1960 in television

Events

• February 11 - Jack Paar[?] walks off his TV show because his monologue had been edited the night before, in favor of a three minute news update. Parr walked out at the beginning of the show, announced that he was quiting, said "There's got to be a better way to make a living," and walked off the stage. After network executives personally apologized, Parr returned to the show a month later. His first show back started with the words "As I was saying before I was interrupted..."
• American Presidential Candidates John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon debate live on television. The candidates behavior during the debate most likely altered the outcome of the election. In addition to being the first Presidential debates to be broadcast on television, the debates also marked the first time "split screen" images were used by a network.
• 90% of homes in the United States now own a television set, and over one hundred million television sets in use worldwide

Popular Television Shows

• The Andy Griffith Show premieres (1960-1968)
• Coronation Street (top British soap opera) began in this year, was slated by the critics -- and is still running.
• My Three Sons premieres (1960-1972)
• Hanna Barbera's The Flintstones debut on September 30 in primetime (1960-1966)
• Bonanza (1959-1973)
• The Ed Sullivan Show (1948-1971)
• Gunsmoke (1955-1975)
• The Tonight Show (1954-present)
• Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone (1959-1965)
• Lawrence Welk Show (1955-1982)

Births

• July 8 - David Duchovny

Deaths