April 12, 1941
Life of Riley radio show debuts.
An unrelated radio show with the name Life of Riley was a summer replacement show heard on CBS from April 12, 1941 to September 6, 1941. The CBS program starred Lionel Stander as J. Riley Farnsworth and had no real connection with the more famous series that followed a few years later staring William Bendix as a bullheaded family man. The show ran for 10 years on radio and about six years on television.
April 13, 1986
Return to Mayberry airs on NBC.
The cast of the popular Andy Griffith Show is reunited for a one-time television special. Besides stars Andy Griffith and Don Knotts, the original show featured little Ronny Howard, who grew up to become a star of television's Happy Days and, later, a famous film director. The Andy Griffith Show ran from 1960 to 1968.
April 14, 1956
First video camera for sound and pictures demonstrated.
The first videotape recorder is demonstrated. The machine, invented by Ray Dolby, Charles Ginsberg, and Charles Anderson, recorded both images and sound. CBS purchased three of the video tape recorders for $75,000 each in 1956.
April 18, 1971
The Jackson 5 and Bill Cosby were guests on Diana Ross' solo TV special Diana!
Diana! is American singer Diana Ross' first solo TV special, which aired on ABC on April 18, 1971, choreographed by David Winters of West Side Story fame, who at that time choreographed all of Ross' stage and TV shows. The special featured performances by The Jackson 5, and also included Jackson 5 lead singer Michael Jackson's solo debut. Michael Jackson performed Frank Sinatra's "It Was a Very Good Year", which drew laughter as its adult-themed lyrics were changed to fit his age. Other guests included Danny Thomas andBill Cosby, who would be featured on a similar TV special by the Jackson 5 (Goin' Back to Indiana) a few months later.Since this was right at the beginning of her solo career, she took the opportunity to promote the two hits from her debut, the gold audience participant "Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)" and the number 1 song "Ain't No Mountain High Enough". She also performed a cover of The Carpenters "(They Long to Be) Close to You" and the top-20 gold single "Remember Me" released that previous December 1970 included on her forthcoming album "Surrender" to be released later that summer. (Though she performed "Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)" on the special, it was not included on the soundtrack).
The television special, and its subsequent soundtrack, was a Neilsen's ratings winner, hitting the top 20 (number 17) of shows that week and garnering Emmy nominations for Ross and Bob Mackie and in technical categories.
April 12, 1941
Life of Riley radio show debuts.
An unrelated radio show with the name Life of Riley was a summer replacement show heard on CBS from April 12, 1941 to September 6, 1941. The CBS program starred Lionel Stander as J. Riley Farnsworth and had no real connection with the more famous series that followed a few years later staring William Bendix as a bullheaded family man. The show ran for 10 years on radio and about six years on television.
April 13, 1986
Return to Mayberry airs on NBC.
The cast of the popular Andy Griffith Show is reunited for a one-time television special. Besides stars Andy Griffith and Don Knotts, the original show featured little Ronny Howard, who grew up to become a star of television's Happy Days and, later, a famous film director. The Andy Griffith Show ran from 1960 to 1968.
April 14, 1956
First video camera for sound and pictures demonstrated.
The first videotape recorder is demonstrated. The machine, invented by Ray Dolby, Charles Ginsberg, and Charles Anderson, recorded both images and sound. CBS purchased three of the video tape recorders for $75,000 each in 1956.
April 18, 1971
The Jackson 5 and Bill Cosby were guests on Diana Ross' solo TV special Diana!
Since this was right at the beginning of her solo career, she took the opportunity to promote the two hits from her debut, the gold audience participant "Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)" and the number 1 song "Ain't No Mountain High Enough". She also performed a cover of The Carpenters "(They Long to Be) Close to You" and the top-20 gold single "Remember Me" released that previous December 1970 included on her forthcoming album "Surrender" to be released later that summer. (Though she performed "Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)" on the special, it was not included on the soundtrack).
The television special, and its subsequent soundtrack, was a Neilsen's ratings winner, hitting the top 20 (number 17) of shows that week and garnering Emmy nominations for Ross and Bob Mackie and in technical categories.
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Tony Figueroa
Tony Figueroa
