# 1965 in television

The year 1965 in television involved some significant events. Below is a list of television-related events in 1965.

## Events

* January 1 – Comedian Soupy Sales, who hosted the "Lunch With Soupy Sales" children's program on New York City's WNEW-TV, encourages his young viewers to send him money from their parents' pants and pocketbooks and send them to him, and in return he would "send you a postcard from Puerto Rico!" Days later, when he actually got response, he declared that he was joking and that cash contributions would be donated to charity, but WNEW suspended Sales for two weeks over the incident.
* February 22 – A new, videotaped production of the 1957 special Cinderella, by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, airs on CBS with young Lesley Ann Warren (in the title role) starring alongside Ginger Rogers, Walter Pidgeon, and Celeste Holm.
* March 11 – After months of speculation, Vivian Vance announces she is departing The Lucy Show following the conclusion of its third season. She would return to the series for guest appearances a few years later, a tradition that continued into Lucille Ball's following series, Here's Lucy.
* March 24 – Live TV pictures from the US uncrewed moon probe Ranger 9 are transmitted prior to its impact.
* April 5 – TEN10 opens in Sydney, Australia, with the highlight of the opening night being the variety special TV Spells Magic.
* April 15 – Paul Bryan (Ben Gazzara) gets bad news from his doctor and sets out to do all the things he never had time for, in the Kraft Suspense Theatre episode entitled "Rapture at Two-Forty." This will serve as the pilot for the series Run for Your Life, which will premiere on September 13 and run until 1968.
* April 21 – The Beach Boys appear on Shindig! performing their most recent hit, "Do You Wanna Dance?"
* April 26 – Brazil's largest TV network, Rede Globo, begins broadcasting.
* April 28 – My Name Is Barbra, Barbra Streisand's first TV special, airs on CBS.
* May 2 – The Rolling Stones make their second appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.
* June 4 – The launch of the Gemini 4 space mission is broadcast in color by NBC. All three networks would carry the launch of Gemini 5 in color that August and all subsequent crewed space launches.
* July 31 - GTV (Ghana) begins as GBC TV, making it the first television station in Ghana.
* August 1 – Cigarette adverts are banned from UK television, though pipe tobacco and cigar adverts continue until 1992.
* August 6 – BBC withdraws a planned airing of The War Game on BBC1's Wednesday Play anthology series; the network, officially, deems the film's depiction of a fictional nuclear attack on the United Kingdom and its aftermath as "too horrifying" to air on television, though it was widely believed that government pressure led to the banning. The film would win the 1966 Academy Award for Documentary Feature, and BBC would not screen the film on-air until 1985.
* September – ABC, CBS, and NBC, begin transitioning a majority of their prime-time programming towards color, with NBC virtually all their programming in color, and ABC and CBS over half of their programs, while keeping some of them in black-and-white due to production costs.
* September 10 – The first National Geographic Special, a chronicle of a 1963 U.S. expedition to Mount Everest, airs on CBS.
* September 12
** NBC takes over telecasts of the American Football League, with most of the games being broadcast in color.
** The Beatles appear on The Ed Sullivan Show for the fourth and final time, performing songs from their new album Help!. This appearance was videotaped on August 14 before the group launched their U.S. tour the following night at Shea Stadium (Sunday, August 15, 1965).
* September 13 – Today on NBC goes color.
* September 25 - The Beatles cartoons debut on ABC for 39 episodes through October 21, 1967.
* September 29 - Sistema Nacional de Televisión (as TV Cerro Cora) begins the first television broadcasts in Paraguay.
* October 4 – Pope Paul VI's visit to New York receives saturation television coverage on all three major American television networks. The Papal Mass at Yankee Stadium is broadcast in color.
* October 17 – WBMG-TV in Birmingham, Alabama launches on channel 42, sharing dual CBS/NBC affiliation with crosstown WAPI-TV—and allowing viewers in the Birmingham market to watch more programming from those networks that WAPI did not have room for (including The Ed Sullivan Show, The CBS Evening News, and The Tonight Show). The setup lasts until 1970, when WAPI takes sole affiliation with NBC and WBMG does the same with CBS. At the same time, WCFT-33 in Tuscaloosa and WHMA-40 in Anniston become exclusive affiliates of CBS. Like WBMG, Channels 33 and 40 were dual affiliates of NBC and CBS.
* November 5 – Katie Holstrum (Inger Stevens) and Congressman Glen Morley (William Windom) are married in The Farmer's Daughter episode entitled "To Have and To Hold".
* November 15 – The Huntley-Brinkley Report on NBC goes color on a regular basis, the first network evening newscast to be colorcast nightly.
* November 25 – CBS airs the first color broadcast of an NFL football game, a Thanksgiving Day matchup between the Baltimore Colts and Detroit Lions.
* November 28 – Julie Andrews' first TV special airs on NBC.
* December 4 – TV Guide launches its Montana edition and now covers all of the contiguous U.S. (A Hawaii edition will be launched in 1968.)
* December 9 – A Charlie Brown Christmas premieres on CBS.
* December 21 – A production of The Nutcracker by the New York City Ballet airs on CBS.

### Also in 1965

* Three independently affiliated stations in the Philadelphia market—The "Other Big 3 in Philly"—start operations: WIBF (channel 29) opens on May 16; WKBS-TV (channel 48) opens on September 1 (and operates until 1983); and WPHL-TV (channel 17) opens on September 17.
* Motorola introduces the first successful rectangular tube color TV to the mass market.
* Jeopardy! moves to 12:00 noon on NBC, which would make the show a hit on the network for many years.

## Programs/programmes

* American Bandstand (1952–1989)
* Another World (1964–1999)
* Armchair Theatre (UK) (1956–1968)
* As the World Turns (1956–2010)
* Ben Casey (1961–1966)
* Bewitched (1964–1972)
* Blue Peter (UK) (1958–present)
* Bonanza (1959–1973)
* Bozo the Clown (1949–present)
* Candid Camera (1948–present)
* Captain Kangaroo (1955–1984)
* Combat! (1962–1967)
* Come Dancing (UK) (1949–1995)
* Coronation Street (UK) (1960–present)
* Crossroads (UK) (1964–1988, 2001–2003)
* Danger Man (UK) (1960–1961, 1964–1966)
* Daniel Boone (1964–1970)
* Days of Our Lives (soap opera) (1965–present)
* Dixon of Dock Green (UK) (1955–1976)
* Doctor Who (UK) (1963–1989, 1996, 2005–present)
* Face the Nation (1954–present)
* Flipper (1964–1967)
* Four Corners (Australia) (1961–present)
* General Hospital (1963–present)
* Get Smart (1965–1970)
* Gidget (1965–1966)
* Gilligan's Island (1964–1967)
* Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. (1964–1970)
* Grandstand (UK) (1958–2007)
* Gunsmoke (1955–1975)
* Hallmark Hall of Fame (1951–present)
* Hogan's Heroes (1965-1971)
* I Dream Of Jeannie (1965–1970)
* I Spy (1965-1968)
* It's Academic (1961–present)
* Jeopardy! (1964–1975, 1984–present)
* Jonny Quest (1964–1965)
* Juke Box Jury (1959–1967, 1979, 1989–1990)
* Love of Life (1951–1980)
* Match Game (1962–1969, 1973–1984, 1990–1991, 1998–1999)
* Meet the Press (1947–present)
* Mister Ed (1961–1966)
* My Three Sons (1960–1972)
* Opportunity Knocks (UK) (1956–1978)
* Panorama (UK) (1953–present)
* Petticoat Junction (1963–1970)
* Peyton Place (1964–1969)
* Ready Steady Go! (1963–1966)
* Run for Your Life (1965-1968)
* Search for Tomorrow (1951–1986)
* Shindig! (1964–1966)
* The Addams Family (1964–1966)
* The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952–1966)
* The Andy Griffith Show (1960–1968)
* The Avengers (UK) (1961–1969)
* The Bell Telephone Hour (1959–1968)
* The Beverly Hillbillies (1962–1971)
* The Dean Martin Show (1965-1974)
* The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961–1966)
* The Doctors (1963–1982)
* The Donna Reed Show (1958–1966)
* The Ed Sullivan Show (1948–1971)
* The Edge of Night (1956–1984)
* The Flintstones (1960–1966)
* The Fulton Sheen Program (1961–1968)
* The Fugitive (1963–67)
* The Good Old Days (UK) (1953–1983)
* The Guiding Light (1952–2009)
* The Hollywood Palace (1964–1970)
* The Late Late Show (Ireland) (1962–present)
* The Lawrence Welk Show (1955–1982)
* The Lucy Show (1962–1968)
* The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964–1968)
* The Mavis Bramston Show (Australia) (1964–1968)
* The Mike Douglas Show (1961–1981)
* The Munsters (1964–1966)
* The Patty Duke Show (1963–1966)
* The Saint (UK) (1962–1969)
* The Secret Storm (1954–1974)
* The Sky at Night (UK) (1957–present)
* The Today Show (1952–present)
* The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962–1992)
* The Wednesday Play (UK) (1964–1970)
* This Hour Has Seven Days (1964–1966)
* This Is Your Life (UK) (1955–2003)
* Tom and Jerry (1965–1972, 1975–1977, 1980–1982)
* Top of the Pops (UK) (1964–2006)
* Truth or Consequences (1950–1988)
* Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color (1961–1969)
* What the Papers Say (UK) (1956–2008)
* What's My Line (1950–1967)
* Z-Cars (UK) (1962–1978)

### Debuts

* January 2 – World of Sport on ITV in the UK with Eamonn Andrews as its first host (1965–1985)
* January 2- Večerníček (Czechoslovakia)
* June 28 – Dick Clark's Where the Action Is (1965-1967) on ABC daytime
* September 12 – Hereward the Wake (1965) on BBC1
* September 13 – Run for Your Life (1965-1968) on NBC
* September 14
** F Troop (1965–1967) on ABC
** My Mother the Car (1965–1966) on NBC
** Please Don't Eat the Daisies (1965–1967) on NBC
* September 15
** Lost in Space (1965–1968) on CBS
** Green Acres (1965–1971) on CBS
** The Big Valley (1965–1969) on ABC
** Gidget (1965–1966) on ABC
** I Spy (1965–1968) on NBC
* September 16 – The Dean Martin Show (1965–1974) on NBC
* September 17 – The Wild Wild West (1965–1969) and Hogan's Heroes (1965–1971) on CBS
* September 18 – I Dream of Jeannie and Get Smart on NBC (both 1965–1970)
* September 19 – The F.B.I. (1965–1974) on ABC
* September 27
** Morning Star (1965-1966) on NBC
** Paradise Bay (1965-1966) on NBC
* September 30 – Thunderbirds on the ITV channel (1965–1966)
* November 8 – The soap opera Days of Our Lives on NBC (1965–present)
* December 20 – game shows Supermarket Sweep (1965–1967) and The Dating Game (1965–1973) on ABC daytime
* Quentin Durgens, M.P. (1965–1969)
* United! on BBC1 in the UK (1965–1967)
* The White Horses as Počitnice v Lipici on RTV Ljubljana in Yugoslavia and as Ferien in Lipizza on Südwestfunk in West Germany (c.1965–1967)

### Ending during 1965

| Date | Show | Debut |
| January 16 | The Outer Limits | 1963 |
| March 11 | Jonny Quest | 1964 |
| March 14 | The Porky Pig Show | 1964 |
| April 10 | Kentucky Jones | 1964 |
| April 21 | The Cara Williams Show | 1964 |
| May 22 | The Jack Benny Program | 1950 |
| September 3 | The Price Is Right | 1956 |
| September 22 | The Sullavan Brothers | 1964 |
| November 9 | ABC's Nightlife | 1964 |
| December 7 | Rawhide | 1959 |
| December 25 | The Magilla Gorilla Show |

### Changes of network affiliation

| Show | Moved from | Moved to |
| My Three Sons | ABC | CBS |
| Hazel | NBC | CBS |

## Births

| Date | Name | Notability |
| January 4 | Rick Hearst | Soap opera actor |
| January 4 | Julia Ormond | Actress (Witches of East End) |
| January 10 | Butch Hartman | Director (The Fairly OddParents, Danny Phantom, T.U.F.F. Puppy, Bunsen Is a Beast) |
| January 11 | Teal Marchande | Actress (Kenan and Kel) |
| January 12 | Ali Wentworth | Actress and comedian (In Living Color) |
| January 14 | Jemma Redgrave | Actress |
| January 14 | Mark Addy | English actor (Still Standing) |
| January 22 | DJ Jazzy Jeff | Disc jockey and actor (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air) |
| January 22 | Diane Lane | Actress (Lonesome Dove) |
| January 26 | Kevin McCarthy | Politician |
| February 1 | Sherilyn Fenn | Actress (Twin Peaks) |
| February 3 | Maura Tierney | Actress (ER, NewsRadio, The Affair) |
| February 7 | Chris Rock | Actor and comedian (Saturday Night Live, The Chris Rock Show) |
| February 22 | John Leslie | TV presenter |
| February 23 | Kristin Davis | Actress (Charlotte on Sex and the City) |
| February 24 | Bas Rutten | Mixed martial artist, kickboxer and wrestler |
| March 1 | Chris Eigeman | Actor (Gilmore Girls) |
| March 1 | Booker T | Commentator and pro wrestler (WCW, TNA, WWE) |
| March 8 | Kenny Smith | NBA basketball player and analyst |
| March 10 | Deezer D | Actor and rapper (ER) (died 2021) |
| March 11 | Wallace Langham | Actor (CSI: Crime Scene Investigation) |
| March 11 | Barbara Alyn Woods | Actress (One Tree Hill) |
| March 13 | Gigi Rice | American actress |
| March 14 | Kevin Williamson | American screenwriter |
| March 15 | Robyn Malcolm | Actress |
| March 18 | David Cubitt | Canadian actor (Medium) |
| March 21 | Cynthia Geary | Actress (Northern Exposure) |
| March 23 | Richard Grieco | Actor (21 Jump Street) |
| March 23 | Wayne Péré | Actor |
| March 24 | Peter Jacobson | Actor (House, Colony) |
| March 24 | The Undertaker | Actor |
| March 25 | Sarah Jessica Parker | Actress (Carrie on Sex and the City) |
| March 25 | Avery Johnson | American basketball coach |
| March 25 | Colin Lane | TV host |
| March 27 | Eric Horsted | Writer |
| March 30 | Juliet Landau | Actress (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel) and daughter of Martin Landau |
| March 30 | Piers Morgan | Television broadcaster |
| April 1 | José Zúñiga | Actor |
| April 4 | Robert Downey Jr. | Actor (Iron Man) |
| April 9 | Mark Pellegrino | Actor (Supernatural, Dexter, Being Human) |
| April 14 | Catherine Dent | Actress |
| April 16 | Martin Lawrence | Actor and comedian (Martin) |
| April 16 | Jon Cryer | Actor (Two and a Half Men) |
| April 17 | William Mapother | Actor (Lost) |
| April 22 | Lauri Hendler | Actress (Gimme a Break!) |
| April 26 | Kevin James | Actor and comedian (Everybody Loves Raymond, The King of Queens, Kevin Can Wait) |
| April 30 | Adrian Pasdar | Actor (Heroes) |
| May 1 | Lee Cowan | Correspondent |
| May 3 | Rob Brydon | Actor |
| May 6 | Leslie Hope | Canadian actress (24) |
| May 7 | Owen Hart | Canadian wrestler (WWF) (died 1999) |
| May 13 | John Anderson | American sports commentator |
| May 17 | Abigail Pogrebin | Writer |
| May 17 | Luann de Lesseps | American television personality |
| May 23 | Melissa McBride | Actress (The Walking Dead) |
| May 27 | Todd Bridges | Actor (Willis on Diff'rent Strokes) |
| May 27 | Zenobia Shroff | Actress and comedienne (Ms. Marvel, The Resident) |
| May 30 | Antoine Fuqua | Actor |
| May 31 | Brooke Shields | Actress (Suddenly Susan) and model |
| June 4 | Vincent Young | Actor (Beverly Hills, 90210) |
| June 5 | Ruth Marshall | Actress |
| June 5 | Tyler Bates | Producer |
| June 7 | Mick Foley | Pro wrestler |
| June 13 | Lisa Vidal | Actress |
| June 17 | Kami Cotler | Actress (The Waltons) |
| June 18 | Kim Dickens | Actress (Deadwood, Treme, Fear the Walking Dead) |
| June 24 | Danielle Spencer | Actress (What's Happening!!, What's Happening Now!!) |
| June 25 | Andrew Dan-Jumbo | Nigerian television presenter |
| June 29 | Matthew Weiner | American television writer |
| June 30 | Mitch Richmond | NBA basketball player |
| July 1 | Tom Hodges | Actor (The Hogan Family) |
| July 5 | Kathryn Erbe | Actress (Oz, Law & Order: Criminal Intent) |
| July 7 | Mo Collins | Actress and comedian (Mad TV) |
| July 7 | Jeremy Kyle | TV presenter (The Jeremy Kyle Show) |
| July 7 | Karen Malina White | Actress (Malcolm & Eddie, The Proud Family) |
| July 9 | David O'Hara | Actor |
| July 10 | Alec Mapa | Actor (Half & Half) |
| July 16 | Daryl Mitchell | Actor (The John Larroquette Show, Veronica's Closet, NCIS: New Orleans) |
| July 19 | Clea Lewis | Actress (Ellen) |
| July 22 | Shawn Michaels | Wrestler (WWE) |
| Curt Menefee | TV Host |
| Patrick Labyorteaux | Actor (Little House on the Prairie, JAG) |
| July 23 | Slash | British-American guitarist |
| July 24 | Kadeem Hardison | Actor (A Different World, Static Shock) |
| July 26 | Jeremy Piven | Actor (Ellen, Entourage, Mr. Selfridge) |
| August 4 | Crystal Chappell | Actress (Days of Our Lives, One Life to Live, Guiding Light) |
| August 6 | Jeremy Ratchford | Canadian actor (Cold Case) |
| August 6 | David Robinson | NBA basketball player |
| August 6 | Mark Speight | British television presenter (SMart) (died 2008) |
| August 10 | Claudia Christian | Actress (Babylon 5) |
| August 11 | Viola Davis | Actress (How to Get Away with Murder) |
| August 11 | Embeth Davidtz | Actress |
| August 11 | Duane Martin | Actor (All of Us) |
| August 12 | Peter Krause | Actor (Sports Night, Six Feet Under, Parenthood) |
| August 17 | Dottie Pepper | Golfer |
| August 18 | Bob Harper | Trainer |
| August 19 | Kyra Sedgwick | Actress |
| August 19 | Kevin Dillon | Actor |
| August 24 | Marlee Matlin | Actress |
| August 24 | Reggie Miller | NBA basketball player |
| August 25 | Doug Aarniokoski | American television director |
| August 26 | Chris Burke | Actor (Life Goes On) |
| August 26 | Jon Hensley | Actor (As the World Turns, The Bold and the Beautiful) |
| September 3 | Charlie Sheen | Actor (Two and a Half Men) and son of Martin Sheen |
| September 3 | Costas Mandylor | Actor (Picket Fences) |
| September 9 | Charles Esten | Actor (Nashville) |
| September 9 | Dan Majerle | NBA basketball player |
| September 9 | Constance Marie | Actress (George Lopez) |
| September 14 | Michelle Stafford | Actress (The Young and the Restless) |
| September 16 | Lorne Spicer | British presenter (Cash in the Attic) |
| September 17 | Kyle Chandler | Actor (Early Edition, Friday Night Lights) |
| September 21 | Cheryl Hines | Actress (Curb Your Enthusiasm, Suburgatory) |
| September 25 | Scottie Pippen | NBA basketball player |
| September 28 | Scott Fellows | Producer (Johnny Test, Supernoobs, Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide, Big Time Rush) |
| October 1 | Ted King | Actor (Charmed) |
| October 4 | Kathy Wakile | American reality television personality |
| October 10 | Chris Penn | Actor (died 2006) |
| October 19 | Brad Daugherty | NBA basketball player |
| October 26 | Kelly Rowan | Actress (The O.C.) |
| October 28 | Jami Gertz | Actress (Still Standing) |
| October 30 | Charnele Brown | American actress (A Different World) |
| October 30 | Dominique Jennings | Actress (Sunset Beach, Todd McFarlane's Spawn, The Zeta Project) |
| November 4 | Kiersten Warren | Actress (Saved by the Bell: The College Years) |
| November 7 | Mike Henry | Voice actor (Family Guy, The Cleveland Show) |
| November 20 | Jay Bienstock | American television producer |
| November 21 | Alexander Siddig | Actor (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) |
| November 25 | Cris Carter | NFL football player |
| November 26 | Scott Adsit | Comedian, actor and writer (30 Rock) |
| November 29 | Ellen Cleghorne | Actress and comedian (Saturday Night Live, Cleghorne!) |
| November 30 | Ben Stiller | Actor, comedian and producer (The Ben Stiller Show) |
| December 3 | Steve Harris | Actor (The Practice, The Batman) |
| December 14 | Ted Raimi | Actor (Xena: Warrior Princess) |
| December 16 | J. B. Smoove | Actor |
| December 19 | Jessica Steen | Actress |
| December 21 | Andy Dick | Actor (NewsRadio) |
| December 22 | Jonathan Joss | Actor (King of the Hill, Parks and Recreation) |
| December 23 | Martin Kratt | American zoologist |

## Deaths

| Date | Name | Age | Notability |
| February 15 | Nat King Cole | 45 | Actor and singer (The Nat King Cole Show) |
| February 21 | Malcolm X | 39 | Muslim minister and human rights activist |
| April 27 | Edward R. Murrow | 57 | CBS newsman |
| July 14 | Adlai Stevenson II | 65 | Diplomat and politician |
| November 8 | Dorothy Kilgallen | 52 | Journalist and game show panelist (What's My Line?) |

## Television debuts

* Jenny Agutter – Alexander Graham Bell
* Joe Don Baker – Honey West
* Jane Birkin – Armchair Mystery Theatre
* Jim Brown – Valentine's Day
* Faye Dunaway – Seaway
* Sally Field – Gidget
* Fionnula Flanagan – Knock on Any Door
* Ted Gehring – The Big Valley
* Barbara Hershey – Gidget
* Sally Kirkland – New York Television Theatre
* Jeroen Krabbé – Vrouwtje Bezemsteel
* Frank Langella – The Trials of O'Brien
* Lee Majors – Gunsmoke
* Miriam Margolyes – Theatre 625
* Lynn Redgrave – Sunday Out of Season
* Bo Svenson – Flipper
* Sam Waterston – Dr. Kildare
* Paul Winfield – Perry Mason