1962/63 – The Beverly Hillbillies was #1 on CBS Wednesday.
Note: Any BOLD shows were cancelled in 1962 season; Car 54, Where Are You was cancelled
in the second season.
Alternate Series: Armstrong Circle Theatre and The U.S. Steel Hour were on CBS Wednesday at 10 PM.
Anniversary:
Danny Thomas celebrated ten years on CBS.
U.S. Steel Hour celebrated ten years on TV.
Perry Como celebrated fifteen years on TV.
Biggest New Hit: The Beverly Hillbillies was the first show to be #1 in the first season. It was in the top twenty
for every season, except their last. It was #18 in 1969, then it disappeared the next season.
Movies 2 TV:
Going My Way was based on the 1944 Oscar winning best picture movie. Gene Kelly assumed the Bing Crosby Oscar winning role
in the show. The movie won seven Oscars.
Mr. Smith Goes To Washington was based on the 1939 James Stewart movie.
The Virginian was based on The Virginian movies; Gary Cooper was in the most famous silent movie version in 1929.
Name Change:
Alfred Hitchcock Presents to Alfred Hitchcock Hour.
After a month, The Lucille Ball Show was shortened to The Lucy Show.
Matty's Funday Funnies to Matty’s Funnies With Beany And Cecil in January 1962. It is best known as Beany & Cecil.
Purex Summer Specials to The World Of....
The Red Skelton Show to The Red Skelton Hour.
Original Run:
The Eleventh Hour was on NBC Wednesday at 10 PM.
Reruns:
ABC aired Fireside Theatre reruns under the title, Jane Wyman Presents, in the summer of 1963.
ABC aired Winston Churchill–The Valiant Years reruns in its entirely.
The Return:
Lucy Ball returned to TV in The Lucy Show. She still had staying power. America still LOVE Lucy. It was #4 on CBS Mondays,
tying with the popular western, Bonanza. Just like The Andy Griffith Show, her show was in the top ten every season. Her lowest
ratings was #8 in 1964; her highest was #2 in his last season in 1967.
Buddy Ebsen returned to an extremely popular series, The Beverly Hillbillies, after a three-year absence. He was previously
on the failed series, Northwest Passage.
CBS revived Pantomime Quiz with a new name, Stump The Stars, after a three-year absence.
Reckoning returned to CBS. It was last seen in 1960.
Simultaneous: Bea Benaderet was on The Flintstones and The Beverly Hillbillies. This was her second time to be on different
series.
Summer Replacement:
The Keefe Brasselle Show replaced The Garry Moore Show for the summer.
Kraft Mystery Theater replaced Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall for the summer.
Talent Scouts replaced The Red Skelton Hour for the summer. Merv Griffin replaced Jim Backus on Talent Scouts.
Vacation Playhouse replaced The Lucy Show for the summer.
Switch Networks:
Father Knows Best reruns went from CBS to ABC.
Wagon Train went from NBC to ABC in the same time slot, Wednesday at 7:30 PM. Last season, Wagon Train was #1.
Tidbits:
The Virginian was the first ever ninety minute western. The first pilot was shown in the summer of 1958 on the dramatic
anthology series, Decision, with James Drury. The pilot was retool several years later; The Virginian became a huge hit.
The Voice Of Firestone returned to ABC after a four-year absence; this time, it lasted a season. It was on TV for twelve
years. Also, it was cancelled three times.
Charles Bronson joined Empire in early 1963; it was his second series. The Empire crumbled in one season.
Jim Nabors joined The Andy Griffith Show as Gomer Pyle in the spring of 1963. He was quite popular that Gomer Pyle was
spun into his own successful series in 1964/65.
After the 1962-65 primetime run, The Nurses became a daytime soap from 1965-67. It was set in the same hospital, New York
City’s Alden General Hospital, but the cast changed.
McHale’s Navy was Gavin MacLeod’s first series. He must have love the sea very much that he became a captain
of Pacific Princess in 1977.
After a very successful run on The Tonight Show (1957-62), Jack Paar hosted a variety show on NBC in prime time for three
years. In the meantime, the substitute hosts were used on The Tonight Show till the King Of Late Night, Johnny Carson, arrived
from ABC. Johnny had to wait out on his ABC contract before hosting The Tonight Show in October 1962. Johnny reigned late
night for twenty-nine years.
Before the production began on Combat, the actors were sent to a actual boot camp training for a realistic feel of the
show. Even some episodes had original WW2 battle footage. The first four seasons was B/W; the last season was color.
Rick Jason (Lt. Gil Hanley) served in the real WW2 in the U.S. Army Air Corps from 1943-45. Rick had three different wives
during the run of Combat. Oh, man! His home life was a battlefield too! He was never far from a war!
Ensign O’Toole was based on Bill Lederer’s two books - All The Ships At Sea and Ensign O‘Toole &
Me; Bill was the consultant for the show.
The Gallant Men was defeated in their “war” against Rawhide on Friday night and Jackie Gleason on Saturday
night. The losing battle lasted for a season. Combat was the much better war drama out of the two; both premiered in the same
season on ABC.
Sam Benedict was loosely based on the real trial lawyer, Jacob W. Erlich, who was the technical consultant on the show.
Stoney Burke was Jack Lord’s first series. Jack didn’t last long as a professional rodeo rider. He had better
luck of being a head detective in Hawaii. Aloha!
Picture This was Jerry Van Dyke’s first series. He appeared on his brother’s show few times in the past.
Johnny Carson took over The Tonight Show. Long live the late night king.
Viewer Response: CBS cancelled the one-hour comedy, Fair Exchange, after three months. Surprisingly, the audience sent
in some protest mail. CBS gave the show another chance in March 1963; it was thirty minutes this time around. Once again,
the show didn’t fair well. CBS cancelled the show again in the first season.
1962/63 Fall Season
One Seasons (1962/63)
The Andy Williams Show – 1962–1967, NBC, musical variety, Andy Williams
The Beverly Hillbillies – 1962–1971, CBS, comedy, Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan
Combat! – 1962–1967, ABC, drama, Rick Jason, Vic Morrow
The Eleventh Hour – 1962–1964, NBC, drama, Wendell Corey
The Jack Paar Show – 1962–1965, NBC, variety, Jack Paar
The Jackie Gleason Show – 1962–1970, CBS, variety, Jackie Gleason
The Lucy Show – 1962–1968, CBS, comedy, Lucy Ball, Vivian Vance
McHale’s Navy – 1962–1966, ABC, comedy, Ernest Borgnine, Joe Flynn, Tim Conway
The Nurses – 1962–1965, CBS, drama, Shirl Conway, Zina Bethune
The Virginian – 1962–1971, NBC, western, James Drury, Lee J. Cobb, Doug McClure
Cancelled TV shows
Don’t Call Me Charlie – NBC, comedy, Josh Peine
Empire – NBC, western, Richard Egan
Ensign O’Toole – NBC, comedy, Dean Jones
Fair Exchange – CBS, comedy, Eddie Foy Jr.
The Gallant Men – ABC, war drama, Robert McQueeney
General Electric True – CBS, dramatic anthology, Jack Webb
Going My Way – ABC, comedy, Gene Kelly, Dick York
I’m Dickens – He’s Fenster – ABC, comedy, Marty Ingels, John Astin
It’s A Man’s World – NBC, comedy, Glenn Corbett
The Jetsons – ABC, cartoon, George O’Hanlon, Penny Singleton
The Lloyd Bridges Show – CBS, dramatic anthology, Lloyd Bridges
McKeever & The Colonel – NBC, comedy, Scott Lane
Mr. Smith Goes To Washington – ABC, comedy, Fess Parker
The New Loretta Young Show – CBS, drama, Loretta Young
Our Man Higgins – ABC, comedy, Stanley Holloway
The Roy Rogers & Dale Evans Show – ABC, variety, Roy Rogers, Dale Evans
Saints & Sinners – NBC, newspaper drama, Nick Adams
Sam Benedict – NBC, drama, Edmond O’Brien
Stoney Burke – ABC, western, Jack Lord
Stump The Stars – CBS, game, Pat Harrington, Jr.
The Voice Of Firestone, ABC, music
Wide Country – NBC, western, Earl Holliman
10 out of 32 new series SURVIVED for 1963/64
ABC – 2/11, Combat & McHale’s Navy
CBS – 4/9, The Beverly Hillbillies, The Jackie Gleason Show, The
Lucy Show & Nurses
NBC – 4/12, The Andy Williams Show, The Eleventh Hour, The Jack
Paar Show & The Virginian
Mid season shows
ABC News Reports – July 1963–1964, ABC, documentary/public affairs, Bob Young
Hootenanny – April 1963–1964, ABC, music, Jack Linkletter
Vacation Playhouse – July 1963–1967, CBS, anthology
Cancelled Mid Season Shows
The Art Linkletter Show – NBC, quiz, Art Linkletter
Comedy Hour Special – CBS, comedy/variety
The Dakotas – ABC, western, Chad Everett
The Keefe Brasselle Show – CBS, musical variety, Ann B. Davis, Sammy Kaye
Picture This – CBS, game, Jerry Van Dyke
Portrait – CBS, interview, 5 episodes, Charles Collingwood
Ray Scherer's Sunday Report – NBC, news/documentary, Ray Scherer
Reckoning – CBS, dramatic anthology, reruns
Your Funny, Funny Films – ABC, comedy, George Fenneman
Two Seasons (1961/62)
Alcoa Premiere – 1961–1963, ABC, dramatic anthology
Bell & Howell Closeup – November 1961–1963, ABC, documentary
Ben Casey – 1961–1966, ABC, drama
Biography – February 1962–1964, syndication, documentary
Car 54, Where Are You? – 1961–1963, NBC, comedy
Chet Huntley Reporting – January 1962–1963, NBC, news/documentary
David Brinkley’s Journal – 1961–1963, NBC, documentary
The Defenders – 1961–1965, CBS, drama
The Dick Powell Show – 1961–1963, NBC, dramatic anthology
The Dick Van Dyke Show – 1961–1966, CBS, comedy
Dr. Kildare – 1961–1966, NBC, drama
DuPont Show of The Week – 1961–1964, NBC, various
Hazel – 1961–1965, NBC; 1965/66, CBS, comedy
Howard K Smith – February 1962–1963, ABC, news commentary
International Showtime – 1961–1965, NBC, variety
The Joey Bishop Show – 1961–1964, NBC; 1964/65, CBS, comedy
The Lively Ones – 1962–1963, NBC, musical variety
Marshal Dillon reruns – 1961–1964, CBS, western
Open End – 1961–1987, syndication, talk
Password – January 1962–1965, CBS, game
Ripcord – 1961–1963, syndication, adventure
Talent Scouts – July 1962–1963, CBS, talent/variety
Three Seasons (1960/61)
The Andy Griffith Show – 1960–1968, CBS, comedy
Beany And Cecil – 1960–1963, ABC, cartoon
CBS Reports – January 1961–1971, CBS, documentary
Candid Camera – 1960–1967, CBS, humor
Eyewitness To History – 1960–1963, CBS, news analysis
Fight of the Week – 1960–1964, ABC, sports boxing
The Flintstones – 1960–1966, ABC, cartoon
Focus On America – 1961–1963, ABC, documentary
Kraft Mystery Theater – 1961–1963, NBC, dramatic anthology
Make That Spare – 1960–1964, ABC, sports
Mr. Ed – January 1961, Syndication; 1961–1965, CBS; comedy
My Three Sons – 1960–1965, ABC; 1965–1972, CBS, comedy
Naked City – 1960–1963, ABC, crime drama
The World Of.... – July 1961–1963, NBC, anthology
Route 66 – 1960–1964, CBS, adventure
Sing Along With Mitch – January 1961–1964, NBC, variety
Four Seasons (1959/60)
Bell Telephone Hour – 1959–1968, NBC, music
Bonanza – 1959–1973, NBC, western
Dennis The Menace – 1959–1963, CBS, comedy
Hawaiian Eye – 1959–1963, ABC, drama
Laramie – 1959–1963, NBC, western
Many Loves of Dobie Gillis – 1959–1963, CBS, comedy
The Twilight Zone – 1959–1965, CBS, anthology
The Untouchables – 1959–1963, ABC, crime drama
Five Seasons (1958/59)
The Donna Reed Show – 1958–1966, ABC, comedy
The Garry Moore Show – 1958–1964, CBS, variety
Rawhide – January 1959–1966, CBS, western
The Rifleman – 1958–1963, ABC, western
77 Sunset Strip – 1958–1964, ABC, drama
Six Seasons (1957/58)
Have Gun, Will Travel – 1957–1963, CBS, western
Leave It To Beaver – 1957/58, CBS; 1958–1963, ABC, comedy
Perry Mason – 1957–1966, CBS, drama
The Price Is Right – 1957–1963, NBC; 1963/64, ABC, game
The Real McCoys – 1957–1962, ABC; 1962/63, CBS, comedy
Wagon Train – 1957–1962, NBC; 1962–1965, ABC, western
Seven Seasons (1956/57)
The Dinah Shore Show – 1956–1963, NBC, variety
To Tell The Truth – December 1956–1967, CBS, game
Eight Seasons (1955/56)
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour – 1955–1960, CBS; 1960–1962, NBC; 1962–1964, CBS; 1964/65, NBC, suspense
anthology
Cheyenne – 1955–1963, ABC, western
Gunsmoke – 1955–1975, CBS, western
Nine Seasons (1954/55)
Father Knows Best reruns – 1960–1962, CBS; 1962/63, ABC, comedy
Lassie – 1954–1971, CBS, adventure
The Lawrence Welk Show – 1954–1971, ABC, music
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson – 1962–1992, NBC, talk/variety
Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color – 1954–1983, anthology
Ten Seasons (1953/54)
The Danny Thomas Show – 1953–1957, ABC; 1957–1965, CBS, comedy
U.S. Steel Hour – 1953–1955, ABC; 1955–1963, CBS, dramatic anthology LIVE
Eleven Seasons (1952/53)
The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet – 1952–1966, ABC, comedy
Death Valley Days – 1952–1975, syndication, western anthology
Twelve Seasons (1951/52)
I’ve Got A Secret – June 1952–1967, CBS, game
The Red Skelton Hour – 1951–1953, NBC; 1953–1970, CBS; 1970/71, NBC, variety
Thirteen Seasons (1950/51)
The Jack Benny Show – 1950–1964, CBS; 1964/65, NBC, comedy
Fourteen Seasons (1949/50)
Armstrong Circle Theatre – June 1950–1957, NBC; 1957–1963, CBS, dramatic anthology
What’s My Line? – February 1950–1967, CBS, game
Fifteen seasons (1948/49)
The Perry Como Show – 1948–1950, NBC; 1950–1955, CBS; 1955–1963, NBC, variety
Sixteen seasons (1947/48)
The Ed Sullivan Show – June 1948–1971, CBS, variety
Meet The Press – November 1947–1965, NBC, interview
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