This Week in Television History: September 2018 PART III

The further we go back in Hollywood history,

the more that fact and legend become intertwined.

It's hard to say where the truth really lies.

Donna Allen-Figueroa

September 17, 1948

Jonathan Southworth “John” Ritter is born. 

Best known for playing Jack Tripper in the ABC sitcom Three's Company. Ritter was born and raised in Burbank, California, the son of Dorothy Fay (née Southworth), an actress, and singing-cowboy/matinee-star Tex Ritter. He attended Hollywood High School, where he was Student Body President. He went on to the University of Southern California, where he was a member of the Phi Gamma Delta (FIJI) fraternity, majored in psychology and minored in architecture.

On September 11, 2003, Ritter felt ill while rehearsing scenes for a season 2 episode of 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter. He was taken across the street to Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center, where he died later that day. The cause of his death was an aortic dissection caused by a previously undiagnosed congenital heart defect. His father had died of a heart attack almost thirty years earlier. Years later Ritter's wife testified in court that he had concerns for his own health because of the cause of his father's death. He was buried at Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles.

September 17, 1963 - The Fugitive premiered on ABC-TV. The show starred David Janssen.  

The Fugitive is an American drama series created by Roy Huggins. It was produced by QM Productions and United Artists Television. It aired on ABC from September 1963 to August 1967. David Janssen starred as Dr. Richard Kimble, a physician who is wrongfully convicted of his wife's murder and sentenced to receive the death penalty. En route to death row, Dr. Richard Kimble's train derails over a switch, allowing him to escape and begin a cross-country search for the real killer, a "one-armed man" (played by Bill Raisch). At the same time, Dr. Kimble is hounded by the authorities, most notably by Police Lieutenant Philip Gerard (Barry Morse).

The Fugitive aired for four seasons, and a total of 120 51-minute episodes were produced. The first three seasons were filmed in black and white, while the final season was filmed in color.

The Fugitive was nominated for five Emmy Awards and won the Emmy for Outstanding Dramatic Series in 1966. In 2002, it was ranked No. 36 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time. TV Guide named the one-armed man No. 5 in their 2013 list of The 60 Nastiest Villains of All Time.

September 17, 1968

Julia first aired. 

Julia is an American sitcom. It is notable for being one of the first weekly series to depict an African Americanwoman in a non-stereotypical role. Previous television series featured African American lead characters, but the characters were usually servants. The show starred actress and singer Diahann Carroll, and ran for 86 episodes on NBC from September 17, 1968, to March 23, 1971. The series was produced by Savannah Productions, Inc., Hanncarr Productions, Inc., and 20th Century-Fox Television.

During pre-production, the proposed series title was Mama's Man. The series was among the few situation comedies in the late 1960s that did not use a laugh track; however, 20th Century-Fox Television added one when the series was reissued for syndication and cable rebroadcasts in the late 1980s.

September 17, 1978

The series Battlestar Galactica began airing on ABC. 

Battlestar Galactica is an American science fiction media franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The franchise began with the original television series in 1978 and was followed by a short-run sequel series (Galactica 1980), a line of book adaptations, original novels, comic books, a board game, and video games. A re-imagined version of Battlestar Galactica aired as a two-part, three-hour miniseries developed by Ronald D. Moore and David Eick in 2003. That miniseries led to a weekly television series, which aired until 2009. A prequel series, Caprica, aired in 2010.

All Battlestar Galactica productions share the premise that in a distant part of the universe, a human civilization has extended to a group of planets known as the Twelve Colonies, to which they have migrated from their ancestral homeworld of Kobol. The Twelve Colonies have been engaged in a lengthy war with a cybernetic race known as the Cylons, whose goal is the extermination of the human race. The Cylons offer peace to the humans, which proves to be a ruse. With the aid of a human named Baltar, the Cylons carry out a massive attack on the Twelve Colonies and on the Colonial Fleet of starships that protect them. These attacks devastate the Colonial Fleet, lay waste to the Colonies, and virtually destroy their populations. Scattered survivors flee into outer space aboard a ragtag array of available spaceships. Of the entire Colonial battle fleet, only the Battlestar Galactica, a gigantic battleship and spacecraft carrier, appears to have survived the Cylon attack. Under the leadership of Commander Adama, the Galactica and the pilots of "Viper fighters" lead a fugitive fleet of survivors in search of the fabled thirteenth colony known as Earth.

September 17, 1983

20-year-old Vanessa Williams becomes the first African American to win the Miss America crown. 

Less than a year later, on July 23, 1984, Williams gave up her crown after nude photos of her surfaced. Despite the scandal, Williams later launched a successful singing and acting career, including a featured role on the hit television sitcom Ugly Betty.

Vanessa Lynn Williams was born on March 18, 1963, and raised by music-teacher parents in suburban New York City. She attended Syracuse University, where she majored in musical theater. After winning the Miss New York title, Williams went to Atlantic City, New Jersey, to participate in the Miss America pageant. On September 17, 1983, Williams made history by becoming the first African-American woman in the pageant’s 63-year history to capture the Miss America title. (For the competition’s first 30 years, blacks weren’t even allowed to become contestants.) Scandal later erupted, however, when nude photos surfaced of Williams that had reportedly been shot when she worked for a photographer before her pageant days. She was forced to resign her Miss America title in July 1984. The photos later appeared (without Williams’ consent) in Penthouse magazine.

After some time away from the public eye, Williams re-emerged and embarked on a successful music career. In 1988, she released her debut album, The Right Stuff, a dance/pop/R&B collection that went gold and garnered her three Grammy nominations, including Best New Artist. Her second album, 1991’s The Comfort Zone, sold over two million copies and contained the chart-topping single “Save the Best for Last.” Williams’ third album, 1994’s The Sweetest Days, also went platinum. In 1995, she recorded “Colors of the Wind,” the theme song on the soundtrack for the animated feature Pocahontas; the song later earned an Academy Award.
As Williams continued to record and perform music into the coming decade, her acting career heated up. She made her big-screen debut with a small role in 1987’s The Pick-Up Artist, featuring Molly Ringwald and Robert Downey Jr., and also appeared in the 1991 Richard Pryor-Gene Wilder vehicle Another You. She then moved on to co-starring roles in 1996’s Eraser, with Arnold Schwarzenegger; 1997’s Soul Food, whose ensemble cast included Nia Long, Vivica A. Fox and Mekhi Pfifer; the 2000 remake of Shaft, directed by John Singleton and featuring Samuel L. Jackson; and 2004’s Johnson Family Vacation, with Cedric the Entertainer. Williams also racked up credits on the small-screen, including roles on the short-lived series Boomtown and South Beach. Since 2006, she has co-starred on the hit ABC sitcom Ugly Betty. Williams has received two Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as the scheming former supermodel Wilhelmina Slater.
Williams has also appeared on Broadway, where she made her debut in 1994 with a starring role in The Kiss of the Spider Woman. She earned a Tony Award nomination for her appearance in the 2002 revival of Into the Woods.

September 18, 1963

The Patty Duke Show premiered on ABC-TV. 

The Patty Duke Show is an American sitcom that ran on ABC from September 18, 1963 to April 27, 1966, with reruns airing through August 31. The show was created as a vehicle for rising star Patty Duke. 105 episodes were produced, 104 of them airing over three seasons. Most episodes were written by either Sidney Sheldon or William Asher, the show's creators.

September 18, 1978

The first episode of WKRP in Cincinnati aired on CBS. 

WKRP in Cincinnati is an American sitcom that featured the misadventures of the staff of a struggling fictional radio station in Cincinnati, Ohio. The show was created by Hugh Wilson and was based upon his experiences working in advertising sales at Top 40 radio station WQXI in Atlanta. Many of the characters and even some of the stories (including season 1 episode 7, "Turkeys Away") are based on people and events at WQXI.

The ensemble cast consists of Gary Sandy (as Andy Travis), Howard Hesseman (Johnny Fever), Gordon Jump(Arthur Carlson), Loni Anderson (Jennifer Marlowe), Tim Reid (Venus Flytrap), Jan Smithers (Bailey Quarters), Richard Sanders (Les Nessman) and Frank Bonner (Herb Tarlek).

Like many other MTM productions, the humor came more from running gags based on the known predilections and quirks of each character, rather than from outlandish plots or racy situations, since the show has a realistic setting. The characters also developed somewhat over the course of the series.

The series won a Humanitas Prize and received 10 Emmy Award nominations, including three for Outstanding Comedy Series. Andy Ackerman won an Emmy Award for Videotape Editing in season 3.

WKRP premiered September 18, 1978, on the CBS television network, and aired for four seasons and 90 episodes through April 21, 1982. Starting in the middle of the second season, CBS repeatedly moved the show around its schedule, contributing to lower ratings and its eventual cancellation.

When WKRP went into syndication, it became an unexpected success. For the next decade, it was one of the most popular sitcoms in syndication, outperforming many programs which had been more successful in prime time, including all the other MTM Enterprises sitcoms.

Jump, Sanders, and Bonner reprised their roles, appearing as regular characters in a spin-off/sequel series, The New WKRP in Cincinnati, which ran from 1991 to 1993 in syndication. Hesseman, Reid and Anderson also reprised their roles on this show as guest stars.

September 18, 1983

ABC began airing Hardcastle and McCormick. 

Hardcastle and McCormick is an American action/drama television series that aired on ABC from September 18, 1983 through May 5, 1986. The series stars Brian Keith as Judge Milton C. Hardcastle and Daniel Hugh Kelly as ex-con and race car driver Mark "Skid" McCormick. In an interview in the 80's Stephen J. Cannell talks about the show calling it Rolling Thunder, probably the show production title before airing.

September 19, 1928

William West Anderson, better known by his stage name Adam West is born. 

Best known for his lead role in the Batman TV series on the ABC TV network and the 1966 Batman feature film. He is currently known for portraying eccentric or psychotically delusional characters, as well as his voice work on animated series such as The Fairly OddParents and Family Guy, in both of which he voices fictional versions of himself.

September 20, 1968

Hawaii Five-O First aired.

Hawaii Five-O is an American police procedural drama series produced by CBS Productions and Leonard Freeman. Set in Hawaii, the show originally aired for 12 seasons from 1968 to 1980, and continues in reruns. At the airing of its last episode it was the longest-running police drama in American television history.

Jack Lord portrayed Detective Captain Steve McGarrett, the head of a special state police task force which was based on an actual unit that existed under martial law in the 1940s. The theme music composed by Morton Stevens became especially popular. Many episodes would end with McGarrett instructing his subordinate to "Book 'em, Danno!", sometimes specifying a charge such as "murder one".

September 21, 1948

Milton Berle debuted as the host of The Texaco Star Theater on NBC-TV. 

The show later became The Milton Berle Show. Berle was the regular host until 1967. 

September 21, 1953

CBS aired Orwell's 1984 as a TV movie.

September 21, 1968

The television show Adam-12 debuted on NBC.

Adam-12 is a television police procedural drama that follows Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers Pete Malloy and Jim Reed as they ride the streets of Los Angeles in their patrol unit 1-Adam-12.

The series was created by Robert A. Cinader and Jack Webb, the latter of whom also created Dragnet. It starred Martin Milner and Kent McCord and purported to realistically capture a typical day in the life of police officers. The show ran from September 21, 1968 through May 20, 1975 and helped to introduce police procedures and jargon to the general public in the United States.

September 21, 1993

The first episode of NYPD Blue aired on ABC. 

NYPD Blue is an American police procedural drama television series set in New York City, exploring the struggles of the fictional 15th Precinct detective squad in Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwines several plots involving an ensemble cast.

The show was created by Steven Bochco and David Milch, and was inspired by Milch's relationship with Bill Clark, a former member of the New York City Police Department who eventually became one of the show's producers. The series was originally broadcast on the ABC network, debuted on September 21, 1993‚ and aired its final episode on March 1, 2005. It was ABC's longest-running primetime one-hour drama series until Grey's Anatomysurpassed it in 2016.

NYPD Blue was met with critical acclaim, praised for its grittiness and realistic portrayal of the cast's personal and professional lives, though the show garnered controversy for its depiction of nudity and alcoholism. In 1997, "True Confessions" (Season 1, Episode 4), written by Art Monterastelli and directed by Charles Haid, was ranked #36 on "TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time." In 2009, "Hearts and Souls" (Season 6, Episode 5), Jimmy Smits' final episode as a main cast member, #30 on "TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time."

September 21, 1998

Will & Grace first aired.

The sitcom created by Max Mutchnick and David Kohan. Set in New York City, the show focuses on the relationship between best friends Will Truman (Eric McCormack), a gay lawyer, and Grace Adler (Debra Messing), a straight interior designer. The show was broadcast on NBC from September 21, 1998 to May 18, 2006, for a total of eight seasons, and restarted its reunon N the most successful television series with gay principal characters.BC on September 28, 2017. During its original run, Will & Grace was one of
Despite initial criticism for its particular portrayal of homosexual characters, it went on to become a staple of NBC's Must See TV Thursday night lineup and was met with continued critical acclaim. It was ensconced in the Nielsen top 20 for half of its network run. The show was the highest-rated sitcom among adults 18–49, from 2001 and 2005. Throughout its eight-year run, Will & Grace earned 16 Emmy Awards and 83 nominations. Each main actor, with the exception of Morrison, received an Emmy Award throughout the series. In 2014 the Writers Guild of America placed the sitcom at number 94 in their list of the 101 Best Written TV series of all time. Since the final episode aired, the sitcom has been credited with helping and improving public opinion of the LGBT community, with former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden commenting that the show "probably did more to educate the American public" on LGBT issues "than almost anything anybody has ever done so far". In 2014, the Smithsonian Institution added an LGBT history collection to their museum which included items from Will and Grace. The curator Dwight Blocker Bowers stated that the sitcom used "comedy to familiarize a mainstream audience with gay culture" that was "daring and broke ground" in American media.

September 22, 1958

Peter Gunn first aired

Peter Gunn is an American private eye television series, starring Craig Stevens as Peter Gunn with Lola Albrightas his girlfriend Edie Hart, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1958, to 1960 and on ABC in 1960-1961. The series was created by Blake Edwards, who, on occasion, was also writer and director.

The series is notable for being the first televised detective program whose character was created for television, whereas other early TV detectives had earlier appeared in other media.

The series is probably best remembered today for its music, including the iconic "Peter Gunn Theme", which was nominated for an Emmy Award and two Grammys for Henry Mancini and subsequently has been performed and recorded by many jazz, rock, and blues musicians. The series was No. 17 in the Nielsen ratings for the 1958–1959 TV season.

September 22, 2003

The pilot episode of Two and a Half Men aired. 

Two and a Half Men is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS for twelve seasons from September 22, 2003, to February 19, 2015. Originally starring Charlie Sheen, Jon Cryer, and Angus T. Jones, the series was about a hedonistic jingle writer, Charlie Harper, his uptight brother, Alan, and Alan's troublesome son, Jake. After Alan divorces, he and Jake move into Charlie's beachfront Malibu house and complicate Charlie's freewheeling life.

In 2010, CBS and Warner Bros. Television reached a multiyear broadcasting agreement for the series, renewing it through at least the 2011–12 season. In February 2011, however, CBS and Warner Bros. decided to end production for the rest of the eighth season after Sheen entered drug rehabilitation and made "disparaging comments" about the series' creator and executive producer Chuck Lorre. Sheen's contract was terminated the following month and he was confirmed not to be returning to the series. Ashton Kutcher was hired to replace him the following season as Walden Schmidt, a billionaire who buys Charlie's house after his death.

In April 2013, CBS renewed the series for an eleventh season after closing one-year deals with Kutcher and Cryer. Jones, who was attending college, was relegated to recurring status for season 11 but did not make an appearance until the series finale. He was replaced by Jenny (Amber Tamblyn), Charlie's previously unknown daughter. In March 2014, CBS renewed the series for a twelfth season, which was later announced to be the series' last. The season began airing in October 2014 and concluded in February 2015 with the 40-minute series finale "Of Course He's Dead". The success of the series led to it being the fourth-highest revenue-generating program for 2012, earning $3.24 million an episode.

September 23, 1963

The Jetsons first aired. 

Produced by Hanna-Barbera, originally airing in primetime from 1962-1963, then later as part of the weekday/weekend morning programming block called The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera, until 1987. New episodes were produced from 1984-1987 as well. It was Hanna-Barbera’sSpace Age counterpart to The Flintstones. Reruns can be seen frequently on Boomerang.

While the Flintstones live in a world with machines powered by birds and dinosaurs, the Jetsons live in the year 2062 in a futuristic utopia (100 years in the future at the time of the show’s debut) of elaborate robotic contraptions, aliens, holograms, and whimsical inventions.

September 23, 1968

Here's Lucy aired for the first time. 

Here's Lucy is an American sitcom starring Lucille Ball. The series co-starred her long-time partner Gale Gordonand her real-life children Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr.. It was broadcast on CBS from 1968 to 1974. It was Ball's third network sitcom following I Love Lucy (1951–57) and The Lucy Show (1962–68).

September 23, 2003

The series NCIS premiered on CBS. 

NCIS is an American action police procedural television series, revolving around a fictional team of special agentsfrom the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which investigates crimes involving the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. The concept and characters were initially introduced in two episodes of the CBS series JAG (season eightepisodes 20 and 21: "Ice Queen" and "Meltdown"). The show, a spin-off from JAG, premiered on September 23, 2003, on CBS. To date it has aired fifteen full seasons and has gone into broadcast syndication on the USA Network. Donald P. Bellisario and Don McGill are co-creators and executive producers of the premiere member of the NCIS franchise. It is the second-longest-running scripted, non-animated U.S. primetime TV series currently airing, surpassed only by Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999–present), and is the 7th-longest-running scripted U.S. primetime TV series overall.

To quote the Bicentennial Minute, "And that's the way it was".

Stay Tuned

Tony Figueroa