These listings are perhaps both the shortest and the longest programming listing you're likely to see here. Short, because the Twin Cities has but four stations; one for each network, plus one independent. Long, because of the plethora of 15- and 30-minute programs that abound during the broadcast day. The quarter-hour program, particularly the soap opera, is a carryover from the days of radio - which, in 1955, is still very much a going concern - NBC's acclaimed Monitor, for example, premieres earlier in the year - but the handwriting is on the wall.
WCCO, Channel 4 (CBS)
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Morning
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06:40a
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Tele-Farmer
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07:00a
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The Morning Show
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07:30a
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News and Weather (local)
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08:00a
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Dave Moore
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08:30a
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Mel Jass
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09:00a
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Garry Moore
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09:30a
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Arthur Godfrey
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10:30a
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Strike it Rich
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11:00a
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The Valiant Lady
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11:15a
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Love of Life
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11:30a
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Search for
Tomorrow
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11:45a
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The Guiding
Light
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Afternoon
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12:00p
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News (local)
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12:15p
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Weather (local)
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12:20p
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Amy Vanderbilt
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12:25p
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Answer Man
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12:30p
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Love Story
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01:00p
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Robert Q. Lewis
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01:30p
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Art Linkletter (guest Clark Daniels)
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02:00p
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The Big Payoff
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02:30p
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Bob Crosby
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03:00p
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The Brighter Day
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03:15p
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The Secret Storm
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03:30p
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On Your Account
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04:00p
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Around the Town
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04:30p
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Roy Rogers
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05:30p
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Axel and His Dog
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05:55p
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Weather (local)
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Evening
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06:00p
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News (local)
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06:10p
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Sports (Rollie
Johnson)
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06:15p
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Douglas Edwards with the News
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06:30p
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Soldiers of Fortune
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07:00p
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Mama
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07:30p
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Our Miss Brooks
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08:00p
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Crusader
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08:30p
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Playhouse of Stars
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09:00p
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The Lineup
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09:30p
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Person to Person (guests Danny Thomas, Burr Tillstrom)
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10:00p
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Appointment with Adventure
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10:30p
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News (Rollie
Johnson)
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10:40p
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Weather (Bud
Kraehling)
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10:45p
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Amos ‘n’ Andy
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11:15p
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Sports (Dick
Enroth)
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11:20p
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Frankie Laine
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It looks funny to see a CBS affiliate from the 50s and 60s without Captain Kangaroo, but there it is. The show had only debuted a couple of months before; I'm not sure when it was picked up by WCCO. I'm not positive on this, but I believe The Morning Show was, at this time, hosted by Jack Paar. Later on, he would get a later-morning show of his own, and he'd be replaced by, believe it or not, Dick Van Dyke.
KSTP, Channel 5 (NBC)
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Morning
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06:00a
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Billy Folger
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06:55a
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News (George Grim)
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07:00a
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Today
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09:00a
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Ding Dong School
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10:00a
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Home
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11:00a
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Tennessee Ernie Ford
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11:30a
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Feather Your Nest
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Afternoon
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12:00p
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News (local)
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12:15p
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Weather (local)
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12:20p
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Main Street
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12:45p
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Exclusive
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01:00p
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Reserved Seat
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02:00p
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Matinee Theater (color)
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03:00p
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Date with Life
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03:15p
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First Love
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03:30p
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Mr. Sweeney
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03:45p
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Modern Romance
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04:00p
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Pinky Lee
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04:30p
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Howdy Doody (color)
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05:00p
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Famous Playhouse
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05:30p
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The Man Behind the Badge
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05:55p
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Weather (local)
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Evening
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06:00p
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News (local)
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06:15p
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You Should Know
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06:30p
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Coke Time with Eddie Fisher
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06:45p
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Camel News Caravan
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07:00p
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Truth or Consequences
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07:30p
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My Little Margie
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08:00p
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The Big Story
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08:30p
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Star Stage
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09:00p
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Gillette Cavalcade of Sports (boxing: Ryff vs. Vasquez)
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09:45p
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Fight Follow-Up
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10:00p
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News (local)
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10:15p
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Weather (Johnny
Morris)
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10:20p
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Sports (Dick
Nesbitt)
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10:30p
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Follow That Man
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11:00p
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Tonight (guests Toba Brill, Gyula Dennis)
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12:00a
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Midnight
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The midnight show on KSTP, Midnight, isn't just there to tell you what time it is. It's hosted by Rodger Kent, who did everything from the news to professional wrestling. Midnight, according to the Pavik Museum, was "the first local television disc-jockey show in the midnight time slot." I remember his voice well.
KEYD, Channel 9 (Ind.)
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Afternoon
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04:30p
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9-Teens
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Evening
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06:00p
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Movie – “The
Shanghai Gesture”
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08:00p
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Hollywood Offbeat
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08:30p
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The Choralairs
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09:00p
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Movie – “Guest
in the House”
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10:30p
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News, Weather,
Sports
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10:45p
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New Car Jamboree
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10:55p
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Movie – “Cover
Up”
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This was the first of three stints for Channel 9 as an independent station in the Twin Cities. This one began after the disintegration of the DuMont network; they would then become the ABC affiliate in 1961, and in turn be dumped by them in 1979; later, they would be one of the original Fox affiliates, go back to being an independent, and return to Fox again. It's probably easier to keep up with their call letter history - if I'm not mistaken, they were originally named after a radio station (as was the case with so many television stations), before becoming KMSP in the late '50s.
WTCN, Channel 11 (ABC)
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Morning
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09:00a
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Tele-A-Story
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09:30a
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J.P. Patches
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10:00a
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Romper Room
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11:00a
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Morning Movie
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Afternoon
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12:00p
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Lunch with Casey
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12:30p
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News (Paul
Sevareid)
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12:45p
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Relax
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01:00p
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Flamingo Theater
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01:30p
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Cash and Carry
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02:00p
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Movie – “The
Creeper”
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04:00p
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Carnival Clown
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04:30p
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Skipper Darl
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05:00p
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The Mickey Mouse Club
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Evening
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06:00p
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Crusader Rabbit
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06:05p
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Weatherbird
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06:10p
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News (Paul Sevareid)
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06:15p
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John Daly and the News
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06:30p
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Rin Tin Tin
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07:00p
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The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
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07:30p
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Crossroads
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08:00p
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Dollar a Second
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08:30p
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The Vise
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09:00p
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Ethel and Albert
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09:30p
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Theater
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10:00p
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News (local)
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10:15p
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Patti Page
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10:30p
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Movie – “The Black Book”
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Skipper Darl, one of the many children's shows on local television, was hosted by Daryl Laub, who also played J.P. Patches in the morning. In some of my other Twin Cities listings from the '60s, you may have noticed a show on Channel 9 called T.N. Tatters - that was Daryl as well, after he moved there from Channel 11. The new J.P. Patches was Chris Wedes, who stayed with the character when the show moved to Seattle. That's notable because I used to work with a colleague who was married to a relative of Chris. He was also named Chris Wedes, and his wife - my former colleague - was named Kris Anderson; her married name is Kris Wedes. Got all that straight? TV
I think you missed one ...
ReplyDeleteJohn Daly's newscast was 15 minutes, not 45, which would have ended at 6:30.
ABC's Friday/6:30 entry was The Adventures Of Rin Tin Tin, which was one of that network's more popular entries of that time.
If it's not listed here, we may be looking at a misplaced line of type.
By late '55, Jack Paar had long since left The Morning Show; his current show was airing at 12 noon Central time - or would have, if WCCO was carrying it.
Also at WCCO: they're bypassing the CBS network offering at 6:30, Adventures of Champion, starring Gene Autry's horse (the syndicated Soldiers Of Fortune got ch4's nod instead).
Meanwhile, KSTP has a network bypass of its own: NBC's Life Of Riley is displaced by the newly syndicated My Little Margie.
Just noticed that WCCO is running Appointment With Adventure at 10 pm;
The rest of the CBS network has this show on Sunday night at 9 pm.
(Wonder what ch4 has on then?)
Updated - thanks.
DeleteOn Sunday night, Channel 4 has Crosscurrent, aka Foreign Intrigue, on at 9:0pm, followed by a local movie.
"Followed by a local movie..." What, no WML at 9:30 CT Sun on 'CCO? Did they run it via kinnie on another night?
ReplyDeleteThanks!
ReplyDeleteActually, I had once seen the local TV listings for my hometown of Boston on the date of my birth, so it was nice to see the Twin Cities listings for that date. In fact, I was expecting to see TV listings on the date of my birth for a city other than my hometown.
Back then, Steve Allen's "Tonight Show" ran from 11:15 P.M. to 1 A.M. Eastern time, but the first fifteen minutes were broadcast only on NBC's New York flagship station (probably to satisfy a long-term, multi-year sponsor commitment made before the show went network).
The portion after 11:30 was sent to the network.
Then-NBC station WBZ Channel 4 in Boston picked-up the show in progress at 11:40 P.M. (it ran a ten-minute newscast at 11 and half-hour syndicated shows from 11:10 to 11:40).
Still, Boston viewers got to see more of "Steverino" (one hour and 20 minutes a night) than viewers in the Twin Cities did (the final hour).
Was Paul Sevareid of WTCN Channel 11 (who anchored the station's midday and early-evening newscasts) related to Eric Sevareid?
ReplyDeleteI know Eric (one of the so-called "Murrow Boys" and a longtime CBS News correspondent and later news analyst) was a Minnesota native. Could Paul have been Eric's brother or otherwise related?