1950 Tv Series

1. 1950 Tv Series Starring January Jones
2. 1950 Tv Series Highway Patrol
3. 1950 Tv Series Jett Jackson

MY FAVORITE TELEVISION SHOWS FROM THE 1950s AND 1960s by ToddTamanendClark created - 23 Jun 2013 updated - 03 Jul 2013 Public I was born in 1952. These are the television shows that I watched while growing up in Greene County, Pennsylvania. Refine See titles to watch instantly, titles you haven't rated, etc. Get great deals on TV Shows 1950 - 1959 Release Year DVDs. Expand your home video library from a huge online selection of movies at eBay.com. Fast & Free shipping on many items!

1950s TV was led by sitcoms and game shows. Obviously specials were still a big deal and color TV was starting to gain some traction.

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I Love Lucy enjoyed a magical three year run at the top of the ratings. Game shows like $64,000 Question and The Price is Right were very popular too. Samsung wis09abgn driver windows 10.

But in the late 50s, westerns completely took over. In 1958, eight of the top ten TV shows were westerns.

Obviously many people were beginning to make the switch from radio to TV for their news. TV specials were very important to spreading the message back then and they attracted huge audiences.

Let's have a year-by-year breakdown on the most popular 1950s-era television shows.

Top 10 1950s TV Shows

What were the most popular TV shows in the 1950s?

The most-watched television shows, from 1950 to 1959, were:

• Texaco Star Theatre (1950)
• Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts (1951)
• I Love Lucy (1952)
• I Love Lucy (1953)
• I Love Lucy (1954)
• The $64,000 Question (1955)
• I Love Lucy (1956)
• Gunsmoke (1957)
• Gunsmoke (1958)
• Gunsmoke (1959)

TV Shows in 1950

What were the most popular TV shows in 1950?

The Top Ten TV Shows in 1950 were:

1. Texaco Star Theatre (NBC)
2. Fireside Theatre (NBC)
3. Philco TV Playhouse (NBC)
4. Your Show of Shows (NBC)
5. The Colgate Comedy Hour (NBC)
6. Gillette Cavalcade of Sports (NBC)
7. The Lone Ranger (ABC)
8. Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts (CBS)
9. Hopalong Cassidy (NBC)
10. Mama (CBS)

TV Shows in 1951

What were the most popular TV shows in 1951?

The Top Ten TV Shows in 1951 were:

1. Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts (CBS)
2. Texaco Star Theater (NBC)
3. I Love Lucy (CBS)
4. The Red Skelton Show (NBC)
5. The Colgate Comedy Hour (NBC)
6. Arthur Godfrey and His Friends (CBS)
7. Fireside Theatre (NBC)
8. Your Show of Shows (NBC)
9. The Jack Benny Show (CBS)
10. You Bet Your Life (NBC)

TV Shows in 1952

What were the most popular TV shows in 1952?

The Top Ten TV Shows in 1952 were:

1. I Love Lucy (CBS)
2. Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts (CBS)
3. Arthur Godfrey and His Friends (CBS)
4. Dragnet (NBC)
5. Texaco Star Theater (NBC)
6. The Buick Circus Hour (NBC)
7. The Colgate Comedy Hour (NBC)
8. Gangbusters (NBC)
9. You Bet Your Life (NBC)
10. Fireside Theatre (NBC)

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TV Shows in 1953

What were the most popular TV shows in 1953?

The Top Ten TV Shows in 1953 were:

1. I Love Lucy (CBS)
2. Dragnet (NBC)
3. Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts (CBS)
4. You Bet Your Life (NBC)
5. The Milton Berle Show (NBC)
6. Arthur Godfrey and His Friends (CBS)
7. Ford Theatre (NBC)
8. The Jackie Gleason Show (CBS)
9. Fireside Theatre (NBC)
10. The Colgate Comedy Hour (NBC)

TV Shows in 1954

What were the most popular TV shows in 1954?

The Top Ten TV Shows in 1954 were:

1. I Love Lucy (CBS)
2. The Jackie Gleason Show (CBS)
3. Dragnet (NBC)
4. You Bet Your Life (NBC)
5. The Toast of the Town (CBS)
6. Disneyland (ABC)
7. The Jack Benny Show (CBS)
8. The George Gobel Show (NBC)
9. Ford Theatre (NBC)
10. December Bride (CBS)

TV Shows in 1955

What were the most popular TV shows in 1955?

The Top Ten TV Shows in 1955 were:

1. The $64,000 Question (CBS)
2. I Love Lucy (CBS)
3. The Ed Sullivan Show (CBS)
4. Disneyland (ABC)
5. The Jack Benny Show (CBS)
6. December Bride (CBS)
7. You Bet Your Life (NBC)
8. Dragnet (NBC)
9. The Millionaire (CBS)
10. I've Got a Secret (CBS)

TV Shows in 1956

What were the most popular TV shows in 1956?

The Top Ten TV Shows in 1956 were:

1. I Love Lucy (CBS)
2. The Ed Sullivan Show (CBS)
3. General Electric Theatre (CBS)
4. The $64,000 Question (CBS)
5. December Bride (CBS)
6. Alfred Hitchcock Presents (CBS)
7. I've Got a Secret (CBS)
8. Gunsmoke (CBS)
9. The Perry Como Show (NBC)
10. The Jack Benny Show (CBS)

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TV Shows in 1957

Captain Kangaroo

TV reached a plateau in 1957. Its quality neither improved nor deteriorated to any marked degree. There were no revolutionary technical developments, no really significant new programs, and no big new stars.

In their own defense, network spokesmen said TV programmers were giving the public what they wanted.

The soaring costs of TV advertising made it impossible for most network sponsors to take any kind of gamble.

The half-hour sitcom that had cost $30,000 a season before cost $40,000 or more in 1957. Performers, particularly big names, were demanding larger fees (for example, Harry Belafonte, $40,000 for a single appearance; Elvis Presley, $50,000).

Experts estimated that two thirds of all 1957 shows were being transmitted on film instead of live. Since costly mistakes could be edited out, TV films were far safer economically than live shows.

The TV market was larger than ever, with 544 commercial stations in operation at year's end.

Comedy and drama shows declined in popularity while musicals and western adventure series boomed during the fall season. ll new western series appeared, bringing the weekly total to 20. Most popular of the cowboy series were 'adult' westerns, aimed directly at both men and women.

AdvertisementThe new western heroes, in an obvious bid for feminine support, were all tall, two-fisted, ruggedly handsome young men. The adult westerns differed from the old-fashioned kid westerns by having, by and large, more mature story lines and more realistic characters.

But there was just as much slugging and shooting going on in the new westerns as in the old. Among the most popular of the adult western series were Gunsmoke, Wyatt Earp and Maverick, and Wagon Train. Gunsmoke, one of the pioneer adult westerns, topped the audience rating lists several times during the year.

If a viewer switched on his set and heard no shooting, he most likely heard singing. Numerous big-name male and female vocalists invaded TV and a nationally known singer who did not have his own TV show on one network or another was a forlorn soul indeed (the semiretired Bing Crosby excepted).

Among lady vocalists who had new network shows were Polly Bergen, Patti Page, Gisele MacKenzie, and opera star Patrice Munsel. Male newcomers included Pat Boone, Guy Mitchell, Dean Martin, Nat 'King' Cole and Frank Sinatra.

Not all of the new singers could double as master of ceremonies, interviewer, or comic (in the manner of Perry Como) and it was evident that there would be many casualties in this field.

Those who did become casualties would find themselves in stellar company. Departing from the medium in 1957 were such one-time top favorites as Jackie Gleason, Sid Caesar, and Robert Montgomery.

1957 was a noticeably bad one for comedians. A sizable number of comics fell by the video wayside, including Gleason and Caesar, Ernie Kovacs, Wally Cox, and Jonathan Winters.

Sitcoms went into a partial eclipse as several comedy shows that had started with a bang the previous season died an ignominious death. Even I Love Lucy was yanked as a weekly half-hour show and changed to an hour-long once per month format.

Loretta and Robert Young won Emmy awards for best actress and actor respectively.

Disneyland continued its run, with the Mickey Mouse Club not far behind. Captain Kangaroo, an imaginative new offering, won considerable acclaim.

Sports were huge on TV. What was the new sports TV craze in 1957? Bowling!

What were the most popular TV shows in 1957?

The Top Ten TV Shows in 1957 were:

1950 Tv Series Starring January Jones

1. Gunsmoke (CBS)
2. The Danny Thomas Show (CBS)
3. Tales of Wells Fargo (NBC)
4. Have Gun Will Travel (CBS)
5. I've Got a Secret (CBS)
6. The Life & Legend of Wyatt Earp (ABC)
7. General Electric Theatre (CBS)
8. The Restless Gun (NBC)
9. December Bride (CBS)
10. You Bet Your Life (NBC)

TV Shows in 1958

1958 was known as the 'Year of the Western.' If your show wasn't a western, it didn't have a chance.

What were the most popular TV shows in 1958?

The Top Ten TV Shows in 1958 were:

1. Gunsmoke (CBS)
2. Wagon Train (NBC)
3. Have Gun Will Travel (CBS)
4. The Rifleman (ABC)
5. The Danny Thomas Show (CBS)
6. Maverick (ABC)
7. Tales of Wells Fargo (NBC)
8. The Real McCoys (ABC)
9. I've Got a Secret (CBS)
10. The Life & Legend of Wyatt Earp (ABC)

TV Shows in 1959

What were the most popular TV shows in 1959?

The Top Ten TV Shows in 1959 were:

1. Gunsmoke (CBS)
2. Wagon Train (NBC)
3. Have Gun Will Travel (CBS)
4. The Danny Thomas Show (CBS)
5. The Red Skelton Show (CBS)
6. Father Knows Best (CBS)
7. 77 Sunset Strip (ABC)
8. The Price is Right (NBC)
9. Wanted: Dead or Alive (CBS)
10. Perry Mason (CBS)

The decade of the 1950s is also known as ‘The Golden Age of Television'. Even though, television broadcasting had been active since the 1930s, it was only in the 1950s that it actually caught people's fancy. Let us know more about television in the 1950s, in this article.

Did you know?

There were as many as 102 manufacturers of television in the 1950s.

Television is the first audiovisual device that changed the way people see entertainment. It opened the realm of recreation and mass communication. It made possible for people and families to watch live events in the comforts of their drawing room. By 1950s, the aftermath of World War II had faded away. Economy was booming again and people had cash in their wallets. Prosperity was returning to America.

It was in the 1950s, when the television started influencing the lives of the common men. According to a survey, approximately 3.1 million people had television sets in America in the 1950s.

Some Quick Facts

Popularity of radio and print media began to fade away gradually, as television set its hold on people's life. Here are some quick facts about television in the 1950s.

1.

There were three major broadcasters of television programs in the 1950s, namely ABC, CBS and NBC. All of them broadcasted shows and programs which targeted the same audience.

2.

In 1951, the first live coast-to-coast telecast began.

3.

People were fascinated by television and it soon became a status symbol. They would flock to bars that had television. Those who didn't own a set themselves, would find excuse to visit friends and family who owned one.

4.

The first buyers of television sets were well-to-do, affluent people in large cities. Two-thirds of the television sets in the early 1950s were owned by people in New York and suburbs.

5.

The numbers of homes owning a television set increased rapidly in this decade, from 0.4% in 1948 to 83.4% in 1958. No other household technology has spread so rapidly.

6.

Factors like baby boom of the 1950s, also fueled the success of television. With more moms staying at home and more kids playing around, it seemed more feasible to install a television set for the entertainment of the whole family.

Television Brands

There were as many as 102 television manufacturers in the 1950s and hence, people had a lot of options to choose from. Here are a few sets from the 1950s, to give you an idea of how it looked in its early days.

1950 Tv Series Highway Patrol

Admiral Bakelite TV

Other than these, there were many other popular brands of TV like General Electric, Hoffman, Motorola, Westinghouse, Dumont, Andrea, National, and many more.

TV Shows of the 1950s

Some Popular TV Shows

The popular shows of the 1950s are regarded as classics today. Even during the 1950s, television tried to cater to audience of all age groups. Programs like ‘The Howdy Doody Show' and ‘Disneyland Series' were popular among school-going kids. ‘American Bandstand' was a huge hit among the teenagers. Evening was the time for family shows like – ‘I Love Lucy', ‘The Jackie Gleason Show', ‘Your Hit Parade', ‘Father Knows Best', ‘Our Miss Brooks', ‘The Burns and Allen Show', etc.

Change In Television Entertainment

Towards the mid-fifties, live performances of reality TV shows were broadcast for the first time that created a different form of television entertainment. These programs of reality television like Candid Camera, broke the monotony of scripted drama. Mid-fifties was also the time when color television was introduced, but it took another couple of years for it to become a dominant medium. It was closely followed by launching of remote control and transistorized television sets towards 1959.

1950 Tv Series Jett Jackson

Introduction of Soap Operas and Modern Entertainment

The 1950s was also the time when many categories of programs that are popular today were introduced. Soap operas, crime dramas, and game shows, almost all started during this decade. In fact, the concept of TV guide began at that time to help people keep a track of their favorite programs.

News Medium

In 1952, the Republican and the Democratic conventions were broadcasted live from Philadelphia, to the rest of the country. With television reaching every nook and corner of the country, the last vestiges of isolation were rooted out. People took more interest in the news, as they came to know of what was happening around, in real time.

CBS News

CBS' news program – ‘See It Now', took the world of TV by storm. This show was hosted by veteran news presenter Edward R. Murrow. It was a documentary series on public affairs that was telecast in sequences. Television in the 50s played a great role in making people aware of their surroundings, and the world, in general.

Television Advertising

Television became the much sought-after medium of telecasting advertisements in the 1950s. Various companies started looking at the television as the best medium to advertise, for better sale and publicity of their products. These companies began to sponsor popular shows and programs, as advertising there, broadened their reach, and hence their business increased. Thus, the businessmen found a medium through which they could get a market for their products.

Did You Know ?

Television was first used as a medium for advertising the presidential campaign in the year 1952, by Dwight Eisenhower. Later on, all future presidential candidates started to rely on it for advertising, as a part of their strategy.

Thus, we see that popularity of television in the 1950s was a great turning point in the American society. It brought a great change in the lifestyle of people. It added a new element of recreation and fun for the people, and also kept them updated of the happenings in the country and around the world. The availability of movies and movie-related shows, reality shows, daily soaps, and of course, the news programs, made television a very popular medium of entertainment in every household.