Chimpanzee J. Fred Muggs joined the “Today” (NBC, 1952) cast in January 1953. Ratings immediately soared.
Muggs was let go four years later when he got too old and hard to handle.
NBC said that Muggs had “decided to terminate” his position so he could “extend his personal horizons.”
Yes, the TV series “Dragnet” (NBC, 1952-59, 1967-70) was based on real cases. It may have been the original true crime drama, with all shows fashioned from cases found in Los Angeles police files. All scripts were reviewed by the police and the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office.
The announcement of President Kennedy’s assassination was made on TV at 1:40 P.M. EST on Friday, November 22, 1963. On CBS, “As the World Turns” was interrupted by Walter Cronkite with the news bulletin. Actress Helen Wagner had just been saying, “I gave it a great deal of thought, Grandpa,” when the episode was cut…
The show that debuted on CBS in 1973 was “The $10,000 Pyramid.” The ante has subsequently been upped to $20,000, $25,000, $50,000, and $100,000. The show has also appeared on ABC and in syndication.
“Amos ‘n’ Andy” (CBS, 1951-53) with Spencer Williams as Andy Brown and Alvin Childress as Amos Jones, was the first all-black sitcom on TV. Amos was a cabdriver, Andy a bachelor.
The DuMont TV network started operating in 1944 with station WABD in New York (now WNYW). It had financing from Paramount Pictures but lacked a radio network such as the other networks had. Owning a radio network made it easier to sign up TV station affiliates. Further, complicated court rulings prevented DuMont from owning as…
The exterior of the bar in the TV series “Cheers” (NBC, 1982) was filmed at a Boston bar called “The Bull and Finch” on Beacon Street across from the Boston Common.