I clearly recall the TV broadcast of the coronation in 1953. I have other TV memories from childhood but it is impossible to connect them with a particular date. I recall the kids series 'The Appleyards', and 'Whirligig' and George Cansdale's zoo program, also Sidney Harrison's 'How to play the piano' series (with the program's signature tune, the 'Harmonious Blacksmith'). I'm sure a lot more early stuff would come in time, but now my brain hurts.
I recall "Howdy Doody" and "Pinky Lee" vividly in the early 1950's. I recall some of the shows my parents watched during that time, such as "Your Show of Shows". My folks liked the Steve Allen Show and they tuned in on the "Today" show for news and current events.
I was a young adult when I saw Roots. One of the stars in that show was the singer Leslie Uggams. I had recently paid a significant cover fee to see her perform in a small local venue (the Venetian Room). I loved her voice.
When I saw her perform in Roots as the slave Kizzy, I was struck at how her singing talent might have been wasted had she been born in a different time and in a different social milieu.
The first things I can remember watching on TV were Ace Ventura Pet Detective and Aladdin. Touched by an Angel is the first thing I can remember mom and dad watching.
It was a movie about a wrestler and it was sponsored by Schlitz. I didn't know about commercials, I assumed it was part of the movie and they had painted the Schlitz logo on the floor of the ring.
When I was in pre-school, I would come home for lunch and watch a cartoon show. I can't remember the name of it right now, but while the theme song, "Syncopated Clock," was on my mother would make me a grilled cheese sandwich while I spun around to the music. It's a nice memory. Cartoon Land, that was the name of the show. One of the cartoons was Crusader Rabbit. That was my favorite.
This post was edited by CallMeIshmael at February 4, 2018 9:29 PM MST
In 1954 I was four, and I sort of remember this woman. Vaguely. (we had a tv) From WIKI on Mary Hartline. In 1949, the ABC television network picked up the local show, Super Circus, which was also produced by Stokes. Hartline moved to Super Circus where her looks and figure made her a national star and a sex symbol for thousands of boys, young and old. The show, starring former real-life Chicago World's Fair barker, Big Band announcer, and radio host Claude Kirchner, featured Hartline as the band leader, the circus clowns Cliffy, Scampy, and Nicky, as well as Mike Wallace playing the circus barker peddling Peter Pan Peanut Butter.[3]
Super Circus was a hit, put on the cover of TV Guide, and was produced in Chicago through 1955. The network then moved it to New York, replaced Kirchner with Jerry Colonna and Hartline with Sandy Wirth, and produced what was to be the show's final season.[3] Hartline, however, made the best of her years on the show, marketing her own line of dolls, clothes, boots, et cetera--- three dozen different Mary Hartline products.[4] In 1951, she also hosted a short-lived Mary Hartline Show on ABC TV that failed to find a sponsor.[3]
Following the network's decision to move Super Circus to New York, Hartline returned to local Chicago TV in 1957 with Princess Mary's Magic Castle which aired for a year and a half.[2] Thereafter, Hartline retired from show business. She was enshrined in Chicago's Museum of Broadcast Communications in 2012.[5]
This post was edited by WM BARR . =ABSOLUTE TRASH at February 4, 2018 11:54 PM MST
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KIVA_(TV) The first tv station. It was a couple more years before my family owned a tv. Back when a buck was still silver, a tv cost about $110. That would be roughly equivalent to $2000 now. The station ran a lot of cowboy movies and that was just fine with everybody.
SavvyAnsley 