December 7, 2015

What's on TV? Wednesday, December 9. 1964

As much as I enjoy these weekly program listings, there are times when it is a relief to return to one of my native Twin Cities issues. Not just because of the familiarity I have with the shows and the personalities, but because there are only five channels to report on! Believe me, that can make a big difference, especially after a long and busy week! Fortunately, this should be the case during much of this month. Let's see what today has to offer.


KTCA, Channel 2 (Educ.)

Morning


09:15a
Spanish (Grade 4)

09:30a
German (Grade 5)

09:45a
Portfolio (Grades 11-12)

10:00a
Spanish (Grade 5)

10:25a
Mathematics (Grade 6)

10:40a
Spanish (Grade 6)

10:55a
Portfolio (Grades 11-12)

11:20a
To Be Announced

Afternoon


12:00p
Learning and Teaching

12:55p
Science (Grade 2)

01:10p
To Be Announced

01:25p
Spanish (Grade 4)

01:40p
German (Grade 4)

01:55p
Spanish (Grade 5)

02:10p
French (Grade 5)

02:25p
German (Grade 6)

02:40p
Spanish (Grade 6)

03:00p
Supervisory Practice

03:30p
Americans at Work

05:15p
Fun at 5:15

05:30p
Kindergarten

Evening


06:00p
Conversational Spanish

06:30p
Biology

07:20p
Political Science

08:00p
Heritage on Canvas

08:30p
Macalester College

09:00p
Changing Minnesota

10:00p
Profile

10:30p
To Be Announced

There's really not much to note about KTCA's schedule today, other than that it's the ultimate in educational broadcasting. Even the prime-time lineup is educational. Could it be that this is what the planners of educational television had in mind all along, rather than shows like Downton Abbey?


WCCO, Channel 4 (CBS)

Morning


06:30a
Sunrise Semester (Russian Literature in Translation)

07:00a
Clancy and Axel

08:00a
Captain Kangaroo

09:00a
News (Dean Montgomery)

09:15a
What’s New?

09:25a
Dr. Reuben K. Youngdahl

09:30a
I Love Lucy

10:00a
Andy Griffith

10:30a
The McCoys

11:00a
Love of Life

11:25a
CBS News (Robert Trout)

11:30a
Search for Tomorrow

11:45a
The Guiding Light

Afternoon


12:00p
News (Dean Montgomery)

12:15p
Something Special

12:25p
Weather (Bud Kraehling)

12:30p
As the World Turns

01:00p
Password (guests Martha Wright, Barry Sullivan)

01:30p
House Party (guest Pat Hitchcock)

02:00p
To Tell the Truth (panelists Peter Lind Hayes, Douglas Fairbanks, Joan Fontaine, Phyllis Newman)

02:25p
CBS News (Douglas Edwards)

02:30p
The Edge of Night

03:00p
The Secret Storm

03:30p
Jack Benny

04:00p
Around the Town

04:30p
Axel and Deputy Dawg

05:00p
Clancy and Company

05:30p
CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite

Evening


06:00p
News (Dave Moore)

06:15p
Sports (Don Dahl)

06:20p
Direction

06:25p
Weather (Don O’Brien)

06:30p
CBS Reports - "Segregation: Northern Style"

07:30p
The Beverly Hillbillies

08:00p
Dick Van Dyke

08:30p
Cara Williams

09:00p
Danny Kaye (guests Imogene Coca, Tony Bennett, the Clinger Sisters)

10:00p
News (Dave Moore)

10:15p
Weather (Bud Kraehling)

10:20p
Sports (Hal Scott)

10:30p
Studio Four

11:30p
Les Crane

I'm very fond of looking at the old Channel 4 afternoon lineup; it's so typical of the era. Jack Benny, on at 3:30pm, is shown on a delay from 9:00am, when WCCO shows local news and the like. At 4:00 it's Around the Town, what would back then have been called a "woman's show," hosted by Arle Haberle, which once won a Peabody Award.  Axel and Clancy, who appeared together in the morning, each had their own after-school show in the afternoon.

Studio Four, which runs after the 10pm news, is an umbrella title for syndicated series run by the station (the "Four," obviously, standing for Channel 4). On this night, the series in question is East Side/West Side, with George C. Scott. The previous night, it was an episode of Checkmate.


KSTP, Channel 5 (NBC)

Morning


06:30a
City and Country

07:00a
Today (guest folk singer Tom Glazer)

09:00a
Make Room for Daddy

09:30a
What’s This Song? (color)

09:55a
NBC News (Edwin Newman)

10:00a
Concentration

10:30a
Jeopardy (color)

11:00a
Say When! (color)

11:30a
Truth or Consequences (color)

11:55a
NBC News (Ray Scherer)

Afternoon


12:00p
News (John MacDougall) (color)

12:15p
Weather (Johnny Morris) (color)

12:20p
Dialing for Dollars (color)

12:30p
Let’s Make a Deal (color)

12:55p
NBC News (Floyd Kalber)

01:00p
Loretta Young

01:30p
The Doctors

02:00p
Another World

02:30p
You Don’t Say! (guests Ruta Lee, Sid Melton)

03:00p
The Match Game (panelists Pat O’Brien, Carmel Quinn)

03:25p
NBC News

03:30p
Dialing for Dollars (color)

04:30p
Lloyd Thaxton (guests Chad and Jeremy)

05:25p
Doctor’s House Call

05:30p
The Huntley-Brinkley Report

Evening


06:00p
News (Bob Ryan) (color)

06:15p
Weather (Johnny Morris) (color)

06:20p
Sports (Al Tighe) (color)

06:30p
The Virginian (color)

08:00p
Wednesday Night at the Movies – “We’re No Angels” (color)

10:00p
News (John MacDougall) (color)

10:15p
Weather (Johnny Morris) (color)

10:20p
Sports (Al Tighe (color)

10:30p
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (guest Pete Fountain)

12:15a
Movie – “Lone Wolf in Paris”

"We're No Angels," as I mentioned on Saturday, is one of my favorite Christmas movies, a most underrated film with a rare and marvelous comic performance by Bogart. If you're into Christmas movies, this should be on the list.

Dialing for Dollars was an absolute fixture on Channel 5's schedule throughout the '60s, as it probably was in many markets. Jim Hutton and Jane Johnston were the hosts during most of that run; I believe that at this point in time Jane did the noontime version while Jim was on in the afternoon. Here is a link to a 1966 ad for the show.


KMSP, Channel 9 (ABC)

Morning


07:45a
Breakfast with Grandpa Ken

08:30a
Romper Room (Miss Betty)

10:00a
Get the Message (panelists Hermoine Gingold, Roddy McDowall, Gretchen Wyler, Jack Douglas)

10:30a
Missing Links (guests George Hamilton, Florence Henderson, Darryl Hickman, Tom Poston)

11:00a
Father Knows Best

11:30a
Ernie Ford (guest Joey Hollingsworth)

Afternoon


12:00p
Circus Boy

12:30p
The People’s Choice

01:00p
Lois Leppart

01:30p
Day in Court

01:55p
ABC News (Marlene Sanders)

02:00p
General Hospital

02:30p
Young Marrieds

03:00p
Trailmaster

04:00p
Maverick

05:00p
ABC Evening Report (Ron Cochran)

05:15p
News and Weather (local)

05:30p
Leave it to Beaver

Evening


06:00p
Huckleberry Hound

06:30p
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet

07:00p
Patty Duke

07:30p
Shindig (guests Chubby Checker, Tommy Quickly, Manfred Mann, Kelly Garrett, the Dixie Cups, Willy Nelson, the Righteous Brothers)

08:00p
Mickey Rooney

08:30p
Burke’s Law

09:30p
Ensign O’Toole

10:00p
News (Bill Fahan)

10:15p
Weather (Jerry Smith)

10:20p
Sports (Tony Parker)

10:30p
Movie – “Operation Secret”

More kids' shows in the morning; here is a link to a rare color clip of Grandpa Ken from 1968. And it's nice to see the old Pea Picker himself, Tennessee Ernie Ford, with a daily morning show after the end of his prime-time program on NBC.


WTCN, Channel 11 (Ind.)

Morning


10:05a
Kukla and Ollie

10:20a
Hank Meadows

10:30a
Movie – To Be Announced

11:55a
News (Dick Ford)

Afternoon


12:00p
Lunch with Casey

12:45p
The King and Odie

01:00p
Movie – “Rhythm on the River”

03:00p
Bachelor Father

03:30p
Dave Lee and Pete

04:30p
Superman

05:00p
Peter Potamus

05:30p
Casey and Roundhouse

05:45p
Rocky and His Friends

Evening


06:00p
The Rifleman

06:30p
Vikings Report

07:00p
Adventure Theater

07:30p
Sea Hunt

08:00p
College Hockey – Minnesota vs. Minnesota-Duluth

10:30p
News (Dick Ford)

10:45p
Weather (Stuart A. Lindman)

10:50p
Sports (Buetel/Horner)

11:00p
Movie – “Affair in Trinidad”

01:15a
Amos ‘n’ Andy

Channel 11's personality is much easier to discern in the late '60s through most of the '70s, when it was the home to professional sports - specifically the Twins in the summer and the the hockey North Stars in the winter. The Stars haven't been born yet, but tonight we get a glimpse of this kind of programming when WTCN broadcasts the Gophers hockey game against one of their arch-rivals, the University of Minnesota at Duluth.

Stuart A. Lindman, who gives the 10:45 weather, was a fixture on Channel 11. For me, I remember him mostly as the longtime local host of the Jerry Lewis Telethon, and to tell the truth, I was never much a fan of his. There was always something slightly smarmy about him, I thought, exceedingly ingratiating, the kind of thing that would have made him an outstanding entertainment reporter. I also didn't think much of him as a newsreader, something he would occasionally dabble in. Today, of course, mired in nostalgia, I wish there were - no, wait. There are still too many people like him at local stations. I do have a fonder feeling toward him personally, though. TV  

3 comments:

  1. First off ...

    -The CBS network offering at 9am was The CBS Morning News with Mike Wallace. The Jack Benny show was likely a syndicated rerun from many years back.

    - While we're at WCCO, what the heck is Les Crane's ABC show doing on a CBS station?
    From what I've seen here in the past, KMSP apparently wasn't all that crazy about the ABC network lineup, but this is ridiculous.
    My mini-history of Crane/Nightlife in the previous posting stands as written; what did the MSP stations do when Crane was dropped and the network included its own letters in the title?

    - Noting that KSTP is carrying Lloyd Thaxton's record show at almost the same time as WMAQ (NBC in Chicago). Next week, the bicycle will be bringing the Twin Cities the shows we're seeing this week in Chicago, with guests including Neil Sedaka, Andy Williams, and Frankie Laine.
    (Apparently "the Kids" were a lot more open-minded about music back then ...)

    - I should have written this at the proper time:
    Floyd Kalber was ch5's main anchorman throughout the '60s and '70s, before the NBC network bucked him up to the Today show.
    It was in Chicago that Kalber got the nickname "Big Tuna", which originally belonged to Tony Accardo, a major figure in what we in Chicago call "The Outfit".
    "Big Tuna" referred to Kalber's power and control over ch5's news operation; I'm fairly sure it was not intended as a compliment.
    After Kalber left Today in '79, he returned to Chicago, where he became the 6pm anchor at ch7, the ABC station. WLS-TV was top-heavy with name anchormen at that time, so Kalber's "Tuna" was slightly reduced, but he still retained control over his newscast, through to his ultimate retirement about a decade later.

    - To the best of my knowledge, Romper Room was never a 90-minute show anywhere. I think you (or somebody) omitted The Price Is Right, ABC's 9:30 offering at that time.
    This was when they had guest celebrity players by the week; This week's was Don Ameche.

    - This week's guest stars on Burke's Law, alphabetically:
    Hans Conried
    Broderick Crawford
    Dan Duryea
    Rhonda Fleming
    Burgess Meredith
    and Mamie Van Doren (who, as noted last time, was also on Ozzie & Harriet earlier that same evening - that happened quite a bit in those 30-episode plus days.)

    Not that it matters that much, Mitch, but you might want to take another look at that headline on the post - given the fact that the day we seem to be talking about is Wednesday ...


    ReplyDelete
  2. CBS itself ran reruns of filmed "Jack Benny Program" episodes during the 1964/65 TV season on weekdays at 4:30 P.M. Eastern (3:30 Central), as well as Sunday afternoons (when not pre-empted for football during the fall of 1964).

    Interestingly enough, first-run Jack Benny episodes would move to NBC for the 1964/65 season, but the show would go off the air at the end of that season. While ratings were likely down from prior seasons, I also wouldn't be surprised if Benny himself "pulled the plug", given that he had done regular radio and/or TV programs since 1932 and had turned 71 by the time his series ended.

    ReplyDelete
  3. It looks like you have the Wednesday night lineups instead of the Thursday night programming, because shows like The Patty Duke Show (ABC), The Beverly Hillbillies (CBS) and The Virginian (NBC) actually aired on Wednesdays during the 1964-65 TV season, not Thursdays.

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Thanks for writing! Drive safely!