1958 in American television

List of years in American television:
1957–58 United States network television schedule
1958–59 United States network television schedule
List of American television programs currently in production

This is a list of American television-related events in 1958.

Events

Date Event Ref.
August 15 Dotto, a pioneer in big-money quiz shows, becomes the first game show to be cancelled due to the probe in the quiz show scandals. This was due to a federal investigation that started with the allegation that a contestant of that program has been given answers in advance of the show's taping. Several other quiz shows were later canceled due to the investigation.
October 17 Fred Astaire makes his television starring debut in An Evening with Fred Astaire, an NBC special that later won nine Emmy Awards, and is one of the first television specials to be preserved by means of videotape.
September 16 Orson Welles's The Fountain of Youth is broadcast on NBC-TV's Colgate Theatre. Filmed in 1956 for a proposed Desilu series, the half-hour program airs only once and becomes the only unsold pilot ever to win a Peabody Award. [1]: 424–425 [2][3]: 307 

Television programs

Debuts

Date Debut Network
January 4 Sea Hunt Broadcast syndication
January 7 Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer Broadcast syndication
January 12 Shirley Temple's Storybook NBC
January 18 Young People's Concerts CBS
February 10[4] J. P. Patches KIRO-TV
February 10 Walt Disney Presents: Annette ABC
February 15[5] The Dick Clark Show ABC
March[6] Target Broadcast syndication
April 25[7] Jefferson Drum NBC
May 8 Jazz Party Dumont
July 3[8] Buckskin NBC
July 6 Decision NBC
July 7 Frontier Justice CBS
August 19 Colgate Theatre NBC
August 25 Concentration NBC
September 6[9] The Adventures of Spunky and Tadpole Broadcast syndication
September 6 Wanted Dead or Alive CBS
September 14 Northwest Passage NBC
September 22[10] Peter Gunn NBC
September 23 Bronco ABC
September 23[11] Rescue 8 Broadcast syndication
September 24 The Donna Reed Show ABC
September 26 Frontier Doctor Broadcast syndication
September 27 Cimarron City NBC
September 29[12] The Huckleberry Hound Show Broadcast syndication
September 29 The Texan CBS
September 30 Naked City ABC
September 30 The Rifleman ABC
October This Is Alice NTA Film Network
October 1 Mackenzie's Raiders Broadcast syndication
October 2[13][14] Behind Closed Doors NBC
October 2 Felix the Cat Broadcast syndication
October 2[15] Pixie and Dixie and Mr. Jinks Broadcast syndication
October 2 The Rough Riders ABC
October 2 Yancy Derringer CBS
October 3[16] Lux Playhouse NBC
October 5 Lawman ABC
October 6 The Ann Sothern Show CBS
October 6 Cannonball Broadcast syndication
October 6 Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse CBS
October 8 Bat Masterson NBC
October 8 Kraft Music Hall NBC
October 10 77 Sunset Strip ABC
October 10 Man with a Camera ABC
October 21 The George Burns Show NBC
October 22[17] Pursuit CBS
November 4 Flight Broadcast syndication

Ending this year

Date Show Network Debut Notes
January 1 Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts CBS December 6, 1948
January 3 Strike It Rich CBS May 7, 1951
January 29 Date with the Angels ABC May 10, 1957
March 7 Walt Disney Presents: Annette CBS February 10, 1958
March 25 The Eve Arden Show CBS September 17, 1957
April 1 Shower of Stars CBS September 30, 1954
April 1 Telephone Time ABC April 8, 1956
April 11 The Court of Last Resort NBC October 4, 1957
April 14 Love That Jill ABC January 20, 1958
April 28 Adventures of Superman Syndication September 19, 1952
May 5 Casey Jones Syndication October 8, 1957
May 22 Fireside Theatre NBC April 5, 1949
May 23 The Life of Riley NBC October 4, 1949
May 29 Boots and Saddles Syndication September 19, 1957
June 14 The Elgin Hour ABC October 5, 1954
June 24 Broken Arrow CBS September 25, 1956
June 26 Climax! CBS October 7, 1954
June 27 NBC Matinee Theater NBC October 31, 1955
June 27 The Frank Sinatra Show ABC October 18, 1957
July 2 Harbor Command Syndication October 11, 1957
July 7 Decoy Syndication October 14, 1957
July 7 See It Now CBS November 18, 1951
July 8 Mr. Adams and Eve CBS January 4, 1957
July 9 The Gray Ghost Syndication October 10, 1957
July 21 Suspicion NBC September 30, 1957
August 15 Dotto CBS (daytime)
NBC (primetime) 		January 6, 1958 These programs were among several that were implicated in the quiz show scandals.
August 29 The Adventures of Jim Bowie ABC September 7, 1956
September 7 The $64,000 Challenge CBS April 8, 1956
September 15 The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show CBS October 12, 1950
September 24 The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok ABC April 15, 1951 (on Syndication)
September 25 Sergeant Preston of the Yukon CBS September 29, 1955
September 28 Decision NBC July 6, 1958
September 29 Studio One CBS November 7, 1948
October 7 Kraft Television Theatre NBC May 7, 1947
October 7 Colgate Theatre NBC August 19, 1958
October 16 Twenty-One NBC 1956 These programs were among several that were implicated in the quiz show scandals.
November 2 The $64,000 Question CBS June 7, 1955
December 11 Jefferson Drum NBC April 25, 1958[7]
December 25 Jazz Party WNTA-TV May 8, 1958
Unknown date Studio 57 Syndication September 21, 1954 (on DuMont)
Unknown date The Big Story Syndication September 16, 1949 (on NBC)
Unknown date The New Adventures of Charlie Chan Syndication June 1957

Networks and services

Network launches

Network Type Launch date Notes Source
Badger Television Network Over-the-air regional January A three-station regional television network involving three ABC affiliated stations in Wisconsin, including in Milwaukee, Madison, and Green Bay, with Milwaukee's WISN-TV serving as the network's flagship. [18]

Network closures

Network Type End date Notes Source
Badger Television Network Over-the-air regional August 8 It ceased operations due to financial issues. [18]

Television stations

Station launches

Date Market Station Channel Affiliation Notes/References
January 1 Helena, Montana KXLJ-TV 12 NBC
Peoria, Illinois WMBD-TV 31 CBS
January 6 San Juan, Puerto Rico WIPR-TV 6 NET
January 20 Salt Lake City, Utah KUED 7 NET
January 21 Rapid City, South Dakota KRSD-TV 3 NBC
January 23 Minot, North Dakota KMOT-TV 10 NBC (primary)
ABC (secondary) 		semi-satellite of KFYR-TV Bismarck
February 1 Orlando, Florida WLOF-TV 9 ABC
February 2 San Juan, Puerto Rico WSTE-TV 7 Independent
February 8 Seattle, Washington KIRO-TV 7 CBS
February 17 Atlanta, Georgia WETV 30 NET
March 3 Oakland/San Francisco, California KTVU 2 Independent
March 5 Scottsbluff, Nebraska KDUH-TV 4 ABC
March 15 Billings, Montana KGHL-TV 8 NBC (primary)
ABC (secondary)
April 1 Eureka, California KVIQ-TV 6 NBC
May 1 Albuquerque, New Mexico KNME-TV 5 NET
September 2 Salina, Kansas KAYS-TV 7 CBS (primary)
ABC (secondary) 		Semi-satellite of KTVH (now KWCH-DT) in Hutchinson
September 5 Louisville, Kentucky WFPK 15 NET Now KET/PBS affiliate WKPC-TV
September 10 Jacksonville, Florida WJCT 7 NET
September 14 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania WTAE-TV 4 ABC
September 20 Nacogdoches, Texas KTES 19 Independent
October 5 Great Falls, Montana KRTV 3 NBC
October 8 Alexandria, Minnesota KCMT 7 CBS Satellite of WCCO-TV/Minneapolis, Minnesota
October 12 Flint, Michigan WJRT-TV 12 ABC
October 17 Tampa, Florida WEDU 3 NET
October 20 Kalispell, Montana KULR 9 Independent
October 27 Tampa, Florida WEDU 3 NET
November 5 Garden City, Kansas KGLD 11 NBC Satellite of KCKT/Hays
November 9 Nampa, Idaho (Boise, Idaho) KCIX-TV 6 Independent
November 10 Gainesville, Florida WUFT 5 NET
November 17 Wailuku, Hawaii KAII-TV 7 NBC Satellite of KONA-TV (now KHON-TV) in Honolulu
November 27 Aberdeen, South Dakota KXAB-TV 9 NBC (primary)
ABC (secondary)
November 30 Buffalo, New York WKBW-TV 7 ABC
December 1 Odessa, Texas KVKM-TV 9 ABC
December 5 Toledo, Ohio WTOL 11 CBS (primary)
NBC (secondary)
December 15 North Platte, Nebraska KNOP-TV 2 NBC

Network affiliation changes

Date Market Station Channel Old affiliation New affiliation References
November 16 Hartford, Connecticut WTIC-TV (original) 3 Independent CBS
Unknown date Lexington, Kentucky WKXP-TV 27

Station closures

Date City of license/Market Station Channel Affiliation First air date Notes/Ref.
April 7 Kalispell, Montana KGEZ-TV 9 Independent July 9, 1957
May 7 Honolulu, Hawaii KHVH-TV 13 Independent May 5, 1957 Merged with KULA-TV (now KITV)
May 11 Fort Lauderdale, Florida WITV 17 ABC November 25, 1953
May 31 York, Pennsylvania
(Harrisburg/Lebanon) 		WNOW-TV 49 NTA Film Network November 9, 1953
June 5 Bloomington, Illinois WBLN 15 December 1, 1953
June 20 Fayetteville/Raleigh, North Carolina WFLB-TV 18 ABC (primary)
CBS/NBC (secondary)
June 21 San Francisco KSAN-TV 32 Independent March 9, 1954
July 16 Honolulu, Hawaii KHVH-TV 13 Independent May 5, 1957
September 10 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Pennsylvania WILK-TV 34 ABC (primary)
NTA Film Network (secondary) 		September 7, 1953 Merged with current ABC affiliate WNEP-TV in Scranton.
September 13 Wilmington, Delaware WVUE 12 Independent March 23, 1949
September 30 Buffalo, New York WBUF 17 NBC August 17, 1953 Returned to the air in 1959 as NET member station WNED-TV

Births

Main article: 1958 in television § Births

Deaths

Main article: 1958 in television § Deaths

See also

References

  1. ^ Welles, Orson, and Peter Bogdanovich, edited by Jonathan Rosenbaum, This is Orson Welles. New York: HarperCollins Publishers 1992 ISBN 0-06-016616-9
  2. ^ Adams, Val, "Peabody Awards for 1958 Listed". The New York Times, April 8, 1959.
  3. ^ Arnaz, Desi. A Book. New York: William Morrow, 1976. ISBN 0-688-00342-7
  4. ^ "58th Anniversary of the First Show". jppatches.com. Archived from the original on September 13, 2017. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  5. ^ Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle (Edition 7 — 1997), The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows: 1946—Present, Random House Inc., page 537, ISBN 0-345-45542-8
  6. ^ Tim Brooks; Earle Marsh (2003). "Target (Dramatic Anthology)". The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946–Present (Eighth ed.). New York: Ballantine Books. p. 1172. ISBN 978-0-345-45542-0.
  7. ^ a b "Jefferson Drum". ctva.biz. Retrieved December 22, 2012.
  8. ^ Woolery, George W. (1985). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981, Part II: Live, Film, and Tape Series. The Scarecrow Press. pp. 76–77. ISBN 0-8108-1651-2.
  9. ^ DataBase, The Big Cartoon. "The Adventures of Spunky and Tadpole Episode Guide -Beverly Hills Prods". Big Cartoon DataBase (BCDB). Retrieved 5 October 2019.[dead link‍]
  10. ^ Snauffer, Douglas (2006). Crime Television. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 22–24. ISBN 978-0-275-98807-4. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  11. ^ "The Ferris Wheel on Rescue 8, September 23, 1958". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved January 29, 2013.
  12. ^ Woolery, George W. (1983). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981. Scarecrow Press. pp. 144–146. ISBN 0-8108-1557-5. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  13. ^ McNeil, Alex, Total Television: The Comprehensive Guide to Programming From 1948 to the Present, Fourth Edition, New York: Penguin Books, 1996, ISBN 0 14 02 4916 8, p. 84.
  14. ^ Brooks, Tim, and Earle Marsh, The Complete Directory to Prime-Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present (Sixth Edition), New York: Ballantine Books, 1995, ISBN 0-345-39736-3, p. 88.
  15. ^ Tipton Tribune, Sept. 29, 1958, p. 7
  16. ^ Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle F. (24 June 2009). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present. Random House Publishing Group. p. 823. ISBN 978-0-307-48320-1. Retrieved November 4, 2021.
  17. ^ Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle (1999). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946-Present (7th ed.). New York: The Ballentine Publishing Group. p. 833. ISBN 0-345-42923-0.
  18. ^ a b Dick Golembiewski (2008). Milwaukee Television History: The Analog Years. Marquette University Press. pp. 230-231. ISBN 0-87462-055-4