WKBF-61 Audio-Early 1970's

From Videoholic (Ray Glasser) Audio from the early days of WKBF Channel 61..Some promos, including Leonard Nimoy plugging Star Trek reruns..



This is the only known recording of anything off the old WKBF-61..

WKBF Schedule-Wednesday, April 22, 1970
TV Guide Cleveland Edition

10:30 Applied Management Sciences
11AM Jack LaLanne-COLOR
11:30 Dennis The Menace-Jay North
Noon Cartoons-COLOR
1PM Movie-Tangier-1946
3PM Huckleberry Hound-COLOR
3:30 Alvin Show-COLOR
4PM Rocket Robin Hood-COLOR
4:30 Flintstones-COLOR
5PM Little Rascals
5:30 Addams Family
6PM I Love Lucy
6:30 McHale's Navy
7PM Dick Van Dyke
7:30 Avengers
8:30 Candid Camera
9PM Perry Mason
10PM News-John Herrington
10:30 Honeymooners
11PM Alfred Hitchcock
11:30 Movie-China Gate-1957

Another Analog Bites the Dust..

Screencap of WOAC-TV 67 Canton-Akron-Cleveland during its INTV days. From a TV DX transmission in Missisauga, Ontario, Canada..Courtesy TVDXinfocentre.com

Of course, everyone knows about the on again, off again saga of analog-to-digital Television playing out in the USA. As the majority of the stations will sign off their analog transitters June 12, 2009. Some signed off Midnight Tuesday, February 17 (Wednesday), the original cut-off date. WNEO-45 Alliance shut off its analog station in November 2008. WMFD-68 in Mansfield, Ohio shut off it's analog in 2007.

The third Northeast Ohio station to turn off it's analog signal is Multicultural Broadcasting's WOAC-TV 67, licensed to Canton but "serving" Cleveland/Akron/Canton with a blend of Informercials and some local programming..They've slowly added more local progrqamming to the mix..

Tuesday Night at about 11:55 PM during (what else) an informercial, WOAC aired the following crawl at the top of the screen..

"WOAC-TV Canton/Cleveland/Akron is now discontinuing analog signal broadcasting on channel 67. WOAC is owned and operated by MTBL Cleveland and was originally licensed in 1981. WOAC has operated since 1996 at 5,000KW
on a visual frequency of 789.25Mhz. You can now view WOAC on it's digital channel, 47, with an average power output of 1,000KW.
WOAC now leaves the air permanently. God bless you."

Thanks to Ohio Media Watch reader Andrew for copying the on-screen announcement..Originally posted in a comment to Ohio Media Watch..

Thus ends a 42 year history of Canton, Ohio full power analog commercial television..WOAC first signed on in April 1982 as a full-power independent with some news and sports..Scott Davis, Sherry Lee and Son of Ghoul were major personalities for a number of years..WOAC was sold to Paxson 1n 1996 as an InTV/Worship affiliate, then to Shop at Home/Scripps in the early 2000's then to Multicultural Television of New York City in 2006. WJAN-17 was Commercial from 1967-82 before being sold to David Livingstone Foundation and eventually to TBN.

This leaves WDLI-TV 17 as the last full power analog TV station licensed to Canton/Stark County..They will move to channel 39 in June..

As promised, The final few minutes and last sign-off of WOAC-Analog Channel 67...frtom musicman150 at YouTube..Thanks musicman150!

Real McCoys-1961

From YouTube:ABC-TV Promo for the Real McCoys, about 1961..Walter Brennan starred as Grandpa Amos McCoy, who moved his family to "Sunny Cal-i-for-ni yay" from West Virginia..This was the first rural sitcom on Televison, running six years on ABC and CBS, paving the way for shows like Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres, etc..

An Editorial:

April 1970 TV Guide Ad for "23 Total News" featuring Jerry Healey on Sports..Healey passed away this week..


Good morning:
Before I go on, I want to mention briefly the passing of Jerry Healey, disc jockey for Akron's WAKR and WCUE in the 1960's to early 80s. Healey died February 3, 2009 at the City of Hope in Duarte, California...He was well known as a Morning Host at WAKR and also did sports play-by-play..Condolences to his family..

http://www.legacy.com/ohio/Obituaries.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonID=123745400

Obituary on Ohio.com

http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com/2009/02/jerry-healey-passes-away.html

Item on Ohio Media Watch

A few thoughts:

Among many internet sites I go to every day is Cleveland.com "Television" and "Listening Party" message boards..Though the conversation there is often less than stellar, to say the least. A question was brought up this morning that made me think..Over the last several months, a number of NE Ohio broadcasting legends, including Herb Score, Bill Gordon, Harry Martin and most recently, Jerry Healey..have left us..It was brought up on the Cleveland.com boards that considering how legendary these personalites were, there has been very little discussion about them, or what they meant to the radio industry or to listeners as a whole..Are we so immersed in the "here and now"..that we cant take more time to reflect on the absolute icons of the business? Also, some seem to want to focus a bit more on the negative side of some personalities.."He was ok in public but.."

While I have never been in the broadcasting business, I read enough daily to know the industry is in bad shape..But I think we still need to reflect on the greats that came before..The DJ's that didnt have to be crude to get a laugh...That could be creative and "adult" at the same time without going for gutter humor..Those that exemplified class and dignity in the profession when class and dignity meant something..

I realize I dont often "editorialize" but I felt something like this needed to be said..Have a good weekend everybody..

The Good Guys-1968

TV Guide Cover November 16, 1968 with Bob Denver and Herb Edelman..from the first season of "The Good Guys" Courtesy Classic TV Archive

TV Guide Ad for the second season premiere of "The Good Guys" Also from Classic TV Archive

Today I'd like to talk a bit about what I think is a very underrated sitcom..if nothing else, because of the great theme song..

The Good Guys, starring Bob Denver, 2 years removed from Gilligan's Island and Herb Edelman as lifelong buddies who live in the same town..Edelman, as diner owner Bert Gramus and Denver as Cab Driver Rufus Butterworth, who is always coming up with Get-Rich Quick schemes, much to the chagrin of Gramus and his wife Claudia, played by Joyce Van Patten..Very much a screwball type comedy, typical of sitcoms of the 1968-70 era..The series premiered Wednesdays at 8:30 September 25, 1968 on CBS-TV..The series showed enough promise to warrant a second seasaon pickup..

The diner was moved out to the beach for the second season, and Rufus was made a partner..The show apparently dropped off in the ratings, as a move to Friday Nights at 8 didnt help, for it was canceled January 23, 1970...The Show was a production of Talent Associats, the company responsible for Get Smart..The catchy theme, one of the better ones ever for a sitcom in my opinion, was written by Jerry Fielding, with lyrics by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans. Amazingly enough, this show has never been seen in syndication, or on cable..I am hoping at some point there might be a DVD set..Much more obscure shows have already seen the DVD treatment...


Promottional ad for "The Good Guys"..Very funny bits here..


First season open/close for The Good Guys..Notice Alan Hale was the guest star in this episode, reuniting with Bob Denver..Jim Backus also appeared occsionally on this series..


Episode featuring Alan Hale as "Big Tom"-Originally aired February 26, 1969
Part 1


Part2


Part 3




Bert's Place on the Web
http://www.wtv-zone.com/dpjohnson/goodguys/index.html

David Johnson a native of Kansas City, Mo. has the only "Good Guys" page on the web..Episode guides and photos from the series..