1954 in radio
The year 1954 saw a number of significant happenings in radio broadcasting history.
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Events
- 20 January – The National Negro Network is formed in the United States.
- 25 January – First broadcast of Dylan Thomas's radio play Under Milk Wood, two months after its author's death, with Richard Burton as 'First Voice', on the BBC Third Programme.
- 1 February – KECA and KECA-FM, two Los Angeles stations, change their call letters to KABC and KABC-FM respectively, reflecting their new ownership by ABC-United Paramount Theaters.
- 1 April – ABC-United Paramount Theaters, owners of WENR-Chicago, purchase time-share counterpart WLS-Chicago from Sears, Roebuck and Co., and merge both stations under the WLS call sign (their FM sister station would keep the WENR call sign until 1965).
- 15 July – The Nippon Broadcasting System initiates its first official regular broadcasting service in Tokyo, Japan.
- 18 October – Texas Instruments announces the development of the first commercial transistor radio. The Regency TR-1 goes on sale the following month.
- 17 November – WJW (AM) in Cleveland, Ohio (later WKNR) is sold by William M. O'Neill to Storer Broadcasting.
Debuts
- 3 January – WSTN debuts as a 1 kW daytimer at St. Augustine, Florida.
- 9 January – Roadshow debuts on NBC. Starring Bill Cullen, the three-hour weekly program is considered a forerunner of the network's Monitor, which began a year later.[1]
- 6 April – Crime and Peter Chambers debuts on NBC.[2]
- 2 September – Dr. Sixgun debuts on NBC.[2]
- 2 November – Hancock's Half Hour debuts on BBC radio.[3]
Endings
- 3 January – Quiz Kids ends its run on network radio (CBS).[1]
- 6 January – Dr. Christian ends its run on network radio (CBS).[1]
- 15 January – Double or Nothing ends its run on network radio (ABC).[1]
- 16 January – The Baron and the Bee ends its run on network radio (NBC).[2]
- 5 March – Family Skeleton ends its run on network radio (CBS).
- 12 March – House of Glass ends its run on network radio (NBC).[2]
- 26 March – Front Page Farrell ends its run on network radio (NBC).[2]
- 27 March – Twenty Questions ends its run on network radio.[1]
- 28 March – Bulldog Drummond ends its run on network radio (Mutual).[2]
- 30 March – Rocky Fortune, a half-hour detective drama starring Frank Sinatra, aired its final episode on NBC.[2]
- 22 May – The Armstrong Theater of Today ends its run on network radio (CBS).[2]
- 27 May – Time for Love ends its run on network radio (CBS).[2]
- 18 June – The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet ends its run on network radio (ABC).[2]
- 24 June – The Six Shooter ends its run on network radio (NBC).[2]
- 9 July – Can You Top This? ends its run on network radio (NBC).[2]
- 1 August – Broadway Is My Beat ends its run on network radio (CBS).[2]
- 7 September – Crime and Peter Chambers ends its run on network radio (NBC).[2]
- 25 September – Escape ends its run on CBS.[2]
- 25 September – Stars over Hollywood ends its run on network radio (CBS).[2]
- 30 September – On Stage (radio show) ends its run on network radio (CBS).
- 3 September – The Lone Ranger ends its run of original radio shows.
- 27 November – The Falcon ends its run on network radio (Mutual).[2]
- (undated) – The Jack Berch Show ends its run on network radio (ABC).[2]
Births
- 12 January – Howard Stern, American shock jock radio personality
- 22 August – Kurt Andersen, American novelist, columnist and public radio host
- 26 August – Steve Wright, English DJ
- 27 August – Andrew Marshall, English comedy scriptwriter
- 8 September – Joe Cipriano, American voice over actor and radio personality
- 20 November – Steve Dahl, American radio personality and humorist
- 27 November – Arthur Smith, English comedian and radio presenter
- 5 December – Peter Arbogast, American sportscaster
Deaths
- 10 January – Chester Wilmot, Australian war correspondent, killed in accident to BOAC Flight 781 (born 1911)
- 4 November – Joy Hathaway, Canadian-born American actress of the Golden Age of Radio
References
- Cox, Jim (2008). This Day in Network Radio: A Daily Calendar of Births, Debuts, Cancellations and Other Events in Broadcasting History. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-3848-8.
- Dunning, John. (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-507678-3.
- Penguin Pocket On This Day. Penguin Reference Library. 2006. ISBN 978-0-14-102715-9.
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