1963 in television

The year 1963 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1963.

Events

*January 13 - BBC Television broadcasts the play "The Madhouse on Castle Street" in the "Sunday-Night Theatre" strand. The play co-stars a young American folk music singer named Bob Dylan.
*April 1 - German terrestrial channel ZDF (pronounced "tseh-deh-ehf") began broadcasting.
*May 15 - First television pictures transmitted from a US manned space capsule ("Faith 7"). Due to the poor picture quality, only NBC carries the transmission, and on tape-delay, not live.
*July 22 - Bob Crane quits his DJ job at radio station KNX to become a regular on "The Donna Reed Show".
*September 2 - "CBS Evening News" becomes network television's first half-hour weeknight news broadcast, when the show is lengthened from 15 to 30 minutes.
*September 9 - NBC also expands its evening network news program to 30 minutes.
*September 30 - BBC Television begins using a globe as their symbol. They would continue to use it in varying forms until 2002.
*October 1 - ABC News at last drops its dependence on outside sources of news film and begins to rely on its own camera crews.
*November 22 - All three major U.S. networks start pre-emptions for a week following the news of John F. Kennedy's assassination. The pre-emptions unofficially begin a few minutes after Kennedy was shot; on the top-rated American soap opera "As the World Turns", Nancy Hughes (Helen Wagner) was in the middle of a discussion with Grandpa (Santos Ortega) about Bob's (Don Hastings) decision to invite Lisa (Eileen Fulton) to Thanksgiving dinner. Walter Cronkite interrupted Wagner mid-speech to deliver the bulletin. "As the World Turns" continued for one more scene (at that time, the show was transmitted live) before Cronkite cut in permanently.
* November 23 - "That Was The Week That Was" broadcasts its famous, non-satirical Kennedy tribute episode on the BBC.
*November 24 - Jack Ruby murders John F. Kennedy's suspected assassin Lee Harvey Oswald live on television.
*For the first time, most Americans say that they get more of their news from television than newspapers.
*The television remote control is authorized by the FCC.
*The actor to play the Doctor Who character The Doctor was William Hartnell. He played the role from 1963 until 1966

Debuts

*January 1 - "Astro Boy" (known as "Mighty Atom" in Japanese), Japan's first anime, was launched.
*January 6 - "Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom" premieres on NBC (1963-1988, 2002-present).
*April 1 - "General Hospital" (created by Frank and Doris Hursley) and "The Doctors" premiere on the same day, the former on ABC (1963-present) and later on NBC (1963-1982).
*September 16 - "The Outer Limits" premieres on ABC (1963-1965).
*September 24 - "Petticoat Junction" premieres on CBS (1963-1970).
*September 29 - "The Judy Garland Show" premieres on CBS (1963-1964).
*August 9 - "Ready Steady Go!" premieres on ITV (1963-1966).
*November 23 - "Doctor Who" premieres on BBC Television (1963-1989, 1996, 2005-present).
*"The Littlest Hobo" premieres in Canada (1963-1965; 1979-1985).
*"Mack & Myer for Hire" deputed this year in syndication (1963-1964).

Television shows

1940s

*"Meet the Press" (1947-present).
*"Candid Camera" (1948-present).
*"The Ed Sullivan Show" (1948-1971).
*"Bozo the Clown" (1949-present).
*"Come Dancing" (UK) (1949-1995).

1950s

*"The Jack Benny Show" (1950-1965).
*"Truth or Consequences" (1950-1988).
*"What's My Line" (1950-1967).
*"I Love Lucy" (1951-1957)
*"Adventures of Superman" (1951-1957)
*"Love of Life" (1951-1980).
*"Hallmark Hall of Fame" (1951-present).
*"Search for Tomorrow" (1951-1986).
*"American Bandstand" (1952-1989).
*"The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet" (1952-1966).
*"The Guiding Light" (1952-present).
*"The Today Show" (1952-present).
*"Panorama" (UK) (1953-present).
*"The Good Old Days" (UK) (1953-1983).
*"Face the Nation" (1954-present).
*"Lassie" (1954-1974)
*"The Milton Berle Show" (1954-1967).
*"Rin Tin Tin" (1954-1959)
*"The Secret Storm" (1954-1974).
*"The Tonight Show" (Steve Allen, 1954-1957; Jack Paar, 1957-1962).
*"Zoo Quest" (UK) (1954-1964).
*"Captain Kangaroo" (1955-1984).
*"Dixon of Dock Green" (UK) (1955-1976).
*"Gunsmoke" (1955-1975).
*"The Lawrence Welk Show" (1955-1982).
*"This Is Your Life" (UK) (1955-2003).
*"Armchair Theatre" (1956-1968).
*"As the World Turns" (1956-present).
*"Opportunity Knocks" (UK) (1956-1978).
*"The Edge of Night" (1956-1984).
*"The Price Is Right" (1956-1965).
*"What the Papers Say" (UK) (1956-present).
*"The Lucille Ball/Desi Arnaz Show (The Lucy/Desi Comedy Hour)" (1957-1960)
*"The Sky at Night" (UK) (1957-present).
*"Blue Peter" (UK) (1958-present).
*"Grandstand" (UK) (1958-2007).
*"The Donna Reed Show" (1958-1966).
*"Bonanza" (1959-1973).
*"Juke Box Jury" (1959-1967, 1979, 1989-1990).
*"The Bell Telephone Hour" (1959-1968).
*"The Twilight Zone" (1959-1964, 1985-1988, 2002).

1960s

*"Coronation Street" (UK) (1960-present).
*"My Three Sons" (1960-1972).
*"The Andy Griffith Show" (1960-1968).
*"The Flintstones" (1960-1966).
*"Ben Casey" (1961-1966).
* "Four Corners" (Australia) (1961-present).
*"It's Academic" (1961-present).
*"Mister Ed" (1961-1966).
*"The Avengers" (UK) (1961-1969).
*"The Dick Van Dyke Show" (1961-1966).
*"The Fulton Sheen Program" (1961-1968).
*"The Mike Douglas Show" (1961-1981).
*"Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color" (1961-1969).
*"Combat!" (1962-1967).
*"Match Game" (1962-1969, 1973-1984, 1990-1991, 1998-1999).
*"The Beverly Hillbillies" (1962-1971).
*"The Jetsons" (1962-1963, 1984-1985, 1987).
*"The Late Late Show" (Ireland) (1962-present).
*"The Lucy Show" (1962-1968).
*"The Saint" (UK) (1962-1969).
*"The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" (1962-1992).
*"Z-Cars" (UK) (1962-1978).
*"Doctor Who" (UK) (1963-1989), (1996), (2005-present)
*"Mack & Myer for Hire" (1963-1964)

Ending this year

*May - "Empire" (1962-1963).
*May - "The Voice of Firestone" (1949-1963).
*June 20 - "Leave It to Beaver" (1957-1963).
*September 10 - "Hawaiian Eye" (1959-1963).

Births

*February 17 - Michael Jordan, former professional basketball player
*May 8 - Stella Gonet, actress.
*May 25 - Mike Myers, Canadian actor.
*May 28 - Michelle Collins, actress.
*May 29 - Lisa Whelchel, actress.
*June 15 - Helen Hunt, actress.
*June 17 - Greg Kinnear, actor.
*July 30 - Lisa Kudrow, actress, "Friends".
*November 21 - Nicollette Sheridan, actress.
*December 18 - Brad Pitt, actor

Deaths

*November 22 - John F. Kennedy