What's on TV? January 26, 1959

Last week I mentioned that we were making a trek into the Dallas-Fort Worth area - my new hometown, but one I'm not that familiar with, TV-wise.  This week is more of the same, with a trip into upper New England.   Let's see what the programming has to offer us on Monday, January 26, 1959.

	WGBH, Channel 2 (Educ.)
	Morning
	09:30a	Twenty-One Inch Classroom (Nuclear Energy – Grade 6)
	11:00a	In School Instruction
	Afternoon
	04:30p	Children’s Corner
	05:00p	Ruth Anne’s Camp
	Evening
	06:00p	Continental Classroom (Hysteresis)
	06:30p	News (local)
	06:45p	Huntley-Brinkley Report
	07:00p	Backgrounds
	07:15p	Science (Grade 5)
	07:45p	Science in Sight
	08:00p	Invitation to Art
	08:30p	Elementary Russian
	09:00p	Fine Arts Quartet
	10:00p	Language and Semantics
	10:30p	News (local)

Anyone who's ever watched PBS will recognize WGBH, one of the nation's most famous public broadcasting stations.  No Masterpiece Theatre yet, but a schedule that includes Nuclear Energy for 6th graders is one you have to love.  Interesting that the station not only has local news at 6:30 and 10:30, but they also carry NBC's Huntley-Brinkley Report at 6:45, which WBZ - Boston's NBC affiliate - doesn't carry. Of course, I think Huntley-Brinkley was still commercial-free at this point, so it shouldn't have posed much of a problem.

	WBZ, Channel 4 (NBC)
	Morning
	06:30a	Sign On Seminar
	06:45a	Daily Almanac
	06:55a	Weather (local)
	07:00a	Today
	09:00a	Priscilla Lane Show
	09:25a	News, Weather (local)
	09:30a	Tic Tac Dough
	10:00a	Dough Re Mi
	10:30a	Treasure Chest
	11:00a	The Price Is Right
	11:30a	Concentration
	Afternoon
	12:00p	News (local)
	12:10p	Weather (local)
	12:15p	Big Brother
	01:00p	Movie – “Rendezvous with Annie”
	02:25p	News (local)
	02:30p	Haggis Baggis (color)
	03:00p	Young Dr. Malone
	03:30p	From These Roots
	04:00p	Queen for a Day
	04:30p	County Fair
	05:00p	Movie – “Gun Belt”
	Evening
	06:45p	News (local)
	06:55p	Weather (local)
	07:00p	Jeff’s Collie
	07:30p	The Alphabet Conspiracy (special) (color)
	08:30p	Tales of Wells Fargo
	09:00p	Peter Gunn
	09:30p	Alcoa Theater
	10:00p	Arthur Murray Party (guest Pat Stanley) (color)
	10:30p	Official Detective
	11:00p	News, Weather (local)
	11:15p	Double Feature – “Strange Affair”, “Earthworm Tractor”

So what does WBZ have instead of Huntley-Brinkley?  A movie that runs until 6:45, and then local news and weather.  Interesting choice.  Otherwise, a pretty standard lineup.  By the way, have you ever wondered about the Arthur Murray Party, which airs at 10pm?  Yes, it's hosted by Arthur and Kathryn Murray (although to read the listings, you'd think it was only Kathryn, as she did all the interviews with guests.  The always-reliable Wikipedia describes it as a weekly infomercial for the dance studios.

	WHDH, Channel 5 (ABC/CBS/NBC)
	Morning
	07:55a	Breakfast Show
	08:40a	Take Five
	08:45a	CBS News (Richard C. Hottelet)
	09:00a	Romper Room (color)
	09:45a	For Women Only (color)
	10:00a	News (local) (color)
	10:10a	Take Five
	10:15a	We Believe (color)
	10:30a	Beulah
	11:00a	Morning Playhouse
	11:30a	Peter Lind Hayes
	Afternoon
	12:30p	Farm and Home (color)
	12:30p	Take Five
	01:00p	Liberace
	01:30p	Stu Erwin
	02:00p	Accused
	02:30p	Music Bingo
	03:00p	Beat the Clock
	03:30p	Who Do You Trust?
	04:00p	American Bandstand
	05:30p	Mickey Mouse Club
	Evening
	06:00p	Dateline Boston (color)
	06:30p	Life of Riley
	07:00p	News, Sports (local) (color)
	07:10p	Weather (local) (color)
	07:15p	Douglas Edwards With the News
	07:30p	Texas Rangers
	08:00p	Union Pacific
	08:30p	Bold Journey
	09:00p	Voice of Firestone (with Roberta Peters, Cesare Siepi, Blanche Thebom, Cesare Valletti)
	09:30p	Dr. I.Q.
	10:00p	Patti Page (guests Roger Williams, Bill Hayes, Florence Henderson)
	10:30p	How to Marry a Millionaire
	11:00p	News, Weather (local) (color)
	11:15p	Jack Paar

I've commented before about KCMT, the NBC/ABC affiliate in Alexandria, Minnesota.  Well, this beats them all - a station with affiliations with all three networks!  We see it right here: the CBS evening news with Douglas Edwards, Voice of Firestone from ABC, and NBC's Jack Parr Tonight Show.  There are more examples from this listing alone, but that will have to do.

	WCSH, Channel 6 (Portland, ME) (NBC)
	Morning
	06:30a	Continental Classroom (Electromagnetic Waves)
	07:00a	Today
	09:00a	Susie
	09:25a	News, Weather (local)
	09:30a	Romper Room
	10:00a	Dough Re Mi
	10:30a	Treasure Chest
	11:00a	The Price Is Right
	11:30a	Concentration
	Afternoon
	12:00p	Tic Tac Dough
	12:30p	It Could Be You
	01:00p	News (local)
	01:05p	Agnes Gibbs
	01:15p	Community in Focus
	01:30p	Life of Riley
	02:00p	Truth or Consequences (color)
	02:30p	Haggis Baggis (color)
	03:00p	Young Dr. Malone
	03:30p	From These Roots
	04:00p	Queen for a Day
	04:30p	County Fair
	05:00p	Fun House
	Evening
	06:00p	Woody Woodpecker
	06:30p	News, Sports, Weather (local)
	06:45p	Huntley-Brinkley Report
	07:00p	Youth Cavalcade
	07:30p	The Alphabet Conspiracy (special) (color)
	08:30p	Tales of Wells Fargo
	09:00p	Peter Gunn
	09:30p	Alcoa Theater
	10:00p	Arthur Murray (guest Pat Stanley) (color)
	10:30p	Saber of London
	11:00p	News, Weather (local)
	11:15p	Jack Paar

WCSH is, then as now, the NBC affiliate in Portland, Maine.  I remember them for the four years I lived there as the network that refused to carry golf and NBA basketball because they didn't fit their viewer demographics.  Meaning, I suppose, that people who watch WCSH are all white so they don't like basketball, and all poor, so they can't afford the expensive products that advertise on golf tournaments.  What a joke.  At least this schedule seems pretty normal.

	WNAC, Channel 7 (CBS)
	Morning
	07:00a	Laurel and Hardy
	08:00a	Captain Kangaroo
	08:45a	Star Time
	10:00a	My Little Margie
	10:30a	Arthur Godfrey
	11:00a	I Love Lucy
	11:30a	Top Dollar
	Afternoon
	12:00p	Love of Life
	12:30p	Search For Tomorrow
	12:45p	The Guiding Light
	01:00p	Louise Morgan
	01:30p	As the World Turns
	02:00p	Our Miss Brooks
	02:30p	House Party
	03:00p	The Big Payoff
	03:30p	The Verdict Is Yours
	04:00p	The Brighter Day
	04:15p	The Secret Storm
	04:30p	Topper
	05:00p	Movie – “I’m Still Alive”
	Evening
	06:30p	Woody Woodpecker
	07:00p	Walter Winchell File
	07:30p	Name That Tune
	08:00p	The Texan
	08:30p	Father Knows Best
	09:00p	Danny Thomas
	09:30p	Ann Sothern
	10:00p	Desilu Playhouse
	11:00p	News, Weather (local)
	11:15p	Double Feature – “Canal Zone”, “Alaska Highway”

Here's the CBS affiliate in Boston; note that they have a movie and Woody Woodpecker instead of the CBS news.  I'm guessing, but their late-night double-feature of Canal Zone and Alaska Highway must have some kind of travelogue theme.  Of course, the Canal Zone was then American property, and Alaska was an American territory when that movie was made - but 23 days before this movie was broadcast, Alaska became the nation's 49th state.

	WMTW, Channel 8 (Poland Spring, ME) (ABC)
	Morning
	08:30a	Movie – “Green Dolphin Street”
	09:30a	Movie – “Green Dolphin Street” (again)
	11:00a	Town and Country Time
	11:30a	Peter Lind Hayes
	Afternoon
	12:30p	Play Your Hunch
	01:00p	Liberace
	01:30p	Ladies Fair
	02:00p	Accused
	02:30p	Music Bingo
	03:00p	Beat the Clock
	03:30p	Who Do You Trust?
	04:00p	American Bandstand
	05:00p	Engine House
	05:30p	Mickey Mouse Club
	Evening
	06:00p	Movie – “The Beachcomber”
	07:15p	News, Weather (local)
	07:30p	Death Valley Days
	08:00p	Medic
	08:30p	Bold Journey
	09:00p	Voice of Firestone (with Roberta Peters, Cesare Siepi, Blanche Thebom, Cesare Valletti)
	09:30p	Dr. I.Q.
	10:00p	Patti Page (guests Roger Williams, Bill Hayes, Florence Henderson)
	10:30p	John Daly and the News
	11:00p	Movie – “Return to Paradise”

WMTW is based in Poland Spring (home of the bottled water), and broadcasts into the Portland area.  The call letters, by the way, stand for Mount Washington, where their antenna is.  Whoever their programmer was, by the way, must have really loved Green Dolphin Street to schedule back-to-back showings, although I suspect it might have been a typo.  And I haven't mentioned this yet, but at this point in history Voice of Firestone was hosted by none other than John Daly, who would return later in the evening with his late-night news broadcast.  On Sunday, his off-day, he hosted What's My Line? on CBS.

	WMUR, Channel 9 (ABC, NBC) (Manchester, NH)
	Morning
	11:30a	Peter Lind Hayes
	Afternoon
	12:30p	Play Your Hunch
	01:00p	Liberace
	01:30p	Catholic Thought
	01:45p	Air Force Digest
	02:00p	Accused
	02:30p	Music Bingo
	03:00p	Beat the Clock
	03:30p	Who Do You Trust?
	04:00p	American Bandstand
	05:30p	Gerry Kearney
	Evening
	06:00p	Susie
	06:30p	News, Weather, Sports (local)
	07:00p	Movie – “Western Pacific Agent”
	08:30p	Wrestling
	09:30p	Dr. I.Q.
	10:00p	Star Performance
	10:30p	John Daly and the News
	10:45p	Weather, Sports, News (local)
	11:05p	Championship Bowling

The Liberace Show was a standard on afternoon television back then - all those housewives, you know.  This week's editorial in TV Guide references one of Liberace's most famous quotes: when confronted with the withering reviews of his show by critics, he replied that he "cried all the way to the bank."

	WJAR, Channel 10 (Providence, RI) (ABC/NBC)
	Morning
	06:30a	Daybreak College
	07:00a	Today
	09:00a	The World Around Us
	09:30a	Hippity Hop
	09:45a	Movie – “The Village”
	11:00a	The Price Is Right
	11:30a	Concentration
	Afternoon
	12:00p	Tic Tac Dough
	12:30p	It Could Be You
	01:00p	Movie – “Conflict”
	02:30p	Haggis Baggis (color)
	03:00p	Young Dr. Malone
	03:30p	From These Roots
	04:00p	Queen for a Day
	04:30p	County Fair
	05:00p	Movie – “A Yank in the RAF”
	Evening
	06:15p	News, Weather (local)
	06:30p	The Real McCoys
	07:00p	Death Valley Days
	07:30p	The Alphabet Conspiracy (special) (color)
	08:30p	Tales of Wells Fargo
	09:00p	Peter Gunn
	09:30p	Alcoa Theater
	10:00p	Arthur Murray (guest Pat Stanley) (color)
	10:30p	Man Without a Gun
	11:00p	News, Weather (local)
	11:15p	Movie – “Tall, Dark and Handsome”

I've always thought that Man Without a Gun, a syndicated Western starring Rex Reason that aired at 10:30, should have been followed by either Charles Bronson's Man With a Camera, or John Payne's The Restless Gun - just for the symmetry, you know.

	WGAN, Channel 13 (Portland, ME) (CBS)
	Morning
	07:00a	Morning Beat
	08:00a	Captain Kangaroo
	08:45a	CBS News (Richard C. Hottelet)
	09:00a	TV Hour of Stars
	10:00a	For Love or Money
	10:30a	Arthur Godfrey
	11:00a	I Love Lucy
	11:30a	Top Dollar
	Afternoon
	12:00p	Love of Life
	12:30p	Search For Tomorrow
	12:45p	The Guiding Light
	01:00p	Burns and Allen
	01:30p	As the World Turns
	02:00p	Jimmy Dean
	02:30p	House Party
	03:00p	The Big Payoff
	03:30p	The Verdict Is Yours
	04:00p	The Brighter Day
	04:15p	The Secret Storm
	04:30p	The Edge of Night
	05:00p	Colonel Bleep
	05:30p	Foreign Legionnaire
	Evening
	06:00p	Brave Eagle
	06:30p	News, Sports, Weather (local)
	06:45p	Douglas Edwards With the News
	07:00p	The Silent Service
	07:30p	Name That Tune
	08:00p	The Texan
	08:30p	Father Knows Best
	09:00p	Danny Thomas
	09:30p	Ann Sothern
	10:00p	Desilu Playhouse
	11:00p	News, Weather (local)
	11:15p	Movie – “Lady at Midnight”

WGAN, now known as WGME, is still the CBS affiliate in Portland.  Unlike the Boston stations, it's presenting a completely straightforward schedule.  You can see that CBS still has four soaps that run for 15 minutes; I think that Search For Tomorrow and The Guiding Light last well into the early '60s before becoming the last two soaps to expand to a half-hour.  Not too many years later, hour-long soaps are all the rage.  Now, they're almost all gone. TV