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A Year in TV Guide: October 29th, 1966 A Year in TV Guide: ...

2026-10-30T03:49:40Z

A Year in TV Guide: October 29th, 1966

A Year in TV Guide: 1966-1967 celebrates the 60th anniversary of the 1966-1967 television season through the pages of TV Guide magazine. Each week, I’ll examine the issue of TV Guide published exactly 60 years earlier. The goal is not simply to examine what was on television each week but rather what was being written about television.
Week #8
October 29th, 1966
Vol. 14, No. 44, Issue #709
Northern New England Edition
On the Cover: Van Williams and Bruce Lee, photo by Ivan Nagy
The Magazine: National Section
In this issue’s As We See It column, the editors of TV Guide declare pay television dead. There is no need for it. Educational television covers “lectures, lessons, symphony music and other cultural TV.” Traditional television offers nearly every big sporting event. ABC and CBS are paying a combined $92.3 million for recent movies. “There may have been a reason for pay television once,” the column concludes, “but not now. It’s all over.”
TV Teletype: Hollywood by Joseph Finnigan reports CBS will air two hours of Thanksgiving day parades on November 24th from New York, Detroit, and Toronto; Richard Deacon has been cast in a new Carol Channing series; Bill Bixby will star in a Screen Gems pilot titled “Three’s a Crowd”; Screen Gems is also working on a show called The Flying Nun; Gloria Swanson will guest star on The Beverly Hillbillies; and NBC will air a special about the cultural life of New Orleans next year.
There are four articles in this issue:
“Which Way Is Television Going?” (First of Two Parts), by Richard K. Doan
“Patricia Harty of ‘Occasional Wife'”
“Van Williams: Banker with a Sting,” by Leslie Raddataz
“When Free Speech Is Mighty Expensive,” by Melvin Durslag
Richard K. Doan’s article about the future of television in the United States is, unfortunately, rather dry. It focuses largely on the cast of characters in favor of or potentially opposed to, the Ford Foundation’s plan for a true fourth network–an educational, noncommercial network–using a satellite system that would charge the commercial networks in order to finance the noncommercial network. The editors of TV Guide wrote about this proposal in the 1966 Fall Preview issue, calling it an “encouraging development” that has brightened the future of educational TV.
Cover to the October 29th, 1966 issue of TV Guide
© 1966 Triangle Publications, Inc.
“Decisions at the highest Washington levels in the next few months could either open the way for a firmly based, truly national, commercial-free companion to our present privately financed and operated broadcasting system,” Doan declares, “or consign nonprofit broadcasting in the United States to a continued tin-cup subsistence.” He then writes about the three pivotal figures involved in the proposal, followed by a number of other people, including former CBS News president Fred Friendly, heavily invested in it. This is the first of two parts, and despite knowing how the story ends (the proposal never got off the ground), I’m intrigued to see what Doan has to say in the next issue of TV Guide.
The profile of actress Patricia Harty, co-star of NBC’s new sitcom Occasional Wife, is sadly lacking much information about the sitcom. However, Harty is a very interesting character. The unnamed writer calls her “a ripe blonde whose facial lines are more arresting than conventionally beautiful” before detailing Harty’s plans to become famous, driven by ambition. Actually, Harty and her manager-turned-husband E. Thomas Kearney Jr. have devised several six-year plans for stardom. “The goal is to become well-known, to become a national name,” she explains, “and then it’s good pictures and good roles on Broadway.”
Their plans include just one TV show. “Television is fine,” Kearney explains, “but it’s only on Broadway that a performer becomes a Mary Martin or a Merman.” No matter what happens with Occasional Wife, it’s the first and last TV show for Harty.
[Whatever the plan may have been, it didn’t work out the way Kearney and Harty envisioned. The two divorced not too long after this article was published, with Harty marrying her Occasional Wife co-star Michael Callan in 1968. That same year she starred in Blondie on CBS, her second TV show. It flopped. Her marriage to Callan ended in 1970. She married producer Les Sheldon in 1974, co-starred in another flop sitcom, The Bob Crane Show, in 1975. Her marriage to Sheldon endured but her fourth sitcom, Herbie, the Love Bug, was yet another flop.]
Leslie Raddatz does a fine job profiling actor Van Williams, who knows his limitations as an actor. He enjoys acting but doesn’t need to act, either for fame or money. He’s financially secure due to various businesses he’s involved with. On The Green Hornet, he prefers action above all. According to Raddatz, Williams “has already objected to two Green Hornet scripts because they contained too much dialog.” He took two days to decide whether or not to take on the dual roles of Britt Reid and the Green Hornet, a fact reporters refused to believe. The producers of the show had him take a course with the studio drama coach to get rid of his Texas accent.
Melvin Durslag’s two-page article about the cost of free speech examines wow the National Football League charges coaches $1,000 whenever they get into a public disagreement with an official. [A $1,000 fine in 1966 works out to around $10,265 in 2026 dollars. By comparison, the NFL just recently fined three coaches $250,000 each, although the coaches may not have to pay up.]
In his Review this issue, Cleveland Amory calls The Time Tunnel “one of the most annoying shows we’ve seen” after briefly recapping the series premiere and a later episode. “There is imagination and inventiveness in the photography and gimmickry,” he writes, “but the acting is stilted and unbelievable, the dialog is soap-opera-ish.”
TV Teletype: New York by Neil Hickey reports Hallmark Hall of Fame‘s fifth installment of the season will be an original drama written by Jerome Ross set in 17th-century England; ABC Stage 67‘s “Sex in the Sixties” will feature guests like Dr. William H. Masters, Dr. Virginia E. Johnson, Sloan Wilson, and Hugh Hefner; Jackie Gleason will host Homer & Jethro, Roy Acuff and the Smokey Mountain Boys, Sue Thompson, Buck Owens and his Buckeroos, and the Collins Kids on one of his December shows; CBS may replace Jericho with an hour-long variety show starring the Smothers Brothers, which may premiere in January or in the fall; Cliff Robertson and Carolyn Jones will guest star on Batman; and Oscar-winner Jane Darwell will appear in the November 13th episode of Lassie.
The national section also includes a pair of picture features. The first showcases Sir Michael Redgrave in “The Canterville Ghost,” an upcoming installment of ABC Stage 67. The second shares images of “temporary delay” slides from foreign countries like Germany, Austria, England, Sweden, and Switzerland. There is also the Television Crossword.
The Magazine: Listings Section
The Doan Report features five news items in this issue. First off, NBC is in the unexpected position of being the highest-rated network of the new season, which has failed to produce any new hit shows. It’s partly because NBC doesn’t have a weekly news show like CBS does or a program like ABC Stage 67, both of which are a drag on their respective network’s ratings. NBC president Julian Goodman is considering setting a side an hour week next fall for “news, public affairs and cultural programming.”
ABC, meanwhile, is planning to add Off to See the Wizard, a Wednesday movie, and The Invaders at mid-season to replace Hawk and Shane. Chevrolet “reportedly” offered the producers of the James Bond movies $3.5 million dollars for the rights to Goldfinger and Dr. No but the car company refused to comment on the rumor. NBC will film the Christmas show at Radio City Music Hall to air in December 1967, with plans to make the show an annual classic. Finally, Richard Salant, president of CBS News, made an unpublicized visit to Saigon earlier this month and returned home hoping the viewing public will tolerate more television news about Vietnam with words rather than images.
The Letters page features six letters. Two respond to Robert Musel’s October 15th article about football, one positive and one negative. Two criticize CBS for editing The Victors when it aired on October 13th. “When released in its original form for theaters,” begins one letter, “‘The Victors’ presented a strong argument against war. When released in its edited form for the CBS movie, it presented an equally strong case against television.” The final two letters offer opposing opinions on “Carol & Company,” with one letter calling it “unbelievably bad” and the other “a sweet and refreshing breath of entertainment.”
Channel Directory
Channel directory from the October 29th, 1966 issue of TV Guide (Northern New England Edition)
© 1966 Triangle Publications, Inc.
The TV Listings
As was the case last issue, a notice in the This Week TeleVision Guide alerts readers to programming changes due to President Johnson’s Asian tour. The networks have planned special programs in addition to their regular newscasts. Regularly scheduled programming may be pre-empted. There are similiar notices printed before 7:00PM in the listings for Saturday through Wednesday.
There aren’t as many ads in this issue as there have been in many recent issues and only one full-page ad, for a special episode of The Lucy Show on CBS with Carol Burnett. It’s one of only a handful of ads for network programs. I also spotted ads for The Andy Williams Show, The Road West, and The CBS Thursday Night Movie (Failsafe).
WGAN-TV ad for The CBS Thursday Night Movies, from the October 29th, 1966 issue of TV Guide
© 1966 Triangle Publications, Inc.
I counted six ads for TV Guide, including a small ad reminding shoppers not to forget the magazine; an ad previewing a profile of Peter Ustinov in next week’s issue; an ad for the TV Guide Young Merchant program; an ad promoting TV Guide as the perfect Christmas gift, which is placed next to an insert offering special savings; a half-page ad reminding women to buy TV Guide while shopping; and yet another ad reminding shoppers to pick up TV Guide.
Close Ups
NBC News Special–Report: ‘Campaign and the Candidates’ (Special, Color, NBC, Sunday at 6:30PM)
Andy Williams–Variety (Color, NBC, Sunday at 10:00PM)
Pro Football: Chicago Bears at St. Louis Cardinals (Special, Color, CBS, Monday at 9:30PM)
Ice Show–Variety (Special, Color, NBC, Wednesday at 9:00PM)
Movie–Musical Biography: ‘Hans Christian Anderson’ (Special, Color, ABC, Friday at 7:30PM)
Do You Remember…?
Saturday, October 29, 1966
Afternoon
12:00 (5) CANDLEPIN BOWLING–Britt
Challenger Paul Siska Jr. (Westfield) meets the winner of the Pete Iannuzzo (Waltham) and Joe Bucko (Hyannis) match. (60 min.)
1:15 (5) (13) COLLEGE FOOTBALL–Colby College vs. U. of Maine
Colby College meets University of Maine at Alumni Field, Orono, Maine. George Hale and George Gonyar report. (Live)
5:00 (5) GADABOUT GADDIS–Fishing
[COLOR] Gadabout fishes for silver salmon in the Columbia River.
Evening
7:30 (7) (7) (8) (9) SHANE–Western
[COLOR] The arrival of state senator Warren Eliot, Marian’s old beau from the East, forces the frontier widow to make a choice between two worlds. Shane: David Carradine. Marian: Jill Ireland. Tom: Tom Tully. Joey: Chris Shea. Ryker: Bert Freed. Warren Eliot: Robert Brown. (60 min.)
10:00 (5) (5) (13) GUNSMOKE–Western
[COLOR] Farmer Hootie Kyle is poor enough to take a loan, and foolish enough to think he can run his money up in a poker game. Matt: James Arness. Festus: Ken Curtis. Doc: Milburn Stone. (60 min.)
Guest Cast
Hootie Kyle …. Carroll O’Connor
James Kyle …. Kevin O’Neal
Wilton Kyle …. Charles Kuenstle
Tenner Jackson …. Clifton James
Sunday, October 30, 1966
Morning
10:00 (5) (13) TIBETAN REFUGEES
[SPECIAL] A filmed report on the plight of the Tibetan refugees who fled from Communist China to India in 1959. The film illustrates the primitive village life of the 6000 Tibetans, whose religious leader–the Dalai Lama–comments on the condition and hopes of his people. Produced by Jan Wiegel. Dr. George Crothers is the host.
——
“Lamp Unto My Feet” is pre-empted.
11:00 (4) TALENT AUDITIONS
Participants: Tonettes, singing group, Lynn; Marion Cook, poetic reading, Westerly (R.I.); dancer Larry White, Hampton (N.H.); singer John Eldridge, Northeastern; singer Amando Casadio, Quincy; John Bridges and his Group, instrumentalists, Dorchester.
Evening
7:30 (5) (5) (13) IT’S ABOUT TIME
[COLOR] The astronauts decide that it’s time the cave people elected a leader to replace Boss: The elderly caveman has sentenced the boys to death. Mac: Frank Aletter. Hector: Jack Mullaney. Boss: Cliff Norton. Shad: Imogene Coca. Gronk: Joe E. Ross. Clon: Mike Mazurki. Trong: Blossom Rock.
10:00 (5) (5) (13) CANDID CAMERA
[COLOR] Students react to the “mod” hair styles of teen-age boys; teen-age drama students rehearse in front of a mirror; children show their unusual pets; and a ladies’ barbershop quartet has trouble with a microphone. Musical comedy star Florence Henderson is Allen Funt’s co-host this week.
Monday, October 31, 1966
Morning
9:30 (5) CLASSROOM FIVE
[COLOR] “What’s Behind Modern Mathematics?” Rev. Stanley Bezuszka S.J., Boston College, discusses the role of contemporary mathematics in this country and abroad.
Evening
7:30 (5) (5) (13) GILLIGAN’S ISLAND
[COLOR] Gilligan may be growing old before his time: His hair has suddenly turned white, and the Professor thinks the me mate may have a rare age-accelerating disease. Gilligan: Bob Denver. Skipper: Alan Hale. Howell: Jim Backus. Professor: Russell Johnson. Ginger: Tina Louise. Mary Ann: Dawn Wells. Mrs. Howell: Natalie Schafer.
9:00 (10) (11) (12) N.E.T. JOURNAL
“The Vanishing Newspaper,” conclusion, focuses on the problems of four small-town newspapers: the Bennington (Vt. Banner; the Berkshire Eagle, Pittsfield, Mass.; the Okmulgee (Okla.) Daily Times; and the Southwest-American and Times Record, Fort Smith, Ark. Henry Butler narrates. (60 min.)
Tuesday, November 1, 1966
Morning
7:00 (2) (4) (6) TODAY
[COLOR] Scheduled guests: Helen Thurber, wife of the late author James Thurber, and Judith Crist, who reviews new movies and plays. Also: a report on the Illinois senatorial race between Republican Charles Percy and Democratic incumbent Paul Douglas. (Live; two hours)
——
Local news, weather at 7:25, 8:25.
Evening
7:30 (3) (8) GIRL FROM U.N.C.L.E.
[COLOR] “The Garden of Evil Affair.” April and Mark try to beat THRUSH to a devilish serum that has been stolen by a Middle-Eastern cult of assassins. April: Stefanie Powers. Mark: Noel Harrison. (60 min.)
Guest Cast
Iman Abbas …. Arnold Moss
Brunhilde …. Anna-Lisa
Miss Karum …. Lisa Seagram
Greta Wolf …. Sabrina Scharf
Hugo von Gerb …. Oscar Beregi
Duke Cornwallis …. Patrick Horgan
Marlene …. Susanne Cramer
Dr. Ampora …. Than Wyenn
THRUSH Director …. Khigh Dhiegh
Shah Karum …. Laurie Main
8:30 (2) (4) (6) OCCASIONAL WIFE
[COLOR] Peter vetoes Greta’s demand for more money, so the determined young lady decides to look for a job. Peter: Michael Callan. Greta: Patricia Harty. Brahms: Jack Collins. Mrs. Brahms: Joan Tompkins.
Wally …. Jack B. Riley
Gordon …. Lloyd Bochner
Marilyn …. Chris Noel
Vera …. Susan Silo
Captain …. Charles Macauley
——
Patricia Harty is profiled on page 12.
9:00 (7) (7) (8) (9) PRUITTS OF SOUTHAMPTON–Comedy
[COLOR] The poverty-stricken Pruitts undertake an expensive diplomatic mission: entertaining the visiting Shah of Talat. Phyllis: Phyllis Diller. Uncle Ned: Reginald Gardiner.
Guest Cast
Ahmed …. Arte Johnson
Baldwin …. Richard Deacon
Equerry …. Warde Donovan
Wednesday, November 2, 1966
7:30 (7) (7) (8) (9) BATMAN
[COLOR] “Hizzonner the Penguin,” first of two parts. The Penguin announces that he’s running for mayor of Gotham City. Paul Revere and the Raiders, exotic dancer Little Egypt and Western actor Fuzzy Knight make cameo appearances. Batman: Adam West. Robin: Burt W

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A Year in TV Guide: October 22nd, 1966 A Year in TV Guide: ...

2026-10-23T03:41:25Z

A Year in TV Guide: October 22nd, 1966

A Year in TV Guide: 1966-1967 celebrates the 60th anniversary of the 1966-1967 television season through the pages of TV Guide magazine. Each week, I’ll examine the issue of TV Guide published exactly 60 years earlier. The goal is not simply to examine what was on television each week but rather what was being written about television.
Week #7
October 22nd, 1966
Vol. 14, No. 43, Issue #708
Southern Ohio Edition
On the Cover: Lucille Ball and Dancers, photo by Bob Willoughby
The Magazine: National Section
This week’s As We See It column is timely. It asks who is paying for political advertisements and why. “But nowadays campaigns are so expensive that candidates must rely largely on their own resources or those of big contributors. It takes a very rich man, or one with very rich friends, these days, to attain high political office.” The editors of TV Guide agree with those who’ve suggested TV stations donate a set amount of time to political parties or that a legal limit should be placed on how much money can be spent. “These seem to be solid ideas–not only for the relief of viewers who are tired of inane and repetitious commercials and speeches during campaigns, but for the sake of honesty in politics and government.”
Cleveland Amory’s Review tackles new CBS World War II drama Jericho. The critic is impressed: “But the fact remains that Jericho is not only a good show–it is, so far, the season’s best new adventure-filled, action-packed series involving undercover work in a fun war. It not only has inventive plots, but also all three of the principal characters are good actors, intrinsically interesting and well characterized (if at times a little heavy-handed).” Amory briefly discusses a specific episode he enjoyed before turning to criticism. “Also, we could do without the Jericho boys’ obvious relish for their job. On one occasion they laughed as they fired their machine guns; on another they all shook hands after blowing up a dozen Germans with a hand grenade; and on still another they came out for a fight wiping their thumbs against their noses like boxers. Fun’s fun, boys–but still…”
Cover to the October 22nd, 1966 issue of TV Guide
© 1966 Triangle Publications, Inc.
TV Teletype: New York by Neil Hickey reports Willie Mays will play a warlock on an upcoming episode of Bewitched titled “Twitch or Treat”; Shari Lewis will bring her musical talents to The Man from U.N.C.L.E.; Robert Culp, Bill Cosby, Dean Martin, and Phil Harris will join Danny Thomas in “Wonderful World of Burlesque”; Arthur Godrey will act on television for the first time in a dramatic Bob Hope show; and NBC will air an hour-long special about Pearl Harbor on November 27th.
There are an impressive seven articles in this issue:
“Politics and Television,” by Arthur Schlesinger Jr.
“Pat Buttram, Cornfed Con Artist”
“‘Tarzan’ and Edgar of the Apes,” by Martin Maloney
“The Vietnam War: Is Television Giving Us the Picture?” (Last of a Series), by Neil Hickey
“Cleveland Loves Dorothy Fuldheim,” by Maurice Condon
“He’s Clowning His Way Down a Fortune,” by Dick Hobson
“The Old West,” by Alex Mogelon
Arthur Schlesinger Jr.’s article, titled “How Drastically Has Television Changed Our Politics?”, is broken down into sections. He tackles news programs, what he calls pseudo-news programs, interpretation, and party programs. Reporting the news, Schlesinger writes, is where “television has had its most impressive success.” He points to television coverage of hearings on Vietnam before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee as a fine example of television informing viewers. Television has also dramatically changed the presidential nominating convention, in part by making them shorter.
Schlesinger defines pseudo-news as “the creation of news on the initiative of the medium” and gives Meet the Press as an example. He has no problem with such programs but does criticize television for attempting to manufacture conflict by luring or trapping interviewees “into sensational statements they would not otherwise make.” As for interpretation, television editorials are limited on the networks and not ideal, says Schlesinger. On the other hand, local stations and educational television offer programs that “have improved the level of political discussion, in part because they permit the suggestions of subtleties and complexities in public problems.”
Then there are party programs, either paid political programs or network time made available to politicians. Schlesinger calls this “the area of television’s most conspicuous failure” in large part due to the shortening of the programs. It started on radio when 45 minutes was considered long enough, then along came television to say even 30 minutes is too long and viewers can only stand to watch a 15 minute speech. Only 15 minute political programs are a thing of the past. The one-minute spot announcement is where the majority of political money goes. Schlesinger takes a dim view of the spot announcement:
This development can only have the worst possible effect in degrading the level and character of our political discourse. If it continues, the result will be the vulgarization of issues, the exaltation of the immediately ingratiating personality and, in general, an orgy of electronic demagoguery. You cannot merchandise political candidates like soap and hope to preserve a rational democracy.
Television blames the candidates. The candidates blame television. And while many viewers wouldn’t want to watch a lengthy political program, many might. Schlesinger suggests UHF and pay-TV may offer television the ability to reach specialized audiences but until then perhaps television should make more free time available to candidates.
In conclusion, Schlesinger states “I do not think that television has wrought a revolution in our political system.” The country has adapted to TV the way it has to other technologies. Television “has somewhat widened public acquaintance with issues and personalities; but that, aside from documentaries, its efforts at interpreting the significance of news tend to be superficial.” If television is a supplement to newspapers and magazines and not a substitute for them, “it has in certain respects enriched our politics.” But there is more television could do, Schlesinger suggests. “If television would recognize an affirmative obligation to elevate the level of our politics, and applied as much thought and talent to this as it does to selling detergents, it might play a great role in helping make our democracy more rational and responsible.
The profile of Pat Buttram is not given a byline. He is compared to “old-line country-store humorists” like Bob Burns and Will Rogers except that Buttram is also at home in the show business club. The author shares many anecdotes of Buttram making jokes while toasting or joking about the guest-of-honor at a dinner for the likes of Johnny Carson and Milton Berle. Buttram got his start working on radio station WSGN in Birmingham, Alabama. By the early 1930s he was performing on Chicago radio station WLS alongside Gene Autry and others. He spent 15 years as Autry’s sidekick, surviving a serious injury in 1950 and Autry’s retirement in 1956. He had his own CBS radio show for a while. Buttram took a dramatic turn in an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents.
Although he lives in San Fernando Valley, Buttram subscribes to more than 50 county and small-town newspapers to keep himself rural. He also collects country sayings and has a fascinating with the Civil War.
Martin Maloney’s profile of Edgar Rice Burroughs starts with a lament. The television version of Tarzan isn’t good. “When I discovered that NBC had eliminated Jane,” writes Maloney, “along with Africa and most of the villains, from the old, familiar fables, a chill entered my soul, and I turned my set to the wall.” That said, Maloney is candid about the writing abilities of Tarzan’s creator: “Burroughs was a bad writer, to be sure, but bad in a way that bordered on genius, and his advent on television should have ushered in a gold age of pure nuttiness.” He proceeds to share a brief biography of Burroughs, discusses his stories, and even spends several paragraphs talking about John Carter of Mars mating with a bird girl. Maloney ends his article by declaring Burroughs and his weird stories are just what American television needs.
The fourth and final entry in Neil Hickey’s series about television and Vietnam concerns censorship or the lack thereof. There is no formal government censorship in South Vietnam. It simply doesn’t exist. And the U.S. government, as a guest in the country, lacks the ability to censor anything. Therefore, television newsmen can travel freely, can wire or telephone reports, and can ship newsfilm straight back to the United States, all without any oversight whatsoever. And yet, there is tension between television newsmen and government press officers who, as the newsman see it, toe the party line while offering little more than simple facts that give a “sanitized” version of the war.
When asked by TV Guide about the role of press officers, an unnamed yet high-ranking civilian press officer had this to say: “The briefing officers do indeed try to put the military in a good light. Do you expect them to put their friends, who are dying on the field, in a bad light? The press must count this a part o the rules of the game. these officers are representing their colleagues, who would raise hell if their efforts were criticized in public.”
Yes, there is a history of both South Vietnamese officials and United States officials lying to the press and the public. According to the unnamed press officer, that doesn’t happen anymore. However, after Assistant Defense Secretary Arthur Sylvester suggested that television newsmen “get on the team,” the television newsmen were incensed and, according to Hickey, overreacted to prove their independence from the government. And while the government may not be censoring, some of the networks impose restrictions. But the relationship between Vietnamese and American officials and the television newsmen covering the war usually works out.
Ultimately, Hickey concludes that television’s coverage of Vietnam is not adequate. “One must range farther for an understanding of Vietnam,” he writes, “before hardening one’s convictions about it or before committing so important a prize as one’s vote.” It is honest, however, within the limitations of the medium and “the normal fallibility of newsmen.” To answer whether or not the coverage is objective, Hickey asks “Is total objectivity possible in so argumentative an atmosphere?” No, it seems, because “newsmen either are in favor of continued prosecution of the war or against it; the ground between is narrow indeed.”
When Washington gets upset about a perceived lack of objectivity on one of the network nightly newscasts, the response from television is “that wars are ugly, that this one is uglier than most and that television’s mission is to pictorialize the truth in its many facets.” If total objectivity is lacking, so too is total candor from officials on the war’s future. The potential for live television coverage of the war, thanks to satellites over the Pacific Ocean, will make television’s role in Vietnam “even more central, and its responsibilities to Americans even weightier.”
I must admit to not recognizing the name Dorothy Fuldheim prior to reading Maurice Condon’s profile about her. She has been reporting the news on Cleveland’s Channel 5 for nearly 20 years. Yet much of her success may be due to viewers, to use a term not in existence in 1966, hate watching her. Condon quotes a newspaper critic explaining her popularity: “Not all viewers like her and many seldom agree with her. They watch the show in fixed fascination, much the same as a holdup victim keeps his eyes on the muzzle of the gun.” Those who love her, love her. Those who don’t include one woman who attacked her with a hammer outside the station. “As they took her away, poor woman, she was shrilling that God had ordered her to destroy Dorothy Fuldheim and Arthur Godfrey,” Fuldheim recalls. “It was rather flattering, really, to get top billing over Mr. Godfrey.”
The profile of Larry Harmon offers some interesting information about Bozo the Clown’s impact on television. Harmon purchased the television rights to Bozo from Capitol Records in 1956 and spent the next decade building a Bozo empire. The idea was simple: a half-hour TV show featuring live-action Bozo segments alongside Bozo cartoons. Harmon trained more than 100 Bozos in the United States and many more overseas. Then, in 1965, he decided to make a drastic change and offer a single Bozo show for syndication with Boston’s Bozo as the one and only Bozo. The idea backfired because too many local TV stations wanted to keep their local Bozos.
According to the article, between 60 and 70 TV stations in the United States air a Bozo program, either Harmon’s syndicated Bozo’s Big Top featuring Boston’s Frank Avruch, or their own locally-produced version. About half of the stations have their own Bozo. Harmon earns five percent on gross sales of Bozo merchandise, which comes in at $150,000,000 annually. “Bozo is my religion,” he explains. “My purpose is to reach everybody. Inhibited people. The Danny Doubtfuls. The Moe Maybes. Ultimately, I Bozo-ize them all.”
The final article by Alex Mogelon is a historical look at real cowboys and the real Old West, which television does not accurately reflect. The real Old West was generally a boring place, which would make for equally boring television.
TV Teletype: Hollywood by Joseph Finnigan reports NBC’s Bell Telephone Hour will celebrate the 100th anniversary of Arturo Toscanini’s birthy next March; Harry Morgan, formerly Cara Williams’ TV spouse, will be Jack Webb’s partner in the new Dragnet series; Andy Griffith’s second TV special will air on CBS February 21st with guests Don Knotts, Ernie Ford, and the Back Porch Majority singers; director John Huston will narrate the November 30th ABC Stage 67 documentary “The Life and Legend of Marilyn Monroe”; Farley Granger will play a washed-up actor on Run for Your Life; somebody is on the hook for $500,000 worth of unaired episodes (six completed shows) of The Tammy Grimes Show; Desilu is at work on a script for a potential series called Alfred of the Amazon about a “bumbling plantation owner”; Clu Gulager is returning to The Virginian; James Fonda will produce NBC’s Dick Tracy series; and Norman Rambo will play Walter Brennan’s son in Ride the Long Trail, a new ABC series.
[Norman “Dack” Rambo played Brennan’s grandson on The Guns of Will Sonnett, the first episode of which was titled “Ride the Long Trail.” The series debuted in September 1967 and ran for two seasons on ABC.]
The national section also includes two picture features, one showing off the three sets of twins playing Tabatha on Bewitched and the other previewing some of the outfits Lucille Ball’s to be seen wearing in “Lucy in London” airing October 24th on CBS. There is also one-page list of “Late-Show Questions I didn’t wait up to hear answered” by Harry Purvis. And there is the Television Crossword.
The Magazine: Listings Section
Big changes come to the Listings Section beginning with this issue. Gone is the For the Record column. In its place is a similiar column titled The Doan Report, written by former New York Herald Tribune radio-TV editor, who has joined TV Guide. There are three reports from Doan in this initial column, all having to do with the new TV season and the first “definitive” Nielsen ratings. Green Acres was the highest-rated TV show during the latest ratings period with The Rat Patrol the highest-rated new show of the season. ABC Stage 67 certainly looks to be in trouble, but ABC denies it plans to pull the show from its regular time slot and “float” it as a series of specials.
Also at ABC, The Man Who Never Was, Shane, and Hawk are in trouble. The Tammy Grimes Show performed so poorly in early overnight rating

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