1963 in television

From open-encyclopedia.com - the free encyclopedia.

See also: 1962 in television, other events of 1963, 1964 in television and the list of 'years in television'.

Events

• January 1 - Astroboy (known as Mighty Atom in Japanese) Japan's first ever animé was launched.
• May 15 - First television pictures transmitted from a US manned space capsule ("Faith 7"). Due to the poor picture quality, only NBC carries the transmission, and on tape-delay, not live.
• September 2 - CBS Evening News becomes network television's first half-hour weeknight news broadcast, when the show is lengthened from 15 to 30 minutes.
• September 9 - NBC expands its evening network news program to 30 minutes.
• November 22 - All three major U.S. networks start pre-emptions for a week following the news of John F. Kennedy's assassination. The pre-emptions unofficially begin a few minutes after Kennedy was shot; on the top-rated American soap opera As the World Turns, Nancy Hughes (Helen Wagner) was in the middle of a discussion with Grandpa (Santos Ortega) about Bob's (Don Hastings) decision to invite Lisa (Eileen Fulton) to Thanksgiving dinner. Walter Cronkite interrupted Wagner mid-speech to deliver the bulletin. As the World Turns continued for one more scene (at that time, the show was transmitted live) before Cronkite cut in permanently.
• November 23 - That Was The Week That Was broadcasts its famous, non-satirical Kennedy tribute episode on the BBC.
• November 24 - Jack Ruby murders John F. Kennedy's suspected assassin Lee Harvey Oswald live on television.
• For the first time, most Americans say that they get more of their news from television than newspapers.
• The television remote control is authorized by the FCC.
• German terrestrial channel ZDF (pronounced tseh-deh-ehf) began broadcasting.

Debuts

• April 1 - General Hospital (created by Frank and Doris Hursley) and The Doctors premiere on the same day, the former on ABC and the latter on NBC. (GH 1963-present; Doctors 1963-1982)
• November 23 - The first episode of the science fiction series Doctor Who debuts on BBC (1963-1989, 1996, 2005-present)
• Petticoat Junction on CBS (1963-1970)
• Ready Steady Go on ITV (1963-1966)
• The Judy Garland Show on CBS (1963-1964)

Popular Television Shows

• Meet the Press (1947-present)
• Candid Camera (1948-present)
• The Ed Sullivan Show (1948-1971)
• The Jack Benny Show (1950-1965)
• Truth or Consequences (1950-1988)
• What's My Line (1950-1967)
• Love of Life (1951-1980)
• Search for Tomorrow (1951-1986)
• American Bandstand (1952-1989)
• The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952-1966)
• The Guiding Light (1952-present)
• The Honeymooners (1952-1970)
• The Today Show (1952-present)
• Panorama (UK) (1953-present)
• The Good Old Days (UK) (1953-1983)
• Face the Nation (1954-present)
• The Milton Berle Show (1954-1967)
• The Secret Storm (1954-1974)
• The Tonight Show (1954-present)
• Zoo Quest (UK) (1954-1964)
• Captain Kangaroo (1955-1984)
• Dixon of Dock Green (UK) (1955-1976)
• Gunsmoke (1955-1975)
• The Lawrence Welk Show (1955-1982)
• This Is Your Life (UK) (1955-2003)
• Armchair Theatre (1956-1968)
• As the World Turns (1956-present)
• Opportunity Knocks (UK) (1956-1978)
• The Edge of Night (1956-1984)
• The Price Is Right (1956-1965)
• What the Papers Say (UK) (1956-present)
• The Sky at Night (UK) (1957-present)
• Blue Peter (UK) (1958-present)
• Grandstand (UK) (1958-present)
• The Donna Reed Show (1958-1966)
• Bonanza (1959-1973)
• Juke Box Jury (1959-1967, 1979, 1989-1990)
• The Twilight Zone (1959-1964, 1985-1988, 2002)
• Coronation Street (UK) (1960-present)
• My Three Sons (1960-1972)
• The Andy Griffith Show (1960-1968)
• The Flintstones (1960-1966)
• Ben Casey (1961-1966)
• Mister Ed (1961-1966)
• The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961-1966)
• The Fulton Sheen Program (1961-1968)
• The Mike Douglas Show (1961-1981)
• Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color (1961-1969)
• Match Game (1962-1969, 1973-1984, 1990-1991, 1998-1999)
• The Beverly Hillbillies (1962-1971)
• The Late Late Show (Ireland) (1962-present)
• The Lucy Show (1962-1968)
• Z-Cars (UK) (1962-1978)

Ending this year

• The Voice of Firestone (1949-1963)
• Leave It to Beaver (1957-1963)

Births

• May 8 - Stella Gonet, actress
• May 28 - Michelle Collins, actress
• May 29 - Lisa Whelchel, actress
• July 30 - Lisa Kudrow, actress, Friends
• November 1 - Lisa Maxwell, actress