1953 in television
See also: 1952 in television,
other events of 1953,
1954 in television and the
list of 'years in television'.
 |
The BBC's 'Television Symbol', known as the 'bat's wings' by logo enthusiasts, first appeared in December this year. It would remain until 1960. |
*
January 19 - 68% of all
US television sets were tuned in to
I Love Lucy to watch Lucy give birth.
*
February 1 - Japanese television goes on the air for the first time, when JOAK-TV signs on from Tokyo.
*
February 18 -
Lucille Ball and
Desi Arnaz sign an $8,000,000 contract to continue the
I Love Lucy television series through
1955.
*
February 26 -
Fulton Sheen, on his program
Life Is Worth Living, reads Shakespeare's
Julius Caesar, with the names of high-ranking
Soviet officials replacing the key characters. At the end of the reading, Sheen intoned that "
Stalin must one day meet his judgment". Stalin died one week later.
*
March 17 -
Patrick Troughton becomes television's first
Robin Hood, playing the eponymous folk hero in the first of six half-hour episodes of
Robin Hood, shown weekly until
April 21 on the
BBC Television Service.
*
March 25 -
CBS concedes victory to
RCA in the war over color television standards.
*
April 3 -
TV Guide is published for the first time, with 10 editions and a circulation of 1,562,000.
*
May 25 - KUHT in
Houston becomes the first non-commercial educational TV station.
*
June 2 - The Coronation of
Queen Elizabeth II is televised in the
UK. Sales of TV sets rise sharply in the weeks leading up to the event. It is also one of the earliest broadcasts to be deliberately recorded for posterity and still exists in its entirety today.
*
July 18 -
The Quatermass Experiment, first of the famous
Quatermass science-fiction serials by
Nigel Kneale, begins its run on the
BBC.
The Tonight Show begins as a local
New York variety show.
*
August 30 -
NBC's
Kukla, Fran, and Ollie is the first publicly announced experimental broadcast of a program in RCA compatible color.
*
October 19 -
Arthur Godfrey fires
Julius La Rosa on the air.
*
November 22 - RCA airs (with special permission from the
FCC) the first commercial color program in compatible color, the
Colgate Comedy Hour with Donald O'Connor.
*
December 2 - BBC broadcasts its 'Television Symbol' for the first time, the first animated
television presentation symbol in the world.
*
December 17 - The
FCC reverses its
1951 decision and approves the RCA/
NTSC color system.
*
December 24 -
NBC's
Dragnet becomes the first network-sponsored
television program.
*
July 20 -
The Good Old Days begins on
BBC Television (1953â€"
1983).
*
November 11 - The current affairs series
Panorama launches on
BBC Television. It is now the longest-running program on British television.
*
December 1 -
CBC Theatre begins on the
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is later known as
General Motors Theatre (1954â€"1956) and
General Motors Presents (1958â€"1961).
Flash Gordon, (1953â€"
1954), starring
Steve Holland.
Romper Room premieres (1953â€"
1994).
listed by starting yearMuffin the Mule (
1946â€"
1955)
Gillette Cavalcade of Sports (
1946â€"
1960)
Author Meets the Critics (1947â€"
1954).
Juvenile Jury (1947â€"
1954).
Kukla, Fran and Ollie (1947â€"
1957).
Howdy Doody (
1947â€"1960)
Kraft Television Theater (1947â€"1958)
Meet the Press (1947â€"present)
Candid Camera (
1948â€"present)
Television Newsreel (UK) (1948â€"1954)
The Ed Sullivan Show (1948â€"
1971)
The Texaco Star Theater (1948â€"1953); the show was renamed
Buick-Berle Show this year (1953-1954)
Bozo the Clown (1949â€"present).
Come Dancing (UK) (
1949â€"
1995)
Martin Kane, Private Eye (1949â€"1954)
The Goldbergs (1949â€"1955)
The Voice of Firestone (1949â€"
1963)
Hawkins Falls (1950, 1951â€"1955))
Cisco Kid (
1950â€"
1956)
The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show (1950â€"1958)
The Jack Benny Show (1950â€"1965)
Truth or Consequences (1950â€"
1988)
What's My Line (1950â€"
1967)
Your Hit Parade (1950â€"
1959)
Your Show of Shows (1950â€"1954)
Dragnet (1951â€"1959)
I Love Lucy (1951â€"1957)
Love of Life (1951â€"1980)
Search for Tomorrow (1951â€"
1986)
Hallmark Hall of Fame (1951â€"present).
The Roy Rogers Show (1951â€"1957)
American Bandstand (
1952â€"
1989)
Life is Worth Living (1952â€"1957)
My Little Margie (1952â€"
1955)
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952â€"
1966)
The Guiding Light (1952â€"present)
The Honeymooners (1952â€"
1970)
The Today Show (1952â€"present)
This Is Your Life (US) (1952â€"
1961)
*
June 26 -
Kaleidoscope (UK) (1946â€"
1953).
*
Café Continental (UK) (1947â€"1953).
Amos & Andy (1951â€"1953).
The Ernie Kovacs Show (1952â€"1953).
*
June 13 -
Tim Allen,
actor.
*
October 9 -
Tony Shalhoub, actor.
*
October 22 -
Jeff Goldblum, actor.
*
October 31 -
Michael J. Anderson, actor.
