Week of July 1, 1955

The shortest steel strike begins and ends this week. A strike of 60,000 steel

workers was called with a shut down of mills. Workers will get 15 cents an hour

pay increase

Nikita Khrushchev puts the Western powers on notice that if they did not want to

talk seriously at Geneva, the Soviet Union “can wait and hold on.”

of the Senate suffers a severe heart attack. He’ll

be unable to return to active duty at this

Congress session.

The serious illness of Senator Lyndon B. Johnson

of Texas (Senate Democrat leader) is causing

concern and many believe he may not be able to

act as leader next year - a presidential year.

Cincinnati’s Tony Trabert best Kurt Nielsen of

Denmark in the men’s singles final at Wimbledon.

Hollywood news - Fess Parker gets the starring

role in the upcoming Disney movie “The Great

Locomotive Chase.” Mr. Parker will appear as a Union spy who had once taken

on oath of allegiance to the Confederacy. Filming begins in August.

This new postage stamp commemorating President Eisenhower’s “Atoms-

for-Peace” plan goes on sale July 28.

Week of July 1, 1955

Television news -

behind the camera. The first show this week featured Phil

Foster, Bill Hayes and Martha Wright.

Hollywood film boon for the television industry - the

manufacture of films for television, now with 250 companies

is a $100 million-a-year business. Over the next year, here

are the film/live estimated broadcast stats for each network…

ABC - 597 hours of film/78 hours of live TV.

CBS - 552 hours of film/22 hours of live TV

NBC - 326 hours of fil/696 hours of live TV.

Soupy Sales, the Detroit funnyman makes his debut in New York

over WABC-TV for a summer tryout - replacing “Kukla, Fran and

Ollie.”

week - moving to CBS from NBC.

Week of July 1, 1955

ABC-TV readies the live broadcast from the new Disneyland in Anaheim,

California. A staff of 63 engineers and technicians will be on hand along with ten

thousand feet of coaxial cable and 26,400 feet of camera cable. ABC-TV is

pulling equipment and personnel from its stations around the country to handle

the assignment. Camera crews and directors have been rehearsing at the park

every Sunday since May 22. The broadcast is July 17.

Music news - Bandleader Paul Whitman can be seen on the summer series

called “America’s Greatest Bands,” a Saturday night CBS-TV summer

replacement for the Jackie Gleason hour. Observes Whitman about kids and

music today: “the kids of today just aren’t doing much dancing. Over a period of

years, the big bands built up the singers and finally taught the people to quit

dancing. That is, most of them did. There were few exceptions. Guy Lombardo

has always done his part for dancing.”

Ballad of Davy Crockett,” says the record has been very good

to him: “You can’t imagine the change it has made in my life. I

was on ‘Show of Shows’ with Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca

for three and a half years, but I was lost in the crowd. Bookers

told my agents: ‘Sorry, I don’t know him.’ “The I was on

Broadway in “Me and Juliet’ but nobody seemed to know me.

They confused me with Gabby Hayes or Richard Hayes. Now

I’m Davy Crockett. There’s still a kind of loss of identity, but at

least I seem to be established as one person.”

Hayes says he went on tour after the song was released - playing thirty cities.

He dressed in a coonskin hat and buckskin jacket and “the kids all joined in.”

Week of July 1, 1955

CBS - Gene Autry Show, Beat The Clock, America’s Great Bands, Two For The

Money, Down You Go, Professional Father, Damon Runyon

NBC - Henry Fonda Presents, Fulton Lewis Jr., Joe Palooka Story, The Soldiers,

Dunninger Show, Steve Allen in Movieland, Your Play Time

ABC - Lawrence Welk, Dangerous Assignment

Henry Fonda Presents - An innocent man gets sent to prison for murder after the

testimony of a 12-year-old girl. Stars Dan Duryea.

Dagmar guests. Dunniger attempts

to read the thoughts of an airline pilot

in flight.

Two For Money - Sam Levenson

takes-over for Herb Shriner as

emcee.

Damon Runyon Theatre - A schoolteacher inherits a

bookie business in “Teacher’s Pet.” Stars Fay Bainter.

At the movies -

Basil Rathbone, Leo G. Carroll

Mitchum, Frank Sinatra

Walt Disney’s Lady and the Tramp

Calhern

Buddy Epsen

Mitchel

Week of July 1, 1955