1955 in American television
Television related events in the USA during 1955
This is a list of American television-related events in 1955.
Events
Date | Event | Ref |
---|---|---|
March 5 | Elvis Presley makes his first television performance on Louisiana Hayride, a program shown locally on KSLA in Shreveport, Louisiana. | |
March 15 | Andy Griffith stars in his television debut in the play No Time for Sergeants, broadcast by the American Broadcasting Company in The United States Steel Hour series. | |
April 1 | The DuMont Television Network drastically decreases its programming; just eight series to keep the network operating, in anticipation of its eventual shutdown sixteen months later. | |
May 9 | Harpo Marx makes a memorable appearance on I Love Lucy. | |
Jim Henson's puppet show Sam and Friends first airs on NBC O&O station WRC-TV in Washington, D.C. | ||
June 7 | The quiz show craze begins with the premiere of The 64,000 Dollar Question. The series spawns many imitations, including Twenty-One the next year. | |
September 28 | World Series baseball is broadcast in color for the first time in the U.S., with WITN-TV in Washington, North Carolina signing on the air with the first game of the 1955 World Series as their first telecast. | [1] |
Networks and services
Launches
Network | Type | Launch date | Notes | Source |
---|---|---|---|---|
CatholicTV | Cable television | January 1 |
Television programs
Debuts
Date | Debut | Network |
---|---|---|
January 2 | The Bob Cummings Show (also known as Love That Bob) | NBC[2] |
January 3 | Hollywood Today | NBC |
January 5 | Norby | |
January 22 | Ozark Jubilee | ABC |
February 27 | Key to the Ages | Dumont |
April | Paul Dixon Show | WLWT |
April 9 | Science Fiction Theater | Syndication |
May 3 | Have a Heart | Dumont |
May 9 | Sam and Friends | WRC-TV |
June 3 | It's Alec Templeton Time | Dumont |
June 25 | The Soldiers | NBC |
June 28 | Talent Varieties | ABC |
July 2 | The Lawrence Welk Show | |
July 20 | Frankie Laine Time | CBS |
September 10 | Gunsmoke | CBS |
It's Always Jan | ||
September 12 | Medical Horizons | ABC |
September 14 | Hollywood Preview | Dumont |
September 20 | Cheyenne | ABC |
Joe and Mabel | CBS | |
September 26 | Jungle Jim | Syndication |
September 28 | Brave Eagle | CBS |
September 29 | Sergeant Preston of the Yukon | |
October 1 | The Honeymooners | |
October 2 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | |
October 3 | Captain Kangaroo | |
Mickey Mouse Club | ABC | |
October 20 | Wanted | CBS |
October 31 | Matinee Theatre | NBC |
Changing network affiliation
Program | Moving from | Moving to |
---|---|---|
Life Is Worth Living | DuMont | ABC |
Ending this year
Date | Program | Network | First aired | Status | Notes/References |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
March 11 | The Jack Carson Show | NBC | October 22, 1954 | Ended | |
Stories of the Century | Syndication | 1954 | Canceled | ||
April 6 | Norby | NBC | January 5, 1955 | Canceled | |
April 7 | The Ernie Kovacs Show | DuMont | December 30, 1952 (on NBC) | ||
April 8 | Dear Phoebe | NBC | September 1954 | Canceled | |
April 22 | Where's Raymond? | ABC | October 1953 | Canceled | |
June 16 | Willy | CBS | September 1954 | Canceled | |
June 23 | The Public Defender | First-run syndication | 1954 | Ended | |
June 25 | The Imogene Coca Show | 1954 | Canceled | ||
June 26 | The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse | ABC | 1953 | Canceled | |
July 1 | Hawkins Falls | NBC | June 17, 1950 | Ended | |
July 15 | Flash Gordon | DuMont/Syndication | October 15, 1954 | Canceled | |
July 26 | Who Said That? | NBC | December 9, 1948 | Ended | |
August 24 | My Little Margie | June 16, 1952 (on CBS) | Canceled | ||
September 1 | Life with Elizabeth | Syndication | October 7, 1953 | Canceled | |
September 3 | The Soldiers | NBC | June 25, 1955 | Ended | |
September 17 | Musical Chairs | NBC | July 9, 1955 | Canceled | |
September | Frankie Laine Time | CBS | July 20 | Canceled | Returned for a short run in Summer 1956 |
November 1 | Talent Varieties | ABC | June 28, 1955 | Ended | |
Unknown | The Jo Stafford Show | CBS | 1954 | Canceled | |
That's My Boy | |||||
Time for Beany | Paramount Television Network | February 28, 1949 | Ended |
Television stations
Station launches
Date | City of License/Market | Station | Channel | Affiliation | Notes/Ref. | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
January 1 | West Palm Beach, Florida | WEAT-TV | 12 | ABC | ||
January 5 | Minneapolis, Minnesota | KEYD-TV | 9 | DuMont | ||
January 7 | Mt. Cheaha/Birmingham, Alabama | WCIQ | 7 | NET Alabama Educational Television | ||
January 8 | Chapel Hill, North Carolina (Raleigh/Durham) | WUNC-TV | 4 | NET/UNC-TV | ||
January 23 | Las Vegas, Nevada | KLRJ-TV | 2 | NBC (primary) ABC (secondary) | ||
February 3 | Fairbanks, Alaska | KTVF | 11 | CBS | ||
February 12 | Dothan, Alabama | WTVY | 4 | CBS | ||
February 13 | Jefferson City/Columbia, Missouri | KRCG | 13 | CBS (primary) ABC (secondary) | ||
February 14 | St. Petersburg/Tampa, Florida | WXFL | 8 | NBC | ||
February 28 | Phoenix, Arizona | KTVK | 3 | ABC | ||
March 1 | Fairbanks, Alaska | KFAR-TV | 2 | NBC | ||
March 6 | Jackson, Tennessee | WBBJ-TV | 7 | CBS | ||
March 8 | Portland, Oregon | KLOR | 12 | ABC (primary) DuMont (secondary) | ||
March 14 | Duluth, Minnesota | KDAL-TV | 3 | NBC (primary) ABC (secondary) | ||
March 15 | Lexington, Kentucky | WLEX-TV | 18 | NBC (primary) ABC/DuMont/CBS (secondary) | ||
March 20 | Sacramento, California | KBET-TV | 10 | CBS | ||
March 25 | Lewiston, Maine | WLAM-TV | 17 | DuMont | ||
March 27 | Providence, Rhode Island | WPRO-TV | 12 | CBS | ||
April 1 | Tampa, Florida | WTVT | 13 | CBS | ||
April 3 | Waco, Texas | KWTV-TV | 10 | Independent | ||
April 14 | Baton Rouge, Louisiana | WBRZ-TV | 2 | NBC (primary) ABC (secondary) | ||
April 24 | Beaumont, Texas | KFDM-TV | 6 | CBS | ||
Wailuku, Hawaii | KMAU-TV | 9 | ||||
April 28 | Birmingham, Alabama (Tuscaloosa) | WBIQ | 10 | NET/Alabama Educational Television | ||
April 31 | Lufkin, Texas | KTRE | 9 | NBC (as a satellite of KPRC-TV/Houston, Texas) | ||
May 2 | Boston, Massachusetts | WGBH-TV | 2 | NET | ||
May 15 | Hilo, Hawaii | KPUA-TV | 9 | |||
May 30 | Twin Falls, Idaho | KLIX-TV | 11 | CBS (primary) ABC/NBC (secondary) | ||
June 1 | Rapid City, South Dakota | KOTA-TV | 23 | CBS (primary) NBC/ABC (secondary) | ||
June 3 | Lafayette, Louisiana | KLFY | 10 | CBS (primary) ABC (secondary) | ||
June 8 | Hattiesburg, Mississippi | WDAM-TV | 7 | NBC (primary) ABC (secondary) | ||
June 10 | San Antonio, Texas | KCOR-TV | 41 | Spanish independent | ||
July 15 | South Bend, Indiana | WNDU | 16 | NBC | ||
July 31 | Beckley/Bluefield, West Virginia | WHIS-TV | 6 | NBC | ||
Des Moines, Iowa | KRNT-TV | 8 | CBS | |||
August 7 | Scottsbluff, Nebraska | KSTF | 10 | ABC (primary) NBC (secondary) | ||
August 12 | Miami, Florida | WTHS-TV | 2 | NET | ||
August 29 | Fayetteville/Raleigh, North Carolina | WFLB-TV | 18 | ABC (primary) NBC/CBS (secondary) | ||
September 1 | Wichita, Kansas | KARD-TV | 3 | Independent | ||
September 3 | Sacramento, California | KCRA | 3 | NBC | ||
Shreveport, Louisiana (Texarkana, TX-AR) | KTBS-TV | 3 | NBC | |||
September 5 | Mobile, Alabama | WKRG-TV | 5 | CBS | ||
September 6 | Chicago, Illinois | WTTW | 11 | NET | ||
September 11 | Dallas, Texas | KFJZ-TV | 11 | Independent | ||
September 12 | San Jose/San Francisco, California | KNTV | 11 | Independent | ||
September 15 | Thomasville, Georgia/Tallahassee, Florida | WCTV | 6 | NBC | ||
September 24 | Florence/Aberdeen, South Dakota | KDLO-TV | 3 | NBC | Satellite of KELO-TV of Sioux Falls | |
September 28 | Washington/Greenville, North Carolina | WITN-TV | 7 | NBC (primary) ABC (secondary) | ||
October 2 | Huntington, West Virginia | WOWK-TV | 13 | ABC | ||
October 3 | Detroit, Michigan | WTVS | 56 | NET | ||
Roanoke, Virginia | WDBJ-TV | 7 | CBS | |||
October 8 | Yuma, Arizona | KIVA | 11 | |||
October 12 | Mayaguez/Aguadilla, Puerto Rico | WORA-TV | 5 | Independent | ||
November 19 | Bismarck, North Dakota | KBMB-TV | 12 | CBS (primary) ABC (secondary) | ||
November 21 | Kirksville, Missouri/Ottumwa, Iowa | KTVO | 3 | CBS (primary) NBC (secondary) | ||
November 27 | Little Rock, Arkansas | KTHV | 11 | CBS | ||
December 3 | El Dorado, Arkansas (Monroe, Louisiana) | KRBB-TV | 10 | NBC (primary) ABC (secondary) | ||
December 4 | Wailuku, Hawaii | KMVI-TV | 4 | ABC | Satellite of KULA-TV (now KITV) in Honolulu | |
December 7 | Lewiston, Idaho | KLEW-TV | 3 | CBS (primary) ABC/NBC (secondary) | ||
December 11 | Fargo, North Dakota | KNOX-TV | 10 | ABC (primary) NBC (secondary) | ||
Unknown date | San Jose/San Francisco, California | KNTV | 11 | Independent | ||
Sterling, Colorado | KDZA-TV | 3 | DuMont | |||
Urbana, Illinois | WILL-TV | 12 | NET |
Network affiliation changes
Date | City of license/Market | Station | Channel | Old affiliation | New affiliation | Notes/Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
February 27 | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | WXIX-TV | 19 | ABC (primary) DuMont (secondary) | CBS | |
March | Wilmington, Delaware | WVUE | 12 | NBC | Independent | |
September | Waco, Texas | KWTX-TV | 10 | Independent | ABC | |
Unknown date | Little Rock, Arkansas | KATV | 7 | CBS (primary) ABC (secondary) | ABC (exclusive) | |
Unknown date | Minneapolis, Minnesota | KEYD-TV | 5 | DuMont | Independent | |
Unknown date | Mobile, Alabama | WEAR-TV | 3 | CBS | ABC | |
Unknown date | Shreveport, Louisiana | KSLA | 12 | CBS (primary) ABC and DuMont (secondary) | CBS (primary) ABC (secondary) |
Station closures
Date | City of license/Market | Station | Channel | Affiliation | First air date | Notes/Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
February 2 | Monterey, California | KMBY-TV | 8 | ABC/CBS/NBC/DuMont | August 17, 1953 | Shared time with KSBW-TV |
February 4 | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | KMPT | 19 | Independent | November 22, 1953 | |
February 12 | Charleston, West Virginia | WKNA-TV | 49 | ABC (primary) DuMont (secondary) | September 17, 1953 | |
February 26 | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | WCAN-TV | 25 | CBS | September 6, 1953 | |
February 28 | Fairmont, West Virginia | WJPB-TV | 35 | ABC (primary) NBC/DuMont (secondary) | March 17, 1954 | |
March 15 | Charlotte, North Carolina | WAYS-TV | 36 | ABC (primary) NBC/DuMont (secondary) | ||
April 1 | Asbury Park, New Jersey | WRTV | 58 | Independent | December 14, 1953 | Not to be confused with today's WRTV in Indianapolis, Indiana |
April 3 | St. Paul/Minneapolis, Minnesota | WMIN-TV | 11 | ABC/DuMont | September 1, 1953 | Shared time with KARE (now WTCN-TV) |
April 15 | Des Moines, Iowa | KGTV | 17 | Independent | November 14, 1953 | |
April 30 | Stockton, California | KTVU | 36 | NBC | December 15, 1953 | Not to be confused with the present-day KTVU in the San Francisco Bay Area. |
May 31 | Atlanta, Georgia | WQXI-TV | 36 | Independent | October 13, 1954 | |
June 30 | Reading, Pennsylvania | WEEU-TV | 33 | NBC | April 9, 1953 | |
July 1 | Newport News/Norfolk, Virginia | WACH-TV | 33 | Independent | October 8, 1953 | |
July 15 | Providence, Rhode Island | WNET | 16 | ABC (primary) DuMont (Secondary) | March 23, 1954 | |
August 1 | Jackson, Mississippi | WSLI | 12 | ABC | March 27, 1954 | This station's operations merged with those of CBS affiliate WJTV to allow that station to move from UHF channel 25 to VHF channel 12. |
December 15 | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | KTVQ | 25 | ABC | November 1, 1953 | |
December 18 | Pensacola, Florida | WPFA-TV | 15 | DuMont | October 16, 1953 |
Births
Deaths
See also
References
External links
- List of 1955 American television series at IMDb
This television-related list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (November 2022) |
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