# 1960 in television

"none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see [[WP:SDNONE]]
The year 1960 in television involved some significant events. Below is a list of television-related events during 1960.

## Events

* February 10 – Jack Paar temporarily quits his television program in the United States because his monologue had been edited the night before, in favor of a three-minute news update. Parr walks out to the audience at the beginning of the show, announces that he is quitting, says "There's got to be a better way to make a living," and then walks off the stage. After network executives apologize personally, Parr resumes hosting the program a month later. His first show back starts with the words "As I was saying before I was interrupted...".
* February–September – In a first for US Audiences, CBS broadcasts the 1960 Winter Olympics and Summer Olympics, on an exclusive basis, for $60,000. From Squaw Valley, American viewers are treated to 31 hours of coverage, which includes a mix of alpine skiing, figure skating, ice hockey, speed skating, and ski jumping. The Winter Olympic broadcast is hosted by Walter Cronkite while a young Jim McKay, who will go on to host ABC's Olympic coverage, does the Rome Games.
* March 1 – Philippines's third television station DZTV-TV (now owned by the Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation) starts broadcasts at 6:30 pm under the Inter-Island Broadcasting Corporation through the tri-media conglomerate of RMN-IBC-Philippine Herald owned by Andrés Soriano, owner at this time of San Miguel Corporation.
* March 2 – Lucille Ball files for divorce from Desi Arnaz, ending their 20-year marriage and the I Love Lucy franchise on CBS.
* April 29 – RTSH started test transmissions at 6:00 pm, just only one day before an official launch.
* June 1 – Auckland TV2, as predecessor for TVNZ 1 (Television New Zealand), a first television station in New Zealand, officially starts regular broadcasting service in Auckland.
* June 11 - CBS broadcasts the Monaco Grand Prix Formula 1 race (which took place on May 29), possibly the first broadcast of any F1 race in the United States.
* June 20 – Nan Winton becomes the first national female newsreader on BBC television in the United Kingdom.
* June 29 – The BBC Television Centre is opened in London.
* July 21 – ERTU Al Oula, a member of the Egyptian Radio and Television Union, a first television broadcasting service, is launched in Egypt.
* July 31 – Telecuraçao is launched as the Netherlands Antilles' first television station, and also of the Antilliaanse Television Company (ATM).
* August 20 – NRK1, a first television station in Norway, an officially regular broadcasting service starts in Oslo.
* September 19 – Nikita Khrushchev, leader of the Soviet Union, arrives in New York City for the opening session of the United Nations General Assembly. The United States government asks television networks to minimize coverage of his visit.
* September 24 – After thirteen seasons of entertaining American children, NBC children's show Howdy Doody ends with Clarabell the Clown saying the final two words of the show ("Goodbye Kids") after being assumed to be mute.
* September 25 – First Japanese colour television broadcast.
* September 26 – The 1960 United States presidential debates, the first in history, take place as the two major candidates, Republican U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon and Democrat U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy, face each other live in Chicago at the television studios of WBBM-TV. Carried live by all three networks, the debate begins at 8:30 p.m. local time and lasts one hour. This first debate demonstrates the power of television in influencing voters: Kennedy appears tan and charismatic, while Nixon, due in part to poor makeup and a recent hospitalization, looks unkempt and tense, and this may impact on the outcome of the election. A special act of Congress has been passed in order to allow the American television and radio networks to broadcast the debate without having to provide equal time to other presidential candidates. In addition to being the first presidential debates to be televised, the debates also mark the first time "split screen" images are used by a network.
* October 1 – Argentine television station, El Trece, a first officially regular broadcasting service, starts in Buenos Aires.
* October 5 – KEYC-TV signs on today, just in time to broadcast the first game of the World Series tonight from NBC.
* October 12 – Inejiro Asanuma, chairman of the Japan Socialist Party, is assassinated by Otoya Yamaguchi using a wakizashi (samurai sword) during a political debate in Tokyo being taped by Japanese television broadcaster NHK.
* November 4 – The University of Chile inaugurates its TV station over Channel 9 in Santiago, Chile. Its first broadcast marks the first live broadcast of a TV show in Chile.
* December 9 – The first episode of soap opera Coronation Street, made by Granada Television in Manchester, England, is aired on ITV. Intended as a 13-week pilot and disfavoured by critics, it continues past its 10,000th episode in 2020 (its 60th anniversary year) as Britain's longest running soap.
* December 31 – Norma Zimmer officially becomes Lawrence Welk's "Champagne Lady" on The Lawrence Welk Show. She would remain with the show until it ended in 1982.

### Undated

* Frank and Doris Hursley start their soap opera writing career, taking the jobs of joint head writers for the series Search for Tomorrow.
* Nearly 90% of homes in the United States now have a television set, and over one hundred million television sets are in use worldwide.

## Programs/programmes
### Debuts

* January 9 – Baseball competition Home Run Derby from Wrigley Field (Los Angeles) begins a six-month run in syndication.
* January 25 – Series The Kate Smith Show begins a six-month run on CBS.
* February 7 – Series Overland Trail begins a four-month run on NBC.
* June 1 – TV One is initiated in Auckland. This is the first television transmission in New Zealand.
* June 8 – Series Happy (1960–1961) and Tate (1960) both premiere on NBC.
* June 13 – Series Deadline Midnight premieres on ITV (1960–1961).
* June 28 – Series Mess Mates premieres on ITV in UK (1960–1962).
* September 6 – Series Coronado 9 begins a six-month run on NBC (1960–1961).
* September 11 – Series Danger Man premieres on ITV in UK; broadcast also by CBS in USA (1960–1961, 1964–1966).
* September 17 – Series Checkmate premieres on CBS (1960–1962).
* September 18 – Series The Tab Hunter Show premieres on NBC (1960–1961).
* September 23 – Series Dan Raven premieres on NBC (1960–1961).
* September 27 – Series The Tom Ewell Show premieres on CBS (1960–1961).
* September 29 – Series My Three Sons premieres on ABC (1960–1972).
* September 29 – Series Outlaws premieres on NBC (1960–1962).
* September 30 – Hanna Barbera's series The Flintstones debuts on ABC (1960–1966).
* October 1 – NBC commences airings of The Shari Lewis Show and Popeye the Sailor (Both 1960–1963)
* October 3 – Series The Andy Griffith Show premieres on CBS (1960–1968).
* October 4 – Series Stagecoach West premieres on ABC (1960–1961).
* October 5 – Series My Sister Eileen premieres on CBS (1960–1961).
* October 7 – Series Route 66 premieres on CBS (1960–1964).
* October 10
** Series Bringing Up Buddy premieres on CBS (1960–1961).
** Series Klondike premieres on NBC (1960–1961).
* October 11 – The Bugs Bunny Show, Looney Tunes' first television series (1960–2000).
* October 12 – Series Peter Loves Mary premieres on NBC (1960–1961).
* December 9 – Soap opera Coronation Street premieres on Granada Television in UK (1960-present).
* Comedy show Radio Rochela (previously the La Cruzada del Buen Humor segment of El Show de las Doce) debuts on RCTV in Venezuela (1960–2010).

### Television shows
#### 1940s

* Meet the Press (1947–present).
* Howdy Doody (1947–1960).
* Candid Camera (1948–present).
* The Ed Sullivan Show (1948–1971).
* Bozo the Clown (1949–present).
* Come Dancing (UK) (1949–1995).
* The Voice of Firestone (1949–1963).

#### 1950s

* The Jack Benny Show (1950–1965).
* Men into Space (1959–1960).
* Truth or Consequences (1950–1988).
* What's My Line (1950–1967).
* Love of Life (1951–1980).
* I Love Lucy (1951–1960)
* Search for Tomorrow (1951–1986).
* Hallmark Hall of Fame (1951–present).
* American Bandstand (1952–1989).
* The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952–1966).
* The Guiding Light (1952–2009).
* The Today Show (1952–present).
* This Is Your Life (US) (1952–1961).
* Panorama (UK) (1953–present).
* The Good Old Days (UK) (1953–1983).
* Face the Nation (1954–present).
* 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).
* Dixon of Dock Green (UK) (1955–1976).
* Gunsmoke (1955–1975).
* Jubilee USA (1955–1960).
* The Lawrence Welk Show (1955–1982).
* This Is Your Life (UK) (1955–2003).
* Armchair Theatre (UK) (1956–1968).
* As the World Turns (1956–2010).
* Hancock's Half Hour (1956–1962).
* Opportunity Knocks (UK) (1956–1978).
* The Edge of Night (1956–1984).
* The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford (1956–1961).
* The Price Is Right (1956–1965).
* What the Papers Say (UK) (1956–2008).
* Leave It to Beaver (1957–1963).
* The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom (1957–1960).
* The Army Game (UK) (1957–1961).
* Perry Mason (1957–1966).
* The Sky at Night (UK) (1957–present).
* Blue Peter (UK) (1958–present).
* General Motors Presents (Can) (1953–1956, 1958–1961)
* Grandstand (UK) (1958–2007).
* Peter Gunn (1958–1961).
* The Donna Reed Show (1958–1966).
* The Huckleberry Hound Show (1958–1962).
* Walt Disney Presents (1958–1961).
* Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse (1958–1960)
* Bonanza (1959–1973).
* Hawaiian Eye (1959–1963).
* Juke Box Jury (1959–1967, 1979, 1989–1990).
* The Bell Telephone Hour (1959–1968).
* The Twilight Zone (1959-1964, 1985–1988, 2002).
* This Man Dawson (1959–1960).
* The Rebel (1959–1961).

### Ending this year

| Date | Show | Debut |
| January 25 | Love and Marriage | 1959 |
| April 1 | The Troubleshooters | 1959 |
| June 11 | The Man and the Challenge | 1959 |
| September 14 | Tate | 1960 |
| Unknown date | This Man Dawson | 1959 |

## Births

| Date | Name | Notability |
| January 4 | Julia St. John | British actress |
| January 4 | April Winchell | American voice actress and daughter of Paul Winchell (Goof Troop, 101 Dalmatians: The Series, Pepper Ann, Recess, Wander Over Yonder) |
| January 6 | Howie Long | American football player, commentator |
| January 6 | Andrea Thompson | American actress |
| January 7 | David Marciano | American actor |
| January 12 | Oliver Platt | Canadian-American actor |
| January 12 | Dominique Wilkins | NBA basketball player |
| January 13 | Bruno Heller | English screenwriter |
| January 29 | JG Thirlwell | Australian musician |
| January 30 | Tony O'Dell | American actor (Head of the Class) |
| February 6 | Megan Gallagher | American actress |
| February 7 | Robert Smigel | American actor, comedian (Saturday Night Live) |
| February 7 | Steve Johnson | American special effects artist |
| February 7 | James Spader | American actor (Boston Legal, The Blacklist) |
| February 18 | Greta Scacchi | Italian-Australian actress |
| February 19 | Leslie Ash | English actress (Men Behaving Badly) |
| February 20 | Wendee Lee | American voice actress |
| February 21 | Joel McKinnon Miller | American actor |
| February 22 | Paul Abbott | English screenwriter (Shameless) |
| February 28 | Dorothy Stratten | Canadian model (Playboy) and actress (d. 1980) |
| February 29 | Tony Robbins | American author |
| February 29 | Steve Levitt | American actor |
| March 8 | Buck Williams | NBA basketball player |
| March 11 | Perri Peltz | American journalist |
| March 12 | Jason Beghe | American actor (Chicago P.D.) |
| March 12 | Courtney B. Vance | American actor (Law & Order: Criminal Intent) |
| March 13 | Joe Ranft | American voice actor (d. 2005) |
| March 17 | Vicki Lewis | American singer, actress (NewsRadio) |
| March 18 | Richard Biggs | American actor (died 2004) |
| March 21 | Matthew Arkin | American actor |
| March 25 | Haywood Nelson | American actor (What's Happening!!, What's Happening Now!!) |
| March 25 | Russ Mitchell | American journalist |
| March 25 | Brenda Strong | American actress (Desperate Housewives) |
| March 26 | Ellia English | American singer, actress (The Jamie Foxx Show) |
| March 26 | Jennifer Grey | American actress |
| March 29 | Annabella Sciorra | American actress |
| March 30 | Michael McGrady | American actor |
| April 1 | Jennifer Runyon | American actress |
| April 4 | Lorraine Toussaint | American actress |
| April 5 | Greg Mathis | American judge |
| April 6 | Jane A. Rogers | American actress |
| April 6 | John Pizzarelli | American vocalist |
| April 7 | Elaine Miles | American actress (Northern Exposure) |
| April 8 | John Schneider | American actor (The Dukes of Hazzard) |
| April 10 | Ed Norris | American radio host |
| April 11 | Jeremy Clarkson | English journalist and presenter (Top Gear) |
| April 14 | Brad Garrett | American actor (Everybody Loves Raymond, 'Til Death) |
| April 14 | Brian Forster | American actor (The Partridge Family) |
| April 15 | Susanne Bier | Danish director, screenwriter |
| April 15 | Pedro Delgado | Spanish sportcaster |
| April 16 | Stan Foster | American actor (Tour of Duty) |
| April 16 | Michel Gill | American actor (House of Cards, Mr. Robot) |
| April 22 | Bobby Clampett | American golfer |
| April 23 | Valerie Bertinelli | American actress (One Day at a Time, Hot in Cleveland) |
| April 29 | Steve Blum | American voice actor (Cowboy Bebop, Megas XLR, Ben 10). |
| May 2 | Kevin Brennan | American comedian |
| May 5 | Kurt Sutter | American creator, actor |
| May 6 | Julianne Phillips | American model, actress (Sisters) |
| May 6 | Roma Downey | Irish actress |
| May 6 | John Flansburgh | American musician |
| May 7 | Adam Bernstein | American film director, music video director and television director |
| May 8 | Stella Gonet | Actress (Holby City) |
| May 14 | Ian Baker-Finch | Golfer |
| May 15 | Rob Bowman | Director |
| May 17 | Simon Fuller | British entrepreneur |
| May 17 | Fiona Hutchison | American actress (One Life to Live, Guiding Light) |
| May 20 | John Billingsley | American actor (Star Trek: Enterprise) |
| May 20 | Tony Goldwyn | American actor, director (Scandal) |
| May 21 | Jeffrey Toobin | American author |
| May 24 | Doug Jones | American actor |
| May 24 | Kristin Scott Thomas | British actress |
| May 31 | Chris Elliott | American actor, comedian (Saturday Night Live, Get a Life) |
| June 2 | Shaun Wallace | British game show contestant |
| June 4 | Bradley Walsh | British actor, game show host |
| June 5 | Leslie Hendrix | American actress (All My Children, Law & Order) |
| June 7 | Bill Prady | American television writer, producer |
| June 11 | Mehmet Oz | American television host |
| June 12 | Linda Church | American weathercaster |
| June 17 | Thomas Haden Church | American actor (Wings) |
| June 18 | Christopher Lloyd | American producer |
| June 21 | Kevin Harlan | Television and radio sports announcer |
| June 22 | Catherine Disher | Actress |
| June 25 | Eve Gordon | American actress |
| June 30 | Michael Katleman | American director |
| July 5 | Bruce Lanoil | Puppeteer |
| July 7 | Ralph Sampson | NBA basketball player |
| July 8 | Valarie Pettiford | American actress (Half & Half) |
| July 10 | Jeff Bergman | American voice actor (The Looney Tunes Show) |
| July 11 | Caroline Quentin | English actress (Men Behaving Badly) |
| July 14 | Jane Lynch | American actress (Glee) |
| July 15 | Willie Aames | American actor (Eight is Enough, Charles in Charge) |
| July 16 | Leila Kenzle | American actress (Mad About You) |
| July 17 | Nancy Giles | American actress (China Beach), commentator (CBS News Sunday Morning) |
| July 17 | Mark Burnett | British television producer |
| July 18 | Anne-Marie Johnson | American actress |
| July 20 | John Leguizamo | Actor |
| July 21 | Matt Mulhern | American actor (Major Dad) |
| July 30 | Daniel McDonald | American actor (died 2007) |
| July 30 | Richard Linklater | American screenwriter |
| August 1 | Chuck D | Rapper |
| August 6 | Grant Aleksander | American actor (Guiding Light) |
| August 6 | Leland Orser | American actor |
| August 7 | David Duchovny | American actor (The X-Files) |
| August 10 | Antonio Banderas | Spanish actor, director (Interview with the Vampire, Shrek) |
| August 16 | Timothy Hutton | American actor, producer (Ordinary People, Leverage) |
| August 17 | Lisa Coleman | American musician |
| August 17 | Sean Penn | American actor |
| August 17 | Johnny Wright | American music manager |
| August 26 | Branford Marsalis | American bandleader |
| August 28 | Emma Samms | British actress (General Hospital, Dynasty) |
| August 28 | Jodi Carlisle | American actress (The Wild Thornberrys) |
| September 1 | Damon Wayans | American actor, comedian (In Living Color, My Wife and Kids, Lethal Weapon) |
| September 4 | Janice Huff | Chief meteorologist |
| September 7 | Christopher Villiers | Actor |
| September 9 | Hugh Grant | English actor |
| September 10 | Colin Firth | English actor |
| September 11 | Anne Ramsay | American actress (Mad About You) |
| September 12 | Robert John Burke | American actor |
| September 12 | Gregg Fienberg | American producer |
| September 14 | Radames Pera | American actor (Kung Fu) |
| September 14 | Callum Keith Rennie | British-Canadian actor |
| September 14 | Melissa Leo | American actress (All My Children, The Young Riders) |
| September 15 | Lisa Vanderpump | American actress |
| September 16 | Jayne Brook | American actress (Chicago Hope) |
| September 17 | Kevin Clash | Puppeteer (Sesame Street) |
| September 17 | Steve Scully | American journalist (C-SPAN) |
| September 21 | David James Elliott | Canadian actor (JAG) |
| September 21 | Mary Mara | American actress (Law & Order, ER, Nash Bridges) (died 2022) |
| September 22 | Scott Baio | American actor (Happy Days, Charles in Charge, Diagnosis: Murder) |
| September 27 | Christopher Cousins | American actor |
| September 27 | Jean-Marc Barr | French American actor |
| September 27 | María Celeste Arrarás | Puerto Rican television host |
| September 30 | Vincent Waller | American writer |
| October 1 | Elizabeth Dennehy | American actress |
| October 1 | Joshua Wurman | American scientist |
| October 2 | Terence Winter | American writer |
| October 4 | Loren Lester | American actor (Batman: The Animated Series, Defenders of the Earth, W.I.T.C.H.) |
| October 5 | Daniel Baldwin | American actor |
| October 8 | Kerry Ehrin | American writer |
| October 9 | Jane Robelot | American host |
| October 10 | John Beasley | American composer |
| October 13 | Ari Fleischer | American political commentator and former White House Press Secretary (Fox News) |
| October 13 | Richard Sammel | Actor |
| October 18 | Alex Ferrer | Cuban-American judge |
| October 18 | Jean-Claude Van Damme | Belgian actor |
| October 21 | Byron Pitts | American journalist |
| October 21 | Paul Rugg | Television writer and actor (Animaniacs, Freakazoid!, The 7D, Dave the Barbarian, Pig Goat Banana Cricket, Earth to Ned) |
| October 24 | BD Wong | American actor (Oz, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit) |
| October 24 | Ian Baker-Finch | American golfer |
| October 25 | Tom Eplin | American actor (Another World, As the World Turns) |
| October 28 | Mark Derwin | American actor (The Young and the Restless) |
| November 4 | Kathy Griffin | American actress (Suddenly Susan, Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List) |
| November 5 | Bryan Lourd | American talent agent |
| November 5 | Tilda Swinton | British actress |
| November 6 | Michael Cerveris | American actor |
| November 6 | Lance Kerwin | American actor (d. 2023) |
| November 7 | José Díaz-Balart | American anchorman |
| November 8 | Michael Nyqvist | Swedish actor (Millennium) (d. 2017) |
| November 10 | Dan Hawkins | American sportscaster |
| November 11 | Stanley Tucci | American actor |
| November 11 | Peter Parros | American actor |
| November 13 | Neil Flynn | American actor (Scrubs, The Middle) |
| November 14 | David Tattersall | British cinematographer |
| November 17 | RuPaul | American actor |
| November 17 | Frank Spotnitz | American writer |
| November 17 | Jonathan Ross | Actor |
| November 18 | Elizabeth Perkins | American actress |
| November 23 | Robin Roberts | American newscaster |
| November 25 | Arthur Smith | Canadian television producer |
| November 27 | Paulina García | Chilean actress |
| November 29 | Jackie Hoffman | American actress |
| November 30 | Rich Fields | American announcer |
| November 30 | Jason Katims | American television writer |
| December 3 | Julianne Moore | American actress |
| December 3 | Daryl Hannah | American actress |
| December 9 | Jeff "Swampy" Marsh | American voice actor and producer (Phineas and Ferb) |
| December 10 | Kenneth Branagh | British actor |
| December 14 | Don Franklin | American actor (The Young Riders, seaQuest DSV, Seven Days) |
| December 19 | Mike Lookinland | American actor (The Brady Bunch) |
| December 25 | Ron Bottitta | British actor (Lost) |
| December 27 | Harry Goaz | American actor (Twin Peaks) |
| December 28 | Jeff Martin | American writer |

## Television debuts

* Hardie Albright – Thriller
* Jack Pennick – Wagon Train
* Brian Keith - The Westerner