1983 in American television

Last updated

The year 1983 in television involved some significant events.

Contents

Events

DateEvent
January 1After episode 410 of Soul Train was broadcast this day, the series goes on hiatus for Don Cornelius's brain surgery. Original episodes return on April 30 after Cornelius returns from his convalescence.
January 3 Plinko is added as a pricing game on the CBS game show The Price Is Right ; it will go on to become one of the most popular of the show's games. Also on this date, three new game shows debut on rival NBC: $ale of the Century , Just Men! and Hit Man . The two latter shows will leave the air after 13 weeks, whereas $ale (a revival of the hit NBC game show of the late 1960s-early 1970's) will go on to have a six-year run.
January 8The NFL playoffs begin on CBS and NBC, who televised the NFC and AFC playoff games respectively. Because a players' strike reduced the regular season from 16 to only 9 games, the National Football League created a special 16-team playoff format (dubbed the "Super Bowl Tournament", where division standings were ignored and eight teams from each conference were seeded 1–8 based on their regular season records), just for this year. As a further consequence of the strike, this marked the first (and currently only) time that NFL playoff games were regionally televised across the United States instead of nationwide.
January 10Canada and the United States launch the television series Jim Henson's Fraggle Rock , an educational co-production advocating tolerance. [1]
January 30The first regular episode for The A-Team airs after NBC's coverage of Super Bowl XVII.
February 5The first part of a special two-part episode of Diff'rent Strokes called "The Bicycle Man", in which Arnold and Dudley encounter a pedophile (played by Gordon Jump), is broadcast on NBC. It is notable for starting the trend of very special episodes.
February 6–13 ABC broadcasts the epic miniseries The Winds of War , based on the novel by Herman Wouk. It is seen in part or in total by 140 million viewers, making it the most watched miniseries at the time.
February 13 Marvin Gaye performs a soulful rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the NBA All-Star Game at The Forum in Los Angeles. VH1 would later use it as the first very first video when they premiered on January 1, 1985. And when CBS broadcast their final NBA telecast at the end of the 1990 NBA Finals, they played Gaye's 1983 rendition of the anthem during the closing credits.
February 20An extended cut of Star Trek: The Motion Picture premieres on the ABC. [2] It added roughly 12 minutes to the film. The added footage was largely unfinished, and cobbled together for the network premiere; director Robert Wise hadn't wanted some of the footage to be included in the final cut of the film. [3] This version was released on VHS and LaserDisc by Paramount in 1983. [4] [5]
February 21 ABC airs a made-for-television biographical film about the life of Grace Kelly, Princess of Monaco, starring Cheryl Ladd. The producers would claim that Princess Grace assisted for several weeks with the films preproduction before her unexpected death in September 1982. [6]
February 23 PBS broadcasts The Operation, a live telecast of an actual open-heart surgery.
February 28More than 125 million Americans watch the 251st and final episode of M*A*S*H on CBS, "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen". It would be the most viewed TV broadcast in U.S. history until Super Bowl XLIV in February 2010. [7]
March 3 WFBC-TV, NBC affiliate in Greenville, changes its call sign to WYFF.
March 6 Country Music Television (CMT) begins in the United States.
The first televised USFL football game (Los Angeles Express vs. New Jersey Generals) is broadcast by ABC. The Express would ultimately win the game, 20–15.
March 7 The Nashville Network (TNN) (known later as The National Network and Spike TV; now known as Paramount Network) begins broadcasting.
March 10 MTV broadcasts the video of Michael Jackson's song "Billie Jean" for the first time. The video is the first by a black artist to gain great airplay on MTV, and is credited with helping the album Thriller , in which the song is included, become the best-selling album of all time.
March 18 CBS broadcasts Still the Beaver, a two-hour television movie which reintroduces the adult actors, reprising their child characters, from the original 1957–1963 sitcom Leave It to Beaver . This would be followed by a new TV series which was also called Still the Beaver that would air on The Disney Channel for the 1984–85 season. Beginning in the 1986–87 season, the series, now named The New Leave It to Beaver , would air on WTBS, where it would remain until its conclusion in 1989.
March 19 US First Lady Nancy Reagan makes a special appearance on an episode of the NBC comedy Diff'rent Strokes , beginning her Just Say No anti-drug campaign.
March 20 NBC broadcasts the TV movie Special Bulletin , a fictional—yet realistic—depiction of a TV network's coverage of a nuclear terrorism threat in Charleston, South Carolina. The movie is an early collaboration between Edward Zwick (who directed) and Marshall Herskovitz (who wrote the teleplay); both men would create and produce thirtysomething later in the 1980s.
April 4 Archie Bunker's Place broadcasts its last original episode as CBS cancels the series after four seasons (and without a proper series finale), ending Carroll O'Connor's run as Archie Bunker, which began during 1971 with All in the Family .
The Morning Show , hosted by Regis Philbin and Cyndy Garvey, premieres locally on WABC in New York City. The show would eventually make its move to national syndication in 1988 with Philbin and Kathie Lee Gifford as his co-host.
April 7 Major League Baseball agrees to terms with ABC and NBC on a six-year television package, worth $1.2 billion. The two networks would continue to alternate coverage of the playoffs (ABC in even-numbered years and NBC in odd-numbered years), World Series (ABC would televise the World Series in odd-numbered years and NBC in even-numbered years) and All-Star Game (ABC would televise the All-Star Game in even-numbered years and NBC in odd-numbered years) through the 1989 season, with each of the 26 clubs receiving $7 million per year in return (even if no fans showed up). This was a substantial increase over the last package, in which each club was being paid $1.9 million per year. ABC contributed $575 million for the rights to televise prime time and Sunday afternoon regular season games and NBC paid $550 million for the rights to broadcast 30 Saturday afternoon games. [8]
April 9 Vin Scully makes his debut as NBC's new lead play-by-play announcer for their Major League Baseball telecasts (a role that he would maintain through the 1989 season). Scully's first broadcast for NBC is a game between the Montreal Expos and Los Angeles Dodgers, where the Expos would defeat the Dodgers 7-2.
April 12 David Canary makes his first appearance on the ABC soap opera All My Children .
April 18 Disney Channel is initiated on American cable TV. The first show televised is Good Morning, Mickey!
April 21 WTWC-TV in Tallahassee, Florida signs on, giving the Tallahassee market its first full-time NBC affiliate.
May 1-2 V is broadcast by NBC. The first episode is viewed by 40% of TV viewers. [9]
May 6A fire at Southfork threatens the lives of the Ewings on the season finale of the CBS drama series Dallas .
ABC airs the broadcast network television premiere of The Shining .
May 16The concert special Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever is broadcast by NBC; Michael Jackson, after a performance with The Jackson Five, provides the centerpiece highlight by performing, to "Billie Jean", his "moonwalk" dance for the first time on television.
May 22 CBS introduces a new theme music (composed by Allyson Bellink and mostly consisting of an uptempo series of four notes and three bars each) for their coverage of the NBA. It uses a primitive-computer generated introduction (created by Bill Feigenbaum) of the NBA arenas (similar to the Boston Garden) until the 1989 Playoffs and later revived the second theme beginning in the 1989 Finals. [10]
May 29 WVSB-TV in West Point, Mississippi signs on, giving the Tupelo market its first full-time ABC affiliate.
June 7 NBC affiliate in Miami/Fort Lauderdale, WCKT-TV changes its call letters to WSVN.
June 16 Pope John Paul II arrives in his native Poland, with ABC and NBC broadcasting his arrival live (CBS, hampered by budget reductions of its news division, broadcasts The Price is Right instead).
June 20 KLDH (now KTKA-TV) in Topeka, Kansas signs on, giving the Topeka market its first full-time ABC affiliate.
June 23 Whitney Houston makes her national television debut when she performs on The Merv Griffin Show .
August 4The cast of NBC's series Search for Tomorrow is forced to do a live show for the first time since the program began using videotape format during 1967 due to the loss of both the regular transmission tape and a backup. [11]
August 10 KDVR-TV, Denver's first UHF station goes on the air.
August 12 Denver's NBC station KOA-TV changes its name to KCNC-TV.
August 22In Fargo, North Dakota, ABC affiliate KTHI-TV (now KVLY-TV) swaps affiliations with long-time NBC affiliate WDAY-TV and its semi-satellite in Grand Forks, WDAZ-TV.
August 30Though the station is still regarded as profitable, Field Enterprises closes down WKBS-TV/Burlington, New Jersey-Philadelphia after failing to find a buyer.
September 5 PBS's series The MacNeil/Lehrer Report becomes The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour, the first American network news program to expand from a half-hour to one hour in length.
Tom Brokaw becomes the sole main anchor of the NBC Nightly News , ending a 17-month stint co-anchoring the broadcast with Roger Mudd.
Peter Jennings becomes sole anchorman of ABC's newscast World News Tonight , after the death of Frank Reynolds two months earlier.
Pam Long becomes co-main writer of the CBS soap opera Guiding Light .
September 5During the first half of a broadcast of Monday Night Football between the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins, Howard Cosell refers to Washington wide-receiver Alvin Garrett as a "little monkey". Cosell's remarks immediately ignites a racial controversy and plays a key factor in his departure from the Monday Night Football booth following the 1983 NFL season.
September 8The comedy series We Got it Made debuts, the first new series on NBC's autumn list to premiere—and the start of one of the least successful new autumn show rosters for a network in history, as none of the series would survive a 2nd season (the other series being Manimal , Jennifer Slept Here , Mr. Smith , Bay City Blues , The Yellow Rose , Boone, For Love and Honor and The Rousters ).
September 12The animated G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero mini-series based on the toys of the same name debuts in syndication. Another miniseries airs the following year, with an ongoing show premiering in 1985.
September 17The Peanuts gang get their very own Saturday morning cartoon series with The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show on CBS. Earlier that year, said network cancelled their epynous prime time show Peanuts because it had run its course and already outdated. (The prime time series was given a proper finale in 1981.)
Alvin and the Chipmunks premieres on NBC.
Vanessa Williams is crowned Miss America in a nationally televised event on NBC. Williams became the first African American woman to win the title.
September 18The band Kiss officially appears in public without make-up for the first time since its very early days on a appearance on MTV, which coincided with the release of Lick It Up . [12]
September 19The nighttime syndicated edition of the NBC daytime game show Wheel of Fortune premieres. The show is only picked up by 59 markets and is shut out of the top 3 markets. However, by late 1984, the show will overtake Family Feud as the number one show in syndication. As of today,[ when? ] it continues to be the number one show in syndication.
Press Your Luck premieres on CBS; the game show would end its run on September 26, 1986.
September 25 WPVI newscaster Jim O'Brien is killed in a skydiving accident in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania at age 43.
September 27–29 NBC broadcasts Live... and in Person, a live variety special program broadcast during three nights. Sandy Gallin is host, and performers include Neil Diamond, Liberace, Linda Ronstadt, and the cast of A Chorus Line .
October 1 Mr. T guest-stars as himself on Diff'rent Strokes .
October 3During a live NBC news update, anchor Jessica Savitch appears incoherent, slurring her speech, deviating from her copy and ad-libbing her report. Savitch, dogged by rumors of drug abuse and instability, still has her contract renewed, but drowns in a car accident three weeks later. [13]
October 6The rock band R.E.M. made its television debut on NBC's Late Night with David Letterman .
October 9 Tiger Town , the first ever television film produced for the Disney Channel, premieres.
October 10 Adam , a TV-movie about the mysterious disappearance of Adam Walsh, makes its world premiere on NBC. The broadcast ends with a series of missing children's photographs and descriptions, along with a telephone number viewers could call to provide information on their disappearances.
October 30 Mackenzie Phillips makes her final appearance as Julie Cooper Horvath on One Day at a Time .
November 20An estimated 100 million people watched the controversial made-for-TV movie The Day After on ABC, depicting the start of a nuclear war.
November 24 Sesame Street on PBS dealt with the sensitive issue of death when Big Bird learns the concept as it relates to his late friend, Mr. Hooper (Will Lee, the actor who played Mr. Hooper, died of a heart attack in November 1982).
Jim Crockett Promotions produces the inaugural Starrcade event on closed-circuit television around the Southern United States. Predating the World Wrestling Federation's (later WWE) first WrestleMania event by two years, Starrcade would soon become Jim Crockett Promotions and later World Championship Wrestling's premier, flagship event.
November 29 ABC's affiliate in Nashville, WNGE-TV, changes its call sign to WKRN-TV after being sold by General Electric to Knight Ridder.
December 2The epic (nearly 14 minutes) music video for Michael Jackson's "Thriller" is broadcast for the first time. It will become the most often repeated and famous music video of all time and increase Jackson's own popularity and the sales of the record album Thriller .
December 21 Gerald Ford, Betty Ford and Henry Kissinger make cameo appearances on ABC's Dynasty . [14]
December 25Several networks simultaneously air the 1951 version of A Christmas Carol ; the combined ratings of these broadcasts make the December 25 broadcast(s) of A Christmas Carol the most-watched television event of the year in every single media market in the states of Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, Tennessee, Maine, Ohio, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Indiana and Arkansas, as well as several other media markets throughout the United States. [15]

Programs

Debuting this year

DateShowNetwork
January 3 Hit Man NBC
Just Men!
January 10 Fraggle Rock HBO
January 11 The Joy of Painting PBS
January 22 Mama's Family NBC
January 23 The A-Team
February 5 The Dukes CBS
February 10 Amanda's ABC
February 26 Wizards and Warriors CBS
March 2High PerformanceABC
March 4 At Ease
March 7 Small & Frye CBS
March 8 Fandango TNN
I 40 Paradise
Nashville Now
March 15 Ace Crawford, Private Eye CBS
April 1 Baby Makes Five ABC
April 2 Goodnight, Beantown CBS
April 6 Zorro and Son ABC
April 10CasablancaNBC
April 15 Bare Essence ABC
April 18 Good Morning, Mickey! The Disney Channel
Welcome to Pooh Corner
May 31 Star Search Syndication
Buffalo Bill NBC
June 27 Loving ABC
July 11 Reading Rainbow PBS
July 29 Friday Night Videos NBC
August 8 NBC News at Sunrise
August 16RosieCBS
September 1 Donald Duck Presents The Disney Channel
September 5 He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Syndication
September 8 We Got It Made NBC
September 9 Lottery! ABC
September 10 The Littles
Rubik, the Amazing Cube
The New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show
September 12 Inspector Gadget Syndication
September 16 Webster ABC
September 17 Alvin and the Chipmunks NBC
Mister T
Benji, Zax & the Alien Prince CBS
The Biskitts
The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show
Dungeons & Dragons
Saturday Supercade
September 18 Hardcastle and McCormick ABC
September 19 Love Connection Syndication
Wheel of Fortune
September 20 Just Our Luck ABC
September 21 Hotel
September 23 Mr. Smith NBC
September 26Boone
AfterMASH CBS
September 27 Oh Madeline ABC
September 30 Manimal NBC
October 1 The Rousters
Cutter to Houston CBS
October 2 The Yellow Rose NBC
October 3 Scarecrow and Mrs. King CBS
October 5 Whiz Kids
October 15 Newton's Apple PBS
October 17 Sally Syndication
October 21 Jennifer Slept Here NBC
October 25 Bay City Blues
October 31 Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour
December 15 Automan ABC
Masquerade

Resuming this year

ShowLast airedNetworkRetitled as/SameNew network/SameReturn date
Sale of the Century 1973 NBC SameSameJanuary 3
Dream House 1970 ABC Same NBC April 4
Battlestars 1981 NBC The New BattlestarsSame
The Paper Chase 1979 CBS SameShowtimeApril 15
Second Chance 1977 ABC Press Your Luck CBS September 19

Ending this year

DateShowDebut
February 3 The Greatest American Hero 1981
February 28 M*A*S*H 1972
March 21 Little House on the Prairie 1974
April 1 Hit Man 1983
Just Men!
April 10 Gloria 1982
April 12 Ace Crawford, Private Eye 1983
April 29 Baby Makes Five
May 10 Laverne & Shirley 1976
May 14 Wizards and Warriors 1983
May 24 Joanie Loves Chachi 1982
May 31 Bring 'Em Back Alive
June 1 Tales of the Gold Monkey
June 6 Love, Sidney 1981
June 15 Small & Frye 1983
June 24 Second City Television/SCTV Network 90 1981
July 7 The Crystal Cube 1983
July 17 CHiPs 1977
July 20 Taxi 1978
September 5 The All New Popeye Hour
Quincy, M.E. 1976
September 10 Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends 1981
September 12 Square Pegs 1982
September 18 Father Murphy 1981
September 21 Archie Bunker's Place 1979
September 24 Walt Disney anthology series (returned in 1986)1954
October 8 The Incredible Hulk 1982
October 29 The Dukes 1983
November 5 Pac-Man 1982
November 15 Bay City Blues 1983
December 16 Mr. Smith
December 27 Just Our Luck

Changing networks

ShowMoved fromMoved to
SCTV NBC Cinemax
Fame Syndication
Too Close for Comfort ABC
Second Chance CBS
Candid Camera Syndication NBC
The Paper Chase CBS Showtime

Made-for-TV movies and miniseries

TitleNetworkPremiere date
Baby Sister ABCMarch 6
Kennedy NBCNovember 20 (5 episodes)
Malibu ABCJanuary 23
Packin' It In CBSFebruary 7
Policewoman Centerfold NBCOctober 17
The Thorn Birds ABCMarch 27 (4 episodes)
The Winds of War ABCFebruary 6 (7 episodes)
V NBCMay 1 (2 episodes)

Networks and services

Launches

NetworkTypeClosure dateNotesSource
Home Sports Entertainment Cable televisionJanuary 4
Country Music Television Cable televisionMarch 5
The Nashville Network Cable televisionMarch 7
Disney Channel Cable televisionApril 18
BET Cable televisionJuly 1

Conversions and rebrandings

Old network nameNew network nameTypeConversion DateNotesSource
PRISM Sports New England SportsChannel New EnglandCable televisionUnknown

Closures

NetworkTypeClosure dateNotesSource
Star Satellite televisionFebruary 12
Satellite News Channel Satellite televisionOctober 27

Television stations

Station launches

DateCity of license/MarketStationChannelAffiliationNotes
January 11 Milwaukee, Wisconsin WVCY-TV 22 Religious independent
February 2 Chicago, Illinois WYCC 20 PBS Returned to the air after a nine-year hiatus as WXXW
February 14 Fargo, North Dakota KVNJ-TV 15 Independent
March 3 Alexandria, Louisiana KLAX-TV 31 ABC
March 7 Des Moines, Iowa KCBR 17 Independent
March 9 Springfield, Missouri KSPR 33
March 13 Mount Vernon, Illinois/St. Louis, Missouri
(Harrisburg, Illinois)
WCEE 13
April 8 Williston, North Dakota KWSE 4 PBS Part of Prairie Public Television
April 18 Memphis, Tennessee WMKW-TV 30Independent
April 21 Tallahassee, Florida WTWC-TV 40 NBC
April 22 Angola, Indiana WBKZ 63
April 30 Ashland, Kentucky
(Huntington, West Virginia/Portsmouth, Ohio)
WTSF 66 Religious ind.
May 10 Lander, Wyoming KCWC-TV 8 PBS
May 11 New York City W63AS 63 PBS LPTV translator of WVIA-TV
May 29 West Point/Tupelo, Mississippi WVSB-TV 27 ABC
June 10 Topeka, Kansas KLDH 49
June 19 Concord, California KFCB 42Independent
June 20 Topeka, Kansas KLDH 49ABC
June 26 Little Rock, Arkansas KLRT-TV 16 Independent
July 1 Alexandria, Louisiana KLPA-TV 25 PBS Part of Louisiana Public Broadcasting
July 4 Colby/Goodland, Kansas KLBY 4 Independent
July 27 Campbellsville/Louisville, Kentucky WGRB 34
August 10 Denver, Colorado KDVR 31
August 15 Fort Myers, Florida WSFP-TV 30 PBS
August 22 Hilo, Hawaii KHBC-TV 13 Independent Satellite of KHNL/Honolulu
September 5 Boston, Massachusetts WNDS 50
September 12 Kansas City, Missouri KEKR-TV 62
September 29 Reno, Nevada KNPB 5 PBS
October Hopkinsville, Kentucky WNKJ-TV 51 Independent
October 1 Spokane, Washington KSKN 22
October 9 Vancouver, Washington
(Portland/Salem, Oregon)
KPDX 49
October 13 Wainscott/New York City, New York W23AA 23
October 15 Evansville, Indiana/Madisonville, Kentucky WLCN 19 Religious ind.
October 24 Miami, Florida W30AB 30PBSLPTV translator of WPBT
October 31 Albuquerque/Santa Fe, New Mexico KSAF-TV 2 Independent
November 1 Ocala/Gainesville, Florida WBSP-TV 51
November 2 Moline, Illinois WQPT-TV 24 PBS
November 10 Columbus, Ohio W08BV 8Independent
November 17 Evansville, Indiana WEVV-TV 44 Independent
December 2 Anchorage, Alaska KTBY 4
Cotati, California KRCB 22 PBS
December 4 Llano/Austin, Texas KBVO-TV 42Independent
December 30 Honolulu, Hawaii KHAI-TV 20
December 31 Knoxville, Tennessee WKCH-TV 43

Stations changing network affiliation

MarketDateStationChannelPrior affiliationNew affiliation
August 7 Fargo/Grand Forks, North Dakota WDAY-TV
WDAZ-TV
6
8
NBC ABC
KTHI-TV 11 ABC NBC
April 3 Green Bay, Wisconsin WFRV-TV 5 NBC ABC
WLUK-TV 11 ABC NBC
August 31 Harrisburg, Pennsylvania WSBA-TV 43 CBS Independent
April 3 Marquette, Michigan WJMN-TV 3 NBC ABC

Station closures

DateMarketStationChannelAffiliation
March 31 St. John, Indiana WCAE 50 PBS
July 31 Salem, Oregon KVDO-TV 13PBS
August 30 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania WKBS-TV 48 Independent

Births

DateNameNotability
January 2 Kate Bosworth Actress ( Young Americans )
January 6 Efrat Dor Actress
January 7 Brett Dalton Actor ( Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. )
Robert Ri'chard Actor ( Cousin Skeeter , One on One )
January 9 Kerry Condon Actress
January 17 Rickey D'Shon Collins Voice actor ( Recess , Danny Phantom )
January 24 Frankie Grande Actor and singer
February 1Jillian BynesActress
February 4 Hannibal Buress Actor
Lauren Ash Canadian actress ( Superstore )
February 11 Dianna Russini American sports journalist
February 12 Mimi Michaels Actress
February 14 Julia Ling Actress ( Chuck )
February 17 Kristen Doute Actress
February 18 Evan Jonigkeit Actor
Wrenn Schmidt Actress
February 21 Eoin Macken Irish actor ( The Night Shift )
February 22 Mimi Michaels Actress
Iliza Shlesinger Actress
February 23 Aziz Ansari Actor ( Parks and Recreation , Master of None )
Emily Blunt British-American actress
February 26 Kara Monaco Model and reality TV participant ( Big Brother 14 )
February 27 Kate Mara Actress ( 24 , American Horror Story , House of Cards )
March 1 Shawn Toovey Actor ( Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman )
Lindsay Mendez Actress
Lupita Nyong'o Actress
March 7 Hettienne Park Actress
March 8 Jessie Collins Actress ( The Nine )
March 10 Carrie Underwood Singer ( American Idol )
March 11 Lucy DeVito Actress
March 12 Ron Funches Actor
March 14 Taylor Hanson Singer ( Hanson )
March 15 Sean Biggerstaff Scottish actor ( Harry Potter )
March 18 Kyle Downes Actor ( Lizzie McGuire )
March 20 Michael Cassidy Actor ( The O.C. , Privileged , Men at Work )
March 28 Ed O'Keefe Guatemalan-American senior White House and political correspondent with CBS News
March 29 Ed Skrein English actor
March 31 Ashleigh Ball Canadian voice actress ( Johnny Test , Edgar & Ellen , My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic , Littlest Pet Shop , Ready Jet Go! )
Melissa Ordway Actress ( Hollywood Heights , The Young and the Restless )
April 1 Ellen Hollman Actress ( Spartacus: War of the Damned )
Matt Lanter Actor ( Commander in Chief , 90210 , Star-Crossed , Star Wars: The Clone Wars , Ultimate Spider-Man , Timeless )
April 3 Errol Barnett Anchor
April 4 Amanda Righetti Actress ( The O.C. , North Shore , The Mentalist , Colony )
Eric Andre Actor
April 6 Rick Cosnett Zimbabwean-Australian actor ( The Vampire Diaries , The Flash )
Diora Baird Actress
April 10 Jamie Chung Actress ( Once Upon a Time , Gotham , Big Hero 6: The Series , The Gifted )
Ryan Merriman Actor
April 12 Elle Duncan American sports anchor
April 21 Gugu Mbatha-Raw Actress
Ruthie Ann Miles Actress
April 23 Aaron Hill Actor
April 26Ryan Dowell BaumActor ( The Famous Jett Jackson )
April 27 Francis Capra Actor ( Veronica Mars )
Corey Harrison Television personality
Ari Graynor Actress ( Fringe )
April 29 Megan Boone Actress ( The Blacklist )
Sam Jones III Actor ( Smallville , Blue Mountain State )
May 2 Gaius Charles Actor ( Friday Night Lights , Grey's Anatomy )
May 6 Adrianne Palicki Actress ( Friday Night Lights , Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. )
Gabourey Sidibe Actress ( The Big C , Empire )
JR Lemon Actor
May 8 Julia Chan British actress ( Saving Hope )
Elyes Gabel English actor ( Scorpion )
May 11 Holly Valance New Zealand-born actress ( Prison Break )
Matt Leinart Football analyst for Fox Sports
May 14 Amber Tamblyn Actress ( General Hospital , Joan of Arcadia , Two and a Half Men , House )
May 19 Michael Che Comedian ( The Daily Show , Saturday Night Live )
May 20 Michaela McManus Actress ( Law & Order: Special Victims Unit , One Tree Hill , Awake , Aquarius )
Allen Maldonado Actor
May 26 Scott Disick Media personality
May 28 Megalyn Echikunwoke Actress ( Like Family , The 4400 , CSI: Miami )
June 5 Chelsey Crisp Actress
June 6 Lyndie Greenwood Canadian actress ( Sleepy Hollow )
June 10 Leelee Sobieski Actress ( Charlie Grace , NYC 22 )
Shanna Collins Actress
Jason Evigan Singer
June 13 David Begnaud American journalist
June 16 Olivia Hack Voice actress ( Hey Arnold! , Avatar: The Last Airbender , Bratz )
June 19 Aidan Turner Irish actor ( Being Human , Poldark ) and singer
Macklemore Singer
Tracey Wigfield Writer
June 21 Michael Malarkey Actor ( The Vampire Diaries )
June 22 Thomas M. Wright Actor
June 23 Brooks Laich Ice hockey player
June 30 Angela Sarafyan Actress
July 1 Lynsey Bartilson Actress ( Grounded for Life , The X's )
Tanya Chisholm Actress ( Big Time Rush )
July 2 Alicia Menendez American host
July 6 Gregory Smith Canadian-American actor ( Everwood , Rookie Blue )
July 19 Trai Byers Actor ( Empire )
July 23Andrew EidenActor ( Complete Savages )
July 27 Blair Redford Actor ( The Lying Game , Satisfaction )
Heidi Gardner Actress ( Saturday Night Live )
July 28 Kate Bolduan CNN journalist
July 29 Kaitlyn Black Actress ( Hart of Dixie )
Tania Gunadi Actress ( Aaron Stone , Transformers: Prime , Sanjay and Craig , Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero )
July 30Nathan CarterCanadian actor
August 3 Mamie Gummer Actress ( Emily Owens, M.D. ) and daughter of Meryl Streep and Don Gummer
August 4 Adhir Kalyan South African actor ( Aliens in America , Rules of Engagement , Second Chance )
Greta Gerwig Actress ( China, IL )
Nathaniel Buzolic Actor
August 5 Kara Tointon English actress ( EastEnders )
August 8 Fred Meyers Actor ( Even Stevens )
Guy Burnet Actor
August 9 Ashley Johnson Actress ( Growing Pains , Jumanji , Recess , Teen Titans , Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go! , Ben 10 , Teen Titans Go! , Blindspot , Infinity Train )
Dan Levy Actor
August 11 Chris Hemsworth Australian actor ( Home and Away )
August 12 Jericka Duncan American national TV news correspondent
August 14 Mila Kunis Actress ( That '70s Show , Family Guy )
Lamorne Morris Actor ( New Girl )
August 18 Max Winkler American director
August 19 Peter Mooney Canadian actor ( Rookie Blue )
August 20 Andrew Garfield British-American actor
August 21 Brody Jenner Actor ( The Hills , Keeping Up with the Kardashians )
August 22 Laura Breckenridge Actress ( Related )
Alan Yang Actor
August 23 Annie Ilonzeh Actress
Ruta Gedmintas Actress
August 25 Caitlin FitzGerald Actress
August 29 Jennifer Landon Actress ( As the World Turns )
September 2 Tiffany Hines Actress ( Beyond the Break , Nikita )
September 3 Christine Woods Actress
September 7 Chris Kelly Writer
September 9 Zoe Kazan Actress
Eboni K. Williams Television host
September 10 Sarah Schneider Actress
September 14 Amy Winehouse English singer (d. 2011)
September 21 Maggie Grace Actress ( Lost )
Joseph Mazzello Actor
September 22 Mamrie Hart Actress
September 25 Donald Glover Actor ( Community , Atlanta ) and rapper
September 26 Zoe Perry Actress
October 3 Tessa Thompson Actress
October 5 Noah Segan Voice actor (Henry on KaBlam! )
Jesse Eisenberg Actor ( Get Real )
Shelby Rabara Voice actress (Peridot on Steven Universe )
October 8 Travis Pastrana Race car driver
October 9 Spencer Grammer Actress ( As the World Turns , Greek , Rick and Morty )
October 12Tony CavaleroActor ( School of Rock )
October 13 Katia Winter Actress
October 17 Michelle Ang Actress
October 20 Alona Tal Israeli singer and actress (The Pyjamas, Veronica Mars , Supernatural , Cane , Cult , Hand of God )
October 21 Charlotte Sullivan Canadian actress ( Rookie Blue )
Aaron Tveit Actor
Amber Rose Television personality
October 24 Katie McGrath Irish actress ( Merlin , Dracula , Supergirl )
Adrienne Bailon Actress ( That's So Raven , The Cheetah Girls , The Real )
October 26 Katy Tur American author
Folake Olowofoyeku Actress
October 29 Dillon Casey Actor ( Nikita )
Johnny Lewis Actor ( Quintuplets , Sons of Anarchy ) (d. 2012)
Richard Brancatisano Australian actor ( Power Rangers Mystic Force , Chasing Life )
November 7 Adam DeVine Actor ( Workaholics , Uncle Grandpa , Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero )
November 10 Miranda Lambert Singer
November 16 Levy Tran Actress
November 17 Harry Lloyd Actor ( Manhattan , Game of Thrones , Counterpart )
November 18 Robert Kazinsky Actor
November 19 Adam Driver Actor ( Girls )
November 20 Future Rapper
November 21 Claire van der Boom Actress
The Bella Twins Pro wrestling duo (WWE, Total Divas , Total Bellas , Twin Love )
November 22 Andrew J. West Actor ( The Walking Dead , Once Upon a Time )
November 24 Karine Vanasse Actress
November 27 Arjay Smith Actor ( The Journey of Allen Strange )
November 29 Pamela Brown Newscaster
November 30 CJ Gibson Model
December 2 Jana Kramer Actress ( One Tree Hill ) and country music singer
Daniela Ruah Portuguese-American actress ( NCIS: Los Angeles )
December 8 Utkarsh Ambudkar Actor
December 9 Jolene Purdy Actress
December 10 Patrick Flueger Actor ( The 4400 , Chicago Fire , Chicago P.D. )
December 12 Mathew Valencia Actor (voice of Robin on The New Batman Adventures )
December 13 Satya Bhabha Actor
December 15 Camilla Luddington English actress ( Grey's Anatomy )
December 20 Jonah Hill Actor ( Allen Gregory )
December 21 Steven Yeun Actor
December 22 Joe Dinicol Actor
December 30 Ashley Zukerman Australian actor

Deaths

DateNameAgeNotability
February 4 Karen Carpenter 32Singer and drummer (The Carpenters)
March 9 Faye Emerson 65Actress ( Faye Emerson's Wonderful Town )
March 16 Arthur Godfrey 79Host ( Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts )
July 20 Frank Reynolds 53 ABC News journalist
July 29 Raymond Massey 86Actor (Dr. Gillespie on Dr. Kildare )
August 3 Carolyn Jones 53Actress (Morticia on The Addams Family )
August 28 Jan Clayton 66Actress (Ellen Miller on Lassie )
August 29 Simon Oakland 68Actor ( Baa Baa Black Sheep )
October 23 Jessica Savitch 36 NBC News anchor
November 14 Junior Samples 57Comedian (Hee Haw)
November 22 Michael Conrad 58Actor (Sgt. Phil Esterhasz on Hill Street Blues )
November 28 Christopher George 52Actor (Sgt. Sam Troy on The Rat Patrol )
December 28 Dennis Wilson 39Singer-songwriter (The Beach Boys) and brother of Brian Wilson
William Demarest 91Actor (Uncle Charley on My Three Sons )

See also

Related Research Articles

Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry that follows the adventures of the starship USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) and its crew. It acquired the retronym of Star Trek: The Original Series (TOS) to distinguish the show within the media franchise that it began.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leonard Nimoy</span> American actor (1931–2015)

Leonard Simon Nimoy was an American actor and director, famed for playing Spock in the Star Trek franchise for almost 50 years. This includes originating Spock in the original Star Trek series in 1966, then Star Trek: The Animated Series, the first six Star Trek films, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek (Film), and Star Trek Into Darkness. Nimoy also directed films, including Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984), Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986), and Three Men and a Baby (1987), and appeared in several films, television shows, and voice acted in several video games. Outside of acting, Nimoy was a film director, photographer, author, singer, and songwriter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spock</span> Fictional character in the Star Trek media franchise

Spock is a fictional character in the Star Trek media franchise. He first appeared in the original Star Trek series serving aboard the starship USS Enterprise as science officer and first officer and later as commanding officer of the vessel. Spock's mixed human–Vulcan heritage serves as an important plot element in many of the character's appearances. Along with Captain James T. Kirk and Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy, he is one of the three central characters in the original Star Trek series and its films. After retiring from active duty in Starfleet, Spock served as a Federation ambassador, and later became involved in the ill-fated attempt to save Romulus from a supernova, leading him to live out the rest of his life in a parallel universe.

In American television in 1991, notable events included television show debuts, finales, and cancellations; channel launches, closures, and re-brandings; stations changing or adding their network affiliations; information on controversies, business transactions, and carriage disputes; and deaths of those who made various contributions to the medium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lark Voorhies</span> American actress (born 1974)

Lark Voorhies is an American actress. Voorhies played Lisa Marie Turtle on the NBC sitcom Saved by the Bell (1989–1993). Voorhies was nominated for the Young Artist Award six times, winning in 1990 and 1993 for her work on the show.

"Space Seed" is an episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek. It is the 22nd episode of the first season and was first broadcast by NBC on February 16, 1967. "Space Seed" was written by Gene L. Coon and Carey Wilber and directed by Marc Daniels. Set in the 23rd century, the series follows the adventures of Captain James T. Kirk and his crew aboard the Starfleet starship USS Enterprise. In this episode, the Enterprise crew encounter a sleeper ship holding genetically engineered superpeople from Earth's past. Their leader, Khan Noonien Singh, attempts to take control of Enterprise. The episode also guest stars Madlyn Rhue as Lt. Marla McGivers, who becomes romantically involved with Khan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susan Lucci</span> American actress (born 1946)

Susan Victoria Lucci is an American actress and television host. She is known for portraying Erica Kane on the ABC daytime drama All My Children during that show's entire network run from 1970 to 2011. The character is considered an icon, and she was called "Daytime's Leading Lady" by TV Guide, with The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times citing her as the highest-paid actor in daytime television. As early as 1991, her salary had been reported as over $1 million a year. During her run on All My Children, Lucci was nominated 21 times for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. She won only once, in 1999, after the 19th nomination; her status as a perpetual nominee for the award had attracted significant media attention since the late 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kevin Peter Hall</span> American actor (1955–1991)

Kevin Peter Hall was an American actor. Hall stood 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) tall, and frequently played monster characters during his career. He was the original title character in the science fiction Predator franchise, appearing in the first 1987 film and its 1990 sequel. Hall also portrayed the eponymous Harry in the fantasy comedy film Harry and the Hendersons (1987), a role he reprised for the first season of NBC's television adaptation (1990–1991). His human roles included Dr. Elvin "El" Lincoln on the NBC science fiction series Misfits of Science (1985–1986) and Warren Merriwether on the sitcom 227 (1989–1990).

<i>The Golden Palace</i> American TV sitcom

The Golden Palace is an American sitcom television series produced as a sequel to The Golden Girls, a continuation without Bea Arthur that aired on CBS from September 18, 1992, to May 7, 1993. It starred Betty White, Rue McClanahan, Estelle Getty, Cheech Marin, and Don Cheadle. Billy L. Sullivan also co-starred for the first half of its run. Not as popular as its predecessor, the series aired for a single 24-episode season and was canceled by CBS.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dorian Harewood</span> American actor

Dorian Harewood is an American actor, best known for playing Jesse Owens in The Jesse Owens Story (1984), Paul Strobber on Strike Force (1981–1982), and Rev. Morgan Hamilton in 7th Heaven (1996–2003).

Herbert Franklin Solow was an American motion picture and television executive, screenwriter, motion picture and television producer, director and talent agent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Prime Time</span> Television programming provider

Operation Prime Time (OPT) was a consortium of American independent television stations to develop prime time programming for independent stations. OPT and its spin-off syndication company, Television Program Enterprises (TPE), were formed by Al Masini. During its existence, OPT was considered the de facto fourth television network. OPT was also called an occasional television network and occasional program alternative.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paramount Television Network</span> Former American television network

The Paramount Television Network, Inc. was a venture by American film corporation Paramount Pictures to organize a television network in the late 1940s. The company built television stations KTLA in Los Angeles and WBKB in Chicago; it also invested $400,000 in the DuMont Television Network, which operated stations WABD in New York City, WTTG in Washington, D.C., and WDTV in Pittsburgh. Escalating disputes between Paramount and DuMont concerning breaches of contract, company control, and network competition erupted regularly between 1940 and 1956, and culminated in the dismantling of the DuMont Network. Television historian Timothy White called the clash between the two companies "one of the most unfortunate and dramatic episodes in the early history of the television industry."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Creation Entertainment</span> American entertainment company

Creation Entertainment is an American for-profit entertainment company located in Glendale, California, which produces fan conventions for fans of various films and television series, mainly in the science fiction, horror, and fantasy genres. Creation Entertainment hosts about 20 conventions annually in various locations such as Chicago, Illinois; and Burbank, California. Creation was founded in 1971 by comic book fans Gary Berman and Adam Malin in New York City. Since then, it has organized over 2,300 conventions.

Star Trek is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. Since its creation, the franchise has expanded into various films, television series, video games, novels, and comic books, and it has become one of the most recognizable and highest-grossing media franchises of all time.

"Buy, Buy Baby" is the eighteenth episode of the American television series Will & Grace's eighth season. It was written by Kirk J. Rudell and directed by series producer James Burrows. The episode originally aired on NBC in the United States on March 30, 2006. Guest stars in "Buy, Buy Baby" include Britney Spears, Wanda Sykes, and George Takei.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alan Sepinwall</span> Television critic, writer

Alan Sepinwall is an American television reviewer and writer. He spent 14 years as a columnist with The Star-Ledger in Newark until leaving the newspaper in 2010 to work for the entertainment news website HitFix. He then wrote for Uproxx, where he worked for two years. Since 2018, he has been the chief TV critic for Rolling Stone.

<i>Cheers</i> season 1 Season of television series

The first season of the American television sitcom series Cheers premiered on September 30, 1982, and concluded on March 31, 1983. It consisted of 22 episodes, each running approximately 25 minutes at length. The show was created and produced by director James Burrows and writers Glen and Les Charles, who previously worked on Taxi, another sitcom. Cheers was produced by Charles Burrows Charles Productions in association with Paramount Television. The concept and production design of the show were inspired by a public house in Boston, the Bull & Finch, which is now called Cheers Beacon Hill.

References

  1. McNeil, Alex (1991). Total television : a comprehensive guide to programming from 1948 to the present. New York, N.Y., U.S.A: Penguin Books. p. 275. ISBN   9780140157369.
  2. Carmody, John (February 1, 1983). "The TV Column". The Washington Post . p. D9.
  3. Kirkland, Bruce (November 6, 2001). "Trek director Waxes Wise on new DVD". Toronto Sun . p. 46.
  4. Turner, Winford, ed. (June 12, 1983). "Gift for his VCR". TimesDaily . Vol. 114, no. 163. Florence, Alabama: The New York Times Company. p. 43.
  5. "Star Trek: The Motion Picture — Special Longer Version". Star Trek: The LaserDisc Site. Blam Entertainment Group. September 27, 2003. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016.
  6. O'Connor, John J. (February 21, 1983). "Tv Movie: Grace Kelly". The New York Times via NYTimes.com.
  7. "Finale Of M*A*S*H Draws Record Number Of Viewers". The New York Times. March 3, 1983.
  8. "Searchable Network TV Broadcasts - NBC Sports (1980s)". rec.sport.baseball.
  9. Bedell, Sally (May 4, 1983). "'V' SERIES AN NBC HIT". The New York Times. p. 27. Retrieved May 14, 2011
  10. NBA on CBS
  11. "'Search For Tomorrow'...The LIVE Episode! - Eyes Of A Generation...Television's Living History".
  12. Lendt, Kiss and Sell, p. 289.
  13. "NBC's Jessica Savitch Drowns in Car in Canal". Washington Post . 25 October 1983. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
  14. Also Starring Gerald Ford Archived 2009-04-25 at the Wayback Machine – Entertainment Weekly. Accessed 2009-07-27. 2009-07-29.
  15. Werts, Diane (2006). Christmas on Television. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers. p. 14. ISBN   978-0-275-98331-4.