Perry Como Tonight at 7:45 – Feb. 5, 1954

Do you remember in the early days of television when some shows were only fifteen minutes long and were advertised as such? If you're a Baby Boomer, you probably remember. These programs (such as an evening news broadcast, for example) were right there in the TV listings. 

I guess that's why the small ad for Channel 5 above, on a page from the Feb. 5, 1954 Lorain Journal caught my eye. "Tonight at 7:45," it notes, "don't miss Perry Como on WEWS, Channel 5. Throughout the week, you can enjoy the nation's favorite shows over CBS television. For all the best entertainment in television, see the Cleveland listings in your paper every day." A small note at the bottom of the ad points out that the station is 'now brighter, clearer' thanks to a 'new tower, greater power.'

Here's a better look at the photo of the talented Mr. Como.

What's interesting is that WEWS-TV Channel 5 (the first TV station in Ohio) was at the time a CBS affiliate. For many of us TV viewers, it's hard to imagine Channel 5 as a CBS station, much like it was to accept WJW-TV Channel 8 (a longtime CBS station) becoming a Fox station in the 1990s.

Speaking of Perry Como, did you know about his Lorain connection? Back on this post, I wrote about how the city was the scene of his first appearance before a large audience – which is pretty neat.

Anyway, the WEWS ad suggests that the reader sneak a peek at the Cleveland TV listings. Here they are from that day.

There are plenty of national and local names. For the kiddies, there was Pinky Lee; Howdy Doody; Mr. Wizard. Locally, Dorothy Fuldheim was doing the news at WEWS. 

For entertainment, there was Life of Riley, starring William Bendix.

There was also Topper, the comedy about the fun-loving (but deceased) young couple could only be seen by Cosmo Topper. The show was still in re-runs in the 1960s, because I remember we used to watch it. 

Here's a photo of the cast. But the way, the St. Bernard was a ghost too.

It's always difficult to try and explain to someone in their 20s how we were just as happy when we were kids to have only 3 or 4 television stations as they are now, with hundreds of viewing choices. TV was a communal experience back then, and you could actually talk about a show the next day knowing that that the other person probably watched it too.

Now, with streaming, we're all TV moguls, doing our own programming. (Except for me, of course, still watching whatever GRIT-TV and the new Western channel OUTLAW are showing, even if it's the 10,000th showing of McClintock!.