Week of May 8, 1955

Blocking NATO - Communist East Germany’s Prime Minister announces that a

Soviet bloc military alliance to rival NATO will be set up in Warsaw next week.

The military alliance plan calls for rearming East Germany and putting all the

armies of East European Communist countries under a unified command.

antipolio vaccination program be held up until all

vaccine making and testing can be double-checked for

safety. Surgeon General Leonard Scheele said he

hoped this would take only a few days and that the

mass inoculations could be under way again later this

week “with renewed confidence.”

The main exhibit floor of New York’s mammoth new

Coliseum project on Columbus Circle collapses with an

explosive roar. 40 workers are injured, but not

seriously.

President Eisenhower authorizes Secretary of State Dulles to agree to a meeting

with the other Big Four heads of government under certain conditions.

President Eisenhower responds to continuous press conference questions about

the quick rollout of the Salk vaccine. Is the government rolling it out too soon?

Does it really work? “I believe it absolutely. I can’t say what the government

believes - that’s a lot of people. I know what I believe. I believe these experts,”

said the President.

staff.

Russia bows to a United States ultimatum

and agrees to an Austrian treaty on western

terms. The treaty signing will take place

Sunday morning in Vienna.

The prices of stocks on the New York Stock

Exchange advanced an average of 2.9% in

April.

Week of May 8, 1955

Sports - Re-signs for one season -

Ted Williams grabs a handful of bats, dons his familiar

No. 9 and begins workouts at Fenway Park after

signing a baseball contract for the balance of the 1955

season with the Boston Red Sox. The contract is said

to be between $50,000 and $70,000.

Jockey Eddie Shoemaker rides Swaps to win the

Kentucky Derby.

Giants their fourth straight victory, a 4-3 triumph over

St. Louis.

Entertainment news -

Newlyweds - Joan Crawford returns to Hollywood with her new husband, Alfred

N. Steele, soft drink tycoon. They were married in Las Vegas. “This is the

happiest moment of my life… I am going to make him the best wife in thee

world,” said the actress.

a new home for a new audience on television. At WPIX-TV, the comedies have

been playing for 4 months, and already according to general manager Fred

Thrower, this is a sponsor waiting list. Over 1 million watch the comedies over

WPIX-TV.

this week’s “I Love Lucy:” “When I walked on the

Tousled and ringlet-red hair streamed from under

a battered stovepipe hat. It was the most perfect

imitation I’ve ever seen. I rushed over to Lucy,

grabbed her hair and asked, “Where did you get

such a perfect wig? You could have heard her scream way down in Palm

Springs. It seems it was Lucy’s own hair. I had forgotten she didn’t need any help

in duplicating my wig.”

Week of May 8, 1955

Friday night television -

CBS - Douglas Edwards news, Perry Como, Mama, Topper, Playhouse of Stars,

Our Miss Brooks, The Line-Up, Person to Person

NBC - News Caravan w/John Cameron Swayze, Eddie Fisher, Red Buttons, Life

of Riley, The Big Story, Dear Pheobe, Boxing. Tonight

ABC - John Daly news, Rin Tin Tin, Ozzie and Harriet, Ray Bolger Show, Dollar

a Second, The Vise, I Led Three Lives, Mr. District Attorney

Dear Phoebe - Peter Lawford runs into a little monster trying to impress his girl

friend.

Hammerstein, and Betty Furness. Betty is the TV

spokesperson for Westinghouse, but it will be interesting to

see which appliances she has in her home.

At the movies -

Richard Todd, Jean Peters

Wallace

Parker

Viveca Lindfors, John Derek

Oberon, David Niven

Caron

Saturday Night on NBC-TV

Week of May 8, 1955