Top 10 TV Shows of 1950: What America Was Watching

[@larryboysen5911]

At age 81, I remember these vintage programs fondly...as we got our first TV set...a 12" Magnavox table model in 1949! My dad was already gaining the knowledge of radio and TV repair...and would later go into partnership in a sales and service business here in San Francisco in the late 1950s.

[@RaymondHackinson]

Even if you had a workable set now, where would you get the tubes ? That was a major problem The tubes would always loosen or burn out

[@notyetsilenced9746]

I wasn't alive in 1950. However, I have seen most of these shows (on DVD). Martin and Lewis were great. I restore antique TVs as a hobby, and currently have four 1950 sets in perfect working order. Watching a 1950 TV show on a restored 1950 TV is as close as you can get to replicating the experiences of TV watchers from that era.

[@jamesslick4790]

YES!! Same sorta thing: I have a 1939 Zenith console radio that I restored, it has an input marked "Television"! The thought being that in the future one could play the TV audio through the radio, much like we connect our modern TVs to a "sound bar". The best part of this input is that it accepts voltage much higher than a more typical for the time "phono" input. I wired up a 3.5mm jack and use it with an Mp3 player for listening to "old time radio" broadcasts, Not just OTR radio shows but also 1940s music and newscasts. Listening to WWII play out on a radio that was actually around then REALLY enhances the experience!

[@JackBarlow-i4l]

I wish I had an old tv set and that's what would play 24/7.

[@notyetsilenced9746]

@@jamesslick4790 The reason your radio has a "television" audio input is because the 1939 TVs required a separate audio amplifier to hear the sound.

[@jamesslick4790]

@@notyetsilenced9746 Oh, Cool, Never knew that. Given how lousy sound is on many modern sets I could argue that's the case today, LOL.

[@RaymondHackinson]

My father wouldn't pay that much back then for a tv set so even though I grew up in that era I didn't get to see these shows unless I was visiting in some ones else's house

[@tmrozzer]

We got our 1949 Muntz tv in 1950 when I was 9 years old. Sid and Imogene were major influences in who I am today. I had the pleasure of driving Imogene when I was a limousine driver in 1982. I'm probably the only driver to hug and almost cry meeting their passenger. My brother and I were raised on radio and we lived every one of these tv shows shown. I will be sending this video to my high school classmates and other "old farts." This was a fantastic video. Thank you.

[@RaymondHackinson]

I loved Imogene also. think she was the precursor of Carol Burnett My neighbor who is 86 also thinks their acting style is similar

[@spaceagerabbit]

That’s amazing you drove Imogene! Was she as nice as I always imagined her to be? She's one of my favorites! What a great memory! Thank you for sharing 🙂 and thanks for sharing my video too!!

[@rabaohong9492]

I was alive back then, but I didn’t have a TV until about 1960. “The Ernie Kovacs Show” 10 years on the air

[@williampitt4997]

I was born in 1945. We lived in Los Angeles so we had five stations but only a few homes had tv sets so all us kids would head to the neighbors to watch tv. Still watch Hoppy today!

[@kennance115]

Where I lived many of these shows were reruns until about 1963. They really bring me back to my early childhood. Those years were great for kids..

[@brianarbenz1329]

Thanks for all the work you did on this excellent vid. I am fascinated with how TV was transitioned into the dominant medium of our society during that era. My mother told us she liked "Your Show of Shows" during that time. She was newly married and just out of college. When we watched some episodes of that program aired during the nostalgia craze in the mid 1970s, I realized why Mom had always watched it. The cleverness of the skits was superb. Dick Van Dyke has said Your Show of Shows still ranks as the best comedic show ever, and I agree.

[@spaceagerabbit]

Always nice to see you in the comment section 🙂 Your mom was right! Your Show of Shows was great TV!

[@sircuffalot]

A local collage in So.Calif. had a TV broadcast lic. The range was limited. Around the late 1990's A professor that taught broadcasting would host a weekly show called "I Remember Television" He was able to obtain rare old TV shows and he would first give an interduction about the show, and its history. Most of the shows on this video I had the privilege to see a full production uncut. Once in a while he introduced a person involved in the production who happen to have kept a copy of a show that many assumed was lost forever. So much history, already forgotten, sad may be totally gone by the next generation.

[@lindawatkin9667]

I was 10 years old.These shows were special.

[@Nunofurdambiznez]

Fabulous stuff!!

[@robt5818]

Great choice Rabbit: 1950. This was before I was born, but I can imagine how fascinating this new technology must have been. Of course, in the 1930s and 1940s the main entertainment choices were radio and movies. Having moving pictures in your own living room must have been so exciting!

[@ManuelRocha-xz1gd]

I missed hearing your lovely voice. You can talk about anything, but I still love hearing your voice.

[@spaceagerabbit]

Awww, thank you so much! I'm so glad you enjoyed the video (and my voice!) 🙂

[@ralphbalfoort2909]

Maybe just because I was a kid, but I remember "Hopalong Cassidy" and "the Lone Ranger," but I also remember "I Remember Mama." The latter was one of my favorite shows.

[@FullHD-g4x]

Captain kangaroo bozo the clown wgn Chicago Mr wizard/Rogers now a days I use firesigne theatre and make it happen at 72 I wish I had my own Murdoch empire along with unkie Hurst don't forget MST3K

[@kragsurtur]

Just realized that one of my fav shows "Have Gun Will Travel"... borrowed wardrobe from Hoppy! Paladin had an almost white horse!

[@colonial6452]

Hopalong Cassidy, The Lone Ranger and other cowboy shows taught my generation value lessons that I still use today. I received a Hopalong Cassidy cowboy suit for my birthday in the mid-50s and even wore it to bed that night. Superman, deemed corny today, had "Truth, justice and the American way" for its theme. Today, children are being taught other values and it is a real shame.

[@greggi47]

I was born in 1947 and doubt that I saw any of these shows before 1951-52. My grandparents in Iowa and relatives in Kansas City were early adopters of TV. Even at a very young age, I recognized the quality of Sid Caesar and was mildly amused by Berle's vulgarity. Both impressions were confirmed later. I have seen episodes of some of the shows featured here much later. The TV drama anthologies remain impressive.

[@DrinkingStar]

I am approaching 80 and I remember all of the shows in this video.

[@marshaharris4268]

I was born in 1950. I remember many kids shows such as Howdy Doody, Romper Room, Barnaby. Some of the adult shows were My little Margie,December bride, The millionaire and many more. Great time to be alive!

[@spaceagerabbit]

I loved Romper Room! You mentioned Barnaby. Did you grow up near Cleveland, Ohio?

[@marshaharris4268]

Yes​@@spaceagerabbit

[@spaceagerabbit]

@@marshaharris4268 I'm a NE Ohio kid too! 🙂❤

[@marshaharris4268]

Near Cleveland?​@@spaceagerabbit

[@spaceagerabbit]

@@marshaharris4268 Akron/Canton area ❤

[@josephrogers5337]

We had our first TV in 1958. Hopalong Cassidy, Lone Ranger. Howdy Dudey.) I often would like to see shows today with a strong moral since not the "real life" shows of today. I also grew up listening to Radio shows like Dragnet, Gunssmoke, Tales of the Texas rangers. (showing law enforcement in positive terms), oh for the old days.

[@FullHD-g4x]

Did you mean doo doo do do or dowdy howdy dody diaper service don't forget Garfield goose sheri and lamb chop etc etc creature features and the Mickey mouse club talent then no talent now ...5 10 cent burgers 7 8 10 bucks now Soylent green or Gaines burgers should fit the bill

[@CrabbyOldLady]

Due to the popularity of the TV program, back in the 1950s, anyone who had any kind of a limp, or temporary foot or leg injury, was sure to be called "Hopalong Cassidy"

[@SSN515]

That TV in the ad for 299 dollars would cost 3800 dollars today!

[@thomasguild8675]

I have been enjoying your channel. I have been watching a lot of shows from the 50's to 70's . I am not a fan of today's TV offerings. Great job!

[@spaceagerabbit]

Thank you for watching! I'm so glad you're enjoying my channel 🙂

[@alg11297]

Would recommend your audience to see the film "My Favorite Year" which was, in part, about a Sid Ceasar like show, it's writers, stars, personalities and back stage going's on. Also, one of Peter O'Toole's best performances.

[@joefaller4525]

Yes, I have seen that. I first saw it in HBO in the early 1980s. Very good movie. Pretty sure I have it DVRd on my KZbin TV from TCM network.

[@robertgandler3177]

Dad told me about VA patients watching Hopalong Cassidy!

[@tonycanabal1659]

Dick Van Patten was Nels on "Mama" and had one of his sons named Nels.

[@wendykornfein3337]

Very entertaining. I was born three years later.

[@timfitzgerald1035]

Hopalong Cassidy was the first Hollywood star to jump to tv.

[@kerryguzman8263]

Was born in 1951 only the Lone Ranger I saw later in the 50's,anybody notice the great Mel Brooks who will be 99 in June!

[@FullHD-g4x]

No flash Gordon ?

[@fromthesidelines]

There was't a "Flash Gordon" TV series {syndicated} until 1954. And the movie serials were released to local TV stations in the mid-1950's.

[@MrBig1946]

I remember all of these and they were great. But how about “Mr. Peepers”, the High School science teacher. Another live, beginning 1952. Starting Wally Cox as Mr. peepers, Tony Randall, Jack Warden, Marian Lorne and other greats.

[@neilnagel9857]

I was born in 1951 so the only show that I remember was the Lone Ranger.

[@greatfilmmaker]

53 for me

[@brianarbenz1329]

'58 for me. I'm the kid in this discussion!

[@Juliaflo]

Without 'Your Show of Shows', there would be no 'Saturday Night Live'.

[@jaybennett236]

I was born in 1951 and had first tv in 1957. I remember porky pig cartoons and Douglas Edwards with the news. I thought I Love Lucy began in 1949 or so.

[@R32R38]

From what I found, only about 10% of US households had TV sets in 1950.

[@Richard-o7s6m]

I guessed number one correctly. Number two? Not by a longshot.

[@lindawatkin9667]

Milton Heels. I hesitate to say Makeup.If oh watched the show you know what I mean.

[@jamielacourse7578]

I saw the moon landing on a b&w tv with rabbit ears. We put tinfoil balls on the ends. I think I'm going to like it here.