Today's listings - which, by the way, are from Dallas-Fort Worth - are not extremely interesting, at least not to our eyes today. They're fun, as these always are, but nothing jumps off the page. Imagine yourself back in 1956 though, home after a long week of work. Now you can relax, the two of you, loosen your tie and put your feet up on the ottoman and let the tube take your mind off your worries. Of course, that Wednesday had been Memorial Day - they still celebrated it on May 30 back then - and so you might have been lucky enough to get the rest of the week off. Still, there's nothing like Friday!
Maybe it's Steve Allen and his revolutionary new talk show Tonight on Channel 5. Or it could be the suspense movie on Channel 11's Starlight Theater, Models, Inc. with Howard Duff and Coleen Gray as a gangster and his moll. If you're in the mood for a little spy fun, it could be I Was an American Spy, the Late Date Theater on Channel 6.
Whatever you're looking for, chances are one of these six stations will have it for you, as you wind down for the weekend.
KRLD, Channel 4 (Dallas) (CBS)
|
||
Morning
|
||
05:55a
|
Give Us This Day
|
|
06:00a
|
Good Morning
|
|
07:00a
|
Captain Kangaroo
|
|
08:00a
|
Garry Moore (guest Doodles Weaver)
|
|
09:30a
|
Strike it Rich
|
|
10:00a
|
Valiant Lady
|
|
10:15a
|
Love of Life
|
|
10:30a
|
Search for Tomorrow
|
|
10:45a
|
The Guiding Light
|
|
11:00a
|
CBS News (Charles Collingwood)
|
|
11:10a
|
Stand Up and Be Counted
|
|
11:30a
|
As the World Turns
|
|
Afternoon
|
||
12:00p
|
News (local)
|
|
12:15p
|
Fashions in Faces
|
|
12:30p
|
House Party
|
|
01:00p
|
The Big Payoff
|
|
01:30p
|
Bob Crosby
|
|
02:00p
|
The Brighter Day
|
|
02:15p
|
The Secret Storm
|
|
02:30p
|
The Edge of Night
|
|
03:00p
|
Variety Fair
|
|
03:30p
|
Mary Carter’s Cookbook
|
|
04:00p
|
Movie – “So This
Is Washington”
|
|
05:15p
|
Douglas Edwards with the News
|
|
05:30p
|
Space Adventures
|
|
Evening
|
||
06:00p
|
Weather, Sports,
News (local)
|
|
06:30p
|
My Friend Flicka
|
|
07:00p
|
The Crusader
|
|
07:30p
|
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
|
|
08:00p
|
Line-Up
|
|
08:30p
|
Person to Person
|
|
09:00p
|
Turning Point
|
|
09:30p
|
Our Miss Brooks
|
|
10:00p
|
Your Favorite Story
|
|
10:30p
|
N.O.P.D.
|
|
11:00p
|
Nighttime Movie – “Six Men”
|
|
WBAP, Channel 5 (Fort Worth) (NBC, ABC)
|
||
Morning
|
||
06:50a
|
Let’s Go Fishing
|
|
07:00a
|
Sunup
|
|
08:00a
|
Ding Dong School
|
|
08:30a
|
Ernie Kovacs
|
|
09:00a
|
Home (guest boat designer George Pacock)
|
|
10:00a
|
Kitty’s Wonderland
|
|
11:00a
|
Texas Living (color)
|
|
11:45a
|
This Is the Story
|
|
Afternoon
|
||
12:00p
|
News (local)
(color)
|
|
12:30p
|
Ann Alden (color)
|
|
12:45p
|
Strange Adventure
|
|
01:00p
|
Matinee Theater (color)
|
|
02:00p
|
A Date with Life
|
|
02:15p
|
Modern Romances
|
|
02:30p
|
Queen for a Day
|
|
03:00p
|
Movie Marquee – “Man in the Iron Mask”
|
|
04:15p
|
News, Weather
(local)
|
|
04:30p
|
Tricks and Treats
|
|
05:00p
|
The Mickey Mouse Club
|
|
Evening
|
||
06:00p
|
Cowboy Thrills
|
|
06:30p
|
The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin
|
|
07:00p
|
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
|
|
07:30p
|
Crossroads
|
|
08:00p
|
Dollar a Second
|
|
08:30p
|
The Vice
|
|
09:00p
|
Ethel and Albert
|
|
09:30p
|
Douglas Fairbanks
|
|
10:00p
|
Texas News
|
|
10:15a
|
Weather, News
(local)
|
|
10:30p
|
Suspense
|
|
11:00p
|
Tonight
|
|
KCEN, Channel 6 (Temple) (NBC)
|
||
Morning
|
||
06:55a
|
Program Previews
|
|
07:00a
|
Today
|
|
08:00a
|
Ding Dong School
|
|
08:30a
|
Ernie Kovacs
|
|
09:00a
|
Home (guest boat designer George Pacock)
|
|
10:00a
|
Tennessee Ernie Ford
|
|
10:30a
|
Feather Your Nest
|
|
11:00a
|
Movie – “In Old
Indiana”
|
|
Afternoon
|
||
12:15p
|
RFD No. 6
|
|
12:45p
|
Religion in Life
|
|
01:00p
|
Matinee Theater
|
|
02:00p
|
News, Weather,
Sports (local)
|
|
02:15p
|
Modern Romances
|
|
02:30p
|
Queen for a Day
|
|
03:00p
|
I Married Joan
|
|
03:30p
|
Howdy Doody
|
|
04:00p
|
Cathy’s Corner
|
|
04:45p
|
Tales of the West – “Fighting Cowboy”
|
|
05:45p
|
Camel News Caravan
|
|
Evening
|
||
06:00p
|
Weather, Sports,
News (local)
|
|
06:30p
|
Sports Review
|
|
07:00p
|
Dr. Hudson’s Secret Journal
|
|
07:30p
|
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
|
|
08:00p
|
Gillette Cavalcade of Sports (Boardman vs. Ryff boxing)
|
|
08:45p
|
Red Barber’s Corner
|
|
09:00p
|
Steve Donovan
|
|
09:30p
|
The Life of Riley
|
|
10:00p
|
News, Weather,
Sports (local)
|
|
10:20p
|
Late Date Theater – “I Was an American Spy”
|
|
WFAA, Channel 8 (Dallas) (NBC, ABC)
|
||
Morning
|
||
06:55a
|
Morning Devotional
|
|
07:00a
|
Today
|
|
08:00a
|
Beulah
|
|
08:30a
|
Grandma’s Magic Locket
|
|
09:00a
|
Romper Room
|
|
10:00a
|
Tennessee Ernie Ford
|
|
10:30a
|
Feather Your Nest
|
|
11:00a
|
Julie Benell
|
|
Afternoon
|
||
12:00p
|
News (local)
|
|
12:05p
|
Open House
|
|
12:30p
|
Ray Milland
|
|
01:00p
|
Afternoon Film Festival
|
|
03:00p
|
I Married Joan
|
|
03:30p
|
Howdy Doody (color)
|
|
04:00p
|
Frontier Playhouse
|
|
04:30p
|
My Little Margie
|
|
05:00p
|
Jukebox
|
|
05:30p
|
Eddie Fisher
|
|
05:45p
|
Camel News Caravan
|
|
Evening
|
||
06:00p
|
News (Joe
Templeton)
|
|
06:10p
|
Weather (Warren
Culbertson)
|
|
06:15p
|
John Daly and the News
|
|
06:30p
|
The Life of Riley
|
|
07:00p
|
The Big Story
|
|
07:30p
|
Star Stage
|
|
08:00p
|
Gillette Cavalcade of Sports (Boardman vs. Ryff boxing)
|
|
08:45p
|
Red Barber’s Corner
|
|
09:00p
|
Truth or Consequences
|
|
09:30p
|
The Man Called X
|
|
10:00p
|
News (Joe
Templeton)
|
|
10:15p
|
Weather, Sports
(local)
|
|
10:30p
|
Mystery Playhouse
|
|
11:00p
|
Channel 8 Theater – “The Walls Come Tumbling Down”
|
|
KWTX, Channel 10 (Waco) (CBS, ABC)
|
||
Morning
|
||
06:00a
|
Good Morning
|
|
06:55a
|
Tips on Ten
|
|
07:00a
|
Captain Kangaroo
|
|
08:00a
|
Garry Moore (guest Doodles Weaver)
|
|
09:30a
|
Strike it Rich
|
|
10:00a
|
Valiant Lady
|
|
10:15a
|
Love of Life
|
|
10:30a
|
Search for Tomorrow
|
|
10:45a
|
The Guiding Light
|
|
11:00a
|
Better Living
|
|
11:30a
|
As the World Turns
|
|
Afternoon
|
||
12:00p
|
News (local)
|
|
12:15p
|
Farms and Gardens
|
|
01:00p
|
The Big Payoff
|
|
01:30p
|
Bob Crosby
|
|
02:00p
|
The Brighter Day
|
|
02:15p
|
The Secret Storm
|
|
02:30p
|
The Edge of Night
|
|
03:00p
|
Cactus Theater – “Terrors on Horseback”
|
|
05:00p
|
The Mickey Mouse Club
|
|
Evening
|
||
06:00p
|
Home Folks
|
|
06:15p
|
Douglas Edwards with the News
|
|
06:30p
|
The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin
|
|
07:00p
|
Times Square Playhouse
|
|
07:30p
|
Crossroads
|
|
08:00p
|
Highway Patrol
|
|
08:30p
|
Person to Person
|
|
09:00p
|
Line-Up
|
|
09:30p
|
Life with Elizabeth
|
|
10:00p
|
News, Weather,
Sports (local)
|
|
10:30p
|
Million Dollar Movie – “The Hoosier Schoolmaster”
|
|
KFJZ, Channel 11 (Fort Worth) (Ind.)
|
||
Afternoon
|
||
02:30p
|
Date with Drama
|
|
03:00p
|
Theater 11 – “Abilene Town”
|
|
04:15p
|
Looney Tunes
|
|
04:25p
|
News (Jim
Abbott)
|
|
04:30p
|
Movie – “Young
Buffalo Bill”
|
|
05:30p
|
Watch the Birdie
|
|
05:45p
|
Looney Tunes
|
|
Evening
|
||
06:00p
|
Range Rider
|
|
06:30p
|
News, Sports,
Weather (local)
|
|
07:00p
|
The Little Rascals
|
|
07:25p
|
Les Paul and Mary Ford
|
|
07:30p
|
Movie – “Angel
on the Amazon”
|
|
08:55p
|
News (Dan
Allison)
|
|
09:00p
|
Top Plays of ‘56
|
|
09:30p
|
The Man Behind the Badge
|
|
10:00p
|
News (Porter
Randall)
|
|
10:15p
|
Weather, Sports
(local)
|
|
10:30p
|
Starlight Theater – “Models, Inc.”
|
|
12:00a
|
Labor Savers
|
|
TV
I'm going to be spending most of this morning working my way backwards over the last few posts.
ReplyDeleteThis is going to be Odds & Ends (and very Odd Ends they are):
- In my Chicago edition: Garry Moore's guest is identified as Roger "Droodles" Price, not Doodles Weaver.
Roger Price was a comedy writer who affected a professorial look.
Droodles is a contraction of 'cartoons' and 'doodles'. It's kind of hard to explain without showing examples; they're sort of visual puns, line drawings which only make sense when Price gives the captions.
The Garry Moore Show was where Price introduced Droodles; He'd written a sketch for Garry and Durward Kirby which was running long and had to be cut. To fill the few available minutes, Price got a board and crayon and started drawing - and had a hit on his hands.
Droodles became a small craze for a while, and launched Roger Price into a lucrative second career as a publisher of humor books, in partnership with another comedy writer, Leonard Stern (who created MadLibs for Steve Allen).
I got much of the above from a book called Ladies and Gentlemen, THE GARRY MOORE SHOW, all about the CBS morning show.
- Comparing the Texas listings to the Chicago ones, I note that all the network shows seem to be on an hour earlier in Texas than in Chicago, which would seem odd, given the fact that both are in the Central time zone.
... that is, unless Texas wasn't observing Daylight Savings Time (don't know for sure, please confirm).
- I don't know how detailed the loglines are in your issue (I'm not even sure if that term was in use in '56), but they're pretty detailed in Chicago.
The Crossroads episode sounds interesting:
" ... the true story of a Presbyterian missionary of the 1880s who risks his career and reputation by advocating the return of Alaska to Russia ... to save thousands of Alaskan Indians from annihilation."
The minister is played by Richard Erdman, who usually played funny con men; he's still active today at age 90, most recently in the sitcom Community.
- Did you know that Johnny Carson had an afternoon show on CBS this season?
It was supposed to air at 1pm in the Central zone, which would have put it at noon in non-Daylight Texas.
But all the CBS stations seem to be carrying newscasts at noon, so Johnny gets shut out.
Them's the breaks ...
Now I gotta go back over the last few posts to see if I can add anything.
See you there ...
Why were stations running OUR MISS BROOKS and THE LIFE OF RILEY in late evening slots?
ReplyDeleteI think I covered the answer to that in my comment above, however inadvertently.
DeleteApparently (I still can't say for certain) Texas didn't observe Daylight Savings Time.
In order to carry certain live broadcasts directly from the network feeds, it became necessary to delay early evening shows to the later times.
I might also point out that the whole notion of "early evening" and "late evening" shows wasn't a hard-and-fast rule in the mid-50s.