1959 in American television

This is a list of American television-related events in 1959.

List of years in American television:
1958–59 United States network television schedule
1959–60 United States network television schedule
List of American television programs currently in production

Events
Date Event Ref.
April 6 The original KYW-TV (now WKYC-TV) in Cleveland, Ohio becomes the first station in the United States to use the Eyewitness News brand for their newscasts. [1]
November 29 As part of the Sunday Showcase on NBC, the Grammy Awards were broadcast for the first time ever. [2]

Television programs

Debuts
Date Debut Network
January 9[3] Rawhide CBS
January 10 Black Saddle NBC
January 12 The Bell Telephone Hour NBC
January 20 Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond ABC
March 9[4] Clutch Cargo Broadcast syndication
March 10 Alex in Wonderland NTA Film Network
April 16 The Lawless Years NBC
May 2 Markham CBS
September 8 Bucky and Pepito Broadcast syndication
September 8 Tales of the Vikings Broadcast syndication
September 8 Tightrope! CBS
September 10 Johnny Staccato NBC
September 12 The Deputy NBC
September 12[5][6][7] The Man and the Challenge NBC
September 13 Riverboat NBC
September 15 Bonanza NBC
September 15 Laramie NBC
September 19 Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy Broadcast syndication
September 19 Snooper and Blabber Broadcast syndication
September 20 NBC Sunday Showcase NBC
September 21 The DuPont Show with June Allyson CBS
September 21 Love and Marriage NBC
September 26 Lock-Up Broadcast syndication
September 28 Hennesey CBS
September 28[8] The Quick Draw McGraw Show Broadcast syndication
September 29 The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis CBS
September 30 Men Into Space CBS
September 30[9] Wichita Town NBC
October 1 The Betty Hutton Show CBS
October 1 Johnny Ringo CBS
October 1[10] Law of the Plainsman NBC
October 2[11] Hotel de Paree CBS
October 2[12] The Twilight Zone CBS
October 3 Five Fingers NBC
October 4 The Alaskans ABC
October 4 Dennis the Menace CBS
October 4 The Rebel ABC
October 5 Adventures in Paradise ABC
October 5 Bourbon Street Beat ABC
October 6 Philip Marlowe ABC
October 6 Startime NBC
October 7 Hawaiian Eye ABC
October 11 Matty's Funday Funnies ABC
October 12 The Play of the Week NTA Film Network
October 15[13] The Untouchables ABC
October 16 The Detectives ABC
October 22 Take a Good Look ABC
October 24 Mr. Lucky CBS
October 24 Shotgun Slade Broadcast syndication
November 19 The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends ABC
Unknown date This Man Dawson Syndication

Ending this year
Date Program Network First aired Notes/References
January 13 Confession ABC 1957
April 24 Your Hit Parade CBS July 10, 1950 Returned in 1974
April 9 Behind Closed Doors NBC 1958
May 25 Buckskin NBC July 3, 1958
June Alex in Wonderland NTA Film Network March 10, 1959
June 22 The Restless Gun NBC September 23, 1957
June 25 Mickey Mouse Club ABC October 3, 1955 Returned in first-run syndication in 1977
State Trooper Syndication September 25, 1956
August This Is Alice NTA Film Network October 1959
August 20 How to Marry a Millionaire NTA Film Network October 7, 1957
August 23 Dragnet NBC December 16, 1951 Returned in 1967 (in color)
September 28 Polka Go-Round ABC June 23, 1958
September 10 Man Without a Gun NTA Film Network November 6, 1957

Made-for-TV movies and miniseries
Title Premiere date Network
The Hate That Hate Produced July 13–17 WNTA-TV
The Jazz Singer October 13 NBC
The Turn of the Screw October 20
The Moon and Sixpence October 30
Murder and the Android November 8

Television stations

Station launches
Date Market Station Channel Affiliation Notes/References
January 12 Tulsa, Oklahoma KOED-TV 11 NET
February 2 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma KOKH-TV 25 Non-commercial independent
February 23 Sacramento, California KVIE 6 NET
March 8 Tucson, Arizona KUAT 6 NET
March 15 Lansing, Michigan WILX-TV 10 NBC
March 30 Buffalo, New York WNED-TV 17 NET
April Colby/Goodland, Kansas KLOE-TV 10 CBS
April 23 Champaign/Decatur, Illinois WCHU-TV 33 NBC Now on channel 15
April 26 Goodland, Kansas KLOE-TV 10 CBS (primary)
ABC (secondary)		 Now a fulltime CBS affiliate as a semi-satellite of KWCH-DT of Hutchinson, Kansas
April 27 Des Moines, Iowa KDPS-TV 11 NET Part of Iowa Public Television
April 28 St. Louis, Missouri KPLR-TV 11 Independent Now an affiliate of The CW
May 16 Cheboygan, Michigan WTOM-TV 4 NBC (primary)
ABC (secondary)		 Satellite of WPBN/Traverse City, Michigan
July 3 Pocatello, Idaho KTLE 6 Independent
July 6 Durham/Manchester, New Hampshire WENH-TV 11 NET via New Hampshire Public Television
August 1 Huntsville, Alabama WAFG-TV 31 ABC
October 11 Fargo, North Dakota KXGO-TV 11 ABC
October 14 Cincinnati, Ohio WMUB-TV 14 NET
October 15 Yakima, Washington KNDO 23 ABC (primary)
CBS/NBC (secondary)
October 20 Greenwood, Mississippi WABG-TV 6 CBS
November 1 Sacramento, California KVUE 40 Independent
November 8 Bakersfield, California KLYD-TV 17 ABC
Unknown date Colby/Goodland, Kansas KOMC 8 NBC

Network affiliation changes
Date Market Station Channel Old affiliation New affiliation References
April 1 Milwaukee, Wisconsin WITI 6 Independent (primary)
NTA Film Network (secondary)		 CBS (primary)
NTA Film Network (secondary)
WXIX-TV 18 CBS Independent
April 26 Portland, Oregon KGW 8 ABC NBC
KPTV 12 NBC ABC
August 1 Huntsville, Alabama WMSL-TV 48 NBC (primary)
ABC (secondary)		 NBC (exclusive) WMSL lost ABC affiliate upon the sign on of WAAY-TV, but would swap affiliations with WAAY-TV in 1968. Channel 48 as WYUR-TV (now WAFF-TV) would return to NBC on a fulltime basis in 1977.
August 22 Green Bay, Wisconsin WFRV-TV 5 ABC NBC Switch was reversed in 1983
WLUK-TV 11 NBC ABC
October 11 Valley City/Fargo, North Dakota KXJB-TV 4 CBS (primary)
ABC (secondary)		 CBS (exclusive)
October 15 Yakima, Washington KIMA-TV 29 CBS (primary)
ABC (secondary)		 CBS (exclusive)
November 8 Bakersfield, California KBAK-TV 29 CBS (primary)
ABC (secondary)		 CBS (exclusive) Secondary ABC affiliation went to NBC affiliate KLYD-TV when it signed on.
December Greenwood, Mississippi WABG-TV 6 CBS ABC
Unknown date Bangor, Maine WABI-TV 5 NBC (primary)
ABC/CBS/NTA Film Network (secondary)		 CBS (primary)
ABC/NTA Film Network (secondary)
WLBZ-TV 2 CBS (exclusive) NBC (primary)
ABC (secondary)
Hampton/Norfolk, Virginia WVEC-TV 13 NBC ABC
Portsmouth/Norfolk, Virginia WAVY-TV 10 ABC NBC
Presque Isle, Maine WAGM-TV 8 NBC (primary)
CBS/ABC (secondary)		 CBS (primary)
NBC/ABC (secondary)

Station closures
Date City of license/Market Station Channel Affiliation First air date Notes/Ref.
April 26 Portland, Oregon KGW 8 ABC NBC
KPTV 12 NBC ABC
May 27 Kalispell, Montana KULR 9 Independent October 20, 1958
August 25 Nacogdoches, Texas KTES 19 Independent September 20, 1958
October 30 Norfolk, Virginia WTOV-TV 27 ABC October 22, 1953
Unknown date Lock Haven/Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania WBPZ-TV 32 ABC (primary)
NBC (secondary)		 March 1958

Births
Main article: 1959 in television § Births

Deaths
Main article: 1959 in television § Deaths

See also

References
  1. L.A. station cerebrates 50 years of 'Eyewitness News'". NewscastStudio. March 12, 2019. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
  2. "1st Annual GRAMMY Awards". GRAMMY.com. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  3. Munn, Michael (1992). Clint Eastwood: Hollywood's Loner. London: Robson Books. p. 35. ISBN 0-86051-790-X.
  4. Woolery, George W. (1983). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981. Scarecrow Press. p. 70. ISBN 0-8108-1557-5. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  5. McNeil, Alex, Total Television: The Comprehensive Guide to Programming From 1948 to the Present, Fourth Edition, New York: Penguin Books, 1996, ISBN 0 14 02 4916 8, p. 512.
  6. Brooks, Tim, and Earle Marsh, The Complete Directory to Prime-Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present (Sixth Edition), New York: Ballantine Books, 1995, ISBN 0-345-39736-3, p. 633.
  7. The Classic TV Archive The Man and the Challenge (1959-60) Accessed 19 November 2020
  8. Los Angeles Times, Sept. 27, 1959, pg. G10
  9. Wichita Town (TV Series 1959–1960), retrieved 2018-08-20
  10. Hyatt, Wesley (2015). Short-Lived Television Series, 1948-1978: Thirty Years of More Than 1,000 Flops. McFarland. pp. 99–100. ISBN 978-1-4766-0515-9. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
  11. McNeil, Alex (1996). Total Television (4th ed.). New York, New York: Penguin Books USA, Inc. p. 392. ISBN 0-14-02-4916-8.
  12. Tallerico, Brian (March 29, 2019). "'The Twilight Zone': Here's Why We Still Care". The New York Times. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
  13. Archived September 22, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
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