WLS Channel 7 - Eyewitness News (Complete Broadcast, 2/1/1981) 📺

Here's a complete broadcast of a weekend edition of Eyewitness News on WLS Channel 7, with Larry Moore and Mary Ann Childers.
Includes:
ABC 'circle in stars' ID (voiceover by Allan Jefferys)
Larry, Mary Ann and Roberta Baskin preview stories of upcoming edition
Commercials for:
New Chicago Health & Racquetball Club in Vernon Hills - last day of 50% off on monthly dues
Thomson Vacations
Station ID / Eyewitness News open (voiceover by Wayne Atkinson), starting off with:
- Roberta Baskin "Seven on Your Side" report, "So You Need a Driver's License" (posted separately with full names and details here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iaWQe3SYhdBkl6M)
Commercials for:
Minolta EP 310 copier (looks like Joe Piscopo in this ad)
Amoco Premium Lead-Free Gasoline
More news:
- $30,000 worth of marijuana weighing 63 lbs. seized by Chicago police; suspected buyer, Ruben Vargas, paid with counterfeit money, and sellers arrested
- In Hammond, IN, 34-year-old Vietnam vet Gary Cooper, despondent over celebrations for ex-hostages, barricades himself in his home and is shot to death by police; his wife Barbara blames "all of us" for incident
- Memorial mass held for Patrick Quinlan (5-year-old son of Cook County circuit court judge William Quinlan) who died from injuries sustained in fire on January 17th
- Strike at Schwinn bicycle factory ends after more than 3 months
Commercials for:
Canon Palm Printer calculator (ending voiceover by Wayne Atkinson)
Topol - "The Smoker's Tooth Polish"
Arlington Park Camping & Travel Show for February 6th-15th (scheduled for February 10th-13th: Clayton Moore as Lone Ranger)
Federal Express
News resumes:
- Protest at United Methodist Church against U.S. backing of El Salvador military junta
- Long Ecuador-Peru war may come to an end; Peru orders cease fire over debate on control of border along Andes mountains
- Landing gear problems force Chicago-bound United flight to land in Los Angeles, one day after Eastern 727 lands safely in New York after part of its landing gear collapses, and Northwest DC-10 returns to Dulles Airport in Washington after engine trouble
- United Arab Emirates boosts crude oil prices by $3 a barrel
- At Lincoln Park Zoo, different breeds of cats taking winter weather in stride
Commercials for:
1981 Oldsmobile Cutlass - 1-derful Sweepstakes from Gallant Men of Olds
American Airlines - #1 Choice (voiceover by Peter Thomas)
American Express Card - with Red Adair (voiceover by Peter Thomas)
Jamaica Tourist Board
Back to news:
- Illinois House of Representatives authorized by Supreme Court to cut back to 118 members in 1983
- Jim Ramsey with the weather forecast
Commercials for:
Tropicana orange juice (cartons and jars change to oranges)
True Value Hardware Stores Valentine's Day sale
AMC Eagle
Greek National Tourist Organization
Jay Berry sports report, including: DePaul-Syracuse game, NBA All-Star Game, NFC-AFC Pro Bowl game, action at U.S. Indoor Tennis Championships, ex-baseball players in indoor soccer match, hockey scores, and Bing Crosby Pro-Am Tournament
Then more news:
- At Conrad Hilton Hotel, 3,500 student musicians participate in All State Choir and Band competition
With that, Mary Ann and Larry close broadcast and promote upcoming ABC News Weekend Report; a faraway shot of set, with what looks like Ikegami HK-312 cameras now being used by WLS (and Q-TV VPS-100 prompters mounted on lenses)
Commercials for:
Midway Airlines - "Fly the Wholesale Skies"
AMC Spirit, Concord and Eagle (ending voiceover by Wayne Atkinson)
Boushelle's annual 2 for 1 Cleaning Sale (still using their HUdson 3-2700 number, even though the 2L-5N phone exchange structure was abandoned for good by local telephone companies by 1978)
Station ID / Robb Weller promo for AM Chicago
This aired on local Chicago TV on Sunday, February 1st 1981 during the 9:58pm to 10:29pm timeframe.
This was from a tape donated to The Museum of Classic Chicago Television as part of the Kevin Burk Collection.
About The Museum of Classic Chicago Television:
The MCCTv (FuzzyMemoriesTV) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit whose primary mission is the preservation and display of off-air, early home videotape recordings (70s to early 80s, mostly) recorded off of TV (in Chicago or other cities now too); things which would likely be lost if not sought out and preserved digitally. If you have any old 1970s videotapes recorded off of TV please email: [e-mail] Even though (mostly) short clips are displayed here, we preserve the entire broadcasts in our archives - the complete programs with breaks (or however much is present on the tape), for historical preservation. For information on how to help in our mission, to donate or lend tapes to be converted to DVD, please e-mail [e-mail] Thank you for your help!

[@fataudra7579]

1:21 OMG I loved THIS COMMERCIAL AS A KID!!!! **Thomson's on the spot/YEAH Thomson's on the spot!**

[@theworldwariioldtimeradioc8676]

Interesting opening story. I know someone that worked in the Driver’s License facilities back then. Payoffs went on well after this story.

[@goddessPamelaJJ]

I was 12 during this time. This is real news compared to today. Love the commercials! Thanks for the memories🙏🏾🤍

[@seanpowell1661]

I was 5 yrs old and living on the west side of Chicago.

[@jasonbertalotto2355]

@@seanpowell1661 I was only 2 at the time.

[@seanwhatshisname1831]

Me too news today on a mission

[@Zini561]

I was 12 too…miss these days.

[@TheChicagoL]

I was 24 years old, living in South Shore on the southeast side of Chicago at the time of this "Eyewitness News" Broadcast. Seeing it brings back a flood of memories, especially when it came to "good ole fashioned" corruption in Chicago and the state of Illinois. There's nothin' like it. And it has not changed for the better for sure-Lol.

[@TheChicagoL]

@The World War II News and Old Time Radio Channel Yeah, you best believe it!

[@PRHILL9696]

Nope the city has not changed at all

[@michaelwayne7887]

Joe Piscopo in the Minolta copier commercial must have been about the same time when he started on SNL...(?)

[@michaelbrantley.8628]

I was six years old at the time i remember this yrs ago good memories not like today is full a garbage 🗑️🗑️ i love them commercials thanks 👍 for them memories i miss those days.

[@stevoreno45]

Wow deja vu here. How many times have we seen the Illinois DMV selling licenses in the past 40 years? Checkout Joe Piscapo 8:08 LOL

[@timdailey2690]

Quit “jammin’ me” -Tom Petty

[@TheRetroDepot]

I was 6 when this aired, I miss these days!

[@gilvogt4440]

Haven't seen dirt weed like that since, well, the 80s.....

[@CarlosEmilioEsq]

Strange. I was a kid when this first aired, and never a smoker. But I somehow instantly remembered most of the words to that Topol commercial at 12:13 even though I haven't seen that ad in 40 years!

[@antony716]

That weed looked as cheap as the money that was traded for it

[@georgemaster689]

This aired on my 12th birthday!

[@TimEric4d3d3d3]

Someone must have told Jim Ramsey to be more animated just before they went on air.

[@theworldwariioldtimeradioc8676]

Schwinn strike led to Schwinn leaving the US. My grandfather worked there from 1940-83 with time out from 1941-45 to fight a war.

[@troytakesphotos]

Said it before, but it’s very strange seeing Larry outside of Kansas City, given that 90% or so of his career was at KMBC.

[@chriskazaam896]

I haven’t lived in Kansas for 28 years. As soon as I saw that face, I thought “whoa.”

[@edmundomorales1780]

Nice. Video

[@andyrose5616]

21:30 Stephen Furst as the tuba player in the Tropicana commercial. The announcer for that commercial is John Bartholomew Tucker.

[@user-qb5rf9uz7d]

The best part is the announcer Wayne Atkinson

[@FuzzyMemoriesTV]

Right on!

[@robertonline6543]

Holy Crap 😲 Mary Ann Childers,I haven't seen her in years... Seeing her brings alot happy memories. I met her when I was like 7 or 10 she did a story about my school I remember I ask her for an autograph or something she said no to me but she was so pleasant and nice and put her arm on my shoulder with a smile...it meant the world to me being a 7 10 yr kid ...she was the best. Is she still around and married to Jay Levin? She was great! Miss Chicago and seeing her.

[@robertonline6543]

Wow Chicago health racquetball...I think I signed up for that for 3 years said I owe 3000 I never used the place and never paid although they made me sign papers for a place I never exercise or went to. I wonder if I was the only one who ended up the same way and not using that club?

[@AQuestionofCharacter]

Finally. A toothpaste for smokers.

[@robertonline6543]

Off topic I hope this channel or some subscriber out there gives you those old startrek TNG tos commercial bumpers that use to play when tos and TNG played back to back on wpwr channel 50 or was it 60 they played John cougar Melloncamp authority song in the startrek commercial. It was my all-time favorite startrek commercial when TNG and tos play back to back...come to think about it I think combat had some cool commercials bumpers too at the time.

[@Reverserd]

We. Thank. You. Ankita. Shar.

[@alonzovillarreal4666]

I was 16 when this aired. Wow!

[@jasoncotal1696]

Was born December 21 1981 not born yet when this air

[@michaelrichardson1898]

That's what happened to George Ryan

[@mysticakhenaton1701]

here goes my 1980's childhood. I just turned 13

[@mysticakhenaton1701]

growing up here in Chicago Mary Ann Childers kept me watching the news. LOL

[@zaheerahshareef8131]

I was in preschool (4 years old) when this aired

[@ARScholer]

Cindy Walsh from 90210!

[@jonnydanger7181]

Whooa Oscar Gamble doing sports 😀

[@kengeorgejones6855]

That's the late Christopher Pennock around 22 minutes, as the guy catching the American Motor keys.

[@dedebones1967]

I was 14 when this aired

[@mrmjb1960]

Bill Beutel and Roger Grimsby was the main anchors during that halcyon days

[@JulianAlpsNews]

Since your comment is in response to a WLS video, it should be pointed out that you're referring to WABC in New York.

[@SagittariusQueen1980]

This is Chicago, not New York! 🙄

[@JulianAlpsNews]

@@SagittariusQueen1980 Right. That's why I pointed out that Michael was talking about WABC and not WLS.

[@mrmjb1960]

Lalo Schifren's Tar Sequence used to open the Eyewitness News every night at 7:00 PM. It came from the movie Cool Hand Luke

[@JulianAlpsNews]

For the record, WLS never had a 7 p.m. newscast; the comment above is about WABC.

[@JulianAlpsNews]

(I just remembered that WLS did have a 7 p.m. newscast for a few years -- the one it produced for WCIU ;) )

[@anibalbabilonia1867]

Aahhh when the mafia had a hold of Chicago!👌😂👍Those where the day’s!

[@ceddymcmartin8988]

Weed has come a long way from that garden mulch in the 80's

[@jazzbo13]

Mexico Driving School. Sounds legit.

[@MrYoumatic]

Woooow, a Bell+Howell Filmosound 16mm projector as one of those grand prizes in the Oldsmobile spot, as seen at 16:05! 📽📽📽📽📽📽📽📽. Just load up those old "salad dressing-scented" movies and it's showtime! 🎬🎞 And that $62 flight to Omaha. The folks at Eugene Eppley Airfield will look forward to see you soon...🛬

[@colincofield3747]

We were a ch 2 news family, well, my mom was at least.

[@CarlosEmilioEsq]

Same with us. But I remember Mary Ann Childers.

[@That0neMonkey]

Why did raquetball become so passè??

[@mrmjb1960]

A heavy Southern accented announcer.

[@JHollowayNetwork]

Mary Ann has shorter hair here.

[@johnxaviere]

larry moore's perfect comb-over...

[@WalterDWormack214]

Boy, this is so depressing to watch.

[@hamradiotimes5586]

Its 2024 still payoffs are done...