1952 in television

thumb | right | [[Richard Nixon delivering the Checkers speech, September 23, 1952]]

The year 1952 in television involved some significant events.

Below is a list of television-related events during 1952.

__TOC__

Events

January 14 – Today is first aired on NBC in the United States with Dave Garroway as host.
January 16 – Sooty, Harry Corbett's little yellow glove puppet teddy bear, first appears on the BBC Television Service's Talent Night in the United Kingdom.
February 1 – The first TV detector van is commissioned in the U.K. as the beginning of a clampdown on the estimated 150,000 British households that watch television illegally without a licence.
March 14 – The BBC Television Service in Scotland is launched.
May 22 – The first televised atomic bomb detonation, billed as "Operation Tumbler–Snapper", is broadcast on KTLA in Los Angeles, and fed to the three major U.S. networks via a microwave link.
July 7 – Turkey's first television station, ITU TV, is opened.
July 20 – Arrow to the Heart, the first collaboration between director Rudolph Cartier and scriptwriter Nigel Kneale, is broadcast by BBC Television in the United Kingdom.
August 1 – First television broadcast in the Dominican Republic by La Voz Dominicana, a station based on the radio station of the same name.
September 6 – Television debuts in Canada with the initiation of CBFT in Montreal, Quebec.
September 8 – CBLT in Toronto, Ontario begins broadcasting as Canada's second television station.
September 20 – The first commercial Ultra High Frequency (UHF) television station in the world, KPTV (later a Fox company affiliate), begins broadcasting in Portland, Oregon on channel 27.
October 7 – WFIL-TV Philadelphia's afternoon series Bandstand, which will become American Bandstand, changes emphasis to teens dancing to popular records
November 4 – 1952 United States presidential election: The first political advertisements have appeared on U.S. television. Democrats bought a 30-minute time segment for their candidate, Adlai Stevenson but he has received unfavorable mail for interfering with a broadcast of I Love Lucy. Dwight Eisenhower bought 20 second commercial segments and wins the election.
November 16 – CBS Television City in Hollywood, California opens, the network's first studio on the U.S. west coast.
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission reserves channels for non-commercial public broadcasting.
There are approximately 146,000 television sets in Canada and most antennas are pointed towards WBEN-TV (later WIVB) in Buffalo, New York.

Programs/programmes

Amos & Andy (1951–1953)
Author Meets the Critics (1947–1954)
Bozo the Clown (1948–present)
Café Continental (UK) (1947–1953)
Candid Camera (1948–present)
Cisco Kid (1950–1956)
The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950–1955)
Come Dancing (UK) (1949–1995)
Dragnet (1951–1959)
Gillette Cavalcade of Sports (1946–1960)
Hallmark Hall of Fame (1951–present)
Hawkins Falls (1950, 1951–1955)
Howdy Doody (1947–1960)
I Love Lucy (1951–1960)
Juvenile Jury (1947–1954)
Kaleidoscope (UK) (1946–1953)
Kraft Television Theater (1947–1958)
Kukla, Fran and Ollie (1947–1957)
Life with Elizabeth (1952–1955)
Love of Life (1951–1980)
Martin Kane, Private Eye (1949–1954)
Meet the Press (1947–present)
Muffin the Mule (UK) (1946–1955)
Search for Tomorrow (1951–1986)
Television Newsreel (UK) (1948–1954)
The Ed Sullivan Show (1948–1971)
The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show (1950–1958)
The Goldbergs (1949–1955)
The Jack Benny Show (1950–1965)
The Roy Rogers Show (1951–1957)
The Texaco Star Theater (1948–1953)
The Voice of Firestone (1949–1963)
Truth or Consequences (1950–1988)
What's My Line (1950–1967)
Your Hit Parade (1950–1959)
Your Show of Shows (1950–1954)

Debuts

January 6 - Claudia on NBC (moved to CBS on March 31, 1952)
January 14 – The Today Show on NBC (1952–present)
March 1 – Death Valley Days in syndication (1952–1975)
June 19 – I've Got a Secret on CBS (1952–1967)
June 30 – the soap opera The Guiding Light (1952–2009) on CBS, which began on radio in 1937, becoming the longest-running regularly scheduled drama in television history
July 10 - The prime time version of A Date with Judy debuts on ABC.
September – the religious drama This Is the Life on DuMont, and ran until the late 1980s
September 19 – Adventures of Superman in syndication (1952–1958)
October 26 – Victory at Sea (1952–1953) on NBC, one of the first historic documentary series
November 1 – Hockey Night in Canada on CBC (1952–present)
November 6 – Biff Baker, U.S.A. on CBS (1952–1953)
November 8 – My Hero on NBC (1952–1953)
December 1 – The Abbott and Costello Show in syndication (1952–1954)
December 15 – Flower Pot Men on BBC Television (1952)
American Bandstand, originally called Bandstand, as a local program in Philadelphia (1952–1989)
Life Is Worth Living with Bishop Fulton J. Sheen on DuMont (1952–1955), then on ABC (1955–1957)
My Little Margie (1952–1955), starring Gale Storm
See It Now, hosted by Edward R. Murrow
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet on ABC (1952–1966)
The Ernie Kovacs Show, where Kovacs explores the boundaries of television technology with his use of special effects (1952–1953)
Meet the Masters, a program about classical music, on NBC and WGN-TV
This Is Your Life in the U.S. (1952–1961)
Life with Elizabeth, a sitcom featuring Betty White (1952–1955)

Ending during 1952

{| class="wikitable"

! Date || Show || Debut

| February 23

|A Date with Judy (daytime version)

|rowspan="3"|1951

| March 27

|The Bill Goodwin Show

| April 11

|Faye Emerson's Wonderful Town

| April 24

|Stop the Music

|1949

| June 30

|Claudia

|1952

| August 23|| Assignment Manhunt|| 1951

| Unknown

|Picture Page (UK)

|1946

Births

{| class="wikitable"

! Date || Name || Notability

| rowspan="2"| January 2

| Wendy Phillips

| Actress (Falcon Crest)

| Ng Man-tat

| Hong Kong actor (Shaolin Soccer) (died 2021)

| January 3

| Jim Ross

| Professional wrestling commentator

| January 12

| Walter Mosley

| Author

| January 19

| Beau Weaver

| Voice actor

| January 20

| Dave Fennoy

| Voice actor

| January 27

| Patti Burns

| Anchor (d. 2001)

| January 28

| Bruce Helford

| Writer

| February 16

| Stella Farentino

| Actress

| February 17

| Garry Chalk

| Voice actor

| February 19

| Sara Moulton

| Chef and television host

| rowspan="2"| February 29

| Sharon Dahlonega Bush

| Television newscaster

| Albert Welling

| Television actor

| rowspan="2" |March 2

|Janice Burgess

|American TV executive, producer, screenwriter (The Backyardigans, Nick Jr., Winx Club) (d. 2024)

| Laraine Newman

| Comic actress (Saturday Night Live)

| March 4

| Ronn Moss

| Actor, musician (The Bold and the Beautiful)

| March 7

| Lynn Swann

| Broadcaster

| March 11

| Susan Richardson

| Actress (Eight is Enough)

| March 21

| Andrew D. Weyman

| Director

| March 22

| Bob Costas

| Sportscaster

| April 1

| Annette O'Toole

| Actress (Smallville)

| April 5

| Mitch Pileggi

| Actor (The X-Files)

| rowspan="2"| April 6

| Marilu Henner

| Actress (Taxi)

| Erin Moriarty

| American television news reporter

| April 10

| Steven Seagal

| Actor

| April 16

| Billy West

| Voice actor (Doug, The Ren and Stimpy Show, Futurama)

| April 17

| Joe Alaskey

| Actor (Looney Tunes), (d. 2016)

| rowspan="2" |April 27

|Larry Elder

|Political commentator

| George Gervin

| NBA basketball player

| April 28

| Mary McDonnell

| Actress

| April 29

| Nora Dunn

| Actress, comedian (Saturday Night Live)

| May 2

| Christine Baranski

| Actress (Cybill, The Good Wife)

| May 4

| Michael Barrymore

| British comedian, presenter

| rowspan="3"| May 6

| Gregg Henry

| Actor, musician

| Michael O'Hare

| Actor (Babylon 5) (d. 2012)

| Fred Newman

| Actor (Doug, Between the Lions)

| rowspan="2"| May 11

| Frances Fisher

| Actress (The Edge of Night)

| Shohreh Aghdashloo

| Actress

| May 18

| George Strait

| Actor

| rowspan="2"| May 21

| Mr. T

| Actor (B. A. Baracus on The A-Team)

| Richard Dominick

| American television producer

| May 23

| John Quiñones

| ABC News correspondent

| June 7

| Liam Neeson

| Actor

| June 14

| Eddie Mekka

| Actor (Laverne & Shirley) (d. 2021)

| June 18

| Carol Kane

| Actress (Taxi)

| June 20

| John Goodman

| Actor (Roseanne)

| June 22

| Graham Greene

| Actor

| rowspan="2" | June 28

| Alan Pasqua

| Composer

| Debbie Zipp

| Actress

| rowspan="2" | July 1

| Dan Aykroyd

| Comedian and actor (Saturday Night Live)

|Brian George

|Israeli-British actor (The Edison Twins, The Big Bang Theory, Kim Possible, Green Lantern: The Animated Series)

| July 6

| Grant Goodeve

| American actor (Eight is Enough)

| July 9

| John Tesh

| American composer

| July 11

| Stephen Lang

| Actor

| July 14

| Stan Shaw

| Actor (Houseguest)

| July 15

| Terry O'Quinn

| Actor (Lost)

| July 17

| David Hasselhoff

| Actor (Knight Rider, Baywatch)

| July 20

| Thom Beers

| Voice actor

| July 27

| Roxanne Hart

| Actress (Chicago Hope)

| August 1

| Brian Patrick Clarke

| Actor

| August 4

| Bobby Buntrock

| Actor (Hazel) (d. 1974)

| August 5

| Louis Walsh

| Irish music manager

| August 7

| Caroline Aaron

| Actress

| August 10

| Daniel Hugh Kelly

| Actor (Hardcastle and McCormick)

| rowspan="2"| August 16

| Reginald VelJohnson

| Actor (Family Matters)

| Caitlin O'Heaney

| Actress (Tales of the Gold Monkey)

| August 18

| Patrick Swayze

| Actor and dancer (d. 2009)

| August 19

| Jonathan Frakes

| Actor (Star Trek: The Next Generation), director

| August 20

| Brenda Blackmon

| American anchor

| August 27

| Paul Reubens

| Comic actor (Pee-wee's Playhouse, Batman: The Brave and the Bold) (d. 2023)

| August 29

| Deborah Van Valkenburgh

| Actress (Too Close for Comfort)

| September 2

| Leslie Cockburn

| American investigative journalist

| September 5

| Michael Horton

| Actor (Murder, She Wrote)

| September 9

| Angela Cartwright

| Actress (Make Room for Daddy, Lost in Space)

| September 16

| Mickey Rourke

| American actor

| September 19

| David Hoberman

| American film and television producer

| rowspan="3"| September 25

| Christopher Reeve

| Actor (d. 2004)

| Tommy Norden

| Actor (Flipper)

| Toukie Smith

| Actress (227)

| September 27

| Gail Edwards

| Actress (It's a Living, Full House, Blossom)

| September 30

| John Finn

| Actor (Cold Case)

| October 9

| Sharon Osbourne

| TV personality (The Osbournes, The Talk)

| October 14

| Harry Anderson

| Actor (Night Court) (d. 2018)

| October 18

| Chuck Lorre

| Television director, writer, producer, composer, and actor

| October 20

| Melanie Mayron

| Actress, director (Thirtysomething)

| October 22

| Jeff Goldblum

| Actor (Law & Order: Criminal Intent)

| rowspan="2"| October 27

| Ted Wass

| Actor, director (Soap, Blossom)

| Michael H. Shamberg

| Director (d. 2014)

| October 28

| Annie Potts

| Actress (Designing Women)

| October 30

| Emily Kuroda

| Actress (Gilmore Girls)

| rowspan="2"| November 3

| Roseanne Barr

| Actress, comedian (Roseanne)

| Jim Cummings

| Voice actor (The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Darkwing Duck, CatDog)

| November 5

| Bill Walton

| NBA basketball player (died 2024)

| November 6

| Gary Goetzman

| American film and television producer and actor

| November 8

| Alfre Woodard

| Actress

| November 9

| John Megna

| Actor (d. 1995)

|November 15

|Randy Savage

|Pro wrestler and actor (WWE,WCW), (d. 2011)

| November 28

| S. Epatha Merkerson

| Actress (Law & Order)

| November 29

| Jeff Fahey

| Actor (The Marshal, Lost)

| November 30

| Mandy Patinkin

| Actor (Criminal Minds)

| December 2

| Keith Szarabajka

| Actor

| December 3

| Benny Hinn

| Christian televangelist

| December 9

| Michael Dorn

| Actor (Star Trek: The Next Generation)

| rowspan="2"| December 10

| Susan Dey

| Actress (The Partridge Family, L.A. Law)

| Clive Anderson

| English presenter

| December 12

| Sarah Douglas

| Actress (Falcon Crest)

| December 15

| Lee Aronsohn

| American television writer, composer and producer

| December 20

| Ray Bumatai

| Actor (Tito Makani on Rocket Power) (d. 2005)

| December 23

| Bill Kristol

| Writer

| December 25

| CCH Pounder

| Actress (ER, Rocket Power)

| December 29

| Robert Wightman

| Actor (The Waltons)

Television debuts

Mabel Albertson – Chevron Theatre
Margaret Bert – Fireside Theatre
Claire Bloom – Sunday Night Theatre
Joe E. Brown – The Buick Circus Hour
G. Pat Collins – Mr. and Mrs. North
Buster Crabbe – The Philco Television Playhouse
Richard Crenna – I Love Lucy
Irene Dunne – Schlitz Playhouse
William Hickey – The Philco Television Playhouse
Allen Jenkins – Racket Squad
Carolyn Jones – Chevron Theatre
Peter Lorre – Lux Video Theatre
Steve McQueen – Family Affair
Sal Mineo – Hallmark Hall of Fame
Marilyn Monroe – The Jack Benny Program
Rita Moreno – Fireside Theatre
Audie Murphy – Lux Video Theatre
Pat O'Brien – Betty Crocker Star Matinee
Maureen O'Sullivan – Hollywood Opening Night
Geraldine Page – Lux Video Theatre
Donald Pleasence – Sunday Night Theatre
Sidney Poitier – CBS Television Workshop
Bert Remsen – Suspense
Mickey Rooney – Celanese Theatre
Chris Sarandon – Guiding Light
Peter Sellers – Don't Spare the Horses
Sylvia Sidney – Cameo Theatre
Ann Sothern – Schlitz Playhouse
Joe Turkel – Boston Blackie
Lee Van Cleef – Sky King
Dennis Weaver – Dragnet
Billie Whitelaw – The Secret Garden
Stuart Whitman – The Roy Rogers Show
Joanne Woodward – Tales of Tomorrow

Events

Programs/programmes

Debuts

Ending during 1952

Births

Television debuts

References