What's on TV? Thursday, June 6, 1963

It's always nice to look at an issue that includes a station from Canada. CKWS, now an affiliate of Global TV, was with the CBS in 1963, and while some of its programs come from the United States (The Defenders, Surfside 6, Dr. Kildare), a number of them are homegrown, including Playdate, a dramatic anthology series hosted by Christopher Plummer; tonight's play is "The Hunt," which includes in the cast a Canadian actor who will soon become familiar to American audiences: John Vernon. Animal House just wouldn't have been the same without him. These, along with the rest of the shows, are from the New York State Edition. 

What's on TV? Wednesday, February 19, 1958

Not so long ago, I saw an article—at the CBS News website, no less—stating outright that Carol Burnett was the first woman to host a TV variety show. Meaning no disrespect to Carol, I can't see how this claim holds water, unless you parse it with some narrow definition of what a "variety" show is. We already know, not only from today's listing but from our look at Saturday's issue, that Patti Page was hosting The Big Record (8:30 p.m., ironically on CBS). But tonight also features The Patrice Munsel Show (10:30 p.m., WHEN), and Patrice Munsel was most assuredly a woman. She came to fame as a soprano at the Metropolitan Opera, debuting there at age 18 in 1943, the youngest singer ever to star there. She sang at the Met until 1958, but also san frequently on television, on her own show and others, and performed in musical theater until 2008. If you're of an age, you might remember her as the lead voice on Camp Fire Girls commercials, singing "Sing Around the Campfire." Betty White, who has a brief article in this issue about her diet, also hosted her own show; unless you're going to quibble about the definition of a variety show, I can't understand how the networks aren't even aware of their own history. All someone would have had to do is read this New York State edition.

What's on TV? Tuesday, January 14, 1958

Matinee Theater was an attempt by NBC to present a quality, five-days a week daytime dramatic anthology series; it was the first hour-long daytime series on television. NBC spared no expense in the effort, spending nearly $75,000 per week on the program, which was broadcast live and in color and was heavily promoted; ultimately, the cost became prohibitive, and NBC would cancel the program in June of this year. Today's production, "The Makropoulos Secret," is an example of the diverse programming the network was trying to establish. Based on the 1922 Czech play by Karel Čapek, it's likely more people today are familiar with it because of the opera by Leoš Janáček, which premiered in 1926. Matinee Theater was a bold experiment even during the Golden Age of Television; imagine trying something like it today. The listings are from the New York State edition, which clearly does not include New York City.