1957 in television

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The year 1957 in television involved some significant events. Below is a list of television-related events during 1957.

Events[edit]

  • January 6 – Elvis Presley makes his final appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.[1]
  • January 25 – Steve Allen makes his final appearance as host of NBC's The Tonight Show.[2] He is replaced by Jack Lescoulie and the show is changed from a talk/variety show format to be more like the series Today, with the title Tonight! America After Dark.[3]
  • February 16 – In the United Kingdom, the "Toddlers' Truce" (an arrangement whereby there have been no TV broadcasts between 6 PM and 7 PM, to allow parents to put their children to bed) is abolished. It has been a major obstacle to the success of ITV.
  • March 7 – Portugal begins the Rádio e Televisão de Portugal television service after several months of experimentation.
  • March 31 – The first TV version of Cinderella, starring 21-year-old Julie Andrews, and with songs by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, is broadcast in color by CBS.
  • April 1
    • In Britain, the BBC's Panorama current affairs television programme presented by Richard Dimbleby broadcasts a spaghetti tree hoax report purporting to show spaghetti being harvested in Switzerland, believed to be the first April Fool's Day joke televised.
    • In the United States WYES begins broadcasting on channel 8 in New Orleans. WYES will swap channels with WVUE in 1970.
  • April 4 – Desilu films "The Ricardos Dedicate a Statue", the 180th and final first run episode of I Love Lucy. Its May 6 broadcast marks the end of an era in early television comedy.
  • April 24 – First broadcast of BBC Television astronomy series The Sky at Night in the United Kingdom presented by Patrick Moore. This will be broadcast with the same presenter until his death in December 2012.
  • May 29 – In Hong Kong, Rediffusion Television, a predecessor of ATV Home and RTHK TV 31, begins broadcasting as a bilingual subscription cable service, becoming the first television station in a Crown colony of the British Empire[4] as well as the first station in a predominantly Chinese city.
  • June – On Tonight! America After Dark, Jack Lescoulie is unsuccessful, so NBC hires Al "Jazzbo" Collins as master of ceremonies. Collins doesn't last long; NBC is already planning to replace him and restore the original format as The Tonight Show.
  • June 24 – Front Page Challenge, television's longest continuously running panel show, starts broadcasting on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation network. It runs for 38 years.
  • July 29 – Jack Paar becomes the permanent host for NBC's The Tonight Show. The format reverts to a talk/variety show.
  • August 5 – American Bandstand begins its 30-year syndicated run on US network television.
  • August 31 – Central Scotland's independent channel Scottish Television goes on air, the first 7-day-a-week ITV franchise to do so.
  • September 7 – In the United States:
    • NBC introduces an animated version of its "living color" peacock logo.
    • WWL-TV Channel 4 signs on as New Orleans' CBS affiliate.
  • November 26 – WHDH-TV/5-Boston begins broadcasting. It soon becomes involved in controversy about its license. It finally loses its license in 1972.
  • December 25 – The British Royal Christmas Message is televised with the Queen (Elizabeth II) on camera for the first time.
  • When Nat King Cole's television series is unable to get a sponsor, Frankie Laine is the first artist to cross TV's color line, foregoing his usual salary of $10,000.00 to become the first white artist to appear as a guest. Other major performers follow suit, including Mel Tormé and Tony Bennett, but, despite an increase in ratings, the show still fails to acquire a national sponsor.
  • Gorni Kramer makes his first appearance on Italian television, in the program Il Musichiere.
  • Cyprus begins a limited television service, serving only three hours a day, twice-weekly. By 1960 a full service will be initiated.
  • CBC Television begins nationwide broadcasting of NHL games as Canada's microwave network is completed coast-to-coast. Prior to this, broadcasts had been delayed.
  • Westinghouse introduces the first rectangular tube color TV. Due to issues with convergence (aligning the guns to get a single image), the sets are withdrawn from the market. The first successful rectangular color tubes are sold during the mid-1960s.
  • Hollywood takes over New York as the dominant for prime time TV programs, upgrading most of the TV genre, changing from live broadcasts to filmed series.

Programs/programmes[edit]

Series on the air in 1957[edit]

Debuts[edit]

Ending this year[edit]

Date Show Debut
February 24 Annie Oakley 1954
February 26 Noah's Ark 1956
April 1 I Love Lucy 1951
April 8 Life Is Worth Living 1952
April 20 The Adventures of Sir Lancelot (UK) 1956
May 1 Kukla, Fran and Ollie 1947
May 5 Air Power 1956
June 9 The Roy Rogers Show 1951
September 24 It's Polka Time 1956
Unknown The Grove Family (UK) 1954
The Three Stooges 1934

Births[edit]

Date Name Notability
January 1 Meagen Fay Actress
January 3 Frank Dicopoulos Actor (Guiding Light)
January 7 Katie Couric Journalist, talk show host (Today, CBS Evening News, 60 Minutes)
January 8 Ron Cephas Jones Actor (This Is Us)
January 14 Susan Glover Actress
January 16 Larry Mendte Talk show host
January 17 Steve Harvey Actor, comedian, host (The Steve Harvey Show, Family Feud)
Keith Chegwin Actor (died 2016)
January 25 Jenifer Lewis Actress (Black-ish)
January 27 Danny Aiello III American stunt performer (died 2010)
January 28 Harley Jane Kozak Actress (Santa Barbara)
January 30 Chris Jansing American television news correspondent
February 6 Kathy Najimy Actress (King of the Hill)
Robert Townsend Actor (The Parent 'Hood)
February 14 Ken Wahl Actor (Wiseguy)
February 16 LeVar Burton Actor, host (Star Trek: The Next Generation, Reading Rainbow)
February 18 Vanna White Game show hostess (Wheel of Fortune)
February 19 Ray Winstone Actor
February 28 Ainsley Harriott English chef and TV presenter
John Turturro Actor
March 3 Jeff Rona Composer
March 4 Mykelti Williamson Actor (Justified)
March 6 Eddie Deezen Actor
March 8 Cynthia Rothrock Actress
March 9 Faith Daniels Talk show host
March 12 Eric Shawn Anchor
March 13 Daniel Licht Composer
March 15 Park Overall Actress (Empty Nest)
March 20 Amy Aquino Actress (ER, Being Human)
Spike Lee Film director and actor
March 26 Leeza Gibbons Talk show host (Entertainment Tonight, Leeza)
March 23 Teresa Ganzel Actress
March 27 Stephen Dillane Actor
March 29 Christopher Lambert Actor
March 30 Tawny Moyer Actress
Christopher Hall Producer
April 12 Suzzanne Douglas Actress (The Parent 'Hood) (died 2021)
April 13 Gary Kroeger Actor, announcer (Saturday Night Live)
Saundra Santiago Actress (Miami Vice)
April 23 Jan Hooks Actress, comedian (Saturday Night Live, Designing Women) (d. 2014)
April 27 Robert Curtis Brown Actor
May 5 Richard E. Grant English actor (Richard E. Grant's Hotel Secrets)
May 6 Fred Roggin American sports anchor
May 8 Bill Cowher Studio analyst for The NFL Today on CBS
May 17 Whip Hubley Actor
May 19 Tom Gammill Writer
May 21 Bruce Buffer UFC ring announcer
May 27 Thalia Assuras Journalist
May 29 Ted Levine Actor (Monk)
June 10 Robert Clohessy Actor
June 12 Timothy Busfield Actor, director (thirtysomething, The West Wing)
June 16 Ian Buchanan Actor (General Hospital, The Bold and the Beautiful, All My Children)
June 17 Jon Gries Actor (Martin, The Pretender)
June 18 Andrea Evans Actress (One Life to Live)
June 23 Peter Dickson Announcer
June 30 Ilene Chaiken Writer
July 2 Bret Hart Canadian-American pro wrestler (WWE, WCW)
July 9 Tim Kring Writer
July 12 Christopher Quinten Actor
July 18 Nick Faldo Golfer
July 20 Donna Dixon Actress (Bosom Buddies), wife of Dan Aykroyd
July 21 Jon Lovitz Actor, comedian (Saturday Night Live)
July 23 Jo Brand English comedian, actress, writer (Getting On)
July 26 Nana Visitor Actress (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Wildfire)
July 27 Bill Engvall Actor
July 28 Brianne Leary Actress (Baa Baa Black Sheep, CHiPs)
Scott Pelley Journalist
July 30 Victor Slezak Actor
July 31 Dirk Blocker Actor (Baa Baa Black Sheep, Brooklyn Nine-Nine)
August 7 Paul Dini Television writer and producer (DC Animated Universe, Freakazoid!, Ultimate Spider-Man)
August 9 Melanie Griffith Actress
August 16 Laura Innes Actress (ER)
August 17 Ken Kwapis American film and television director
August 18 Denis Leary Actor, comedian (Rescue Me)
August 21 Mark Pender Trumpet player
August 24 Stephen Fry English actor, comedian (Jeeves and Wooster, Pocoyo, Kingdom)
August 25 Craig Piligian American television producer
August 28 Daniel Stern Actor
August 29 Jerry Bailey Sportscaster
September 2 Steve Porcaro American composer
September 3 Garth Ancier American television producer
Steve Schirripa American television actor
September 7 Mark Whitaker Journalist
September 8 Heather Thomas Actress (The Fall Guy)
September 10 Cynthia Cidre Screenwriter
Kate Burton Actress
September 12 Hans Zimmer Composer
September 23 Rosalind Chao Actress (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
September 24 Brad Bird Film director, writer, producer, and actor (Pixar, The Iron Giant)
September 25 Michael Madsen Actor
September 29 Andrew Dice Clay Comedian, actor (Bless This House)
September 30 Fran Drescher Actress, comedian (The Nanny)
October 1 Yvette Freeman Actress (ER)
October 2 Zhao Benshan Actor
October 4 Bill Fagerbakke Voice actor (SpongeBob SquarePants, Gargoyles, Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz)
October 5 Bernie Mac Actor, comedian (The Bernie Mac Show) (died 2008)
October 11 Dawn French Welch-born English actress, comedian (French and Saunders, The Vicar of Dibley)
October 12 Renee Chenault-Fattah TV anchor (WCAU NBC 10 News)
October 17 Lawrence Bender Film producer
October 21 Shea Farrell Actor, producer (Hotel)
October 23 Elizabeth D'Onofrio Actress
October 24 John Kassir Actor and comedian (Earthworm Jim, CatDog, Hercules, Rocket Power, The Amanda Show, As Told by Ginger, The Looney Tunes Show)
October 25 Nancy Cartwright Voice actress (The Simpsons, Rugrats, Mike, Lu & Og, Kim Possible, All Grown Up!, The Replacements)
October 27 Peter Marc Jacobson Actor
October 28 Betsy Aidem Actress
October 29 Dan Castellaneta Actor, comedian (The Simpsons, Rugrats, Darkwing Duck, Aladdin, Earthworm Jim, Hey Arnold!, Cow and Chicken)
Scott Thomson Actor
October 30 Kevin Pollak Actor
November 3 Dolph Lundgren Actor
November 5 Elizabeth Bracco Actress
November 6 Cam Clarke Voice actor (original voice of Leonardo on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)
November 7 Christopher Knight Actor (The Brady Bunch)
November 10 George Lowe Voice actor (Space Ghost Coast to Coast)
November 11 Anne-Marie Martin Actress (Sledge Hammer!)
November 15 Kevin Eubanks Jazz musician, guitarist (Tonight with Jay Leno)
November 15 Sue Herera Anchor
November 19 Tom Virtue Actor
November 22 Donny Deutsch Television personality
November 24 Denise Crosby Actress, model (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
November 30 Colin Mochrie Actor (Whose Line Is It Anyway?)
December 1 Jeff DeGrandis Animator
December 9 Donny Osmond Singer, actor, game show host (The Donny & Marie Show)
December 10 Michael Clarke Duncan Actor (died 2012)
Paul Hardcastle Composer
December 13 Steve Buscemi Actor (Boardwalk Empire, Park Bench with Steve Buscemi)
Billy Van Zandt Actor
December 14 Antonio Mora Anchor
December 19 Kevin McHale NBA basketball player
John Gulager Actor
December 21 Ray Romano Actor, comedian (Everybody Loves Raymond)
December 28 Sam Ayers Actor
December 29 Brad Grey Producer (died 2017)
December 30 Matt Lauer Television host (Today)

Television debuts[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Elvis Presley". edsullivan.com. SOFA Entertainment. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  2. ^ Karm, Bob. "Steve Allen's Last Tonight Show Appearance on this Date in 1957". pdxretro.com. PDX RETRO. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  3. ^ "Jack Lescoulie-Hollywood Star Walk". LA Times. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  4. ^ 由麗的到亞視 一個電視台的終結 [From Rediffusion To ATV: The End of a Television Station]. Standnews. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  5. ^ McNeil, Alex (1996). Total Television: the Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present (4th ed.). New York, New York: Penguin Books USA, Inc. p. 216. ISBN 0-14-02-4916-8.
  6. ^ Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle F. (June 24, 2009). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present. Random House Publishing Group. p. 1060. ISBN 978-0-307-48320-1. Retrieved September 11, 2023.