A VIDEO VETERAN SPOTLITE
ONE DAY IN CHICAGO TV HISTORY
AUGUST 27, 1960
We fast forward exactly ten years later to Saturday, August 27, 1960. How has television changed for Chicago viewers? Not surprisingly there are more choices. Some of the call letters have changed and we now have an "educational" station, WTTW on channel 11. You'll find no advertising on channel 11 but you may have to sit through what seems like an eternity of pledge drives and telethons. Channel 4 in Chicago is but a distant memory, the channel reassigned to Milwaukee Wisconsin. Arriving on the scene in February of 1953 is WBBM-TV, first on channel 4 for a few months and then to channel 2 where it replaced Zenith's experimental KS2XBS. Zenith's transmitter was later donated to WTTW. The WBKB calls, familiar to Chicago area viewers since 1943 have moved over to channel 7 replacing WENR-TV. At this point in time, channels 5 and 9 remain the same- WNBQ and WGN-TV respectively although channel 9 is no longer an affiliate of CBS or the DuMont Network. The country's first television network folded after a failed attempt to merge with ABC-TV in 1956.
UHF television has become a reality, albeit a disastrous one for most markets across the country. Here in Chicago, several construction permits have been reported in trade magazines and local newspapers for stations to debut on channel 20; WIND-TV, channel 26; WHFC-TV; and WOPT on channel 44. However it would not be until 1964 before Chicago's first UHF station, WCIU ever sees the light of day. WCIU will struggle through the decade and most of the 1970s, brokering its broadcast day. The station is so poor that it would not own a color transmitter until the late 70s.
Most noticeable to readers of television listings in 1960 is the clear distinction between programs aired in color and those aired in black and white, the color programs boasting a boldfaced "COLOR" before the program title. Ten years later, that distinction would be reversed. Local programming in 1960 is still available however most stations have allowed their schedules to be filled with more profitable syndicated reruns of off network shows. Primetime programming has become almost the exclusive property of the three major broadcast networks. Movies continue to attract large audiences as the motion picture companies gradually relax their restrictions as to which of their films are broadcast on the small screen. And of course sports, particularly baseball on channel 9 which by 1960 had become the exclusive home of the Cubs.
With that, we turn to page 41 of TV Prevue, the television magazine of the Chicago Sun-Times. The broadcast day begins much earlier than it did ten years ago. You'll still find the familiar test patterns filling the screens just prior to sign-on but as stations gradually introduce more color programming into their schedules, the patterns will be replaced by color bars accompanied by a continuous one kilohertz tone. First out the gate at five minutes to 7 am is The Early Report on WBBM-TV channel 2. At 7, channel 2 offers The Big Picture, reruns of a former ABC-TV show that was comprised mostly of documentaries produced by the U.S. Army Pictorial Center. Today's installment is "Phantom Raiders." Chicago's kiddies waking up this Saturday morning will be happy to find The Friendship Show on the same channel at 7:30. WNBQ channel 5 begins its day at this time with public affairs programming beginning with Active Education featuring "A Day At Harrison High School" followed at 7:45 with the religious Sacred Heart Program. This morning's message is "God's Mercy, the Sun in Our Lives."
At 8 am, CBS takes over on channel 2 with Bob Keeshan as Captain Kangaroo. Channel 5 airs the first color program of the day, a local effort called Farm And Garden. WGN-TV signs on Kartoon Klub followed by Dick Coughlin and Bugs Bunny & Friends. Although the Saturday morning block of cartoons on the three networks is still a couple of years in the future, the weekend mornings have already become the almost exclusive domain of children's and family oriented programming. Reruns of The Roy Rogers Show air at 8:30 on WNBQ and CBS offers an hour of cartoons at 9 beginning with Heckle and Jeckle followed by The Adventures Of Mighty Mouse at 9:30 over channel 2. It's kid's choice at 9 am. If you don't like those thieving magpies, you can catch Buffalo Bob Smith and Howdy Doody in color on channel 5 or Terrytoons on channel 9. 9:30 offers The Ruff And Reddy Show in color over WNBQ and reruns of My Little Margie on channel 9. Finally at 10 am, WBKB channel 7 begins its day with reruns of Ramar Of The Jungle, a first run syndicated children's adventure series first produced in 1952. Chicago TV watchers never have to look far for the masked man, reruns of Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels starring in The Lone Ranger air on channel 2 at 10. Channel 5 airs syndicated reruns of Fury, an Australian western starring future Mission: Impossible star Peter Graves. WGN-TV fills the ten o'clock hour with reruns of The Stu Erwin Show and I Married Joan, both reruns of situation comedies. 10:30 also offers an episode of I Love Lucy on channel 2 and a young Mickey Braddock (later to be famous under his real name, Dolenz, on The Monkees) stars in Circus Boy on channel 5. WBKB continues with its children's programs with an hour of the syndicated Chatter's World. The final hour of the morning offers reruns of the former ABC-TV contemporary western Sky King starring Kirby Grant on WBBM-TV followed by Big League Warmup. WNBQ airs True Story, and daytime reruns of Detective Diary, a crime drama that aired over both ABC and NBC under the title Mark Saber. Channel 7 follows Chatter with Serial Theater, a series of short films. Today's film- "The Great Alaskan Mystery."
Saturday afternoon on Chicago television begin with fifteen minutes of news on channel 2 followed by fifteen minutes of The Lee Phillip Show. Channel 5 offers up another installment of the continuing space opera, Rocky Jones, Space Ranger, which starred jut-jawed Richard Crane in the title role and first aired in 1954. WNBQ fills the second half of the hour aiming for a more adult audience with Weekend News Review. In color of course. Over at WBKB channel 7 the laughs are on Soupy with Lunch With Soupy Sales and WGN-TV channel 9 airs the 1936 clunker "Trailing West." 12:30 brings us reruns of the first generation of Lassie episodes now syndicated under the title Jeff's Collie and channel 7 airs reruns of the syndicated western series Stories Of The Century. Airing today is an episode titled "Sam Bass."
The remainder of the afternoon is filled with news and public affairs programming, old movies, old reruns of off network sitcoms, and in an amazing coincidence, WGN-TV airs The Cubs vs. Phillies immediately after Leadoff Man at 1:30, just as it did ten years earlier in 1950! WBKB counters the afternoon of sports, movies, and news programming with Record Hop at 3:30 before giving it up to ABC at 5 pm for an hour of Top Pro Golf as Tommy Bolt competes against Billy Casper.
The dinner hour spent in Chicago homes is supplemented by a mixed bag of choices. Channel 2 has a CBS News Special; channel 5 offers reruns of Meet McGraw (and I don't mean "Quick Draw!"), channel 7 serves up Sky Watch, another governmental film series this time telling us of the retaliatory power of the Strategic Air Command; and channel 9 airs a rerun of the Ziv syndicated series Science Fiction Theater. Craig Stevens and William Talman star in "The Water Maker."
In 1960, primetime begins at 6:30 as CBS airs another episode of the popular courtroom drama Perry Mason starring Raymond Burr, Barbara Hale, William Hopper, and Ray Collins. NBC continues to dazzle its viewers with color telecasting with Bonanza- "San Francisco Holiday" with Ben Cartwright (Lorne Greene) being shanghaied on a boat to Hong Kong. Teenagers will be tuning to WBKB and ABC for The Dick Clark Show featuring musical performances by Fabian, The Ventures, Jimmy Horton, and Lloyd Price. WGN-TV, with no network affiliation since CBS jumped ship to WBBM-TV in 1953 and DuMont's demise in 1956 fills the second half of the dinner hour with Newsreel Cavalcade. The remainder of its primetime schedule will be filled with more long in the tooth syndicated crime dramas, government films, and even The Three Stooges (hosted by WGN-TV veteran newsman Carl Greyson and a chimpanzee!).
Popular primetime shows produced in New York and Hollywood fill out the evening on channels 2, 5, and 7. CBS and WBBM-TV air Wanted: Dead Or Alive; Mr. Lucky; Have Gun, Will Travel; Gunsmoke; and Trackdown. NBC and WNBQ continues its primetime schedule with Man And The Challenge; The Deputy; World Wide 60 with David Brinkley; and Man From Interpol. WBKB airs John Gunther's High Road, a rerun of a filmed series based on a 16 week tuna hunt aboard a clipper with a crew of 12. At 7:30, ABC takes over with "Tire Trouble," a rerun of the popular family comedy Leave It To Beaver. Next its an hour of champagne music on The Lawrence Welk Show and then country music on Jubilee, U.S.A. And if you still haven't had enough music in your evening, stay on channel 7 for Bob Lewandowski and Polka-Go-Round.
If you've tuned in at 10pm to watch the news on Saturdays in 1960, you'll have only one choice- on channel 9 with The Tenth Hour News featuring newscaster Jim Conway and weatherman Ned Locke. WGN-TV follows the news with the syndicated drama Divorce Court, a bowling show, and a late movie at midnight "Gambling On The High Seas." After covering the XVII Olympiad from Rome at 10:00 from CBS, WBBM-TV follows with a late movie, "Kidnapped" and a public affairs program At Random at 12:20. WNBQ channel 5 fills out the remainder of its day with syndicated reruns of Lock Up; Four Just Men; and a movie- "Execution Night" starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr. Their broadcast day concludes with a colorcast of Norm Barry and the news and then Wrestling Exhibitions. WBKB channel 7 winds down after two and a half hours of music programming at 10:30 with a late movie- "Scandal Inc." and a rerun of Susie at midnight.
Sharp eyed readers will undoubtedly notice the absence of programming from Chicago's educational outlet, WTTW channel 11 even though the station has been on the air since 1955. The former affiliate of NET- National educational Television (the forbearer of PBS) offers no weekend schedule in 1960.
So there you have it, Chicago television from sign-on to sign-off Saturday, August 27, 1960. Has TV improved in ten years? There's certainly more to choose from. But more does not necessarily mean better. Local programming on Saturdays is nearly absent. Not much originates here in Chicago anymore. One exception is Polka-Go-Round which enjoyed a ABC network run for a few years before returning to local status on WBKB.
Chicago television's history continues through the links below. Read about Chicago's first commercial station by clicking on the WBKB button. Find out how John Weigel got Chicago's first ultra-high frequency station on the air with a shoe-string budget. Click on the WCIU button. Were you part of the 300 families that participated in Zenith's Phonevision experiment? Then click on the KS2XBS button. Even if you weren't part of the 300, it's a fascinating account of Chicago's first experiment with pay television. Ever since the FCC authorized station W9XBK to begin commercial broadcasting as WBKB in 1943, advertising has been a part of Chicago's television past. The Minutemen button will take you back to the days of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer and Chesterfield cigarette commercials. Right afterward follow the link at the bottom of the page or click the Linn Burton For Certain! button right now to read about one of Chicago television's most recognized, respected, and beloved spokesmen. You'll find even more by going to the Webmap page- the gateway to the entire site.
Source: TV Prevue magazine, August 27, 1960
copyright 2002 Steve Jajkowski. All rights reserved.
