See also: 1956 in television, other events of 1957, 1958 in television and the list of 'years in television'.

Contents

1 Events 2 Debuts 3 Popular Television Shows 4 Ending this year 5 Births

Events

• January 6 - Elvis Presley makes final appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.
• Jack Paar becomes the permanent host for NBC's The Tonight Show.
• March 31 - Cinderella, starring 21-year-old Julie Andrews, and with songs by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, airs in color on CBS.
• The final episode of I Love Lucy.
• In the UK, the "toddler's truce" (an arrangement whereby there were no TV broadcasts between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m., to allow parents to put their children to bed) was abolished.

Debuts

• January 5 - The Benny Hill Show premieres in the UK
• April - The Sky at Night appears for the first time, presented by Patrick Moore
• Leave It to Beaver premieres (1957-1963)
• The Army Game (UK) premieres on ITV (1957-1961)

Popular 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)
• 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)
• Love of Life (1951-1980)
• Search for Tomorrow (1951-1986)
• American Bandstand (1952-1989)
• The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952-1966)
• The Guiding Light (1952-present)
• The Honeymooners (1952-1970)
• The Today Show (1952-present)
• This Is Your Life (US) (1952-1961)
• Panorama (UK) (1953-present)
• The Good Old Days (UK) (1953-1983)
• 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)
• 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-present)
• 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-present)

Ending this year

• I Love Lucy (1951-1957)
• The Roy Rodgers Show (1951-1957)
• The Grove Family (UK) (1954-1957)
• Jungle Jim (1956-1957)

Births

• January 1 - Georgia Allen, actress
• January 7 - Katie Couric, television host
• September 10 - Dan Castellaneta, voice actor ("Homer Simpson" and "Grandpa Phil" from Hey Arnold!)
• December 30 - Matt Lauer, NBC newscaster