1954 in television

none 1954 television radio film music The year 1954 in television involved some significant events. Below is a list of television-related events during 1954. __TOC__ Events January 1 – NBC broadcasts the Rose Parade from Pasadena, California in NTSC color. The broadcast uses a new mobile color TV studio (truck) and the program is carried across the continent on 21 stations. RCA strategically places Color TV sets in public viewing areas such as hotel lobbies because the first sets only become available to the public in the spring. January 3 – Programma Nazionale began transmissions in Italy, making it the first TV network in Italian television. January 5 – WAYS-TV, predecessor of WCCB, signed on the air. It was North Carolina's second UHF station (after WNAO-TV in Raleigh), as well as the second television station in the Charlotte market. January 10 – CBMT opens in Montreal, making that city the first in Canada to have 2 stations operating. The new station uses the English language, leaving CBFT to continue entirely in French. January 11 – The first weather forecast with an in-vision presenter is televised in the UK. January 12 – Experimental television begins in Norway. February 28 – Telma became the first television station in Morocco. It was closed down after 15 months on the air and was left without an official TV station until 1962. March 28 – WKAQ-TV became the first television station in Puerto Rico. April – The American Broadcasting Company broadcasts the Army-McCarthy hearings live and in their entirety. May 1 WAPA-TV becomes the second television station in Puerto Rico. Télévision suisse romande TSR is launched as the first Italian broadcaster in Switzerland. May 17–23 – One week (the so-called "Sandrewsveckan" or "Sandrews week") of experimental television broadcasts are aired in Sweden, the first such programs in the country. June 5 – The last new episode of the comic variety program, Your Show of Shows, airs. June 6 – The Eurovision network makes its first official transmission: it broadcasts the Narcissus Festival in Montreux, Switzerland, followed by an evening program from Rome, including a tour of the Vatican City, an address from Pope Pius XII and an apostolic blessing.http://www.ebu.ch/CMSimages/en/dossiers_1_04_eurovision50_ve_tcm6-13890.pdf 50 Years of Eurovision January 2004 2011-08-13 2016-08-13 https://web.archive.org/web/20160813012304/http://www.ebu.ch/CMSimages/en/dossiers_1_04_eurovision50_ve_tcm6-13890.pdf deadVariety 1954-06-02 'Eurovision' Bows Ushering in Era 1 https://archive.org/stream/variety194-1954-06#page/n64/mode/1up Archive.org June 13 – Canal Nacional, predecessor of Canal 1, launched as the first Colombian television station. July 5 – First actual news bulletin, News and Newsreel, aired on BBC Television, replacing Television Newsreel. September 11 – The Miss America Beauty Contest airs for the first time on national television in the United States. 27 million viewers watched as Lee Ann Meriwether wins the title. Meriwether would later become a television actress, co-starring in Barnaby Jones (1973–1980). September 16 – CBET-DT began transmissions as CKLW-TV at 2:50 p.m., it was the first television station in Windsor. September 26 – WCAX-TV signs on the air as WMVT, making it the first television station in Vermont. October 2 – The Jimmy Durante Show premieres on NBC (1954–1956). October 29 – Sveriges Radio begins broadcasting TV in Sweden and apart from news and a weather forecast, the first Swedish TV programme is "En skål för televisionen" ("A Toast to Television") led by Lennart Hyland. For the first few months (until spring 1955), Swedish TV is broadcast one evening a week and for about an hour each time. November 3 – Disney's Alice in Wonderland airs on ABC in the United States. November 6 – LTV began broadcasting for the first time in Latvia and the oldest in the Baltic countries. November 19 – Télé Monte-Carlo launched in Monaco, the first microstate to have a television network. December 12 – BBC Television broadcasts its famous, and controversial, adaptation of George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four.George Orwell’s 1984 broadcast https://www.bbc.com/historyofthebbc/anniversaries/december/1984 bbc.com 4 January 2020 en The Television Act 1954 authorises setting up the infrastructure for British commercial television. The British Academy Television Awards, the most prestigious awards of the British television industry, are first awarded. The RCA CT-100 and Westinghouse 15" color sets hit the market. Neither are big sellers. Programs/programmes thumb|A TV schedule showing programming from 4 pm. to 10 p.m., Thursday, September 16, 1954, for four TV stations in Chicago. Series on the air in 1954 Adventures of Superman (1952–1958) American Bandstand (1952–1989) Bozo the Clown (1949–present) Buick-Berle Show (1953–1954); the show was renamed The Milton Berle Show (1954–1967) this year Candid Camera (1948–2014) Cavalcade of America (1952-1957) Cisco Kid (1950–1956) The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950-1955) Come Dancing (UK) (1949–1995) Death Valley Days (1952–1975) Dragnet (1951–1959) General Motors Theatre (Can) (1953–1956, 1958–1961) Gillette Cavalcade of Sports (1946–1960) Hallmark Hall of Fame (1951–present) Hawkins Falls (1950, 1951–1955) Hockey Night in Canada (1952–present) Howdy Doody (1947–1960) I Love Lucy (1951–1960) Kraft Television Theatre (1947–1958) Kukla, Fran and Ollie (1947–1957) Life is Worth Living (1952–1957) Life with Elizabeth (1952–1955) Love of Life (1951–1980) Meet the Press (1947–present) Muffin the Mule (1946–1955)TV star Muffin the Mule turns 60 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6098106.stm BBC News 4 January 2020 30 October 2006 My Little Margie (1952–1955) Our Miss Brooks (1952-1956) Panorama (UK) (1953–present) Search for Tomorrow (1951–1986) Sky King (1951-1962) The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952–1966) The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950-1955) The Ed Sullivan Show (1948–1971)How Ed Sullivan Brought Culture To America https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103987036&t=1578180677768 NPR.org 4 January 2020 en The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show (1950–1958) The Goldbergs (1949–1955) The Good Old Days (UK) (1953–1983) The Guiding Light (1952–2009) The Jack Benny Program (1950–1965) The Roy Rogers Show (1951–1957) The Today Show (1952–present) The Voice of Firestone (1949–1963) This Is Your Life (US) (1952–1961) Truth or Consequences (1950–1988) What's My Line (1950–1967) Where's Raymond? or The Ray Bolger Show (1953–1955) Your Hit Parade (1950–1959) Debuts January 1 – Annie Oakley (1954–1957) January 4 – The Brighter Day (1954–1962) January 23 – Stories of the Century (1954–1955) February 1 - The Secret Storm (1954–1974) March 11 – The Public Defender on CBS (1954–1955) April 2 – The Grove Family, on BBC Television (1954–1957); generally considered the first British TV soap opera April 8 – Justice on NBC (1954–1956) April 18 – The Martha Wright Show on ABC April 26 – The Tony Martin Show on NBC July 5 - Concerning Miss Marlowe on NBC. July 6 - The Blue Angel on CBS.McNeil Alex Total Television: the Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present 1996 Penguin Books USA, Inc. New York, New York 0-14-02-4916-8 104 4th July 16 - The Best in Mystery on NBC. (1954) August 5 – So You Want to Lead a Band on ABC (1954–1955) August 28 – The Mickey Rooney Show: Hey, Mulligan on NBC (1954–1955) September 7 Stop the Music premiered for the second time on ABC after a two-year hiatus It's a Great Life on NBC (1954–1956) September 10 – Dear Phoebe on NBC (1954–1955) September 12 – Lassie on CBS (1954–1973) September 18 – Willy on CBS (1954–1955) September 27 – The Tonight Show on NBC (1954–present) October 2 The Imogene Coca Show on NBC (1954–1955) The Jimmy Durante Show on NBC (1954–1956) October 3 - Father Knows Best on CBS (1954-60) October 5 - The Elgin Hour on ABC (1954-1955) October 7 – The Mail Story, subtitled Handle with Care, on ABC (1954) October 1 – Flash Gordon (1954–1955), starring Steve Holland October 15 – The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin on ABC (1954–1959) October 19 - The Halls of Ivy on CBS (1954-1955) October 21 – The CBS anthology series, Climax! (1954–1958) airs an adaptation of Ian Fleming's novel, Casino Royale, starring Barry Nelson as an Americanized version of spy James Bond; the first dramatic adaptation of a Bond novel October 22 - The Jack Carson Show on NBC (1954-1955) October 27 – The Walt Disney anthology series debuts as Disneyland (1954–present; as Disneyland 1954–1958) November 13 – Fabian of the Yard, the first British TV police procedural, debuts on BBC (1954–1956) December 21 – Zoo Quest on BBC Television (1954–1964) Face the Nation on CBS (1954–present) The Jo Stafford Show, a 15-minute primetime variety series, on CBS (1954–1955) The National premieres as The National News on CBC (1954–present) That's My Boy on CBS Ending this year Date Show Debut January 11 Of Many Things 1953 February 5 The Comeback StoryFebruary 24 Answers for Americans March 9 This Is Show Business 1949 March 28 Jukebox Jury 1953 May 11 Judge for Yourself June 5 Your Show of Shows 1950 June 17 Martin Kane, Private Eye 1949 July 2 The Pride of the Family 1953 Television Newsreel (UK) 1948 July 20 Mr. and Mrs. North 1952tt 557 August 1 Juvenile Jury 1947 August 2 The Dennis Day Show 1953 August 21 Bank on the Stars September 3 The Best in Mystery 1954 October 3 The Man Behind the Badge 1953 October 10 Author Meets the Critics 1947 October 12 The Blue Angel 1954November 20 The Paul Winchell Show 1950 December 5 The Martha Wright Show 1954 December 26 Rocky King Detective 1950 December 30 The Mail Story 1947 Births Date Name Notability January 2 Cynthia Sikes Yorkin Actress (St. Elsewhere) January 5 Alex English NBA basketball player January 6 Trudie Styler Actress January 7 Jodi Long Actress January 8 Jerry Vivino American musician January 12 Howard Stern Radio and TV personality (America's Got Talent)January 17Robert F. Kennedy Jr.Politician September 27, 2023 What to know about Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/robert-kennedy-jr-running-president/story?id=103202315 2024-08-09 ABC News enJanuary 18Ted DiBiaseProfessional wrestler January 19 Katey Sagal Actress and singer (Married... with Children, Futurama, Sons of Anarchy) January 24 William Allen Young Actor (Moesha)January 27 Ed Schultz Talk show host and sportscaster (d. 2018) Adrian Taylor Producer (d. 2014) January 28 Simon Templeman Actor January 29 Oprah Winfrey Actress and talk-show host (The Oprah Winfrey Show) February 1 Bill Mumy Actor and musician (Lost in Space) February 2 Christie Brinkley Model and actress February 6 David Hart Actor (In the Heat of the Night) February 9 René Balcer Writer February 15 Matt Groening Creator of The Simpsons and Futurama February 17 Rene Russo ActressFebruary 18 John Travolta Actor (Welcome Back, Kotter) John Mankiewicz DirectorFebruary 20 Anthony Head English actor (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) (d. 2026) Patty Hearst Actress March 1 Catherine Bach Actress (Daisy Duke on The Dukes of Hazzard) Ron Howard Actor (Opie Taylor on The Andy Griffith Show, Richie Cunningham on Happy Days) and director March 3 Robert Gossett Actor March 4 Catherine O'Hara Actress (d. 2026) March 5 Marsha Warfield Actress and comedian (Night Court) Marla Pennington Actress (Small Wonder) March 9 Michele Marsh Journalist (d. 2017) Martin P. Robinson Puppeteer Kevin Wade Producer March 12 Eugene Robinson Journalist March 13 Robin Duke Canadian actress and comedian (Saturday Night Live) March 14 Adrian Zmed Actor (T.J. Hooker) March 15 Craig Wasson Actor (One Life to Live) March 17 Lesley-Anne Down Actress (The Bold and the Beautiful) March 24 Donna Pescow Actress and director (Out of This World, Even Stevens) Robert Carradine Actor (Lizzie McGuire) (d. 2026) March 29 Dianne Kay Actress (Eight is Enough) April 3 Glenn Gordon Caron Writer April 7 Jackie Chan Hong Kong-born Chinese actor, filmmaker, martial artist and stuntman April 9 Dennis Quaid Actor April 10 Peter MacNicol Actor (Chicago Hope, Ally McBeal, Numb3rs) Deborah Rush Actress April 16 Ellen Barkin Actress April 17 Roddy Piper Actor (d. 2015) April 18 Cynthia Ettinger Actress April 21 James Morrison Actor (24) Janet Zarish Actress April 28 John Pankow Actor (Mad About You, Episodes) April 29 Jerry Seinfeld Actor and comedian (Seinfeld) April 30 Thom Bray Actor (Riptide) David Bohrman American news executive (d. 2023) May 8 Pam Arciero American voice artist David Keith American actor Stephen Furst American actor (Babylon 5, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, St. Elsewhere) (d. 2017)June 19, 2017 Stephen Furst, who played Flounder in the hit comedy 'Animal House', dies at 63 en-US Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/stephen-furst-who-played-flounder-in-the-hit-comedy-animal-house-dies-at-63/2017/06/19/ecd6f89e-5507-11e7-ba90-f5875b7d1876_story.html June 25, 2023 0190-8286 May 10 Mike Hagerty Actor (d. 2022) May 15 John Blyth Barrymore Actor May 18 Patrick St. Esprit Actor May 21 Janice Karman Actress Jean Kasem ActressMay 28Townsend ColemanActor (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Tick) June 2 Dennis Haysbert Actor (24, The Unit) June 5 Nancy Stafford Actress (Matlock) June 7 Bobby Di Cicco Actor June 10 Rich Hall Writer June 11 Greta Van Susteren Television news anchor June 12 Ella Joyce Actress (Roc)June 14 Kim Lankford Actress (Knots Landing) Will Patton Actor June 15 Jim Belushi Actor (According to Jim) June 17 Mark Linn-Baker Actor (Larry Appleton on Perfect Strangers)June 22 Chris Lemmon Actor (Duet) Freddie Prinze Actor and comedian (Chico and the Man) (d. 1977) June 28 Alice Krige Actress July 2 Wendy Schaal Actress (It's a Living, American Dad!)July 5 Don Stark Actor (That '70s Show) Debra McGrath Actress July 7 Ron Jones Composer July 9 Kevin O'Leary Television personality July 10 Lee David Zlotoff Producer July 13 Danitra Vance Actress and comedian (Saturday Night Live) (d. 1994)July 19 Mark O'Donnell Writer (d. 2012) Steve O'Donnell Writer July 22 Dianne Houston ScreenwriterJuly 28 Bruce Abbott Actor Andrew Adelson Producer July 29 Jeannetta Arnette Actress (Head of the Class) July 30 Ken Olin Actor, director and producer (thirtysomething, Brothers & Sisters) July 31 Rainer Bock Actor August 2 Lisa Brown Actress (d. 2021) August 12 Sam J. Jones Actor August 16 James Cameron Canadian filmmaker August 20 Al Roker American weather presenter August 23 Marc Vann Actor (Early Edition, Angel, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation) August 28 Bob Bendetson Writer August 30 Jim Vallely Writer September 2 Vance DeGeneres ActorSeptember 7 Corbin Bernsen Actor and director (L.A. Law, Psych) Michael Emerson Actor (Lost, Person of Interest)September 8 Anne Diamond Television presenter (The Wright Stuff) Joe Cipriano Voice actor September 10 Clark Johnson Actor (Homicide: Life on the Street, The Wire) September 11 Reed Birney Actor September 14 Michael Patrick King American director, writer, and producer of television and film September 15 Barry Shabaka Henley Actor September 16 Mark McEwen TV host September 21 John Mengatti Actor (The White Shadow) September 22 Shari Belafonte Actress (Hotel), daughter of Harry Belafonte September 29 Cindy Morgan Actress (Falcon Crest) (d. 2023) September 30 Barry Williams Actor (The Brady Bunch) Patrice Rushen Singer October 1 Richard Schlesinger Journalist October 2 Lorraine Bracco Actress October 3 Al Sharpton Civil rights activist October 9 Scott Bakula Actor (Quantum Leap, Star Trek: Enterprise, NCIS: New Orleans) John O'Hurley Actor October 14 Elizabeth Sung Actress (d. 2018) October 15 Ingrid Tarrant Wife of Chris Tarrant Jere Burns Actor October 18 Arliss Howard Actor October 24 Doug Davidson Actor (The Young and the Restless) October 26 D. W. Moffett Actor (For Your Love, Friday Night Lights, Switched at Birth) James Pickens, Jr. Actor (The X-Files, Grey's Anatomy) November 3 Kathy Kinney Actress and comedian (The Drew Carey Show) November 6 Catherine Crier American journalist November 7 Gil Junger Director November 12 Rhonda Shear TV personality, actress November 13 Chris Noth Actor (Law & Order, Sex and the City, The Good Wife) November 14 Yanni Composer November 15 Kevin S. Bright Producer November 19 Kathleen Quinlan Actress November 23 Bruce Hornsby Composer November 24 Emir Kusturica ActorNovember 27 Patricia McPherson Actress (Knight Rider) Kimmy Robertson Actress (Twin Peaks) November 28 Marty Grabstein Actor (Courage the Cowardly Dog)December 1 Bob Goen Game show host Alan Dedicoat English announcerDecember 2 Dan Butler Actor (Frasier, Hey Arnold!) Patty Petersen Actress Stone Phillips American television reporter December 4 Tony Todd Actor and producer December 7 Priscilla Barnes Actress (Three's Company) December 10 Jeff Fager American producer December 18 Ray Liotta Actor (d. 2022) December 20 Michael Badalucco Actor (The Practice) December 26 Tony Rosato Actor (Saturday Night Live, The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World) (d. 2017)December 28 Gayle King Television personality Denzel Washington Actor (St. Elsewhere, Malcolm X, Training Day) Lanny Poffo Actor (d. 2023) Deaths Date Name Age Notability September 28Bert Lytell69Actor (One Man's Family, 1949–52, 1954) Television debuts Lew Ayres – Omnibus Carroll Baker – The Web Angie Dickinson – The Colgate Comedy Hour Dennis Hopper – Cavalcade of America Ruby Keeler – The Jackie Gleason Show Jayne Mansfield – Lux Video Theatre Ethel Merman – The Colgate Comedy Hour Robert Morse – The Secret Storm Nell O'Day – Studio One Ginger Rogers – Producers' Showcase Gilbert Roland – Ford Theatre Gena Rowlands – Top Secret Harry Dean Stanton – Inner Sanctum Adam West – The Philco Television Playhouse References 1954