- March 6
- ABC airs the last (until 1958) Pantomime Quiz TV show. [179.757]
- March 7
- In Los Angeles, California, the 7th Annual Emmy Awards are presented.
- Best Actor Starring in a Regular Series: Danny Thomas for Make Room for Daddy
- Best Actress Starring in a Regular Series: Loretta Young for Letter to Loretta
- Best Audience Participation, Quiz or Panel Program: This Is Your Life and What's My Line?
- Best Children's Program: Lassie
- Best Daytime Program: House Party
- Best Dramatic Program: The United States Steel Hour
- Best Female Singer: Dinah Shore
- Best Individual Program of the Year: Disneyland
- Best Male Singer: Perry Como
- Best Mystery, Action, or Adventure Program: Dragnet
- Best News Reporter or Commentator: John Daly
- Best Situation Comedy: Make Room for Daddy
- Best Sports Program: Cavalcade of Sports
- Best Supporting Actor in a Regular Series: Art Carney for The Jackie Gleason Show
- Best Supporting Actress in a Regular Series: Audrey Meadows for The Jackie Gleason Show
- Best Variety Program: Disneyland
- Best Western or Adventure Series: Stories of the Century
- Most Outstanding New Personality: George Gobel.
[1] [170]
- March 21
- NBC-TV presents the first Colgate Comedy Hour. [457]
- March 27
- CBS airs the last Father Knows Best 30-minute comedy TV show. (The show resumes on the NBC network.) [179.216]
- Steve McQueen makes his network TV debut on Goodyear Playhouse. [1]
- April 1
- NBC-TV airs the final episode of One Man's Family. [457]
- May 9
- Sam and Friends debuts, marking the first television appearance of both Jim Henson and what would become Kermit the Frog and the Muppets. [5]
- May 27
- Red Buttons Show last airs on NBC-TV. [1]
- June 4
- NBC airs the Mickey Rooney Show for the last time. [457]
- June 7
- CBS debuts 30-minute game show The $64,000 Question, with host Hal March. [1] [179.897] [457]
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- First American President to appear on color TV (Dwight Eisenhower). [1]
- June 12
- NBC airs the last episode of the TV comedy Mr Peepers. [457]
- June 18
- CBS airs the last The Jackie Gleason Show TV show. (The show resumes in the fall of 1956.) [179.485]
- June 25
- NBC-TV airs The Imogene Coca Show for the last time. [457]
- June 27
- NBC-TV airs the first of a new weekly series Wide Wide World, with host Dave Garroway. [457]
- CBS-TV debuts The Julius LaRosa Show. [457]
- July 2
- ABC Television premieres The Lawrence Welk Show. [1] [457]
- July 17
- At 4:30 PM, the ABC Television network airs the 90-minute Dateline Disneyland show, broadcasting the opening of Disneyland park. An estimated 90 million people watch the show, the largest live TV broadcast to date, with over twenty cameras and a staff of hundreds. Hosts of the show are Art Linkletter, Bob Cummings, and Ronald Reagan. The official dedication is made by Walt Disney and California Governor Goodwin Knight. [6]
- August 26
- First color telecast (NBC) of a tennis match (Davis Cup). [1] [457]
- August 31
- NBC begins airing the Father Knows Best 30-minute comedy TV show. [179.316]
- First microwave TV station operated (Lufkin, Texas, USA). [1]
- September 10
- CBS premieres the Gunsmoke western TV show. (633 shows are broadcast until 1975.) [179.403] [457]
- September 18
- CBS airs the last Toast of the Town TV show. (The show continues renamed as The Ed Sullivan Show.) [179.287] [457]
- September 22
- Commercial TV begins in England. [1]
- September 25
- CBS premieres The Ed Sullivan Show 60-minute variety show. [179.287]
- October 1
- CBS premieres the Honeymooners comedy half-hour TV show. [179.441] [457]
- October 2
- CBS debuts the Alfred Hitchcock Presents weekly suspense TV show. [1] [457]
- October 3
- CBS debuts the Captain Kangaroo children's television show. [1] [457]
- The ABC TV network launches Disney's second TV show The Mickey Mouse Club. It is a daily one-hour series, showing cartoons and introducing the talents of the "Mouseketeers". (390 shows are produced over four years.) [6]
- October 14
- NBC premieres the Alcoa Theatre 60-minute dramatic variety TV show. [179.40]
- ABC-TV begins airing the Ethel and Albert TV show, starring Alan Bunce and Peg Lynch. [457]
- October 15
- ABC first airs the Grand Ole Opry. [457]
- October 31
- NBC premieres the Matinee Theatre 60-minute live dramatic anthology TV show. [179.633]
- November 13
- First live US telecast from non-contiguous foreign country-Havana, Cuba. [1]
- December 6
- New York psychologist Joyce Brothers wins TV's $64,000 Question on boxing. [1]
- December 25
- NBC airs the last The Colgate Comedy Hour TV show. [179.196]
- December 26
- RKO is first to announce sale of rights to its film library for TV broadcast. [1]
1956
- February 10
- CBS TV debuts the My Friend Flicka TV show. [1] [457]
- March 5
- Movie King Kong is first televised. [1]
- March 17
- In Hollywood, California, the 8th Annual Emmy Awards are presented.
- Best Action or Adventure Series: Disneyland
- Best Actor Starring in a Regular Series: Phil Silvers for The Phil Silvers Show
- Best Actress Starring in a Regular Series: Lucille Ball for I Love Lucy
- Best Audience Participation Series: The $64,000 Question
- Best Children's Series: Lassie
- Best Comedian: Phil Silvers
- Best Comedienne: Nanette Fabray
- Best Contributing to Daytime Programming: Matinee Theatre
- Best Documentary Program: Omnibus
- Best Dramatic Program: Producers' Showcase
- Best Female Singer: Dinah Shore
- Best Male Singer: Perry Como
- Best MC or Program Host - Male or Female: Perry Como
- Best Music Series: Your Hit Parade
- Best News Commentator or Reporter: Edward R. Murrow
- Best Situation Comedy: The Phil Silvers Show
- Best Supporting Actor in a Regular Series: Art Carney for The Honeymooners
- Best Supporting Actress in a Regular Series: Nanette Fabray for Caesar's Hour
- Best Variety Program: Toast of the Town.
[1] [171]
- March 26
- Red Buttons debuts on TV in Studio One. [1]
- April 1
- CBS airs the last Omnibus TV show. (The show continues on the ABC TV network in the fall.) [179.736]
- April 2
- CBS debuts the daytime drama The Edge of Night. [1] [457]
- CBS debuts the daytime drama As the World Turns. [1] [457]
- April 10
- Philips broadcasts first Dutch color TV programs. [1]
- April 13
- At the NARTB convention in Chicago, Illinois, Ampex Corporation of Redwood City, California, demonstrates the first commercial magnetic tape recorder for sound and picture. Price of a machine: $75,000. [1] [5] [457]
- April 15
- ABC premieres the TV show Rhythm on Parade. [457]
- April 21
- Ten-year-old Leonard Ross wins $100,000 on TV quiz program The Big Surprise. [457]
- May 11
- NBC-TV airs the final episode of kids TV show The Pinky Lee Show. [1] [457]
- May 22
- Bob Hope Show last airs on NBC-TV. [1]
- June 5
- Elvis Presley introduces his new single, "Hound Dog", on The Milton Berle Show, scandalizing the audience with his suggestive hip movements. [5]
- June 23
- NBC-TV airs The Jimmy Durante Show for the last time. [457]
- June 24
- NBC premieres The Steve Allen Show 60-minute variety TV show. [179.929] [457]
- July 1
- Elvis Presley, wearing a tuxedo, appears on The Steve Allen Show. [1]
- July 9
- Dick Clark's first appearance as host of American Bandstand. [1]
- August 9
- Alabama begins the first US state-wide, state-supported educational TV network. [1]
- September 17
- Television is first broadcast in Australia. [5]
- September 20
- NBC airs The Dinah Shore Show, formerly called The Dinah Shore Chevy Show, and expanded to 30 minutes. [179.252]
- September 21
- CBS airs the last Our Miss Brooks TV show. [179.750]
- September 22
- CBS airs the last The Honeymooners TV show. A total of 39 episodes aired. [179.441]
- September 29
- CBS resumes airing The Jackie Gleason Show 60-minute comedy variety series. [179.485]
- CBS-TV debuts the Oh! Susanna TV show, starring Gale Storm. [457]
- October 4
- CBS premieres the Playhouse 90 90-minute anthology drama TV show. [179.795] [457]
- October 7
- ABC begins airing the Omnibus 60-minute educational TV show. [179.736]
- October 8
- ABC-TV debuts the TV show Lawrence Welk's Top Tunes and New Talent. [457]
- October 10
- CBS premieres the Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre 30-minute western anthology TV show. [179.248]
- October 29
- NBC first airs the Huntley-Brinkley Report on TV, hosted by Chet Huntley and David Brinkley. [1] [457]
- CBS first uses videotape in network programming, recording Douglas Edwards TV news from New York, and feeding the tape to West Coast stations three hours later. [457]
- November 3
- The Wizard of Oz film first televised (CBS-TV). [1]
- December 18
- CBS-TV debuts panel show To Tell the Turth, hosted by Bud Collyer. [1] [457]
- December 28
- Ding Dong School on NBC-TV cancelled. [1]
1957
- January 28
- NBC debuts Tonight! America After Dark, with hosts Jack Lescoulie and Al (Jazzbo) Collins. [1] [457]
- February 27
- NBC TV premieres the Xavier Cugat Show. [1] [457]
- March 3
- ABC airs the last Omnibus TV show. (The show continues on the NBC TV network in the fall.) [179.736]
- March 16
- In Burbank, California, the 9th Annual Emmy Awards are presented, hosted by Desi Arnaz.
- Best Continuing Performance by an Actor in a Dramatic Series: Robert Young for Father Knows Best
- Best Continuing Performance by an Actress in a Dramatic Series: Loretta Young for Letter to Loretta
- Best Continuing Performance by a Comedian in a Series: Sid Caesar for Caesar's Hour
- Best New Program Series: Playhouse 90
- Best Public Service Series: See It Now
- Best Series Half Hour or Less: The Phil Silvers Show
- Best Series One Hour or More: Caesar's Hour
- Best Single Performance by an Actor: Jack Palance for Playhouse 90
- Best Single Performance by an Actress: Claire Trevor for Producers' Showcase
- Best Supporting Performance by an Actor: Carl Reiner for Caesar's Hour
- Best Supporting Performance by an Actress: Pat Carroll for Caesar's Hour
[1] [172] [1]
- April 28
- Weekly interview show The Mike Wallace Interview first airs. [457]
- May 4
- Alan Freed hosts Rock n' Roll Show on ABC-TV, first prime-time network rock show. [1] [457]
- May 6
- CBS-TV airs the final broadcast of I Love Lucy. [1] [457] (September 1956 [179.462]) (June 24 [457])
- June 22
- CBS airs the last episode of The Jackie Gleason Show. (The show returns in the fall of 1958.) [179.485]
- June 24
- CBC debuts the Front Page Challenge game-interview TV show in Canada. [457]
- NBC-TV airs the last Robert Montgomery Presents TV show. [179.840]
- NBC-TV airs the last Producers' Showcase TV show. [179.809]
- June 25
- NBC-TV airs the last The Armstrong Circle Theatre TV show in the USA. [179.69]
- NBC-TV airs The Jonathan Winters Show for the final time. [457]
- July 17
- ABC airs the last Make Room For Daddy TV show. [179.606]
- July 29
- NBC-TV debuts The Tonight Show, with host Jack Paar. [1] [457]
- August 5
- ABC Television debuts the American Bandstand TV show, hosted by Bob Horn. [1] [5] [457]
- August 30
- ABC airs the last Kukla, Fran, and Ollie TV show. [179.540]
- September 8
- Pope Pius XII encyclical On motion pictures, radio, TV. [1]
- September 10
- CBS-TV airs the last episode of Private Secretary. [457]
- September 15
- CBS-TV debuts the family sitcom Bachelor Father, starring John Forsythe. [1] [457]
- September 18
- NBC TV debuts the Wagon Train TV show. [1] [457]
- September 21
- CBS premieres the Perry Mason 60-minute crime drama TV show, starring Raymond Burr. [179.777] [457]
- September 22
- ABC-TV begins airing the 60-minute western TV series Maverick, starring James Garner. [179.636] [457]
- September 28
- NBC-TV debuts The Gisele MacKenzie Show. [457]
- October 2
- CBS TV begins airing The Armstrong Circle Theatre 60-minute TV show in the USA. [179.69]
- October 3
- ABC-TV debuts The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom weekly music show. [457]
- ABC-TV debuts the comedy series The Real McCoys. [457]
- October 4
- CBS-TV airs the first episode of TV show Leave it to Beaver. [249.41] [457]
- TV show Blondie first airs. [457]
- October 7
- CBS premieres The Danny Thomas Show 30-minute comedy TV show. [179.606]
- NBC changes the Alcoa Theatre show from 60 minutes to 30. [179.40]
- ABC-TV begins airing American Bandstand, hosted by Dick Clark. [457]
- October 10
- The ABC TV network debuts the third Disney TV show, Zorro, in the USA. [6]
- October 20
- CBS premieres The 20th Century 30-minute weekly documentary TV show, hosted by Walter Cronkite. [179.1017] [457]
- NBC begins airing The Dinah Shore Show expanded to 60 minutes. [179.251]
- NBC begins airing the Omnibus 60-minute educational TV show. [179.736]
- November 3
- CBS premieres The Seven Lively Arts 60-minute anthology drama TV show. [179.880]
- November 6
- CBS debuts The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour TV show. [457]
- December 1
- Sam Cooke, Buddy Holly, and Crickets debut on The Ed Sullivan Show. [1]
- December 28
- CBS states it won't broadcast baseball where minor league games are on. [1]
1958
- January 11
- CBS-TV begins airing the Sea Hunt TV show, starring Lloyd Bridges. [457]
- January 15
- New York Yankees sign million dollar plus deal to show 140 games on WPIX TV. [1]
- January 26
- Jack Smith takes over for Art Baker as TV host of You Asked for It. [1]
- January 31
- NBC TV debuts game show Jackpot Bowling, with host Leo Durocher. [1] [457]
- February 15
- ABC-TV debuts The Dick Clark Show. First performers are Connie Francis, Pat Boone, and Jerry Lee Lewis. [457]
- February 16
- CBS airs the last The Seven Lively Arts TV show. [179.880]
- March 11
- Contestant Charles Van Doren finally loses on the TV game show 21, taking away $129,000 in winnings. (When it emerges that he was leaked the answers it creates a TV game show scandal, with Congressional investigation.) [1] [457]
- April 8
- ABC resumes airing the Pantomime Quiz 30-minute TV game show. [179.757]
- April 15
- In Hollywood, California, the 10th Annual Emmy Awards are presented, hosted by Danny Thomas.
- Best Comedy Series: The Phil Silvers Show
- Best Comedy Writing: The Phil Silvers Show
- Best Continuing Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Dramatic or Comedy Series: Robert Young for Father Knows Best
- Best Continuing Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Dramatic or Comedy Series: Jane Wyatt for Father Knows Best
- Best Continuing Supporting Performance by an Actor in a Dramatic or Comedy Series: Carl Reiner for Caesar's Hour
- Best Continuing Supporting Performance by an Actress in a Dramatic or Comedy Series: Ann B. Davis for The Bob Cummings Show
- Best Dramatic Series with Continuing Characters: Gunsmoke
- Best Musical, Variety, Audience Participation or Quiz Series: The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
- Best New Program Series of the Year: The Seven Lively Arts
- Best Public Service Program or Series: Omnibus
- Best Single Performance By An Actor Lead or Supporting: Peter Ustinov for Omnibus
- Best Single Performance By An Actress Lead or Supporting: Polly Bergen for Playhouse 90.
[1] [173]
- June 1
- CBC-TV initiates Canada-wide television broadcasts. [457]
- June 12
- ABC-TV airs the TV game show Make Me Laugh for the last time. [457]
- June 17
- NBC airs the last Your Hit Parade TV show. (The show continues on the CBS TV network.) [179.1099]
- June 27
- NBC airs the last Matinee Theatre TV show. [179.633] [457]
- July 1
- The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation links television broadcasting across Canada via microwave. [5]
- July 3
- ABC-TV premieres The Andy Williams Show. [1] [457]
- July 7
- CBS airs the last See It Now TV show. [179.877]
- August 18
- American TV game show scandal investigation starts. [1]
- August 25
- NBC debuts the TV game show Concentration, with host Hugh Downs. [457]
- September 3
- The ABC TV network airs the last Disneyland TV show. [6]
- September 5
- First color video recording on magnetic tape presented, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA. [1]
- September 6
- CBS-TV begins airing series Wanted: Dead or Alive, starring Steve McQueen. [457]
- September 12
- The ABC TV network premieres the Walt Disney Presents TV show. [6]
- September 17
- NBC airs the last Father Knows Best TV show. (The show moves to the CBS network.) [179.316]
- September 22
- CBS-TV airs The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show for the last time. [457]
- CBS resumes airing the Father Knows Best 30-minute comedy TV show. [179.316]
- September 24
- ABC debuts TV show The Donna Reed Show. [457]
- September 25
- NBC resumes airing The Ed Wynn Show 30-minute comedy variety show, absent since 1950. [179.287]
- September 29
- CBS-TV airs the final anthology drama Studio One. [457]
- September 30
- ABC-TV airs the first episode of TV show The Rifleman, starring Chuck Connors. [457]
- ABC premieres the Naked City 30-minute crime drama TV show. [179.696]
- CBC TV debuts The Friendly Giant 15-minute TV series in Canada. [457]
- October 3
- CBS resumes airing The Jackie Gleason Show 30-minute comedy variety series. [179.485]
- October 8
- The NBC TV network airs the first The Kraft Music Hall 30-minute musical variety TV show in the USA. [179.535]
- NBC-TV debuts the Bat Masterson TV series, starring Gene Barry. [457]
- October 10
- ABC TV debuts the 77 Sunset Strip TV show. [457]
- CBS begins airing the Your Hit Parade 30-minute variety TV show. [179.1099]
- November 2
- CBS airs the last The $64,000 Question TV show. [179.897]
- December 29
- The long-running radio soap Young Dr Malone debuts on TV. [1] [457]
1959
- January 1
- NBC airs the last The Ed Wynn Show TV show. [179.287]
- January 4
- CBS premieres The General Electric College Bowl 30-minute TV game show. [179.362]
- January 5
- Bozo the Clown live children's show premieres on TV. [1]
- January 9
- CBS TV debuts the western TV series Rawhide, starring Clint Eastwood. [1] [457]
- January 12
- NBC premieres The Bell Telephone Hour, a 60-minute music program. [179.99]
- January 26
- ABC-TV debuts the Alcoa Presents TV show. [457]
- January 30
- The ABC TV network airs the Walt Disney Presents TV show, entitled The Peter Tchaikovsky Story. The show is the first stereophonic broadcast of a television program. In some cities, one channel is transmitted on an AM radio station, the other channel on an FM station. [6]
- March 8
- Groucho, Chico and Harpo's final TV appearance together. [1]
- April 14
- CBS airs the last (until 1974) Your Hit Parade TV show. [179.1099] (April 24 [457])
- May 3
- NBC airs the last The Steve Allen Show TV show. [179.929]
- May 6
- In Hollywood, California, the 11th Annual Emmy Awards are presented, hosted by Raymond Burr.
- Best Comedy Series: The Jack Benny Program
- Best Continuing Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Comedy Series: Jack Benny for The Jack Benny Program and Robert Young for Father Knows Best
- Best Continuing Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Series: Raymond Burr for Perry Mason
- Best Continuing Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Comedy Series: Tom Poston for The Steve Allen Show
- Best Continuing Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Dramatic Series: Dennis Weaver for Gunsmoke
- Best Continuing Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Comedy Series: Jane Wyatt for Father Knows Best
- Best Continuing Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Series: Loretta Young for Letter to Loretta
- Best Continuing Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Comedy Series: Ann B. Davis for The Bob Cummings Show
- Best Continuing Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Dramatic Series: Barbara Hale for Perry Mason
- Best Dramatic Series Less Than One Hour: Alcoa Theatre
- Best Dramatic Series One Hour or Longer: Playhouse 90
- Best Musical or Variety Series: The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
- Best News Reporting Series: The Huntley-Brinkley Report
- Best Panel, Quiz or Audience Participation Series: What's My Line?
- Best Public Service Program or Series: Omnibus
- Best Single Performance by an Actor: Fred Astaire for An Evening with Fred Astaire
- Best Single Performance by an Actress: Julie Harris for Hallmark Hall of Fame
- Best Western Series: Maverick.
[1] [174]
- May 10
- NBC airs the last Omnibus TV show. [179.736]
- May 13
- NBC airs the Kraft Music Hall TV show for the final time. [1] [457]
- June 18
- First telecast transmitted from England to US. [1]
- June 26
- CBS journalist Edward R. Murrow interviewed his 500th, and final, guest on Person to Person, actress Lee Remick. [457]
- June 28
- ABC-TV airs The Record Years hosted by Dick Clark, with guests Johnny Mathis, Fabian, the McGuire Sisters, Les Paul, Mary Ford, Fats Domino. [457]
- July 7
- CBS premieres The Andy Williams Show 60-minute musical variety TV show. [179.58]
- August 7
- Explorer 6 transmits first TV photo of Earth from space. [1]
- September 6
- NBC airs the last (until 1967) Dragnet TV show. [179.274]
- September 10
- CBS premieres the Checkmate TV show, a 60-minute mystery series. [179.182]
- September 12
- NBC premieres the Bonanza 60-minute western TV show, marking the first regularly-scheduled TV program presented in color. [5] [179.134] [457] [1835.31]
- September 22
- CBS airs the last The Andy Williams Show TV show. The show continues on the NBC TV network in 1962. [179.58]
- September 24
- The ABC TV network airs the last episode of the Disney-produced TV show, Zorro. ABC cancelled the show because it was cheaper to finance its own shows. 78 episodes were produced. [6]
- September 25
- The ABC TV network airs the last episode of the Mickey Mouse Club TV show. [6]
- September 28
- CBS-TV debuts TV show Hennesey, starring Jackie Cooper. [457]
- September 29
- CBS-TV debuts The Many Loves Of Dobie Gillis, starring Dwayne Hickman. [457]
- ABC-TV debuts the Philip Marlowe TV show. [457]
- October 2
- CBS-TV debuts The Twilight Zone 30-minute TV series, hosted by Rod Serling. (The show runs for 5 years for a total of 154 episodes.) [1] [179.1021] [457]
- October 4
- ABC airs the last Pantomime Quiz TV show. [179.757]
- October 7
- A U.S. House subcommittee begins investigations of allegedly rigged TV quiz shows. [457]
- October 15
- ABC premieres the Untouchables 60-minute crime drama TV show. [179.1030] [457]
- November 2
- College professor Charles Van Doren confesses TV quiz show 21 was fixed. [1] [457]
- November 19
- ABC debuts cartoon TV show Rocky and His Friends. [457]
- November 29
- NBC airs the 2nd Annual Grammy Awards, based on private dinner ceremonies held in Los Angeles and New York. Some winners:
- Record of the Year: Bobby Darin for "Mack The Knife";
- Best Vocal Performance, Female: Ella Fitzgerald for "But Not For Me";
- Best Vocal Performance, Male: Frank Sinatra for "Come Dance With Me";
- Best Country and Western Performance: Johnny Horton for "The Battle Of New Orleans";
- Best Performance by a "Top 40" Artist: Nat "King" Cole for "Midnight Flyer".
[457] [1323]
- December 25
- Sony brings transistor TV 8-301 to the market. [1]
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