Television Ratings: 1960s Part 1

There were significant changes in the top 20 Nielsen ratings from (L-R) 1958-60 (Oct-Apr). The Red Skelton Show and Perry Mason gained viewers while The Rifleman looked to be running out of steam at about the mid-series point and the popular The Life and Times of Wyatt Earp was hanging in there by loyal viewers only as it neared its series run.

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Word Origins

 *SATIRE

Not too long ago, an inept actor or group of actors might have been driven off the stage by being pelted with an assortment of fruits and vegetables thrown by the disgruntled audience. If the play were a satirical one, the object of the satire would, figuratively, also have been the recipient of the barrage, for satire is indirectly derived from the Latin lanx satura, "a full dish"—that is, a dish composed of several sorts of food, a potpourri. Dropping the dish (lanx), satura came to have the meaning of a medley, or more specifically, a short play with a great variety of subject material. Along the way, the spelling became satira, and the play developed into a critical commentary. Finally, with the same meaning, the word was adopted into English with its present spelling.

*Inspired by Charles Funk (1881–1957)

Television Transition

 

Jack Hogan (1929 -)

The television medium offered a logical career move away from low-budget movies, keeping them quite busy and in demand.

Jack Hogan (Richard Roland Benson Jr.) is an American actor most notable for his recurring roles on two hit series, Adam-12, and Combat! His interests have included painting, fishing, reading, and poetry since retirement.

The Chapel Hill-born Hogan studied architecture at the University of North Carolina before enlisting in the Korean War. He studied drama at the Pasadena Playhouse and in New York after his hitch was up. Hogan's acting career was established on the small screen but he massaged in five films during the mid-Fifties, with a "best-of" performance as The Cat Burglar (1961). Hogan made supporting appearances on nearly every popular television show in a variety of roles from the Fifties into the Nineties, always with a genuine, believable delivery. His most visible role, however, was his 111 episodes of the five-season hit drama, Combat!, above as PFC William G. Kirby. Most may not know he was a casting director for another hit show, Magnum, P.I.

Word Origins

*SUBTLE

Light as a feather—or better, thin as gossamer. Either of these expressions describes fairly accurately the gentleness which is characteristic of true subtlety, but "gossamer" is a close translation of the Latin word from which subtle originates. Subtle was brought into English from the Old French soutil with the meaning of "thin (rarefied), fine, delicate" (the dragonfly above). But the French word came from the Latin subtilis, a contraction of subtexilis, "finely woven" (literally, "underwoven"), from sub, "under," and texare, "to weave." For many years, an alternate spelling of the English word, subtile, existed in parallel with the presently accepted spelling, this being based directly on the Latin ancestor.

*Inspired by Charles Funk (1881–1957)

This is Jim Rockford

 

It's Dr. Soter's office again, regarding that root canal? The doctor's in his office...waiting. He's beginning to dislike you ...

Jim's answering machine: Piece Work, 1976
Guest star: Michael Lerner

Television Talkers

 

As an aspiring actor and opera singer, Gene Rayburn (Eugene Peter Jeljenic, 1917-1999) made the move to New York City but was unable to find stage work. He landed a job as an NBC Studios page and tour guide at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. Before television fame, Rayburn was a radio performer, announcing at various radio stations before enlisting in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. He chose the stage name "Rayburn" by randomly sticking his finger in the phone book.

Making use of his talent, Rayburn took the lead role in the Broadway musical Bye Bye Birdie after Dick Van Dyke left to star in The Dick Van Dyke Show. He began a long association with game show producers Mark Goodson and Bill Todman in 1953. After hosting several game shows, he hit pay dirt with The Match Game in 1962-1969. The show was revived in 1973 simply as Match Game and ran for another decade. During this time one of Rayburn's trademarks was his long, skinny microphone that he was able to hold near his waist. 

Note: Rayburn's last game show hosting duties were on Break the Bank in 1985.

Word Origins

*FIGUREHEAD

It was ornamental only, usually carved from wood into the figure or bust of a person, sometimes quite imposing, and it was placed at the very bow of a ship, directly above the water line. Whatever the country or port, it led the vessel. But it had no function. However beautiful the carving, however emblematic the design, the vessel could have been handled just as well without it. And so it is with him or her who accepts an appointment or position that carries neither duties nor responsibilities. The imposing name of such a figurative figurehead lends prestige to the enterprise or organization.

*Inspired by Charles Funk (1881–1957)