On this day in 1953, Topper debuted on CBS-TV.

Sophisticated but stuffy Cosmo Topper (Carroll) is the vice president of a bank, married to sweet (but rather clueless) Henrietta (Lee Patrick). They live in a Los Angeles house they bought from the estate of a young couple, George and Marion Kerby (real life husband and wife Robert Sterling and Anne Jeffreys), who died after being swept away by an avalanche. A St. Bernard, Neil, who attempted to rescue them also died with them. Topper discovers his new home is haunted by the former occupants as well as Neil. Strangely, he is the only one able to see or hear them.

The Kerbys try to bring some excitement and joy into the life of stodgy and conservative Topper. The ghosts cause strange (but humorous) events to happen, which an embarrassed Cosmo has to try to explain to others baffled—and even frightened—by them.

One thing I like about the old tv shows are the commercials and sponsors. Back then they sold coffee and soap, these days we sell everything from cereals and vitamins, to diabetes medicine and Lipofuze.

Long before their teenage sons focused on music, girls, and pimple removal, Ozzie Nelson married Harriet Hilliard on this day in 1935.

Before the show aired, Ozzie Nelson persuaded ABC to agree to a 10-year contract that paid the Nelsons whether the series was canceled or not. The unprecedented contract and Ozzie’s insistence for perfection in the show’s production paid off in the show’s remarkable popularity.

The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet premiered on ABC on October 10, 1952, staying until September 3, 1966. The show strove for realism and featured exterior shots of the Nelsons’ actual southern California home at 1822 Camino Palmero Street in Los Angeles as the fictional Nelsons’ home. Interior shots were filmed on a sound stage recreated to look like the real interior of the Nelsons’ home. Like its radio predecessor (which finally ended in 1954), the series focused mainly on the Nelson family at home, dealing with run-of-the-mill problems.

On this day in 1940, Portia Faces Life debuted.

Unlike the young people of today, Portia dealt with the real problems of her time, rather than body acne treatment and the host of other issues facing people today.

Portia Faces Life was a soap opera which began in syndication on April 1, 1940. It was broadcast on some stations that carried NBC programs, although it does not seem to have been an official part of that network’s programming. The original title was Portia Blake Faces Life.

The program starred veteran radio actress Lucille Wall, who had been on Your Family and Mine and other radio dramas since the mid-1920s. It aired on such stations as WNAC in Boston, WLS in Chicago, KRLD in Dallas, KGW in Portland, Oregon and KFI in Los Angeles, according to newspaper advertisements. On October 7, 1940, the program became part of the CBS Radio Network, and its title was changed to Portia Faces Life at that point.

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The drama was revived on CBS television for the 1954-55 season. A story of chaos in an enduring marriage, it starred Frances Reid as Portia Blake Manning. Later, when Reid left the role, Fran Carlon portrayed Portia, and the show was retitled The Inner Flame

On this day in 1948, Milton Berle was the first host of the Texaco Star Theater.

On this day in 1974, the Dean Martin Show ended on NBC.

Martin was initially reluctant to do the show, partially because he did not want to turn down movie and nightclub performances. His terms were deliberately outrageous: he demanded a high salary and that he need only show up for the actual taping of the show. To his surprise the network agreed, and Martin had to comply.

Martin believed that an important key to his popularity was that he did not put on airs. His act was that of a drunken, work-shy playboy, although the ever-present old-fashioned glass in his hand often only had apple juice in it. The show was heavy on physical comedy rather than just quips (he made his weekly entrance by sliding down a fireman’s pole onto the stage.) Martin read his dialogue directly from cue cards. If he flubbed a line or forgot a lyric, Martin would not do a retake, and the mistake — and his recovery from it — went straight to tape and onto the air.

Apple juice?!? Wow. I never thought he was drinking some sort of weight loss dietary supplement, but I never thought it would have been apple juice either.

You can find out more about this day in history at Those Were The Days, and InfoPlease.

On this day in 1956, Chet Huntley began his career with NBC. Just think, he could have ventured into another line of work and ended up selling fish food or cars or something. Instead we were graced with his presence on the air for so many years I can’t even count them. Everyone needs to know what’s going on in the world, that’s for sure.

On this day in 1964, The Beatles appeared on the Ed Sullivan show and girls everywhere have been searching for the best acne treatment ever since.

In late 1963 Sullivan and his entourage were at Heathrow and witnessed how The Beatles fans’ greeted the group on their return from Stockholm, where they have performed a television show as warmup band to local star Lill Babs. Sullivan was intrigued, telling his entourage it was the same thing as Elvis all over again. He initially offered Beatles manager Brian Epstein top dollar for a single show but the Beatles manager had a better idea—he wanted exposure for his clients: the Beatles would instead appear three times on the show, at bottom dollar, but receive top billing and two spots (opening and closing) on each show.

The Beatles appeared on three consecutive Sundays in February 1964 to great anticipation and fanfare as “I Want to Hold Your Hand” had swiftly risen to #1 in the charts. Their first appearance on February 9 is considered a milestone in American pop culture and the beginning of the British Invasion in music. The broadcast drew an estimated 73 million viewers, at the time a record for US television, and was characterized by an audience composed largely of screaming hysterical teenage girls in tears. The Beatles followed Ed’s show opening intro, performing “All My Loving”, “Till There Was You” which featured the names of the group members superimposed on closeup shots, including the famous “Sorry girls, he’s married” caption on John Lennon, and “She Loves You”. They returned later in the programme to perform “I Saw Her Standing There” and “I Want to Hold Your Hand”.

On this day in 1985, “The Dukes Of Hazzard” ended it’s run on CBS.

The Dukes of Hazzard could very well have been one of the major causes of adult acne, although I do wish I had just one of the cars they used on that show. Did you know they sometimes used up to eight cars per episode to film that show? The vehicle budget for one episode alone is more than some people make in a year.

On this day in 1953, Private Secretary debuted on CBS.

I know people vacationed in the oldern days, but I wonder if any of the “normal” vacation spots existed back then? Did people travel to Florida, spend time at Outer Banks rentals, or even visit Jamaica back then? When I watch these old shows I always wonder about stuff like this.

On this day in 1954, the Duoscopic TV receiver was unveiled. The TV set allowed a person or group to watch two different shows at the same time. It was a primitive, picture-in-picture, split-screen that was tested in New York City and Chicago. The set was a product of DuMont Laboratories; which owned the DuMont Television Network.

By this time everyone had a tv stand, but some wondered if they might need two in order to watch both pictures. Just kidding, we all know the tv’s stacked on top of each other.