March 2, 2015

What's on TV? February 28, 1960

Another week, another February 28.  This time the year is 1960, the day of the week is Sunday, and the place is the Dallas-Fort Worth area.  I'm frequently drawn to these weekend listings; perhaps, especially when I'm working with several issues from the same or similar years, it's because there's not enough variety in the daily programming.  At any rate, there's plenty to look at here, along with a few of my patented oddball observations.


KRLD, Channel 4 (CBS)

Morning


07:00a
Cartoons

07:15a
Faith for Today

07:45a
The Bible Says

08:00a
Unitarians

08:15a
Film Short

08:30a
The Way of Truth

08:45a
Episcopal Church

09:00a
Christian Science

09:15a
Catholic Report

09:30a
Church Service (Presbyterian)

10:30a
Americans at Work

10:45a
Film Short

11:00a
FYI

11:30a
The Big Picture (Army)

Afternoon


12:00p
News and Weather (local)

12:15p
Cartoons

12:30p
Spotlight on Homes (color)

01:00p
Winter Olympics (conclusion)

04:00p
Conquest

04:30p
G-E College Bowl (Dartmouth vs. Bryn Mawr)

05:00p
Small World

05:30p
The Twentieth Century

Evening


06:00p
Lassie

06:30p
Dennis the Menace

07:00p
Ed Sullivan (guests Bobby Darin, Connie Francis, Della Reese, Ken Murray and Marie Wilson, Antone and Curtiss, Senor Wences, Noele Adam, Corbett Monica)

08:00p
G.E. Theater

08:30p
Alfred Hitchcock Presents

09:00p
George Gobel (guest Tennessee Ernie Ford)

09:30p
What’s My Line?

10:00p
CBS News (Douglas Edwards substituting for Walter Cronkite)

10:15p
News and Weather (local)

10:30p
Movie – “Black Angel”

As I mentioned on Saturday, this weekend sees the close of the Winter Olympics.  Sunday's coverage includes the finals of the 80-meter ski jump, and the awarding of many of the metals won during the ten days of the games, which suggests that they weren't always given out the same day as the event.  I guess that's one way to keep the athletes from leaving before the Games have ended.


WBAP, Channel 5 (NBC)

Morning


08:00a
The Big Picture (Army)

08:30a
The Christophers

09:00a
Televiews

09:15a
Christian Science

09:30a
Faith For Today

10:00a
Christian Questions

10:30a
Homestead, U.S.A.

11:00a
Church Service (First Christian)

Afternoon


12:00p
Movie – “Saps at Sea”

01:15p
Pro Basketball (Warriors vs. Pistons)

03:30p
World Championship Golf (Byron Nelson vs. Jim Turnesa)

04:30p
Time: Present… Chet Huntley

05:00p
Meet the Press (guest Sen. Henry M. Jackson)

05:30p
Saber of London

Evening


06:00p
Overland Trail

07:00p
Archibald MacLeish Drama – “The Secret of Freedom” (special)

08:00p
Dinah Shore (guests Chuck Connors, Benny Goodman, Liane Dayde and Michel Renault) (color)

09:00p
Loretta Young

09:30p
Bold Venture

10:00p
News (local)

10:15p
Weather (local)

10:25p
News (local)

10:30p
Movie – “Woman on the Beach”

Washington senator Henry "Scoop" Jackson, guest on Meet the Press, would probably be considered an extinct species today: a conservative Democrat.  He was one of the few hawkish Democrats during the '60s and '70s, and ran for the Democratic presidential nomination a couple of times, back when nominating a conservative was even possible.  I wonder if he'd be a Republican today?


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

Morning


Afternoon


12:00p
The Christophers

12:30p
Frontiers of Faith

01:00p
Industry on Parade  

01:15p
Pro Basketball (Warriors vs. Pistons)

03:30p
World Championship Golf (Byron Nelson vs. Jim Turnesa)

04:30p
Time: Present… Chet Huntley

05:00p
Meet the Press (guest Sen. Henry M. Jackson)

05:30p
Saber of London

Evening


06:00p
Overland Trail

07:00p
Archibald MacLeish Drama – “The Secret of Freedom” (special)

08:00p
Dinah Shore (guests Chuck Connors, Benny Goodman, Liane Dayde and Michel Renault) (color)

09:00p
Loretta Young

09:30p
Alcoa Presents (aka One Step Beyond)

10:00p
Weather (local)

10:05p
News (local)

10:10p
Sports (local)

10:15p
Movie – “San Francisco”

I'm not sure whether or not there was a sponsor for the "Archibald MacLeish Drama" that NBC ran at 7pm.  That's just how it's listed in TV Guide (actually, it's listed as MacLeish Drama, meaning that we were supposed to be able to figure it out for ourselves).  I wonder how they actually introduced it on air?


WFAA, Channel 8 (ABC)

Morning


08:00a
This is America

08:15a
This is the Answer

08:45a
Magic Carpet

09:00a
Movie – “All For Mary”

10:30a
Inside Congress

10:45a
Sacred Heart

11:00a
Church Service (Baptist)

Afternoon


12:00p
This is the Life

12:30p
Dan Smoot Report

12:45p
Movie – “Slightly Honorable”

02:00p
Golf

02:15p
Sports (local)

02:30p
Crossroads

03:00p
You Asked For It

03:30p
Championship Bridge

04:00p
Paul Winchell (guests Kardwell, Gino and Mary-Ann)

04:30p
Broken Arrow

05:00p
Matty’s Funday Funnies

05:30p
The Lone Ranger

Evening


06:00p
Colt .45

06:30p
Maverick

07:30p
The Lawman

08:00p
The Rebel

08:30p
The Alaskans

09:30p
21 Beacon Street

10:00p
News (local)

10:15p
Weather (local)

10:20p
Sports (local)

10:30p
Movie – “Timberjack”

12:00a
News (local)

Looking at the morning programming, we're struck at the ambivalence in the titles.  I mean, since This is America is followed immediately by This is the Answer, apparently "America" wasn't the answer in the first place.  And where does that leave This is the Life?  Is that the answer?


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

Morning


09:35a
This is the Life

10:05a
Christian Science

10:20a
Homestead, U.S.A.

10:50a
Church Service (Methodist)

Afternoon


12:00p
Industry on Parade

12:15p
Chaplain of the Air

12:30p
Bishop Pike

01:00p
Winter Olympics (conclusion)

03:30p
Championship Bridge

04:00p
Conquest

04:30p
G-E College Bowl (Dartmouth vs. Bryn Mawr)

05:00p
Wild Life

05:30p
The Twentieth Century

Evening


06:00p
Lassie

06:30p
Dennis O’Keefe

07:00p
Ed Sullivan (guests Bobby Darin, Connie Francis, Della Reese, Ken Murray and Marie Wilson, Antone and Curtiss, Senor Wences, Noele Adam, Corbett Monica)

08:00p
G.E. Theater

08:30p
Alfred Hitchcock Presents

09:00p
Shotgun Slade

09:30p
What’s My Line?

10:00p
News (local)

10:10p
News

10:15p
Weather (local)

10:25p
Sports (local)

10:30p
The Rebel

11:00p
Movie – “The Prowler”

I've mentioned before that I generally take these shows exactly as they're listed in TV Guide, unless I know better.  So explain this to me: why does G-E College Bowl have a hyphen in it, when G.E. Theater doesn't?  It seems kind of strange, but I believe I've seen promos for College Bowl in which G and E are separated by a hyphen, so I guess that's really the way it was.  Hmm.


KFJZ, Channel 11 (Ind.)

Morning


07:00a
Cartoons

07:30a
Movie Double Feature – “Silver Spurs”, “The Silver Bullet”

09:30a
Church Service (Baptist)

10:00a
Cartoons

10:30a
Movie Double Feature – “Nevada City”, “Ride, Ranger, Ride”

Afternoon


12:30p
Kingdom of the Sea

01:00p
Movie – “A Kiss in the Dark”

02:30p
Movie – “Love Finds Andy Hardy”

04:00p
Movie – “My Friend Flicka”

05:30p
Movie – “My Wild Irish Rose”

Evening


07:30p
West Point

08:00p
Bishop Sheen

08:30p
26 Men

09:00p
Stories of the Century

09:30p
Panic

10:00p
Movie Double Feature – “A Tale of Two Cities”, “Downstairs”


The star of "The Silver Bullet," part of the 7:30am double feature, is Johnny Mack Brown, who was a college football star for Alabama in the '20s.  He was the MVP of the 1926 Rose Bowl, capping off Alabama's first national championship team, and had the Heisman Trophy existed back then, he might well have won it.  With his good looks and athletic build, Hollywood was a natural next step for Brown (it didn't hurt that pro football wasn't anything close to how we know it today), and he went on to a long, if not spectacular, career. TV  

8 comments:

  1. 1,2,3,4 ... woof ...

    OK, I'm in.

    - I don't recall that CBS had a network newscast late Sunday night; if they had it certainly would have been carried by ch2 here in Chicago.
    Further, Douglas Edwards was CBS's principal anchorman in 1960; Walter Cronkite didn't get the primetime post for another two years.
    Was this in the book?

    - Sen. Scoop Jackson:
    A "conservative Democrat" hardly means the same thing in 1960 as it would today.
    Especially in the Pacific Northwest: Washington's other Senator was Wayne Morse, who started out as a "liberal Republican"; he switched to the Democrats sometime in the late '50s (approx.).
    Jackson, like many Democrats of his generation, was a New Dealer. His "conservatism" was almost entirely concentrated on the Vietnam War, which in '60 was still a half-decade in the future.
    In today's political world, Scoop Jackson might have been a "blue-dog Democrat" at most.
    Today's Republicans, especially those on the farRight, would want nothing to do with a potential "RINO".

    - Archibald MacLeish's special:
    A few weeks earlier, TV GUIDE did a feature story about this show.
    If there was a sponsor, it went unmentioned in the story. TVG had a short-lived policy of omitting sponsor's names from show titles (as in the Chevy Show when Dinah Shore wasn't there), and I thought that might be the reason; can't find anything one way or the other.
    As to how it would be announced on the air, my best guess would be simply the play's title, The Secret Of Freedom; that's likely how it would be listed these days.

    - Was Channel 6 in Temple a shared affiliation with NBC and ABC?
    Alcoa Presents/One Step Beyond was still in its first run on the ABC network at this time (check ch8 on Tuesday at 9 pm).
    While you're at it, check ch6's pre- and post-primetime for other stray ABC shows.

    - ABC was showing 21 Beacon Street, in which Dennis Morgan led a small group of agents against nefarious folk, using "sting" operations to bring them down.
    Sound familiar?
    The principal writer here was named Leonard Heideman.
    About a year or so after 21 Beacon Street went out of production, Heideman underwent a psychotic break and killed his wife. He was found not guilty by reason of insanity, and was institutionalized for about five years.
    After his release, some of Heideman;s friends in the business got him writing assignments, for which he changed his name to Laurence Heath.
    As Heath, he soon became the principal writer - and ultimately one of the producers - of Mission: Impossible (this is the "familiar" I was referring to).
    You can find the whole story in the archives of Stephen Bowie's Classic TV History Blog (if you haven't already).

    This should do for now.
    Any questions?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Let's see - yes, it did list Cronkite as hosting the Sunday late news. According to the always-reliable Wikipedia, he did from 1951 to 1962, when he took over the weekday evening news.

      The thing about Jackson was that as I recall, he was one of the few "hawkish" Dems left by 1972, the last time I can remember him campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination. Now, you can ponder what he would be today - there's a lot of discussion over what JFK would be, for that matter - I think Joe Manchin might be the closest parallel in the sense of someone who might change parties at least.

      Although Channel 6 was not formally a split affiliation in the sense that it wasn't listed that way, it was a de facto dual affiliate, as it had a lot of ABC programming.

      Ah, Lawrence Heath - the minute I read his name in your comment, even before you got to Stephen Bowie, I knew what you meant. Yes, I read his remarkable bit about him. Fascinating, wasn't it?

      Good stuff as always!

      Delete
    2. Jackson also ran in 1976, even winning a couple of primaries.

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    3. It's always perilous to try and translate politics of an earlier era with those of the present.
      Rush Limbaugh began to lose me in the '90s when he tried to claim JFK as a nascent "dittohead" (I don't recall what exactly he was referring to at this point, and it's long since ceased to matter); he tried the same thing not long afterward with Hubert Humphrey, and that was the end.
      In order to understand this - or try to - you really have to read up on history, and most people nowadays are simply too lazy to do that ... and none more so than the commentariat (Left and Right).

      - Sidebar:
      On Monday night, ABC had a Bing Crosby special preempting Bourbon Street Beat.
      Channel 13 in Rockford picked up the Crosby show, preempting Danny Thomas and Ann Sothern; they normally carried Bourbon Street at 10:30 the same night.
      In its place, ch13 had a syndicated special, a dramatization of "The Fifth Column" by Ernest Hemingway, with Richard Burton, Maximilian Schell, and Sally Ann Howes.
      And how does TV GUIDE list this program?
      HEMINGWAY DRAMA.
      Take it from there, if you like ...

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    4. Hemingway Drama. I guess he only wrote one, right? :)

      Mike, I think you're right that it's always difficult to project yesterday's figures onto today's stage. It reminds me of a saying someone had, which I think sums up this blog in a nutshell, but is particularly applicable to what you're saying: "Text without context is a pretext." To assume that anyone from a previous era would have been this-or-that today presupposes that everything else remains constant, which as we know is impossible. Especially in politics, there are always pressures that change things. I don't know if it was you or someone else who commented that Ted Kennedy was pro-life once upon a time. I'm not trying to turn this into politics here, just pointing out that EMK responded, rightly or wrongly, to certain pressures and realities in the political arena, and evolved in a particular way. Who can say what would have happened had something else not happened?

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    5. Ken - you're right. I'd absolutely forgotten about that. Thanks!

      Delete
    6. Was a Dennis O'Keefe rerun on KWTX-TV in the same timeslot as Dennis the Menace, or was DtM on both KWTX-TV & KRLD-TV? I know Dennis O'Keefe had a show around the same time as DtM, and maybe KWTX-TV was carrying it from ABC. I know that KWTX-TV carried Leave It to Beaver Saturday nights (on a week delay) at 6 PM.

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    7. Wayne Morse represented Oregon, not Washington, in the U.S. Senate. He switched parties in the early 50s, an Independent between his R to D transition. He eventually was defeated for reelection in 1968 by Bob Packwood, who was also a moderate-to-liberal Republican who resigned his seat under pressure in 1995.

      Delete

Thanks for writing! Drive safely!