September 23, 2019

What's on TV? Tuesday, September 24, 1968

There's a lot to like about today's listings. We've got the debut of shows like 60 Minutes, The Mod Squad, and The Doris Day Show, we've got a legendary duo of horror actors on The Red Skelton Hour, and, of course, we have celebrity-driven game shows. Look at David Susskind on Personality; I wonder how he felt about that? On the one hand, the man loved being on TV, being the focus of attention, and he was nothing if not a self-promoter, and yet he was embarrassed that his organization, Talent Associates, produced shows like Supermarket Sweep. He probably found a way to rationalize it all. Oh, and isn't that kind of cool that Dave Garroway is guest-hosting Dick Cavett's morning show? Kind of turns back the clock a bit, doesn't it?

In case you hadn't guessed, the listings are from the Minnesota State Edition.




 2  KTCA (NET)

Morning

    8:45
CLASSROOM—Education

Afternoon

    3:00
MISOTA PREVIEW

    3:30
FILM

    4:30
FILM

    5:00
TV KINDERGARTEN—Marron

    5:30
TO BE ANNOUNCED

Evening

    6:00
SPORTSMANLIKE DRIVING

    6:30
MISOTA PREVIEW  COLOR 

    7:00
INQUIRY—Discussion

    7:30
SEMINAR FOR SENIORS

    8:00
LOCAL ISSUE—Report

    8:30
BOOKS AND IDEAS

    9:00
JOYCE CHEN—Cooking

    9:30
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA

  10:00
NET FESTIVAL—Memorial



 3  KDAL (DULUTH) (CBS)

Morning

    7:05
NEWS—Joseph Benti  COLOR 

    7:55
NEWS

    8:00
CAPTAIN KANGAROO  COLOR 

    9:00
LUCILLE BALL—Comedy  COLOR 

    9:30
BEVERLY HILLBILLIES—Comedy

  10:00
ANDY GRIFFITH—Comedy  COLOR 

  10:30
DICK VAN DYKE—Comedy

  11:00
LOVE OF LIFE—Serial  COLOR 

  11:25
NEWS  COLOR 

  11:30
SEARCH FOR TOMORROW—Serial  COLOR 

Afternoon

  12:00
TOWN AND COUNTRY  COLOR 

  12:30
AS THE WORLD TURNS—Serial  COLOR 

    1:00
LOVE IS A MANY-SPLENDORED THING  COLOR 

    1:30
GUIDING LIGHT—Serial  COLOR 

    2:00
SECRET STORM—Serial  COLOR 

    2:30
EDGE OF NIGHT—Serial  COLOR 

    3:00
HOUSE PARTY  COLOR 
Guest: Rona Barrett

    3:25
NEWS  COLOR 

    3:30
MIKE DOUGLAS—Variety  COLOR 
Guests: Jane Morgan, Bobby Vinton, London Lee, Stewart Robb

    5:00
GILLIGAN’S ISLAND—Comedy

    5:30
NEWS—Walter Cronkite  COLOR 

Evening

    6:00
NEWS  COLOR 

    6:30
LANCER  DEBUT   COLOR 

    7:30
RED SKELTON  RETURN   COLOR 
Guests: Boris Karloff, Vincent Price, Ed Sullivan, Spanky Wilson

    8:30
DORIS DAY  DEBUT   COLOR 

    9:00
60 MINUTES  SPECIAL   COLOR 

  10:00
NEWS  COLOR 

  10:25
EDITOR’S CHOICE  COLOR 

  10:30
PERRY MASON—Drama

  11:30
MOVIE—Drama
“She Played with Fire” (English; 1958)



 4  WCCO (CBS)

Morning

    6:00
SUNRISE SEMESTER  COLOR 

    6:30
SIEGFRIED—Children  COLOR 

    7:00
CLANCY—Children  COLOR 

    8:00
CAPTAIN KANGAROO  COLOR 

    9:00
LIVE TODAY—Religion  COLOR 

    9:05
MERV GRIFFIN—Variety  COLOR 
Guests: Joan Crawford, Tony Sandler and Ralph Young

  10:00
ANDY GRIFFITH—Comedy  COLOR 

  10:30
DICK VAN DYKE—Comedy

  11:00
LOVE OF LIFE—Serial  COLOR 

  11:25
NEWS  COLOR 

  11:30
SEARCH FOR TOMORROW—Serial  COLOR 

Afternoon

  12:00
NEWS  COLOR 

  12:20
SOMETHING SPECIAL  COLOR 

  12:30
AS THE WORLD TURNS—Serial  COLOR 

    1:00
LOVE IS A MANY-SPLENDORED THING  COLOR 

    1:30
GUIDING LIGHT—Serial  COLOR 

    2:00
SECRET STORM—Serial  COLOR 

    2:30
EDGE OF NIGHT—Serial  COLOR 

    3:00
HOUSE PARTY  COLOR 
Guest: Rona Barrett

    3:25
NEWS  COLOR 

    3:30
LUCILLE BALL—Comedy  COLOR 

    4:00
MIKE DOUGLAS—Variety  COLOR 
Guests: Bennett Cerf, London Lee, Sheila MacRae, Chris and Peter Allen, Adam Smith

    5:30
NEWS—Walter Cronkite  COLOR 

Evening

    6:00
NEWS  COLOR 

    6:30
LANCER  DEBUT   COLOR 

    7:30
RED SKELTON  RETURN   COLOR 
Guests: Boris Karloff, Vincent Price, Ed Sullivan, Spanky Wilson

    8:30
DORIS DAY  DEBUT   COLOR 

    9:00
60 MINUTES  SPECIAL   COLOR 

  10:00
NEWS  COLOR 

  10:45
MOVIE—Adventure  COLOR 
“East of Sumatra” (1953)

  12:25
COMMERCIAL—Music  COLOR 



 5  KSTP (NBC)

Morning

    6:30
CITY AND COUNTRY

    7:00
TODAY  COLOR 
Guests: Peter Ustinov, Joe Barbera, Judith Crist, William Lederer
Local news at 7:25 and 8:25 A.M.

    9:00
SNAP JUDGMENT  COLOR 
Guests: Barry Nelson, Carol Lawrence

    9:25
NEWS  COLOR 

    9:30
CONCENTRATION—Game  COLOR 

  10:00
PERSONALITY  COLOR 
Celebrities: David Susskind, Joan Rivers, Hermoine Gingold, Hope Lange

  10:30
HOLLYWOOD SQUARES—Game  COLOR 
Players: Morey Amsterdam, Polly Bergen, Stu Gilliam, Paul Lynde, Vincent Price, Joanne Worley, Wally Cox, Rose Marie, Charley Weaver

  11:00
JEOPARDY—Game  COLOR 

  11:30
EYE GUESS—Game  COLOR 

  11:55
NEWS  COLOR 

Afternoon

  12:00
NEWS  COLOR 

  12:15
DIALING FOR DOLLARS—Game  COLOR 

  12:30
LET’S MAKE A DEAL—Game  COLOR 

    1:00
DAYS OF OUR LIVES—Serial  COLOR 

    1:30
DOCTORS—Serial  COLOR 

    2:00
ANOTHER WORLD—Serial  COLOR 

    2:30
YOU DON’T SAY!—Game  COLOR 
Guests: Richard Long, Pia Lindstrom

    3:00
MATCH GAME  COLOR 
Guests: Soupy Sales, Connie Hines

    3:25
NEWS  COLOR 

    3:30
DIALING FOR DOLLARS—Game  COLOR 

    4:30
WHAT’S MY LINE?—Game  COLOR 
Celebrities: Susan Bracken, Arlene Francis, Nipsey Russell, Soupy Sales

    5:00
NEWS  COLOR 

    5:30
NEWS—Chet Huntley, David Brinkley  COLOR 

Evening

    6:00
NEWS  COLOR 

    6:30
JERRY LEWIS  COLOR 
Guests: Michael Landon, Kaye Ballard, Sergio Mendes and Brasil ‘66

    7:30
JULIA—Comedy  COLOR 

    8:00
MOVIE  COLOR 
“Blindfold” (1966)

  10:00
NEWS  COLOR 

  10:30
JOHNNY CARSON  COLOR 
Guests: Alan King, Mamie Van Doren, Stephen Birmingham

  12:00
I LED THREE LIVES—Drama  COLOR 



 6  WDSM (DULUTH) (NBC)

Morning

    7:00
TODAY  COLOR 
Guests: Peter Ustinov, Joe Barbera, Judith Crist, William Lederer

    9:00
JACK LA LANNE—Exercise

    9:25
NEWS  COLOR 

    9:30
CONCENTRATION—Game  COLOR 

  10:00
PERSONALITY  COLOR 
Celebrities: David Susskind, Joan Rivers, Hermoine Gingold, Hope Lange

  10:30
HOLLYWOOD SQUARES—Game  COLOR 
Players: Morey Amsterdam, Polly Bergen, Stu Gilliam, Paul Lynde, Vincent Price, Joanne Worley, Wally Cox, Rose Marie, Charley Weaver

  11:00
JEOPARDY—Game  COLOR 

  11:30
EYE GUESS—Game  COLOR 

  11:55
NEWS  COLOR 

Afternoon

  12:00
VIRGINIA GRAHAM  COLOR 

  12:30
LET’S MAKE A DEAL—Game  COLOR 

    1:00
DAYS OF OUR LIVES—Serial  COLOR 

    1:30
DOCTORS—Serial  COLOR 

    2:00
ANOTHER WORLD—Serial  COLOR 

    2:30
YOU DON’T SAY!—Game  COLOR 
Guests: Richard Long, Pia Lindstrom

    3:00
MATCH GAME  COLOR 
Guests: Soupy Sales, Connie Hines

    3:25
NEWS  COLOR 

    3:30
SNAP JUDGMENT—Game  COLOR 
Guests: Barry Nelson, Carol Lawrence

    3:55
MR. TOOT—Children  COLOR 

    5:00
NEWS  COLOR 

Evening

    6:00
NEWS—Huntley, Brinkley  COLOR 

    6:30
JERRY LEWIS  COLOR 
Guests: Michael Landon, Kaye Ballard, Sergio Mendes and Brasil ‘66

    7:30
JULIA—Comedy  COLOR 

    8:00
MOVIE  COLOR 
“Blindfold” (1966)

  10:00
NEWS  COLOR 

  10:30
JOHNNY CARSON  COLOR 
Guests: Alan King, Mamie Van Doren, Stephen Birmingham



 6  KAUS (AUSTIN) (ABC)

Morning

    9:00
ROMPER ROOM  COLOR 

    9:30
DICK CAVETT  COLOR 
Guest host: Dave Garroway. Guests: Alejandro Rey, Mike Darow

  11:00
BEWITCHED—Comedy

  11:30
TREASURE ISLE—Game  COLOR 

Afternoon

  12:00
DREAM HOUSE—Game  COLOR 

  12:30
IT’S HAPPENING—Variety  COLOR 
Guests: Jim Webb, Bob Siler

  12:55
CHILDREN’S DOCTOR  COLOR 

    1:00
NEWLYWED GAME  COLOR 

    1:30
DATING GAME  COLOR 

    2:00
GENERAL HOSPITAL—Serial  COLOR 

    2:30
ONE LIFE TO LIVE—Serial  COLOR 

    3:00
DARK SHADOWS—Serial

    3:30
MOVIE—Comedy
“The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker” (1959)

    5:00
NEWS—Reynolds  COLOR 

    5:30
McHALE’S NAVY—Comedy

Evening

    6:00
NEWS  COLOR 

    6:30
MOD SQUAD  DEBUT   COLOR 

    8:00
IT TAKES A THIEF  COLOR 

    9:00
THAT’S LIFE—Musical  DEBUT   COLOR 

  10:00
NEWS  COLOR 

  10:30
JOEY BISHOP  COLOR 
Guests: Cleveland Amory, Cannonball Adderly



 7  KCMT (ALEXANDRIA) (NBC, ABC)

Morning

    7:00
TODAY  COLOR 
Guests: Peter Ustinov, Joe Barbera, Judith Crist, William Lederer

    9:00
SNAP JUDGMENT  COLOR 
Guests: Barry Nelson, Carol Lawrence

    9:25
NEWS  COLOR 

    9:30
CONCENTRATION—Game  COLOR 

  10:00
PERSONALITY  COLOR 
Celebrities: David Susskind, Joan Rivers, Hermoine Gingold, Hope Lange

  10:30
HOLLYWOOD SQUARES—Game  COLOR 
Players: Morey Amsterdam, Polly Bergen, Stu Gilliam, Paul Lynde, Vincent Price, Joanne Worley, Wally Cox, Rose Marie, Charley Weaver

  11:00
JEOPARDY—Game  COLOR 

  11:30
EYE GUESS—Game  COLOR 

  11:55
NEWS  COLOR 

Afternoon

  12:00
NEWS  COLOR 

  12:15
COMMERCIAL—Music  COLOR 

  12:30
LET’S MAKE A DEAL—Game  COLOR 

    1:00
DAYS OF OUR LIVES—Serial  COLOR 

    1:30
DOCTORS—Serial  COLOR 

    2:00
ANOTHER WORLD—Serial  COLOR 

    2:30
YOU DON’T SAY!—Game  COLOR 
Guests: Richard Long, Pia Lindstrom

    3:00
MATCH GAME  COLOR 
Guests: Soupy Sales, Connie Hines

    3:25
NEWS  COLOR 

    3:30
GENERAL HOSPITAL—Serial

    4:00
WELCOME INN—Variety  COLOR 

    4:30
SPIDER-MAN—Children

    5:00
CASPER—Children

    5:30
NEWS—Chet Huntley, David Brinkley  COLOR 

Evening

    6:00
NEWS  COLOR 

    6:30
JERRY LEWIS  COLOR 
Guests: Michael Landon, Kaye Ballard, Sergio Mendes and Brasil ‘66

    7:30
JULIA—Comedy  COLOR 

    8:00
MOVIE  COLOR 
“Blindfold” (1966)

  10:00
NEWS  COLOR 

  10:30
JOHNNY CARSON  COLOR 
Guests: Alan King, Mamie Van Doren, Stephen Birmingham



 8  WDSE (DULUTH) (NET)

Afternoon

    5:00
TV KINDERGARTEN—Marron

    5:30
BEYOND THE EARTH

Evening

    6:00
SPORTSMANLIKE driving

    6:30
WHAT’S NEW—Children

    7:00
LOCAL ISSUE—Report

    7:30
SEMINAR FOR SENIORS

    8:00
COMPASS—Travel  COLOR 

    8:30
NET FESTIVAL—Music  COLOR 
Monterey Jazz Festival

    9:30
FILM

  10:00
NET JOURNAL—Report



 9  KMSP (ABC)

Morning

    7:30
TIMMY AND LASSIE—Drama

    8:00
DENNIS THE MENACE—Comedy

    8:30
IT’S HAPPENING—Variety
Guests: the Paris Sisters, Peter Kastner

    8:55
CHILDREN’S DOCTOR

    9:00
ROMPER ROOM  COLOR 

    9:30
DICK CAVETT  COLOR 
Guest host: Dave Garroway. Guests: Alejandro Rey, Mike Darow

  11:00
BEWITCHED—Comedy

  11:30
TREASURE ISLE—Game  COLOR 

Afternoon

  12:00
DREAM HOUSE—Game  COLOR 

  12:30
NEWS AND VIEWS  COLOR 

    1:00
NEWLYWED GAME  COLOR 

    1:30
DATING GAME  COLOR 

    2:00
GENERAL HOSPITAL—Serial  COLOR 

    2:30
ONE LIFE TO LIVE—Serial  COLOR 

    3:00
DARK SHADOWS—Serial

    3:30
MOVIE—Drama
“Sailor of the King” (1953)

    4:55
NEWS—Jerry Smith  COLOR 

    5:00
NEWS—Reynolds  COLOR 

    5:30
McHALE’S NAVY—Comedy

Evening

    6:00
TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES—Quiz  COLOR 

    6:30
MOD SQUAD  DEBUT   COLOR 

    8:00
IT TAKES A THIEF  COLOR 

    9:00
THAT’S LIFE—Musical  DEBUT   COLOR 

  10:00
NEWS  COLOR 

  10:30
JOEY BISHOP  COLOR 
Guests: Cleveland Amory, Cannonball Adderly

  12:00
77 SUNSET STRIP—Mystery



10 KROC (ROCHESTER) (NBC)

Morning

    7:00
TODAY  COLOR 
Guests: Peter Ustinov, Joe Barbera, Judith Crist, William Lederer

    8:30
APPLIED MANAGEMENT

    9:00
SNAP JUDGMENT  COLOR 
Guests: Barry Nelson, Carol Lawrence

    9:25
NEWS  COLOR 

    9:30
CONCENTRATION—Game  COLOR 

  10:00
PERSONALITY  COLOR 
Celebrities: David Susskind, Joan Rivers, Hermoine Gingold, Hope Lange

  10:30
HOLLYWOOD SQUARES—Game  COLOR 
Players: Morey Amsterdam, Polly Bergen, Stu Gilliam, Paul Lynde, Vincent Price, Joanne Worley, Wally Cox, Rose Marie, Charley Weaver

  11:00
JEOPARDY—Game  COLOR 

  11:30
EYE GUESS—Game  COLOR 

  11:55
NEWS  COLOR 

Afternoon

  12:00
NEWS  COLOR 

  12:15
MEMOS—Mary Bea  COLOR 

  12:30
LET’S MAKE A DEAL—Game  COLOR 

    1:00
DAYS OF OUR LIVES—Serial  COLOR 

    1:30
DOCTORS—Serial  COLOR 

    2:00
ANOTHER WORLD—Serial  COLOR 

    2:30
YOU DON’T SAY!—Game  COLOR 
Guests: Richard Long, Pia Lindstrom

    3:00
MATCH GAME  COLOR 
Guests: Soupy Sales, Connie Hines

    3:25
NEWS  COLOR 

    3:30
MIKE DOUGLAS—Variety  COLOR 
Guests: Bennett Cerf, London Lee, Sheila MacRae, Chris and Peter Allen, Adam Smith

    5:00
FLINTSTONES  COLOR 

    5:30
NEWS—Chet Huntley, David Brinkley  COLOR 

Evening

    6:00
NEWS  COLOR 

    6:30
JERRY LEWIS  COLOR 
Guests: Michael Landon, Kaye Ballard, Sergio Mendes and Brasil ‘66

    7:30
JULIA—Comedy  COLOR 

    8:00
MOVIE  COLOR 
“Blindfold” (1966)

  10:00
NEWS  COLOR 

  10:30
JOHNNY CARSON  COLOR 
Guests: Alan King, Mamie Van Doren, Stephen Birmingham



11 WTCN (IND.)

Morning

    8:55
NEWS—Gil Amundson

    9:00
APPLIED MANAGEMENT—Education

    9:30
WILD CARGO—Travel  COLOR 

  10:00
ADVENTURE CALLS—Travel  COLOR 

  10:30
FAMOUS PLAYHOUSE—Drama

  11:00
BAT MASTERSON—Western

  11:30
NEWS, WEATHER, SPORTS

Afternoon

  12:00
LUNCH WITH CASEY—Children

    1:00
VIRGINIA GRAHAM—Interviews  COLOR 
Guests: Maureen O’Sullivan, Kate Reed

    1:30
MOVIE—Adventure
“Green Hell” (1939)

    3:00
MEL’S NOTEBOOK-Interviews

    3:30
POPEYE AND PETE—Children

    4:00
CASEY AND ROUNDHOUSE

    4:30
GILLIGAN’S ISLAND—Comedy  COLOR 

    5:00
FLINTSTONES  COLOR 

    5:30
BATMAN—Adventure  COLOR 

Evening

    6:00
TWILIGHT ZONE—Drama

    6:30
12 O’CLOCK HIGH—Drama

    7:30
PERRY MASON—Drama

    8:30
ALFRED HITCHCOCK—Drama

    9:00
MOVIE—Comedy
“The Big Hangover” (1950)

  11:00
NEWS, WEATHER, SPORTS

  11:30
SEA HUNT—Adventure



12 KEYC (MANKATO) (CBS)

Morning

    7:30
NEWS  COLOR 

    7:55
FILM

    8:00
CAPTAIN KANGAROO  COLOR 

    9:00
JACK LA LANNE  COLOR 

    9:30
BEVERLY HILLBILLIES—Comedy

  10:00
ANDY GRIFFITH—Comedy  COLOR 

  10:30
DICK VAN DYKE—Comedy

  11:00
LOVE OF LIFE—Serial  COLOR 

  11:25
NEWS  COLOR 

  11:30
SEARCH FOR TOMORROW—Serial  COLOR 

Afternoon

  12:00
NEWS  COLOR 

  12:30
AS THE WORLD TURNS—Serial  COLOR 

    1:00
LOVE IS A MANY-SPLENDORED THING  COLOR 

    1:30
GUIDING LIGHT—Serial  COLOR 

    2:00
SECRET STORM—Serial  COLOR 

    2:30
EDGE OF NIGHT—Serial  COLOR 

    3:00
HOUSE PARTY  COLOR 
Guest: Rona Barrett

    3:25
NEWS  COLOR 

    3:30
AFTERNOON SHOW  COLOR 

    4:15
BART’S CLUBHOUSE  COLOR 

    5:00
LUCILLE BALL—Comedy  COLOR 

    5:30
NEWS—Walter Cronkite  COLOR 

Evening

    6:00
NEWS  COLOR 

    6:30
LANCER  DEBUT   COLOR 

    7:30
RED SKELTON  RETURN   COLOR 
Guests: Boris Karloff, Vincent Price, Ed Sullivan, Spanky Wilson

    8:30
DORIS DAY  DEBUT   COLOR 

    9:00
60 MINUTES  SPECIAL   COLOR 

  10:00
NEWS  COLOR 

  10:45
COMMERCIAL  COLOR 

  11:00
MOVIE—Comedy
“The Square Peg” (English; 1958)

TV  

12 comments:

  1. Who's the third horror actor after Karloff & Price on the Skelton show if they make a trio? I'm not familiar with Spanky Wilson, but I don't think Ed Sullivan's that horrible. :)

    Because he was listed among the first three guests, it looks as though Susskind was playing the game rather than just appearing on film. I've seen this show a couple times, and I found that while the show's look was good, the gameplay tended to be pretty dull, IMO.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. For some reason I had Lon Chaney Jr. in mind - possibly I had Route 66 on when I wrote this, and he and Karloff appeared in an episode with Peter Lorre. Fixed now!

      Delete
  2. I assume Joe Barbara is on Today promoting The New Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, an animated / live-action prime-time series, which had debuted nine days prior. Or, less likely, The Banana Splits Adventure Hour which had premiered earlier on the 7th. Both on NBC, of course.

    There's also the possibility he's there to address the controversy concerning the then recently formed Action for Children's Television, which had targeted several of Hanna-Barbera's shows for what they felt was excessive violent content.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, I'd say that any of those are possibilities. Good job putting it in context!

      Delete
  3. The evening lineup on WTCN looks pretty good to me, new season or not...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey, remember their motto - it's new if you haven't seen it before!

      Delete
  4. A Bit, and Perhaps a Piece:

    - One of the lately available Red Skelton DVD sets includes the Karloff/Price show.
    This was one of Boris Karloff's final Hollywood TV appearances (he managed to squeeze in a shot with Jonathan Winters before heading back to GB at year's end).
    Track it down; it's worth seeing (especially digitally restored).

    - Whenever David Susskind appeared on New York-based panel games, such as the Goodson-Todman and Bob Stewart shows, he treated them as social occasions - recreation with old friends.
    That's why he did so many of them.
    Somewhere back in the archives, I believe I told you all the story of how Susskind and his then-wife appeared on He Said - She Said, G-T's first draft of Tattletales; they were there to have some fun with friends, although if you remember the story, they got just a bit more than they bargained for …

    - I remember that guest-host spot that Dave Garroway did on Dick Cavett's show.
    IIRC, Dave was thinking about trying for a comeback (one of several tries he made in the '60s); this was testing the waters, so to speak.
    Nothing came of it, though; as to why, maybe Jodie Peeler has some ideas.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good stuff, Mike. I will, indeed, have to hunt down that Skelton show. And Susskind was a character, wasn't he?

      Delete
  5. In 1969, Dave Garroway briefly hosted a local talk/variety show in Boston titled "Tempo", which he hoped would eventually get nationally syndicated.

    The show didn't do well locally, so plans for national syndication were shelved and the local show got cancelled.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There's just no way around the sadness at the end of Dave Garroway's career. It's only fair that we remember him for the giant that he was, and should still be considered.

      Delete
    2. I remember seeing what may have been Garroway's last tv appearance during the 30th Anniversary show of TODAY in January 1982. He looked ok and had even brought a recent TV Guide to show how his old sidekick J. Fred Muggs had been immortalized in TVG's "J. Fred Muggs Awards". I was very sad to hear of his suicide just 6 months later.

      Delete
  6. I'll have much more about it in the book, of course, but the quick version was that in his eagerness to get out of his NBC contract in 1961, Garroway didn't realize until much too late that NBC retained a five-year right of first refusal on any television-related offers he received. That effectively took Garroway off the market (except for the occasional guest-hosting gig) until about 1967. By that time the medium had changed so much, and his style was yesterday's model. He tried various things now and again, but nothing really took, and one review of a 1971 series he hosted called "The CBS Newcomers" was kind of brutal, comparing Garroway to an uncle who told stale jokes.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for writing! Drive safely!