1950 in television
Overview of the events of 1950 in television
The year 1950 in television involved some significant events.
Below is a list of television -related events during 1950.
Events
February – European Broadcasting Union (EBU) inaugurated.
February 15
KENS began transmissions as KEYL. It was the second television station to sign on in the San Antonio market.
WSTM-TV began transmissions as WSYR-TV. It was Syracuse's second television station, signing on a year and three months after WHEN-TV (now WTVH ).
February 21 – WOI-TV signs on the air as Iowa's second television station (following WOC-TV, now KQWC-TV ), and the first in the Des Moines area.
February 23 – First televised report of general election results in the United Kingdom.
March 27 – WHAS-TV signs on the air. It was the second television station to sign on in the Louisville market and the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
April 2 – WTKR began operations on channel 4 as WTAR-TV. It was Hampton Roads' first television station and the second television station in Virginia, after WTVR (channel 6) in Richmond.
April 4 – The BBC Television (UK) aspect ratio changes from 5:4 to 4:3.
May 1 – WLNS-TV began transmissions as WJIM-TV. It is Michigan's second-oldest television station outside Detroit.
May – Desilu Productions formed by Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball in the United States.
June 1 – WWMT signs on the air as WKZO-TV. It was West Michigan's second television station to debut after WLAV-TV (channel 7, now WOOD-TV channel 8 in Grand Rapids).
June 17 – WAND (at this time called WTVP) goes on the air in Decatur, Illinois .
July 1 – WHBF-TV signs on the air. It is the fifth-oldest surviving station in Illinois, and the oldest outside Chicago.
July 26 – First television broadcast station in Mexico , XHTV , Mexico City on channel 4; Gonzalo Castellot Madrazo is the first announcer to appear.[ 1]
September 18 – First television network in South America launches, PRF-TV on channel 3 in São Paulo , Brazil .
September 30
First BBC television broadcast from an aircraft.
WSMV-TV began transmissions as WSM-TV at 1:10 pm CT. It was Nashville's first television station and the second in Tennessee.
October 10 – The U.S. Federal Communications Commission approves CBS 's color television system, effective November 20.
October 25 - Cuba signs on to television as Havana's Union Radio TV signs on for the first time, the first television station in the Caribbean.
New shows
Television series
Series
Debut
Ended
Picture Page (UK)
October 10, 1936
1939
1945
1952
For The Children (UK)
April 26, 1937
1939
July 7, 1946
1950
The Voice of Firestone Televues
1943
1947
1949
1963
Kaleidoscope (UK)
November 2, 1946
1953
Gillette Cavalcade of Sports
November 8, 1946
June 24, 1960
Muffin the Mule (UK)
1946
1955
You Are an Artist
1946
1950
Kraft Television Theater
May 7, 1947
1958
Kukla, Fran and Ollie
October 13, 1947
1957
Meet the Press
November 6, 1947
—
Mary Kay and Johnny
November 18, 1947
March 11, 1950
Howdy Doody
December 27, 1947
September 24, 1960
Café Continental (UK)
1947
1953
Juvenile Jury
1947
1954
Small Fry Club
1947
1951
Television Newsreel (UK)
January 5, 1948
1954
The Original Amateur Hour
January 18, 1948
September 27, 1970
Court of Current Issues
February 9, 1948
June 26, 1951
Author Meets the Critics
April 1948
October 10, 1954
Hollywood Screen Test
April 15, 1948
1953
Texaco Star Theater
June 8, 1948
1953
The Ed Sullivan Show
June 20, 1948
June 6, 1971
Candid Camera
August 10, 1948
2014
CBS Evening News
August 15, 1948
—
Foodini the Great
August 23, 1948
June 23, 1951
Actors Studio
September 1948
June 1950
Ford Theatre
October 17, 1948
July 10, 1957
The Morey Amsterdam Show
December 17, 1948
October 12, 1950
The Alan Dale Show
1948
1951
Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts
1948
January 1, 1958
Break the Bank
1948
1957
Cartoon TeleTales
1948
1950
Celebrity Time
1948
September 1952
Club Seven
1948
1951
The Philco Television Playhouse
1948
1955
Winner Take All
1948
1952
The Goldbergs
January 17, 1949
1956
Ripley's Believe It or Not!
March 1, 1949
October 5, 1950
Think Fast
March 26, 1949
October 8, 1950
Captain Video
June 27, 1949
April 1, 1955
Mama
July 1, 1949
March 17, 1957
Martin Kane, Private Eye
August 7, 1949
June 17, 1954
The Little Revue
September 4, 1949
April 21, 1950
The Lone Ranger
September 15, 1949
June 6, 1957
Come Dancing (UK)
September 29, 1949
1995
The Aldrich Family
October 2, 1949
May 29, 1953
The Life of Riley
October 4, 1949
March 28, 1950
January 2, 1953
August 22, 1958
The Ruggles
November 3, 1949
June 19, 1952
One Man's Family
November 4, 1949
June 21, 1952
March 1, 1954
April 1, 1955
Arthur Godfrey and His Friends
1949
1959
What's My Line?
February 2, 1950
1975
Your Show of Shows
February 25, 1950
June 5, 1954
Hawkins Falls
June 17, 1950
July 1, 1955
Your Hit Parade
July 10, 1950
1959
1974
1974
Andy Pandy (UK)
July 11, 1950
1970
2002
2005
Truth or Consequences
September 7, 1950
1988
The Colgate Comedy Hour
September 10, 1950
December 25, 1955
You Bet Your Life
October 5, 1950
1961
The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show
October 12, 1950
1958
The Jack Benny Program
October 28, 1950
1965
The Adventures of Ellery Queen
1950
1959
1975
1976
The Cisco Kid
September 5, 1950
March 22, 1956
Programs ending during 1950
Births
Date
Name
Notability
January 3
Victoria Principal
Actress (Dallas )
January 7
Erin Gray
Actress (Buck Rogers in the 25th Century , Silver Spoons )
January 16
Debbie Allen
Actress, dancer, choreographer (Fame )
January 23
Richard Dean Anderson
Actor (MacGyver )
January 25
John Terry
Actor (Las Vegas , Lost )
January 29
Ann Jillian
Actress (It's a Living )
January 30
Trinidad Silva
Actor (died 1988)
February 3
Morgan Fairchild
Actress (Flamingo Road )
Pamela Franklin
Actress
February 12
Michael Ironside
Actor (ER , Walker, Texas Ranger , Smallville , Superman: The Animated Series )
February 14
Frank Collison
Actor (Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman )
February 15
Donna Hanover
American journalist
February 17
Lynne Moody
Actress (That's My Mama , Knots Landing )
February 18
Cybill Shepherd
Actress (Moonlighting , Cybill )
February 22
Julius Erving
NBA basketball player
Julie Walters
Actress
February 24
Evelyn Guerrero
American actress
February 26
Bill Ritter
American journalist
March 2
Matthew Laurance
Actor (Saturday Night Live , Beverly Hills, 90210 )
March 3
Tim Kazurinsky
Actor (Saturday Night Live )
March 10
Aloma Wright
Actress (Scrubs , Days of Our Lives )
March 12
Jon Provost
Actor (Lassie )
March 13
William H. Macy
Actor (Shameless , ER , The Lionhearts , Curious George )
Charles Krauthammer
American political columnist (died 2018)
March 18
Brad Dourif
Actor
Jim Knobeloch
Actor (Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman )
March 20
William Hurt
Actor (died 2022)
March 23
Terry Sweeney
Actor, comedian (Saturday Night Live , Hype )
March 26
Martin Short
Canadian-American actor, comedian (SCTV , Saturday Night Live )
Tony Papenfuss
Actor (Newhart )
March 30
Robbie Coltrane
Actor (died 2022)
March 31
Ed Marinaro
Football player, actor (Hill Street Blues , Blue Mountain State )
April 4
Christine Lahti
Actress (Chicago Hope )
April 12
David Cassidy
Actor, singer (The Partridge Family ) (died 2017)
Tom Werner
Producer
April 13
Ron Perlman
Actor (Beauty and the Beast , Sons of Anarchy , Teen Titans , Adventure Time )
William Sadler
Actor (Roswell )
April 14
Randolph Powell
Actor (Logan's Run , Dallas )
April 17
L. Scott Caldwell
Actress (Lost )
April 28
Jay Leno
Comedian, talk show host (The Tonight Show )
Stuart Gillard
Writer
May 1
Dann Florek
Actor (Law & Order , Law & Order: Special Victims Unit )
May 7
Tim Russert
American television journalist (died 2008)
May 9
Marcheline Bertrand
American actress (died 2007)
May 12
Bruce Boxleitner
Actor (Scarecrow and Mrs. King , Babylon 5 )
Gabriel Byrne
Actor
May 13
Stevie Wonder
Singer and musician
May 15
Nicholas Hammond
American-born Australian actor (The Amazing Spider-Man )
May 18
Mark Mothersbaugh
American composer
May 28
Denny Delk
American Voice Actor (Wicket W. Warrick, Ewoks (TV series) )
May 31
Gregory Harrison
Actor (Trapper John, M.D. )
June 1
John M. Jackson
Actor (JAG )
June 3
Melissa Mathison
American film and television screenwriter (died 2015)
June 5
Daniel von Bargen
American character actor (died 2015)
June 8
Kathy Baker
Actress (Picket Fences )
June 13
Belinda Bauer
Australian actress
June 19
Rosie Shuster
Canadian-born comedy writer and actress
June 26
Michael Paul Chan
Actor
July 5
Huey Lewis
Actor
July 10
Nick Jameson
Actor (24 , Lost )
July 11
Bruce McGill
Actor
July 21
Jordan Clarke
Actor (Guiding Light )
July 23
Belinda Montgomery
Actress (Man from Atlantis , Miami Vice , Doogie Howser, M.D. )
August 3
Jo Marie Payton
Actress (Perfect Strangers , Family Matters , The Proud Family )
John Landis
Actor
August 11
Steve Wozniak
American electronics engineer
August 12
Jim Beaver
Actor (Supernatural )
August 13
Jane Carr
Actress
September 1
Phil McGraw
Television host (Dr. Phil )
September 2
Harvey Levin
Television producer
September 5
Kathy Cronkite
Actress
September 7
Julie Kavner
Actress (Marge Simpson on The Simpsons )
September 9
Joe Lisi
Actor (Third Watch )
September 11
Amy Madigan
Actress
September 12
Bruce Mahler
Actor (Seinfeld )
September 18
Anna Deavere Smith
Actress
September 19
Joan Lunden
American TV host
September 21
Bill Murray
Actor, comedian (Saturday Night Live )
September 24
Alan Colmes
Political commentator (Hannity & Colmes , Fox News Watch ) (died 2017)
September 27
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa
Actor
September 30
Vondie Curtis-Hall
Actor, director (Chicago Hope )
October 2
Ian McNeice
Actor
October 3
Pamela Hensley
Actress (Buck Rogers in the 25th Century , Matt Houston )
October 4
Alan Rosenberg
Actor (L.A. Law , Civil Wars )
October 5
Jeff Conaway
Actor (Taxi ) (died 2011)
October 9
Gary Frank
Actor (Family )
October 17
Howard Rollins
Actor (In the Heat of the Night ) (died 1996)
October 20
William Russ
Actor (Boy Meets World )
October 31
John Candy
Canadian comedian and actor (SCTV ) (died 1994)
Jane Pauley
American television host
November 4
Markie Post
Actress (The Fall Guy , Night Court , Hearts Afire ) (died 2021)
November 8
Mary Hart
American television personality
November 10
Jack Scalia
Actor
November 13
Jules Sylvester
Actor, animal trainer, television presenter (1000 Ways to Die , Black-ish )
November 16
David Leisure
Actor (Empty Nest )
November 18
Dennis Haskins
Actor (Saved by the Bell )
November 22
Steven Van Zandt
Actor
November 24
Stanley Livingston
Actor (My Three Sons )
November 28
Ed Harris
Actor (Westworld )
December 6
Thom Barry
Actor (Cold Case )
December 13
Lindsey Ginter
Actor (Lost )
Wendie Malick
Actress (Dream On , Just Shoot Me! , Hot in Cleveland , The Owl House )
December 21
Jane How
Actress
Television debuts
References