1974 in television

For the American TV schedule, see: 1974–75 United States network television schedule.

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The year 1974 involved some significant events in television. Below is a list of television-related events of that year.

Events

• January 6 – CKGN-TV begins broadcasting in Brantford, Ontario.
• January 31 – CBS airs a multi-Emmy-winning adaptation of Ernest J. Gaines' novel The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, which follows the 110-year life of a former slave from the Civil War to the Civil Rights Movement. Cicely Tyson portrays the title role.
• February 1 – KITC (now KIVI-TV) begins broadcasting in Boise, Idaho.
• February 8 – After 20 years, The Secret Storm airs its 5195th and final episode on CBS Daytime. The show is replaced ten days later by Tattletales, a game show hosted by Bert Convy.
• March 11 – The children's special Free to Be... You and Me, produced by comedic actress Marlo Thomas, airs on ABC.
• March 13 – The Execution of Private Slovik airs on NBC. A made-for-television film, it told the story of Pvt. Eddie Slovik, the only American soldier to be executed for desertion since the American Civil War.
• March 18 - Lucille Ball ends her 23-year consecutive television reign when Here's Lucy is cancelled.
• April 6 – "Waterloo" wins the Eurovision Song Contest for Sweden and launches ABBA on their stellar global career.
• May 4 – Steve Frame (George Reinholt) marries Alice Matthews (Jacqueline Courtney) for the second time on a special hour-long broadcast of Another World, coinciding with the show's tenth anniversary.
• June 8 – Jon Pertwee makes his final regular appearance as the Third Doctor in the concluding moments of Part Six of the Doctor Who serial Planet of the Spiders. Tom Baker briefly appears as the Fourth Doctor at the conclusion of this serial.
• August 5 – For the first time on a pre-school children's programme, the UK show Inigo Pipkin covers the death of the main character, Inigo, as the actor who played him (George Woodbridge) had died. The show is renamed Pipkins.
• August 8 – US President Richard Nixon resigns live on television.
• September 10 – The controversial TV movie Born Innocent, starring Linda Blair, airs on NBC. The film, which involved a fourteen-year-old being sent to what the television preview deemed a women's prison (when in reality it was a reform school), drew heavy criticism due to an all-female rape scene, the first ever seen on American television. The scene was deleted in subsequent re-airings after a group of girls assaulted an eight-year-old with a pop bottle, influenced by the scene in the film.
• October 6 - Monty Python's Flying Circus, the popular British sketch comedy which aired its final episode this year, is first shown in the U.S. on KERA-TV in Dallas, Texas at 10pm.^[1][2]
• December 28 – Tom Baker makes his first full appearance as the Fourth Doctor in the Doctor Who serial Robot.
• On the American soap opera Love of Life, Meg Dale (Tudi Wiggins) calls her son Ben (Christopher Reeve) a "bastard", the first time a profanity was spoken on American daytime television.

Programs/programmes

• 60 Minutes (1968–present)^[3]
• All in the Family (1971–1979)^[4]
• All My Children (1970–2011)
• American Bandstand (1952–1989)
• Another World (1964–1999)
• Are You Being Served? (UK) (1972–1985)
• As the World Turns (1956–2010)
• Barnaby Jones (1973–1980)
• Blue Peter (UK) (1958–present)
• Bozo the Clown (1949–present)
• Candid Camera (1948–present)
• Captain Kangaroo (1955–1984)
• co (Australia) (1961–present)
• Columbo (1971–1978)
• Come Dancing (UK) (1949–1995)
• Coronation Street (UK) (1960–present)
• Crossroads (UK) (1964–1988, 2001–2003)
• Cutey Honey (Japan) (1973–1974)
• Dad's Army (UK) (1968–1977)
• Days of Our Lives (1965–present)
• Dixon of Dock Green (UK) (1955–1976)
• Doctor Who (UK) (1963–1989, 1996, 2005–present)
• Emergency! (1972–1977)
• Emmerdale Farm (UK) (1972–present)
• Face the Nation (1954–present)
• Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids (1972–1984)
• General Hospital (1963–present)
• Grandstand (UK) (1958–2007)
• Gunsmoke (1955–1975)
• Hallmark Hall of Fame (1951–present)
• Hawaii Five-O (1968–1980)
• Hee Haw (1969–1993)
• Ironside (1967–1975)
• It's Academic (1961–present)
• It Ain't Half Hot Mum (UK) (1974-1981)
• Jeopardy! (1964–1975, 1984–present)
• John Craven's Newsround (UK) (1972–present)
• Kaynanalar (Turkey) (1974-2004)
• Kojak (1973–1978)
• Kung Fu (1972–1975)
• Last of the Summer Wine (UK) (1973–present)
• Love of Life (1951–1980)
• Magpie (UK) (1968–1980)
• Majokko Megu-chan (Japan) (1974–1975)
• Mannix (1967–1975)
• Marcus Welby, M.D. (1969–1976)
• Mary Tyler Moore (1970–1977)
• M*A*S*H (1972–1983)
• Masterpiece Theatre (1971–present)
• Match Game '74 (1962–1969, 1973–1984, 1990–1991, 1998–1999)
• Maude (1972–1978)
• McCloud (1970–1977)
• McMillan & Wife (1971–1977)
• Meet the Press (1947–present)
• Monday Night Football (1970–present)^[5]
• Old Grey Whistle Test (UK) (1971–1987)
• One Life to Live (1968–2012)
• Opportunity Knocks (UK) (1956–1978).
• Panorama (UK) (1953–present)
• Play for Today (UK) (1970–1984)
• Play School (Australia) (1966–present)
• Sanford and Son (1972–1977)
• Schoolhouse Rock! (1973–1986)
• Search for Tomorrow (1951–1986)
• Sesame Street (1969–present)
• Soul Train (1971–2008)
• Space Battleship Yamato (Japan) (1974–1975)
• Superstars (UK) (1973–1985)
• The Benny Hill Show (UK) (1969–1989)
• The Bob Newhart Show (1972–1978)
• The Carol Burnett Show (1967–1978)
• The Doctors (1963–1982)
• The Edge of Night (1956–1984)
• The Good Old Days (UK) (1953–1983)
• The Guiding Light (1952–2009)
• The Late Late Show (Ireland) (1962–present)
• The Lawrence Welk Show (1955–1982)
• The Mike Douglas Show (1961–1981)
• The Money Programme (UK) (1966–present)
• The Odd Couple (1970–1975)
• The Price Is Right (1972–present)
• The Six Million Dollar Man (1973–1978)
• The Sky at Night (UK) (1957–present)
• The Today Show (1952–present)
• The Tomorrow Show (1973–1982)
• The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962–1992)
• The Waltons (1972–1981)
• The Wonderful World of Disney (1969–1979)
• The Young and the Restless (1973–present)
• This Is Your Life (UK) (1955–2003)
• Top of the Pops (UK) (1964–2006)
• Truth or Consequences (1950–1988)
• What the Papers Say (UK) (1956–present)
• World of Sport (UK) (1965–1985)
• Z-Cars (UK) (1962–1978)

Debuts

• January 5 – Tiswas, a local programme in the Midlands (ATV) in the UK, though not fully automatically networked through ITV until 1979 (1974–82)
• January 7
  • How to Survive a Marriage in a 90–minute special on NBC daytime
  • Jackpot! (1974–75), a game show hosted by Geoff Edwards on nighttime NBC
  • Wish You Were Here...? premieres on ITV (1974–2003, 2007–)
• January 15 – Happy Days on ABC (1974–84)
• February 1 – Good Times (a spinoff of Maude) on CBS (1974–79)
• February 10 – Apple's Way on CBS (1974–1975)
• February 18 – Tattletales, hosted by Bert Convy, on CBS daytime (1974–78, 1982–84)
• March 3 – Nova on PBS (1974–present)
• April 12 – Ultraman Leo on TBS in Japan (1974–75)
• May 6 – The $10,000 Pyramid moves to ABC, with Dick Clark as host
• July 1 – High Rollers on NBC (1974–76; 1978–80)
• July 4 – CBS airs its first Bicentennial Minute (They will continue until the end of 1976)
• July 29 – Name That Tune on NBC daytime with Dennis James hosting, and in nighttime syndication with Tom Kennedy hosting
• September 4 – That's My Mama on CBS (1974–1975)
• September 7 (Saturday)
  • Land of the Lost on NBC (1974–77)
  • Valley of the Dinosaurs on CBS (1974–76)
  • Shazam! on CBS (1974–77)
  • Hong Kong Phooey on ABC (1974)
• September 9 (Monday)
  • Rhoda on CBS (1974–78)
  • The $25,000 Pyramid in syndication with host Bill Cullen; basically The $10,000 Pyramid with larger prizes
  • Definition on CTV daytime (1974–89)
  • Dinah! in syndication (1974–80)
• September 11 – Little House on the Prairie on NBC (1974–83)
• September 12 – Harry O on ABC (1974–76)
• September 13 (Friday)
  • Chico and the Man (1974–78) on NBC
  • The Rockford Files (1974–80) on NBC
  • Police Woman (1974–78) on NBC
  • The Texas Wheelers (1974) on ABC
  • Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974–75) on ABC
  • "Planet of the Apes" (1974) on CBS
• September 14 (Saturday)
  • The New Land (1974) on ABC
  • Paul Sand in Friends and Lovers (1974–75) on CBS
• September 23 – Dr. Zonk and the Zunkins on CBC (1974–75)
• October 20 – Derrick, German Krimi written by Herbert Reinecker, starring Horst Tappert, on ZDF (1974–1988)
• November 8 – Countdown on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (1974–87)
• Unknown date – House of Pride on CBC (1974–76)

Ending this year

Date	Show	Debut
January 11	Love, American Style	1969
	Room 222
February 8	The Secret Storm	1954
March 8	The Brady Bunch	1969
March 11	The New Dick Van Dyke Show	1971
March 15	Lotsa Luck	1973
March 18	Here's Lucy	1968
March 23	The Partridge Family	1970
March 24	The Dean Martin Show	1965
April 1	Colditz (UK)	1972
April 5	Ultraman Taro (Japan)	1973
May 29	The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour	1971
June 27	Audubon Wildlife Theatre	1968
	The Flip Wilson Show	1970
September 8	The F.B.I.	1965
October 4	The Texas Wheelers	1974
October 12	Star Trek: The Animated Series	1973
October 19	The New Land	1974
December 5	Monty Python's Flying Circus (UK)	1969
December 20	The Newlywed Game	1966

Births

Date	Name	Notability
January 23	Tiffani Thiessen	Actress (Saved by the Bell, Beverly Hills, 90210, White Collar)
January 31	Anna Silk	Canadian actress (Lost Girl)
February 9	Amber Valletta	Actress (Legends, Blood & Oil)
February 10	Elizabeth Banks	Actress (Scrubs, 30 Rock, Moonbeam City) and singer
February 12	Lisa Brenner	Actress (All My Children)
February 17	Jerry O'Connell	Actor (Sliders)
February 24	Bonnie Somerville	Actress (Grosse Pointe, In-Laws, Code Black)
March 1	Mark-Paul Gosselaar	Actor (Zack Morris on Saved by the Bell)
March 5	Eva Mendes	Actress
March 7	Jenna Fischer	Actress (The Office You, Me and the Apocalypse) and singer
March 12	Jama Williamson	Actress (Parks and Recreation, Hollywood Heights, School of Rock, Just Add Magic)
March 17	Marisa Coughlan	Actress (Wasteland, Side Order of Life)
March 24	Alyson Hannigan	Actress (Free Spirit, Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, How I Met Your Mother) and singer
March 31	Angela Dotchin	Actress (Shortland Street)
April 11	Tricia Helfer	Canadian actress and model (Battlestar Galactica)
April 12	Marley Shelton	Actress (Eleventh Hour, The Lottery)
April 23	Barry Watson	Actor (7th Heaven)
April 26	Ivana Miličević	Bosnian-American actress (Banshee)
April 28	Penélope Cruz	Spanish-American actress
May 21	Fairuza Balk	Actress (Ray Donovan)
May 22	A.J. Langer	Actress (Drexell's Class, My So-Called Life, It's Like, You Know..., Three Sisters, Private Practice)
June 1	Melissa Sagemiller	Actress (Sleeper Cell, Raising the Bar)
June 21	Maggie Siff	Actress (Sons of Anarchy)
June 26	Derek Jeter	New York Yankees baseball player
July 22	Franka Potente	Actress (American Horror Story)
July 23	Stephanie March	Actress (Conviction, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit)
July 26	Genevieve Gorder	HGTV host
July 29	Josh Radnor	Actor (How I Met Your Mother)
July 30	Hilary Swank	Actress (Camp Wilder, Beverly Hills, 90210, The One Percent) and singer
August 6	Ever Carradine	Actress (Once and Again, Commander in Chief, Goliath)
August 15	Natasha Henstridge	Canadian actress (She Spies)
August 20	Amy Adams	Actress and singer
August 28	Kristin Booth	Canadian actress (Signed, Sealed, Delivered)
September 24	Jackie Sandler	Actress and wife of Adam Sandler
	Michelle Ray Smith	Actress (Guiding Light)
October 7	Allison Munn	Actress (What I Like About You, One Tree Hill, Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn)
November 6	Zoe McLellan	Actress (JAG, Dirty Sexy Money, NCIS: New Orleans)
November 11	Leonardo DiCaprio	Actor (Growing Pains)
November 17	Leslie Bibb	Actress (Popular, Crossing Jordan)
November 18	Chloë Sevigny	Actress (Big Love, American Horror Story) and singer
December 11	Lisa Ortiz	Voice Actress (Sonic X Slayers Pokémon)
December 17	Sarah Paulson	Actress (American Horror Story)
	Giovanni Ribisi	Actor (Dads)
	Marissa Ribisi	Actress (Grown Ups)
December 18	Kari Byron	Actress and TV host (Head Rush, MythBusters)
December 27	Kylee Cochran	Actress
December 29	Maria Dizzia	Actress (Orange is the New Black)

Deaths

Date	Name	Age	Notability
March 20	Chet Huntley	62	Co-anchor of the NBC evening newscast
April 17	Frank McGee	52	Journalist, NBC news
April 30	Agnes Moorehead	73	Actress (Endora on Bewitched)
July 15	Christine Chubbuck	29	News reporter on WXLT in Sarasota, Florida (on-air suicide)
July 19	Joe Flynn	49	Actor (Capt. Binghamton on McHale's Navy)
October 13	Ed Sullivan	73	Host (The Ed Sullivan Show)
November 5	Stafford Repp	56	Actor (Chief O'Hara on Batman)
December 21	Richard Long	47	Actor (The Big Valley, Nanny and the Professor)
December 26	Jack Benny	80	American comedian (The Jack Benny Program)

References

1. McCall, Douglas (2014). Monty Python : a chronology, 1969-2012 (Second ed.). Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. p. 36. ISBN 078647811X.
2. Young, Bill. "Monty Python, 1969-2014". Tellyspotting: Your Brit TV Pub. KERA. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
3. "About Us", CBS News, Retrieved August 26, 2016
4. "16 Cutting-Edge Facts", Mental Floss, Retrieved August 26, 2016
5. "MNF History: 1970", ESPN, Retrieved August 26, 2016