1951 in television

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In radio 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 In film 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954
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The year 1951 in television involved some significant events. Below is a list of television-related events during 1951.

Events

• March 22 – RCA introduces an eight-pound (3.6 kg) monochrome television camera with a 53-pound (24 kg) backpack transmitter, both operated by batteries. It is the first portable television camera.
• May 28 – Then US Supreme Court upholds the Federal Communications Commission's approval of the CBS color television system.
• June 25 – CBS presents its first commercial color telecast featuring Arthur Godfrey, Ed Sullivan, and Faye Emerson.
• June – RCA demonstrates its new electronic color system.
• August 11 – The first baseball game is televised in color, a double-header between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Boston Braves.
• September 4 – The first live transcontinental television broadcast occurs in San Francisco, California from the Japanese Peace Treaty Conference.
• September 29
  • The first live sporting event broadcast coast-to-coast, a college football game between Duke University and the University of Pittsburgh, is televised by NBC.
  • CBS broadcasts the first American football game in color, between the University of California and the University of Pennsylvania, at Philadelphia.
• October 3 – The first live coast-to-coast network telecast of a World Series baseball game.
• October 12 – The Holme Moss transmitter is initiated in Northern England, making BBC Television available to the region for the first time.
• October 17 – Television broadcasts begin in Argentina from Primera Televisora Argentina on channel 7, Buenos Aires.
• October 20 – The CBS Eye logo makes its television debut.
• November 11 – Bing Crosby Enterprises demonstrates black-and-white video recording using a modified Ampex tape recorder.
• November 18 – Edward R. Murrow on See It Now presents a split screen view of the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City and the Bay Bridge in San Francisco. It has erroneously been referred to as the first live transcontinental telecast.
• December 24 – The first televised opera composed for television, Amahl and the Night Visitors by Gian Carlo Menotti, is broadcast by NBC.
• Ernie Kovacs' Time for Ernie and Ernie in Kovacsland television series premiere. Kovacs explores the boundaries of television technology with his use of camera tricks and special effects.

Programs/programmes

Series	Debut	Ended
Picture Page (UK)	October 8, 1936	1939
	1946	1952
The Voice of Firestone Televues	1943	1947
	1949	1963
Kaleidoscope (UK)	November 2, 1946	1953
Gillette Cavalcade of Sports	November 8, 1946	June 24, 1960
Muffin the Mule (UK)	1946	1955
Kraft Television Theater	May 7, 1947	1958
Kukla, Fran and Ollie	October 13, 1947	1957
Meet the Press	November 6, 1947	—
Howdy Doody	December 27, 1947	September 24, 1960
Café Continental	1947	1953
Juvenile Jury	1947	1954
Small Fry Club	1947	1951
Television Newsreel (UK)	January 5, 1948	1954
The Original Amateur Hour	January 18, 1948	September 27, 1970
Court of Current Issues	February 9, 1948	June 26, 1951
Author Meets the Critics	April 1948	October 10, 1954
Hollywood Screen Test	April 15, 1948	1953
Texaco Star Theater	June 8, 1948	1953
The Ed Sullivan Show	June 20, 1948	June 6, 1971
Candid Camera	August 10, 1948	May 23, 2004
CBS Evening News	August 15, 1948	—
Foodini the Great	August 23, 1948	June 23, 1951
Ford Theatre	October 17, 1948	July 10, 1957
The Alan Dale Show	1948	1951
Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts	1948	January 1, 1958
Break the Bank	1948	1957
Celebrity Time	1948	September 1952
Club Seven	1948	1951
The Philco Television Playhouse	1948	1955
Winner Take All	1948	1952
The Goldbergs	January 17, 1949	1956
Captain Video	June 27, 1949	April 1, 1955
Mama	July 1, 1949	March 17, 1957
Martin Kane, Private Eye	August 7, 1949	June 17, 1954
The Lone Ranger	September 15, 1949	June 6, 1957
Come Dancing (UK)	September 29, 1949	1995
The Aldrich Family	October 2, 1949	May 29, 1953
	January 2, 1953	August 22, 1958
The Ruggles	November 3, 1949	June 19, 1952
One Man's Family	November 4, 1949	June 21, 1952
	March 1, 1954	April 1, 1955
Arthur Godfrey and His Friends	1949	1959

Debuts

• January 3 – Dragnet, crime drama, on NBC (1951–1959)
• March 3 – Watch Mr. Wizard on NBC (1951–1965)^[1]
• June 16 – Faye Emerson's Wonderful Town, variety show, with Faye Emerson and Skitch Henderson, on CBS
• July 6 – Front Page Detective debuts on Dumont.^[2]
• July 16 – A British version of the What's My Line?, game show, on BBC (Like its American counterpart, it became one of the top-rated programs for the rest of the decade and make a celebrity of its host, Eamonn Andrews)
• September 3 – The first long-running soap opera, Search for Tomorrow, on the CBS (1951–1986)
• September 24 – Love of Life on CBS (1951–1980)
• October 15 – Situation comedy I Love Lucy, starring Lucille Ball with her real-life husband, Desi Arnaz, on CBS (1951–1957); produced on film in front of a studio audience, using three film cameras, instead of being broadcast live, and making Ball the world's first major female television star
• Television version of Amos & Andy (1951–1953)
• The Roy Rogers Show (1951–1957), on NBC, starring Roy Rogers and Dale Evans
• Hallmark Hall of Fame (1951–present)

Ending during 1951

Date	Show	Debut
January 16	The Alan Dale Show	1948
July 18	Four Star Revue[3]	Unknown
August 29	Stars Over Hollywood[2]	1950
Unknown	Club Seven	1948

Births

Date	Name	Notability
January 7	Helen Worth	British actress (Coronation Street)
January 12	Kirstie Alley	Actress (Cheers)
	Rush Limbaugh	Radio talk show host & commentator
January 15	Charo	Actress, singer, guitarist
January 26	Walt Willey	Actor
February 15	Jane Seymour	Actress (Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman)
February 16	William Katt	Actor (The Greatest American Hero)
February 23	Patricia Richardson	Actress (Home Improvement)
March 8	Deborah Harmon	Actress
March 17	Kurt Russell	Actor
March 19	Fred Berry	Actor (What's Happening!!) (d. 2003)
April 13	Peter Davison	Actor (Doctor Who)
April 21	Tony Danza	Actor (Who's the Boss?)
June 13	Richard Thomas	Actor (The Waltons)
June 27	Julia Duffy	Actress (Newhart)
July 12	Cheryl Ladd	Actress (Charlie's Angels)
July 17	Lucie Arnaz	Actress (Here's Lucy), daughter of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz
July 21	Robin Williams	Actor (Mork & Mindy) (d. 2014)
July 23	Edie McClurg	Actress (The Hogan Family)
July 24	Lynda Carter	Actress (Wonder Woman)
August 6	Catherine Hicks	Actress (Annie Camden on 7th Heaven)
August 14	Carl Lumbly	Actor (Cagney and Lacey)
September 2	Mark Harmon	Actor (NCIS)
September 5	Michael Keaton	Actor
September 7	Julie Kavner	Actress (Marge on The Simpsons)
September 12	Joe Pantoliano	Actor
October 18	Pam Dawber	Actress (Mork & Mindy)
October 30	Harry Hamlin	Actor (L.A. Law)
November 6	Nigel Havers	English actor (Don't Wait Up)
November 9	Lou Ferrigno	Actor (The Incredible Hulk)
December 1	Treat Williams	Actor (Everwood)
December 4	Patricia Wettig	Actress (Brothers & Sisters)
December 5	Morgan Brittany	Actress (Dallas)

References

1. Watch Mr. Wizard at Encyclopedia of Television
2. Brooks, Tim & Marsh, Earle (1979). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows: 1946-Present. Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-345-25525-9.
3. McNeil, Alex (1996). Total Television. Penguin Books USA, Inc. ISBN 0-14-02-4916-8.