KABC-TV
Only a handful of new shows premiered this week, but a few of them were very notable. It’s not often we include shows that didn’t air nationally on a network, in Syndication or on cable, but a 1954 series shown only in Los Angeles had a much greater impact across the world than anyone imagined … to the point that no one thought to preserve the live broadcasts. 1964 gave us a long-running soap opera that tackled taboo subjects and featured crossovers with a soap from another network. 1984 had a short-lived game show that has become a cult favorite over the years, and 2004 and 2014 produced two animated series and one sitcom, all with modest runs. Scroll down to learn more and tell us if you remember any of the shows celebrating anniversaries this week.
1954
- April 30 – The Vampira Show (KABC-TV, One season, 50 episodes)
Though never aired outside of Los Angeles, The Vampira Show was very popular and became known more widely from newpaper and magazine coverage nationwide. Vampira’s costume was based on a nameless ghoul woman created by Charles Addams for his New Yorker cartoons (she would become known as Morticia Addams). Winning first prize at a Halloween costume ball, Nurmi was spotted by producer Hunt Stromberg Jr. and asked to bring the character to television. Nurmi redesigned the character to be more glamorous and named her Vampira. Nurmi was married to screenwriter Dean Riesner, but he refused to appear with her in public while she was in costume. Nurmi drew influence for Vampira from silent film actresses like Theda Bara and Gloria Swanson, as well as Disney’s Evil Queen from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Nurmi earned $75 a week for her show. The concept of a hosted horror movie show was new at the time but would become duplicated all over the world by local TV stations. The show was so novel and successful that Nurmi appeared on The Red Skelton Show and Ed Sullivan’s Toast of the Town. One episode features Vampira dressed as a dominant school teacher rapping the knuckles of a student who is only seen from the back. The student was played by Nurmi’s friend James Dean, before he became a famous movie star. The show was cancelled, despite its popularity, when Nurmi refused to sell the rights to the character to ABC. She revived the series briefly in 1956 on KHJ-TV in Los Angeles. Nurmi’s appearance as Vampira in Plan 9 from Outer Space was to include dialogue, but she felt it was so dreadful she got permission to perform the role in a mute, spellbound manner. She also performed as Vampira in Las Vegas with Liberace in a show titled Come as You Are. Nurmi was hired in 1981 to recreate The Vampira Show on KHJ, but she quit the project and was replaced with a new character named Elvira, played by Cassandra Peterson. In 1982, Elvira’s Movie Macabre was syndicated across the country, leading Nurmi to sue Peterson for copying Vampira but the case was dismissed. The Vampira Show was aired live on KABC without being preserved as kinescopes for future broadcasts.
1964
- May 4 – Another World (NBC, 35 seasons, 8,891 episodes)
Another World was the first soap opera to talk about abortion in 1964. It was also the first soap to do a crossover episode featuring the characters of Mike Bauer and his daughter Hope from CBS’ Guiding Light. The stayed on the show for a year before returning to Guiding Light. Both shows were created by Irna Phillips. It was the first soap to expand to 60 minutes, then 90 minutes, and back to an hour. Another first, it launched two spin-offs, Somerset and Texas, and one indirect spin-off, Lovers and Friends (later renamed For Richer, For Poorer). As the World Turns character Mitchell Dru became a character on Another World from 1964-1971. After the show ended on June 25, 1999, several characters immediately moved to As the World Turns, some as regulars and some as guests, as both shows were produced by Procter & Gamble. Two of the characters, Vicky and Jake, were violently killed off in 2002 and the crossover experiment essentially ended.
Notable cast members (regulars or guests) included David Ackroyd, Denise Alexander, Elizabeth Ashley, Humbert Allen Astredo, Christine Baranski, Doris Belack, Theodore Bikel, Kimberlin Brown, Jensen Buchanan, Richard Burgi, Gabrielle Carteris, Justin Chambers, Kevin Conroy, Alicia Coppola, Steven Culp, Patti D’Arbanville, Linda Dano, Wanda De Jesus, Charles Durning, Jose Ferrer, Faith Ford, Morgan Freeman, Thomas Gibson, Joanna Going, Ricky Paull Goldin, Kelsey Grammer, Thomas Ian Griffith, Harriet Sansom Harris, Jackée Harry, Anne Heche, Michelle Hurd, Sarah Hyland, John Karlen, Mary Page Keller, Charles Kimbrough, Chrostopher Knight, Jane Krakowski, Eriq La Salle, Mark Lenard, Audra Lindley, Ray Liotta, Cleavon Little, Lindsay Lohan, Dorothy Lyman, Carol Lynley, William H. Macy, John C. McGinley, Beverlee McKinsey, Christopher Noth, Luke Perry, James Pickens Jr., Christina Pickles, Brad Pitt, Dack Rambo, Ving Rhames, Joan Rivers, Eric Roberts, Howard Rollins, William Russ, Gary Sandy, John Saxon, Kyra Sedgwick, Ted Shackleford, Charles Siebert, Frances Sternhagen, Robin Strasser, Janine Turner, Mark Valley, Ann Wedgeworth, Betty White, and Henry Winkler.
1974
- No new series premiered this week in 1974.
1984
Mark Goodson Productions
- June 4 – Body Language (CBS, Two seasons, 396 episodes)
Body Language was a Mark Goodson Productions game show that employed the concept of Charades as two teams tried to guess a word in a puzzle. Tom Kennedy was the host. Each team featured two celebrity and civilian teams. Three pilots were filmed for the series. The concept for the show was adapted from the 1974 Milton Bradley board game of the same name. The same concept was used in the 1975 Goodson-Todman game show, Showoffs. Near the end of the show’s run, Kennedy began hosting the syndicated The Nighttime Price is Right, dying his grey hair brown as Bob Barker was still doing at the time on the daytime version. Kennedy’s dyed hair can be seen in later episodes of Body Language. All episodes survive and have been show on Game Show Network and BUZZR. Betty White was a frequent celebrity guest on the show, and two clips were featured on a third season episode of White’s Hot in Cleveland, with her name tag digitally altered to read Elka, the name of her character, making it appear as if she was a contestant on the show.
1994
- No new series premiered this week in 1994.
2004
- May 1 – Megas XLR (Cartoon Network, Two seasons, 26 episodes)
The pilot episode of Megas XLR was aired as part of Cartoon Network’s Cartoon Cartoon Weekend Summerfest to determine which pilot would become a new Cartoon Cartoon. Megas XLR was the most popular among viewers.
2014
Universal Cable Productions
- April 29 – Playing House (USA Network, Three seasons, 26 episodes)
- May 2 – Space Racers (PBS Kids/Sprout, Two seasons, 90 episodes)
Playing House was created by stars Lennon Parham and Jessica St. Clair, and was based on their real-life friendship.
Space Racers originally began as a webseries titled Space Race on March 22, 2011 — and retitled Space Racers in 2012 — before its TV debut in 2014. The first season was a co-production with Maryland Public Television, and with the move to Sprout the second season was funded by NASA.
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