CBS: On The Air, A Celebration of 50 Years

Originally Published May 20th, 2007

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It was NBC that, in 1976, started the trend of airing lavish specials in honor of the "big" anniversaries of the broadcast networks. ABC soon followed with its own special in early 1978. But it was CBS and its week-long celebration of fifty years that set the standard for all future anniversary specials. Hosted by Walter Cronkite and Mary Tyler Moore, "CBS: On The Air - A Celebration of 50 Years" ran for an astounding nine-and-a-half-hours during the evenings of Sunday, March 26th, 1978 through Saturday, April 1st, 1978.

On Sunday, November 21st, 1976, as part of its The Big Event series, NBC aired "The First Fifty Years," a four-and-a-half-hour special celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the network, which began as a radio network way back in November of 1926. The special was produced by Greg Garrison and Orson Wells provided the narration Hosts for specific segments included Milton Berle, Johnny Carson, Angie Dickinson, Gene Kelly, Gregory Peck, Jack Albertson and more [1, 2, 3].

The special aired from 7-11:30PM and covered dozens of topics, from the early days of radio to coverage of the Hindenburg; from daytime soap operas to NBC's numerous medical shows. The special ranked third in the weekly ratings, behind only Happy Days and Laverne and Shirley on ABC, and helped NBC pull ahead of ABC to narrowly win the week [4]. More importantly, the high ratings showed the other networks that anniversary specials can draw the attention of viewers.

A year later, NBC aired another special in The Big Event series: "The First Fifty Years-A Closer Look," a two-and-a-half-hour special that focused primarily on the network's comedy and musical/variety offerings of the past fifty years. Orson Welles returned as narrator. This time, the special ranked 12th for the week [5]. But NBC still wasn't done. Another two-hour special, "The First Fifty Years-A Closer Look (Part II)," aired on Tuesday, January 31st, 1978, once again narrated by Orson Welles. Drama and horror were the focus this time around [6].

ABC aired its own anniversary special on Sunday, February 5th, 1978. The baby of the Big Three networks, "ABC's Silver Anniversary Celebration" saluted only twenty-five years, despite the fact that the history of ABC can be traced back to the early 1940s. However, ABC apparently considers its 1953 merger with United Paramount Theatres its true birthday. In any case, the four-hour special was produced by Dick Clark and gathered over 60 current and former stars, including Henry Winkler, Howard Cosell, John Travolta, Ed Asner, Gabe Kaplan and John Wayne. Comedian Alan King provided sarcastic jabs at the network's early blunders [7].

With NBC and ABC's anniversary specials over and done with, CBS was the only network left to provide audiences with a self-congratulatory celebration of its past. Like NBC, CBS had fifty years to work with; the CBS radio network was born on September 18th, 1927 as the Columbia Phonograph Broadcasting System. Exactly fifty years later, CBS Radio aired a three-hour retrospective of its radio broadcasts. The CBS television network was not far behind.

At the prodding of William S. Paley himself, in May of 1977 the network began laying the foundation for an elaborate celebration that would put all other celebrations to shame. Alexander H. Cohen, famed Broadway producer and the man responsible for bringing the Tony Awards to television, was hired to oversee production along with his wife Hildy Parks [8].

Although the network attempted to bring together as many of its stars as possible, a few were just unable -- or unwilling -- to be involved. According to TV Guide, Cher and Amanda Blake were sick and ABC would not let Cloris Leachmen participate in a special on another network. And Charlton Heston, supposedly, would not give CBS permission to use his likeness [9].

View a CBS Commercial for "CBS: On The Air"

Rather than relying on a single broadcast, CBS opted for an extravagant nine-and-a-half-hour, week-long gala that brought together over 100 network stars. Walter Cronkite and Mary Tyler Moore would serve as overall hosts for "CBS: On The Air - A Celebration of 50 Years" when it debuted on Easter Sunday in 1978. Individual segments were hosted by other network stars.

"CBS: On The Air" premiered on Sunday, March 26th, 1978, airing from 9-11PM, displacing All in the Family and The Carol Burnett Show. Titled "The Night of 100 Stars," the two-hour segment began with a massive gathering of CBS stars, between 115 and 125 of them. In addition to Walter Cronkite and Mary Tyler Moore, Telly Savalas and Jean Stapleton acted as hosts. After an obligatory look at CBS radio broadcasts beginning in 1927, television programs that aired on Sundays were featured. Included were You Are There, Lassie, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour and 60 Minutes (which was on the air at the time).

The next five segments were each an hour in length, airing from 10-11PM on weekday evenings. Monday's segment, "Have a Laugh on Us," saw George Burns, Lucille Ball, Arthur Godfrey and Bea Arthur joining Mary Tyler Moore to introduce clips from I Love Lucy, The Goldbergs, East Side/West Side, December Bride and Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts.

Tuesday was "Chills and Thrills with a Laugh Chaser," with Alan Alda, Garry Moore and Phil Silvers featuring You'll Never Get Rich (aka Sgt. Bilko), the famous edition of Edward R. Murrow's See It Now critique of Senator McCarthy, along with The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis and M*A*S*H.

On "Dreams Come True" Wednesday, Dick Van Dyke was joined by the "Peanuts" gang for a song-and-dance number. Also co-hosting were Buddy Ebsen, Cicely Tyson and Danny Kaye. Shows featured ranged from The Danny Kaye Show to The Millionaire, from The U.S. Steel Hour to Medical Center.. Thursday was "Join the Family," hosted by Richard Thomas and other cast members from The Waltons. Witness, Playhouse 90, and Hawaii Five-O were jut a few of the programs featured.

Friday was "We're Getting Personal," with hosts Lauren Bacall, Eve Arden, Bert Convy, Richard Crenna, Bonnie Franklin, Jim Nabors, Linda Lavin and Mary Tyler Moore. In addition to shows like I Remember Mama and The Twilight Zone, Lauren Bacall hosted a segment on Edward R. Murrow's Person to Person, including an interview with her husband Humphrey Bogart, Marlon Brando, and Senator John F. Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy.

The special wrapped up on Saturday, April 1st, 1978, with a final two-and-a-half-hour segment airing from 8:30-11PM. The title for this segment was "A Rootin', Tootin', Hootin' & Hollerin' Salute to Cowboys and Clowns," with hosts Carol Burnett, Carroll O'Connor, Art Carney, Isabel Sanford, Tony Randall, Sherman Hemsley alongside Mary Tyler Moore and Walter Cronkite.

Westerns, comedies and dramas were the focus, including Gunsmoke, the Jackie Gleason Show, The Defenders, The Frank Sinatra Show and Mission: Impossible. The Saturday segment, and the special as a whole, closed with a final song-and-dance number about spin-offs featuring Mary Tyler Moore, Carroll O'Connor and Danny Thomas followed by an address from CBS chairman William S. Paley.

Overall, "CBS On The Air" was not a ratings blockbuster, but it performed solidly for the network. The first segment, which aired on Sunday, March 26th, ranked 11th for the week [10].

In the decades that followed this initial anniversary specials, the networks have each broadcast several additional celebrations. NBC aired a 60th anniversary special in 1986 and a 75th anniversary special in 2002. ABC had a 40th anniversary special in 1994 and a 50th anniversary special in 2003. And CBS, oddly enough, aired two additional fiftieth anniversary specials: "CBS: The First 50 Years" in 1998, focusing solely on CBS television programs since 1948, and "CBS... 50 Years from Television City," in 2002, celebrating five decades of the production facilities at CBS Television City. And, finally, in 2003 came "CBS at 75."

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Last Updated June 26th, 2008