
Peter Lorre, the George Arnold Ice Revue) (color)
|
|
08:30p
|
Bat Masterson
|
|
09:00p
|
Bishop Sheen (special)
|
|
09:30p
|
1958 News Review
|
|
10:00p
|
News (local)
|
|
10:15p
|
Silent Service
|
|
10:45p
|
Jack Paar (guest Jack Haskell)
|
|
11:00p
|
Church Service
(Catholic)
|
|
The Bishop Sheen special at 9:00 is actually being telecast on ABC, where the good Bishop's long running Life is Worth Living ran until a couple of seasons ago. It's a mark of Bishop Sheen's fame that Channel 6 carried it, given the lack of an ABC affiliate in the Duluth area.
KMMT, Channel 6 (Austin) (ABC)
|
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Morning
|
||
10:30a
|
This is the Answer
|
|
11:00a
|
Music Bingo
|
|
11:30a
|
Peter Lind Hayes (guest Don Cherry)
|
|
Afternoon
|
||
12:30p
|
Mother’s Day
|
|
01:00p
|
Liberace (guest Joan O’Brien)
|
|
01:30p
|
News, Weather
|
|
01:40p
|
Matinee with Marge
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|
02:00p
|
Day In Court
|
|
02:30p
|
David Niven
|
|
03:00p
|
Beat the Clock
|
|
03:30p
|
Who Do You Trust?
|
|
04:00p
|
American Bandstand (guest The Three G’s)
|
|
05:30p
|
Mickey Mouse Club
|
|
Evening
|
||
06:00p
|
News (local)
|
|
06:15p
|
ABC News (Don
Goddard)
|
|
06:30p
|
Lawrence Welk
|
|
07:30p
|
Ozzie and Harriet
|
|
08:00p
|
The Donna Reed Show
|
|
08:30p
|
Day in Court
|
|
09:00p
|
Bishop Sheen (special)
|
|
09:30p
|
1958 News Review
|
|
10:00p
|
News (local)
|
|
10:15p
|
ABC News (John
Daly)
|
|
10:30p
|
TV Hour of Stars
|
|
KMMT is one of the few stations in my TV Guide collection to carry ABC's late-night newscast, anchored by John Daly. For all the talk over the years about broadcasting the evening news later at night, this is the only time a network ever tried it. (Nightline was never intended to replace World News Tonight.)
WKBT, Channel 8 (LaCrosse) (CBS)
|
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Morning
|
||
10:00a
|
Arthur Godfrey
|
|
10:30a
|
Top Dollar
|
|
11:00a
|
Love of Life
|
|
11:30a
|
Search for Tomorrow
|
|
11:45a
|
Film Short
|
|
Afternoon
|
||
12:00p
|
Adventures in Hand Arts
|
|
12:30p
|
Ranch Party
|
|
01:00p
|
Jimmy Dean (guest Anita Bryant)
|
|
01:30p
|
House Party (guest Jim Backus)
|
|
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
|
Royal Playhouse
|
|
04:30p
|
Film Feature
|
|
05:00p
|
The Big Picture (Army)
|
|
05:30p
|
Texas Rangers
|
|
Evening
|
||
06:00p
|
Farm Digest
|
|
06:05p
|
Sports, News
(local)
|
|
06:30p
|
The Gray Ghost
|
|
07:00p
|
Zorro
|
|
07:30p
|
Ozzie and Harriet
|
|
08:00p
|
The Millionaire
|
|
08:30p
|
Sea Hunt
|
|
09:00p
|
Bishop Sheen (special)
|
|
09:30p
|
Christmas Music (special)
|
|
10:00p
|
News (local)
|
|
10:20p
|
Perry Mason
|
|
11:20p
|
To Be
Announced
|
|
11:30p
|
Christmas Eve
Pageant (Catholic)
|
|
Adventures in Hand Arts again? This must have been a popular show.
KMSP, Channel 9 (Ind.)
|
||
Afternoon
|
||
01:55p
|
Chapel of the
Air
|
|
02:00p
|
Movie – “Cry,
the Beloved Country”
|
|
03:30p
|
Bingo
|
|
04:30p
|
TV Hour of Stars
|
|
05:30p
|
Our Miss Brooks
|
|
Evening
|
||
06:00p
|
Looney Tuners Club
|
|
06:30p
|
The Three Musketeers
|
|
07:00p
|
Medic
|
|
07:30p
|
Movie – “The
Secret of Dr. Kildaire”
|
|
09:00p
|
Movie – “The
Capture”
|
|
10:30p
|
News (local)
|
|
10:45p
|
Sports (local)
|
|
10:50p
|
Open House
|
|
11:55p
|
News (local)
|
|
Again, it's amazing that a commercial broadcast station wouldn't sign on until nearly 2:00 in the afternoon. Cry, the Beloved Country - based on the acclaimed novel by Alan Paton - is a pretty new movie to be showing on television, though - it was made in 1952.
KROC, Channel 10 (Rochester) (NBC)
|
||
Morning
|
||
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)
|
|
12:15p
|
Channel 10 Calling
|
|
12:30p
|
Film Shorts – “Picturesque
Denmark,” “Christmas in Sweden”
|
|
01:00p
|
Truth or Consequences (color)
|
|
01:30p
|
Haggis Baggis (color)
|
|
02:00p
|
Today Is Ours
|
|
02:30p
|
From These Roots
|
|
03:00p
|
Queen for a Day
|
|
03:30p
|
County Fair
|
|
04:00p
|
What’s New?
|
|
04:30p
|
Adventures in Hand Arts
|
|
05:00p
|
Casey Jones
|
|
05:30p
|
Jeff’s Collie
|
|
Evening
|
||
06:00p
|
News (local)
|
|
06:15p
|
NBC News
(Huntley/Brinkley)
|
|
06:30p
|
Wagon Train
|
|
07:30p
|
The Price is Right (color)
|
|
08:00p
|
Kraft Music Hall (Milton Berle, guests Janis Paige,
Peter Lorre, the George Arnold Ice Revue) (color)
|
|
08:30p
|
Bat Masterson
|
|
09:00p
|
New York Confidential
|
|
09:30p
|
Tugboat Annie
|
|
10:00p
|
News (local)
|
|
10:30p
|
Jack Paar (guest Jack Haskell)
|
|
11:00p
|
Church Service
(Catholic)
|
|
All right, what is it with Adventures in Hand Arts? Maybe all those people with dirty minds were right?
WTCN, Channel 11 (ABC)
|
||
Morning
|
||
09:00a
|
Film Short
|
|
09:20a
|
News (local)
|
|
09:30a
|
Romper Room (Miss Kay)
|
|
10:20a
|
Top Plays
|
|
10:55a
|
Mark Stevens
|
|
11:00a
|
Music Bingo
|
|
11:30a
|
Peter Lind Hayes (guest Don Cherry)
|
|
Afternoon
|
||
12:30p
|
Mother’s Day
|
|
01:00p
|
Liberace (guest Joan O’Brien)
|
|
01:30p
|
Mark Stevens
|
|
01:35a
|
Burns and Allen
|
|
02:00p
|
Day In Court
|
|
02:30p
|
Amos ‘n’ Andy
|
|
02:55p
|
Mark Stevens
|
|
03:00p
|
Beat the Clock
|
|
03:30p
|
Who Do You Trust?
|
|
04:00p
|
American Bandstand (guest The Three G’s)
|
|
05:30p
|
Mickey Mouse Club
|
|
Evening
|
||
06:00p
|
News (local)
|
|
06:30p
|
Lawrence Welk
|
|
07:30p
|
Ozzie and Harriet
|
|
08:00p
|
The Donna Reed Show
|
|
08:30p
|
If You Had a Million
|
|
09:00p
|
Bishop Sheen (special)
|
|
09:30p
|
News (local)
|
|
09:45p
|
Movie –
“Christmas Eve”
|
|
KEAU, Channel 13 (Eau Claire) (NBC)
|
||
Morning
|
||
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
|
Extention Division
|
|
12:15p
|
The Christophers
|
|
12:45p
|
Markets, News
|
|
01:00p
|
Truth or Consequences (color)
|
|
01:30p
|
Haggis Baggis (color)
|
|
02:00p
|
Today Is Ours
|
|
02:30p
|
From These Roots
|
|
03:00p
|
Queen for a Day
|
|
03:30p
|
County Fair
|
|
04:00p
|
Building America
|
|
04:30p
|
Cartoons
|
|
05:00p
|
Teen Record Show
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05:30p
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Cartoons
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05:45p
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Captain Sunlight
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Evening
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06:00p
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Film Short
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06:10p
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News, Weather
(local)
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06:30p
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Wagon Train
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07:30p
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The Price is Right (color)
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08:00p
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Kraft Music Hall (Milton Berle, guests Janis Paige,
Peter Lorre, the George Arnold Ice Revue) (color)
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08:30p
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Bat Masterson
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09:00p
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Highway Patrol
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09:30p
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Schlitz Playhouse
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10:30p
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Garry Moore (guests Martha Raye, Julius LaRosa)
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No, Garry Moore never did have a late-night show. This would have been a rebroadcast from the CBS telecast on Tuesday night - speaking, once again, to how popular Moore was. TV
The Donna Reed Show that aired this day was the same Christmas episode which Me-TV aired during its Christmas Conundrum and will air during the show's 6 AM CT timeslot on Christmas Day, featuring Buster Keaton as the hospital janitor who plays Santa for kids left in the Children's Ward over Christmas.
ReplyDeleteI might have to record that one, Jon. Who possibly could have imagined, even 10 or 15 years ago, that we'd be able to reconstruct so much of the programming from a given day in a TV Guide? It's so cool. Merry Christmas to you!
DeleteSome notes from Chicago:
ReplyDelete- 1958 marked one of ABC's early attempts at daytime programming; Peter Lind Hayes's daily hour, Liberace in a half-hour attempt to tone down his flamboyant persona ( which he abandoned soon enough), Day In Court (courtroom drama I mentioned here a while back), Beat The Clock and Who Do You Trust?, both moved from CBS primetime (Johnny Carson had just taken over Trust), and a short-lived show called Mother's Day, whose host was making one of his earliest network appearances: Dick Van Dyke.
- Lawrence Welk's Wednesday show was simulcast in stereo by ABC Radio's Chicago outlet, WLS-AM (they didn't go to full-time Rock-n-Roll until a couple of years after this).
Oh, and if you followed the link, you'll note that the official title was The Plymouth Show, after its sponsor. Welk also had a Saturday show on ABC, The Dodge Dancing Party - that's right, two completely different hour-long shows each week. That was ABC in the '50s - if you had a solid sponsor (in this case, two divisions of Chrysler), you got as much time as you wanted.
- Wagon Train's guest star this week was Patty McCormack, who was still coming off her monster success (sorry) in the play and movie The Bad Seed.
She's still around today, playing salty old ladies in various present-day series (she's about 70 now *sigh*); I mention this as a bow to my friend Max Allan Collins, who's employed her to great effect in his independent movies Mommy and Mommy's Day (available on DVD - you ought to see these).
- On The Millionaire, I just noticed that Paul Frees has an on-camera role in the episode. This would be before it became generally known that Frees was the voice of John Beresford Tipton every week.
- ABC tried a late-night newscast again in 1962 - The ABC News Final, which they kept going for two years before giving up again in '64. One reason was lack of affiliate support (which is probably why you've never heard of it).
Because I fear hitting the Character Wall again, I'll retire for the nonce and look for some more stuff you might like.
Merry Christmas until then.
Love the information as always, Mike - sometimes more than my own posts! Yes, I suspect that Lawrence Welk could have had the entire ABC primetime schedule if he had enough sponsorship! Thanks for all the comments through the year, and Merry Christmas!
Delete"it's amazing that a commercial broadcast station wouldn't sign on until nearly 2:00 in the afternoon."
ReplyDeleteWas a very common occurrence on Christmas Day in Australia for capital city and regional stations, even as late as the 1980s before 24/7 transmission became commonplace.
On Christmas Day 1974, Melbourne channel GTV9 did not sign on until 4.00pm but this was to allow station technicians to do upgrade works to their transmitter in preparation for full-time colour which was to launch in March 1975. Because viewing numbers are usually low on Christmas Day it was hoped that the extended outage wouldn't bother too many viewers.
Merry Christmas Mitchell to you and your readers
Interesting info on the stations there - I always learn a lot from your comments! You know, I think some of the cable networks here that put on the "Yule Log" (don't know if you have it on TV there; it's a looped clip of a roaring fireplace with Christmas music being played in the background) have it right. That's the only television a lot of us need. Thanks for the wishes, and Merry Christmas to you as well, my friend!
Delete