‘‘Buffalo’’ Bob Smith’s successful children’s television show Howdy Doody begins its long run on NBC. The Tony Awards honoring Broadway theater originate. 1948 Television drama shows begin to appear. The magazine TV Guide is launched. 1949 Hollywood studios begin to produce programming for television. The Emmy Awards program is instituted for television. Italian operatic bass Ezio Pinza appears in South Pacific on Broadway. Child actors David and Ricky Nelson join the cast of their parents’ radio show, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. Baseball player Eddie Waitkus is shot and badly injured by a female stalker. 1950 Stan Freberg’s hit record ‘‘John and Marsha’’ spoofs ‘‘cheesy’’ soap operas. Jon Arthur opens his children’s show No School Today on American Broad- casting Company (ABC) television. 1951 The hugely popular sitcom I Love Lucy appears on television. The 45 rpm record becomes popular in the United States. 1952 Gene Kelly performs what may well remain the best movie dance number ever in Singin’ in the Rain. Generoso Pope introduces The National Enquirer, soon to be imitated by other tabloid magazines. Karl Lagerfeld begins his career in couture and ready-to-wear design. 1953 Bill Haley records the first rock and roll music. Andy Griffith achieves instant celebrity with his comedy record ‘‘What It Was, Was Football.’’ 1954 The transistor radio hits the market. Elvis Presley cuts his first record, ‘‘That’s All Right,’’ for Sun Records. Marlon Brando makes the t-shirt popular in the movie On the Waterfront. Celebrity ‘‘Red baiter’’ Sen. Joseph McCarthy’s star dims in the Army- McCarthy hearings. Fashion designer Coco Chanel makes her comeback after a fifteen-year hiatus. 1955 Harland Sanders, founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken, begins franchising his restaurants and appearing in his own ads and commercials. Gunsmoke, television’s longest-running Western, premieres. The movie Rebel Without a Cause makes James Dean a major celebrity. Three children’s television shows appear: Bob Keeshan’s Captain Kanga- roo, Pinky Lee, and Soupy Sales. 1956 Comedy duo Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis split and pursue solo careers. xxii | Timeline
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