1960s Timeline

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Nov 4, 2021

TV: Amanda Blake of "Gunsmoke"

Nov. 4, 1961 - Amanda Blake, a redhead who has quietly sizzled her way through six years of “Gunsmoke” as a lady saloon keeper and...

Nov 3, 2021

TV: Tonight on "The Twilight Zone"

Nov. 3, 1961 - Tonight on “The Twilight Zone,” a young boy (Billy Mumy) with vast mental powers, but lacking emotional development, holds...

Nov 2, 2021

TV: Tonight on "Dr. Kildare"

Nov. 2, 1961 - Tonight on “Dr. Kildare,” Kildare feels that Dr. Toby Cunningham (William Shatner) acted too hastily in releasing a man...

Nov 1, 2021

TV: Tonight on "Naked City"

Nov. 1, 1961 - Tonight on “Naked City,” a pretty, Swedish-born governess (Ulla Jacobsson) alerts the NYPD to the increasingly violent...

Oct 31, 2021

TV: Tonight on “The Dick Van Dyke Show”

Oct. 31, 1961 - Tonight on “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” while clearing out his bedroom closet, Rob (Van Dyke) finds his old army boots. Rob...

Oct 31, 2021

TV: Walter Matthau Guest Star on “Alfred Hitchcock Presents”

Oct. 31, 1961 - Tonight on “Alfred Hitchcock Presents,” when a young woman (Carol Grace) witnesses two men (Walter Matthau and Glenn...

Oct 30, 2021

TV: Tonight on “Ben Casey”

Oct. 30, 1961 - Tonight on “Ben Casey,” a ruthless tycoon (Chester Morris, right), used to throwing his weight around in the boardroom,...

Oct 30, 2021

CBS Parts Ways with Commentator Howard K. Smith

Oct. 30, 1961 - Howard K. Smith (pictured center last year) and CBS announced today that their relations had been terminated “because of...

Oct 30, 2021

TV: Tonight on “The Andy Griffith Show”

Oct. 30, 1961 - Tonight on the “Andy Griffith Show,” when a flashy new girl (Beverly Tyler) in town takes a surprising and deep interest...

Oct 29, 2021

TV: Robert Culp Guest Star on “Bonanza”

Oct. 29, 1961 - On tonight’s episode of “Bonanza,” reformed gunfighter Ed Payson (Robert Culp) has returned to Virginia City to tend to...

Oct 28, 2021

TV: Buddy Ebsen Guest Star on “Gunsmoke”

Oct. 28, 1961 - Tonight on “Gunsmoke,” a man (Buddy Ebsen, right) who lost his wife and all he had returns to Dodge from gold prospecting...

Oct 27, 2021

TV: Lee Marvin Guest Star on “The Twilight Zone”

Oct. 27, 1961 - Tonight on “The Twilight Zone,” Old West lawman Conny Miller (Lee Marvin) visits the grave of a once-dangerous man he...

Oct 26, 2021

TV: Joseph Ruskin, Martin Balsam Guest Stars on “The Untouchables”

Oct. 26, 1961 - Tonight on “The Untouchables,” Eliot Ness and his men find themselves at a local carnival keeping an eye on an impending...

Oct 26, 2021

TV: Anne Francis Guest Stars on “Dr. Kildare”

Oct. 26, 1961 - Tonight on “Dr. Kildare,” a popular actress (Anne Francis) comes to Blair General Hospital for tests along with members...

Oct 25, 2021

TV: Tonight on "Wagon Train"

Oct. 25, 1961 - Tonight on “Wagon Train,” Clementine Jones (Ann Blyth, pictured) is in the process of being thrown out of a town when a...

Oct 24, 2021

TV: “Wagon Train” to Move from NBC to ABC

Oct. 24, 1961 - The popular “Wagon Train” series will hitch its horses to ABC next season after five years of trekking cross-country with...

Oct 24, 2021

TV: Lloyd Bridges Plays Korean-War POW on ABC’s “Alcoa Premiére”

Oct. 24, 1961 - Lloyd Bridges will star tonight in a television dramatization of the true adventures of a U.S. Air Force officer captured...

Oct 23, 2021

TV: Tonight on “The Rifleman”

TV: Tonight on “The Rifleman” Oct. 23, 1961 - Tonight on “The Rifleman,” a prison wagon stops at the McCain ranch. One of the guards asks...

Oct 23, 2021

Nat (King) Cole Decries TV's “Timidity” in Using Negro Performers

Oct. 23, 1961 - Nat (King) Cole (pictured with his daughter Natalie in 1955) attacked the television industry today for what he called...

Oct 21, 2021

TV: Norma Crane, Richard Thomas Guest Star on “The Defenders”

Oct. 21, 1961 - On tonight’s episode of “The Defenders,” the Prestons are hired by a stage actress (Norma Crane, pictured) who wants full...