Events

• January 28 – Elvis Presley
  Elvis Presley
  Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
  
   makes his national television debut on CBS on Stage Show
  Stage Show
  Stage Show was a popular music variety series on American television originally hosted on alternate weeks by big band leaders and brothers Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey. Produced by Jackie Gleason, the CBS-TV show included the first national television appearances by Elvis Presley.The series began as a...
  
  , the first of six appearances on the series.
• February 17 – The English Midlands
  English Midlands
  The Midlands, or the English Midlands, is the traditional name for the area comprising central England that broadly corresponds to the early medieval Kingdom of Mercia. It borders Southern England, Northern England, East Anglia and Wales. Its largest city is Birmingham, and it was an important...
  
   becomes the first part of the UK
  United Kingdom
  The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
  
   outside London
  London
  London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
  
   to receive ITV
  ITV
  ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
  
  , when ATV Midlands begins broadcasting their weekday franchise. The weekend franchise, ABC
  Associated British Corporation
  Associated British Corporation was one of a number of commercial television companies established in the United Kingdom during the 1950s by cinema chain companies in an attempt to safeguard their business by becoming involved with television which was taking away their cinema audiences.In this...
  
  , appears a day later.
• February – U.M.&M. T.V. Corp.
  U.M.&M. T.V. Corp.
  U.M.&M. T.V. Corp. is best known as the original purchaser of Paramount Pictures' pre-October 1950 shorts and cartoons...
  
   acquires the pre-October 1950 Paramount Pictures
  Paramount Pictures
  Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
  
   cartoons and theatrical shorts, except for the Popeye
  Popeye
  Popeye the Sailor is a cartoon fictional character created by Elzie Crisler Segar, who has appeared in comic strips and animated cartoons in the cinema as well as on television. He first appeared in the daily King Features comic strip Thimble Theatre on January 17, 1929...
  
   and Superman
  Superman
  Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
  
   cartoons.
• April 2 – As the World Turns
  As the World Turns
  As the World Turns is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS from April 2, 1956 to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created As the World Turns as a sister show to her other soap opera Guiding Light...
  
   and The Edge of Night
  The Edge of Night
  The Edge of Night is an American television mystery series/soap opera produced by Procter & Gamble. It debuted on CBS on April 2, 1956, and ran as a live broadcast on that network until November 28, 1975; the series then moved to ABC, where it aired from December 1, 1975, until December 28, 1984...
  
   premiere on CBS
  CBS
  CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
  
   as the first half-hour American
  United States
  The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
  
   soap opera
  Soap opera
  A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
  
  s. Previously, all soaps had been just fifteen minutes in length.
• April 3 – Elvis Presley appears on The Milton Berle Show.
• April – WNBQ (now WMAQ-TV
  WMAQ-TV
  WMAQ-TV, channel 5, is an owned-and-operated television station of the NBC Television Network, located in Chicago, Illinois. WMAQ-TV's main studios and offices are located within the NBC Tower in the Streeterville neighborhood, with an auxiliary street-level studio on the Magnificent Mile at 401...
  
  ) in Chicago becomes the first TV station to broadcast all its local programming in color.
• April 14- Ampex
  Ampex
  Ampex is an American electronics company founded in 1944 by Alexander M. Poniatoff. The name AMPEX is an acronym, created by its founder, which stands for Alexander M. Poniatoff Excellence...
  
   demonstrates a videotape recorder at the 1956 NARTB (now NAB
  National Association of Broadcasters
  The National Association of Broadcasters is a trade association, workers union, and lobby group representing the interests of for-profit, over-the-air radio and television broadcasters in the United States...
  
  ) convention in Chicago, Illinois. It was the demonstration of the first practical and commercially successful videotape format known as 2" Quadruplex. The three networks place orders for the recorders.
• May 3 – Granada Television
  Granada Television
  Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
  
   begins broadcasting, extending ITV's coverage to Northern England
  Northern England
  Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North or the North Country, is a cultural region of England. It is not an official government region, but rather an informal amalgamation of counties. The southern extent of the region is roughly the River Trent, while the North is bordered...
  
  . ABC
  Associated British Corporation
  Associated British Corporation was one of a number of commercial television companies established in the United Kingdom during the 1950s by cinema chain companies in an attempt to safeguard their business by becoming involved with television which was taking away their cinema audiences.In this...
  
  's weekend franchise appears two days later.
• May 6 – Elvis Presley appears on The Milton Berle Show.
• May 25 – The first Eurovision Song Contest
  Eurovision Song Contest
  The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
  
   is held in Lugano, Switzerland. It is primarily a radio program at this stage, as few Europeans can afford TV sets.
• July 1 – Elvis Presley appears on The Steve Allen Show
  Steve Allen (comedian)
  Stephen Valentine Patrick William "Steve" Allen was an American television personality, musician, composer, actor, comedian, and writer. Though he got his start in radio, Allen is best known for his television career. He first gained national attention as a guest host on Arthur Godfrey's Talent...
  
  .
• August 6 – Final telecast of the DuMont Network
  DuMont Television Network
  The DuMont Television Network, also known as the DuMont Network, DuMont, Du Mont, or Dumont was one of the world's pioneer commercial television networks, rivalling NBC for the distinction of being first overall. It began operation in the United States in 1946. It was owned by DuMont...
  
  . The US would not have a fourth major network until the birth of the Fox
  Fox Broadcasting Company
  Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
  
   network in 1986
  1986 in television
  The year 1986 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1986.For the American network television schedule, please see 1986-87 American network television schedule.-Events:-Debuts:*September 6 –...
  
  .
• September – NBC
  NBC
  The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
  
   introduces a still version of its peacock color logo.
• September 4 – Television broadcasting begins in Sweden
  Sweden
  Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
  
  .
• September 9 – Elvis Presley appears on The Ed Sullivan Show
  The Ed Sullivan Show
  The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan....
  
   for the first time.
• September 16 – TCN-9
  TCN-9
  TCN is the Sydney flagship television station of the Nine Network in Australia and is located at Willoughby. The licence, issued to a company named Television Corporation Ltd headed by Frank Packer, was one of the first four licences to be issued for commercial television stations in...
  
   Sydney
  Sydney
  Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
  
   becomes the first Australia
  Australia
  Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
  
  n TV station to begin regular transmission.
• October 1 – Ernie Kovacs
  Ernie Kovacs
  Ernie Kovacs was a Hungarian American comedian and actor.Kovacs' uninhibited, often ad-libbed, and visually experimental comedic style came to influence numerous television comedy programs for years after his death in an automobile accident...
  
   becomes the host for NBC's The Tonight Show
  The Tonight Show
  The Tonight Show is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. It is the longest currently running regularly scheduled entertainment program in the United States, and the third longest-running show on NBC, after Meet the Press and Today.The Tonight Show has been hosted by...
  
   on Mondays and Tuesdays.
• October 29 – First use of videotape in network television programming; CBS uses its Ampex
  Ampex
  Ampex is an American electronics company founded in 1944 by Alexander M. Poniatoff. The name AMPEX is an acronym, created by its founder, which stands for Alexander M. Poniatoff Excellence...
  
   VTR to record the evening news, anchored by Douglas Edwards
  Douglas Edwards
  Douglas Edwards was America's first network news television anchor, anchoring CBS's first nightly news broadcast from 1948–1962, which was later to be titled CBS Evening News.-Early life and career:...
  
  . The tape is then fed to West Coast stations three hours later.
• October 29 – Chet Huntley
  Chet Huntley
  Chester Robert "Chet" Huntley was an American television newscaster, best known for co-anchoring NBC's evening news program, The Huntley-Brinkley Report, for 14 years beginning in 1956.-Early life:...
  
   and David Brinkley
  David Brinkley
  David McClure Brinkley was an American newscaster for NBC and ABC in a career lasting from 1943 to 1997....
  
   take over anchor duties of the NBC evening newscast, which is renamed The Huntley-Brinkley Report.
• November 3 – The 1939 MGM film The Wizard of Oz
  The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)
  The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...
  
   is shown on television
  Television
  Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
  
   for the first time in the US, on CBS (the viewing audience was estimated at 45 million people).
• November 5 – The Australian Broadcasting Corporation
  Australian Broadcasting Corporation
  The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
  
   makes its first TV broadcast from its Sydney
  Sydney
  Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
  
   studios. It is inaugurated by then-Prime Minister Robert Menzies
  Robert Menzies
  Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, , Australian politician, was the 12th and longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia....
  
  .
• November 19 – The Australian Broadcasting Corporation
  Australian Broadcasting Corporation
  The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
  
   begins broadcast in Melbourne
  Melbourne
  Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
  
  . Along with its Sydney
  Sydney
  Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
  
   counterpart, they air the 1956 Summer Olympics
  1956 Summer Olympics
  The 1956 Melbourne Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in Melbourne, Australia, in 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, which could not be held in Australia due to quarantine regulations...
  
  .
• November – The first use of videotape on a network television entertainment program. Jonathan Winters
  Jonathan Winters
  -Early life:Winters was born in Bellbrook, Ohio, the son of Alice Kilgore , a radio personality, and Jonathan Harshman Winters II, an investment broker. He is a descendant of Valentine Winters, founder of the Winters National Bank in Dayton, Ohio...
  
   uses videotape and superimposing techniques to be able to play two characters in the same skit for his NBC television show.
• Television broadcasting begins in Spain
  Spain
  Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
  
   and Uruguay
  Uruguay
  Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
  
  .
• Black-and-white portable TV sets hit the market.
• December 31 – Former Game Show host Bob Barker
  Bob Barker
  Robert William "Bob" Barker is a former American television game show host. He is best known for hosting CBS's The Price Is Right from 1972 to 2007, making it the longest-running daytime game show in North American television history, and for hosting Truth or Consequences from 1956 to 1975.Born...
  
   makes his national TV debut on Truth or Consequences
  Truth or Consequences
  Truth or Consequences is an American quiz show originally hosted on NBC radio by Ralph Edwards and later on television by Edwards , Jack Bailey , Bob Barker , Bob Hilton and Larry Anderson . The television show ran on CBS, NBC and also in syndication...
  
  .

Debuts

• January 3 – Queen for a Day
  Queen for a Day
  Queen for a Day is an American radio and television game show that helped to usher in American listeners' and viewers' fascination with big-prize giveaway shows. Queen for a Day originated on the Mutual Radio Network on April 30, 1945 in New York City before moving to Los Angeles a few months...
  
   (1956–1964)
• February 10 – My Friend Flicka
  My Friend Flicka
  My Friend Flicka is a 1941 novel by Mary O'Hara, about Ken McLaughlin, the son of a Wyoming rancher, and his horse Flicka. It was the first in a trilogy, followed by Thunderhead and Green Grass of Wyoming . The popular 1943 film version featured a young Roddy McDowall...
  
   (1956–1958)
• April 2 – As the World Turns
  As the World Turns
  As the World Turns is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS from April 2, 1956 to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created As the World Turns as a sister show to her other soap opera Guiding Light...
  
   (1956–2010)
• April 2 – The Edge of Night
  The Edge of Night
  The Edge of Night is an American television mystery series/soap opera produced by Procter & Gamble. It debuted on CBS on April 2, 1956, and ran as a live broadcast on that network until November 28, 1975; the series then moved to ABC, where it aired from December 1, 1975, until December 28, 1984...
  
   (1956–1984)
• April 26 – The Eddy Arnold Show
  The Eddy Arnold Show
  The Eddy Arnold Show is the name of three similar American network television summer variety programs during the 1950s hosted by Eddy Arnold and featuring popular music stars of the day...
  
   on ABC
• July 6 – Hancock's Half Hour
  Hancock's Half Hour
  Hancock's Half Hour was a BBC radio comedy, and later television comedy, series of the 1950s and 60s written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. The series starred Tony Hancock, with Sid James; the radio version also co-starred, at various times, Moira Lister, Andrée Melly, Hattie Jacques, Bill Kerr...
  
   on BBC Television
  BBC Television
  BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
  
   (1956–1962)
• July 7 - High Finance
  High Finance (1956 TV series)
  High Finance is a quiz show created and hosted by the late Dennis James which aired on CBS from July 7 to December 15, 1956. It followed Gunsmoke, then in the second of its eventual twenty seasons, on the CBS schedule. High Finance aired at 10:30 p.m. Saturdays opposite NBC's Your Hit Parade.On the...
  
  , hosted by Dennis James
  Dennis James
  Dennis James was an American television personality, actor, and announcer. He is credited as the host of television's first network game show, the DuMont Network's Cash and Carry in 1946...
  
  , on CBS (1956)
• September 7 – The Adventures of Jim Bowie
  The Adventures of Jim Bowie
  In September of 1956 a TV series named "The Adventures of Jim Bowie" was aired on ABC. The show was only on the air for two years from 1956 to 1958. The series' music was unique in that is was primarily vocal, provided by Ken Darby and The King's Men .-Synopsis:The series stars Scott Forbes as the...
  
   premieres on ABC (1956–1958)
• September 8 - Hey, Jeannie!
  Hey, Jeannie!
  Hey, Jeannie! is a 32-episode half-hour situation comedy starring Jeannie Carson as a young Scottish woman living in New York City. Twenty-six segments aired on CBS from September 8, 1956 to May 4, 1957 in the Saturday slot following The Gale Storm Show and preceding the western series Gunsmoke.Six...
  
   starring Jeannie Carson
  Jeannie Carson
  Jeannie Carson is a retired English-born United States-based comedienne and musical theatre actress...
  
   premieres on CBS (1956-1957; then 1958 in syndication).
• September 15 – The Adventures of Sir Lancelot
  The Adventures of Sir Lancelot
  The Adventures of Sir Lancelot is a British television series first broadcast in 1956, produced by Sapphire Films for ITC Entertainment and screened on the ITV network...
  
   (UK) debuts on ITV. After being sold to the NBC network in the United States, it later becomes the first British television series ever to be made in colour. (1956–1957)
• September 18 - Noah's Ark
  Noah's Ark (1956 TV series)
  Noah's Ark is a 24-episode half-hour drama television series which aired on NBC in the 1956-1957 season. It stars Paul Burke in the title role of the young veterinarian Dr. Noah McCann, partner with the older Dr. Sam Rinehart, played by Victor Rodman , who in the series uses a wheelchair...
  
  , starring Paul Burke
  Paul Burke (actor)
  Paul Burke was an American actor best known for his lead roles in two 1960s ABC television series, Naked City and Twelve O'Clock High...
  
   debuts on NBC. (1956-1957)
• September 29 – The Gale Storm Show
  The Gale Storm Show
  The Gale Storm Show is an American sitcom starring Gale Storm. The series premiered on September 29, 1956, and ran until 1960 for 143 half-hour black-and-white episodes, initially on CBS and in its last year on ABC...
  
   premieres on CBS (1956–1960)
• The drama series Armchair Theatre
  Armchair Theatre
  Armchair Theatre is a British television drama anthology series, which ran on the ITV network from 1956 to 1974. It was originally produced by Associated British Corporation, and later by Thames Television after 1968....
  
  , produced by ABC Television
  Associated British Corporation
  Associated British Corporation was one of a number of commercial television companies established in the United Kingdom during the 1950s by cinema chain companies in an attempt to safeguard their business by becoming involved with television which was taking away their cinema audiences.In this...
  
   for the ITV
  ITV
  ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
  
   network, begins its long run in the UK
  United Kingdom
  The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
  
   (1956–1968).
• October 4 – Playhouse 90
  Playhouse 90
  Playhouse 90 is an American television anthology series that was telecast on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 133 episodes. It originated from CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California...
  
   (1956–1961).
• October 4 - The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford
  The Ford Show
  The Ford Show is a half-hour comedy/variety program, starring singer and folk humorist Tennessee Ernie Ford, which aired in color on NBC television on Thursday evenings from October 4, 1956 to June 29, 1961....
  
   (1956-1961).
• November 26 – The Price Is Right game show premieres (1956–1965).
• Opportunity Knocks on ITV (UK) (1956–1978).
• The Gale Storm Show, Oh! Susanna (1956–1960), starring Gale Storm
  Gale Storm
  Gale Storm was an American actress and singer who starred in two popular television programs of the 1950s, My Little Margie and The Gale Storm Show.-Early life:...
  
  , Roy Roberts
  Roy Roberts
  Roy Roberts was an American character actor. Over his more than 40-year career, he appeared in more than nine hundred productions on stage and screen.-Biography:...
  
  , and Zazu Pitts
• The Steve Allen Show premieres (1956–1960)
• What the Papers Say
  What the Papers Say
  What The Papers Say is a BBC radio programme that originally ran for many years on British television.Its first incarnation was the second longest-running programme on British television after Panorama...
  
   on ITV (UK) (1956–present)

Television shows

• Gillette Cavalcade of Sports
  Gillette Cavalcade of Sports
  The Gillette Cavalcade of Sports was an American network radio program and later television program that included broadcasts of a variety of sports, although it is primarily remembered by many for its focus on boxing.-Overview and background:...
  
   (1946–1960).
• Kukla, Fran and Ollie
  Kukla, Fran and Ollie
  Kukla, Fran and Ollie is an early American television show using puppets, originally created for children but soon watched by more adults than children. It did not have a script and was entirely ad-libbed...
  
   (1947–1957).
• Howdy Doody
  Howdy Doody
  Howdy Doody is an American children's television program that was created and produced by E. Roger Muir and telecast on NBC in the United States from 1947 until 1960. It was a pioneer in children's television programming and set the pattern for many similar shows...
  
   (1947–1960).
• Kraft Television Theater (1947–1958).
• Meet the Press
  Meet the Press
  Meet the Press is a weekly American television news/interview program produced by NBC. It is the longest-running television series in American broadcasting history, despite bearing little resemblance to the original format of the program seen in its television debut on November 6, 1947. It has been...
  
   (1947–present).
• Candid Camera
  Candid Camera
  Candid Camera is a hidden camera/practical joke reality television series created and produced by Allen Funt, which initially began on radio as Candid Microphone June 28, 1947...
  
   (1948–present).
• The Ed Sullivan Show (1948–1972)
• Bozo the Clown
  Bozo the Clown
  Bozo the Clown is a clown character very popular in the United States, peaking in the 1960s as a result of widespread franchising in early television.Originally created by Alan W...
  
   (1949–present).
• Come Dancing
  Come Dancing
  Come Dancing was a BBC TV ballroom dancing competition show that ran on and off from 1949 to 1998, becoming one of television's longest-running shows....
  
   (UK) (1949–1995).
• The Voice of Firestone
  The Voice of Firestone
  The Voice of Firestone, is a long-running radio and television program of classical music. The show featured leading singers in selections from opera and operetta. Originally titled The Firestone Hour, it was first broadcast on the NBC Radio network December 3, 1928 and was later also shown on...
  
   (1949–1963).
• The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show
  Burns and Allen
  Burns and Allen, an American comedy duo consisting of George Burns and his wife, Gracie Allen, worked together as a comedy team in vaudeville, films, radio and television and achieved great success over four decades.-Vaudeville:...
  
   (1950–1958).
• The Jack Benny Show (1950–1965).
• Truth or Consequences
  Truth or Consequences
  Truth or Consequences is an American quiz show originally hosted on NBC radio by Ralph Edwards and later on television by Edwards , Jack Bailey , Bob Barker , Bob Hilton and Larry Anderson . The television show ran on CBS, NBC and also in syndication...
  
   (1950–1988).
• What's My Line (1950–1967).
• Your Hit Parade
  Your Hit Parade
  Your Hit Parade, is an American radio and television music program that was broadcast from 1935 to 1955 on radio, and seen from 1950 to 1959 on television. It was sponsored by American Tobacco's Lucky Strike cigarettes. During this 24-year run, the show had 19 orchestra leaders and 52 singers or...
  
   (1950–1959).
• Dragnet (1951–1959).
• Hallmark Hall of Fame
  Hallmark Hall of Fame
  Hallmark Hall of Fame is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City based greeting card company. The second longest-running television program in the history of television, it has a historically long run, beginning in 1951 and continuing into 2011...
  
   (1951–present)
• I Love Lucy
  I Love Lucy
  I Love Lucy is an American television sitcom starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley. The black-and-white series originally ran from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, on the Columbia Broadcasting System...
  
   (1951–1960).
• Love of Life
  Love of Life
  Love of Life is an American soap opera which aired on CBS Daytime from September 24, 1951 to February 1, 1980. It was created by Roy Winsor, whose previous creation Search for Tomorrow had premiered three weeks before Love of Life, and who would go on to create The Secret Storm two and a half years...
  
   (1951–1980).
• Search for Tomorrow
  Search for Tomorrow
  Search for Tomorrow is an American soap opera which premiered on September 3, 1951 on CBS. The show was moved from CBS to NBC on March 29, 1982. It continued on NBC until the final episode aired on December 26, 1986, a run of thirty-five years. At the time of its final broadcast it was the...
  
   (1951–1986).
• The Roy Rogers Show
  The Roy Rogers Show
  The Roy Rogers Show is an American Western television series that broadcast 100 episodes on NBC for six seasons between December 30, 1951 and June 9, 1957. The show starred Roy Rogers as a ranch owner, Dale Evans as the proprietor of the Eureka Cafe in fictional Mineral City, and Pat Brady as...
  
   (1951–1957).
• American Bandstand
  American Bandstand
  American Bandstand is an American music-performance show that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989 and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as producer...
  
   (1952–1989).
• The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
  The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
  The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet is an American sitcom, airing on ABC from October 3, 1952 to September 3, 1966, starring the real life Nelson family. After a long run on radio, the show was brought to television where it continued its success, running on both radio and TV for a couple of years...
  
   (1952–1966).
• Adventures of Superman
  Adventures of Superman (TV series)
  Adventures of Superman is an American television series based on comic book characters and concepts created in 1938 by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The show is the first television series to feature Superman and began filming in 1951 in California...
  
   (1952–1958)
• The Guiding Light
  Guiding Light
  Guiding Light is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest running drama in television and radio history, running from 1937 until 2009...
  
   (1952–2009).
• Life is Worth Living
  Life is Worth Living
  Life is Worth Living is an inspirational American television series which ran on the DuMont Television Network from February 12, 1952 to April 26, 1955, then on ABC until 1957.-Broadcast history:Hosted by Bishop Fulton J...
  
   (1952–1957).
• The Today Show (1952–present).
• This Is Your Life
  This Is Your Life
  This Is Your Life is an American television documentary series broadcast on NBC, originally hosted by its producer, Ralph Edwards from 1952 to 1961. In the show, the host surprises a guest, and proceeds to take them through their life in front of an audience including friends and family.Edwards...
  
   (US) (1952–1961).
• General Motors Theatre
  General Motors Theatre
  General Motors Theatre was a Canadian television anthology series, which ran on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation under its various titles from 1953 until 1961. First transmitted under the sponsored title on October 5 1954, a new 60-minute drama would be presented each week...
  
   (Can) (1953–1956, 1958–1961)
• Panorama
  Panorama (TV series)
  Panorama is a BBC Television current affairs documentary programme, which was first broadcast in 1953, and is the longest-running public affairs television programme in the world. Panorama has been presented by many well known BBC presenters, including Richard Dimbleby, Robin Day, David Dimbleby...
  
   (UK) (1953–present).
• The Good Old Days
  The Good Old Days
  The Good Old Days is a popular BBC television light entertainment programme which ran from 1953 to 1983.It was performed at the Leeds City Varieties and recreated an authentic atmosphere of the Victorian–Edwardian music hall with songs and sketches of the era performed by present-day...
  
   (UK) (1953–1983).
• Annie Oakley
  Annie Oakley (TV series)
  Annie Oakley is an American Western television series which fictionalized the life of famous sharpshooter Annie Oakley. It ran from January 1954 to February 1957 in syndication. ABC showed reruns on Saturday and Sunday daytime from 1959–1960 and from 1964-1965...
  
   (1954–1957).
• Climax! (1954–1958).
• Disneyland (1954–1958).
• Face the Nation
  Face the Nation
  Face the Nation with Bob Schieffer is an American Sunday-morning political interview show which premiered on the CBS television network on November 7, 1954. It is one of the longest-running news programs in the history of television...
  
   (1954–present).
• The Brighter Day
  The Brighter Day
  The Brighter Day is an American daytime soap opera which aired on CBS from January 4, 1954 to September 28, 1962. Originally created for NBC radio by Irna Phillips in 1948, the radio and television versions ran simultaneously from 1954-1956...
  
   (1954–1962).
• The Grove Family
  The Grove Family
  The Grove Family is a British television soap opera, generally regarded as the first of its kind broadcast in the UK, made and transmitted by BBC Television from 1954 to 1957...
  
   (UK) (1954–1957).
• The Secret Storm
  The Secret Storm
  The Secret Storm is a soap opera which ran on CBS from February 1, 1954 to February 8, 1974. The series was created by Roy Winsor, who also created the long-running soap operas Search for Tomorrow and Love of Life...
  
   (1954–1974).
• The Milton Berle Show (1954–1967).
• Zoo Quest
  Zoo Quest
  Zoo Quest was a series of multi-part nature documentaries broadcast on BBC television between 1954 and 1963. It was the first major programme to feature David Attenborough....
  
   (UK) (1954–1964).
• The Tonight Show (1954–present).
• Alfred Hitchcock Presents
  Alfred Hitchcock Presents
  Alfred Hitchcock Presents is an American television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock. The series featured dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. By the premiere of the show on October 2, 1955, Hitchcock had been directing films for over three decades...
  
   (1955–1962).
• Captain Kangaroo
  Captain Kangaroo
  Captain Kangaroo is a children's television series which aired weekday mornings on the American television network CBS for nearly 30 years, from October 3, 1955 until December 8, 1984, making it the longest-running children's television program of its day...
  
   (1955–1984).
• Cheyenne (1955–1962).
• Dixon of Dock Green
  Dixon of Dock Green
  Dixon of Dock Green was a popular BBC television series that ran from 1955 to 1976, and later a radio series. Despite being a drama series, it was initially produced by the BBC's light entertainment department.-Overview:...
  
   (UK) (1955–1976).
• Gunsmoke
  Gunsmoke
  Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West....
  
   (1955–1975).
• Mickey Mouse Club
  Mickey Mouse Club
  The Mickey Mouse Club is an American variety television show that began in 1955, produced by Walt Disney Productions and televised by the ABC, featuring a regular but ever-changing cast of teenage performers. The Mickey Mouse Club was created by Walt Disney...
  
   (1955–1959).
• The Lawrence Welk Show
  The Lawrence Welk Show
  The Lawrence Welk Show is an American televised musical variety show hosted by big band leader Lawrence Welk. The series aired locally in Los Angeles for four years , then nationally for another 27 years via the ABC network and first-run syndication .In the years since first-run syndication...
  
   (1955–1982).
• Ozark Jubilee
  Ozark Jubilee
  Ozark Jubilee is the first U.S. network television program to feature country music's top stars, and was the centerpiece of a strategy for Springfield, Missouri to challenge Nashville, Tennessee as America's country music capital...
  
   (1955–1960).
• This Is Your Life
  This Is Your Life
  This Is Your Life is an American television documentary series broadcast on NBC, originally hosted by its producer, Ralph Edwards from 1952 to 1961. In the show, the host surprises a guest, and proceeds to take them through their life in front of an audience including friends and family.Edwards...
  
   (UK) (1955–1964, 1969–2003).

Ending this year

• February 27 - The Tony Martin Show
  The Tony Martin Show
  The Tony Martin Show is a 15-minute weekly musical variety television series hosted by entertainer Tony Martin, which aired in NBC prime time from April 26, 1954, to February 27, 1956...
  
   (1954-1956).
• June 3 - It's a Great Life
  It's a Great Life
  It's a Great Life is an American situation comedy which aired on NBC from 1954 to 1956...
  
   (1954-1956).
• June 14 - Stop the Music
  Stop the Music (TV series)
  Stop the Music is a prime time television game show that aired for an hour on Thursday evenings on ABC from May 5, 1949 to April 24, 1952, and again for a half-hour from September 7, 1954, to June 14, 1956. It had also been broadcast on radio from 1948 to 1949.The series hosts were Bert Parks and...
  
   (1949-1952, 1954-1956)
• September 11 - This Is Show Business
  This Is Show Business
  This Is Show Business is an American panel discussion program about the entertainment industry, hosted by Clifton Fadiman, which aired on CBS Television from July 15, 1949 to March 9, 1954, and then again as a summer series on NBC Television from June 26 to September 11, 1956.-Overview:Guest...
  
   (1949-1954; 1956).
• Cisco Kid (1950–1956).
• The Honeymooners
  The Honeymooners
  The Honeymooners is an American situation comedy television show, based on a recurring 1951–'55 sketch of the same name. It originally aired on the DuMont network's Cavalcade of Stars and subsequently on the CBS network's The Jackie Gleason Show hosted by Jackie Gleason, and filmed before a live...
  
   (1955–1956).
• It's Always Jan
  It's Always Jan
  It's Always Jan is an American situation comedy starring Janis Paige, which aired on CBS in the 1955-1956 season. It was the lead-in program at 9:30 p.m...
  
   (1955-1956).
• The Jimmy Durante Show
  The Jimmy Durante Show
  The Jimmy Durante Show is a 51-episode half-hour comedy/variety program presented live on NBC from October 2, 1954 to June 23, 1956.-Production background:...
  
   (1954-1956).
• Jungle Jim
  Jungle Jim (TV series)
  Jungle Jim is a 26-episode syndicated adventure television series which aired from 1955-1956, starring Johnny Weismuller, as Jim "Jungle Jim" Bradley, a hunter, guide, and explorer in, primarily, Africa. The program should not be confused with Ramar of the Jungle, but is based on the Jungle Jim...
  
   (1955–1956), starring Johnny Weissmuller
  Johnny Weissmuller
  Johnny Weissmuller was an Austro-Hungarian-born American swimmer and actor best known for playing Tarzan in movies. Weissmuller was one of the world's best swimmers in the 1920s, winning five Olympic gold medals and one bronze medal. He won fifty-two US National Championships and set sixty-seven...
  
  
• Justice
  Justice (1954 TV series)
  Justice is an NBC half-hour drama television series about attorneys of the Legal Aid Society of New York, which aired from April 8, 1954 to March 25, 1956. In the 1954-1955 season, Justice starred Dane Clark as Richard Adams and Gary Merrill as Jason Tyler. In the 1955-1956 season, William Prince...
  
   (1954-1956), starring Dane Clark
  Dane Clark
  Dane Clark was an American film actor who was known for playing, as he labeled himself, "Joe Average".-Early life:...
  
  , Gary Merrill
  Gary Merrill
  Gary Fred Merrill was an American film and television character actor whose credits included more than fifty feature films, a half-dozen mostly short-lived TV series, and dozens of television guest appearances....
  
  , and William Prince
  William Prince (actor)
  William LeRoy Prince was an American actor who appeared in numerous soap operas and made dozens of guest appearances on primetime series as well as playing villains in movies like The Gauntlet and Spontaneous Combustion.-Biography:Prince was born in Nichols, New York, the son of Myrtle , a nurse...
  
  .
• Medical Horizons
  Medical Horizons
  Medical Horizons is a public affairs television series, focusing on advancements in medical technology, which aired on ABC from September 12, 1955 to March 5, 1956. The program, broadcast live, sometimes offered surgical scenes as well as information about new medical equipment.The series was...
  
   (1955-1956 in prime time), hosted by Don Goddard
  Don Goddard
  Don Goddard was a radio and television announcer and newscaster who later became known for his work with geriatric alcoholism and other addictions....
  
  . The program continued on Sunday afternoons until 1957.
• Wanted
  Wanted (1955 TV series)
  Wanted is a short-lived half-hour CBS crime documentary television series hosted by the late Walter McGraw, which aired in the 1955-1956 season at 10:30 EST on Thursdays following the original version of The Johnny Carson Show, not to be confused with the subsequent The Tonight Show.This "Wanted"...
  
   (1955-1956), hosted by Walter McGraw

Births

• January 3 – Mel Gibson
  Mel Gibson
  Mel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...
  
  , actor
• January 7 – David Caruso
  David Caruso
  David Stephen Caruso is an American film and television actor and producer, best known for his role of Lieutenant Horatio Caine on the TV series CSI: Miami. The role that gained him initial significant recognition was the role of Det...
  
  , actor
• January 9 - Kimberly Beck
  Kimberly Beck
  Kimberly Beck is an American actress with over sixty television and film roles to her credit.-Biography:...
  
  , actress
  • Imelda Staunton
    Imelda Staunton
    Imelda Mary Philomena Bernadette Staunton, OBE is an English actress. She is perhaps best known for her performances in the British comedy television series Up the Garden Path, the Harry Potter film series and Vera Drake...
    
    , English actress
• January 20 – Bill Maher
  Bill Maher
  William "Bill" Maher, Jr. is an American stand-up comedian, television host, political commentator, author and actor. Before his current role as the host of HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, Maher hosted a similar late-night talk show called Politically Incorrect originally on Comedy Central and...
  
  , actor, comedian, talk-show host
• January 21 – Geena Davis
  Geena Davis
  Virginia Elizabeth "Geena" Davis is an American actress, film producer, writer, former fashion model, and a women's Olympics archery team semi-finalist...
  
  , actress
• February 11 - Catherine Hickland
  Catherine Hickland
  Catherine Hickland is a singer and an actress best known for roles in soap operas broadcast in the United States, most notably as the character of Lindsay Rappaport on ABC's One Life to Live, a character which she has portrayed since 1998.- Early life :Hickland was born and raised in Fort...
  
  , actress
• February 19 - Kathleen Beller
  Kathleen Beller
  Kathleen Beller is an actress. She was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture Actress in a Supporting Role for her role in Promises in the Dark...
  
  , actress
• March 1 - Tim Daly, actor
• March 7 - Bryan Cranston
  Bryan Cranston
  Bryan Lee Cranston is an American actor, voice actor, writer and director. He is best known for his roles as Hal the father in the Fox situation comedy Malcolm in the Middle, and Walter White in the AMC drama series Breaking Bad, for which he won three consecutive Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama...
  
  , actor and director
• March 13 - Dana Delany
  Dana Delany
  Dana Welles Delany is an American film, stage, and television actress, producer, host and health activist.After various roles in the early career, Delany garnered her first leading role in 1987 in the short-lived NBC sitcom Sweet Surrender and achieved wider fame in 1988–1991 as Colleen McMurphy...
  
  , actress
• April 3 – Ray Combs
  Ray Combs
  Raymond Neil "Ray" Combs, Jr. was an American comedian, actor, and host of the game show Family Feud on CBS and in syndication from 1988 to 1994.-Early life and career:...
  
  , host Family Feud
  Family Feud
  Family Feud is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman. Two families compete against each other in a contest to name the most popular responses to a survey question posed to 100 people...
  
   1988–1994 (d. 1996)
• April 12 – Andy García
  Andy García
  Andrés Arturo García Menéndez , professionally known as Andy García, is a Cuban American actor. He became known in the late 1980s and 1990s, having appeared in several successful Hollywood films, including The Godfather: Part III, The Untouchables, Internal Affairs and When a Man Loves a Woman...
  
  , Cuban-American actor
• April 18 - Melody Thomas Scott
  Melody Thomas Scott
  Melody Thomas Scott is an American actress, best known for playing Nikki Newman on the soap opera The Young and the Restless since 1979.-Early Training:Melody Thomas Scott has been a working actress since the age of three...
  
  , actress (The Young and the Restless
  The Young and the Restless
  The Young and the Restless is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in a fictional Wisconsin town called Genoa City, which is unlike and unrelated to the real life village of the same name, Genoa City, Wisconsin...
  
  )
• May 17 – Bob Saget
  Bob Saget
  Robert Lane "Bob" Saget is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and television host. Although he is best known for his roles as Danny Tanner in Full House, host of America's Funniest Home Videos and Future Ted Mosby on How I Met Your Mother, Saget is also known outside of television for his blue...
  
  , actor (Full House
  Full House
  Full House is an American sitcom television series. Set in San Francisco, the show chronicles widowed father Danny Tanner, who, after the death of his wife, enlists his best friend Joey Gladstone and his brother-in-law Jesse Katsopolis to help raise his three daughters, D.J., Stephanie, and...
  
  , America's Funniest Home Videos
  America's Funniest Home Videos
  America's Funniest Home Videos is an American reality television program on ABC in which viewers are able to send in humorous homemade videotapes. The most common videos usually feature slapstick physical comedy arising from incidents, accidents and mishaps...
  
  )
• July 1 - Alan Ruck
  Alan Ruck
  Alan Ruck is an American film, stage and television actor, perhaps best known for his roles as Cameron Frye in Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Stuart Bondek on Spin City.-Early life:...
  
  , actor
• July 9 – Tom Hanks
  Tom Hanks
  Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer, and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies, gaining wide notice in 1988's Big, before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title...
  
  , actor
• July 11 - Sela Ward
  Sela Ward
  Sela Ann Ward is an American movie and television actress, perhaps best known for her television roles as Teddy Reed on the American TV series Sisters and as Lily Manning on Once and Again...
  
  , actress
• July 31 - Michael Biehn
  Michael Biehn
  Michael Connell Biehn is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in James Cameron's science fiction action films The Terminator as Kyle Reese, Aliens as Cpl. Dwayne Hicks, and The Abyss as Lt. Coffey. He has also acted in such films as Tombstone, The Rock, and Planet Terror...
  
  , actor
• August 5 – Maureen McCormick
  Maureen McCormick
  Maureen Denise McCormick is an American actress, celebrity and recording artist. She is most widely known as a child actress who played Marcia Brady in the television series The Brady Bunch from 1969 to 1974.- Early life and career :...
  
  , actress (The Brady Bunch
  The Brady Bunch
  The Brady Bunch is an American sitcom created by Sherwood Schwartz and starring Robert Reed, Florence Henderson, and Ann B. Davis. The series revolved around a large blended family...
  
  )
• August 6 - Stepfanie Kramer
  Stepfanie Kramer
  Stepfanie Kramer is an American actress, writer, and singer/songwriter. She is probably best known for her role as the tough-minded detective, "Sgt...
  
  , actress (Hunter)
• August 21 – Kim Cattrall
  Kim Cattrall
  Kim Victoria Cattrall is an English actress. She is known for her role as Samantha Jones in the HBO comedy/romance series Sex and the City, and for her leading roles in the 1980s films Police Academy, Big Trouble in Little China, Mannequin, and Porky's...
  
  , actress (Sex and the City
  Sex and the City
  Sex and the City is an American television comedy-drama series created by Darren Star and produced by HBO. Broadcast from 1998 until 2004, the original run of the show had a total of ninety-four episodes...
  
  )
• September 20 - Gary Cole
  Gary Cole
  Gary Michael Cole is an American actor. Cole is known for his supporting roles in numerous film and television productions since the 1990s.-Early life:...
  
  , actor
• September 26 - Linda Hamilton
  Linda Hamilton
  Linda Carroll Hamilton is an American actress best known for her portrayal of Sarah Connor in The Terminator and its sequel Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Catherine Chandler in the television series Beauty and the Beast, for which she was nominated for two Golden Globes and an Emmy...
  
  , actress