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1953 in television
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1953 television radio film music
The year 1953 in television involved some significant events. Below is a list of television-related events during 1953.
Events
January 19 – 68% of all U.S. television sets are tuned in to I Love Lucy to watch Lucy give birth to little Ricky.
January 23 – TP1, a predecessor of TVP1, a member of Telewizja Polska, becomes the first television station in Poland when it officially begins a regular broadcasting service, from Warsaw.
February 1
Japanese television begins when JOAK-TV begins broadcasting from Tokyo.https://www.nhk.or.jp/digitalmuseum/nhk50years_en/history/p06/index.html 50 Years of NHK Television NHK August 7, 2022 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20040313200855/https://www.nhk.or.jp/digitalmuseum/nhk50years_en/history/p06/index.html March 13, 2004
General Electric Theater airs for the first time on CBS.
February 18 – Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz sign an $8,000,000 contract to continue the I Love Lucy television series through 1955.
February 26 – Fulton J. Sheen, on his program Life Is Worth Living, reads Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, with the names of high-ranking Soviet officials replacing the main characters. At the end of the reading, Sheen intones that "Stalin must one day meet his judgment". Stalin dies one week later.
March 17 – Patrick Troughton becomes television's first Robin Hood, playing the eponymous folk hero in the first of six half-hour episodes of Robin Hood, shown weekly until April 21 on the BBC Television Service.
March 19 – The 25th Academy Awards is broadcast by NBC in the U.S. This becomes the first Academy Awards ceremony to be televised.
March 25 – CBS concedes victory to RCA in the war over color television standards.
April 3 – TV Guide is published for the first time in the United States, with 10 editions and a circulation of 1,562,000.
May 1 – Czechoslovak Television becomes the first television station in the country when it officially begins a regular broadcasting service, from Prague; this station will separate into Czech Television and Slovenská televízia in January 1993.
May 25 – KUHT in Houston becomes the first non-commercial educational TV station in the United States.
June 2 – The Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II is televised by the BBC from London. Sales of TV sets in the United Kingdom rise sharply in the weeks leading up to the event. It is also one of the earliest broadcasts to be deliberately recorded for posterity and still exists in its entirety. More than twenty million viewers around the world watch the coverage;http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/june/2/newsid_2654000/2654501.stm On This Day: Queen Elizabeth takes coronation oath BBC News BBC 2014-04-28 1953-06-02 to ensure Canadians could see it on the same day, British Royal Air Force Canberras fly film of the ceremony across the Atlantic Ocean to be broadcast by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation,http://archives.cbc.ca/society/monarchy/topics/70/ Society > The Monarchy > Canada's New Queen > Coronation of Queen Elizabeth > The Story Canadian Broadcasting Corporation 2009-12-17 the first non-stop flight between the United Kingdom and the Canadian mainland. In Goose Bay, Labrador, the film is transferred to a Royal Canadian Air Force CF-100 jet fighter for the further trip to Montreal. In all, three such voyages are made as the coronation proceeds.http://archives.cbc.ca/society/monarchy/topics/70/ Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Society > The Monarchy > Canada's New Queen > Coronation of Queen Elizabeth > Did You Know? Canadian Broadcasting Corporation 2009-12-17
July 18
The Quatermass Experiment, first of the famous Quatermass science-fiction serials by Nigel Kneale, begins its run on the BBC in the U.K.
The Tonight Show begins as a local New York variety show, originally titled The Knickerbocker Beer Show.
August 28 – Nippon Television, becomes the first regular broadcast service to start in Tokyo, Japan.Nippon TV#History Retrieved January 13, 2017. The first program is Hato no kyujitsu.
August 30 – NBC's Kukla, Fran, and Ollie is the first publicly announced experimental broadcast of a program in RCA compatible color.
September 27 – TV Record, a major free-to-air television network in Brazil, becomes the first official regular broadcasting service to start in São Paulo.RecordTV#History#1950s: Beginnings Retrieved January 13, 2017.
October 18 – A live television adaptation of the Shakespeare play King Lear starring Orson Welles is aired on CBS as part of the Omnibus series.
October 19 – American CBS presenter Arthur Godfrey dismisses singer Julius La Rosa live on air on the radio-only segment of his morning show.Elizabeth Ahlfors http://www.juliuslarosa.com/julie'sstory.html Julie's Story Juliuslarosa.com 2014-08-09 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20141107180520/http://juliuslarosa.com/julie%27sstory.html 2014-11-07
October 23 – Alto Broadcasting System of the Philippines makes the first television broadcast in the Philippines through DZAQ-TV. Alto Broadcasting System is the predecessor of what is now ABS-CBN Corporation.2025-02-07 FACT CHECK: Hindi totoong babalik sa Channel 3 ang ABS-CBN https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2025/2/7/fact-check-hindi-totoong-babalik-sa-channel-3-ang-abs-cbn-2012 ABS-CBN 2025-10-14 tl
November 15 – Radio Caracas Television (RCTV) becomes the first television station in Venezuela when it officially begins a regular broadcast service.
November 22 – RCA airs (with special permission from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the U.S.) the first commercial color program in compatible color, The Colgate Comedy Hour with Donald O'Connor.
November 26 – NBC broadcasts its first national telecast of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
December 2 – BBC broadcasts its 'Television Symbol' for the first time, the first animated television presentation symbol.
December 12 – The DuMont Television Network televises its first ever National Basketball Association game with the Boston Celtics defeating the Baltimore Bullets 106–75. This marked the first year the NBA had a national television contract. This was the only year of NBA coverage on DuMont; the Saturday afternoon package moved to NBC for the 1954 season, mainly because NBC could clear the games on far more stations that DuMont could.
December 17 – The FCC reverses its 1951 decision and approves the RCA/NTSC color system.
December 24 – Dragnet becomes the first filmed drama to be televised in color each year as a network television program. However, only this one episode, entitled "The Big Little Jesus", is filmed in color during the 1950s; the show returns in the late 1960s in color.
Programs/programmes
Series on the air in 1953
Adventures of Superman (1952–1958)
American Bandstand (1952–1989)
Author Meets the Critics (1947–1954)
Bozo the Clown (1949–)
Candid Camera (1948–)
Cisco Kid (1950–1956)
Come Dancing (UK) (1949–1995)
Death Valley Days (1952–1975)
Dragnet (1951–1959)
Gillette Cavalcade of Sports (1946–1960)
Hallmark Hall of Fame (1951–)
Hawkins Falls (1950, 1951–1955)
Hockey Night in Canada (1952–)
Howdy Doody (1947–1960)
I Love Lucy (1951–1960)
Juvenile Jury (1947–1954)
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)
Martin Kane, Private Eye (1949–1954)
Meet the Press (1947–)
Muffin the Mule (1946–1955)
My Little Margie (1952–1955)
Omnibus (1952–1961)
Our Miss Brooks (1952-1956)
Search for Tomorrow (1951–1986)
Television Newsreel (UK) (1948–1954)
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952–1966)
The Ed Sullivan Show (1948–1971)
The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show (1950–1958)
The Goldbergs (1949–1955)
The Guiding Light (1952–)
The Jack Benny Show (1950–1965)
The Roy Rogers Show (1951–1957)
The Texaco Star Theater (1948–1953); the show was renamed Buick-Berle Show this year (1953–1954)
The Today Show (1952–)
The Voice of Firestone (1949–1963)
This Is Your Life (U.S.; 1952–1961)
Truth or Consequences (1950–1988)
What's My Line (1950–1967)
Your Hit Parade (1950–1959)
Your Show of Shows (1950–1954)
Debuts
February 10 – Romper Room (1953–1994)
June 8 - Ladies' Choice on NBC (1953)
June 20 – Bank on the Stars on CBS (1953), then NBC (1954)
July 11 - Medallion Theatre on CBS (1953-1954)
July 6 - Glamour Girl on NBC (1953-1954)
July 14 -Anyone Can Win on CBS (1953)
July 20 – The Good Old Days on BBC Television (1953–1983)
August 18 - Judge for Yourself with Fred Allen on NBC (1953–1954)
September 13 – Jukebox Jury on ABC (1953–1954)
September 13 - The George Jessel Show on ABC.
September 29 – Make Room For Daddy with Danny Thomas on ABC (1953-1957), then moved to CBS (1957–1964)
October 2 – The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse, an anthology series, The Comeback Story, a reality show, and The Pride of the Family, a situation comedy, all on ABC
October 5 – Of Many Things, panel discussion show with Dr. Bergen Evans on ABC (1953–1954)
October 8 – Where's Raymond?, starring Ray Bolger on ABC (in season 2, it is known as The Ray Bolger Show) (1954–1955)
October 11 - The Man Behind the Badge on CBS (1953-1954)Brooks Tim Marsh Earle F. The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present 2009 Random House Publishing Group 9780307483201 844 https://books.google.com/books?id=w8KztFy6QYwC&q=%22Man+Behind+the+Badge%22+syndicated&pg=PA844 21 June 2019 en
November 4 - Take It from Me on ABC (1953-1954)McNeil Alex Total Television: the Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present https://books.google.com/books?id=dctkAAAAMAAJ&q=%22take+It+From+Me%22+%22alan+Dinehart%22&dq=%22take+It+From+Me%22+%22alan+Dinehart%22 1996 Penguin Books USA, Inc. New York, New York 0-14-02-4916-8 427 4th
November 11
The current affairs series Panorama on BBC Television; now the longest-running program on British television
The public affairs series Answers for Americans on ABC
December 1 – CBC Theatre on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation [later known as General Motors Theatre (1954–1956) and General Motors Presents (1958–1961)]
Place the Face, with principal host Bill Cullen, on CBS (1953–1954); then transferred to NBC (1954–1955)
Ending this year
Date Show DebutMarch 26Biff Baker, U.S.A.1952AprilThe Amos 'n Andy Show1951The Ernie Kovacs Show1952May 3Victory at SeaJune 26Kaleidoscope (UK)1946 September 30 A Date with Judy (prime time version) 1952November 13Front Page Detective1951Brooks, Tim & Marsh, Earle (1979). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows: 1946-Present. Ballantine Books. 0-345-25525-9.December 26Bonino1953UnknownCafé Continental (UK)1947Leave It to Larry1952
Births
Date Name Notability January 5 Pamela Sue Martin Actress (The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries, Dynasty) January 8 Damián Alcázar Actor Tonita Castro Actress (died 2016) January 10 Pat Benatar Singer January 20 Colleen Zenk Actress (As the World Turns) January 29 Paul Fusco Puppeteer (ALF) Lynne McGranger Australian actress (Home and Away) February 8 Mary Steenburgen Actress (The Last Man on Earth) February 11 Philip Anglim Actor February 12 Joanna Kerns Actress (Growing Pains) February 14 Martha Raddatz Reporter February 15 Lynn Whitfield Actress (Without a Trace) February 17 Becky Ann Baker Actress February 19 Bill Kirchenbauer Actor (Just the Ten of Us) February 21 William Petersen Actor (CSI: Crime Scene Investigation) Christine Ebersole Actress (Steven Universe, The Cavanaughs, Royal Pains) Peter Van Sant American television news reporter March 4 Kay Lenz Actress (Reasonable Doubts)March 6 Jacklyn Zeman Actress (General Hospital) (died 2023) Armen Keteyian Armenian American television journalist March 9 Lauren Koslow Actress (Days of Our Lives) March 10 Paul Haggis Director March 12 Ron Jeremy Pornographic actor March 16 Micheline Charest Producer (died 2004) March 24 Louie Anderson Actor (died 2022) March 25 Mary Gross Actress (Saturday Night Live)Chase's Calendar of Events 2021: The Ultimate Go-to Guide for Special Days, Weeks and Months 27 October 2020 Rowman & Littlefield 978-1-64143-424-9 190 https://books.google.com/books?id=CPcCEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA190 en April 13 Grant Geissman American composer April 16 Jay O. Sanders Actor April 18 Rick Moranis Canadian actor and comedian April 19 Ruby Wax American-born comedic actress, presenter (The Full Wax) April 22 Gary Adelson Producer April 23 James Russo Actor April 24 Eric Bogosian Actor (Law & Order: Criminal Intent) May 1 David Gulpilil Actor (died 2021) May 3 Jake Hooker Musician (died 2014) May 6 Tony Blair PoliticianCNN - Tony Blair http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/europe/9804/10/n.ireland.profiles/blair/blair.html 2024-09-02 www.cnn.com May 9 Amy Hill ActressMay 16 Pierce Brosnan Irish-born actor (Remington Steele, The Son) Peter Onorati Actor May 17 Kathleen Sullivan Journalist May 20 Michael Dinner Screenwriter May 29 Danny Elfman Singer and composer (Batman: The Animated Series, The Simpsons, Pee-wee's Playhouse) May 30 Colm Meaney Actor (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) June 1 Diana Canova ActressJune 10John EdwardsPolitician2007-08-13 John Edwards' Public Life https://www.nbcnews.com/slideshow/john-edwards-public-life-34971319 2025-07-26 NBC News en June 11 Peter Bergman Actor (All My Children, The Young and the Restless) June 13 Tim Allen Actor (Home Improvement, Last Man Standing) June 16 Valerie Mahaffey Actress and producer (Northern Exposure) June 21 Michael Bowen Actor (Lost, Breaking Bad) June 22 Cyndi Lauper Singer and actress June 26 Robert Davi Actor (Profiler) July 4 Jon Plowman Producer July 10 Marco Rodríguez Actor July 11 Mindy Sterling Actress Patricia Reyes Spíndola Actress July 13 Gil Birmingham Actor July 23 Lydia Cornell Actress (Too Close for Comfort) July 29 Tim Gunn Actor August 1 Howard Kurtz American journalist August 2 Butch Patrick Actor (The Munsters) August 4 Tony Barnhart Reporter August 8 Donny Most Actor (Happy Days) August 9 Kathleen Matthews Reporter August 11 Hulk Hogan Wrestler (Hogan Knows Best) (died 2025) August 13 Jim Paratore Producer (died 2012) August 14 James Horner Composer (died 2015) August 16 Kathie Lee Gifford Singer and talk show co-host (Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee) Vincent Curatola Actor August 20 Peter Horton Actor (thirtysomething) Ron Claiborne American journalist August 26 Emiliano Díez Cuban actor (George Lopez) August 27 Peter Stormare Swedish actor (Prison Break) August 30 Robert Parish NBA basketball player August 31 Marcia Clark Lawyer, correspondent, and producer2024-04-11 Marcia Clark - OJ Trial, Book & Age https://www.biography.com/legal-figures/marcia-clark 2024-05-30 Biography en-US September 1 Jonathan LaPook American physician September 2 Keith Allen Welsh actor September 4 Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs Actor (Welcome Back, Kotter) September 6 Katherine Cannon Actress (Beverly Hills, 90210) September 7 Kristin Griffith Actress September 10 Amy Irving Actress September 13 Iyanla Vanzant TV personality (Iyanla: Fix My Life) August 8, 2015 Comments by and info about Iyanla Vanzant https://www.freep.com/story/life/2015/08/07/meet-iyanla-vanzant-relationship-guru/31169133/ 2024-05-21 Detroit Free Press en-US September 14 Robert Wisdom Actor (The Wire, Prison Break) Kurt Fuller ActorSeptember 16 Lenny Clarke Comedian and actor (Rescue Me) Christopher Rich Actor (Murphy Brown, Reba) September 27 Robbie Shakespeare Producer (died 2021) September 29 Drake Hogestyn Actor (Days of Our Lives) October 6 Wendy Robie Actress (Twin Peaks) October 7 Christopher Norris Actress (Trapper John, M.D.) October 9 Tony Shalhoub Actor (Adrian Monk on Monk) October 11 David Morse Actor (St. Elsewhere) October 12 Les Dennis English television presenterOctober 14 Greg Evigan Actor (My Two Dads) Howard Schultz Producer October 15 Larry Miller Comedian October 20 Keith Hernandez Sports broadcaster October 26 Lauren Tewes Actress (The Love Boat) October 27 Robert Picardo Actor (China Beach, Star Trek: Voyager) October 28 Desmond Child Songwriter October 30 Charles Lewis JournalistOctober 31 Michael J. Anderson Actor (Twin Peaks) Lynda Goodfriend Actress (Happy Days)November 3 Dennis Miller Talk show host, commentator, comedian (Saturday Night Live) Kate Capshaw Actress November 5 Joyce Maynard American journalist November 12 Carl Ciarfalio American actor November 15 James Widdoes American actor November 18 Kevin Nealon Actor and comedian (Saturday Night Live, Weeds, Glenn Martin, DDS) Kath Soucie Actress (Tiny Toon Adventures, Captain Planet and the Planeteers, Rugrats, Earthworm Jim, Dexter's Laboratory, Hey Arnold!, Futurama) November 19 Robert Beltran Actor (Commander Chakotay on Star Trek: Voyager) Tom Villard Actor (died 1994) November 26 Jacki MacDonald Australian television personality November 27 Curtis Armstrong Actor (Dan Vs., Robot and Monster, The Emperor's New School) November 28 Pamela Hayden Actress December 1 Antoine de Caunes French Anglophone presenter (Eurotrash) December 6 Kin Shriner Actor (General Hospital, Justice League Unlimited) December 7 Susie Coelho TV personalityDecember 8 Sam Kinison Comedian and actor (Charlie Hoover) (died 1992) Kim Basinger Actress December 9 John Malkovich Actor December 11 Bess Armstrong Actress December 14 Gail Matthius Actress (Saturday Night Live)December 17 Barry Livingston Actor (My Three Sons) Bill Pullman ActorDecember 22 Bern Nadette Stanis Actress (Good Times) Jay Brazeau Actor December 23 John Callahan Actor (died 2020) December 29 Charlayne Woodard Actress December 30 Meredith Vieira Journalist, talk show host, game show host (Who Wants to Be a Millionaire) December 31 James Remar Actor (The Huntress)
Television debuts
Anouk Aimée – Douglas Fairbanks Presents
Claude Akins – You Are There
John Drew Barrymore – Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
James Best – Fireside Theatre
Walter Brennan – Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Carol Channing – Omnibus
James Coburn – Four Star Playhouse
Chuck Connors – Your Jeweler's Showcase
Robert Cornthwaite – Cavalcade of America
Joan Crawford – The Revlon Mirror Theater
Charles Durning – You Are There
Mel Ferrer – Omnibus
Janet Gaynor – Medallion Theatre
Clifton James – Rocky King Detective
Eartha Kitt – You Are There
Martin Landau – The Goldbergs
Ida Lupino – Four Star Playhouse
Barton MacLane – Your Jeweler's Showcase
Ray Milland – Meet Mr. McNutley
Jeanne Moreau – La joie de vivre
Leonard Nimoy – Four Star Playhouse
Anthony Perkins – The Big Story
Christopher Plummer – Studio One
Eleanor Powell – The Faith of Our Children
George Raft – I'm the Law
Marion Ross – Cavalcade of America
William Shatner – Space Command
Harry Shearer – Omnibus
Michael Trubshawe – The Passing Show
Robert Wagner – Juke Box Jury
References
1953