Most Obscure Cleveland TV Talk Show-Part One

Glenn Rinker and Linn Sheldon, one of many hosting teams on "Three on the Town" fronting a "WKYC Sales Sheet."

Image Courtesy of Joe and Amy Payne (Rinker)-Glenn Rinker's Daughter..On our links is a whole page on this era of "Three On the Town" also courtesy Joe and Amy Payne.


Most of us that have been regular watchers of Northeast Ohio Television over the last 40 years or so are well aware of all the locally produced weekday news/talk/variety shows that have aired over the years..from Mike Douglas at KYW-3 to Bill Gordon and Dorothy Fuldheim in "One O Cloek Club" on channel 5 from 1959-64, to Dale Young Time mornings on Channel 8 in the 1960's to Morning Exchange on Channel 5 from 1972-99.Along with AM Cleveland (Scott Newell) and "The Dave Patterson Show" on Channel 3 in the 1980's..

I would venture to guess that no one under 50 will have heard of the show we are going to feature. Even as much as I watched Channel 3 (as a kid, admittedly) in the mid-late 1960's, I had never heard of this show, much less watched it. I had not heard of this show until doing "retro-schedules" on Radio-info and Radioinsight.com in the last couple years. This show was the main reason I went to the Cleveland Library last week to do research and found all the articles we've been featuring in recent days.

The show was Called THREE ON THE TOWN..Debuting on WKYC-TV 3 at 1PM Monday September 27, 1965..Its first (of many) hosts were Newsman Bud Dancy, announcer Jay Miltner and Linda Hunt, a newcomer from WPTA-TV Fort Wayne..The Cleveland Press blurb states in a short article,

TV SHOW OF NEWS, VIEWS, OPENS



"Three on The Town, a new local Color program, premiered on WKYC-TV today at 1PM. The Half Hour program includes nation, state and local news, weather, book and theater reviews, interviews with visitng personalities,fashion shows, women's features, live musical entertainment and film features on historical and unusual areas in he Greater Cleveland area."

" Bud Dancy, Jay Miltner, and a new face to Clevelanders, Linda Hunt, are the three hosts for the program. Miss Hunt comes to town from WPTA-TV, Fort Wayne, Ind. Where she had her own afternoon show."

I believe to some extent, this show is an indirect result of The Mike Douglas Show's recent move to Philadelphia..Some sources say that Mike Douglas taped his first Philadelphia show August 30, 1965. On the premiere date of 3 on The Town WKYC moved Mike Douglas to 9AM. Three On the Town very well may have been taped in the former Douglas studio, though I have no proof of that.

According to Variety's review, the BB King Musical Sextet was also part of the show occasionally. The Guest on the show previewed was Larry Robinson (The Diamond Man)..Dancy did a newscast and Miltner a weathercast and announcing duties. Basically Variety said that if the hosts could work together as a unit, the show had great potential..

By early 1966, Dancy was gone to NBC News, and Ms Hunt may have been gone as well..By this time, Veteran TV 3 personality Linn Sheldon was joined by Glenn Rinker from Binghamton, New York..Rinker stayed most of 1966, leaving in December for NBC's WRC Radio/TV in Washington..Rinker Subsequently worked in Miami and Orlando before passing away in 1993..According to James Flanagan of the Plain Dealer in a story at the time of Rinker's departure from Cleveland, Linn Sheldon would become solo host, and the hard news angle would be dropped. Nothing seemed to work consistently ratings wise for WKYC..so 3 on the Town was canceled February 16, 1968 with the final hosts appearing to be Clay Cole and Mark Russell..TV 3 wasnt ready to give up yet, however...