1966 in television

The year 1966 in television involved some significant events. Below is a list of television-related events in that year.

Events

• January 3 – Hullabaloo on NBC in the United States shows promotional videos of The Beatles songs "Day Tripper" and "We Can Work It Out".
• January 8 – Shindig! airs for the last time on ABC in the United States, with musical guests the Kinks and the Who.
• January 11 – Dorothy Malone resumes the role of Constance Carson on Peyton Place (she had been temporarily replaced by Lola Albright).
• January 12 – The first episode of the live-action Batman television series ("Hi Diddle Riddle") is aired on ABC in the United States starring Adam West and Burt Ward
• January 13 – Tabitha is born on the Bewitched episode titled "And Then There Were Three."
• February 1 – KFBB-TV in Great Falls, Montana becomes the first station in that state to affiliate primarily with ABC.
• February 5 – ABC Scope begins to devote itself exclusively to coverage of the Vietnam war.
• February 15 – Citing circumstances beyond his control, Fred Friendly resigns from CBS News in the United States.
• February 18 – An Evening with Carol Channing airs on CBS in the United States.
• February 23 – Television comes to Greece with the launch of ERT.
• February 27 – Perry Mason airs its only color episode, "The Case of the Twice-Told Twist."
• February – THVN (Vietnamese National Television Network) first launched.^[1]
• March 30 – The special Color Me Barbra, with Barbra Streisand, airs on CBS in the United States.
• April 13 – Samuel Beckett's television play Eh Joe is first presented (in German translation as He Joe) by Süddeutscher Rundfunk, Stuttgart; it is followed by English-language productions on WNDT in the United States on April 18 and on BBC2 in the United Kingdom on July 4.^[2][3]
• April 18 – The Academy Awards air in color for the first time, on ABC.^[4]
• May 15 – The first Japanese Owarai variety show program, Shoten, debuts on Nippon Television Network, and will be watched by more than 25 million Japanese every week.
• June 5 – The Beatles make a taped appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in the United States, debuting their music videos for "Rain" and "Paperback Writer."
• June – ABS-CBN introduces color television to the Philippines, using NTSC.
• July 1 – As part of the start of Canada's centennial celebrations, color television broadcasts using NTSC are launched on state owned CBC and SRC, as well as on CTV.
• July 10 – Ultraman debuts on TBS in Japan. The character would spawn over 16 television adaptions over the next 40 years.
• July 16 – The Miss Universe pageant goes color.
• July 30 – An all-time record United Kingdom television audience of more than 32,000,000 watches the England national football team beat West Germany 4–2 to win the FIFA World Cup at Wembley.
• August 6 – In a post-fight interview, Howard Cosell honors Muhammad Ali's wishes to no longer be referred to as Cassius Clay, contrasting with the approach of most other sports reporters of the time.
• September – ABC, CBS, and NBC complete the color transition from the previous season for their prime-time programming by the start of the fall season, with all network programs being telecast in color.^[5]
• September 8 – The first episode of Star Trek ("The Man Trap") is aired.
• September 9 – The first episode of The Green Hornet ("The Silent Gun") is aired on ABC in the United States starring Van Williams and Bruce Lee.
• September 10 – A night of firsts for the Miss America Pageant—its first color TV broadcast and its first airing on NBC.
• September 19 – Color television comes to Alaska as KENI-TV airs the premiere episode of That Girl ("Don't Just Do Something, Stand There", which had aired in the "lower 48" on September 8).
• October 2 – The four-part serial Talking to a Stranger, acclaimed as one of the finest British television dramas of the 1960s, begins transmission in the Theatre 625 strand on BBC2.
• October 6 – After quickly cancelling The Tammy Grimes Show, ABC fills the void by launching a prime-time edition of The Dating Game. The show's success leads to The Newlywed Game's own prime-time edition in January 1967.
• October 15 – A TV version of the musical Brigadoon is telecast on ABC in the United States as a special, using an updated script and story line and re-introducing some of the songs cut from the 1954 movie. The production stars Robert Goulet, Peter Falk and Sally Ann Howes, also featuring Edward Villella and Marlyn Mason. The special airs only one other time, in 1967, before disappearing completely.
• October 17 – All of NBC's news programming begins airing in full-color.
• October 27 – It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown airs for the first time on CBS.
• November 7 – Concentration switches to color, establishing NBC as the first full color network with 100% color broadcasts.
• November 16 – BBC television drama Cathy Come Home, filmed in a docudrama style, is broadcast in BBC1's The Wednesday Play anthology strand in the UK. Viewed by a quarter of the British population, it is considered influential on public attitudes to homelessness and the related social issues it deals with.^[6] It was written by Jeremy Sandford, produced by Tony Garnett and directed by Ken Loach, with Carol White in the title role.
• November 19 – First live 2-way satellite telecasts between Hawaii (KHVH-TV, now KITV) and the Mainland (ABC), via the Lani Bird satellite.
• December 18 – CBS in the United States airs the How the Grinch Stole Christmas! animated TV special for the first time.
• December 21 – A Christmas Memory, a recounting of Truman Capote's childhood experiences as captured in his 1956 memoir, is adapted for television on ABC Stage 67. Frank Perry directs, Capote himself narrates, and Geraldine Page (in an Emmy-winning performance) stars.
• December 24 – WPIX in New York City premieres the Yule Log Christmas special which runs every year until 1989 and returns in 2001.

Also in 1966

• The 1951–1953 CBS sitcom Amos & Andy is pulled from syndication broadcast due to complaints from civil rights organizations.
• Construction is completed on the KXJB-TV mast (now KRDK) in rural Traill County, North Dakota. At 2,060 ft. (630m) tall and supported by multiple bundles of guy-wires, it becomes the tallest structure in the world. Today, though it has collapsed twice since its first construction in 1966, it is the tallest structure in the United States, the second-tallest in the Western Hemisphere behind the Petronius oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico, and the seventh-tallest structure in the world.
• Macdonald Carey starts reciting the epigram "Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives" at the beginning of his soap opera, Days of Our Lives, a tradition that continues over a decade after his death.

Programs/programmes

• American Bandstand (1952–1989)
• Another World (1964–1999)
• Armchair Theatre (UK) (1956–1968)
• As the World Turns (1956–2010)
• Bewitched (1964–1972)
• Blue Peter (UK) (1958–present)
• Bonanza (1959–1973)
• Bozo the Clown (1949–present)
• Candid Camera (1948–present)
• Captain Kangaroo (1955–1984)
• Combat! (1962–1967)
• Come Dancing (UK) (1949–1995)
• Daniel Boone (1964–1970)
• Days of Our Lives (1965–present)
• Dixon of Dock Green (UK) (1955–1976)
• Doctor Who (1963–present)
• F Troop (1965–1967)
• Face the Nation (1954–present)
• Flipper (1964–1967)
• Four Corners (Australia) (1961–present)
• General Hospital (1963–present)
• Get Smart (1965–1970)
• Gilligan's Island (1964–1967)
• Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. (1964–1969)
• Grandstand (UK) (1958–2007)
• Green Acres (1965–1971)
• Gunsmoke (1955–1975)
• Hallmark Hall of Fame (1951–present)
• Hogan's Heroes (1965–1971)
• I Dream of Jeannie (1965–1970)
• I Spy (1965–1968)
• Jeopardy! (1964–1975, 1984–present)
• Juke Box Jury (1959–1967, 1979, 1989–1990)
• Lost in Space (1965–1968)
• Love of Life (1951–1980)
• Match Game (1962–1969, 1973–1984, 1990–1991, 1998–1999)
• Meet the Press (1947–present)
• Mission: Impossible (1966–1973)
• My Three Sons (1960–1972)
• Opportunity Knocks (UK) (1956–1978)
• Panorama (UK) (1953–present)
• Perry Mason (1957–1966)
• Petticoat Junction (1963–1970)
• Peyton Place (1964–1969)
• Run for Your Life (1965–1968)
• Search for Tomorrow (1951–1986)
• The Andy Griffith Show (1960–1968)
• The Bell Telephone Hour (1959–1968)
• The Beverly Hillbillies (1962–1971)
• The Dean Martin Show (1965–1974)
• The Doctors (1963–1982)
• The Ed Sullivan Show (1948–1971)
• The Edge of Night (1956–1984)
• The Fugitive (1963–1967)
• The Good Old Days (UK) (1953–1983)
• The Guiding Light (1952–2009)
• The Hollywood Palace (1964–1970)
• The Late Late Show (Ireland) (1962–present)
• The Lawrence Welk Show (1955–1982)
• The Lucy Show (1962–1968)
• The Marvel Super Heroes (1966)
• The Mike Douglas Show (1961–1981)
• The Milton Berle Show (1954–1967)
• The Secret Storm (1954–1974)
• The Sky at Night (UK) (1957–present)
• The Today Show (1952–present)
• The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962–1992)
• This Is Your Life (UK) (1955–2003)
• Tom and Jerry (1965–1972, 1975–1977, 1980–1982)
• Top of the Pops (1964–2006)
• Truth or Consequences (1950–1988)
• Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1964–1968)
• Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color(1961–1969)
• What the Papers Say (UK) (1956–2008)
• What's My Line (1950–1967)

Debuts

• January – Father Brown on West Germany's ARD (1966–1972)
• January 2 – Ultra Q on TBS in Japan (1966)
• January 3 – Eye Guess on NBC-TV Daytime (1966–1969)
• January 11 – Daktari on CBS (1966–1969)
• January 12 – Batman on ABC (1966–1968)
• April 5 – The Money Programme on BBC2 (1966–present)
• June 6 – Till Death Us Do Part on BBC1
• June 27 – Dark Shadows on ABC (1966–1971)
• July 4 – Showdown & Chain Letter both on NBC daytime (canceled on October 14)
• July 11 – The Newlywed Game on ABC (1966–1974)
• July 17 – Ultraman on TBS in Japan (1966–1967)
• July 18 –
  • The Australian version of Play School on that country's ABC (1966–present)
  • The 700 Club (1966–present)
  • W-FIVE (1966–present)
  • Wojeck (1966–1968)
• September 1 –
  • The Marvel Super Heroes (1966)
• September 8 –
  • Star Trek on NBC (1966–1969)
  • That Girl on ABC (1966–1971)
  • Tarzan on NBC (1966–1968)
• September 9 –
  • The Green Hornet on ABC (1966–1967)
  • The Time Tunnel on ABC (1966–1967)
• September 10 –
  • The New Adventures of Superman (1966–1970)
• September 12 –
  • The Monkees on NBC (1966–1968)
  • Family Affair on CBS (1966–1971)
  • The Iron Horse
  • The Rat Patrol premiere on ABC (both 1966–1968)
• September 13 – The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. on NBC (1966–1967)
• September 17 – Mission: Impossible on CBS (1966–1973)
• September 20 – Rue des Pignons on SRC (1966–1977)
• October 3 – Joe on BBC1
• October 9 – Rocket Robin Hood (1966–1969)
• October 11 – SRC launches its first made-in-Quebec sitcom, Moi et l'autre (1966–1971)
• October 17 – The Hollywood Squares on NBC daytime (1966–1980)
• October 19 – Cliff Dexter on West Germany's ZDF (1966–1968)
• October 29 – The Mighty Heroes on CBS (1966–1967)
• December 23 – Hoolihan & Big Chuck on WJW-TV, Cleveland, Ohio, United States (1966–1979)

Ending this year

Date	Show	Debut
January 8	Shindig!	1964
February 6	Mister Ed	1961
March 19	The Donna Reed Show	1958
March 21	Ben Casey	1961
April 1	The Flintstones	1960
April 7	Danger Man (UK)	1964
April 8	The Addams Family
April 12	McHale's Navy	1962
April 17	The Wackiest Ship in the Army	1965
May 4	The Patty Duke Show	1963
May 8	This Hour Has Seven Days	1964
May 12	The Munsters
May 22	Perry Mason	1957
June 1	The Dick Van Dyke Show	1961
July 3	Ultra Q (Japan)	1966
August 29	Hullabaloo	1965
September 3	The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet	1952
September 4	My Favorite Martian	1963
October 23	Peter Potamus	1964
October 14	Showdown & Chain Letter	1966
December 16	WJW-TV's Shock Theater	1963
December 23	Ready Steady Go!
December 28	Our Man at St. Mark's

Births

Date	Name	Notability
January 13	Patrick Dempsey	Actor (Grey's Anatomy)
January 14	Dan Schneider	Producer and screenwriter (The Amanda Show, Drake & Josh, Zoey 101, iCarly, Victorious, Sam & Cat, Henry Danger, Game Shakers)
January 17	Joshua Malina	Actor (Sports Night, The West Wing, Scandal)
January 20	Rainn Wilson	Actor and comedian (Dwight Schrute on The Office)
January 27	Tamlyn Tomita	Actress
February 2	Adam Ferrara	Actor
February 6	Rick Astley	English singer
February 11	Armen Chakmakian	Composer
February 13	Neal McDonough	Actor (Band of Brothers, Desperate Housewives, Justified)
February 19	Justine Bateman	Actress (Family Ties)
February 20	Louis Ferreira	Actor
February 22	Rachel Dratch	Actress (Saturday Night Live)
February 23	Mia Michaels	Judge
February 25	Alexis Denisof	Actor (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel)
	Téa Leoni	Actress (Madam Secretary)
	Nancy O'Dell	Television host
February 27	Donal Logue	Canadian-American actor (Grounded for Life, Sons of Anarchy, Vikings)
	Gregg Rainwater	Actor (The Young Riders)
	Bill Oakley	Writer
February 28	David Nevins	Producer
March 1	Paul Hollywood	English chef and television presenter
	Don Lemon	American television journalist
March 3	Michael Davies	United States–based British television game shows producer
March 4	Kevin Johnson	NBA basketball player and former Mayor of Sacramento
March 5	Aasif Mandvi	British-American actor
March 11	Alice Stewart	Political commentator (CNN) (died 2024)[7]
March 14	Elise Neal	Actress (The Hughleys)
	Gary Anthony Williams	Actor (The Boondocks)
	J. Michael Muro	American cinematographer
March 22	Eric Bruskotter	Actor (Tour of Duty)
	Gary Janetti	Actor
March 23	Marin Hinkle	Actress (Once and Again, Two and a Half Men)
March 26	Michael Imperioli	Actor (The Sopranos)
April 4	Nancy McKeon	Actress (The Facts of Life)
April 6	Todd McDermott	Television journalist
April 8	Robin Wright	Actress (Santa Barbara, House of Cards)
April 9	Cynthia Nixon	Actress (Sex and the City)
April 10	Brad William Henke	Actor (Nikki, Going to California, October Road)
	Steve Claridge	Sportscaster
	George Mastras	Television producer
April 20	Paula White	American televangelist
April 22	Jeffrey Dean Morgan	Actor (Supernatural, The Good Wife, The Walking Dead)
April 26	James Barbour	Actor
May 1	Charlie Schlatter	Actor (Diagnosis: Murder, Loonatics Unleashed, Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil)
May 5	Josh Weinstein	Writer
May 12	Stephen Baldwin	Actor (The Young Riders)
May 16	Janet Jackson	Singer & actress (Good Times)
May 17	Hill Harper	Actor (CSI: NY)
May 20	Mindy Cohn	Actress (The Facts of Life)
	Gina Ravera	Actress
	Dan Abrams	American media entrepreneur
May 21	Lisa Edelstein	Actress (House, Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce)
May 22	Johnny Gill	Singer
May 23	H. Jon Benjamin	Actor (Bob's Burgers, Archer)
May 27	Heston Blumenthal	Chef
May 28	Heather Asch	Puppeteer
June 8	Julianna Margulies	Actress (ER, The Good Wife)
June 14	Traylor Howard	Actress (Two Guys and a Girl, Monk)
June 17	Jason Patric	Actor
June 21	Alisyn Camerota	Journalist
June 25	Dikembe Mutombo	NBA basketball player (died 2024)
June 27	J. J. Abrams	Film director
June 28	Sara Stewart	Actress (Sugar Rush)
	John Cusack	Actor
June 30	Mike Tyson	Professional boxer
July 4	Alison Stewart	American television journalist
July 7	Sandra Lee	Author, chef/host
	John Muller	American television journalist
July 9	Pamela Adlon	Actress (King of the Hill, Recess, Time Squad, Squirrel Boy)
	Scott Van Pelt	Talk show host
July 11	Debbe Dunning	Actress (Home Improvement)
	Greg Grunberg	Actor (Felicity, Alias, Heroes)
July 13	David X. Cohen	Writer
July 14	Matthew Fox	Actor (Party of Five, Lost)
July 15	Amanda Foreman	Actress (Felicity)
	Kristoff St. John	Actor (The Young and the Restless) (died 2019)
	Gary Glasberg	Writer, producer (died 2016)
July 19	Nancy Carell	Actress, comedian (Saturday Night Live, The Daily Show, The Office) and wife of Steve Carell
July 29	Richard Steven Horvitz	Actor (The Angry Beavers, Invader Zim, The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, Squirrel Boy, El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera, Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil)
July 31	Dean Cain	Actor (Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman)
August 9	Patrick Petersen	Actor (Knots Landing)
August 14	Halle Berry	Actress (Living Dolls)
August 20	David Rees Snell	Actor
August 25	Robert Maschio	Actor (Scrubs)
August 30	Michael Michele	Actress (Homicide: Life on the Street, ER)
September 1	Tim Hardaway	NBA basketball player
September 2	Tuc Watkins	Actor (One Life to Live, Desperate Housewives)
September 5	Phillip P. Keene	Actor
September 7	Toby Jones	Actor
September 9	Adam Sandler	Actor and comedian (Saturday Night Live)
September 12	Darren E. Burrows	Actor (Northern Exposure)
September 19	Soledad O'Brien	American broadcast journalist
September 22	Ruth Jones	Actress
September 28	Maria Canals-Barrera	Actress (Wizards of Waverly Place, Justice League, The Proud Family)
September 29	Jill Whelan	Actress (The Love Boat)
October 2	Yokozuna	Professional wrestler (died 2000)
October 6	Jacqueline Obradors	Actress (NYPD Blue)
October 8	Karyn Parsons	Actress (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air)
October 9	David Cameron	British politician[8]
October 11	Luke Perry	Actor (Beverly Hills, 90210, Riverdale) (died 2019)
	Shawn Ryan	American screenwriter and television producer
October 18	Dave Price	American journalist
October 26	Steve Valentine	Actor (Crossing Jordan)
October 28	Andy Richter	Talk show announcer and comedian (Late Night, Conan)
	Chris Bauer	Actor
October 31	Mike O'Malley	Actor (Yes, Dear, Glee)
November 2	David Schwimmer	Actor (Ross on Friends)
November 5	Monty Halls	Host
November 6	Peter DeLuise	Actor, director and screenwriter (21 Jump Street)
	Lisa Canning	Actress
November 8	Gordon Ramsay	English chef and TV host (Hell's Kitchen, Master Chef, Kitchen Nightmares)
November 14	Curt Schilling	MLB baseball player
November 15	Rachel True	Actress (Half & Half)
November 16	Dave Kushner	Musician
November 17	Daisy Fuentes	Actress
November 19	Shmuley Boteach	TV host and personality (Shalom in the Home)[9]
November 22	Michael K. Williams	Actor (The Wire) (died 2021)
	Nicholas Rowe	Actor
November 25	Billy Burke	Actor
November 26	Garcelle Beauvais	Actress (NYPD Blue, The Jamie Foxx Show)
November 29	John Layfield	WWE personality and business pundit (CNBC, Fox Business, Fox News)
December 1	Katherine LaNasa	Actress
December 4	Fred Armisen	Actor and comedian (Saturday Night Live, Portlandia, Documentary Now!)
	Suzanne Malveaux	American television news journalist
	Carey Means	Voice actor (Aqua Teen Hunger Force)
December 5	Johan Renck	Swedish director
December 8	Matthew Labyorteaux	Actor (Little House on the Prairie)
	Matt Adler	Actor
	Michael Cole	Pro wrestling commentator (WWE)
December 9	Toby Huss	Actor (The Adventures of Pete & Pete, King of the Hill)
December 11	Gary Dourdan	Actor (CSI: Crime Scene Investigation)
December 13	Mike Tirico	American sportscaster
December 15	Molly Price	Actress (Third Watch)
December 21	Michelle Hurd	Actress (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit)
	Kiefer Sutherland	Canadian actor (24, Designated Survivor) and son of Donald Sutherland
	Kari Turner	Actress (JAG)
	Kelly Wallace	Television journalist
December 24	Diedrich Bader	Actor (The Drew Carey Show, Veep, Outsourced) and voice actor (Batman: The Brave and the Bold, The Zeta Project, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy)
December 27	Bill Goldberg	WCW wrestler
	Eva LaRue	Model and actress (All My Children, CSI: Miami)
December 30	Akosua Busia	Actress

Deaths

Date	Name	Age	Notability
February 1	Buster Keaton	70	Actor
March 3	Alice Pearce	48	Actress (Gladys Kravitz No. 1 on Bewitched)
	William Frawley	79	Actor (Fred Mertz on I Love Lucy and Bub O'Casey on My Three Sons)
June 19	Ed Wynn	79	Actor, comedian (The Ed Wynn Show)
September 14	Gertrude Berg	66	Actress (The Goldbergs)[10]
September 28	Eric Fleming	41	Actor (Gil Favor on Rawhide)
December 15	Walt Disney	65	Founder of Walt Disney Productions (host of Disney TV series)

Television debuts

• René Auberjonois – NET Playhouse
• Matt Clark – Ben Casey
• John Cleese – The Frost Report
• Hector Elizondo – The Edge of Night
• Giancarlo Giannini – David Copperfield
• Paul Gleason – Petticoat Junction
• Bill Hunter – Doctor Who
• John Huston – ABC Stage 67
• Harvey Keitel – Hogan's Heroes
• Richard Pryor – The Wild Wild West
• Charlotte Rampling – Five More
• Ron Rifkin – Gidget
• John P. Ryan – Hawk
• Rade Serbedzija – Prikupljanje hrabrosti
• Lyle Waggoner – Gunsmoke
• Ralph Waite – Hawk
• Fred Willard – Hey, Landlord
• Clarence Williams III – Directions

See also

• 1966–67 United States network television schedule

References

1. Agency, United States Information (1968). Report to Congress. p. 10.
2. Knowlson, James (1996). Damned to Fame: The Life of Samuel Beckett. London: Bloomsbury. pp. 534–5. ISBN 0747527199.
3. Harmon, Maurice, ed. (1998). No Author Better Served: The Correspondence of Samuel Beckett and Alan Schneider. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. p. 205. ISBN 9780674625228.
4. "The 38th Academy Awards | 1966". Oscars.org | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. October 4, 2014. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
5. "Color Revolution: Television In The Sixties - TVObscurities". Television Obscurities. March 14, 2009. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
6. Corner, John. "Cathy Come Home". Museum of Broadcast Communications. Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved June 28, 2010.
7. Mayorquín, Orlando (May 19, 2024). "Alice Stewart, a CNN Political Commentator, Is Dead at 58". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
8. "The David Cameron story". BBC News. May 9, 2015. Retrieved September 2, 2024.
9. https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/boteach-shmuley-1966-pseudonym-shmuel-boteach
10. "Gertrude Berg | American actress, producer, and screenwriter". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved January 25, 2021.

• Shubilla, Thom "Beefstew" (2022). Primetime 1966-1967: The Full Spectrum Television's First All-Color Season. McFarland ISBN 978-1476683447.