1957 in television

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The year 1957 in television involved some significant events. Below is a list of television-related events in 1957.

Events

• January 6 – Elvis Presley makes final appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.
• January 24 – Steve Allen makes his final appearance as host of NBC's The Tonight Show. He is replaced by Jack Lescoulie, with the show's format being changed to be more like Today than the talk/variety show format Tonight had under Allen.
• June – Lescoulie is a flop, so NBC hires Al "Jazzbo" Collins to serve as emcee. But Collins doesn't last long; NBC is already planning to replace him and go back to the original format.
• July 29 – Jack Paar becomes the permanent host for NBC's The Tonight Show. The format changes back to a talk/variety show.
• March 7 – Portugal creates its television service after several months of experimentation.
• March 31 – The first TV version of Cinderella, starring 21-year-old Julie Andrews, and with songs by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, airs in color on CBS.
• April 1 – British current affairs programme Panorama (BBC) broadcasts the famous Spaghetti trees hoax report.
• August 31 – Central Scotland's ITV franchise Scottish Television goes on air, the first 7-day-a-week ITV franchise to do so.
• September 7 – NBC introduces an animated version of its famous "living color" peacock logo.
• February 16 – In the UK, the "Toddlers' Truce" (an arrangement whereby there were no TV broadcasts between 6 PM and 7 PM, to allow parents to put their children to bed!) was abolished. It had been a major stumbling block to the success of ITV.
• Front Page Challenge, television's longest continuously running panel show starts airing on the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) for the next 38 years.
• Cyprus began a limited television service, serving only three hours a day, twice-weekly. By 1960, a full service was launched.
• CBC Television begins nationwide broadcasting of NHL games as Canada's microwave network is completed coast-to-coast. Prior to this, programmes have to be bicycled.
• Westinghouse introduces the first rectangular tube color TV. Due to issues with convergence (aligning the guns to get a single image), the sets were withdrawn from the market. The first successful rectangular color tubes arrive in the mid 1960's.

Debuts

• April 24 – The Sky at Night (UK) appears for the first time, presented by Patrick Moore (1957–present).
• May 1 – Junior Television Club (1957)
• May 7 – In Melbourne Tonight with Graham Kennedy begins on GTV-9
• September 21 – Perry Mason premiers on CBS (1957–1966), The Polly Bergen Show premiers on NBC, alternating with Club Oasis, which debuted on September 28 (1957–1958)
• September 22- Maverick premieres on ABC. (1957–1961)
• Fall 1957 – Saber of London, a British detective series, moved from ABC to NBC for the remainder of its episodes broadcast through mid-1960. It had previously aired under different titles from 1951–1954 and 1955–1957, in the latter run under the name The Vise.
• October 4 – Leave It to Beaver premieres (1957–1963).
• October 10- Zorro premieres on ABC (1957–1959)
• October 23 – The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom premieres on ABC (1957–1960).
• November 17 – Scotland Yard premieres on ABC (1957–1958).
• November 26: WHDH-TV/5-Boston begins broadcasting. It soon becomes embroiled in controversy about its license. It finally loses its license in 1972.
• December 25 – Royal Christmas Message first televised with a message from Elizabeth II.
• The Army Game (UK) premieres on ITV (1957–1961).
• Divorce Court (US) (1957–1969, 1985–1992, 1999–present)
• Front Page Challenge premieres (1957–1995).
• The Edsel Show, first full-length show to be recorded on videotape, first of many Bing Crosby specials
• Wagon Train premieres (1957–1965)

Television shows

• Gillette Cavalcade of Sports (1946–1960).
• Howdy Doody (1947–1960).
• Kraft Television Theater (1947–1958).
• Meet the Press (1947–present).
• Candid Camera (1948–present).
• The Ed Sullivan Show (1948–1971).
• Bozo the Clown (1949–present).
• Come Dancing (UK) (1949–1995).
• The Voice of Firestone (1949–1963).
• The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show (1950–1958).
• The Jack Benny Show (1950–1965).
• Truth or Consequences (1950–1988).
• What's My Line (1950–1967).
• Your Hit Parade (1950–1959).
• Dragnet (1951–1959).
• I Love Lucy (1951–1960).
• Hallmark Hall of Fame (1951–present).
• Love of Life (1951–1980).
• Search for Tomorrow (1951–1986).
• American Bandstand (1952–1989).
• The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952–1966).
• Adventures of Superman (1952–1958)
• The Guiding Light (1952–2009).
• The Today Show (1952–present).
• This Is Your Life (US) (1952–1961).
• Panorama (UK) (1953–present).
• The Good Old Days (UK) (1953–1983).
• Climax! (1954–1958).
• Disneyland (1954–1958).
• Face the Nation (1954–present).
• The Brighter Day (1954–1962).
• The Milton Berle Show (1954–1967).
• The Secret Storm (1954–1974).
• The Tonight Show (1954–present).
• Zoo Quest (UK) (1954–1964).
• Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955–1962).
• Captain Kangaroo (1955–1984).
• Cheyenne (1955–1962).
• Country Music Jubilee (1955–1960).
• Dixon of Dock Green (UK) (1955–1976).
• Gunsmoke (1955–1975).
• Mickey Mouse Club (1955–1959).
• The Lawrence Welk Show (1955–1982).
• This Is Your Life (UK) (1955–2003).
• Armchair Theatre (UK) (1956–1968).
• As the World Turns (1956–2010).
• The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford (1956–1961)
• Hancock's Half Hour (1956–1962).
• Opportunity Knocks (UK) (1956–1978).
• The Edge of Night (1956–1984).
• The Gale Storm Show, Oh! Susanna (1956–1960).
• The Price Is Right (1956–1965).
• The Steve Allen Show (1956–1960).
• What the Papers Say (UK) (1956–2008).

Ending this year

• February – Annie Oakley (1954–1957).
• February 26 – Noah's Ark (1956–1957)
• April 13 – The Adventures of Sir Lancelot (UK) (1956–1957).
• Kukla, Fran and Ollie (1947–1957).
• Life is Worth Living (1952–1957).
• The Roy Rogers Show (1951–1957).
• The Grove Family (UK) (1954–1957).
• The Three Stooges (1934–1957).

Births

• January 7 – Katie Couric, television host.
• January 17 - Steve Harvey, comedian & game show host.
• February 16 – LeVar Burton, actor
• February 18 – Vanna White, game show presenter
• March 30 – Paul Reiser, actor & comedian.
• April 13 – Gary Kroeger, actor.
• May 3 – Jo Brand, English comedian.
• May 5 – Richard E. Grant, English actor.
• June 12 – Timothy Busfield, actor & director.
• July 21 – Jon Lovitz, actor & comedian.
• July 26 – Nana Visitor, actress.
• August 18 – Denis Leary, actor & comedian.
• August 24 – Stephen Fry, English actor & comedian.
• September 29 – Andrew Dice Clay, comedian.
• September 30 – Fran Drescher, actress & comedienne (The Nanny).
• October 5 – Bernie Mac, actor & comedian (died 2008).
• October 11 – Dawn French, Welch-born English actress & comedienne.
• October 29 – Dan Castellaneta, actor & comedian ("Homer Simpson").
• November 7 – Christopher Knight, actor, (The Brady Bunch).
• December 9 – Donny Osmond, singer, actor & game show host.
• December 21 – Ray Romano, stand-up comedian & actor.