Preserving the 1000 Greatest Icons and Significant Events of Television History... A project by Greg Howell exploring the history and development of television and its cultural impact.
These days, networks treat Saturday nights as a deep, dark void, reserved as a dumping ground for unwanted television shows. There was a time, however, when Saturday night television was worth staying home to watch. The Honeymooners, Gunsmoke, Alfred Hitchcock, and Jackie Gleason were Saturday staples in the early days. Before the networks declared Saturday nights dead in the 1990s, big hits like the Golden Girls, The Love Boat, and Fantasy Island dominated. And for one season in the early 1970s, CBS lined up five classic television shows one after another, each show at their creative peak.
September 15, 1974, CBS' Saturday night fall season premiered with TV's #1 show, All In the Family. The follow-up show, M*A*S*H began its second and most critically acclaimed season. The centerpiece of the evening was the fourth season of the Mary Tyler Moore, the final season with Rhoda before her spin-off series. CBS wrapped up the Saturday line-up with The Bob Newhart Show and The Carol Burnett Show.
At the end of the 1973-74 season, those programs on CBS Saturday night received a total of 32 Emmy nominations and 14 wins. It was the most notable achievement in weekly programming and excellence in television history. The following season, CBS moved M*A*S*H, then All In the Family, followed by a drop in the ratings for each show. After nearly 2 decades at #1 in the ratings, CBS fell to ABC just 2 seasons later.
Ricky Nelson had pleaded for months with his father Ozzie to let him sing on their television show. Ozzie Nelson, the famous bandleader leader in the swing era, was thoroughly knowledgeable of the music industry. Ultimately, he decided it was smart business to market the character Ricky Nelson as a rock and roll singer. With his father's aid, Ricky selected some of the best side men in the business, including guitarist James Burton. In the studio and with Ozzie at the helm, Rick cut a Fat's Domino number, I'm Walkin', and the episode was timed with the official release of the record.
According to the official Rick Nelson website, I'm Walkin' sold over a million copies the first week after the show aired. Rick Nelson's music "videos" on the susequent episodes regularly pushed him to the top of the Billboard Hot 100, and for a number of years, Nelson was outselling Elvis Presley. In total, from 1957 - 1966, Rick placed 18 hit singles in the Top Ten. The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet scored big as well, adding ten million teenage viewers to the show.
It is no coincidence that just 5 months later American Bandstand became a national sensation when it premiered on ABC, the same network that aired Ozzie & Harriet. Rick Nelson's massive success on the show excited the network about the current teen music industry. ABC was ready to rock and roll, indeed, after the April 10 episode of The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet.
Rick Nelson's star should burn brighter. He was the featured player on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, the quintessential family sitcom that ran for 14 seasons on television. Young 11 year old Ricky and the rest of the Nelson family debuted on television after a long run on radio. The young tyke grew up in front of America audiences and was 25 years old when the show finally left the air. His TV character's famous line, "I don't mess around, boy" became a national catch phrase in the early 1950s. His TV character quickly became the most popular on the show, and the majority of story lines were developed around him.
Young Ricky Nelson had a secret, however, he loved music! When Elvis Presley broke nationally in 1956, Ricky picked up the guitar and began to sing. Ozzie and Harriet scripts always incorporated the family's real life into the show, so it seemed natural for Ricky to also sing on TV. He was the ultimate All-American teenager, and it was a risk showcasing the teenager as a rock star. Rock and Roll was considered music of "degenerates" in the 1950s, and generally not acceptable on family shows. The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet's popularity soared even higher, however, as audiences embraced his rock and roll act. And Ricky, soon to be Rick Nelson, became a superstar.
Rick Nelson became the first television character / performer to cross over into a successful, long term career in music. He used his television show to promote his latest releases, and by the end of the show in 1966, Nelson racked up a whopping 34 Top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. He also was an essential player in the early development of the music video, and is certainly one of the first pioneers of implementing visual and graphic elements on film to correspond with new music releases. More importantly, he was good. His introspective, sultry vocal style gave Elvis a run for his money, and ultimately landed him in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Rockabilly Hall of Fame!
So why isn't Rick Nelson as fondly remembered and revered as Elvis, Lucy, or even "the Beaver?" He was a strikingly handsome rock star seen on weekly television for 14 years, crossed over into movies, and appeared on the cover of hundreds of major magazines. He had a successful recording career well into the 1970's. He even died at a very young age - which usually pushes icons to the forefront. For whatever reason Rick Nelson is not as well remembered as other major stars, his impact on television and rock music is exceptional.
Rick Nelson died in a plane crash in 1985, at the age of 45. His four children have each had impressive careers on their own. The twins Gunnar and Mathew, known as Nelson, had successful recording careers in America in the early 1990s and are still virtually as popular internationally. Tracy is an accomplished actress and a staple on television, including two classic Seinfeld episodes, The Father Dowling Mysteries, and the classic, cult TV show, Square Pegs. She has made dozens of popular television movies. Sam Nelson inherited his father's brooding sex appeal, and is the front man for the underground rock group h is orange. Obviously, the Nelson genetic code runs deep.
Here are a few video clips from The Adventure of Ozzie and Harriet:
The spring of 1980 was a tumultuous time. The Iran-Hostage Crisis was on every one's mind and there seemed to be no end in sight. President Carter was sinking lower in the polls and the fall election was escalating into high gear. Perhaps to ease troubled minds over increased global tensions, the villain J.R. Ewing soared in popularity. In fact, the 1979-1980 season pushed Dallas to unbelievable heights as it was broadcast in 53 countries around the world!
J.R. Ewing was the very definition of a "snake in the grass." An habitual two-timing scamp, J.R. - played by Larry Hagman - stopped at nothing to get his way with wealth, women, and work. By the end of the season, the entire world loved to hate this character, and indeed, most were waiting for one of his victims to take him down.
As the shows popularity soared, CBS requested that Lorimar and producer Philip Capice add two additional episodes to the season's order. A last minute plot device was created to have J.R. Ewing shot, and, just importantly, implementing a cliff hanger device like the ones used in the old movie serials. The season would end with the "devil" getting his comeuppance. At least a half-dozen characters had a genuine motive to kill him, leaving the audience wondering just "who shot J.R.?"
The ploy was a sensation, as headlines asked the question all summer long! Bets were placed in casinos, polls were taking all over the world. It seemed there was nothing else to talk about but JR Ewing and the serial's cliff hanger. Pushing the tension to even greater heights was the delay of the new fall season due to a Hollywood writers strike.
There has never been anything like it in television before or since. For 8 long months, the singular topic captured international headlines alongside the election of Ronald Reagan, the continuing saga of the hostage crisis in Iran, and the beginning of the Iraq/Iran War. When the new season finally premiered in November, the audience grew until the answer was revealed a few episodes later on November 21, 1980. As his wife Sue Ellen is arrested, jailed, and bailed out, the audience discovers it wasn't his wife, after all, who shot J.R., it was her sister. Yes, the dog J.R. had been sleeping with his wife's sister, and she was the culprit.
The episode drew a record 76% share of the audience. The success of this cliff hanger activated this plot device into heavy usage on television, particularly at the end of the season. It should be noted that the TV sitcom Soap had great success when it used the cliff hanger device at the end of the 1978 season, and undoubtedly influenced the Dallas producers two years later. It was Dallas, however, that made the device a TV mainstay. It would be used frequently henceforth, and with shows as varied as the sitcom Cheers, the cartoon South Park, and dramas like Dynasty, The West Wing, and The X-files. Ultimately, some TV shows incorporated the cliff hanger for every episode, not just the season's end, most notably Prison Break, 24, and Quantum Leap.
Requiem for a Heavyweight was the high water mark for television's golden age, and the second episode for the classic live anthology show, Playhouse 90. Rod Serling's teleplay recieved endless accolades from the entertainment industry, and arguably, no other television production in history has garnered as much high praise.
The telecast featured Jack Palance as a washed up boxer suffering from "punch drunk" syndrome. The New York Times heralded the telecast as "an artistic triumph that featured a performance of indescribable poignancy" and triumphed it a "play of overwhelming force and tenderness" and "a notable evening of theater." Serling won the first Peabody Award for a television script, and the entire production walked away with 4 Emmy Awards in 1956, plus a best series award for Playhouse 90.
The excellence of Requiem for a Heavyweight placed Rod Serling at the pinnacle of success for television production. Director Ralph Nelson and Jack Palance won Emmy Awards, as well. Playhouse 90 won the "best series" Emmy each of the four seasons it was on the air, and is considered by most the greatest dramatic television series of all time.
Rod Serling's career accomplishments include 6 Emmy Award winning teleplays such as Patterns, The Comedian, and two Twilight Zone episodes. Obviously, Serling is most famous for his classic science fiction series, and besides the five-year run for the Twilight Zone, also created the cult series, Night Gallery. Serling's motion picture screen plays includes The Planet of the Apes in 1968. The Twilight Zone made him a television icon, however, and that classic show is one of the few shows from the golden age of television still regularly broadcast on television.
"We interrupt this broadcast for a special report from the President of the United States . . . "
7 pm sharp, Monday evening on October 22, 1962, unsuspecting television viewers were about to hear the most chilling speech of their lives. Over the next 17 minutes, American audiences were fed dire words and ominous phrases from their leader, John F. Kennedy. Offensive threats. Maximum peril. Threat to peace. Nuclear missile launched from Cuba! These buzzwords echoed throughout living rooms on all networks just prior to the networks' evening news.
The timing was specific. The Kennedy administration was using television (and radio) for maximum effect this evening. The announcement of a Soviet build-up of nuclear missiles in Cuba would carry over into the evening news, offering immediate repeat and analysis of the speech. Kennedy was using television to reach more than just an American audience! He was also speaking directly to the Soviet Union.
Audiences must have found it difficult to watch "Lucy Misplaces $2000", the sitcom episode that followed the CBS Evening News. But they did, as television programming proceeded as usual, with an occasional news break or special interspersed. The next 6 days proceeded with the same regularly scheduled programming, but the news briefs became more alarming with each program interruption. With saucer eyes, Americans stayed close to the television, mentally zoning out Sing Along With Mitch, Perry Mason, and Red Skelton as they awaited the impending announcement of the end of the world.
The entire affair was complicated. On September 27, a CIA agent in a bar in Cuba overheard that Castro had nuclear weapons. Since the summer of 1962, the U.S. suspected Russia was secretly sending and setting up weapons in Cuba, but as the surveillance continued, the worst news imaginable was proven true. The missiles were nuclear warheads. Khrushchev, upset over new U.S. nuclear weapons in Turkey, proclaimed America should remove the nuclear missiles from Russia's backyard.
Castro was a natural ally for Russia, as the ban on Cuban exports had hit the country hard. The disastrous Bay of Pigs clarified the U.S. intention to invade Cuba. With nuclear weapons, Castro could breathe a sigh of relief. It was a political game, albeit a dangerous one, and both Khrushchev and Castro hoped to win their bluff against Kennedy. These details, however, are not being reported on television.
Most of the news coverage examined Kennedy's quarantine of Cuba's shipping lanes, and wondered aloud if this was an act of war. With Soviet ships moving closer to the United States fleet, watching Americans knew just one slip from either side could mean global annihilation. On October 28, Americans breathed a small sigh of relief as Soviet ships turned back. The tension was not over however until news reports surfaced that Khrushchev agreed to dismantle the Cuban missiles in exchange for a U.S. promise to not invade Cuba.
The official end of the crisis was not until November 20, but the intensity of the crisis subsided for the viewing public on Sunday, 28, 1962. The previous week, as played out on television, put both fear and patriotism into play. And Kennedy, previously faltering in the public eye after numerous foreign policy missteps, rebounded and led the Democrats to success in the mid-term elections. Soviet timing might have been tied to the November elections from the start, and Khrushchev suspecting Kennedy would falter and upset the current political balance in America.
Numerous landmark decisions were made during the crisis related to television journalism. According to a Museum of Television and Radio thesis by Mary Ann Watson, the "... total preemption of programming made little sense to the networks . . . There was a grave danger, the networks felt, if reporters turned to speculation. As noted in the trade press, 'that might unnecessarily inflame an already frightened public to terror.'" This frame of thought was adopted by television and newspaper executives. At the governments request, information was withheld from the public, including reports of the American spy plane shot down over Cuba. Such statements from networks may seem ironic in today's world of 24 hour news coverage; perhaps, the essential footnote is the extent that journalist turned a blind eye during the crisis and in the name of patriotism.
An important element of television history is its measure of the pulse of American culture. Never was this more true than February 1, 2004. If nothing else, Superbowl XXXVIII defines America as a confused country with her head tucked deep in the Arab sand. Ensconced in war, the American shift toward overt conservatism created a climate of fear and mistrust, offering up to the Bush administration ample room to tighten the reigns on basic constitutional rights in the name of war. While George Bush and company checked America's phone records, bank statements, and emails, America ignored the mounting cost of war in Iraq, ignored the lack of checks and balances regarding the war. Instead, America turned her full attention to . . . nipples.
It is almost too ridiculous to write about it. For less than 2 seconds and via a camera long shot, Janet Jackson exposed her covered nipple and partially exposed breast, and the country lost control. The public outcry of indecency prompted a record-breaking 200,000 phone calls to the network from outraged viewers. Seemingly, the very violent nature of football itself was no problem, but the possibility that a child (or husband) caught a glimpse of a dangling breast for 2 seconds was seemingly further proof that America was collapsing into a dark, immoral pit. Even stranger, to even get a glimpse of Jackson's partial nipple, a viewer would need to rewind repeatedly, pause the playback, and enlarge the picture about 400 percent.
While America protested, Canadians and Europeans watching the Superbowl hardly noticed, and were left scratching their heads and wondering what were Americans thinking when news spread of the scandal. Janet Jackson attempted to defend herself from the disaster as an innocent wardrobe malfunction. But America would have none of it. No one would pull the wool over their eyes!
The incident sent shock waves throughout broadcasting. The FCC levied record amounts of fines against broadcast networks, including $3.5 million against Clear Channel alone. Congress enacted a bill increasing fines for indecency violations. An onslaught of censorship encompassed daytime TV, talk radio, and cable programming.
Janet Jackson's career has yet to recover. With 27 top ten hits prior to the incident, Ms. Jackson has not landed anywhere near Billboard's Top Ten Singles chart since February 1, 2004. Justin Timberlake skated away unharmed from the incident, also pointing out the double standards imposed on women and African-Americans in American society even in the 21st century. More level headed Americans theorized that fear and political rhetoric had gotten the best of America, and many internet bloggers suggested this type of mass censorship had not been seen since Germany in the 1930's.
At the height of the great depression, television was a rarity. Even if television sets were for sale in 1933, very few people could have afforded one. In early 1933 Los Angeles, station W6XAO was broadcasting just two hours of programming a day. Having access to the film industry, the station contracted Pathe Newsreels and other studio-filmed programs. The station also staged in-studio interview shows with Hollywood stars. Local television promotion offered home-made "make your own television" kits and also placed sets through the Los Angeles area's appliance stores and department stores. It was common for people to gather just to watch the new radio with pictures.
On March 10, 1933, W6XAO premiered a new format of all-day broadcasting, and was on the air when a major 6.4 earthquake devastated the Los Angeles area. Long Beach was the worst struck. Nearly all schools were demolished, and nearly all buildings sustained damage. The estimated 120 death toll would have been much greater if the earthquake struck a few hours earlier. For this to coincide with W6XAO's new format was both significant and prophetic.
As the earthquake subsided around 6 pm, W6XA0 had in place full news crews ready to film material needed for their new all-day broadcast format. Film crews dispersed and documented compelling, astounding visual images of the destroyed city. The first of the films were filmed and processed for broadcast as early as Saturday, March 11.
Over the coming weeks, people were finding working television sets in some department stores and homes outside the epicenter, and gathered in large numbers to watch. This landmark occasion pushed television to the forefront as newspapers dedicated heavy coverage of the television broadcast and the significant achievement of the filmed document of the natural disaster.
The 1933 L.A. earthquake launched serious changes in building codes and created the Field Act, which implemented better design and construction. It was also the first television coverage for a natural disaster.
Sources:
Please Stand By: A Prehistory of Television by Michael Ritchie
Tiny Tim was one of the most unlikely pop culture heroes ever. Sporting stringy hair and elongated nose, his eccentric personality matched his bizarre looks. His popularity soared to new heights with appearances on Rowan and Martin's Laugh In, and his debut album release in 1968 scored him a Top Twenty pop hit, Tip Toe Through The Tulips. It was his appearance on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show in late 1969, however, that pushed Tiny Tim to his greatest heights - as well as Johnny Carson's.
A publicity stunt for sure, Tiny Tim was set to wed Miss Vicky on the late night talk show. Calling her "Miss Vicki, my darling, fantastic angel," odd-ball Tiny Tim's wedding to the attractive, 17-year old Victoria May Budinger caught the public's curiousity, and the Tonight Show's ratings crested at a whopping 85% of the viewing audience and an estimated 40 million viewers. Tiny Tim and Miss Vicky wrote their own wedding vows for the show.
Roots is the television event that truly changed America. Overnight, a national diaglog was created regarding the historical treatment of African Americans, and white America had to face head-on the horrible truth about their past and anecstors.
ABC's nervousness about the miniseries Roots was solely financial. Suspecting the series would bomb and displace the newly crowned #1 network, ABC rethought the plan to run Roots weekly. All other miniseries, such as successful Rich Man Poor Man series, had run weekly, but ABC decided to run the series for 8 consecutive nights, just prior to the start of February ratings sweeps. Obviously, ABC's nervousness stemmed from the series' portrayal of positive, black characters and their heroic survival despite cruelty from white antagonists. The epic miniseries traced the life of enslaved Africans to America, concluding in the post-civil war era.
As Americans tuned into the show in record numbers, each day seemed to bring new light to the plight of civil rights and equality for all. Each day for white America was a time of evaluation, shame, humility, and ultimately, spiritial growth and national healing. Roots was the rare drama that actually changed perspectives.
ABC earned the highest ratings in history, and held the top 8 places in the national ratings Top Ten list. Later in the year, Roots won 30 Emmy Awards. The concluding episode was witnessed by 100 million viewers, and was the highest American television audience of all time. Roots held that distinction for another 6 years, until the final episode of M*A*S*H aired in 1983.
While a few critics dismissed the event as soap opera, Roots aspired to greatness and significance, and it succeeded. The miniseries was based on author Alex Haley's popular book of the same name. The epic concluded in 1979 with Roots II.
When Ellen Degeneres officially announced her sexual orientation on the cover of Time Magazine, "Yep, I'm Gay," it seemed like old news. Rumours had been circulating for months that both Degeneres and her TV character, Ellen Morgan, would come out of the closet. The show had never been a big hit, but the crossover of Ellen's real life into the fictional series catapulted the show to the top of the ratings and public attention. Religious groups scorned Disney-owned ABC, threatening to boycott anything related to either party. Jerry Falwell called her Ellen Degenerate, to which she aptly responded "I haven't been called that since 4th grade." The intensity of the debate essentially landed into the hands of advertisers, as groups on both sides of the issue awaited to see which corporations would sponsor the show. In the end, only the Chrysler Corporation pulled out.
The episode, however, was brilliant. Witty, poignant, and sharp, Ellen pulled together a classic show and an audience of 42 million. Many critics and viewers had long suspected there was great potential of the show, but seemingly never able to tap into a distinctive voice. "The Puppy Show," so titled to mislead the media about the episode's content, featured great performances and writing, ultimately winning both the prestigious Peabody Award and an Emmy, and gave Ellen much needed creative direction and energy.
Even with huge support from icons like Oprah Winfrey, ABC was a nervous wreck about the new Ellen. Beginning with the April 30, 1997 show, every episode that aired until the end of its run was given an opening viewer warning - as if it was an episode of NYPD Blue. After another season of time slot changes and internal fueding over the show's direction, viewer's gradually tuned out and ABC canned the show in 1998.
The show's impact was substantial, however, and the next season Will and Grace and Queer as Folk premiered, and other television shows began including postive portrayals of gay characters.
It came crashing to earth like a mile long meteor from outerspace! Seemingly out of nowhere, Fox's 2-hour special, How to Marry A Millionaire detonated over popular culture. It was trainwreck television, and why it was labeled "reality television" is anyone's guess. It was The Dating Game meets Miss America with a Rupert Murdoch/Fox twist of Queen for a Day. However one views this TV reality nightmare, it trashed TV as never before and started an onslaught of similar television.
The basic premise had 50 women prancing before bachelor-millionaire Rick Rockwell. Ultimately, in just 2 hours, Mr. Rockwell was able to select his perfect wife and married her on the spot! The show was the talk of the TV season, as post-show newlywed Dana Conger-Rockwell spent a disastrous honeymoon followed by an annulment. Mr. Rockwell, it seemed had a history of abuse against women. While America reacted with predictable outrage, TV networks knew those crying the loudest would tune in for more. While Fox milked as much publicity from the cash cow as possible, the highly-rated special never became a regular series . . . but it had impact.
The Bachelor, Joe Millionaire, Flavor of Love, Anything for Love, Blind Date, The 5th Wheel, Dismissed, Elimidate, The Shipmates, Temptation Island, Meet the Folks . . . all of these shows spun the concept of How to Marry a Millionaire into the national airwaves. It's the gag gift that just keeps on giving. In many ways, this one shot special is still on the air today, eight long, dry TV seasons later.
In the early 1960's, Martin Luther King endured numerous arrests. By the early 1960's, he had been stoned and attacked by assailants in public and his home bombed by white supremist. In the early 1960's, the U.S. government and the FBI's J. Edgar Hoover labeled him a leftest, a womanizer, then placed him under surveillance. And in the early 1960's, Martin Luther King prevailed. Undeterred, Martin Luther King led more than 250,000 people in a civil rights march in Washington DC. Centered at the Lincoln Memorial, Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his famous I Have A Dream speech.
Just months earlier in Birmingham, Alabama, organized groups of black children sang "We Shall Overcome". The police began arresting children, and in total 959 children were put in jail! The following day, now depleted of holding cells, the police and fireman hosed children with a jetstream so powerful to break bones! Martin Luther King, Jr.'s civil rights march in Washington was a culmination of these unsettling events as witnessed by most American's on the evening news.
Televised on CBS, NBC, and ABC live, anyone watching television that day saw it. John F. Kennedy was watching and greatly moved. King's powerful, eloquent delivery stirred a nation toward change. In a rarity for TV, the entire speech was repeated on nightly news broadcast that August 28, 1963. His biblical and historical based speech struck a chord with most Americans. The performance won him the honor of Time Magazine's Person of the Year in late 1963, and a Nobel Peace prize in 1964. Later in 1964, President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act.
Here is the end of King's speech, often referred to as one of the greatest American speeches ever produced, as he proclaims freedom across the nation:
"And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!
"Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!"
"Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California!"
"But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!"
"Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!"
"Let freedom ring from every hill and every molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring."
"When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, 'Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!'"
Watch the full speech below as it unfolded on television.
This journal, a sketchbook exploring the significant events and icons of television history, is a draft and research tool for a project by Greg Howell. The goal is to offer a new and unique spin on the documentation of the history of television and its impact on modern culture.
Many entries are simply "water cooler" television, a collection of individual telecasts that had the U.S. population and media talking, often prior to the broadcast and definitely the following days, weeks, and even months. Other entries are larger moments that changed and influenced monumental historical events - and impacted the culture at large as well as influenced the direction of television.
This project intends to explore individual television broadcasts, those events that are tied to a very specific date and time. It is not a broad review of television shows or networks. The only exception is the documentation and discussion of television icons, those people, entities, or symbols that had a long-lasting impact on popular culture, some of which are often forgotten or nameless by newer generations, but whose influence is still apparent.
