1954 in television

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The year 1954 in television involved some significant events. Below is a list of television-related events in 1954.

Events

• January 1 – NBC broadcasts the Rose Parade in NTSC color on 21 stations.
• January 3 – RAI launched in Italy.
• January 10 – CBMT opens in Montreal, making that city the first in Canada to have 2 stations operating. The new station uses the English language, leaving CBFT to continue entirely in French.
• January 11 – The first weather forecast with an in-vision presenter is televised in the UK.
• March 28 – WKAQ-TV became the first television station in Puerto Rico.
• April – The American Broadcasting Company broadcasts the Army-McCarthy hearings live and in their entirety.
• June 5 – The last new episode of the comic variety program, Your Show of Shows, airs.
• June 13 – First television broadcast begins in Colombia.
• July 5 – First actual news bulletin, News and Newsreel, aired on BBC Television, replacing Television Newsreel.
• September 11 – The Miss America Beauty Contest airs for the first time on national television in the United States. 27 million viewers watched as Lee Ann Meriwether won the title. Meriwether would later become a television actress, co-starring in Barnaby Jones (1973–1980).
• October 2 - The Jimmy Durante Show premieres on NBC (1954–1956).
• November 3 – Disney's Alice in Wonderland airs on ABC.
• November 19 –TMC Monte Carlo launched in Monaco is the first Microstate Television
• December 12 – BBC Television broadcasts its famous, and controversial, adaptation of George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four.
• The Television Act 1954 authorises setting up the infrastructure for British commercial television.
• The British Academy Television Awards, the most prestigious awards of the British television industry, are first awarded.
• The RCA CT-100 and Westinghouse 15" color sets hit the market. Neither are big sellers.

Debuts

• January 1 – Annie Oakley (1954–1957) premieres.
• January 4 – The Brighter Day (1954–1962) premieres.
• January 23 - Stories of the Century (1954-1955) premieres.
• March 11 - The Public Defender premieres on CBS (1954–1955).
• April 2 – The Grove Family, generally considered the first British TV soap opera, debuts on BBC Television (1954–1957).
• April 8 - Justice premieres on NBC (1954–1956).
• April 18 - The Martha Wright Show debuts on ABC.
• April 26 - The Tony Martin Show debuts on NBC.
• August 5 - So You Want to Lead a Band premieres on ABC (1954–1955)
• August 28 - The Mickey Rooney Show: Hey, Mulligan premieres on NBC (1954–1955).
• September 7 - Stop the Music premieres for the second time on ABC after a two-year hiatus.
• September 7 - It's a Great Life premieres on NBC (1954–1956).
• September 18 - Willy starring June Havoc premieres on CBS (1954–1955).
• September 12 – Lassie premieres on CBS (1954–1973)
• September 27 - The Tonight Show begins airing on the NBC network (1954–present).
• October 2 - The Imogene Coca Show premieres on NBC (1954–1955).
• October 2 - The Jimmy Durante Show premieres on NBC (1954–1956).
• October 7 - The Mail Story, subtitled Handle with Care, premieres on ABC (1954).
• October 14 - Flash Gordon, (1954–1955), starring Steve Holland.
• October 15 – The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin premieres on ABC (1954–1959)
• October 21 – The CBS anthology series, Climax! (1954–1958) airs an adaptation of Ian Fleming's novel, Casino Royale, starring Barry Nelson as an Americanized version of spy James Bond. This is the first dramatic adaptation of a Bond novel.
• October 27 – The Walt Disney anthology series debuts as Disneyland (1954–present; aired as Disneyland 1954–1958).
• November 13 – Fabian of the Yard, the first British TV police procedural, debuts on BBC Television (1954–1956).
• December 21 – Zoo Quest begins on BBC Television (1954–1964).
• Face the Nation premieres on CBS (1954–present).
• The Jo Stafford Show, a 15-minute prime time variety series, premiered on CBS (1954–1955).
• The Secret Storm (1954–1974) premieres.
• The National premieres as The National News on CBC (1954–present).
• The RCAVictor CT-100 goes on the market as the first color TV to be sold to the public. Other manufacturers follow suit. Sales are dismal. NBC is at the time the only network to offer color programming.
• That's My Boy premieres on CBS.

Television series

listed by starting year

• Muffin the Mule (1946–1955).
• Gillette Cavalcade of Sports (1946–1960).
• Kukla, Fran and Ollie (1947–1957).
• Howdy Doody (1947–1960).
• Kraft Television Theater (1947–1958).
• Meet the Press (1947–present).
• Candid Camera (1948–present).
• The Ed Sullivan Show (1948–1971).
• Bozo the Clown (1949–present).
• Come Dancing (UK) (1949–1995).
• The Goldbergs (1949–1955).
• The Voice of Firestone (1949–1963).
• Hawkins Falls (1950, 1951–1955)).
• Cisco Kid (1950–1956).
• The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show (1950–1958).
• The Jack Benny Show (1950–1965).
• Truth or Consequences (1950–1988).
• What's My Line (1950–1967).
• Your Hit Parade (1950–1959).
• Dragnet (1951–1959).
• I Love Lucy (1951–1960).
• Love of Life (1951–1980).
• Search for Tomorrow (1951–1986).
• The Roy Rogers Show (1951–1957).
• Hallmark Hall of Fame (1951–present)
• American Bandstand (1952–1989).
• The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952–1966).
• Adventures of Superman (1952–1958)
• Death Valley Days (1952–1975)
• The Guiding Light (1952–2009)
• Hockey Night in Canada (1952–present)
• Life is Worth Living (1952–1957).
• Life with Elizabeth (1952–1955)
• My Little Margie (1952–1955).
• This Is Your Life (US) (1952–1961).
• The Today Show (1952–present).
• Buick-Berle Show (1953–1954); the show was renamed The Milton Berle Show (1954–1967) this year.
• General Motors Theatre (Can) (1953–1956, 1958–1961)
• Panorama (UK) (1953–present).
• The Good Old Days (UK) (1953–1983).
• Where's Raymond? or The Ray Bolger Show (US) 1953-1955.

Ending this year

• January 11 - Of Many Things (1953–1954).
• February 5 - The Comeback Story (1953–1954).
• March 9 - This Is Show Business ended its run on CBS (1949–1954).
• May 11 - Judge for Yourself with Fred Allen ended its run on NBC (1953–1954).
• June 5-Your Show of Shows (1950–1954).
• June 17-Martin Kane, Private Eye (1949–1954).
• July 2 – Television Newsreel (UK) is last shown on the BBC Television Service, to be superseded the following Monday by the new BBC News bulletins. (1948–1954).
• July 2 - The Pride of the Family (1953–1954).
• August 1- Juvenile Jury (1947–1954).
• August 2- The Dennis Day Show (1953–1954).
• October 10- Author Meets the Critics (1947–1954).
• December 5- The Martha Wright Show (1954).
• December 30 - The Mail Story (1954)
• Answers for Americans (1953–1954).
• Jukebox Jury (1953–1954).
• The Paul Winchell Show (1950–1954).
• Rocky King, Inside Detective (1950–1954).

Births

• January 12 – Howard Stern, radio and television host.
• January 19 – Katey Sagal, actress and singer (Married... with Children).
• January 22 – Chris Lemmon, actor and author.
• January 29 – Oprah Winfrey, actress and talk-show host.
• February 1 - Bill Mumy, actor and musician (Lost in Space).
• February 2 – Christie Brinkley, model and actress.
• February 15 – Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons and Futurama.
• February 17 – Rene Russo, actress.
• February 18 - John Travolta, actor.
• March 1 - Catherine Bach, actress.
  • Ron Howard, actor and director.
• March 15 - Craig Wasson, actor.
• March 17 - Lesley-Anne Down, English actress.
• March 24 - Robert Carradine, actor.
  • Donna Pescow, actress and director.
• April 29 – Jerry Seinfeld, actor and comedian.
• June 15 – James Belushi, actor.
• June 22 - Freddie Prinze, actor and comedian (Chico and the Man) (died 1977).
• June 28 - Alice Krige, South African actress
• August 12 - Sam J. Jones, actor
• September 8 – Anne Diamond, television presenter.
• September 30 - Barry Williams, actor (The Brady Bunch).
• October 9 – Scott Bakula, actor.
• November 12 - Rhonda Shear, television personality, actress and comedienne
• December 4 - Tony Todd, actor and producer.
• December 28 – Denzel Washington, actor.