On Facebook, Quora, and undoubtedly other sites, there’s What’s a test to see if you are old? The example involved this photo from the 50th anniversary of CBS TV in 1978. I remember it well. Because Binghamton, NY, only had one VHF station back when that actually mattered, I tended to watch WNBF Channel 12. The reception was generally better on channels 2 to 13 than on the UHF stations 14 to 83.
The Old Wolf shared a list of the participants. But someone complained that “the list should show the CBS SHOWS for which they were attending the CBS 50th anniversary show.” For instance, NOT Sandy Duncan in ABC’s Roots or Cicely Tyson in the 2011 movie The Help.
Old Wolf replied: “Like I said, the shows that I mentioned are the ones that were the most familiar to me and not necessarily the ones that they were best known for. Want a different list? Create one on your own blog.”
A challenge
So, here’s the list with the performer, the shows, whether I likely recognized them in 1978, and whether I recognize them now. (I had to biggify the pic, of course.)
1 Lassie- Lassie, Y,Y
2 Jean Stapleton -All in the Family, Y, Y
3 Walter Cronkite – CBS Evening News, Y, Y
4 Alfred Hitchcock – Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Y, Y
5 Mary Tyler Moore – The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Y, Y
6 Ellen Corby – The Waltons Y, N
7 Gene Rayburn – Match Game, Y, Y
8 Vivian Vance – I Love Lucy, Y, Y
9 Milburn Stone- Gunsmoke, Y, N – I thought he looked like Barry Goldwater
10 Ann Sothern – The Ann Sothern Show, Y, N
11 Barbara Bain – Mission: Impossible, Y, Y
12 Nancy Walker – Rhoda, Y, Y
13 George Burns – The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, Y, Y
14 Cicely Tyson – East Side, West Side, Y, Y
15 Arthur Godfrey – Arthur Godfrey and His Friends, Y, Y
Born Richard Skelton
16 Red Skelton – The Red Skelton Hour, Y, Y
17 Gale Storm – My Little Margie, The Gale Storm Show (Oh! Susanna), Y, N
18 Danny Kaye – The Danny Kaye Show, Y, Y
19 Sandy Duncan – Funny Face/The Sandy Duncan Show, Y, N
20 Telly Savalas – Kojak, Y, Y
21 Dale Evans – The Roy Rogers Show, Y, Y; incidentally, this was an NBC primetime show (1951–1957), but rerun on CBS Saturday mornings from 1961 to 1964
22 Roy Rogers – The Roy Rogers Show, Y, Y
23 Ken Murray – The Ken Murray Show (1950-53), N, N
24 June Lockhart – Lassie, Lost in Space, Petticoat Junction, Y, Y
25 Arthur Murray – The Arthur Murray Party, Y, N
26 Kathryn Murray – The Arthur Murray Party, N, N
27 Eric Scott – The Waltons, N, N
28 Cami Cotler – The Waltons, N, N; I could identify them in 1978 as “those kids from the Waltons,” but not by name
29 Bonnie Franklin – One Day at a Time, Y, Y
30 William Conrad- Cannon, Y, Y
31 Eva Gabor – Green Acres, Y, Y
32 Allen Funt – Candid Camera, Y, Y
33 Tim Conway – The Tim Conway Comedy Hour, The Carol Burnett Show, Y, Y
34 Danny Thomas – The Danny Thomas Show, Y, Y
35 Bob Keeshan – Captain Kangaroo, Y, Y; his copy of the picture was up for auction in 2013
36 Dennis Weaver – Gunsmoke, Y, Y
37 Ray Walston – My Favorite Martian, Y, Y
38 Sally Struthers – All in the Family, Y, Y
39 Garry Moore – I’ve Got A Secret, The Garry Moore Show, Y, Y
40 Linda Lavin – Alice, Y, Y
41 Douglas Edwards – Douglas Edwards with the News, N, N
Guinness World Record for “Longest TV career by an entertainer (female)
42 Betty White – The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Y, Y
43 Bob Schieffer- CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite, Y, Y
44 Ned Beatty – Szysznyk (a 15-episode show from 1977 I had never heard of), Y, Y
45 Charles Kuralt- CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite, Y, Y
46 Arlene Francis- What’s My Line, Y, Y
47 Jamie Farr – MAS*H, Y, Y
48 Adrienne Barbeau – Maude, Y, Y
49 Vicki Lawrence – The Carol Burnett Show, Y, Y
50 Mary McDonough – The Waltons, N, N
51 Don Knotts – The Andy Griffith Show, Y, Y
52 Lucille Ball – I Love Lucy, The Lucy Show, Y, Y
53 Ed Asner – The Mary Tyler Moore Show; Lou Grant, Y, Y
54 Jackie Cooper – Hennessey, Y, Y
55 Esther Rolle – Maude;, Good Times, Y, Y
56 Joan Hackett – The Defenders, N, N
57 Eric Sevareid – CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite, Y, Y
58 Mike Wallace – 60 Minutes, Y, Y
59 Sherman Hemsley – The Jeffersons, Y, Y
60 Jack Whitaker – The NFL on CBS, Y, Y
61 Isabel Sanford – The Jeffersons, Y, Y
62 Judy Norton Taylor – The Waltons, N, N
Models for Scooby-Doo?
63 Bob Denver – The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis; Gilligan’s Island, Y, Y
64 Caroll O’Connor – All in the Family, Y, Y
65 Dwayne Hickman- The Bob Cummings Show, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, Y, Y
66 Richard C. Hottelet – See It Now, Y, N
67 Will Geer – The Waltons, Y, Y
68 Lesley Stahl – CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite, Y, Y
69 Art Carney – The Honeymooners, Y, Y
70 Tony Randall – The Tony Randall Show (which started on ABC but moved to CBS), Y, Y
71 Bob Newhart – The Bob Newhart Show, Y, Y
72 Dick Smothers – The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, Y, Y
73 Hughes Rudd – The CBS Morning News, Y, N
74 Ted Knight – The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Y, Y
75 Georgia Engel The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Y, Y
76 Jon Walmsley – The Waltons, N, N (I thought it was Ron Howard from The And Griffith Show!)
77 Charles Collingwood CBS Reports, Y, N
78 Audrey Meadows – The Honeymooners, Y, Y
79 Valerie Harper – The Mary Tyler Moore Show; Rhoda, Y, Y
80 Julie Kavner – Rhoda, Y, Y
81 David Harper – The Waltons, N, N
82 Bill Macy – Maude, Y, Y
83 Ken Berry – Mayberry RFD, Y, Y
84 Art Linkletter – Art Linkletter’s House Party, Y, Y
85 Glen Campbell – The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, Y, Y
86 Buddy Ebsen – The Beverly Hillbillies; Barnaby Jones, Y, Y
87 Michael Learned – The Waltons, Y, N
88 John Forsythe – Bachelor Father (on CBS, NBC, then ABC), Y, Y
89 Steve Allen – The Steve Allen Show (1950-55), I’ve Got A Secret, Y, Y
90 Carol Burnett – The Carol Burnett Show, Y, Y
Sha-ZAM!
91 Jim Nabors – The Andy Griffith Show; Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., Y, Y
92 Beatrice Arthur – Maude, Y, Y
93 Loretta Swit – MAS*H, Y, Y
94 Ed Bradley – 60 Minutes, Y, Y
95 Andy Griffith – The Andy Griffith Show, Y, Y
96 Lee Merriwether- Barnaby Jones, Y, Y
97 Demond Wilson – Baby, I’m Back (a 1978 show I had never heard of), Y, Y
98 Lynda Carter – Wonder Women (started on ABC, then CBS), Y, Y
99 James Arness – Gunsmoke, Y, Y
100 Dick Van Dyke- The Dick Van Dyke Show, Y, Y
101 Jack Lord – Hawaii Five-O, Y, Y
102 Ralph Waite – The Waltons, Y, Y
103 Bernard Kalb – CBS Reports, Y, N
104 Martin Landau – Mission: Impossible, Y, Y
105 Rob Reiner – All In The Family, Y, Y
106 Lynnie Greene – On Our Own (a 1977-78 sitcom I don’t remember), N, N
107 John Amos – Good Times, Y, Y
108 Bob Barker – The Price Is Right, Y, Y
109 Bert Convy – Tattletales, Y, Y
110 Dan Rather – 60 Minutes, Y, Y
111 Richard Crenna – The Real McCoys, Y, Y
112 Mike Connors – Mannix, Y, Y
113 David Groh – Rhoda, Y, Y
Interesting list of folks NOT here: Jackie Gleason, Alan Alda (MASH), Ron Howard (The Andy Griffith Show), Eddie Albert (Green Acres), and especially Harry Morgan (Pete and Gladys, MASH).