May 14, 2018

What's on TV: Thursday, May 18, 1961

I promised the TV listings would be new this week, and so they are. It is, I think, a pretty average day TV-wise, but as always what strikes me most from this time period is the local flavor of the programming. With national educational programming in its infancy, many of the shows on KTCA are locally produced, and, in particular, WCCO's daytime schedule is heavily local. That's not to say we don't have local programming today as well, but much of it has the feel of an infomercial, especially the features presented on what passes for local morning "news." Oh well. I think on the whole, you'll find these Minneapolis-St. Paul listings, as always, worth a read.


 2   KTCA (EDUC.)

   AFTERNOON 

    1:30
SCIENCE—Grade 5

    2:00
GRAPHIC ARTS—Education

    2:30
MUSIC—Grade 4

    3:00
CASALS’ MASTER CLASS

    3:30
CHIMNEY CORNER—Education

    5:30
CHILDREN’S CORNER—Carey

      EVENING    

    6:00
SURVIVAL PREPAREDNESS

    7:00
AGRICULTURE IN AN UNEASY WORLD—Discussion

    8:00
GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS HOUR

    8:30
MUSIC—Concordia College

    9:00
AFRICAN CHARACTER—Gibbs

    9:30
TOWN AND COUNTRY—Ray Wolf

  10:00
FITZPATRICK’S CARTOONS

  10:30
BACKGROUND—Dr. Ziebarth

  10:40
MUSIC AS A LANGUAGE



 4   WCCO (CBS)

     MORNING   

    7:00
FLYING SAUCER—Siegfried

    8:00
NEWS—Richard C. Hottelet

    8:15
CAPTAIN KANGAROO—Children

    9:00
NEWS—Dean Montgomery             

    9:10
DR. REUBEN K. YOUNGDAHL

    9:20
WHAT’S NEW?—Arle Haeberle

    9:30
VIDEO VILLAGE—Monty Hall

  10:00
DOUBLE EXPOSURE—Dunne

  10:30
YOUR SURPRISE PACKAGE

  11:00
LOVE OF LIFE—Serial

  11:30
SEARCH FOR TOMORROW—Serial

  11:45
GUIDING LIGHT—Serial

   AFTERNOON 

  12:00
NEWS—Dave Moore

  12:15
SOMETHING SPECIAL—Merriman

  12:20
WEATHER—Bud Kraehling

  12:30
AS THE WORLD TURNS—Serial

    1:00
FACE THE FACTS—Red Rowe

    1:30
HOUSE PARTY—Art Linkleter
Guest: Terry Oleander

    2:00
RANDY MERRIMAN—Variety

    2:30
VERDICT IS YOURS—Drama

    3:00
BRIGHTER DAY—Serial

    3:15
SECRET STORM—Serial

    3:30
EDGE OF NIGHT—Serial

    4:00
AROUND THE TOWN—Haeberle

    4:30
AXEL AND DOG—Clellan Card

    4:50
BOZO THE CLOWN—Children

    5:00
YOGI BEAR—Cartoons

    5:30
CLANCY THE COP—Children

    5:55
SPORTS—Rollie Johnson

      EVENING    

    6:00
NEWS—Dean Montgomery

    6:10
WEATHER—Don O’Brien

    6:15
NEWS—Douglas Edwards

    6:30
SUMMER SPORTS SPECTACULAR—Steeplechase

    7:30
ZANE GREY—Western

    8:00
GUNSLINGER—Western

    9:00
FACE THE NATION—Debate

  10:00
NEWS—Dave Moore

  10:15
WEATHER—Bud Kraehling

  10:20
SPORTS—Dick Enroth

  10:30
TIGHTROPE!—Police

  11:00
WEATHER—Don O’Brien

  11:05
OUTDOOR SPORTS—Johnson



 5   KSTP (NBC)

    MORNING   

    6:00
CONTINENTAL CLASSROOM C
Chemistry: “Biochemical Regulators”

    6:30
CONTINENTAL CLASSROOM C
Probability and Statistics: “Problems and review.”

    7:00
DAVE GARROWAY
Guest host: John Daly. Guests: actors from Greenwich Village theater The Premise

    9:00
SAY WHEN—Art James

    9:30
PLAY YOUR HUNCH—Merv Griffin C

  10:00
PRICE IS RIGHT—Cullen C

  10:30
CONCENTRATION—Hugh Downs

  11:00
TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES

  11:30
IT COULD BE YOU C

  11:55
NEWS—Ray Scherer

  AFTERNOON 

  12:00
NEWS—John MaDougall

  12:15
WEATHER—Johnny Morris

  12:20
TREASURE CHEST—Jim Hutton

    1:00
JAN MURRAY—Game C

    1:30
LORETTA YOUNG—Drama

    2:00
YOUNG DR. MALONE—Serial

    2:30
FROM THESE ROOTS—Serial

    3:00
MAKE ROOM FOR DADDY

    3:30
HERE’S HOLLYWOOD—Interviews
Guests: Dennis Hopper, Annette Funicello

    4:00
TOPPER—Comedy

    4:30
T.N. TATTERS—Children

    5:15
CITY DETECTIVE—Police

    5:45
NEWS—Huntley, Brinkley

     EVENING    

    6:00
NEWS—Bob Ryan

    6:15
WEATHER—Johnny Morris

    6:30
OUTLAWS—Western

    7:30
BAT MASTERSON—Western

    8:00
BACHELOR FATHER—Comedy

    8:30
ERNIE FORD—Variety C
Guest: Andy Devine

    9:00
GROUCHO—Quiz
Guests: Elgin and Ruby Baylor

    9:30
MANHUNT—Police

  10:00
NEWS—John MacDougall

  10:15
WEATHER—Johnny Morris

  10:20
SPORTS—Dick Nesbitt

  10:30
JACK PAAR—Variety C
Guests: Robert Merrill, Sam Levenson
         
  12:00
NEWS AND SPORTS—Krupp



 9   KMSP (ABC)

    MORNING   

    7:55
CHAPEL OF THE AIR—Religion

    8:00
BREAKFAST WITH CAP’N KEN

    8:30
HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE—Comedy

    9:00
JACK LA LANNE—Exercises

    9:30
MOVIE—Musical
“The Great Ziegfeld” (1936) Part 2.

  11:00
GALE STORM—Comedy

  11:30
LOVE THAT BOB!—Comedy

  AFTERNOON 

  12:00
CAMOUFLAGE—Don Morrow

  12:30
NUMBER PLEASE—Bud Collyer

    1:00
ABOUT FACES—Ben Alexander

    1:25
NEWS—Al Mann

    1:30
OUR MISS BROOKS—Comedy

    2:00
DAY IN COURT—Drama

    2:30
SEVEN KEYS—Jack Narz

    3:00
QUEEN FOR A DAY—Bailey

    3:30
WHO DO YOU TRUST?—Carson

    4:00
AMERICAN BANDSTAND—Clark

    5:00
SUSIE—Comedy

    5:30
ROCKY AND HIS FRIENDS

     EVENING    

    6:00
LOONEY TUNERS CLUB—Children

    6:30
GUESTWARD HO!—Comedy

    7:00
DONNA REED—Comedy

    7:30
REAL McCOYS—Comedy

    8:00
MY THREE SONS—Comedy

    8:30
UNTOUCHABLES--Police

    9:30
SILENTS PLEASE—Ernie Kovacs

  10:00
WRESTLING—Minneapolis

  11:00
NEWS—Bob Allard

  11:15
SPORTS—Tony Parker

  11:25
WEATHER—Jere Smith

  11:30
MAN FROM COCHISE



11  WTCN (IND.)

    MORNING   

    8:30
CARTOON CIRCUS—Children

    9:00
ROMPER ROOM—Miss Betty

    9:45
SHAPE UP—Louraine Larson

  10:15
WAYS WITH FOOD—Mrs. Meyer

  10:30
LIFE OF RILEY—Comedy

  11:00
HELLO, MINNESOTA—Seifert

  11:45
NEWS—Jack Huston

  AFTERNOON 

  12:00
LUNCH WITH CASEY—Children

    1:00
MOVIE—Comedy
“Pillar to Post” (1945)

    2:30
DR. HUDSON’S SECRET JOURNAL—Drama

    3:00
BURNS AND ALLEN—Comedy

    3:30
AMOS ‘N’ ANDY—Comedy

    4:00
POPEYE AND PETE—Dave Lee

    4:40
MOVIE—Drama
“Under Pressure” (1935)

    5:45
NEWS—Chick McCuen

    5:55
SPORTS—Frank Buetel

     EVENING    

    6:00
U.S. MARSHAL—Police

    6:30
TOMBSTONE TERRITORY

    7:00
HIGHWAY PATROL—Police

    7:30
MOVIE—Drama
“Island in the Sky” (1953) TV Debut.

    9:30
NEWS—Chick McCuen

    9:45
WEATHER—Stuart A. Lindman

    9:50
SPORTS—Buetel, Horner

  10:00
M SQUAD—Police

  10:30
BROTHERS BRANNIGAN

  11:00
NEWS—Ken Anderson

  11:05
MOVIE—Comedy
Theater 11: “Cash on Delivery” (English; 1956)

  12:30
NEWS—Stuart A. Lindman

TV  

10 comments:

  1. Note to Mitchell:

    Welcome back (whenever).

    Since you never mention the content of the regular programs (variety excepted), I thought to take up that particular slack:

    - Zane Grey Theatre has "Jericho", which looks to be a backdoor pilot for a new Western with Guy Madison as "an agent for the Attorney General"; here, he's supposed to save Beverly Garland from hanging.
    (This one didn't sell; that's the breaks ...)

    - The Untouchables is repeating the series premiere, "The Seventh Vote", from the previous fall. The newly-aroused Senate was on the case (for all the wrong reasons, as usual), but we all know who prevailed in the long run.

    - If KMSP was showing Silents Please, they were a week behind.
    The ABC network has Ernie Kovacs's newest half-hour special, which merited a Close-Up in the listings.
    Of possible interest: the Close-Up lists Kovacs's supporting players, who were a motley group indeed:
    - Bobby Lauher, whose day job was writing gags and stunts for Truth Or Consequences; he was the little guy with the squeaky voice.
    - Joe Mikolas, the co-owner of PJ's, a favorite watering hole of Ernie's; he was the tall guy with the low, droning voice ("Yes ... that's absolutely correct ... I'll never forget that ...").
    - Steve Blauner, who had the most expressionless face in the business.
    Off-camera, he was Ernie Kovacs's agent.
    - Charlie Parlato, taking time from his regular gig as cornet player (and sometime singer) with Lawrence Welk's orchestra.
    - Jolene Brand and Maggi Brown, who were The Girls.
    - Announcer Bob Warren, also moonlighting from Lawrence Welk.
    ABC in Hollywood was a close community ...

    For Jodie Peeler:
    Here in Chicago, Red Norvo's name was spelled correctly.

    I only just located this issue in my stacks today.
    The New York Teletype has an interesting leadoff item, which I present verbatim:

    STEVE ALLEN has lost out on plans to take over the ABC Wednesday hour now occupied by Hong Kong. The time period goes to The Rebel and The Yank, a new hour-long series combining the current Rebel series with The Yank, a projected series last year that never got past the test-film stage. NICK ADAMS continues as the Rebel, JAMES DRURY plays the Yank.

    Came the Fall, and Steve Allen had the ABC Wednesday spot, and Rebel/Yank was nowhere to be found.
    What happened?
    Andrew Fenady, the Rebel/Yank producer, explains everything in an interview from Tom Weaver's collection, Wild Wild Westerners; worth looking up ...


    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. tvobscurities.com has a great article about THE REBEL, including mention of this proposed spinoff, here:

      https://www.tvobscurities.com/articles/the_rebel/

      Delete
    2. Thanks for linking to that, Jon. Very good article.

      Delete
    3. Mike - behold the wonders of cut-and-paste! :)

      BTW, what do I have to do to convince you to do a guest post or two the next time I take a brief sabbatical? I don't mention it often enough, but I love your additions - it adds to the richness of the information!

      Delete
    4. What do I have to do ...

      That's pretty much out of your hands.

      A few weeks back, I had to replace my home laptop with a "new, improved" model which is giving me new and goofier problems every day.

      My tech skills are best described as "nil".

      Anything I've ever learned about 'confusers' (as the late, great Uncle Bobby Collins - big Chicago radio guy - always called these miracle machines), I had to learn on the fly - 100% trial and error (emphasis on the latter).
      I couldn't "cut-and-paste" if you paid me cash on the spot to do it - I don't even know which key to push to make it happen.
      My mini-war with Google apparently continues; I thought I had it solved yesterday, but just now I had to change my password - again (umpteenth time in a week) - and I'm by no means sure that I won't have to do it again tomorrow, or indeed every day thereafter.

      I am - officially - an Old Guy: 68 in September.
      I did not come out of the womb instinctively knowing how to work this thing.
      I need instructions, clearly written, in colloquial English, so I can do stuff here.
      On a personal level, I have one (1) working phone here, with a rotary dial, so push-button prompts are out of the question.
      I do not have text-messaging capability, so any message sent to me that way, I won't get.

      As of right now - 24 March 2018, 10:50 am, Central Daylight Time - I've got the stuff I'd lost, but if Google adds more obstacles to its already overloaded course, who can say about tomorrow?
      You, at least, have the Name/URL option, so you're stuck with me.
      But quite a few others I can mention do not have that option, so unless what I did today sticks, I'm back at Square One tomorrow.
      I hope I did it right this morning.
      I'm not getting any younger, you know ...

      Anyway, you might as well forget about that "guest post" business.
      All best otherwise ...

      Delete
  2. Mike in British ColumbiaMay 15, 2018 at 11:19 PM

    WCCO-4/ 9 PM: "Face The Nation" on a Thursday evening instead of a Sunday??? And...it's 60 min as opposed to it's usual 30 minute format. If this was a special broadcast or event, it's odd it wasn't titled "CBS Reports" instead.

    KSTP-5/9 PM: "Groucho" w/guests. I always thought Groucho's quiz show was called "You Bet Your Life". Would this be a first-run airing on the NBC network or a syndicated rerun only on ch 5???

    Indie WTCN-11 makes a smart move airing it's evening newscast at 9:30 as opposed to the regular 10PM time slot on the network channels, thus providing an alternative viewing time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. In it's final season in first-run (1960-61), "You Bet Your Life" was retitled "The Groucho Show", but the format was unchanged.

      Delete
    2. What's interesting about "Face the Nation," Mike, is that it doesn't list anything about who was on the show or what the topic was. However, get this - according to the TV listings for "The Warren County Observer" in Warren, PA, "CBS REPORTS replaces Face the Nation at 10 p.m. on WBEN. The subject will be “Who Speaks For Birmingham?” a report on the day-to-day life in the tension-ridden industrial city, told almost entirely in the words of Negroes and whites who live there. Howard K. Smith, an eyewitness to Sunday’s bloody beating of several members of the Congress of Racial Equity at a Birmingham bus terminal, will be the narrator." So in a way, you're right!

      And on the 9:30 news on WTCN - yes, it was very smart. So much so that when KMSP took over the independent slot after WTCN became affiliated with NBC, they continued the 9:30 news until they expanded to an hour and started at 9:00. Now they have both 9:00 and 10:00 news.

      Delete
  3. Was the "Steeplechase" airing on CBS's "Summer Sports Spectacular" by any chance the Grand National Steeplechase in England?

    If it was, CBS probably taped it (likely using the BBC's video feed with CBS's own commentators) and it probably aired a week or two after it took place.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are correct! The Grand National, from Aintree, along with highlights from the Maryland Hunt Cup and the Grand National Point-to-Point. Bud Palmer is hosting, "joined by BBC commentators in reporting the Aintree event, and by Tommy Smith for the Hunt Club." I suspect that Palmer must have introduced the Grand National and the BBC types did the rest.

      Delete

Thanks for writing! Drive safely!