WRCV, Channel 3 (NBC)
|
||
Morning
|
||
05:50a
|
Farm and Market News
|
|
05:55a
|
News (local)
|
|
06:00a
|
Continental Classroom (Modern Algebra) (color)
|
|
06:30a
|
Continental Classroom (American Government) (color)
|
|
07:00a
|
Today (guest Paul Hoffman, head of UN special
fund)
|
|
09:00a
|
Lee Dexter
|
|
09:30a
|
Exercise with Gloria
|
|
09:50a
|
What’s Doing
|
|
09:55a
|
News (Bob
Bradley)
|
|
10:00a
|
Say When
|
|
10:30a
|
Play Your Hunch (color)
|
|
11:00a
|
The Price is Right (color)
|
|
11:30a
|
Concentration
|
|
Afternoon
|
||
12:00p
|
Truth or Consequences
|
|
12:30p
|
It Could Be You (color)
|
|
12:55p
|
NBC News (Ray Scherer)
|
|
01:00p
|
Award Theater
|
|
01:30p
|
World Series Spotlight (color)
|
|
01:45p
|
World Series
Game 5 (Yankees vs. Reds) (color)
|
|
04:30p
|
Here’s Hollywood
|
|
04:55p
|
NBC News (Sander Vanocur)
|
|
05:00p
|
Kukla and Ollie
|
|
05:05p
|
Five O’Clock Show – “The Little Rebels”
|
|
Evening
|
||
06:25p
|
Sports (Jim
Leaming) (color)
|
|
06:30p
|
Local News
(Vince Leonard) (color)
|
|
06:40p
|
Weather (Wally
Kinnan) (color)
|
|
06:45p
|
The Huntley-Brinkley Report
|
|
07:00p
|
Death Valley Days
|
|
07:30p
|
Profile ‘61
|
|
08:00p
|
National Velvet
|
|
08:30p
|
The Price is Right (color)
|
|
09:00p
|
87th Precinct
|
|
10:00p
|
Westinghouse Presents (host John Daly, guests Art Carney, Vic
Damone, Gogi Grant, Pat Harrington, Mahalia Jackson, Andre Previn, Tony
Randall, Dore Schary) (special)
|
|
11:00p
|
News (Vince
Leonard) (color)
|
|
11:10p
|
Weather (Wally
Kinnan)
|
|
11:15p
|
Jack Paar (color)
|
|
01:00a
|
FBI Most Wanted
|
|
01:05a
|
Union Pacific
|
|
01:35a
|
Speak Up (color)
|
|
02:05a
|
News (local)
|
|
02:10a
|
Thought for Today
|
|
WRCV, then the NBC affiliate, is now KYW, the CBS affiliate, with a fairly interesting history of its own. Philadelphia itself seems to have a pretty interesting TV history, which I'd like to explore at greater length someday; even working on this piece, it didn't take long to discover how many of the local personalities are legends of the scene. Wally Kimm and Vince Leonard, for example, are still fondly remembered in Philadelphia, and sportscaster Jim Leaming was a familiar voice on national television, narrating many NFL films presentations on TV, until another Philadelphia legend came along...
WFIL, Channel 6 (ABC)
|
||
Morning
|
||
06:30a
|
R.F.D. Six
|
|
07:00a
|
Breakfast Time (color, cartoons only)
|
|
07:30a
|
Rocky and His Friends
|
|
07:45a
|
Morgan in the Morning
|
|
09:00a
|
Happy the Clown
|
|
09:30a
|
The Texan
|
|
10:00a
|
Love That Bob!
|
|
10:30a
|
Triangle Theater
|
|
11:00a
|
Studio Schoolhouse
|
|
11:15a
|
University of the Air
|
|
Afternoon
|
||
12:00p
|
Camouflage
|
|
12:30p
|
Make a Face
|
|
01:00p
|
Day in Court
|
|
01:25p
|
ABC News (Alex Dreier)
|
|
01:30p
|
Who Do You Trust?
|
|
02:00p
|
Number Please
|
|
02:30p
|
Seven Keys
|
|
03:00p
|
Queen for a Day
|
|
03:30p
|
American Bandstand
|
|
04:50p
|
American Newsstand (Roger Sharp)
|
|
05:00p
|
Popeye Theater (color)
|
|
05:30p
|
Yogi Bear
|
|
Evening
|
||
06:00p
|
Popeye Theater (color)
|
|
06:55p
|
Clutch Cargo
|
|
07:00p
|
News (Gunnar
Back) (color)
|
|
07:10p
|
Weather (Dr.
Francis Davis) (color)
|
|
07:15p
|
ABC News (Bill Shadel)
|
|
07:30p
|
Cheyenne
|
|
08:30p
|
The Rifleman
|
|
09:00p
|
Surfside 6
|
|
10:00p
|
Ben Casey
|
|
11:00p
|
ABC News
|
|
11:10p
|
News (Gunnar
Back) (color)
|
|
11:20p
|
Weather (Dr.
Francis Davis) (color)
|
|
11:25p
|
Sports (color)
|
|
11:30p
|
World’s Best Movies – “All Through the Night”
|
|
WFIL has now become WPVI, but it's always been a major part of the local scene. At this point in time it was owned by Triangle Publications, which also owned TV Guide, so in a sense it's the magazine's home channel. It's also where American Bandstand was created. Perhaps one of the reasons we don't have very interesting programming on network television anymore is because there are no local stations developing shows for them.
WGAL, Channel 8 (Lancaster) (CBS, NBC)
|
||
Morning
|
||
05:55a
|
News
(local)
|
|
06:00a
|
Continental Classroom (Modern Algebra) (color)
|
|
06:30a
|
Continental Classroom (American Government) (color)
|
|
07:00a
|
Today (guest Paul Hoffman, head of UN special
fund)
|
|
09:00a
|
Exploring with Science
|
|
09:15a
|
Concepts in Science
|
|
09:30a
|
Funny Manns
|
|
09:40a
|
Kukla and Ollie
|
|
09:45a
|
Debbie Drake
|
|
10:00a
|
Say When
|
|
10:30a
|
Play Your Hunch (color)
|
|
11:00a
|
The Price is Right (color)
|
|
11:30a
|
Concentration
|
|
Afternoon
|
||
12:00p
|
News (Nelson
Sears)
|
|
12:05p
|
Personalities and Events
|
|
12:10p
|
Weather (Anne
Herr)
|
|
12:15p
|
TV Farmer
|
|
12:30p
|
It Could Be You (color)
|
|
12:55p
|
NBC News (Ray Scherer)
|
|
01:00p
|
Crusader
|
|
01:30p
|
World Series Spotlight (color)
|
|
01:45p
|
World Series
Game 5 (Yankees vs. Reds) (color)
|
|
04:30p
|
The Edge of Night
|
|
05:00p
|
Mighty Mouse
|
|
05:30p
|
Looney Tunes
|
|
05:45p
|
Texas Rangers
|
|
Evening
|
||
06:15p
|
News, Weather,
Sports (local)
|
|
06:45p
|
The Huntley-Brinkley Report
|
|
07:00p
|
King of Diamonds
|
|
07:15p
|
Douglas Edwards With the News
|
|
07:30p
|
To Tell the Truth
|
|
08:00p
|
Pete and Gladys
|
|
08:30p
|
The Price is Right (color)
|
|
09:00p
|
Danny Thomas
|
|
09:30p
|
Andy Griffith
|
|
10:00p
|
Westinghouse Presents (host John Daly, guests Art Carney, Vic
Damone, Gogi Grant, Pat Harrington, Mahalia Jackson, Andre Previn, Tony
Randall, Dore Schary) (special)
|
|
11:00p
|
News, Sports
and Weather (color)
|
|
11:30p
|
Jack Paar (color)
|
|
01:00a
|
News (local)
|
|
Interesting programming from WGAL, which still has the same call letters, and is now an NBC affilate. The station broadcast NBC programming throughout the morning, then switched to CBS for the afternoon schedule. (Were it not for today's World Series broadcast, the CBS programming would have started at 12:30pm.)
WCAU, Channel 10 (CBS)
|
||
Morning
|
||
06:00a
|
College of the air (New Biology)
|
|
06:30a
|
Television Seminar
|
|
07:00a
|
Bill Bennett Show
|
|
07:30a
|
News (Crane,
Hart, Leslie)
|
|
07:45a
|
Pixanne
|
|
08:00a
|
Captain Kangaroo
|
|
09:00a
|
Gene London
|
|
09:50a
|
News (Bob
Collier)
|
|
10:00a
|
Calendar
|
|
10:30a
|
I Love Lucy
|
|
11:00a
|
Video Village
|
|
11:30a
|
Your Surprise Package
|
|
11:55a
|
CBS News (Harry Reasoner)
|
|
Afternoon
|
||
12:00p
|
Love of Life
|
|
12:30p
|
Search For Tomorrow
|
|
12:45p
|
The Guiding Light
|
|
01:00p
|
News (Jack
Whitaker)
|
|
01:05p
|
Burns and Allen
|
|
01:30p
|
As the World Turns
|
|
02:00p
|
Password (guests Chuck Connors, Arlene Francis)
|
|
02:30p
|
House Party
|
|
03:00p
|
The Millionaire
|
|
03:30p
|
The Verdict is Yours
|
|
03:55p
|
CBS News (Charles Collingwood)
|
|
04:00p
|
The Brighter Day
|
|
04:15p
|
The Secret Storm
|
|
04:30p
|
The Edge of Night
|
|
05:00p
|
Highway Patrol
|
|
05:30p
|
The Early Show – “Where Danger Lives”
|
|
Evening
|
||
07:00p
|
News (John
Facenda)
|
|
07:05p
|
Commentary
(Charles Shaw)
|
|
07:10p
|
Weather (Herb
Clarke)
|
|
07:30p
|
To Tell the Truth
|
|
08:00p
|
Pete and Gladys
|
|
08:30p
|
Window on Main Street
|
|
09:00p
|
Danny Thomas
|
|
09:30p
|
Andy Griffith
|
|
10:00p
|
Hennesey
|
|
10:30p
|
I’ve Got a Secret
|
|
11:00p
|
News (John
Facenda)
|
|
11:10p
|
Weather (Jack
Whitaker)
|
|
11:15p
|
The Late Show – “The Mad Doctor”
|
|
01:00a
|
The Late, Late Show – “Madame Racketeer” (time approximate)
|
|
02:25a
|
News (local)
|
|
02:30a
|
Give Us This Day
|
|
Very interesting local personalities at WCAU, which continues to go by the same call lettters today but is now the NBC affiliate. At 1:00pm Jack Whitaker gives the news; at 11:10pm he's back with the weather. In neither case does he give the sports, although Whitaker would go on to become one of the most famous faces of CBS sports in the '60s and '70s.
And then there's the station's 7:00pm and 11:00pm newscaster - John Facenda, the "Voice of God," whose memorable voice provided the soundtrack for so many of the NFL Films features over the years.
The next four channels have only their network programming listed, so we really don't know much about the rest of their broadcast day. WLYH is still around, as the CW affiliate; WHP remains with CBS; WTPA is now WHTM, but is still affiliated with ABC; and WSBA is now WPMT, Fox-43. While we're here, we might as well see what network shows they carried.
And then there's the station's 7:00pm and 11:00pm newscaster - John Facenda, the "Voice of God," whose memorable voice provided the soundtrack for so many of the NFL Films features over the years.
***
The next four channels have only their network programming listed, so we really don't know much about the rest of their broadcast day. WLYH is still around, as the CW affiliate; WHP remains with CBS; WTPA is now WHTM, but is still affiliated with ABC; and WSBA is now WPMT, Fox-43. While we're here, we might as well see what network shows they carried.
WLYH, Channel 15 (Lebanon)
|
||
Afternoon
|
||
12:00p
|
Camouflage
|
|
12:30p
|
Make a Face
|
|
01:00p
|
Day in Court
|
|
01:25p
|
ABC News (Alex Dreier)
|
|
01:30p
|
Who Do You Trust?
|
|
02:00p
|
Number Please
|
|
02:30p
|
Seven Keys
|
|
03:00p
|
Queen for a Day
|
|
03:30p
|
American Bandstand
|
|
04:50p
|
American Newsstand
|
|
Evening
|
||
07:15p
|
ABC News (Bill Shadel)
|
|
07:30p
|
Cheyenne
|
|
09:00p
|
Surfside 6
|
|
10:00p
|
Ben Casey
|
|
11:00p
|
ABC News
|
|
WHP, Channel 21 (Harrisburg)
|
||
Morning
|
||
10:00a
|
Calendar
|
|
10:30a
|
I Love Lucy
|
|
11:00a
|
Video Village
|
|
11:30a
|
Your Surprise Package
|
|
11:55a
|
CBS News (Harry Reasoner)
|
|
Afternoon
|
||
12:00p
|
Love of Life
|
|
12:30p
|
Search For Tomorrow
|
|
12:45p
|
The Guiding Light
|
|
02:00p
|
Password (guests Chuck Connors, Arlene Francis)
|
|
02:30p
|
House Party
|
|
03:00p
|
The Millionaire
|
|
03:30p
|
The Verdict is Yours
|
|
03:55p
|
CBS News (Charles Collingwood)
|
|
04:00p
|
The Brighter Day
|
|
04:15p
|
The Secret Storm
|
|
Evening
|
||
07:15p
|
Douglas Edwards With the News
|
|
07:30p
|
To Tell the Truth
|
|
08:30p
|
Window on Main Street
|
|
09:00p
|
Danny Thomas
|
|
09:30p
|
Andy Griffith
|
|
10:00p
|
Hennesey
|
|
10:30p
|
I’ve Got a Secret
|
|
WTPA, Channel 27 (Harrisburg)
|
||
Afternoon
|
||
12:00p
|
Camouflage
|
|
12:30p
|
Make a Face
|
|
01:00p
|
Day in Court
|
|
01:25p
|
ABC News (Alex Dreier)
|
|
02:00p
|
Number Please
|
|
02:30p
|
Seven Keys
|
|
03:00p
|
Queen for a Day
|
|
04:50p
|
American Newsstand
|
|
Evening
|
||
07:30p
|
Cheyenne
|
|
08:30p
|
The Rifleman
|
|
09:00p
|
Surfside 6
|
|
10:00p
|
Ben Casey
|
|
WSBA, Channel 43 (York)
|
||
Afternoon
|
||
12:00p
|
Camouflage
|
|
12:30p
|
Make a Face
|
|
01:00p
|
Day in Court
|
|
01:25p
|
ABC News (Alex Dreier)
|
|
02:00p
|
Number Please
|
|
02:30p
|
Seven Keys
|
|
03:00p
|
Queen for a Day
|
|
04:50p
|
American Newsstand
|
|
Evening
|
||
07:30p
|
Cheyenne
|
|
08:30p
|
Window on Main Street
|
|
09:00p
|
Surfside 6
|
|
10:00p
|
Ben Casey
|
|
11:00p
|
ABC News
|
|
TV
"Password" premiered a week before, and immediately became a smash. The original version would run for six very successful years.
ReplyDeleteI lived in Riverside CA when this schedule came out and I had just turned five years old, but boy do I remember a lot of this. On Monday nights, I'd sneak out of bed and watch the nighttime Price Is Right with mom and dad.
ReplyDeleteCould WGAL's telecast of Mighty Mouse (5 PM) be a delay from Saturday? I don't recall it being on weekdays in 1961.
Finally, you use an issue that I've got. and you pick the wrong day.
ReplyDeleteWednesday was way more interesting than Monday.
Examples follow:
- Wagon Train had Barbara Stanwyck leading an all-woman wagon train, trying to hire Robert Horton away from John McIntire (this may have been a 'backdoor pilot'; Stanwyck was always coming with series ideas, and particularly wanted a Western).
- Meanwhile, at ABC, Steve Allen's new show was presenting the Smothers Brothers at the onset of their career (one of the first times, if not the absolute first); this was about the time that Allen first brought on a TV director from Cleveland who was then called Tom Conway (it was Steve's idea for Conway to "... dot the O ...", in deference to George Sanders's brother).
- Checkmate had a story about an advertising man who kills his boss for a promotion.
The homicidal MadMan was played by Tony Randall, who was phasing himself out of TV at this point.
(The original story was credited to a Canadian actor who'd just started working in the USA: William Shatner.)
- Meanwhile, at NBC, Joey Bishop's show had him helping to set up a This Is Your Life appearance for Danny Thomas - or rather, for Danny Williams. The whole CBS family appeared on an NBC show, demonstrating how much power Thomas and Sheldon Leonard had back then.
- Mrs. G. Goes To College, Gertrude Berg's comeback vehicle, which co-starred Sir Cedric Hardwicke as a professor, added a recurring character, another professor, played by Peter Lorre.
(I mention this one because I'm about to add this series to my DVD wall; details on request.)
- Bob Newhart's new show was a favorite in our house, largely because of the presence of Dan Sorkin, the Chicago DJ who essentially godfathered Newhart's career.
The Four Preps were having hit records in those days; one of the Four was Glen Larson, who went on to produce a whole gang of hit shows in the '60s and '70s.
Years later, Larson would appear with the other Preps on PBS beg week specials.
He'd be third in line, a fat guy with a waist-length ponytail.
Together, they all looked more like The Four Perps.