October 24, 2016

What's on TV? Saturday, October 21, 1961

This week it's a return stop to New England, where we'll look not only at the Boston stations, but Hartford, New Haven, Providence, and other areas as well. And in case you were looking at the lower right hand corner above, you're right - that's another of the "This is the Week to Watch" issues. Can you recall the last time there was a week like that on TV?


WTIC, Channel 3 (Hartford) (CBS)

Morning


07:30a
Sunrise Semester

08:00a
Understanding Our World

08:30a
Blessings of Liberty

09:00a
Captain Kangaroo

10:00a
Cartoons

10:30a
Mighty Mouse

11:00a
The Magic Land of Allakazam

11:30a
Roy Rogers

Afternoon


12:00p
Sky King

12:30p
This is UConn

01:00p
R.F.D. #3

01:25p
Congressional Viewpoint

01:30p
Accent

02:00p
Movie Double Feature – “Extortion”, “Bombay Clipper”

03:00p
1, 2, 3, Go!

04:00p
Game of the Week

05:00p
Brad Davis Dance Party

05:30p
The Alvin Show

Evening


06:00p
Weather (local)

06:05p
Sports (local)

06:15p
News (local)

06:30p
I’ve Got a Secret

07:00p
Pete and Gladys

07:30p
Perry Mason

08:30p
The Defenders

09:30p
Have Gun – Will Travel

10:00p
Gunsmoke

11:00p
News, Sports, Weather (local)

11:15p
Movie – “The Unholy Wife”

01:00a
San Francisco Beat

01:45a
News (local)

Interesting that CBS would couple Perry Mason and The Defenders. Mason is probably the most beloved lawyer series of all time, while The Defenders emphasized social issues and realism. It would have been like scheduling Lost in Space and Star Trek back-to-back, one would think. It worked, though.


WBZ, Channel 4 (Boston) (NBC)

Morning


06:15a
Armed Forces

06:45a
Boomtown

10:00a
Shari Lewis (color)

10:30a
King Leonardo and His Short Subjects (color)

11:00a
Fury

11:30a
Make Room for Daddy

Afternoon


12:00p
News (Dick Tucker)

12:10p
Weather (Bob Copeland)

12:15p
Big Brother

12:30p
Update

01:00p
Bowling

02:00p
English for Americans

02:30p
Invitation to Art

03:30p
Popeye

04:30p
Junior Bowling

05:00p
Movie – “Escape from Crime”

Evening


06:00p
National Velvet

06:30p
News (Jack Borden)

06:45p
People Speak

06:55p
Weather (Bob Copeland)

07:00p
Here and Now

07:30p
Tales of Wells Fargo (color)

08:30p
The Tall Man

09:00p
Saturday Night at the Movies – “The Desert Fox”

11:00p
News, Weather (local)

11:15p
Movie – “13 Rue Madeleine”

01:00a
Movie – “Murder on the Waterfront”

Boomtown was a much-loved kids's show in Boston, hosted by singing cowboy Rex Trailer. It was on the air live, for three hours, running from 1956 through 1974. I miss shows like this - seems as if every local channel used to have at least one.


WHDH, Channel 5 (Boston) (CBS)

Morning


06:30a
Potpourri (color)

07:00a
The Nature World of Captain Bob (color)

08:30a
Sergeant Preston

09:00a
Captain Kangaroo

10:00a
Video Village Jr.

10:30a
Mighty Mouse

11:00a
The Magic Land of Allakazam

11:30a
Roy Rogers

Afternoon


12:00p
Bowling

01:00p
Hole-in-One (color)

01:30p
The Life of Riley

02:00p
Boston Ballroom (color)

03:00p
Movie – “A Kid for Two Farthings”

04:30p
Jockey Club Gold Cup (horse racing)

05:00p
Bozo the Clown (color)

05:30p
Deputy Dawg

Evening


06:00p
Tombstone Territory

06:30p
Troubleshooters (debut)

07:00p
Lock Up

07:30p
Perry Mason

08:30p
The Defenders

09:30p
Have Gun – Will Travel

10:00p
Gunsmoke

11:00p
News, Weather (local)

11:15p
Playboy’s Penthouse (guests Dick Haymes, Fran Jeffries, Ray Hastings Susan Johnson)

12:15a
Movie – “African Manhunt”

01:45a
Builders Showcase

02:15a
News (local)

Robert Cottle, "Captain Bob," was another local host; his show, which involved how-to on drawing nature subjects, ran for 14 years.  


WNHC, Channel 8 (New Haven) (ABC)

Morning


08:00a
University of the Air

08:25a
News, Weather (local)

08:30a
Learn to Draw

08:45a
University of the Air

09:10a
News, Weather (local)

09:15a
Morning Seminar

09:20a
University of the Air

09:30a
Morning Seminar

10:00a
Morning Seminar

11:00a
On Your Mark

11:30a
Magic Ranch

Afternoon


12:00p
Bozo the Clown

12:30p
Cartoons

01:00p
Parents Ask About Schools

01:30p
College Kickoff

01:45p
NCAA College Football (Syracuse vs. Penn State)

04:45p
Post-Game Scoreboard

05:00p
Wrestling

Evening


06:00p
Straightaway

06:30p
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet

07:00p
The Brothers Brannigan

07:30p
The Roaring 20’s

08:30p
Leave it to Beaver

09:00p
Lawrence Welk

10:00p
The Fight of the Week (Sugar Ray Robinson vs. Denny Moyer)

10:45p
Cameo Theater

11:30p
Movie – “The Spanish Main” (local news at 11:45p)

01:45a
News (local)

In tonight's fight, the ageless Sugar Ray Robinson makes his 159th professional start, taking on a man who was only one when Robinson made his professional debut in 1940. To put that in perspective, Muhammad Ali, who retired after 21 years, fought in almost 100 fewer professional fights. Robinson, who defeats Moyer in this fight but loses later in a rematch, would retire for good in 1965.

WJAR, Channel 10 (Providence) (NBC, ABC)

Morning


08:00a
Joe Palooka

08:30a
Draw Podner

09:00a
On Your Mark

09:30a
Pip the Piper (color)

10:00a
Shari Lewis (color)

10:30a
Religious Program

10:45a
Davey and Goliath

11:00a
Fury

11:30a
Make Room for Daddy

Afternoon


12:00p
Update

12:30p
Watch Mr. Wizard

01:00p
1, 2, 3, Go! (debut)

01:30p
All-Star Golf

02:30p
Pro Basketball (Knicks vs. Warriors)

04:30p
The Big Picture (Army)

05:00p
National Velvet

05:30p
Follow the Sun

Evening


06:30p
Bachelor Father

07:00p
Tales of Wells Fargo

08:00p
Silents Please

08:30p
The Flintstones

09:00p
Saturday Night at the Movies – “The Desert Fox”

11:00p
News, Weather (local)

11:15p
Movie – “Painting the Clouds with Sunshine”

01:00a
Conrad Nagel Theater

I don't know why anyone would think that "The Desert Fox" was a Western, but that's how TV Guide catagorized it this week. I suppose you could be forgiven for thinking that a movie set in a desert might be in Tombstone, or some other territory in Arizona. As long as that desert had German tanks rumbling through it, led by Field Marshal Rommel, with a cast including James Mason, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Jessica Tandy, Luther Adler and Everett Sloane.


WPRO, Channel 12 (Providence) (CBS)

Morning


08:00a
Popeye, The Three Stooges

09:00a
Captain Kangaroo

10:00a
Video Village Jr.

10:30a
Mighty Mouse

11:00a
The Magic Land of Allakazam

11:30a
Roy Rogers

Afternoon


12:00p
Sky King

12:30p
Junior Auction

01:00p
Dance Party

01:30p
College Kickoff

01:45p
NCAA College Football (Syracuse vs. Penn State)

04:45p
Post-Game Scoreboard

05:00p
Wonderful World of Trains

05:30p
Donna Reed

Evening


06:00p
Frontier Circus

07:00p
Sea Hunt

07:30p
Perry Mason

08:30p
The Defenders

09:30p
Have Gun – Will Travel

10:00p
Gunsmoke

11:00p
News, Weather (local)

11:15p
Movie – “Missile to the Moon”

I remember watching magician Mark Wilson's program The Magic Land of Allakazam - I don't know if it was in first run, since it went off in 1964, or if it was some kind of rerun. It never made me want to become a professional magician, although I've always had this great desire to pull quarters from the ears of unsuspecting children.


WHCT, Channel 18 (Hartford) (Ind.)

Afternoon


04:00p
Golf Tip of the Day

04:30p
Jockey Club Gold Cup (horse racing)

05:00p
Bowling

Evening


06:00p
Golf Tip of the Day

06:30p
The Big Picture (Army)

07:00p
Movie – “Duffy’s Tavern”

08:30p
Movie – “Torch Singer”

10:00p
Playboy’s Penthouse (guests Tony Curtis, Gene Krupa, Ray Charles, Frank D’Rone, Phyllis Diller)

I don't have many good things to say about Hugh Hefner - in fact, perhaps the only two things I can credit him for are giving opportunities to a lot of very good fiction writers, and recognizing a lot of musical talent. Playboy's Penthouse was one of the few programs of the time to provide a forum for jazz musicians (black and white) and edgy comedians. Well, the man had to do something right.


WWLP, Channel 22 (Springfield) (NBC)

Morning


08:30a
Cartoons

09:00a
Cartoons

09:30a
Pip the Piper (color)

10:00a
Shari Lewis (color)

10:30a
King Leonardo and His Short Subjects (color)

11:00a
Fury

11:30a
Make Room for Daddy

Afternoon


12:00p
Update

12:30p
Watch Mr. Wizard

01:00p
Movie - “Best of the Badmen”

02:30p
Pro Basketball (Knicks vs. Warriors)

04:30p
To Be Announced

05:00p
All-Star Golf (color)

Evening


06:00p
Bowling

07:00p
Shotgun Slade

07:30p
Tales of Wells Fargo (color)

08:30p
The Third Man

09:00p
Saturday Night at the Movies – “The Desert Fox”

11:00p
News, Sports, Weather (local)

11:10p
Movie – “Come Fill the Cup”

Have you ever seen Shotgun Slade? You can find it on YouTube; it's a Western with a twist - the hero is a private detective. The music is more like the "jazz detectives" of the time (Johnny Staccato, Richard Diamond, Peter Gunn) than Gunsmoke. Could have been a very good idea, if it had been executed better.


WHNB, Channel 30 (West Hartford) (NBC)

Morning


08:00a
Agriculture on Parade

08:30a
Colonel Clown

09:30a
Pip the Piper (color)

10:00a
Shari Lewis (color)

10:30a
King Leonardo and His Short Subjects (color)

11:00a
Fury

11:30a
Make Room for Daddy

Afternoon


12:00p
Update

12:30p
Watch Mr. Wizard

01:00p
High School Quiz Show

01:45p
Years with Fitzpatrick

02:00p
Every Man’s Family

02:30p
Pro Basketball (Knicks vs. Warriors)

04:30p
Wings Abroad

05:00p
All-Star Golf (color)

Evening


06:00p
NBC News (Sander Vanocur) (debut)

06:15p
News (Al Kennedy)

06:30p
International Showtime

07:30p
Tales of Wells Fargo (color)

08:30p
The Tall Man

09:00p
Saturday Night at the Movies – “The Desert Fox”

11:00p
News, Weather (local)

11:15p
Night Spot

12:15a
Mike Hammer

Colonel Clown was the creation of comedian Joey Russell, one of the great Borscht Belt comedians of the time, who worked with all the big names in nightclubs and was famous for raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for Jewish charities. When he died in 2010 at the age of 90, according to his many obituaries, he left behind a ton of friends and memories. 


WRLP, Channel 32 (Northfield) (NBC)

Morning


08:30a
Cartoons

09:00a
Cartoons

09:30a
Pip the Piper (color)

10:00a
Shari Lewis (color)

10:30a
King Leonardo and His Short Subjects (color)

11:00a
Fury

11:30a
Make Room for Daddy

Afternoon


12:00p
Update

12:30p
Watch Mr. Wizard

01:00p
Movie - “Best of the Badmen”

02:30p
Pro Basketball (Knicks vs. Warriors)

04:30p
To Be Announced

05:00p
All-Star Golf (color)

Evening


06:00p
Bowling

07:00p
Shotgun Slade

07:30p
Tales of Wells Fargo (color)

08:30p
The Third Man

09:00p
Saturday Night at the Movies – “The Desert Fox”

11:00p
News, Sports, Weather (local)

11:10p
Movie – “Come Fill the Cup”

WRLP was, at the time, a satellite of WWLP, so they have identical broadcast schedules, which means two markets got to see The Third Man, a spinoff of the Orson Welles classic movie, starring Michael Rennie in Welles' role as Harry Lime, who has apparently gone straight by now. And let's not even discuss how Lime died in the sewers of Vienna in the movie.


WHYN, Channel 40 (Springfield) (ABC, CBS)

Morning


09:00a
Captain Kangaroo

10:00a
Dewey Doo

11:00a
On Your Mark

11:30a
Magic Ranch

Afternoon


12:00p
Bowling

01:00p
Gardener’s Almanac

01:30p
College Kickoff

01:45p
NCAA College Football (Syracuse vs. Penn State)

04:45p
Post-Game Scoreboard

05:00p
Jockey Club Gold Cup (horse racing)

05:30p
Two Faces West

Evening


06:00p
Panic

06:30p
Matty’s Funday Funnies

07:00p
Manhunt

07:30p
The Roaring 20’s

08:30p
Leave it to Beaver

09:00p
Lawrence Welk

10:00p
The Fight of the Week (Sugar Ray Robinson vs. Denny Moyer)

10:45p
Make That Spare

11:00p
Movie – “The Inspector General”

Matty's Funday Funnies was named after Matty, the little kid in the Mattel logo. Next year the show will be retooled from the cartoons it shows now, and renamed after its most popular characters: Matty's Funnies with Beany and Cecil.


WATR, Channel 53 (Waterbury) (ABC)

Afternoon


01:15p
Americans at Work

01:30p
College Kickoff

01:45p
NCAA College Football (Syracuse vs. Penn State)

04:45p
Post-Game Scoreboard

05:00p
To Be Announced

Evening


07:00p
Matty’s Funday Funnies

07:30p
The Roaring 20’s

08:30p
Leave it to Beaver

09:00p
Lawrence Welk

10:00p
The Fight of the Week (Sugar Ray Robinson vs. Denny Moyer)

10:45p
Make That Spare

WATR has a pretty abbreviated schedule, not coming on the air until Saturday afternoon. Time enough for college football and boxing though, which is all that matters. TV  

6 comments:

  1. The Saturday schedule is still light on cartoons in 1961, with everything from a game show (Video Village Jr.) to sitcom reruns (even ones not aimed at kids like "Make Room For Daddy"). I wonder, did kids of the time like or dislike the switch to cartoons in a few years?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. From a "kid of the time" (late '50s/early '60s):

      We didn't like or dislike the changeover.
      It happened so gradually that we didn't notice.

      Why did it happen?
      Two factors: economics and demographics.
      We're back to my old bugbear: when the networks and ad agencies tried to get "scientific" about it all, down the drain it went.
      Ultimately this fallacy - that you could custom-make your schedule to draw an "ideal audience" - spread to all dayparts ... and there you are.

      Delete
  2. I see that Channel 5 in Boston (WNAC-TV) had five of its programs (all locally produced and/or syndicated) in color. I would have to think that this had to be one of the few CBS affiliates at the time to actually air a program in color, although the National CBS-TV Network (at the time) did not air any of its programs in color on a regular basis. They would start doing so a few years later.

    ReplyDelete
  3. WNAC was Channel 7--WHDH was doing color locally when CBS wasn't...they went on the air in 1957 as an ABC affiliate and only switched over a few months before this.

    ReplyDelete
  4. And I just thought you were making a mistake--typing THE THIRD MAN instead of THE TALL MAN.

    ReplyDelete
  5. It's so sad that most of the early Boston television shows that were locally produced are gone. Channel 5 (now WCVB-TV)has, by its own admission, none of its pre-WCVB programming from the 60's or late 50's. For example when President Kennedy died in 1963, WHDH-TV produced a local memorial including videotaped remarks from Cardinal Cushing, archival film and studio segments that were broadcast in color.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for writing! Drive safely!