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1979 in American television
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This is a list of American television-related events in 1979.
Events
| Date | Event | |
|---|---|---|
| January 3 | ||
| January 10 | ||
| February 11 | ||
| February 18 | ||
| February 20 | ||
| March 5 | ||
| March 6 | ||
| March 19 | ||
| April 1 | ||
| April 8 | ||
| April 20 | ||
| April 22 | ||
| April 23 | ||
| May 16 | ||
| May 17 | ||
| May 26 | ||
| June 1 | ||
| July 10 | ||
| July 30 | ||
| September 7 | ||
| September 9 | ||
| September 12 | ||
| September 19 | ||
| September 22 | ||
| October 6 | ||
| November 4 | ||
| November 25 | ||
| December 1 |
Programs
Debuting this year
| Date | Show | Network |
|---|---|---|
| January 8 | *All Star Secrets* | NBC |
| *Password Plus* | ||
| January 18 | *Delta House* | ABC |
| January 20 | *Salvage 1* | |
| January 21 | *Brothers and Sisters* | NBC |
| January 22 | *Nightly Business Report* | PBS |
| January 26 | *Hello, Larry* | NBC |
| *$weepstake$* | ||
| *Turnabout* | ||
| *The Dukes of Hazzard* | CBS | |
| January 28 | *CBS News Sunday Morning* | |
| February 1 | *Makin' It* | ABC |
| February 3 | *The New Fred and Barney Show* | NBC |
| February 7 | *Supertrain* | |
| February 8 | *Angie* | ABC |
| February 20 | *This Old House* | PBS |
| February 26 | *Billy* | CBS |
| *Flatbush* | ||
| February 27 | *Cliffhangers* | NBC |
| March 4 | *Stockard Channing in Just Friends* | CBS |
| March 13 | *The Ropers* | ABC |
| March 15 | *Harris and Company* | NBC |
| March 24 | *The Bad News Bears* | CBS |
| March 28 | *Dear Detective* | ABC |
| April 6 | *The MacKenzies of Paradise Cove* | |
| April 12 | *Highcliffe Manor* | NBC |
| *Whodunnit?* | ||
| April 18 | *Real People* | |
| April 23 | *Whew!* | CBS |
| May 10 | *Hizzonner* | NBC |
| May 24 | *Comedy Theatre* (returning from 1976) | |
| July 31 | *Detective School* | ABC |
| August 24 | *The Facts of Life* | NBC |
| August 25 | *Hart to Hart* | ABC |
| August 28 | *[240-Robert](240-robert)* | |
| September 1 | *Lap Quilting with Georgia Bonesteel* | PBS |
| *The Woodwright's Shop* | ||
| September 7 | *SportsCenter* | ESPN |
| September 8 | *Fred and Barney Meet the Thing* | NBC |
| September 9 | *Jason of Star Command* | CBS |
| *Out of the Blue* | ABC | |
| September 13 | *Benson* | |
| September 15 | *Working Stiffs* | CBS |
| September 16 | *A New Kind of Family* | ABC |
| September 17 | *Three's a Crowd* | Syndication |
| September 18 | *The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo* | NBC |
| September 19 | *The Last Resort* | CBS |
| *Struck by Lightning* | ||
| September 20 | *Buck Rogers in the 25th Century* | NBC |
| September 21 | *Eischied* | |
| September 22 | *Casper and the Angels* | |
| *A Man Called Sloane* | ||
| *The New Adventures of Flash Gordon* | ||
| *The New Shmoo* | ||
| *The Super Globetrotters* | ||
| *Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo* | ABC | |
| *Spider-Woman* | ||
| September 23 | *The Associates* | |
| *Archie Bunker's Place* | CBS | |
| September 25 | *California Fever* | |
| *Trapper John, M.D.* | ||
| September 29 | *Big Shamus, Little Shamus* | |
| *Paris* | ||
| October 26 | *Shirley* | NBC |
| October 29 | *Freedom Road* | NBC |
| November 8 | *Nightline* (debuting as *The Iran Crisis–America Held Hostage*) | ABC |
| November 28 | *Young Maverick* | CBS |
| December 17 | *House Calls* | |
| December 27 | *Knots Landing* |
Ending this year
| Date | Show | Debut |
|---|---|---|
| January 12 | *The Eddie Capra Mysteries* | 1978 |
| January 14 | *The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries* | 1977 |
| January 16 | *Grandpa Goes to Washington* | 1978 |
| January 21 | *Lamp Unto My Feet* | 1948 |
| March 2 | *Jeopardy!* (returned in 1984) | 1964 |
| March 16 | *Makin' It* | 1979 |
| March 30 | *$weepstake$* | 1979 |
| *Turnabout* | 1979 | |
| April 8 | *All in the Family* | 1971 |
| April 20 | *Match Game* | 1973 |
| April 24 | *The Paper Chase* (returned in 1983) | 1978 |
| April 28 | *What's Happening!!* (returned in 1985) | 1976 |
| April 29 | *Battlestar Galactica* (returned in 1980) | 1978 |
| May 15 | *Starsky and Hutch* | 1975 |
| May 17 | *Whodunnit?* | 1979 |
| May 18 | *Rhoda* | 1974 |
| June 8 | *Welcome Back, Kotter* | 1975 |
| June 23 | *Stockard Channing in Just Friends* | 1979 |
| June 28 | *Comedy Theatre* | 1976 |
| July 6 | *The Amazing Spider-Man* | 1977 |
| July 11 | *Sword of Justice* | 1978 |
| July 12 | *David Cassidy: Man Undercover* | |
| August 1 | *Good Times* | 1974 |
| September 11 | *Wonder Woman* | 1976 |
| October 20 | *The New Fred and Barney Show* | 1979 |
| November 24 | *Detective School* | |
| December 8 | *Godzilla* | 1978 |
Made-for-TV movies and miniseries
| Title | Network | Premiere date | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| *All Quiet on the Western Front* | ||||
| *Backstairs at the White House* | ||||
| *Murder by Natural Causes* | ||||
| *Roots: The Next Generations* | ||||
| *Death Car on the Freeway* | ||||
| *Salem's Lot* | ||||
| *Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July* | ||||
| *The Berenstain Bears' Christmas Tree* | ||||
| *The Miracle Worker* |
Networks and services
Launches
| Network | Type | Launch date | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christian Television Network | Cable television | Unknown | ||
| National Christian Network | Cable television | Unknown | ||
| C-SPAN | Cable television | March 19 | ||
| Take 2 | Cable television | April 1 | ||
| Galavision | Cable television | April 2 | ||
| Cornerstone Television | Cable television | April 15 | ||
| Satellite Program Network | Cable television | July 30 | ||
| ESPN | Cable television | September 7 |
Conversions and rebrandings
| Old network | New network | Type | Conversion date | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WTCG-TV | SuperStation WTBS | Cable television | Unknown | ||
| C-3 | Nickelodeon | Cable television | April 1 | ||
| Star Channel | The Movie Channel | Cable television | December 1 |
Closures
There are no closures for Cable and satellite television channels in this year.
Television stations
Sign-ons
| Date | City of License/Market | Station | Channel | Affiliation | Notes/Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 3 | Boston, Massachusetts | WQTV | 68 | Independent | |
| January 12 | Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico | ||||
| (Brownsville/McAllen, Texas, United States) | XHRIO-TV | 2 | English-language independent | ||
| March | North Platte, Nebraska | K57CZ | 57 | CBS | LPTV translator of KOLN/Lincoln, Nebraska; now KNPL-LD channel 10, a semi-satellite of KOLN |
| April 15 | Greensburg/Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | WPCB-TV | 40 | Religious independent | |
| April 28 | Red Deer/Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | WGCB | 49 | Independent | |
| May 3 | Austin, Texas | KLRU | 18 | PBS | Originally a satellite of KLRN/San Antonio, Texas |
| June 1 | Springfield, Illinois | WBHW | 55 | Independent | |
| June 12 | Charlottesville, Virginia | W64AO | 64 | ABC | Low-powered translator of WHSV-TV/Harrisonburg, Virginia |
| June 18 | Bismarck, North Dakota | KBME-TV | 3 | PBS | Part of Prairie Public Television |
| August | El Paso, Texas | KCIK-TV | 14 | Religious independent | |
| August 10 | Denver, Colorado | KDVR | 31 | Independent | |
| September 2 | Flagstaff/Phoenix, Arizona | KTVW | 33 | SIN | |
| September 9 | Paducah, Kentucky | WKPD | 29 | PBS | This station was previously on the air 1971-1975 as commercial independent station WDXR-TV; it returned to the air as a satellite of WKLE/Lexington as part of the Kentucky Educational Television network. |
| Phoenix, Arizona | KNXV-TV | 15 | Independent | ||
| September 24 | Greensboro, North Carolina | WGNN-TV | 45 | Independent | |
| Norfolk, Virginia | WTVZ-TV | 33 | Independent | ||
| October 6 | Abilene, Texas | KTAB-TV | 32 | CBS | |
| October 22 | Grand Junction, Colorado | KJCT | 8 | ABC | |
| October 24 | Tampa, Florida | WCLF | 22 | CTN | |
| October 28 | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | KGMC | 34 | Independent | |
| December 22 | Warrensburg/Sedalia, Missouri | ||||
| (Columbia/Jefferson City) | KMOS-TV | 6 | PBS | Returned to the air after being taken off the air in 1978 as a CBS affiliate | |
| Unknown date | Hartford, Connecticut | W61AH | 51 | SIN | Translator of WXTV/New York City |
| Miami, Florida | W56AZ | 56 | PBS | Translator of WPBT-TV |
Network affiliation changes
| Date | City of License/Market | Station | Channel | Old affiliation | New affiliation | Notes/Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 5 | Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota | KMSP-TV | 9 | ABC | Independent | |
| KSTP-TV | 5 | NBC | ABC | |||
| WTCN-TV | 11 | Independent | NBC | |||
| June 1 | Indianapolis, Indiana | WRTV-TV | 6 | NBC | ABC | |
| WTHR-TV | 13 | ABC | NBC | |||
| October 6 | Abilene, Texas | KTXS-TV | 12 | CBS (primary) | ||
| ABC (secondary) | ABC (exclusive) |
Births
| Date | Name | Notability | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 2 | ||||
| January 3 | ||||
| January 4 | ||||
| Jeannie Mai | ||||
| January 6 | ||||
| January 8 | ||||
| Windell Middlebrooks | ||||
| January 9 | ||||
| January 13 | ||||
| January 14 | ||||
| January 16 | ||||
| January 24 | ||||
| Tatyana Ali | ||||
| January 25 | ||||
| January 26 | ||||
| January 28 | ||||
| January 29 | ||||
| Jeremy Coon | ||||
| January 30 | ||||
| February 1 | ||||
| February 2 | ||||
| February 3 | ||||
| February 4 | ||||
| Jodi Shilling | ||||
| February 7 | ||||
| February 8 | ||||
| February 11 | ||||
| February 12 | ||||
| February 13 | ||||
| February 15 | ||||
| February 17 | ||||
| Bear McCreary | ||||
| February 18 | ||||
| February 20 | ||||
| February 21 | ||||
| Jordan Peele | ||||
| Tituss Burgess | ||||
| February 23 | ||||
| S. E. Cupp | ||||
| February 25 | ||||
| February 26 | ||||
| Shalim Ortiz | ||||
| February 27 | ||||
| February 28 | ||||
| March 5 | ||||
| March 7 | ||||
| March 9 | ||||
| March 10 | ||||
| March 10 | ||||
| March 12 | ||||
| March 15 | ||||
| March 17 | ||||
| Stormy Daniels | ||||
| Coco Austin | ||||
| March 18 | ||||
| Adam Levine | ||||
| March 19 | ||||
| March 20 | ||||
| March 21 | ||||
| March 24 | ||||
| March 25 | ||||
| March 26 | ||||
| March 30 | ||||
| Pete Holmes | ||||
| March 31 | ||||
| April 1 | ||||
| April 2 | ||||
| Jesse Carmichael | ||||
| April 4 | ||||
| Natasha Lyonne | ||||
| April 6 | ||||
| April 7 | ||||
| April 9 | ||||
| April 11 | ||||
| April 12 | ||||
| Jennifer Morrison | ||||
| April 15 | ||||
| Karen David | ||||
| April 16 | ||||
| April 18 | ||||
| Reena Ninan | ||||
| Ayman Mohyeldin | ||||
| April 19 | ||||
| April 21 | ||||
| April 23 | ||||
| April 26 | ||||
| May 3 | ||||
| May 4 | ||||
| May 5 | ||||
| May 6 | ||||
| May 9 | ||||
| Andrew W.K. | ||||
| May 11 | ||||
| May 13 | ||||
| May 16 | ||||
| May 19 | ||||
| May 20 | ||||
| May 22 | ||||
| May 24 | ||||
| May 25 | ||||
| May 26 | ||||
| Ashley Massaro | ||||
| May 28 | ||||
| Kal Parekh | ||||
| May 30 | ||||
| June 2 | ||||
| James Ransone | ||||
| June 5 | ||||
| June 7 | ||||
| June 11 | ||||
| June 12 | ||||
| June 14 | ||||
| June 17 | ||||
| June 21 | ||||
| June 22 | ||||
| Jai Rodriguez | ||||
| June 23 | ||||
| June 24 | ||||
| June 25 | ||||
| June 26 | ||||
| Ryan Tedder | ||||
| June 27 | ||||
| June 28 | ||||
| June 30 | ||||
| Christopher Jacot | ||||
| Lynn Smith | ||||
| July 2 | ||||
| July 3 | ||||
| July 4 | ||||
| July 6 | ||||
| Moshe Kasher | ||||
| July 11 | ||||
| July 12 | ||||
| Omid Abtahi | ||||
| July 14 | ||||
| July 15 | ||||
| Laura Benanti | ||||
| July 16 | ||||
| July 17 | ||||
| July 18 | ||||
| July 22 | ||||
| July 23 | ||||
| July 24 | ||||
| July 25 | ||||
| July 26 | ||||
| Tamyra Gray | ||||
| Juliet Rylance | ||||
| July 31 | ||||
| August 1 | ||||
| August 3 | ||||
| Evangeline Lilly | ||||
| Sarah Haskins | ||||
| August 7 | ||||
| August 10 | ||||
| August 11 | ||||
| Rob Kerkovich | ||||
| August 12 | ||||
| Keith Powell | ||||
| August 15 | ||||
| August 22 | ||||
| Steve Kornacki | ||||
| Brandon Adams | ||||
| August 23 | ||||
| August 26 | ||||
| August 27 | ||||
| August 28 | ||||
| August 30 | ||||
| August 31 | ||||
| September 1 | ||||
| September 2 | ||||
| September 4 | ||||
| September 5 | ||||
| September 7 | ||||
| September 8 | ||||
| September 9 | ||||
| September 11 | ||||
| Ariana Richards | ||||
| September 12 | ||||
| September 15 | ||||
| Amy Davidson | ||||
| September 16 | ||||
| September 18 | ||||
| Amna Nawaz | ||||
| September 20 | ||||
| September 22 | ||||
| September 24 | ||||
| Justin Bruening | ||||
| Ross Mathews | ||||
| September 25 | ||||
| September 26 | ||||
| September 27 | ||||
| September 28 | ||||
| Anndi McAfee | ||||
| Mara Schiavocampo | ||||
| September 30 | ||||
| October 2 | ||||
| October 3 | ||||
| Matt Davis | ||||
| John Morrison | ||||
| Josh Klinghoffer | ||||
| October 4 | ||||
| Caitriona Balfe | ||||
| October 7 | ||||
| Shawn Ashmore | ||||
| October 8 | ||||
| October 9 | ||||
| Alex Greenwald | ||||
| Chris O'Dowd | ||||
| October 10 | ||||
| October 14 | ||||
| October 15 | ||||
| October 17 | ||||
| October 18 | ||||
| October 19 | ||||
| October 20 | ||||
| October 22 | ||||
| Nina Parker | ||||
| October 25 | ||||
| October 26 | ||||
| October 29 | ||||
| October 31 | ||||
| November 2 | ||||
| November 5 | ||||
| November 6 | ||||
| Adam LaRoche | ||||
| Brad Stuart | ||||
| November 7 | ||||
| November 8 | ||||
| November 9 | ||||
| November 12 | ||||
| November 13 | ||||
| Metta World Peace | ||||
| November 14 | ||||
| November 17 | ||||
| November 18 | ||||
| November 19 | ||||
| Michelle Vieth | ||||
| November 20 | ||||
| November 22 | ||||
| November 23 | ||||
| Kelly Brook | ||||
| November 25 | ||||
| Joel Kinnaman | ||||
| November 28 | ||||
| Brian Nolan | ||||
| Chamillionaire | ||||
| November 29 | ||||
| Simon Amstell | ||||
| November 30 | ||||
| December 2 | ||||
| December 3 | ||||
| Rainbow Sun Francks | ||||
| December 5 | ||||
| December 7 | ||||
| Jennifer Carpenter | ||||
| Sara Bareilles | ||||
| December 8 | ||||
| Ingrid Michaelson | ||||
| December 11 | ||||
| December 13 | ||||
| December 15 | ||||
| December 16 | ||||
| Trevor Immelman | ||||
| December 17 | ||||
| Lil Rel Howery | ||||
| December 18 | ||||
| December 19 | ||||
| December 21 | ||||
| December 23 | ||||
| December 26 | ||||
| December 28 | ||||
| André Holland | ||||
| Bree Williamson | ||||
| December 29 | ||||
| Diego Luna | ||||
| December 30 | ||||
| December 31 |
Deaths
| Date | Name | Age | Notability |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 11 | Jack Soo | 61 | Actor (Nick Yemana on *Barney Miller*) |
| January 16 | Ted Cassidy | 46 | Actor (Lurch on *The Addams Family*) |
| January 27 | Dick Wesson | 59 | Actor, announcer (*The Wonderful World of Disney*) |
| June 2 | Jim Hutton | 45 | Actor (*Ellery Queen*) |
| June 22 | Hope Summers | 83 | Actress (Clara Edwards on *The Andy Griffith Show*) |
| July 11 | James Underwood Crockett | 63 | Author, gardener, and television host (*Crockett's Victory Garden*) |
| July 29 | Bill Todman | 62 | Game show producer (*Match Game*, *What's My Line?*) |
| August 17 | Vivian Vance | 70 | Actress (Ethel Mertz on *I Love Lucy*) |
| November 1 | Mamie Eisenhower | 82 | First Lady of the United States and spouse of President Dwight D. Eisenhower |
| November 30 | Zeppo Marx | 78 | Actor and comedian |
References
References
- (August 30, 1978). "Marriage of ABC to Ch. 5 follows a long courtship". [[The Minneapolis Star.
- (September 12, 1978). "KSTP switch was matter of time: Long loyalties eroded with NBC slump". The Minneapolis Star.
- (September 30, 1978). "NBC chooses WTCN as new affiliate". Minneapolis Tribune.
- (March 2, 1979). "Still confused? Just turn dial". The Minneapolis Star.
- (May 30, 1979). "Television Schedule". Marion [[Chronicle-Tribune]].
- (September 9, 1979). "Today the UHF station ...". [[The Arizona Republic]].
- (April 14, 1983). "ON TV planning to halt programming to Valley". The Arizona Republic.
- (July 2, 1986). "PBS series provides a close-up look at life of Soviet citizens". The Arizona Republic.
- (June 16, 1994). "ABC drops Ch. 3 after 40 years". The Arizona Republic.
- (October 4, 1979). "Mighty Mouse, KTAB Both Ready for Abilene". [[Abilene Reporter-News]].
- (March 28, 1979). "3rd TV station to start in fall". Abilene Reporter-News.
Info: Wikipedia Source
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