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The year 1956 in television involved some significant events. Below is a list of television-related events during 1956.
Autumn Affair is an Australian television series made by and aired by Network Seven station ATN-7, and also shown in Melbourne on Nine Network station GTV-9. Television in Australia had only been broadcasting since 1956 and Seven was the first commercial station to make drama a priority. It premiered 24 October 1958 and continued until 1959. The series was the first ever Australian television soap opera. It was also the second regular Australian-produced dramatic television series of any kind, with previous locally produced drama consisting of religious series The House on the Corner, and one-off plays largely aired on ABC.
ABC Television is the general name for the national television services of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). Until an organisational restructure in 2017/2018, ABC Television was also the name of a division of the ABC. The name was also used to refer to the first and for many years the only national ABC channel, before it was renamed ABC1 and then again to ABC TV.
Bruce Robert Stewart was an actor and scriptwriter best known for his scripts for television. Originally from New Zealand, he lived for several years in Australia, working in the theatre, before moving to the United Kingdom in the early 1960s. There he worked on many projects for both the BBC and ITV, notably Out of the Unknown and Timeslip.
The Tournament of Champions was a prominent professional tennis tournament series held at the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, N.Y. and at Kooyong Stadium, Melbourne and White City Stadium, Sydney in Australia in 1957, 1958, and 1959.
Shell Presents was an early attempt at Australian television drama, being an umbrella title for several different productions. It debuted on 4 April 1959, and aired on ATN-7 and GTV-9, who split production of plays for the series between them. It was an anthology series, each program being a self-contained play for television. The series won a Logie award in 1960 for TV Highlight of 1959. As the title suggests, it was sponsored by Shell. It was described as "a very big deal for the station: major institutional sponsorship from international companies for locally produced drama." It would be followed by The General Motors Hour.
The Teenage Show, also known as The Teenage Hour, is an Australian music television series which aired on Saturdays from 25 October 1958 to 1960 on Melbourne station HSV-7.
The Toppanos is a 15-minute Australian television series which aired from 1958 to 1959 on Sydney station ATN-7. It starred Enzo and Peggy Toppano, and combined music with ab-libbed comedy, along with a dog puppet named Jazza.
Astor Showcase was an Australian television variety series which aired from 1957 to 1959 on Sydney station ATN-7.
Music for You was an Australian television series. Little information is available on the series. It aired from 1958 to 1960 on Sydney station TCN-9, and starred pianist Isador Goodman. Aired on Sundays, the time-slot varied. In September 1958 the series aired at 4:30PM while by May 1960 it aired at 1:30PM. It was Goodman's second television series, following the 1956-57 Melbourne series The Isador Goodman Show. Well known in Australia at the time, he was also heard on radio during the 1950s.
Books and Authors was an Australian television series which aired from December 1956 to 1 September 1957. Broadcast live on Sydney station ATN-7 in a 15-minute time-slot on Sundays, as the title suggests the series focused on the authors of books. It is not known if any of the episodes were kinescoped.
Sydney Tonight was an Australian television variety series which aired from December 1956 to early 1959 on Sydney station ATN-7. Originally compered by Keith Walshe, it was later hosted by Roy Hampson and re-titled Tonight. The series featured a format including guests, interviews, audience participation, and music. Like In Melbourne Tonight, which came later, it was patterned on the groundbreaking U.S. series Tonight Starring Steve Allen.
Rendezvous at Romano's was an Australian television series which aired on Sydney station TCN-9. The series debuted 2 April 1957 and ran to 23 April of the same year, for a total of four episodes. The series aired on Tuesdays at 9:30PM.
Choice of the People is an Australian daytime television series which aired on Sydney television station ATN-7 from 25 November 1957 to 3 October 1958. It was replaced on the schedule by Melody with Milton (1958-1960), which featured the same host.
This I Believe is an early Australian television program. Broadcast 5 nights a week on Sydney station ATN-7, it debuted 3 December 1956. It was a 15-minute program in which Eric Baume would provide a commentary on current world events. At the end of each TV program he would say "This I believe". The program ended around July 1958. According to television listings in the Sydney Morning Herald, the last few episodes of the program aired in an 11-minute time-slot.
Binnie Time is an Australian television series, which aired on Melbourne station GTV-9 from c. 2 October 1958 – c. 3 April 1959. The 15-minute weekly daytime series was originally aired on Thursdays, but the last few episodes were broadcast on Fridays.
Beauty is My Business is an early Australian television series for which very little information is available, but which represents an early example of television content produced in that country. It was a weekly series which ran on Fridays, ran from 27 September 1957 to 3 January 1958, aired in a 15-minute time-slot, and like most early Australian television series it aired in a single city only. In this case, it aired on Melbourne station HSV-7. Mary Parker, who was a newsreader at HSV-7, was the host of the series.
Killer in Close-Up was a blanket title covering four live television drama plays produced by the Australian Broadcasting Commission in 1957 and 1958. It could be seen as the first anthology series produced for Australian television.
The World of Glamour was an Australian television series which aired 1964 to 1965 on Sydney station TCN-9. Hosted by Elaine White, and revolved around about fashion and beauty. It seems to have aired in a 27-minute time-slot. It is not known if any of the episodes still exist, given the wiping of the era.
References
- ↑ "Television". The Sydney Morning Herald . 14 May 1958. p. 8. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
- ↑ "TELEVISION PARADE". The Australian Women's Weekly . Vol. 25, no. 47. Australia. 30 April 1958. p. 15. Retrieved 22 September 2013– via National Library of Australia.
