1958/59 – Gunsmoke was #1 on CBS Saturday, second year running.
Note: Any BOLD shows were cancelled in 1958 season; Bold Journey was cancelled in
the fourth season.
Alternate Series:
The Jack Benny Show and Bachelor Father were on CBS Sunday at 7:30 PM.
Alcoa Theatre and Goodyear TV Playhouse were on NBC Monday at 9:30 PM.
Cheyenne & Sugarfoot were on ABC Tuesday at 7:30 PM.
The George Gobel Show and The Eddie Fisher Show were on NBC Tuesday at 8 PM.
Armstrong Circle Theatre and The U.S. Steel Hour were on CBS Wednesday at 10 PM.
Armstrong By Request and The U.S. Steel Hour were on CBS Wednesday at 10 PM for the summer.
Lux Playhouse and Schlitz Playhouse were on CBS Friday at 9:30 PM.
Anniversary:
Armstrong Circle Theatre celebrated ten years on TV.
Pantomime Quiz celebrated ten years on TV; it was the last year.
Voice of Firestone celebrated ten years on TV.
What’s My Line? celebrated ten years on CBS.
Your Hit Parade celebrated ten years on TV.
Biggest New Hit: The Rifleman was #4 on ABC Tuesdays; the westerns were very popular back then. They took the four
top spots in the ratings - Gunsmoke, Wagon Train, Have Gun Will Travel and The Rifleman. This was Chuck Connors’ first
and only top twenty hit. He made a big splash in the ratings and never return the former glory with his other series. The
1961 season was his last season in the ratings; The Rifleman was #27, tying with The Price Is Right.
Contract Dispute: Thanks to Clint Walker’s contract dispute with Warner Brothers Studios, Ty Hardin became the
star of his own western, Bronco, temporally replaced Cheyenne, under the title of Cheyenne. It was Ty’s big break. Eventually,
Clint settled his dispute and returned to Cheyenne in 1959. Bronco became a separate series.
Movies 2 TV: Naked City was based on the 1948 Barry Fitzgerald/Howard Duff movie.
Name Change:
Accused was known as Day In Court for the first few weeks.
Country Music Jubilee to Jubilee U.S.A.
Fight Beat was originally called Post Fight Beat.
The Further Adventures of Ellery Queen to Ellery Queen in October 1958.
Lawrence Welk's Top Tunes And New Talent to The Plymouth Show.
Outlook to Chet Huntley...Reporting in November 1958.
Sammy Kaye's Music from Manhattan to The Sammy Kaye Show to Music From Manhattan. It changed names three times in a season.
Original Run:
Small World was on CBS Sunday at 6 PM for two seasons.
The Texan was on CBS Monday at 8 PM for two seasons.
Radio:
Bold Venture was on syndicated radio from 1950–1951 with Humphrey Bogert and Lauren Bacall.
Pete Kelly's was on NBC in 1951. Jack Webb is the original Pete Kelly on the radio. Jack produced the TV version.
Tales Of The Texas Rangers was on NBC from 1950–1952. Joel McCrea was in the lead role of Ranger Jace Pearson.
Reruns:
CBS aired December Bride reruns in the summer of 1960 and April 1961.
ABC aired Meet McGraw reruns for the full season.
CBS aired That's My Boy reruns for the summer.
CBS aired the Dane Clark episodes of Wire Service under the name of Deadline For Action.
CBS aired The Joseph Cotten Show reruns in the summer of 1958 with reruns from General Electric Theater and Schlitz Playhouse.
Walter Abel hosted the reruns of Suspicion in the summer of 1959 on NBC.
The Face Of Danger shown reruns of Playhouse Of Stars episodes.
Fanfare shown reruns of The Loretta Young Show episodes.
Frontier Justice shown reruns of Zane Grey Theater episodes for the summer on CBS.
Spotlight Playhouse shown reruns of G.E. Theater, Schlitz Playhouse and The Jane Wyman Show. Julia Meade and Zachay Scott
were the alternate hosts for the summer.
Stars In Action shown reruns of Schlitz Playhouse.
The Return:
The Adventures of Ellery Queen returned to NBC after a five–year absence. It was on DUM/ABC in the early 1950’s.
Arthur Godfrey returned to CBS for another year after a year absence. The series lasted for ten years.
The Arthur Murray Party returned to NBC for two more years after a year absence. The show lasted for ten years, starting
in the summer of 1950.
Colonel Humphrey Flack returned to syndication after a four–year absence. It was previously on DUM.
Doctor I.Q. returned to ABC after a four–year absence.
Milton Berle returned to NBC in a failed show, Milton Berle in the Kraft Music Hall, after a two–year absence. Milton
has been on TV for ten years.
Sammy Kaye returned to ABC in Sammy Kaye’s Music From Manhattan.
CBS revived The Jackie Gleason Show as a thirty minute show on Friday. He was last seen on CBS in the 1956 season.
Summer Replacement:
Armstrong By Request replaced Armstrong Circle Theatre for the summer; it aired repeats of Armstrong Circle Theatre.
The Chevy Show replaced The Dinah Shore Chevy Show for the summer.
Frontier Justice replaced The Danny Thomas Show for the summer.
21 Beacon Street replaced The Ford Show for the summer.
Switch Networks:
Father Knows Best went from NBC to CBS.
Leave It to Beaver went from CBS to ABC.
Masquerade Party went from CBS to NBC.
Midwestern Hayride went from ABC to NBC.
Your Hit Parade went from NBC to CBS.
Tidbits:
Wanted: Dead or Alive pilot was shown on the Trackdown in March 1958. Steve McQueen later became a famous movie star.
The CBC in Canada and ABC in the USA aired Encounter simultaneously at 9:30 PM on Sundays. It was LIVE from Toronto.
The Ed Wynn Show’s last episode was on July 4th, 1959.
Barbara Bain was a cast member on Richard Diamond, Private Detective as his semi regular girlfriend in early 1959. She
went on to greater fame with her then real life husband, Martin Landau, on Mission: Impossible.
Ken Berry joined the cast on The Ann Sothern Show in the last season, 1960/61. This was his first series. Leonard Nimoy
was his army sergeant; he gave Ken advice to be an actor in 1955.
Paul Petersen’s big success was The Donna Reed Show. He became a teen idol. He briefly starred on The Mickey Mouse
Club in 1955. His real sister, Patty Petersen, became a Donna Reed cast member in January 1963.
The Lawless Years was based on the actual files of Barney Ruditsky, a retired New York police officer. Barney was the technical
advisor for the series.
Cimarron City was Dan Blocker’s first series. Dan gained fame as Eric “Hoss” Cartwright on Bonanza next
season.
Ellery Queen was a LIVE show till it moved to New York, where the show was taped. The stars, George Nader &
Les Tremayne, left the series altogether. The new Ellery Queen was Lee Phillips. The role of Inspector Richard Queen was dropped.
George Burns goes at it alone with most of the regular stars from Burns & Allen Show after his real life wife and costar,
Gracie Allen, retired from show business in 1958, thus ending the highly successful series, The George Burns & Gracie
Allen Show, on CBS. The George Burns Show wasn’t the same without his dear old sweet wife, Gracie. It just lasted a
season on NBC.
Rawhide was Clint Eastwood’s first and only series. The western was a popular series. Clint became a successful movie
star and an Oscar winning director. He wore the same Rawhide boots for the 1992 western movie, Unforgiven.
The Ed Wynn Show ended on January 1, 1959. My sister was born in Cleveland fifteen years later.
Northwest Passage was Buddy Ebsen’s first series. It failed miserable. He was previous seen on Davy Crockett, a segment
on the anthology series, Walt Disney. He was Davy’s sidekick, George Russel. Buddy struck oil in 1962, the role of Jed
Clampett on The Beverly Hillbillies.
Man With A Camera was Charles Bronson’s first series.
Too Young To Go Steadt was the first series for film star, Joan Bennett.
The Playhouse had different names for the two nights. The Wednesday series was Wednesday Playhouse; Thursday was The Playhouse.
Two Networks: The Bob Cummings Show – January–September 1955, NBC and July 1955–1957, CBS.
1958/59 Fall Season
One Season (1958/59)
The Ann Sothern Show – 1958–1961, CBS, comedy, Ann Sothern
The Arthur Murray Party – 1958/59–1959/60, NBC, musical variety, Arthur Murray
Bat Masterson – 1958–1961, NBC, western, Gene Barry
Bronco – 1958–1962, ABC, western, Ty Hardin
Desilu Playhouse – 1958–1960, CBS, dramatic anthology, Desi Arnaz
The Donna Reed Show – 1958–1966, ABC, comedy, Donna Reed, Carl Betz, Paul Petersen, Shelley Fabares
The Gary Moore Show – 1958–1964, CBS, variety, Garry Moore
The Lawman – 1958–1962, NBC, western, John Russell
Man with a Camera – 1959–1959/60, ABC, drama, Charles Bronson
Peter Gunn – 1958–1961, NBC, detective drama, Craig Stevens
The Rifleman – 1958–1963, ABC, western, Chuck Connors, Johnny Crawford
77 Sunset Strip – 1958–1964, ABC, drama, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Roger Smith
Small World – 1958–1960, CBS, discussion, Edward R. Murrow
The Texan – 1958–1960, CBS, western, Rory Calhoun
Cancelled TV shows
The Arthur Godfrey Show – CBS, musical variety, Arthur Godfrey
Behind Closed Doors – NBC, spy drama, Bruce Gordon
Brains & Brawn – NBC, game, Jack Lescoulie, Fred Davis
Cimarron City – NBC, western, George Montgomery, Dan Blocker
The Ed Wynn Show – CBS, first LIVE comedy from Hollywood, Ed Wynn
Encounter – ABC, dramatic anthology, LIVE, 5 episodes
The Further Adventures of Ellery Queen, NBC, detective drama, LIVE, George Nader, Les Tremayne
The George Burns Show – NBC, comedy, George Burns, Bea Benaderet
The Jackie Gleason Show – CBS, comedy variety, Jackie Gleason
Lux Playhouse – CBS, dramatic anthology
Milton Berle in the Kraft Music Hall – NBC, comedy/variety, Milton Berle
Naked City – ABC, crime drama, John Intire, James Franciscus
Northwest Passage – NBC, adventure, Keith Larsen, Buddy Ebsen
The Patti Page Olds Show – ABC, musical variety LIVE, Patti Page
Pursuit – CBS, dramatic anthology, LIVE
Rough Riders – ABC, western, Kent Taylor
Sammy Kaye's Music from Manhattan – ABC, variety, Sammy Kaye
Stars in Action – CBS, dramatic anthology, reruns
Steve Canyon – NBC, adventure, Dean Fredericks
Yancy Derringer – CBS, action/adventure, Jock Mahoney
14 out of 34 new series SURVIVED for 1959/60
ABC – 5/11, Bronco, Donna Reed, Man with a Camera, The Rifleman
& 77 Sunset Strip
CBS – 5/11, The Ann Sothern Show, Desilu Playhouse, Garry Moore,
Small World & The Texan
NBC – 4/12, The Arthur Murray Party, Bat Masterson, The Lawman,
& Peter Gunn
Mid season shows
Alcoa Presents – January 1959–1961, ABC, occult anthology, John Newland
Behind The News With Howard K. Smith – CBS, news analysis, Howard K. Smith
Black Saddle – January 1959–1960, ABC, western, Peter Breck
CBS Reports – Jan 1961–1971, CBS, documentary
The Facts We Face – 1950, 1951, CBS, documentary, Bill Shadel
The Lawless Years – April 1959–1960, summer of 1961, NBC, police drama, James Gregory, Robert Karnes
Markham – May 1959–1960, CBS, detective drama, Ray Milland
Music For A Summer Night – June 1959–1960, music, Glenn Osser
Phillies Jackpot Bowling – January 1959–1961, NBC, sports
Rawhide – January 1959–1966, CBS; western, Clint Eastwood, Eric Fleming
Reckoning – 1959–1960, CBS, dramatic anthology
Shirley Temple's Storybook – January 1959–1960, ABC; 1960/61, NBC, children’s anthology, Shirley Temple
That's My Boy reruns – CBS, comedy, Eddie Mayeoff
Cancelled Mid Season Shows
Accused – ABC, courtroom drama, Edgar Allan Jones, Jr.
Adventure Showcase – CBS, adventure anthology, unsold pilots, 4 episodes
Armstrong By Request – CBS, dramatic anthology, reruns
Brenner – CBS, crime drama, James Broderick
Colgate Western Theatre – NBC, western anthology, reruns
The D.A.'s Man – NBC, crime drama, John Compton
The David Nivens Show – NBC, dramatic anthology, David Nivens
Doctor I.Q. – ABC, quiz, Tom Kennedy
The Face Of Danger – CBS, dramatic anthology, reruns
Fanfare – NBC, dramatic anthology, Richard Derr
The Jimmie Rodgers Show – NBC, musical variety, Jimmie Rodgers
Laugh Line – NBC, quiz, Dick Van Dyke
The Music Shop – NBC. musical variety, LIVE, Buddy Bergman
Oh, Boy – ABC, music, Tony Hall
Oldsmobile Music Theatre – NBC, anthology with music, LIVE, Bill Hayes
Peck's Bad Girl – CBS, comedy, Wendell Corey
Perry Presents – NBC, musical variety, Tony Bennett
Pete Kelly's Blues – NBC, drama, William Reynolds
The Playhouse – CBS, dramatic anthology, reruns
Playhouse Of Mystery – CBS, dramatic anthology, reruns
Tales Of The Texas Rangers – ABC, western, Willard Parker
Texas Rodeo – NBC, sports event, Paul Crutchfield
Too Young To Go Steady – NBC, comedy, 7 episodes, LIVE, Joan Bennett
Top Pro Golf – ABC, sports, Dick Danehe
21 Beacon Street – NBC, crime drama, 13 episodes, Dennis Morgan
Who Pays – NBC, quiz, Mike Wallace
Syndication
Bold Venture – syndication, adventure, Dane Clark
Colonel Flack – syndication, comedy, Alan Mowbray
MacKenzie's Raiders – syndication, western, Richard Carlson
Mantovani – syndication, music, John Conte
Rescue 8 – 1958–1960, syndication, adventure, Jim Davis
Two Seasons (1957/58)
Alcoa Theatre – 1957–1960, NBC, dramatic anthology
Anybody Can Play – July–December 1958, ABC, game
Bachelor Father – 1957–1959, CBS; 1959–1961, NBC; 1961/62, ABC, comedy
Buckskin – July 1958–1959, NBC, western
The Californians – 1957–1959, NBC, western
The Chevy Show – 1958–1959, NBC, musical variety
Confession – June 1958–1959, ABC, interview/discussion
Colt .45 – 1957–1960, ABC, western
The Dick Clark Show – February 1958–1960, ABC, music
The Eddie Fisher Show – 1957–1959, NBC, musical variety
Fight Beat – April 1958–1959, NBC, sports commentary
Frontier Justice – 1958, 1959, CBS, western anthology
Have Gun, Will Travel – 1957–1963, CBS, western
How To Marry A Millionaire – 1957–1959, syndication, comedy
It Could Be You – July 1958–1961, NBC, audience participation
Jefferson Drum – April 1958–1959, NBC, western
Keep Talking – July 1958–1959, CBS; 1959/60, ABC, quiz
Leave It To Beaver – 1957/58, CBS; 1958–1963, ABC, comedy
M Squad – 1957–1960, NBC, police drama
Man Without A Gun – 1957–1959, syndication, western
Maverick – 1957–1962, ABC, western
Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer – 1957–1959, syndication, detective drama
Outlook – December 1957–1959, NBC, news/documentary
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
The Real McCoys – 1957–1962, ABC; 1962/63, CBS, comedy
The Restless Gun - 1957–1959, NBC, western
Saber Of London – 1957–1960, NBC, detective drama
Sea Hunt – January 1958–1961, syndication, adventure
Stars Of Jazz – April–November 1958, ABC, music
Sugarfoot – 1957–1961, ABC, western
The Thin Man - 1957–1959, NBC, detective/comedy
Tic Tac Dough - 1957–1959, NBC, quiz
This Is Music – July 1958–1959, ABC, music, LIVE
Trackdown – 1957–1959, CBS, western
Traffic Court – June 1958–1959, ABC, courtroom drama
Twilight Theater – July 1958–1959, CBS, dramatic anthology
26 Men – 1957–1959, syndication, western
Wagon Train – 1957–1962, NBC; 1962–1965, ABC, western
Your Neighbor The World – April 1958–1959, ABC, documentary
Zorro – 1957–1959, ABC, western
Three Seasons (1956/57)
The Billy Graham Crusade – 1957–1959, ABC, religion
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
Meet McGraw reruns – 1958/59, ABC, detective
Playhouse 90 – 1956–1961, CBS, dramatic anthology
The Plymouth Show – 1956–1959, ABC, talent
Richard Diamond, Private Detective – July 1957–1959, CBS; 1959/60, NBC, detective drama
The Sheriff Of Cochise – 1956 – 1960, syndication, police drama
State Trooper – January 1957–1959, syndication, crime drama
Tales Of Wills Fargo – March 1957–1962, NBC, western
To Tell The Truth – December 1956–1967, CBS, game
Twenty-One – 1956–1959, NBC, game
The Whirlybirds – January 1957–1959, syndication, adventure
Four Seasons (1955/56)
Alfred Hitchcock Presents – 1955–1960, CBS; 1960–1962, NBC; 1962–1964, CBS; 1965, NBC, suspense
anthology
Bold Journey – July 1956–1959, ABC, travel documentary
Cheyenne – 1955–1963, ABC, western
The Ford Show Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford – 1956–1961, NBC, musical variety
Gunsmoke – 1955–1975, CBS, western
Highway Patrol – 1955–1959, syndication, crime drama
The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp – 1955–1961, ABC, western
The Phil Silvers Show – 1955 – 1959, CBS, comedy
Saber Of Love – December 1955–1957, ABC; 1957–1960, NBC, detective drama
The Steve Allen Show – June 1956–1960, NBC, variety
Wednesday Night Fights – 1955–1960, ABC, boxing
Five Seasons (1954/55)
The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin – 1954–1959, ABC, western
The Bob Cummings Show – January/September 1955, NBC; July 1955–1957, CBS; 1957–1959, NBC, comedy
December Bride – 1954–1959, CBS, comedy
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 Lawrence Welk Show – 1954–1971, ABC, music
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
$64,000 Question – June 1955–1959, CBS, game
Spotlight – June 1955–1959, CBS, dramatic anthology
The Jack Paar Show – July 1957–1962, NBC, talk/variety
Walt Disney Presents – 1954–1983, anthology
Six Seasons (1953/54)
The Big Picture – 1953–1959, ABC, documentary
The Danny Thomas Show – 1953–1957, ABC; 1957–1965, CBS, comedy
The Loretta Young Show – 1953–1961, NBC, dramatic anthology
Midwestern Hayride – June 1954–1956, NBC; July 1957–1958, ABC; 1959, NBC, musical variety
Person to Person – 1953–1961, CBS, interview
U.S. Steel Hour – 1953–1955, ABC; 1955–1963, CBS, dramatic anthology LIVE
Seven 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
Name That Tune – June 1953–1954, NBC; 1954–1959, CBS, game
This Is Your Life – 1952–1961, NBC, testimonial
Eight Seasons (1951/52)
Dragnet – January 1952–1959, NBC, police drama
Goodyear TV Playhouse 1951–1960, NBC, dramatic anthology
I Love Lucy reruns – 1957–1959, September 1961, CBS, comedy
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 – 1951–1953, NBC; 1953–1970, CBS; 1970/71, NBC, variety
Schlitz Playhouse – 1951–1959, CBS, musical variety
Nine Seasons (1950/51)
The Jack Benny Show – 1950–1964, CBS; 1964/65, NBC, comedy
You Asked For It – December 1950–1952, DUM; 1951–1959, ABC, audience participation
You Bet Your Life – 1950–1961, NBC, quiz
Ten Seasons (1949/50)
Armstrong Circle Theatre – June 1950–1957, NBC; 1957–1963, CBS, dramatic anthology
Pantomime Quiz – July 1950–1951, CBS; Jan–March 1952, NBC; 1952/53, CBS; 1953/54, DUM; summer of 1954,
CBS; Jan–March 1955, ABC; 1955–1957, CBS; 1958/59, ABC, quiz
The Voice of Firestone – 1949–1954, NBC; 1954 – 1959, ABC, music
What’s My Line? – February 1950–1967, CBS, game
Your Hit Parade – summer of 1950–1958, NBC; 1958/59, CBS, music
Eleven seasons (1948/49)
Arthur Godfrey & His Friends – January 1949–1959, CBS, musical variety
The Perry Como Show – 1948–1950, NBC; 1950–1955, CBS; 1955–1963, NBC, variety
Twelve 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
Thirteen seasons (1946/47)
Gillette Cavalcade Of Sports – 1946–1960, NBC, first boxing show
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