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September 28, 2019 10:47 pm  #1


Instant Replay: Odds & Ends 2: 3D TV, Mickey Rooney Sports & FM Mono?

This week, some more Odds & Ends that didn’t quite fit anywhere else.
 
Tower Of Power
 
The old CBC Windsor station at 1550 had a Toronto connection in its early days. Who knew? And check out the original P.D. of the then-newcomer. Yep, it was none other than John Moore. Although clearly not THAT John Moore!
 

 
Ad” Nauseam
 
CFRB certainly ran a lot of trade ads in the 40s. Here are a few of the more unusual ones, beginning with some interesting ratings math.
 

 
Given some of the salaries in radio, I would argue it might be more accurate to say “How To Make You Work Hard In Radio For One Dollar.”
 

 
Wonder what was on ’RB back in the late 40s before TV and Top 40? This ratings ad tells the tale about what Torontonians were listening to back then.
 

 
Not Very Well “Red”
 
Remember the controversy when Green Party leader Elizabeth May was omitted from the federal election debates and had to “respond” via Twitter? Turns out it’s not such a new controversy after all. Back in 1953, during the so-called McCarthy era in the U.S., these guys weren’t allowed coverage here, either.
 

 
A New “Hampshire”
 
Keith Hampshire had a varied career, ranging from the early days of CKFH as a rock station to a gig as a DJ on a British pirate station. And of course, many here remember his hit CanCon era and all those jingles. 
 

 
Stereo In Mono
 
It’s hard to imagine, but there was a time when FM wasn’t in stereo in Canada. And it wasn’t in the 30s, 40s or 50s. As this article proves, Canada was still debating the use of stereo on the ‘other band’ as late as 1961.
 

 
Their “Fly” Is Open
 
Few stations had both a plane and a helicopter as their eyes in the skies. But CKEY did. Today, many outlets simply hire a firm to provide them road reports. But in the 60s and 70s, most had their own fleet. It wasn’t cheap, so stations often made a big deal about it to help promote it – and justify the expense.
 
In 590’s case, their traffic menu consisted of Rice and Pepper.
 


 
Life Before CP24
 
It seems like Ann Rohmer is always on CP24 whenever you tune in. But back in the early 80s, she had an entirely different Life.
 

 
Life Before Canada AM
 
It’s been revamped and the name has been changed, but CTV’s morning show Canada AM ran for decades. But did you know the network attempted another early program before the sun rose on the long running program? It was called “Bright And Early” in 1966, and yes, it DID actually feature puppets.
 
 
 
Canada AM eventually did hit air, as this preview shows from Sept. 11, 1972
 

 
Life Before An All Canadian CBC
 
It seems like the CBC has always been filled with varying degrees of not-so-great Canadian shows. But before it went all Canuck all the time, it spent a great deal of money securing rights to popular American shows, competing with private TV on this side of the border, creating a curious pastiche of local and U.S. programs.
 
Here are three of its Fall line-ups.
 
1971
 

 
1972
 

 
 
1978
 

 
 
Meanwhile over on CBC Radio, a familiar face – and now sometimes controversial figure - started hosting a show that’s still on the air decades later.
 

 
And their morning show was being sold in a very different way than it is now.
 

 
Frankie Goes To Radio-wood
 
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that a guy whose business it was to make music would look at starting a radio station that would play a lot of it. And so it was in January 1948, when Frank Sinatra tried to get his own personal outlet in Palm Springs, California. The low power AM station would play – what else? – standards. I’m not sure if this ever came to pass but you can almost be certain about what Sinatra’s place in management would have been – Chairman of the Board.
 

 
Where Were You When The Lights Went Out?
 
It happened without any warning on the winter afternoon of Nov. 9th and forever became known as The 1965 Blackout. Toronto was one of many cities across the Eastern Seaboard that saw the lights first dim then go out completely just after 5:30 PM. The power would not come back on for over 12 hours.
 
Ever wonder what happened to the TV schedule that evening and what the networks did to provide coverage very few people could see? Here’s the answer.
 

 
“Clear” The Air
 
Ever wonder why some stations are more powerful than others and some get better propagating dial positions? It all goes back to an historic agreement between the U.S., Canada and Mexico, which all received certain frequencies they could call their own. That meant they had priority on them and other stations on those channels would have to operate with lower powers – or even sign off every evening.
 
Here’s a look at some of the dial positions that each got. Notice Mexico had 800 – the home of CKLW. And 740 always belonged to Canada – and for many years before Zoomer Radio came along, to the CBC in Toronto. The same with 860, although CFRB occupied that position for awhile before being forced to give it up in a frequency switch with CJBC, which had been on 1010.
 

 
Tommy Can You Hear Me?
 
Everyone remembers Don Chevrier as one of the play-by-play men on the early CTV Blue Jays broadcasts. But how many recall when Tommy Hutton was up to bat – or when the games were actually on free TV?
 

 
 
Global Coverage: To Air Is Truman
 
He was the first real credible newsman that took the chair for the still wet-behind-the-ears newcomer Global. And Peter Truman’s sign off became legendary. But while that’s not news, that too is reality.
 

 
What’s also reality is that when the competition came calling two years later, the face of Global became a player for CTV.
 

 
When Truman left, his sometime on-air partner went solo. He was a veteran journalist who’d written for Maclean’s and several other newsmakers. But he was not a name that would be well remembered here.
 

 
Global’s newscasts were a bit hit and miss in the early days. In 1974, they didn’t even do an 11 PM newscast like most of their competitors, choosing instead a 10 PM edition for a while and airing only a half hour at 6.
 

 
By 1976, they were counter-programming other stations’ newscasts with an odd competitor of their own.
 

 
And despite now being known as a great primetime simulcaster of U.S. shows, it was another American program that occupied its 10 o’clock real estate by 1982 – all of it airing the day after it had already been shown on NBC.
 

 
Carson was hardly the last late night show Global used to try to lure audiences. In 1986, it was comedian David Brenner and his bandleader, who some called the Fifth Beatle.
 

 
In fact, Global’s early line-up was always something of a mixed bag, as the promotional ad from 1978 shows.
 

 
A Standout Broadcast?
 
Not sure how this was supposed to work in an era before HDTV, but Global promised to broadcast a less-than-blockbuster movie in 1982, with a premise to get you watching. It was in 3D! Did it work? Obviously not. 3D never became the standout many believed it would be and it wound up not adding another dimension to conventional TV.
 

 
 
Charting Their Progress
 
CFTR was never able to compete with the CHUM Chart, but in 1980, they did issue a large best of the year recap. Here’s a look at the Top 10 plus the rest of the best.

 


 
CHUM’s yearly recap was always a highlight. Here are some of them from the late 60s.
 



 
The CHUM Chart went through a major renovation in 1968, when the station went from Top 50 to the Top 30. For some reason, they started re-counting the legacy listings to #1 with the change, then decided better of it and reverted back some years later. That’s why they were able to celebrate issue #1000, as published in the Toronto Sun on August 11, 1976.
 

 
Lesser Known Legendary Logos
 
The stations were well known. The logos may not have been. Here are samples of some famous call letters you may not have seen.
 




 
 
And Now A Word From Our Sponsor
 
Every star starts somewhere and sometimes does things they’d rather not just to pay the bills. Which may explain why Paul Newman is smoking a cigarette in this May 1959 ad. Soon, he’d be smoking up the screen and not ashtrays.
 

 
Even Sgt. Bilko got his “butt” hauled into the industry.
 

 
Do You Know The Count From The Amount?
 
It was one of the few American TV stations that included Canada in its contests. WKBW-TV’s Dialing For Dollars frequently used the Canuck white pages to try and find a player here. And if you won, it was in more valuable U.S. dollars!
 



 
A Bridge Too Far?
 
Usually when a new radio station comes on the air, finding a place for the studios is a huge decision. But this one was strange, even in May 1947. A station called CHVC, the forerunner for the now defunct CJRN, signed on the air with its studios located – on a bridge! In fact, they were on the Rainbow Bridge, the same one many Canadians still use to cross over into the U.S.
 
There’s no word on how or why it was to be built there – or where the staff parked their cars. (And did they have to pay a toll to get to work?)
 

 
And Now You Know The Rest Of The Story
 
Most of us remember the late, great Paul Harvey, a legendary radio newscaster who got dressed up in a formal suit and tie to do his nationally aired newscast and feature “The Rest Of The Story” every day, well into his 90s. But did you know Paul Harvey made an attempt at getting on TV? Here’s the ad from Sept. 1968 that proves it, along with the list of stations that contracted to run his video commentary.
 
Not sure how long this ran, but I’m guessing for Harvey it was a “Good Day!”
 

 
What’s In A Name?
 
It was one of the biggest hits of the 90s and it’s back in a new form. It also made its zip code universally known. But did you know Beverly Hills 90210 wasn’t originally called that? From TV Guide’s Fall Preview issue in 1990:
 

 
Radio Waves
 
Immediately before the arrival of Elvis Presley and rock and roll in 1956, radio was at a crossroads. TV had begun to take over and the Golden Age of Radio drama and comedy were all but over. Which is what makes the ad below so interesting. What was radio programming in those nether days between one era and another? Here’s what WBEN-AM was doing in September 1955.
 

 
Speaking of WBEN, this TV ad come-on to advertisers from 1962 has one of the strangest tag lines I’ve seen in a long time – “You’ll reach more TV homes than you’ll find in all of Missouri.” What an odd place to pick to tout your coverage area.
 
And remember when news – now the very identity of a local TV station – was an afterthought? Many places, like Channel 4 in Buffalo, didn’t really bother with news, preferring to air a movie instead while mom was making supper. The 11 PM cast lasted only 15 minutes before – you guessed it – another cheap flick was screened.
 


 
By the early 70s, the competition for news was fierce and WBEN decided to go after an audience you might not expect – draft dodgers in Canada!
 


 
Changing The Channel
 
When NBC tried to make a go – and O&O – of channel 17 (then called WBUF) they quickly discovered that most sets in the late 50s didn’t have a UHF tuner and most viewers couldn’t be bothered to get one. Not that you couldn’t buy a gizmo that would put it on a VHF station.
 

 
It didn’t help and the end was near.
 

 
When all of NBC’s programming shifted to the Ultra High Frequency outlet, the ratings plummeted. How much? Check out the graph below.
 

 
When NBC left, WGR – which had been taking ABC – snagged the far more lucrative Peacock Network affiliation. It’s had it ever since.  
 


 
WGR-FM didn’t become a big player in Buffalo until 1972, when the call letters added a “Q” and they went high personality Top 40. What’s listed below – from September 1958 – is the announcement of the authorization of the station that is now WGRF, 97 Rock. Notice the predicted first year projected operating cost and the estimated revenue. If that held true, the original WGR-FM only made $500 in its first year.
  
Meanwhile, the AM side was far from the Billboard station of the year it would eventually become. Be sure to get up early to hear that Farm Report.
 


 
Slipped A Mickey
 
Finally, in the world of the unexplainable, comes this. Actor and ex-Andy Hardy star Mickey Rooney was hired, not for his thespian abilities – but to do sports! There’s no explanation of how this came to be to or why, whether it actually happened or how long it lasted. But it’s one of the more bizarre one line announcements from radio’s past.
 

 
Next week: CHUM Records, WKRP’s Big Guy & The True Story Behind WOLD?

 

September 29, 2019 1:23 pm  #2


Re: Instant Replay: Odds & Ends 2: 3D TV, Mickey Rooney Sports & FM Mono?

I think Mickey Rooney was real into Horse Racing and other equine sportd

 

 

September 29, 2019 1:38 pm  #3


Re: Instant Replay: Odds & Ends 2: 3D TV, Mickey Rooney Sports & FM Mono?

Could be. He infamously played a jockey in a well remembered Twilight Zone episode. 


 

     Thread Starter
 

September 30, 2019 5:58 am  #4


Re: Instant Replay: Odds & Ends 2: 3D TV, Mickey Rooney Sports & FM Mono?

Re the Frank Sinatra radio station- It probably never happened. Since 1965, there has been a radio station at 1270 in Thousand Palms with a 5000 watt daytime signal. KGAY serves the LGBTQ community in the area, Thousand Palms is 10 miles or so from Palm Springs.                                                                                                                                   Re the Beama ch 17 converter- This device was available at 361 King St E. Just for fun, I decided to see what is at that location today. The address no longer exists. 373 King St E. is the closest.