This Day in Media

The Paley Center for Media is commemorating key dates in media history with clips from our collection. And by “key dates” we mean everything from President Kennedy’s assassination (November 22, 1963) to Sammy Davis, Jr. smooching with Archie Bunker (February 19, 1972) to Kelly Clarkson being crowned the first American Idol winner (September 4, 2002)—so be sure to keep checking us out; you never know what will pop up next.

All of these programs are available to watch in full at the Paley Center in New York and Los Angeles. Come visit us to watch these and many more programs.

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This Day in Media History Videos
 

 
May 29, 1949  
The long running Candid Camera makes its TV debut.
  In the Collection
 
May 27, 1988  
Carnegie Hall celebrates Irving Berlin's 100th birthday.
  In the Collection
 
May 26, 1977  
Fidel Castro sits down with Barbara Walters for a rare interview.
  In the Collection
 
May 25, 1957  
The legendary sketch comedy show Caesar's Hour ends.
  In the Collection
 
May 24, 1953  
Goodyear Television Playhouse presents Marty, which is adapted into a Best Picture Oscar winner.
  In the Collection
 
May 23, 2010  
Creator J.J. Abrams’s plane crash survivor saga, Lost, ends its 6-season run on ABC.
  In the Collection
 
May 22, 1992  
Johnny Carson ends his thirty year run as host of The Tonight Show.
  In the Collection
 
May 21, 1990  
Newhart ends with an episode later named "the most unexpected moment in TV history."
  In the Collection
 
May 20, 1993  
93 million viewers watch the final episode of Cheers.
  In the Collection
 
May 19. 1987  
The first annual American Comedy Awards is broadcast.
  In the Collection
 
May 18, 1994  
Sesame Street celebrates 25 years with a primetime special.
  In the Collection
 
May 16, 1957  
Playhouse 90 presents the Emmy winning Helen Morgan Story.
  In the Collection
 
May 14, 1998  
76 million viewers watch the final episode of Seinfeld.
  In the Collection
 
May 13, 1993  
The prime time soap Knots Landing ends after fourteen seasons.
  In the Collection
 
May 12, 1960  
Frank Sinatra welcomes Elvis Presley back from the Army.
  In the Collection
 
May 11, 1989  
The iconic ‘80s series Dynasty airs its final episode.
  In the Collection
 
May 10, 1959  
Lenny Bruce makes a rare television appearance on The Steve Allen Show.
  In the Collection
 
May 9, 1955  
Harpo Marx recreates the Marx Brothers’ "mirror routine" on I Love Lucy.
  In the Collection
 
May 8, 1966  
Lee J. Cobb repeats the role he created on Broadway in the CBS presentation of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman.
  In the Collection
 
May 7, 1998  
Friends’ season finale ends on a surprising note.
  In the Collection
 
May 6, 1997  
Spin City becomes one of 9 ABC shows to air an episode with 3D sequences during the month.
  In the Collection
 
May 5, 1977  
The Richard Pryor Special?—the brilliant and provocative variety special—debuts into TV history.
  In the Collection
 
May 4, 1965  
The satirical comedy That Was the Week That Was ends its short-lived, but groundbreaking run.
  In the Collection
 
May 3, 1952  
President Truman presents a tour of the White House.
  In the Collection
 
May 2, 1966  
Tallulah Bankhead makes a rare guest appearance on The Andy Williams Show.
  In the Collection
 
May 1, 1966  
CBS gives a behind the scenes look at some of their series on The Magic of Broadcasting.
  In the Collection
 
April 30, 2002  
The cast of That '70s Show express themselves in song and dance in this musical episode.
  In the Collection
 
April 29, 1993  
Two teen girls’ curiosity over kissing leads to some controversy in this episode of Picket Fences.
  In the Collection
 
April 28, 1965  
Barbra Streisand’s award winning first television special, My Name Is Barbra, airs.
  In the Collection
 
April 27, 1975  
Danny Kaye teaches opera to the young during his ‘Look In’ at the Metropolitan Opera.
  In the Collection
 
April 26, 1959  
CBS broadcasts an adaptation of the classic film Meet Me in St. Louis with Jane Powell.
  In the Collection
 
April 25, 1992  
After seven seasons on ABC, Richard Dean Anderson and MacGyver bid farewell.
  In the Collection
 
April 24, 1959  
13-year-old Liza Minnelli performs for the first time on television as a guest on The Gene Kelly Show.
  In the Collection
 
April 23, 1965  
For his only performance on television, Montgomery Clift portrays the voice of the author in William Faulkner’s Mississippi.
  In the Collection
 
April 22, 1970  
The first official Earth Day is reported on by Walter Cronkite on a CBS News Special Report.
  In the Collection
 
April 21, 1964  
On the eve of its official opening, Donald O’Connor and The Bell Telephone Hour salute the New York World’s Fair.
  In the Collection
 
April 20, 1969  
Highlights from Broadway’s new "youth" musical, Hair, are performed on the Tony Awards.
  In the Collection
 
April 19, 1998  
The 1998 Brave New World with Leonard Nimoy airs, with a scene shot in the lobby of the LA Paley Center!
  In the Collection
 
April 17, 1965  
Groucho Marx and his perennial ‘straight lady,’ Margaret Dumont, team up one last time on The Hollywood Palace.
  In the Collection
 
April 16, 1959  
Maximilian Schell and Paul Lukas appear in Playhouse 90’s presentation of Judgment at Nuremberg.
  In the Collection
 
April 15, 1990  
Fox’s In Living Color, sketch-comedy show auteured by Keenen Ivory and Damon Wayans premieres.
  In the Collection
 
April 14, 1969  
The Monkees wrap up their career on NBC with the psychedelic special 33 1/3 Revolutions Per Monkee.
  In the Collection
 
April 13, 1969  
Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore reteam for Dick Van Dyke and the Other Woman.
  In the Collection
 
April 12, 1997  
Executive Producer Robert Altman’s anti-firearms anthology series, Gun, premieres on ABC.
  In the Collection
 
April 11, 1969  
Federico Fellini’s first directorial effort for television, Fellini: A Director’s Notebook, airs in America as an episode of Experiment in Television.
  In the Collection
 
April 10, 1978  
The mock talk-show, Fernwood 2Night, goes “national” and becomes America 2Night, with Charlton Heston as its first guest.
  In the Collection
 
April 9, 1950  
Bob Hope makes his TV debut on The Star-Spangled Revue.
  In the Collection
 
April 8, 1955  
Marilyn Monroe is interviewed by Edward R. Murrow on Person to Person.
  In the Collection
 
April 7, 1965  
Singer Bobby Darin does Shakespeare for his unbilled guest appearance as a murder victim on Burke’s Law.
  In the Collection
 
April 6, 1967  
The sole Star Trek episode to win a Writers Guild Award, “The City on the Edge of Forever,” airs for the first time.
  In the Collection
 
April 5, 1987  
The first Fox series to earn an Emmy nomination, The Tracey Ullman Show, premieres.
  In the Collection
 
April 4, 1973  
Elvis Presley’s Honolulu concert is the basis for his second network special, Elvis: Aloha from Hawaii.
  In the Collection
 
April 3, 1955  
Fred Astaire makes his live performing debut on television in this episode of Ed Sullivan’s Toast of the Town.
  In the Collection
 
April 2, 1968  
Petula Clark’s TV special generates controversy when the singer touches Harry Belafonte’s arm.
  In the Collection
 
April 1, 1957  
Alfred Lunt and Lynne Fontanne make their television debut as The Great Sebastians on Producers’ Showcase.
  In the Collection
 
March 31, 1975  
The longest running dramatic series, Gunsmoke, ends its twenty year run.
  In the Collection
 
March 30, 1981  
President Ronald Reagan survives an assassination attempt.
  In the Collection
 
March 29, 1954  
Five-year-old Bernadette Peters is a contestant on Name That Tune.
  In the Collection
 
March 28, 1971  
The Tony Awards celebrates 25 years.
  In the Collection
 
March 27, 1983  
The acclaimed mini-series The Thorn Birds premieres.
  In the Collection
 
March 26, 1978  
CBS commemorates 50 years with the all star CBS on the Air.
  In the Collection
 
March 25, 1968  
Armstrong Circle Theatre presents an adaptation of Kiss Me Kate.
  In the Collection
 
March 24, 1975  
Mitzi Gaynor and a “Million Dollar Chorus” dance in Mitzi and 100 Guys.
  In the Collection
 
March 23, 1998  
Jack Nicholson wins his third Oscar at the 70th Annual Academy Awards.
  In the Collection
 
March 22, 1949  
Texaco Star Theater presents the national TV debut of Ethel Merman.
  In the Collection
 
March 21, 1980  
JR Ewing is shot on Dallas, leaving an entire nation to wonder, “Who shot JR?”
  In the Collection
 
March 20, 1975  
Warren Beatty makes a rare talk show appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson to promote his movie Shampoo.
  In the Collection
 
March 19, 1977  
The Mary Tyler Moore Show ends its seven year run.
  In the Collection
 
March 18, 1968  
Bill Cosby hosts his very first network special, The Bill Cosby Show, on NBC.
  In the Collection
 
March 16, 1980  
James Stewart becomes the eighth recipient of the American Film Institute’s Film Achievement Award.
  In the Collection
 
March 15, 1973  
Lauren Bacall recreates her Tony-winning triumph in a television adaptation of Applause.
  In the Collection
 
March 14, 1986  
Great Performances broadcasts an all-star concert version of Stephen Sondheim’s Follies.
  In the Collection
 
March 12, 1987  
The Emmy winning “’A’ My Name is Alex” episode of Family Ties airs.
  In the Collection
 
March 11, 1974  
Marlo Thomas’s groundbreaking special Free to Be…You and Me first airs.
  In the Collection
 
March 10, 1957  
Lana Turner makes her TV debut on The Bob Hope Chevy Show.
  In the Collection
 
March 8, 1974  
The Brady Bunch ends its five year run.
  In the Collection
 
March 6, 1975  
Katharine Hepburn and Laurence Olivier team up for the award winning TV movie Love Among the Ruins.
  In the Collection
 
March 5, 1967  
Judy Garland makes her only appearance on What’s My Line?
  In the Collection
 
March 4, 1984  
Ann-Margret & Treat Williams star in ABC Theater’s A Streetcar Named Desire.
  In the Collection
 
March 3, 1985  
Moonlighting begins with a two hour TV movie.
  In the Collection
 
March 2, 1967  
Petula Clark grooves a Rodgers & Hart tune on ABC Stage 67.
  In the Collection
 
February 28, 1983  
M*A*S*H says “GOODBYE” after eleven seasons.
  In the Collection
 
February 27, 1968  
Walter Cronkite questions our role in Vietnam.
  In the Collection
 
February 26, 1993  
A car bomb detonates in the basement of the World Trade Center.
  In the Collection
 
February 25, 1968  
Pete Seeger performs anti-war song "Waist Deep in the Big Muddy" on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.
  In the Collection
 
February 24, 1978  
The sci-fi spoof, Quark, starring Richard Benjamin as an intergalactic garbage collector, premieres.
  In the Collection
 
February 21, 1958  
Cole Porter’s only musical written expressly for television, Aladdin, airs on DuPont Show of the Month.
  In the Collection
 
February 20, 1968  
Peter Falk makes his first appearance as Lt. Columbo in the NBC movie Prescription Murder.
  In the Collection
 
February 19, 1972  
Sammy Davis, Jr., pays a visit to All in the Family’s Archie Bunker.
  In the Collection
 
February 16, 1997  
Meryl Streep returns to television for the ABC movie … First Do No Harm.
  In the Collection
 
February 15, 1960  
The pilot for The Andy Griffith Show debuts on The Danny Thomas Show.
  In the Collection
 
February 14, 1972  
Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax speaks for the trees in the premiere of this ecology-themed cartoon.
  In the Collection
 
February 13, 1975  
Maureen Stapleton and Charles Durning star in the unusual drama-with-music, Queen of the Stardust Ballroom.
  In the Collection
 
February 12, 1959  
In his dramatic television debut, Danny Thomas battles James Coburn on Dick Powell’s Zane Grey Theatre.
  In the Collection
 
February 11, 1951  
Paul Tripp teaches the youngsters about Abraham Lincoln on Mr. I. Magination.
  In the Collection
 
February 10, 1967  
Britain’s acclaimed Uncle Vanya with Laurence Olivier & Michael Redgrave airs in US.
  In the Collection
 
February 9, 1964  
The Beatles make their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.
  In the Collection
 
February 7, 1970  
Host Bing Crosby bids goodbye to The Hollywood Palace after 7 seasons on the air.
  In the Collection
 
February 6, 1959  
On Person to Person, host Edward R. Murrow speaks with Fidel Castro the month after he seized power in Cuba.
  In the Collection
 
February 3, 1971  
George C. Scott gives an Emmy-winning performance in Arthur Miller’s The Price.
  In the Collection
 
February 2, 1971  
Dustin Hoffman narrates the first animated ABC Movie of the Week, The Point, with story and music by Harry Nilsson.
  In the Collection
 
February 1, 1959  
Guest Clint Eastwood engages in some fisticuffs with star James Garner on the ABC western Maverick.
  In the Collection
 
January 31, 1974  
The landmark TV movie The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman airs for the first time.
  In the Collection
 
January 30, 1977  
Roots finale is the most-watched entertainment show ever at the time.
  In the Collection
 
January 29, 1971  
Guest star Richard Pryor crosses paths with TV’s singing family on The Partridge Family.
  In the Collection
 
January 28, 1962  
The first horse to have his own sitcom, Mister Ed, welcomes Zsa Zsa Gabor.
  In the Collection
 
January 27, 1976  
Happy Days spinoff Laverne and Shirley premieres on ABC.
  In the Collection
 
January 23, 1975  
Barney Miller begins its long run on ABC.
  In the Collection
 
January 22, 1968  
TV’s mod “time capsule” of the era, Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In, debuts
  In the Collection
 
January 20, 1969  
Richard Nixon is sworn in as 37th president
  In the Collection
 
January 19, 1993  
Barbra Streisand is among the performers at Bill Clinton’s pre-inaugural ball
  In the Collection
 
January 18, 1975  
The Jeffersons spin off from All in the Family into their own series
  In the Collection
 
January 14, 1972  
Sanford and Son premieres on NBC.
  In the Collection
 
January 12, 1966  
ABC’s camp adaptation of the Batman comic books premieres as a twice-a-week series.
  In the Collection
 
January 10, 1980  
The Rockford Files ends it entire run midseason, due to James Garner’s health.
  In the Collection
 
January 6, 1973  
Schoolhouse Rock premieres on ABC with "Multiplication Rock"
  In the Collection
 
January 3, 1988  
Roy Orbison and Friends airs on Cinemax with all-star cast
  In the Collection
 
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