# 1957 in television

The year 1957 in television involved some significant events. Below is a list of television-related events during 1957.

## Events

* January 6 – Elvis Presley makes his final appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.
* January 25 – Steve Allen makes his final appearance as host of NBC's The Tonight Show. He is replaced by Jack Lescoulie and the show is changed from a talk/variety show format to be more like the series Today, with the title Tonight! America After Dark.
* February 16 – In the United Kingdom, the "Toddlers' Truce" (an arrangement whereby there have been no TV broadcasts between 6 PM and 7 PM, to allow parents to put their children to bed) is abolished. It has been a major obstacle to the success of ITV.
* March 7 – Portugal begins the Rádio e Televisão de Portugal television service after several months of experimentation.
* March 31 – The first TV version of Cinderella, starring 21-year-old Julie Andrews, and with songs by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, is broadcast in color by CBS.
* April 1
** In Britain, the BBC's Panorama current affairs television programme presented by Richard Dimbleby broadcasts a spaghetti tree hoax report purporting to show spaghetti being harvested in Switzerland, believed to be the first April Fool's Day joke televised.
** In the United States WYES begins broadcasting on channel 8 in New Orleans. WYES will swap channels with WVUE in 1970.
* April 4 – Desilu films "The Ricardos Dedicate a Statue", the 180th and final first run episode of I Love Lucy. Its May 6 broadcast marks the end of an era in early television comedy.
* April 24 – First broadcast of BBC Television astronomy series The Sky at Night in the United Kingdom presented by Patrick Moore. This will be broadcast with the same presenter until his death in December 2012.
* May 29 – In Hong Kong, Rediffusion Television, a predecessor of ATV Home and RTHK TV 31, begins broadcasting as a bilingual subscription cable service, becoming the first television station in a Crown colony of the British Empire as well as the first station in a predominantly Chinese city.
* June – On Tonight! America After Dark, Jack Lescoulie is unsuccessful, so NBC hires Al "Jazzbo" Collins as master of ceremonies. Collins doesn't last long; NBC is already planning to replace him and restore the original format as The Tonight Show.
* June 24 – Front Page Challenge, television's longest continuously running panel show, starts broadcasting on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation network. It runs for 38 years.
* July 29 – Jack Paar becomes the permanent host for NBC's The Tonight Show. The format reverts to a talk/variety show.
* August 5 – American Bandstand begins its 30-year syndicated run on US network television.
* August 31 – Central Scotland's independent channel Scottish Television goes on air, the first 7-day-a-week ITV franchise to do so.
* September 7 – In the United States:
** NBC introduces an animated version of its "living color" peacock logo.
** WWL-TV Channel 4 signs on as New Orleans' CBS affiliate.
* November 26 – WHDH-TV/5-Boston begins broadcasting. It soon becomes involved in controversy about its license. It finally loses its license in 1972.
* December 25 – The British Royal Christmas Message is televised with the Queen (Elizabeth II) on camera for the first time.
* When Nat King Cole's television series is unable to get a sponsor, Frankie Laine is the first artist to cross TV's color line, foregoing his usual salary of $10,000.00 to become the first white artist to appear as a guest. Other major performers follow suit, including Mel Tormé and Tony Bennett, but, despite an increase in ratings, the show still fails to acquire a national sponsor.
* Gorni Kramer makes his first appearance on Italian television, in the program Il Musichiere.
* Cyprus begins a limited television service, serving only three hours a day, twice-weekly. By 1960 a full service will be initiated.
* CBC Television begins nationwide broadcasting of NHL games as Canada's microwave network is completed coast-to-coast. Prior to this, broadcasts had been delayed.
* Westinghouse introduces the first rectangular tube color TV. Due to issues with convergence (aligning the guns to get a single image), the sets are withdrawn from the market. The first successful rectangular color tubes are sold during the mid-1960s.
* Hollywood takes over New York as the dominant for prime time TV programs, upgrading most of the TV genre, changing from live broadcasts to filmed series.

## Programs/programmes
### Series on the air in 1957

* Gillette Cavalcade of Sports (1946–1960)
* Howdy Doody (1947–1960)
* Kraft Television Theater (1947–1958)
* Meet the Press (1947–present)
* Candid Camera (1948–present)
* The Ed Sullivan Show (1948–1971)
* The Perry Como Show (1948–1963)
* Come Dancing (UK) (1949–1995)
* The Voice of Firestone (1949–1963)
* The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show (1950–1958)
* The Jack Benny Program (1950–1965)
* Truth or Consequences (1950–1988)
* What's My Line (1950–1967)
* Your Hit Parade (1950–1959)
* Dragnet (1951–1959)
* I Love Lucy (1951–1957)
* The Tonight Show (1954–present)
* Hallmark Hall of Fame (1951–present)
* Love of Life (1951–1980)
* Search for Tomorrow (1951–1986)
* Sergeant Preston of the Yukon (1955-1958)
* American Bandstand (1952–1989)
* The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952–1966)
* Adventures of Superman (1952–1958)
* The Guiding Light (1952–2009)
* Today (1952–present)
* This Is Your Life (US) (1952–1961)
* The Danny Thomas Show (1953-1964)
* Panorama (UK) (1953–present)
* The Good Old Days (UK) (1953–1983)
* Climax! (1954–1958)
* Disneyland (1954–1958)
* Face the Nation (1954–present)
* Father Knows Best (1954-1960)
* The Brighter Day (1954–1962)
* The Milton Berle Show (1954–1967)
* The Secret Storm (1954–1974)
* The Tonight Show (1954–present)
* Zoo Quest (UK) (1954–1964)
* Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955–1962)
* Captain Kangaroo (1955–1984)
* Cheyenne (1955–1962)
* Country Music Jubilee (1955–1960)
* Dixon of Dock Green (UK) (1955–1976)
* Gunsmoke (1955–1975)
* Mickey Mouse Club (1955–1959)
* The Lawrence Welk Show (1955–1982)
* This Is Your Life (UK) (1955–2003)
* Armchair Theatre (UK) (1956–1968)
* As the World Turns (1956–2010)
* The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford (1956–1961)
* Hancock's Half Hour (1956–1962)
* Opportunity Knocks (UK) (1956–1978)
* The Edge of Night (1956–1984)
* The Gale Storm Show, Oh! Susanna (1956–1960)
* The Jane Wyman Show, Fireside Theatre (1949-1958)
* The Price Is Right (1956–1965)
* The Steve Allen Show (1956–1960)
* What the Papers Say (UK) (1956–2008)
* Bachelor Father (1957-1962)
* The Real McCoys (1957-1963)

### Debuts

* January 4 – Mr. Adams and Eve on CBS (1957–1958)
* April 24 – The Sky at Night (UK) presented by Patrick Moore (1957–present)
* May 1 – Junior Television Club
* May 7 – In Melbourne Tonight with Graham Kennedy on GTV-9
* June 19 – The Army Game (UK) on Britain's ITV (1957–1961)
* June 24 – Front Page Challenge (1957–1995)
* July – Tivoli Party Time (1957) on HSV-7 (Melbourne, Australia)
* August 15 – Australia's Amateur Hour (1957–1958) on TCN-9 and HSV-7
* September 14 - Have Gun - Will Travel (1957-1963)
* September 15 - Sally on NBC, first filmed series by Paramount Television (1957-1958)
* September 18 – Wagon Train (1957–1965)
* September 21 – Perry Mason on CBS (1957–1966), The Polly Bergen Show on NBC
* September 22 – Maverick on ABC (1957–1961)
* September 28 - Dick and the Duchess on CBS (1957-1958)
* October 2 – Educated Evans (UK) on BBC (1957–1958)
* October 3
** The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom on ABC (1957–1960)
** The Real McCoys on ABC (1957–1962), then CBS (1962-1963)
* October 4 – Leave It to Beaver (1957–1963)
* October 10 – Zorro on ABC (1957–1959)
* October 13 – The Edsel Show, first full-length show to be recorded on videotape, first of many Bing Crosby specials
* October 18 - The Patrice Munsel Show
* November 6 – The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour on CBS (1957–1960)
* November 17 – Scotland Yard on the (American network) ABC (1957–1958)
* November – Swallow's Juniors (1957–1970) on HSV-7 (Melbourne, Australia)
* December 14 - Hanna-Barbera's First Series, The Ruff and Reddy Show on NBC (1957-1960)
* December 25 – Royal Christmas Message first televised with a message from Elizabeth II
* Astor Showcase (1957–1959) on ATN-7 (Sydney, Australia)
* Divorce Court (US) (1957–1969, 1985–1992, 1999–present)
* The Gumby Show (1957–1968) on NBC

### Ending this year

| Date | Show | Debut |
| February 24 | Annie Oakley | 1954 |
| February 26 | Noah's Ark | 1956 |
| April 1 | I Love Lucy | 1951 |
| April 8 | Life Is Worth Living | 1952 |
| April 20 | The Adventures of Sir Lancelot (UK) | 1956 |
| May 1 | Kukla, Fran and Ollie | 1947 |
| May 5 | Air Power | 1956 |
| June 9 | The Roy Rogers Show | 1951 |
| September 24 | It's Polka Time | 1956 |
| Unknown | The Grove Family (UK) | 1954 |
| Unknown | The Three Stooges | 1934 |

## Births

| Date | Name | Notability |
| January 1 | Meagen Fay | Actress |
| January 3 | Frank Dicopoulos | Actor (Guiding Light) |
| January 7 | Katie Couric | Journalist, talk show host (Today, CBS Evening News, 60 Minutes) |
| January 8 | Ron Cephas Jones | Actor (This Is Us) |
| January 14 | Susan Glover | Actress |
| January 16 | Larry Mendte | Talk show host |
| January 17 | Steve Harvey | Actor, comedian, host (The Steve Harvey Show, Family Feud) |
| January 17 | Keith Chegwin | Actor (died 2016) |
| January 25 | Jenifer Lewis | Actress (Black-ish) |
| January 27 | Danny Aiello III | American stunt performer (died 2010) |
| January 28 | Harley Jane Kozak | Actress (Santa Barbara) |
| January 30 | Chris Jansing | American television news correspondent |
| February 6 | Kathy Najimy | Actress (King of the Hill) |
| February 6 | Robert Townsend | Actor (The Parent 'Hood) |
| February 14 | Ken Wahl | Actor (Wiseguy) |
| February 16 | LeVar Burton | Actor, host (Star Trek: The Next Generation, Reading Rainbow) |
| February 18 | Vanna White | Game show hostess (Wheel of Fortune) |
| February 19 | Ray Winstone | Actor |
| February 28 | Ainsley Harriott | English chef and TV presenter |
| February 28 | John Turturro | Actor |
| March 3 | Jeff Rona | Composer |
| March 4 | Mykelti Williamson | Actor (Justified) |
| March 6 | Eddie Deezen | Actor |
| March 8 | Cynthia Rothrock | Actress |
| March 9 | Faith Daniels | Talk show host |
| March 12 | Eric Shawn | Anchor |
| March 13 | Daniel Licht | Composer |
| March 15 | Park Overall | Actress (Empty Nest) |
| March 20 | Amy Aquino | Actress (ER, Being Human) |
| March 20 | Spike Lee | Film director and actor |
| March 26 | Leeza Gibbons | Talk show host (Entertainment Tonight, Leeza) |
| March 23 | Teresa Ganzel | Actress |
| March 27 | Stephen Dillane | Actor |
| March 29 | Christopher Lambert | Actor |
| March 30 | Tawny Moyer | Actress |
| March 30 | Christopher Hall | Producer |
| April 12 | Suzzanne Douglas | Actress (The Parent 'Hood) (died 2021) |
| April 13 | Gary Kroeger | Actor, announcer (Saturday Night Live) |
| April 13 | Saundra Santiago | Actress (Miami Vice) |
| April 23 | Jan Hooks | Actress, comedian (Saturday Night Live, Designing Women) (d. 2014) |
| April 27 | Robert Curtis Brown | Actor |
| May 5 | Richard E. Grant | English actor (Richard E. Grant's Hotel Secrets) |
| May 6 | Fred Roggin | American sports anchor |
| May 8 | Bill Cowher | Studio analyst for The NFL Today on CBS |
| May 17 | Whip Hubley | Actor |
| May 19 | Tom Gammill | Writer |
| May 21 | Bruce Buffer | UFC ring announcer |
| May 27 | Thalia Assuras | Journalist |
| May 29 | Ted Levine | Actor (Monk) |
| June 10 | Robert Clohessy | Actor |
| June 12 | Timothy Busfield | Actor, director (thirtysomething, The West Wing) |
| June 16 | Ian Buchanan | Actor (General Hospital, The Bold and the Beautiful, All My Children) |
| June 17 | Jon Gries | Actor (Martin, The Pretender) |
| June 18 | Andrea Evans | Actress (One Life to Live) |
| June 23 | Peter Dickson | Announcer |
| June 30 | Ilene Chaiken | Writer |
| July 2 | Bret Hart | Canadian-American pro wrestler (WWE, WCW) |
| July 9 | Tim Kring | Writer |
| July 12 | Christopher Quinten | Actor |
| July 18 | Nick Faldo | Golfer |
| July 20 | Donna Dixon | Actress (Bosom Buddies), wife of Dan Aykroyd |
| July 21 | Jon Lovitz | Actor, comedian (Saturday Night Live) |
| July 23 | Jo Brand | English comedian, actress, writer (Getting On) |
| July 26 | Nana Visitor | Actress (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Wildfire) |
| July 27 | Bill Engvall | Actor |
| July 28 | Brianne Leary | Actress (Baa Baa Black Sheep, CHiPs) |
| July 28 | Scott Pelley | Journalist |
| July 30 | Victor Slezak | Actor |
| July 31 | Dirk Blocker | Actor (Baa Baa Black Sheep, Brooklyn Nine-Nine) |
| August 7 | Paul Dini | Television writer and producer (DC Animated Universe, Freakazoid!, Ultimate Spider-Man) |
| August 9 | Melanie Griffith | Actress |
| August 16 | Laura Innes | Actress (ER) |
| August 17 | Ken Kwapis | American film and television director |
| August 18 | Denis Leary | Actor, comedian (Rescue Me) |
| August 21 | Mark Pender | Trumpet player |
| August 24 | Stephen Fry | English actor, comedian (Jeeves and Wooster, Pocoyo, Kingdom) |
| August 25 | Craig Piligian | American television producer |
| August 28 | Daniel Stern | Actor |
| August 29 | Jerry Bailey | Sportscaster |
| September 2 | Steve Porcaro | American composer |
| September 3 | Garth Ancier | American television producer |
| September 3 | Steve Schirripa | American television actor |
| September 7 | Mark Whitaker | Journalist |
| September 8 | Heather Thomas | Actress (The Fall Guy) |
| September 10 | Cynthia Cidre | Screenwriter |
| September 10 | Kate Burton | Actress |
| September 12 | Hans Zimmer | Composer |
| September 23 | Rosalind Chao | Actress (Star Trek: The Next Generation) |
| September 24 | Brad Bird | Film director, writer, producer, and actor (Pixar, The Iron Giant) |
| September 25 | Michael Madsen | Actor |
| September 29 | Andrew Dice Clay | Comedian, actor (Bless This House) |
| September 30 | Fran Drescher | Actress, comedian (The Nanny) |
| October 1 | Yvette Freeman | Actress (ER) |
| October 2 | Zhao Benshan | Actor |
| October 4 | Bill Fagerbakke | Voice actor (SpongeBob SquarePants, Gargoyles, Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz) |
| October 5 | Bernie Mac | Actor, comedian (The Bernie Mac Show) (died 2008) |
| October 11 | Dawn French | Welch-born English actress, comedian (French and Saunders, The Vicar of Dibley) |
| October 12 | Renee Chenault-Fattah | TV anchor (WCAU NBC 10 News) |
| October 17 | Lawrence Bender | Film producer |
| October 21 | Shea Farrell | Actor, producer (Hotel) |
| October 23 | Elizabeth D'Onofrio | Actress |
| October 24 | John Kassir | Actor and comedian (Earthworm Jim, CatDog, Hercules, Rocket Power, The Amanda Show, As Told by Ginger, The Looney Tunes Show) |
| October 25 | Nancy Cartwright | Voice actress (The Simpsons, Rugrats, Mike, Lu & Og, Kim Possible, All Grown Up!, The Replacements) |
| October 27 | Peter Marc Jacobson | Actor |
| October 28 | Betsy Aidem | Actress |
| October 29 | Dan Castellaneta | Actor, comedian (The Simpsons, Rugrats, Darkwing Duck, Aladdin, Earthworm Jim, Hey Arnold!, Cow and Chicken) |
| October 29 | Scott Thomson | Actor |
| October 30 | Kevin Pollak | Actor |
| November 3 | Dolph Lundgren | Actor |
| November 5 | Elizabeth Bracco | Actress |
| November 6 | Cam Clarke | Voice actor (original voice of Leonardo on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) |
| November 7 | Christopher Knight | Actor (The Brady Bunch) |
| November 10 | George Lowe | Voice actor (Space Ghost Coast to Coast) |
| November 11 | Anne-Marie Martin | Actress (Sledge Hammer!) |
| November 15 | Kevin Eubanks | Jazz musician, guitarist (Tonight with Jay Leno) |
| November 15 | Sue Herera | Anchor |
| November 19 | Tom Virtue | Actor |
| November 22 | Donny Deutsch | Television personality |
| November 24 | Denise Crosby | Actress, model (Star Trek: The Next Generation) |
| November 30 | Colin Mochrie | Actor (Whose Line Is It Anyway?) |
| December 1 | Jeff DeGrandis | Animator |
| December 9 | Donny Osmond | Singer, actor, game show host (The Donny & Marie Show) |
| December 10 | Michael Clarke Duncan | Actor (died 2012) |
| December 10 | Paul Hardcastle | Composer |
| December 13 | Steve Buscemi | Actor (Boardwalk Empire, Park Bench with Steve Buscemi) |
| December 13 | Billy Van Zandt | Actor |
| December 14 | Antonio Mora | Anchor |
| December 19 | Kevin McHale | NBA basketball player |
| December 19 | John Gulager | Actor |
| December 21 | Ray Romano | Actor, comedian (Everybody Loves Raymond) |
| December 28 | Sam Ayers | Actor |
| December 29 | Brad Grey | Producer (died 2017) |
| December 30 | Matt Lauer | Television host (Today) |

## Television debuts

* Bibi Andersson – Mr. Sleeman Is Coming
* Ed Asner − Studio One
* Warren Beatty – Kraft Theatre
* Tony Curtis – General Electric Theater
* Peter Falk – Robert Montgomery Presents
* Jamie Farr – The People's Choice
* Jean Fenwick – The Sheriff of Cochise
* Robert Forster – Wagon Train
* Götz George – Kolportage
* Louis Gossett Jr. – The Big Story
* David Hemmings – King's Rhapsody
* Ian Holm – ITV Play of the Week
* Earl Holliman – NBC Matinee Theater
* Glenda Jackson – ITV Play of the Week
* Shirley Knight – NBC Matinee Theater
* Hedy Lamarr – Shower of Stars
* Janet Leigh – Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
* Joanna Lumley – Emergency Ward 10
* Dick Miller – The Gale Storm Show
* Julie Newmar – The Phil Silvers Show
* Suzanne Pleshette – Harbormaster
* Dolores del Río – Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
* Katharine Ross – Omnibus
* Dean Stockwell – Wagon Train
* George Segal – Look Up and Live
* Gian Maria Volonté – Fedra
* Robert Walker Jr. – First Performance
* Tuesday Weld – Goodyear Television Playhouse