1966 in television - Definition and Overview

See also: 1965 in television, other events of 1966, 1967 in television and the list of 'years in television'.

Events

• January 3 - Hullabaloo shows promotional videos of The Beatles songs "Day Tripper" and "We Can Work It Out".
• January 8 - Shindig! airs for the last time on ABC, with musical guests the Kinks and the Who.
• February 23 - Television is first broadcast in Greece when ERT went on the air.
• June 5 - A taped appearance by The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show. The band debuts their music videos for "Rain" and "Paperback Writer".
• June 27 - The first episode of the supernatural soap opera Dark Shadows airs on ABC, introducing Victoria Winters (Alexandra Moltke) to the viewing audience as she applies for a job at the Collinwood Manor.
• July 1 - First Canadian color television broadcast.
• September - ABC switches to the color standard, meaning that all three US networks are now broadcasting in color regularly.
• September 3 - The last new episode of the television series The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet airs.
• September 7 - The final episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show airs (the first episode aired on October 3, 1961).
• October 2 - The four-part serial Talking to a Stranger, acclaimed as one of the finest British television dramas of the 1960s, begins transmission in the Theatre 625 strand on BBC2.
• November 16 - Cathy Come Home, possibly the best-known play ever to be broadcast on British television, is transmitted in BBC1's The Wednesday Play anthology strand.
• The 1951-1953 CBS sitcom Amos & Andy is pulled from circulation due to complaints from civil rights organizations.
• Macdonald Carey starts reciting the epigram "Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives" at the beginning of his dramatic serial, Days of Our Lives, a tradition that continues today, over a decade after his passing.

Debuts

• January 12 - Batman debuts on ABC (1966-1968)
• September 12 - The Monkees premieres (1966-1968)
• Dark Shadows premieres (1966-1971)
• Family Affair premieres (1966-1971)
• Play School premieres (1966-present)
• Star Trek premieres (1966-1969)
• That Girl premieres (1966-1971)
• The Newlywed Game premieres (1966-1974)

Television Shows

• Meet the Press (1947-present)
• Candid Camera (1948-present)
• The Ed Sullivan Show (1948-1971)
• Truth or Consequences (1950-1988)
• What's My Line (1950-1967)
• Love of Life (1951-1980)
• Search for Tomorrow (1951-1986)
• American Bandstand (1952-1989)
• The Guiding Light (1952-present)
• The Honeymooners (1952-1970)
• The Today Show (1952-present)
• Panorama (UK) (1953-present)
• The Good Old Days (UK) (1953-1983)
• Face the Nation (1954-present)
• The Milton Berle Show (1954-1967)
• The Secret Storm (1954-1974)
• The Tonight Show (1954-present)
• Captain Kangaroo (1955-1984)
• Dixon of Dock Green (UK) (1955-1976)
• Gunsmoke (1955-1975)
• The Lawrence Welk Show (1955-1982)
• This Is Your Life (UK) (1955-2003)
• Armchair Theatre (UK) (1956-1968)
• As the World Turns (1956-present)
• Opportunity Knocks (UK) (1956-1978)
• The Edge of Night (1956-1984)
• What the Papers Say (UK) (1956-present)
• The Sky at Night (UK) (1957-present)
• Blue Peter (UK) (1958-present)
• Grandstand (UK) (1958-present)
• Bonanza (1959-1973)
• Juke Box Jury (1959-1967, 1979, 1989-1990)
• Coronation Street (UK) (1960-present)
• My Three Sons (1960-1972)
• The Andy Griffith Show (1960-1968)
• The Avengers (UK) (1961-1969)
• The Fulton Sheen Program (1961-1968)
• The Mike Douglas Show (1961-1981)
• Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color (1961-1969)
• Match Game (1962-1969, 1973-1984, 1990-1991, 1998-1999)
• The Beverly Hillbillies (1962-1971)
• The Late Late Show (Ireland) (1962-present)
• The Lucy Show (1962-1968)
• Z-Cars (UK) (1962-1978)
• Doctor Who (UK) (1963-1989, 1996, 2005-present)
• General Hospital (1963-present)
• Petticoat Junction (1963-1970)
• The Doctors (1963-1982)
• Another World (1964-1999)
• Bewitched (1964-1972)
• Crossroads (UK) (1964-1988, 2001-2003)
• Daniel Boone (1964-1970)
• Gilligan's Island (1964-1967)
• Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. (1964-1970)
• Jeopardy! (1964-1975, 1984-present)
• Peyton Place (1964-1969)
• The Wednesday Play (UK) (1964-1970)
• Top of the Pops (UK) (1964-present)
• Days of Our Lives (1965-present)
• Get Smart (1965-1970)
• Green Acres (1965-1971)
• Hogan's Heroes (1965-1971)
• I Dream of Jeannie (1965-1970)
• Lost In Space (1965-1968)
• The Dean Martin Show (1965-1974)
• World of Sport (UK) (1965-1985)

Ending this year

• The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952-1966).
• The Donna Reed Show (1958-1966).
• Danger Man (UK) (1960-1961; 1964-1966).
• The Flintstones (1960-1966).
• Ben Casey (1961-1966).
• Mister Ed (1961-1966).
• The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961-1966).
• Ready Steady Go (1963-1966).
• Shindig! (1964-1966).
• The Addams Family (1964-1966).
• The Munsters (1964-1966).
• This Hour Has Seven Days (1964-1966).
• Hullabaloo (1965-1966).

Births

• January 2 - Rosie Millard, UK television news reporter.
• January 9 - Giselle Blondet, Puerto Rican actress and show host.
• February 19 - Justine Bateman, actress on Family Ties.
• May 20 - Mindy Cohn, actress on The Facts of Life.
• July 11 - Debbe Dunning, actress.
• November 12 - David Schwimmer, actor, Friends.

Deaths

• March 3 - William Frawley, actor who co-starred in I Love Lucy and My Three Sons.
• December 15 - Walt Disney.