1959/60 – Gunsmoke was #1 on CBS Saturday, third year running.
Note: Any BOLD shows were cancelled in 1959 season; Gillette Cavalcade Of Sports
was cancelled in the fourteen season.
Alternate Series:
The Jack Benny Show and The George Gobel Show were on CBS Sunday at 10 PM.
Alcoa Theatre and Goodyear TV Playhouse were on NBC Monday at 9:30 PM.
Sugarfoot and Bronco were on ABC Tuesday at 7:30 PM.
Gas Company Playhouse and NBC Playhouse were on NBC Tuesday at 8:30 PM for the summer.
Armstrong Circle Theatre and The U.S. Steel Hour were on CBS Wednesday at 10 PM.
Playhouse 90 and The Big Party were on CBS Thursday at 9:30 PM.
Anniversary:
The Jack Benny Show celebrated ten years on CBS.
You Bet Your Life celebrated ten years on NBC.
Biggest New Hit: Dennis The Menace was #16 on CBS Sunday; he had excellent company – Lassie and Ed Sullivan –
on that night. He was in the top twenty in the first three seasons. The highest was #11 in 1960. The ratings suffered after
the lost of Mr. Wilson in 1962. The fourth season was their last.
Daytime:
The Bob Cummings Show was on ABC weekdays from October 1959–December 1961.
The Millionaire was on CBS weekdays from October 1959–August 1963.
The Thin Man was on NBC weekdays from September 1959–February 1960.
Dobie Gillis Tidbits:
Doris Packer played two roles – Clarice Armitage (1959/60) and Mrs. Chatsworth Osborne, Sr. (1960–1963), both
mothers was snobbish and overbearing. Wow, what a stretch for Doris Packer!
This was Warren Beatty’s first and only series. He played Doris Packer’s son, Milton Armitage. He became a
successful movie star.
This was also Tuesday Weld’s first and only series. She played Dobie’s crush, Thalia Menninger. Just like Warren,
she became a movie star. Ironically, she turned down the 1967 movie, Bonnie & Clyde, which also starred Warren Beatty.
This was also Bob Denver’s first series. He became more famous on Gilligan’s Island.
Jean Bryon also played two roles on Dobie Gillis - Mrs. Ruth Adams (1959/60) and Dr. Burkhart (1961–1963).
Dwayne Hickman’s brother, Darryl Hickman, played Dobie’s relative, Davey Gillis in the first season.
Sheila James supposed to have a Zelda spin off series, but the four Zelda episodes didn’t make it on network in those
days. Zelda still hasn’t seen the light to this day. CBS cancelled the spin off because there were gay rumors about
Sheila.
Movies 2 TV:
Five Fingers was loosely based on the 1952 James Mason movie.
Mr. Lucky was based on the 1943 Cary Grant movie.
The Third Man was based on the famous 1950 Orson Welles movie
Wichita Town was a 1955 Joel McCrea movie, Wichita. Joel played Wyatt Earp in the movie; he played Marshall Mike Dunbar
in the series.
Name Change:
The Facts We Face to Open Hearing. Walter Cronkite was the new moderator.
Hobby Lobby to The Charles Weaver Show in November 1959.
Music For A Summer Night to Music For A Spring Time. Then it reverted to the original name for the summer.
The Revlon Revue to Revlon Presents in March 1960, then it became Revlon Spring Music Festival in May 1960.
The Steve Allen Show to The Steve Allen Plymouth Show.
Original Run:
Dennis The Menace was on CBS Sunday at 7:30 PM for four years.
The Deputy was on NBC Saturday at 7:30 PM for two years.
Original Title: Bonanza was going to be called The Restless Gun
Radio:
The Bell Telephone Hour was on NBC from 1940–1958.
Fibber McGee and Molly was on the radio from 1935–1957.
Reruns:
ABC aired reruns of the NBC show, The Court of Last Resort, on Wednesday.
NBC aired Cimarron City reruns during the summer of 1960.
ABC aired reruns of the NBC series, Steve Canyon, during the summer of 1960.
ABC aired reruns of Johnny Staccato, after NBC canceled the show in the same season.
ABC aired Broken Arrow reruns in the summer of 1960.
ABC aired Hey Jeannie reruns under the name of The Jeannie Carson Show in the summer of 1960.
CBS aired The Charlie Farrell Show reruns in the summer of 1957.
Gas Company Playhouse shown reruns of Goodyear TV Playhouse, The David Niven Show, Colgate Theatre and Alcoa Theatre episodes
on NBC.
NBC Playhouse shown reruns of The Loretta Young Show.
CBS aired Peck's Bad Girl reruns in the summer. It last seen in 1959.
Producer's Choice shown reruns of G.E Theater, Lux Playhouse, Schlitz Playhouse and Lux Video Theatre.
ABC aired reruns of 21 Beacon Street.
Summer Replacement:
Celebrity Talent Scouts replaced The Danny Thomas Show for the summer.
The Chevy Mystery Show replaced The Dinah Shore Show for the summer.
The Comedy Spot replaced The Red Skelton Show for the summer.
Edwin Newman Reporting replaced Chet Huntley Reporting for the summer.
Happy replaced the first half hour of The Perry Como Show for the summer.
Tate replaced the second half hour of The Perry Como Show for the summer.
Wrangler replaced The Ford Show Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford for the summer.
Switch Networks:
Bachelor Father went from CBS to NBC.
The George Gobel Show went from NBC to CBS.
The Gale Storm Show went from CBS to ABC.
Keep Talking went from CBS to ABC.
Richard Diamond, Private Detective went from CBS to NBC.
Staccato went from NBC to ABC in March 1960; ABC shows reruns.
Tidbits
Father Knows Best ended this season; it continued to be rerun for the next three years on CBS & ABC. Robert got tired
of the role; he played it for eleven years since his NBC radio days.
Bonanza was the first western to be in color.
Bonanza was Michael Landon’s first series. He was a hugely popular star on Bonanza, Little House On The Prairie and
Highway To Heaven. He was the only star to have three consecutive series, which ran for five years or more.
Joel & Jody McCrea, real life father & son, played marshal and deputy in Wichita Town. Their characters weren’t
related in any way.
The Untouchables was such a success on Desilu Playhouse on CBS in April 1959 that a controversial series was ordered by
ABC.
Quinn Martin got his start on The Untouchables. The successful producer had one series running in prime time for twenty-one
straight years from 1959–1980. He produced The Fugitive, Twelve O’Clock High, The F.B.I., The Invaders, The Untouchables,
The Streets Of San Francisco, Cannon and Barnaby Jones.
Bourbon Street Beat was cancelled in the first season. The following season, Richard Long played the same character, Rex
Randolph, on 77 Sunset Street for another year. His costar, Van Williams, played the same character, Ken Madison, in a new
detective series, Surfside Six, from 1960-62 in the same time slot as Bourdon Street Beat.
Law of the Plainsman pilot was shown on The Rifleman in early 1959.
There was a real gunfighter-turned-lawman Johnny Ringo in the 1880’s. The series wasn’t based on his life.
The series never got decent ratings; it was against ABC’s The Real McCoys.
One of the specials on Startime, “Sing Along With Mitch” aired on May 24,1960, then the following January,
it became a series.
Carol Burnett joined The Garry Moore Show in the second season. It made her a boni fide star. Her first taste of stardom
was her appearance on Broadway in the 1959 musical, Once Upon A Mattress.
The "Head Of The Family" pilot was shown on The Comedy Spot on July 19, 1960. Carl Reiner was the only actor to make the
leap to the series, but not in the lead role. He was the boss, Alan Brady, for The Dick Van Dyke Show a year later.
1959/60 Fall Season
One Season (1959/60)
Adventures in Paradise – 1959–1962, ABC, adventure, Gardner McKay
The Bell Telephone Hour – 1959–1968, NBC, music
Bonanza – 1959–1973, NBC, western, Lorne Greene, Michael Landon, Dan Blocker, Pernell Roberts
Dennis The Menace – 1959–1963, CBS, comedy, Jay North, Mary Wicks
The Deputy – 1959–1961, NBC, western, Henry Fonda, Allen Case
The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor – 1959–1961, ABC; 1961/62, NBC, crime drama, Robert Taylor, Tige Andrews
The DuPont Show with June Allyson – 1959–1961, CBS, dramatic anthology, June Allyson
Hawaiian Eye – 1959–1963, ABC, detective drama, Bob Conrad, Connie Stevens
Hennessey – 1959–1962, CBS, comedy/drama, Jackie Cooper, Abby Dalton
Laramie – 1959–1963, NBC, western, John Smith, Robert Fuller
Many Loves of Dobie Gillis – 1959–1963, CBS, comedy, Dwayne Hickman, Bob Denver, Warren Beatty, Sheila James
Riverboat – 1959–1961, NBC, adventure, Darren McGavin, Burt Reynolds
Take A Good Look – 1959–1961, ABC, quiz, Ernie Kovacs
The Twilight Zone 1959–1965, CBS; anthology, Rod Serling
The Untouchables – 1959–1963, ABC, crime drama, Robert Stack
Cancelled TV shows
The Alaskans – NBC, adventure, Roger Moore
The Betty Hutton Show – CBS, comedy, Betty Hutton
The Big Party – CBS, variety, LIVE
Bourbon Street Beat – ABC, detective drama, Andrew Duggan, Richard Long
The Court Of Last Resort reruns – ABC, crime drama, Lyle Bettger
The Dennis O'Keefe Show – CBS, comedy, Dennis O’Keefe
Dick Clark's World of Talent – NBC, variety, Dick Clark
Fibber McGee and Molly – NBC, comedy, Bob Sweeney
Five Fingers – NBC, spy drama, David Hedison
The Hobby Lobby Show – ABC, comedy, Cliff Arquette
Hotel De Paree – CBS, western, Earl Holliman
Law of the Plainsman – NBC, western, Michael Ansara
Love & Marriage – NBC, comedy, William Demarest
John Gunther's High Road – ABC, travelogue, John Gunther
Johnny Ringo – CBS, western, Don Durant
Johnny Staccato – NBC, detective drama, John Cassavetes
The Man From Blackhawk – ABC, western, Robert Rockwell
Man And The Challenge – NBC, adventure, George Nader
Men Into Space – CBS, sci-fi, William Lundigan
Mr. Lucky – CBS, adventure, John Vivyan
Philip Marlowe – ABC, detective drama, Philip Carey
The Rebel – ABC, western, Nick Adams
Startime – NBC, variety
Sunday Showcase – NBC, variety
Take A Good Look – ABC, quiz, Ernie Kovacs
Tightrope – CBS, police drama, Mike Connors
The Troubleshooters – NBC, adventure, Keenan Wynn
Wichita Town – NBC, western, Joel McCrea, Jody McCrea
15 out of 43 new series SURVIVED for 1959/60
ABC – 5/13, Adventures in Paradise, The Detectives Starring Robert
Taylor, Hawaiian Eye, Take A Good Look & The Untouchables
CBS – 5/13, Dennis The Menace, The DuPont Show with June Allyson,
Hennessey, Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, & The Twilight Zone
NBC – 5/17, The Bell Telephone Hour, Bonanza, The Deputy, Laramie
& Riverboat
Mid season shows
The Comedy Spot – 1960–1962, CBS, comedy anthology, Art Gilmore
Happy –June 1960–1961, NBC, comedy, Ronnie Burns
Silents Please – August 1960–1961, ABC, silent movies
The Spike Jones Show – August 1960–1961, CBS, comedy/variety, Spike Jones
Cancelled Mid Season Shows
Adventure Theater – CBS, dramatic anthology, reruns
Be Our Guest – CBS, musical variety, George De Witt
Celebrity Talent Scouts – CBS, variety, Sam Levenson
The Chevy Mystery Show – NBC, dramatic anthology, Walter Slezak
Diagnosis: Unknown – CBS, detective drama, Patrick O'Neal
Edwin Newman Reporting – NBC, news/documentary, Edwin Newman
F.Y.I – CBS, public affairs, Douglas Edwards
Gas Company Playhouse – NBC, dramatic anthology, reruns, Julia Meade
The Kate Smith Show – CBS, musical variety, Kate Smith
Kraft Music Hall Presents: The Dave King Show – NBC, variety, Dave King
Man From Interpol – NBC, crime drama, Richard Wyler
Moments Of Fear – NBC, dramatic anthology, LIVE
Music On Ice – NBC, musical variety, Johnny Desmond
NBC Playhouse – NBC, dramatic anthology, Jeanne Bal
New Comedy Showcase – CBS, comedy anthology
The Overland Trail – NBC, western, Doug McClure
Play Your Hunch – NBC, quiz, Merv Griffin
Playhouse Of Stars – CBS, dramatic anthology, reruns
Producer's Choice – NBC, dramatic anthology, reruns
The Revlon Revue – CBS, variety
Tate – NBC, western, David McLean
Texas Rodeo – NBC; sports event, Paul Crutchfield
Video Village – CBS, quiz, Jack Narz
World Wide '60 – NBC, documentary, Frank McGee
Wrangler – NBC, western, 6 episodes, Jason Evers
Syndication:
Lock Up – 1959–1961, syndication, crime drama, MacDonald Carey
Manhunt – 1959–1961, syndication, crime drama, Victor Jory
Shotgun Slade – 1959–1961, syndication, western, Scott Brady
The Third Man – 1959–1962, syndication, intrigue, Michael Rennie, Jonathan Harris
Two Seasons (1958/59)
Alcoa Presents – January 1959–1961, ABC, occult anthology
The Ann Sothern Show – 1958–1961, CBS, comedy
The Arthur Murray Party – 1958–1960, NBC, musical variety
Bat Masterson – 1958–1961, NBC, western
Black Saddle – January 1959–1960, ABC, western
Bronco – 1958–1962, ABC, western
Desilu Playhouse – 1958–1960, CBS, dramatic anthology
The Donna Reed Show – 1958–1966, ABC, comedy
The Garry Moore Show – 1958–1964, CBS, variety
Keep Talking – July 1958–1959, CBS; 1959/60, ABC, quiz
The Lawless Years – April 1959–1960, summer of 1961, NBC, police drama
The Lawman – 1958–1962, NBC, western
Man with a Camera – 1958–1960, ABC, drama
Markham – May 1959–1960, CBS, detective drama
Music For A Spring Night – June 1959–1960, music
Open Hearing – 1950, 1951, CBS, documentary
Peter Gunn – 1958–1961, NBC, detective drama
Phillies Jackpot Bowling – January 1959–1961, NBC, sports
Rawhide – January 1959–1966, CBS, western
Reckoning – 1959–1960, CBS, dramatic anthology, reruns
Rescue 8 – 1958–1960, syndication, adventure
The Rifleman – 1958–1963, ABC, western
77 Sunset Strip – 1958–1964, ABC, drama
Shirley Temple's Storybook – January 1959–1960, ABC; 1960/61, NBC, children’s anthology
Small World – 1958–1960, CBS, discussion
The Texan – 1958–1960, CBS, western
Wanted: Dead or Alive – 1958–1961, CBS, western
Three Seasons (1957/58)
Alcoa Theatre – 1957–1960, NBC, dramatic anthology
Bachelor Father – 1957–1959, CBS; 1959–1961, NBC; 1961/62, ABC, comedy
The Dick Clark Show – February 1958–1960, ABC, music
Have Gun, Will Travel – 1957–1963, CBS, western
It Could Be You – July 1958–1961, NBC, audience participation
Keep Talking – July 1958–1959, CBS; 1959/60, ABC, quiz
Leave It To Beaver – 1957/58, CBS; 1958–1963, ABC, comedy
Maverick – 1957–1962, ABC, western
M Squad – 1957–1960, NBC, police dram
The Pat Boone-Chevy Showroom – 1957–1960, ABC, musical variety
Perry Mason – 1957–1966, CBS, drama
The Price Is Right – 1957–1963, NBC; 1963/64, ABC, game
Real McCoys – 1957–1962, ABC; 1962/63, CBS, comedy
Saber Of London – 1957–1960, NBC, detective drama
Sea Hunt – January 1958–1961, syndication, adventure
Sugarfoot – 1957–1961, ABC, western
Wagon Train – 1957–1962, NBC; 1962–1965, ABC, western
Four Seasons (1956/57)
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre – 1956–1961, CBS, western anthology
The Dinah Shore Show – 1956–1963, NBC, variety
The Ford Show Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford – 1956–1961, NBC, musical variety
The Gale Storm Show – 1956–1959, CBS; 1959/60, ABC, comedy
Playhouse 90 – 1956–1961, CBS, dramatic anthology
Richard Diamond, Private Detective – July 1957–1959, CBS; 1959/60, NBC, detective drama
The Sheriff Of Cochise – 1956–1960, syndication, police drama
Tales Of Wills Fargo – March 1957–1962, NBC, western
To Tell The Truth – December 1956–1967, CBS, game
Five Seasons (1955/56)
Alfred Hitchcock Presents – 1955–1960, CBS; 1960–1962, NBC; 1962–1964, CBS; 1964/65, NBC, suspense
anthology
Cheyenne – 1955–1963, ABC, western
Gunsmoke – 1955–1975, CBS, western
The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp – 1955–1961, ABC, western
Saber Of Love – December 1955–1957, ABC; 1957–1960, NBC, detective drama
The Steve Allen Plymouth Show – June 1956–1960, NBC, variety
Wednesday Night Fights – 1955–1960, ABC, boxing
Six Seasons (1954/55)
Father Knows Best – 1954/55, CBS; 1955–1958, NBC; 1958–1960, CBS
The George Gobel Show – 1954–1959, NBC; 1959/60, CBS, comedy variety
Lassie – 1954–1971, CBS; 1971–1974, Syndication, adventure
The Lineup – 1954–1960, CBS, police drama
Jubilee U.S.A. – January 1955–1960, ABC, country music
The Millionaire – January 1955–1960, CBS, dramatic anthology
People are Funny – 1954–1961, NBC, quiz
The Jack Paar Show – July 1957–1962, NBC, talk/variety
Walt Disney Presents – 1954–1983, anthology
Seven Seasons (1953/54)
The Danny Thomas Show – 1953–1957, ABC; 1957–1965, CBS, comedy
The Loretta Young Show – 1953–1961, NBC, dramatic anthology
Person to Person – 1953–1961, CBS, interview
U.S. Steel Hour – 1953–1955, ABC; 1955–1963, CBS, dramatic anthology LIVE
Eight Seasons (1952/53)
The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet – 1952–1966, ABC, comedy
Death Valley Days – 1952–1975, syndication, western anthology
General Electric Theater – February 1953–1962, CBS, dramatic anthology
This Is Your Life – 1952–1961, NBC, testimonial
Nine Seasons (1951/52)
Goodyear TV Playhouse 1951–1960, NBC, dramatic anthology
I’ve Got A Secret – June 1952–1967, CBS, game
Masquerade Party – 1952, NBC; 1953, 1954, CBS; 1954–Fall 1956, ABC; 1957, NBC; 1958, CBS; 1958/59, NBC; October
1959–January 1960, CBS; Jan–Sept 1960, NBC, quiz/panel
The Red Skelton Show – 195–1953, NBC; 1953–1970, CBS; 1970/71, NBC, variety
Ten Seasons (1950/51)
The Jack Benny Show – 1950–1964, CBS; 1964/65, NBC, comedy
You Bet Your Life – 1950–1961, NBC, quiz
Eleven Seasons (1949/50)
Armstrong Circle Theatre – June 1950–1957, NBC; 1957–1963, CBS, dramatic anthology
What’s My Line? – February 1950–1967, CBS, game
Twelve seasons (1948/49)
The Perry Como Show – 1948–1950, NBC; 1950–1955, CBS; 1955–1963, NBC, variety
Thirteen seasons (1947/48)
The Ed Sullivan Show – June 1948–1971, CBS, variety
Meet The Press – November 1947–1965, NBC, interview
Original Amateur Hour – January 1948–1949, DUM; 1949–1954, NBC; 1955–1957, ABC; 1957/58, NBC; May
1959, CBS; March 1960, ABC, talent
Fourteen seasons (1946/47)
Gillette Cavalcade Of Sports – 1946–1960, NBC, first boxing show
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