1955 in American television

Television related events in the USA during 1955

List of years in American television:

* 1952
* 1953
* 1954
* 1955
* 1956
* 1957
* 1958

* * *

1954–55 United States network television schedule
1955–56 United States network television schedule
List of American television programs currently in production

This is a list of American television-related events in 1955.

## Events

[edit]

Date  | Event  | Ref

|
|

March 5  | Elvis Presley makes his first television performance on Louisiana Hayride, a program shown locally on KSLA in Shreveport, Louisiana.  |
March 15  | Andy Griffith stars in his television debut in the play No Time for Sergeants, broadcast by the American Broadcasting Company in The United States Steel Hour series.  |
April 1  | The DuMont Television Network drastically decreases its programming; just eight series to keep the network operating, in anticipation of its eventual shutdown sixteen months later.  |
May 9  | Harpo Marx makes a memorable appearance on I Love Lucy.  |
Jim Henson's puppet show Sam and Friends first airs on NBC O&O station WRC-TV in Washington, D.C. |
June 7  | The quiz show craze begins with the premiere of The 64,000 Dollar Question. The series spawns many imitations, including Twenty-One the next year.  |
September 28  | World Series baseball is broadcast in color for the first time in the U.S., with WITN-TV in Washington, North Carolina signing on the air with the first game of the 1955 World Series as their first telecast.  | [1]

## Networks and services

[edit]

### Launches

[edit]

Network  | Type  | Launch date  | Notes  | Source

|
|
|
|

CatholicTV | Cable television  | January 1  |  |

## Television programs

[edit]

### Debuts

[edit]

Date  | Debut  | Network

|
|

January 2  | The Bob Cummings Show (also known as Love That Bob)  | NBC[2]
January 3  | Hollywood Today | NBC
January 5  | Norby
January 17  | TV Reader's Digest | ABC
January 19  | The Millionaire | CBS
January 22  | Ozark Jubilee | ABC
February 3  | Star Tonight | ABC
February 27  | Key to the Ages | DuMont
April  | Paul Dixon Show | WLWT
April 9  | Science Fiction Theater | Syndication
May 3  | Have a Heart | Dumont
May 9  | Sam and Friends | WRC-TV
June 3  | It's Alec Templeton Time | Dumont
June 25  | The Soldiers | NBC
June 28  | Talent Varieties | ABC
July 2  | The Lawrence Welk Show
July 20  | Frankie Laine Time | CBS
September 6  | The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp | ABC
September 10  | Gunsmoke | CBS
It's Always Jan
September 12  | Medical Horizons | ABC
September 13  | Kings Row | ABC
September 14  | Hollywood Preview | DuMont
September 14  | MGM Parade | ABC
September 20  | Cheyenne | ABC
Joe and Mabel | CBS
September 26  | Jungle Jim | Syndication
September 27  | Casablanca | ABC
September 28  | Brave Eagle | CBS
September 29  | Sergeant Preston of the Yukon
October 1  | The Honeymooners
October 2  | Alfred Hitchcock Presents
October 3  | Captain Kangaroo
Mickey Mouse Club | ABC
October 7  | Crossroads | ABC
October 20  | Wanted | CBS
October 31 | Matinee Theatre | NBC

### Changing network affiliation

[edit]

Program  | Moving from  | Moving to

|
|

Life Is Worth Living | DuMont | ABC

### Ending this year

[edit]

Date  | Program  | Network  | First aired  | Status  | Notes/References

|
|
|
|
|

January 1  | China Smith | First-run Syndication | June 1, 1952  | Ended  |
January 3  | The Ilona Massey Show | DuMont | November 1, 1954  | Ended  |
January 9  | Opera Cameos | DuMont | November 8, 1953  | Ended  |
January 27  | So You Want to Lead a Band | ABC  | August 5, 1954  | Ended  |
February 11  | The Stranger | DuMont | June 25, 1954  | Ended  |
February 17  | One Minute Please | DuMont | July 6, 1954  | Ended  |
February 26  | Space Patrol | ABC | March 9, 1950  | Ended  |
March  | Wrestling from Marigold | DuMont | September 17, 1949  | Ended  |
March 6  | The Johns Hopkins Science Review | DuMont | March 9, 1948 (on CBS)  | Ended  |
March 11  | The Jack Carson Show | NBC  | October 22, 1954  | Ended  |
Stories of the Century | Syndication  | 1954  | Canceled  |
March 23  | I Married Joan | NBC | October 15, 1952  | Canceled  |
April 1  | Captain Video and His Video Rangers | DuMont | June 27, 1949  | Ended  |
DuMont Evening News | DuMont | September 1954  | Ended  |
April 2  | The Vampira Show | ABC  | April 30, 1954  | Ended  |
April 6  | Concert Tonight | DuMont | December 30, 1953  | Ended  |
April 6  | Norby | NBC  | January 5, 1955  | Canceled  |
April 7  | The Ernie Kovacs Show | DuMont  | December 30, 1952 (on NBC)  |
April 8  | Dear Phoebe | NBC  | September 1954  | Canceled  |
April 13  | The Stu Erwin Show | ABC | October 21, 1950  |
April 22  | Where's Raymond? | ABC  | October 1953  | Canceled  |
May 3  | Twenty Questions | DuMont  | November 2, 1949  |
May 4  | The Best of Broadway | CBS | September 15, 1954  |
May 22  | Key to the Ages | DuMont | February 27, 1955  |
May 31  | Danger | CBS | September 26, 1950  | Ended  |
June 12  | Mister Peepers | NBC | July 3, 1952  | Ended  |
June 14  | The Elgin Hour | ABC | June 14, 1955  |
June 14  | Have a Heart | DuMont | May 3, 1955  |  |
June 16  | Willy | CBS  | September 1954  | Canceled  |
June 18  | Foreign Intrigue | Syndication | October 18, 1951  | Ended  |
June 23  | The Public Defender | First-run syndication  | 1954  | Ended
June 25  | The Imogene Coca Show |  | 1954  | Canceled  |
Tom Corbett, Space Cadet | DuMont | October 2, 1950 (on CBS)  | Ended  |
June 26  | The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse | ABC  | 1953  | Canceled  |
June 30  | The Jane Froman Show | CBS  | October 18, 1952  | Ended
July  | All About Baby | DuMont | 1953  | Ended  |
July 1  | Concerning Miss Marlowe | NBC | July 5, 1954  | Ended  |
Hawkins Falls | NBC  | June 17, 1950  | Ended  |
Treasury Men in Action | NBC | September 11, 1950 (on ABC)  | Ended  |
July 15  | Flash Gordon | DuMont/Syndication  | October 15, 1954  | Canceled  |
July 26  | Who Said That? | NBC  | December 9, 1948  | Ended  |
August 24  | My Little Margie | June 16, 1952 (on CBS)  | Canceled  |
August 26  | It's Alec Templeton Time | DuMont  | June 3, 1955  | Ended  |
September 1  | Life with Elizabeth | Syndication  | October 7, 1953  | Canceled  |
September 3  | The Soldiers | NBC  | June 25, 1955  | Ended  |
September 10  | The Donald O'Connor Show | NBC | October 9, 1954  | Ended
September 17  | Musical Chairs | NBC  | July 9, 1955  | Canceled  |
September 24  | The Man Behind the Badge | CBS | October 11, 1953  | Ended  |
September 29  | The Halls of Ivy | CBS | October 19, 1954  | Ended  |
September  | Frankie Laine Time | CBS  | July 20, 1955  | Canceled  | Returned for a short run in Summer 1956
October 2  | The Philco Television Playhouse | NBC  | October 3, 1948  | Ended  |
October 7  | The Name's the Same | ABC  | December 5, 1951  | Ended
October 17  | Sherlock Holmes | ABC  | October 18, 1954  | Ended
November 1  | Talent Varieties | ABC  | June 28, 1955  | Ended  |
November 22  | The Adventures of Kit Carson | Syndication | August 11, 1951  | Ended  |
December 25  | The Colgate Comedy Hour | NBC | September 10, 1950  | Ended
Unknown  | The Jo Stafford Show | CBS  | 1954  | Canceled  |
That's My Boy
Time for Beany | Paramount Television Network | February 28, 1949  | Ended  |
The Red Buttons Show | CBS | October 14, 1952  | Ended  |
NFL on DuMont | DuMont | 1951  | Ended  |
Waterfront | Syndication  | August 21, 1954  | Ended  |

## Television stations

[edit]

### Station launches

[edit]

Date  | City of License/Market | Station | Channel  | Affiliation  | Notes/Ref.

|
|
|
|
|

January 1  | West Palm Beach, Florida | WEAT-TV | 12  | ABC  |
January 5  | Minneapolis, Minnesota | KEYD-TV | 9  | DuMont  |
January 7  | Mt. Cheaha/Birmingham, Alabama | WCIQ | 7  | NET
Alabama Educational Television |
January 8  | Chapel Hill, North Carolina
(Raleigh/Durham) | WUNC-TV | 4  | NET/UNC-TV |
January 23  | Las Vegas, Nevada | KLRJ-TV | 2  | NBC (primary)
ABC (secondary)  |
February 3  | Fairbanks, Alaska | KTVF | 11  | CBS  |
February 12  | Dothan, Alabama | WTVY | 4  | CBS |
February 13  | Jefferson City/Columbia, Missouri | KRCG | 13  | CBS (primary)
ABC (secondary)  |
February 14  | St. Petersburg/Tampa, Florida | WXFL | 8  | NBC  |
February 28  | Phoenix, Arizona | KTVK | 3  | ABC  |
March 1  | Fairbanks, Alaska  | KFAR-TV | 2  | NBC  |
March 6  | Jackson, Tennessee | WBBJ-TV | 7  | CBS  |
March 8  | Portland, Oregon | KLOR | 12  | ABC (primary)
DuMont (secondary)  |
March 14  | Duluth, Minnesota | KDAL-TV | 3  | NBC (primary)
ABC (secondary)  |
March 15  | Lexington, Kentucky | WLEX-TV | 18  | NBC (primary)
ABC/DuMont/CBS (secondary)  |
March 20  | Sacramento, California | KBET-TV | 10  | CBS  |
March 25  | Lewiston, Maine | WLAM-TV | 17  | DuMont  |
March 27  | Providence, Rhode Island | WPRO-TV | 12  | CBS  |
April 1  | Tampa, Florida  | WTVT | 13  | CBS  |
April 3  | Waco, Texas | KWTX-TV | 10  | Independent |
April 14  | Baton Rouge, Louisiana | WBRZ-TV | 2  | NBC (primary)
ABC (secondary)  |
April 24  | Beaumont, Texas | KFDM-TV | 6  | CBS  |
Wailuku, Hawaii | KMAU-TV | 9  |  |
April 28  | Birmingham, Alabama
(Tuscaloosa) | WBIQ | 10  | NET/Alabama Educational Television  |
May 2  | Boston, Massachusetts | WGBH-TV | 2  | NET |
May 15  | Hilo, Hawaii | KPUA-TV | 9  |  |
May 30  | Twin Falls, Idaho | KLIX-TV | 11  | CBS (primary)
ABC/NBC (secondary)  |
June 1  | Rapid City, South Dakota | KOTA-TV | 23  | CBS (primary)
NBC/ABC (secondary)  |
June 3  | Lafayette, Louisiana | KLFY | 10  | CBS (primary)
ABC (secondary)  |
June 8  | Hattiesburg, Mississippi | WDAM-TV | 7  | NBC (primary)
ABC (secondary)  |
June 10  | San Antonio, Texas | KCOR-TV | 41  | Spanish independent |
July 15  | South Bend, Indiana | WNDU | 16  | NBC  |
July 31  | Beckley/Bluefield, West Virginia | WHIS-TV | 6  | NBC  |
Des Moines, Iowa | KRNT-TV | 8  | CBS  |
August 1  | Urbana, Illinois | WILL-TV | 12  | NET  |
August 7  | Scottsbluff, Nebraska | KSTF | 10  | ABC (primary)
NBC (secondary)  |
August 12  | Miami, Florida | WTHS-TV | 2  | NET  |
August 29  | Fayetteville/Raleigh, North Carolina | WFLB-TV | 18  | ABC (primary)
NBC/CBS (secondary)  |
August 31  | Lufkin, Texas | KTRE | 9  | NBC (as a satellite of KPRC-TV/Houston, Texas)  |
September 1  | Wichita, Kansas | KARD-TV | 3  | Independent  |
September 3  | Sacramento, California | KCRA | 3  | NBC  |
Shreveport, Louisiana
(Texarkana, TX-AR) | KTBS-TV | 3  | NBC |
September 5  | Mobile, Alabama | WKRG-TV | 5  | CBS |
September 6  | Chicago, Illinois | WTTW | 11  | NET |
September 11  | Dallas, Texas | KFJZ-TV | 11  | Independent |
September 12  | San Jose/San Francisco, California | KNTV | 11  | Independent  |
September 15  | Thomasville, Georgia/Tallahassee, Florida | WCTV | 6  | NBC  |
September 24  | Florence/Aberdeen, South Dakota | KDLO-TV | 3  | NBC  | Satellite of KELO-TV of Sioux Falls
September 28  | Washington/Greenville, North Carolina | WITN-TV | 7  | NBC (primary)
ABC (secondary)  |
October 2  | Huntington, West Virginia | WOWK-TV | 13  | ABC  |
October 3  | Detroit, Michigan | WTVS | 56  | NET |
Roanoke, Virginia | WDBJ-TV | 7  | CBS  |
October 8  | Yuma, Arizona | KIVA | 11  |
October 12  | Mayaguez/Aguadilla, Puerto Rico | WORA-TV | 5  | Independent  |
November 19  | Bismarck, North Dakota | KBMB-TV | 12  | CBS (primary)
ABC (secondary)  |
November 21  | Kirksville, Missouri/Ottumwa, Iowa | KTVO | 3  | CBS (primary)
NBC (secondary)  |
November 27  | Little Rock, Arkansas | KTHV | 11  | CBS  |
December 3  | El Dorado, Arkansas
(Monroe, Louisiana) | KRBB-TV | 10  | NBC (primary)
ABC (secondary)  |
December 4  | Wailuku, Hawaii | KMVI-TV | 4  | ABC  | Satellite of KULA-TV (now KITV) in Honolulu
December 7  | Lewiston, Idaho | KLEW-TV | 3  | CBS (primary)
ABC/NBC (secondary)  |
December 11  | Fargo, North Dakota | KNOX-TV | 10  | ABC (primary)
NBC (secondary)  |

### Network affiliation changes

[edit]

Date  | City of license/Market  | Station  | Channel  | Old affiliation  | New affiliation  | Notes/Ref.

|
|
|
|
|
|

February 27  | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | WXIX-TV | 19  | ABC (primary)
DuMont (secondary)  | CBS  |
March  | Wilmington, Delaware | WVUE | 12  | NBC  | Independent  |
September  | Waco, Texas  | KWTX-TV  | 10  | Independent  | ABC  |
Unknown date  | Little Rock, Arkansas | KATV | 7  | CBS (primary)
ABC (secondary)  | ABC (exclusive)  |
Unknown date  | Minneapolis, Minnesota  | KEYD-TV  | 5  | DuMont  | Independent  |
Unknown date  | Mobile, Alabama  | WEAR-TV | 3  | CBS  | ABC  |
Unknown date  | Shreveport, Louisiana  | KSLA | 12  | CBS (primary)
ABC and DuMont (secondary)  | CBS (primary)
ABC (secondary)  |

## Station closures

[edit]

Date  | City of license/Market  | Station  | Channel  | Affiliation  | First air date  | Notes/Ref.

|
|
|
|
|
|

February 2  | Monterey, California | KMBY-TV | 8  | ABC/CBS/NBC/DuMont  | August 17, 1953  | Shared time with KSBW-TV
February 4  | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | KMPT | 19  | Independent  | November 22, 1953  |
February 12  | Charleston, West Virginia | WKNA-TV | 49  | ABC (primary)
DuMont (secondary)  | September 17, 1953  |
February 26  | Milwaukee, Wisconsin  | WCAN-TV | 25  | CBS  | September 6, 1953  |
February 28  | Fairmont, West Virginia | WJPB-TV | 35  | ABC (primary)
NBC/DuMont (secondary)  | March 17, 1954  |
March 15  | Charlotte, North Carolina | WAYS-TV | 36  | ABC (primary)
NBC/DuMont (secondary)  |
April 1  | Asbury Park, New Jersey | WRTV | 58  | Independent  | December 14, 1953  | Not to be confused with today's WRTV in Indianapolis, Indiana
April 3  | St. Paul/Minneapolis, Minnesota  | WMIN-TV | 11  | ABC/DuMont  | September 1, 1953  | Shared time with KARE (now WTCN-TV)
April 15  | Des Moines, Iowa | KGTV | 17  | Independent  | November 14, 1953  |
April 30  | Stockton, California | KTVU | 36  | NBC  | December 15, 1953  | Not to be confused with the present-day KTVU in the San Francisco Bay Area.
May 31  | Atlanta, Georgia | WQXI-TV | 36  | Independent  | October 13, 1954  |
June 30  | Reading, Pennsylvania | WEEU-TV | 33  | NBC  | April 9, 1953  |
July 1  | Newport News/Norfolk, Virginia | WACH-TV  | 33  | Independent  | October 8, 1953  |
July 15  | Providence, Rhode Island | WNET | 16  | ABC (primary)
DuMont (Secondary)  | March 23, 1954  |
August 1  | Jackson, Mississippi | WSLI | 12  | ABC  | March 27, 1954  | This station's operations merged with those of CBS affiliate WJTV to allow that station to move from UHF channel 25 to VHF channel 12.
December 15  | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma  | KTVQ | 25  | ABC  | November 1, 1953  |
December 18  | Pensacola, Florida | WPFA-TV | 15  | DuMont  | October 16, 1953  |

## Births

[edit]

Main article: 1955 in television § Births

## Deaths

[edit]

Main article: 1955 in television § Deaths

## See also

[edit]

* 1955 in television
* 1955 in film
* 1955 in the United States
* List of American films of 1955

## References

[edit]

1. ^ WITN history
2. ^ McNeil, Alex (1996). Total Television (4th ed.). New York, New York: Penguin Books USA, Inc. p. 497\. ISBN 0-14-02-4916-8.

## External links

[edit]

* List of 1955 American television series at IMDb

This television-related list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (November 2022)

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