American Television: 1957

I recently celebrated my 50th birthday (yes, 50). And as birthdays usually do, I began thinking about what happened the year I was born. Since this week is a holiday in the States, I figured I would do a little research and see what the tube was like back in 1957.
Black and white television was the order of the day (a 23 inch was considered large back then); color sets were still too expensive for the average American worker; and viewing choices were mostly limited to the national networks (CBS, NBC and the weaker ABC). Some cities were lucky enough to have at least one independent station (not affiliated with a network) that showed films, cartoons and original programs.
In January of that year, Elvis Presley made his third and final appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show." Remembering the controversy that greeted The Pelvis' first two performances, CBS instructed the show to air Presley ABOVE the waist and avoid shots of his hip gyrations. (One Elvis fan--citing a rather bouncy appearance by the amply-endowed Jayne Mansfield on CBS' "Shower of Stars"--wrote the network and demanded "if you can't show Elvis Presley from the waist down, don't show Jayne Mansfield from the waist up.")
NBC's "Tonight" show was going through its own growing pains. Original host Steve Allen left the show in January for a prime-time variety series. The network revamped the nighttime format to emphasize news and called the new creation "Tonight: America After Dark." It was a resounding flop. By July, comic and game show regular Jack Paar was installed as the new "Tonight" host. Going back to the original format, Paar saved the late-night program and became even more popular than Steve Allen.
CBS' "Edsel Show"--airing in September 1957--featured Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Rosemary Clooney and others in a star-studded program to launch Ford's new medium priced line. The Edsel was a flop in the showroom, but the special earned high ratings. More importantly, it was the first time an hour-long show was shot on the newly developed videotape format. The use of tape signaled the end of live television on the networks during prime time (with the exception of news and special events).
"I Love Lucy" fans were saddened when the final half-hour episode of the landmark comedy aired in the spring. (Monthly hour-long Lucy-Desi comedy specials with the original format and big name guests would appear through 1960, while "Lucy" began its long and endless rerun career on both CBS and on local stations.)
Other shows that ended their runs in 1957: "Caesars Hour;" "The Jackie Gleason Show" (in its hour-long variety format); "The Roy Rodgers Show;" and the much-loved "Kukla, Fran & Ollie."
Top rated series of 1957: "Gunsmoke"
New series that year: "Leave It To Beaver;" "The Real McCoys;" "Perry Mason;" "Maverick;" "Bachelor Father;" "The Pat Boone Chevy Show;" "American Bandstand;" "Wagon Train;" "Zorro."
The animated NBC peacock made its debut on the September 7th episode of "Your Hit Parade," complete with the famous phrase: "The following program is brought to you in living color on NBC."
And finally, on March 11th, 1957, Charles Van Doren--who had gone undefeated since he beat Herbert Stempel on NBC's quiz show "Twenty One," finally succumbed to a "lady lawyer"--Vivian Nearing--and walked away with $129,000. Of course, it was later learned that Van Doren was given the answers to the questions he rattled off every week. Van Doren became one of the biggest victims of what would become known as the "Quiz Scandals" that threatened to bring down broadcast television. (Congress simply approved a bill making it a felony to rig a quiz program.) Ironically during the revelations, "Consumer Reports" published an article entitled "Where, we ask, was the (Federal Communications Commission)?" The FCC chairman under President Eisenhower was forced to resign after being accused of accepting gifts and trips from the broadcasters he was hired to regulate.
A final note: In 1957, 78% of American households had at least one television set. And that's the way it was.
Happy Independence Day, and until next time, happy viewing!