January 11, 2016

What's on TV? Wednesday, January 13, 1954

As promised, we're back in Pittsburgh today. One of the things you'll notice is the number of shows that run only 15 minutes. Take WDTV, below: All of CBS' classic soaps - Love of Life, Search for Tomorrow and The Guiding Light, as well as The Brighter Day, are 15 minutes; by the early 60s, only one or two soaps will still adhere to that format, a carry-over from radio.

You can see how big Arthur Godfrey was, with not one but two shows on; Arthur Godfrey Time in the morning, and Arthur Godfrey and His Friends in prime time. You can also see how popular wrestling and boxing were in the early days of television; they were perfectly shaped programs to appear on the television tube.

On Saturday I mentioned Ray Scott, the announcer of all those great Green Bay Packer games, doing the sports on WDTV; I also notice here that Bob Prince, the revered long-time announcer for the Pittsburgh Pirates, gives the local sports on WENS. And since we've brought up the news, take a look at how WENS carries not only ABC's news with John Daly, but the NBC news with John Cameron Swayze.

Enough of me, though - let's get to the listings.


WDTV, Channel 2 (DUM, NBC, ABC)

Morning

07:00a
Today

09:00a
Pastor’s Study

09:15a
Fun to Reduce on TV

09:30a
Buzz ‘n’ Bill

09:45a
Garry Moore (guest Denise Lor)

10:00a
Home Edition

10:30a
Arthur Godfrey Time

11:15a
Stars on Parade

11:25a
You Are What You Eat

11:30a
Strike It Rich

Afternoon

12:00p
News at Noon

12:15p
Love of Life

12:30p
Search for Tomorrow

12:45p
The Guiding Light

01:00p
Bill Brant Show

01:30p
Kay’s Kitchen

02:00p
Music Shop

02:15p
Valiant Lady

02:30p
Meet Your Neighbor

03:00p
The Big Payoff

03:30p
Paul Dixon

04:00p
Welcome Travelers

04:30p
On Your Account

05:00p
The Lone Ranger

05:30p
Howdy Doody

Evening


06:00p
Buzz ‘n’ Bill

06:25p
Viz Quiz

06:30p
News (Carl Ide)

06:45p
Pitt Parade

06:55p
Sports Editor (Ray Scott)

07:00p
Captain Video

07:15p
Perry Como

07:30p
Time Out

07:45p
EZC Ranch Gals

08:00p
Arthur Godfrey and His Friends

09:00p
Inner Sanctum

09:30p
On Your Way

10:00p
Blue Ribbon Bouts (Ezzard Charles vs. Bob Satterfield)

10:45p
Sports Spot

11:00p
The World Tonight (Bill Burns, Ray Scott)

11:15p
Feature Theater – “The Well”

12:30a
Sports Final (Bob Lloyd)

12:45a
Swing Shift Theater – “Prison Shadows"



WJAC, Channel 6 (Johnstown) (NBC, DUM, ABC)

Morning

07:00a
Today

09:00a
Bride and Groom

09:15a
Talent Patrol

09:45a
Morning News (Winston Burdett)

10:00a
Ding Dong School

10:30a
Glamour Girl

11:00a
Hawkins Falls

11:15a
Film

11:30a
Strike It Rich

Afternoon

12:00p
Valiant Lady

12:15p
Love of Life

12:30p
Search for Tomorrow

12:45p
The Guiding Light

01:00p
A Brighter Day

01:15p
You Are What You Eat

01:20p
Matinee Melodies

01:30p
Garry Moore

02:00p
Double or Nothing

02:30p
House Party

02:45p
Movie Quick Quiz

03:00p
The Big Payoff

03:30p
Kate Smith

04:00p
Welcome Travelers

04:30p
On Your Account

05:00p
Barker Bill’s Cartoons

05:15p
Cartoon Capers

05:30p
Howdy Doody

Evening


06:00p
Music Time

06:15p
DuBois World News

06:30p
Strike it Rich

07:00p
Duffy’s Tavern

07:30p
Coke Time

07:45p
Camel News Caravan (John Cameron Swayze)

08:00p
Arthur Godfrey and His Friends

09:00p
Kraft Theater

10:00p
Blue Ribbon Bouts (Ezzard Charles vs. Bob Satterfield)

10:45p
Greatest Fights of the Century (Turner vs. Saxton)

11:00p
Encore Theater

12:10a
News (local)



WTRF, Channel 7 (Wheeling, WV) (NBC, ABC)

Morning

10:00a
Ding Dong School

10:30a
Glamour Girl

11:00a
Music for Milady

11:15a
Three Steps to Heaven

11:30a
Ask Washington

Afternoon

12:00p
Kloss Inn

03:00p
Kate Smith

03:15p
Cartoon Time

03:30p
Action Theater

04:00p
Calling All Carrs

04:30p
On Your Account

05:00p
Uncle Harry

05:15p
Pinky Lee

05:30p
Howdy Doody

Evening


06:00p
Movie Marshall

06:30p
TV Newsroom (Del Taylor, Paul Howard)

06:55p
Weather Girl (Sunny Carr)

07:00p
The Movies

07:35p
Tele-sketch

07:45p
Camel News Caravan (John Cameron Swayze)

08:00p
I Married Joan

08:30p
My Little Margie

09:00p
I’m the Law

09:30p
My Hero

10:00p
This Is Your Life

10:30p
Abbott and Costello

11:00p
Front Page News (Jim Moore)

11:10p
Weather (Del Taylor)

11:15p
Wrestling



WSTV, Channel 9 (Steubenville) (CBS, ABC)

Afternoon

05:00p
Soft Focus

05:15p
Riders of the Purple Sage

05:30p
Circle 9 Western Theater

Evening


06:30p
Sports, Weather, News (local)

07:00p
Armchair Adventure

07:15p
Sports Parade

07:30p
Film

08:00p
Feature Theater

09:30p
I’ve Got a Secret

10:00p
Tri-State Theater



WFBG, Channel 10 (Altoona) (CBS, ABC, DUM)

Afternoon

02:05p
Movie Matinee

03:00p
Paul Dixon

04:00p
To Be Announced

04:30p
On Your Account

05:00p
News (Charles Flynn)

05:15p
Children’s Theater

05:45p
City Desk

05:55p
Meet Your Hairdresser

Evening


06:00p
Coke Time

06:15p
Riders of the Purple Sage

06:30p
Tune Time

06:45p
Sports (Ted Reinhart)

07:00p
Captain Video

07:15p
John Daly and the News

07:30p
Boston Blackie

08:00p
Life Begins at 80

08:30p
My Little Margie

09:00p
Rocky King, Inside Detective

09:30p
On Your Way

10:00p
Wrestling

12:00a
Late News (local)

12:10a
Variety Theater



WENS, Channel 16 (ABC)

Afternoon

03:15p
Garry Moore

03:30p
Bob Crosby

04:00p
Matinee

05:00p
Funny Bunny

05:15p
Adventure

05:30p
Gunsmoke

Evening


06:00p
Abbie Neal and the Ranch Girls

06:30p
News (Dave Murray)

06:45p
Sports (Bob Prince)

07:00p
Abbie Neal and the Ranch Girls

07:15p
John Daly and the News

07:30p
This is Pittsburgh

07:40p
Weather (Art Parker)

07:45p
Camel News Caravan (John Cameron Swayze)

08:00p
You Are There

08:30p
College Basketball (Pitt vs. Carnegie Tech)

10:00p
Wrestling



WKJF, Channel 53 (NBC)

Morning

10:00a
Ding Dong School

10:30a
Glamour Girl

11:00a
Hawkins Falls

11:15a
Three Steps to Heaven

11:30a
Ask Washington

Afternoon

12:00p
Luncheon Theater

01:00p
P.M. Playhouse

02:30p
Time for Jane Gibson

03:15p
Kate Smith

04:00p
On the Aisle

04:30p
Adventure Serial

05:00p
Atom Squad

05:15p
Comedy Hour

Evening


06:00p
Adventure Theater

07:00p
News (Harrison Eagles)

07:15p
Sports Today (Bill Grimes)

07:30p
Douglas Edwards and the News

07:45p
Adventure Serial

08:00p
I Married Joan

08:30p
My Little Margie

09:00p
Kraft Theater

10:00p
This Is Your Life

10:30p
Box 53

11:00p
News (Harrison Eagles)

11:15p
Starlite Theater



WARD, Channel 56 (Johnstown) (CBS, ABC)

Afternoon

03:00p
Paul Dixon

03:30p
Bob Crosby

04:00p
Action in the Afternoon

04:30p
Movie Matinee

05:30p
Film

Evening


06:00p
Cartoon Carnival

06:05p
Serial Theater

06:30p
News and Sports (local)

06:45p
Music Time

06:55p
News (local)

07:00p
Captain Video

07:15p
Marge and Jeff

07:30p
Douglas Edwards and the News

07:45p
Alma Cramer

08:00p
Johns Hopkins Science Review

08:30p
Chicago Symphony

09:30p
Feature Theater

10:00p
Stars on Parade

10:30p
Film

TV  

12 comments:

  1. Interesting that the Johnstown stations both are having ABC pay its way onto them.

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  2. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  3. Godfrey had his radio show(s) still going, and perhaps one more tv show in the mix just before or just after...though his firing his featured singer Julius La Rosa on air the previous year led to the ebbing of his popularity being already in progress. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6s75wpdiri8

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  4. Heh, just found your blog, Mitchell. Quite surprising! Having said that, since we only have rabbit ears on one TV (and that, a gift), we watch a lot of METV and Grit. My kids like Laramie, The Rifleman, and Emergency!. They love Andy Griffin but we almost never watch TV in the evening so the kids rarely get to see it.

    A lot of good in those old shows but the repetitive commercials can be annoying. As can the truncated, commercial-heavy formatting.

    Nevertheless, interesting blog, I'll check it out from time to time. You're an eclectic man, after my own taste.

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    Replies
    1. What can I say? It keeps me out of trouble! :) It's why I like "Flightline Friday" as well!

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  5. Replies
    1. You must have been thinking of the old SCTV bit "The Merv Griffith Show," with Merv as a talk-show host who's also sheriff of Mayberry. He's joined by Opie, Floyd, Barney, and "Fred Travalena" as Gomer Pyle. Equal parts hilarious and absurd. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KSOTfLFVwc

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    2. SCTV---the greatest satire of TV that ever was...

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  6. Speaking of Ray Scott...NFL Network will be broadcasting Super Bowl I palyed on January 15, 1967 between Green Bay and Kansas City at 8 pm EST. That was the only year that both NBC (covered AFL games) and CBS (covered NFL games) broadcast a Super Bowl (officially known then as the AFL-NFL Championship Game) and neither network bothered to save a tape of the game...the rebroadcast on NFL Network was a painstaking labor of love as all 145 plays had to be found, edited and cleaned up to produce an entire game. AFL fans (like Mitchell, our host and me) will be thrilled to know that the AFL Radio broadcast team of the great Jim Simpson (who just passed yesterday at 88) and George Ratterman is the audio used for the rebroadcast.

    I was 13 at the time, the same age as the gentleman who produced this masterpiece of '60's television lore. If you love TV, the 1960's and pro football, tune in for a three hour slice of Nirvana...and I'm not sure how much of Ray is in the broadcast but there HAS to be a little to make it seem right...

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  7. The broadcast is Friday night, January 15, 2016

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  8. http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000620927/article/nfl-network-to-reair-super-bowl-i-for-first-time

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  9. Hopefully, two someones somewhere has complete color videotapes of Super Bowl I, one containing the full unedited CBS telecast; the other having the full unedited NBC broadcast.

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Thanks for writing! Drive safely!