by Feeney, Paul
Bonanza (1959–73): ITV. A weekly western series based on the adventures of the Cartwright family and the goings-on at their 1,000 mile² fictional ranch called Ponderosa on the shore of Lake Tahoe in Nevada. The head of the family was Ben Cartwright, played by Lorne Green. He had three sons, each by a different wife, Adam (Pernell Roberts), Eric or ‘Hoss’ (Dan Blocker) and Joseph or ‘Little Joe’ (Michael Landon). Michael Landon was the only original leading cast member who was wig-free throughout the series.
Bronco (1958–62): BBC TV. An American western television adventure series starring Ty Hardin as Bronco Layne, a former Confederate officer who wandered the Old West encountering all sorts of famous names, from Billy the Kid to Theodore Roosevelt.
Cheyenne (1955–63): ITV. Made by Warner Brothers, this was the first hour-long American television western series. It starred Clint Walker as Cheyenne Bodie, a former frontier scout who became a drifter taking all sorts of short-term jobs on ranches, wagon trains and cattle drives. And he sometimes worked as a civilian Cavalry scout, a federal marshal and a special investigator; an all-round hero who sorted out conflicts everywhere he went. Clint Walker was the only regular cast member but many well-known guests appeared, including Angie Dickinson, James Garner, Michael Landon and Rod Taylor.
Cilla (1968–69): BBC1. Cilla Black’s own series of music shows in which she sang songs, danced and introduced guest artists. During the series her guests included Donovan, Georgie Fame, Tom Jones, Henry Mancini, Dusty Springfield and Ringo Starr. Paul McCartney (credited as ‘Lennon/McCartney’) wrote the theme song, Step Inside Love, which reached number eight in the UK charts in March 1968.
Coronation Street (1960–present): Granada Television for ITV. A prime time soap opera created by Tony Warren that was set and produced in Manchester, about life in and around the fictional Coronation Street. First broadcast on 9 December 1960, it was shown twice a week in the 1960s (three times a week from 1989 and five times a week from 2009). The 1960s cast included such characters as Ena Sharples (Violet Carson), Elsie Tanner (Patricia Phoenix), Annie Walker (Doris Speed), Mr Swindley (Arthur Lowe), Len Fairclough (Peter Adamson), Minnie Caldwell (Margot Bryant), Martha Longhurst (Lynne Carol), Ken Barlow (William Roache) and Albert Tatlock (Jack Howarth).
Annuals of television series, like Crackerjack, Emergency Ward 10 and The Man from U.N.C.L.E., were very popular Christmas stocking fillers for children of all ages.
Crackerjack! (1955–84): BBC TV. A weekly children’s comedy and variety show. ‘It’s Friday, it’s five to five … It’s Crackerjack!’ Filmed in front of an audience of excited children, this was one of the most popular children’s television programmes ever. The show’s first presenter was Eamonn Andrews (1955–64), who mimed during the singing. Leslie Crowther took over from 1964–68, and then Michael Aspel became its presenter through to 1974. The regular performers included Ronnie Corbett, Joe Baker, Jack Douglas, Peter Glaze, Rod McLennan, Christine Holmes and Jillian Comber. And there were always one or two big name special guests who were often the top artists or groups of the day. You would definitely have run home from school to see this. It had everything you needed to help you forget a hard week: corny jokes, singalongs, pop star guests, games, quizzes, comedy sketches and ‘Double or Drop’, the game where kids’ arms were loaded with prizes as they answered each question correctly or with cabbages if they got them wrong. They were out of the game if they dropped anything or if they got two questions wrong. Everyone that took part got a Crackerjack pencil and it was an unwritten rule that whenever the presenter said ‘Crackerjack’, the audience would shout back loudly ‘Cracker-jack!’
Dad’s Army (1968–77): BBC1. A British situation comedy about a Home Guard platoon based at the fictional seaside town of Walmington-on-Sea during the Second World War. Written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, it starred Arthur Lowe as Captain Mainwaring (bank manager), John Le Mesurier as Sergeant Arthur Wilson (bank clerk), Clive Dunn as Lance-Corporal Jack Jones (butcher), James Beck as Private Joe Walker (local spiv), Ian Lavender as Private Frank Pike (junior bank clerk and ‘stupid boy’), John Laurie as Private James Frazer (Scottish coffin maker), Arnold Ridley as Private Charles Godfrey (tailor and the platoon’s medical orderly), Bill Pertwee as Chief ARP Warden William Hodges (grumpy greengrocer), Janet Davies as Mrs Mavis Pike (Private Pike’s mother and Sergeant Wilson’s lover), Frank Williams as Reverend Timothy Farthing (effeminate vicar), Edward Sinclair as Maurice Yeatman (the verger) and Colin Bean as Private Sponge (sheep farmer who sometimes spoke up for the rest of the platoon). Bud Flanagan sang the theme song, Who Do You Think You Are Kidding Mr Hitler, for which Jimmy Perry and Derek Taverner composed the music, with lyrics by Jimmy Perry.
Danger Man (1960–68): ATV for ITV. A British television drama series created by Ralph Smart about a fictional special security operative working for NATO, featuring undercover agent John Drake, played by Patrick McGoohan. The opening titles started with McGoohan’s voice-over narration: ‘Every government has its secret service branch. America, CIA; France, Deuxieme Bureau; England, MI5. NATO also has its own. A messy job? Well that’s when they usually call on me or someone like me. Oh yes, my name is Drake, John Drake.’
Dee Time (1967–69): BBC1. Early evening prime time television show with Simon Dee chatting to famous guests of the day. The show always opened with the announcement, ‘It’s S-i-i-i-mon Dee’, and closed with a film shot of Dee driving away in an E-Type Jaguar with a blonde model sat next to him.
The Dick Emery Show (1963–81): BBC1. A comedy sketch series with Dick Emery donning many disguises to play fictional comic characters that became very familiar to viewers. Such characters included the buck-toothed Church of England vicar, a man-eating spinster called Hettie, a camp man who coined the phrase ‘Hallo Honky Tonk’ and a denim-clad bovver boy called Gaylord. One of Emery’s best-loved catchphrases came from Mandy, the busty middle-aged peroxide-blonde woman who would always finish a conversation with the catchphrase, ‘Ooh, you are awful … but I like you!’ Then Mandy would give the interviewer a hefty shove and trip in her high heels as she walked away from him.
Dixon of Dock Green (1956–76): BBC TV. Saturday evening drama series featuring PC George Dixon, played by Jack Warner, who was an old-style London beat-bobby; solving crime using the soft touch, ‘a nice cup of tea and a chat’, with the odd ‘clip around the ear’ for the young tearaways. Jack Warner was 60 years old when the television series first started, but with all the success he had at solving crime, it still took until he was well past retirement age before he got promoted to the rank of sergeant. This was something that mystified even the youngest of minds! ‘Evenin’ all!’
Doctor in the House (1969–70): LWT for ITV. A British comedy series about the misadventures of a group of medical students based at the fictional St Swithin’s Hospital in London. The main characters were Michael Upton (played by Barry Evans), Duncan Waring (Robin Nedwell), Paul Collier (George Layton), Dick Stuart-Clark (Geoffrey Davies) and Professor Geoffrey Loftus (Ernest Clark).
Doctor Who (1963–89 and 2005–present): BBC1. A science fiction adventure series that was first broadcast by BBC TV on 23 November 1963. The programme follows the adventures of a fictional time-traveller known as ‘the Doctor’ who travels through space and time in his blue 1950s police-box, called the TARDIS. The original Doctor was played by William Hartnell (1963–66) followed by Patrick Troughton (1966–69). Since then there have been nine actors cast in the title role, making eleven in all. The Doctor has always travelled with at least one companion. His original companions were his granddaughter Susan Foreman (played by Carole Ann Ford), and school teachers Barbara Wright (Jacqueline Hill) and Ian Chesterton (William Russell). Other 1960s companions included Vicky (Maureen O’Brien), Steven Taylor (Peter Purves), Katarina (Adrianne Hill), Sara Kingdom (Jean Marsh), Dodo Chaplet (Jackie Lane), Polly (Anneke Wills), Ben Jackson (Michael Craze), Jamie McCrimmon (Frazer Hines), Victoria Waterfield (Deborah Watling) and Zoe Hariot (Wendy Pa
dbury). The series features many monsters and villains, the most famous being the Daleks, which are tank-like mechanical casings that carry the mutated remains of the Kaled people of the planet Skaro. When they first appeared in 1963, kids all over the country were ducking down behind sofas to hide from the scary monsters.
Double Your Money (1955–68): Rediffusion/ITV. A quiz show in which members of the public won cash prizes for answering increasingly difficult general knowledge questions, with the prize money doubling after each answered question. When the prize money reached £32 then contestants had to answer questions from inside a soundproofed sealed glass booth. Hughie Green was the host for the entire life of the show.
Emergency Ward 10 (1957–67): ITV. One of British television’s first soap operas, and the first hospital-based drama on British television. It was about life behind the swing-doors of fictional Oxbridge General Hospital. Its stars included Jill Browne as Nurse Carole Young, Rosemary Miller as Nurse Pat Roberts, Elizabeth Kentish as Sister Cowley and Charles Tingwell as House Surgeon Alan Dawson.
The Expert (1968–76): BBC1. A British police drama series about a pathologist called Dr John Hardy who worked for the Home Office and would use his forensic knowledge to solve various cases. Marius Goring played the lead role. It was one of the first BBC dramas to be made in colour.
Father, Dear, Father (1968–73): Thames Television for ITV. A British situation comedy about a father (Patrick Glover played by Patrick Cargill) coping with the antics of his two teenage daughters, Ann and Karen, played by Natasha Pyne and Ann Holloway. He was aided by the girls’ nanny, played by Noel Dyson.
Flipper (1964–67): ITV. Made by NBC in America, this was a children’s television series about a bottlenose dolphin named Flipper who was the wild pet of Porter Ricks, Chief Warden at the fictional Coral Key Park and Marine Preserve in southern Florida, and his two sons Sandy and Bud. Flipper lived in a lagoon near the Ricks’ cottage, and together with the Ricks family he helped protect the park and its wildlife inhabitants. Flipper was often instrumental in rescuing members of the family from dangerous situations and in apprehending criminals and mischief-makers in the park.
Forsyte Saga (1967–69): BBC2 and repeated on BBC1. This drama series was adapted from the novels by John Galsworthy. The series was about the life and times of a fictional leading upper-middle-class British family by the name of Forsyte. It starred Eric Porter as Soames, Kenneth More as Young Jolyon and Nyree Dawn Porter as Irene. The series was hugely popular and 18 million people tuned in to watch the final episode in 1969.
The Frankie Howerd Show (1964–66): BBC1. A comedy series written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, which was based on a mixture of chat and comedy sketches featuring Frankie Howerd. Regular cast members included John Le Mesurier and June Whitfield. There were lots of his seemingly off-the-cuff remarks to the audience and recurring catchphrases like ‘Oooh, no missus’, ‘Oh well, please yourself’ and ‘Titter ye not’. But it was later found that everything, including the off-the-cuff remarks, was scripted.
George and the Dragon (1966–68): ATV for ITV. A situation comedy written by Vince Powell and Harry Driver. It starred Sid James as George Russell, an incorrigible letch of a chauffeur/handyman to Colonel Maynard (John Le Mesurier), and Peggy Mount as Miss Gabriel Dragon, a bellowing battle-axe character who tried to keep George in check while he did everything he could to get rid of her.
Grandstand (1958–2007): BBC TV and BBC1. The first programme on British television to pull together a variety of sports into one show. Its first presenter was Peter Dimmock, but David Coleman took over the hot seat just a few weeks later, and he continued to present the show until 1968 when Frank Bough took over.
Gunsmoke (1955–75): ITV. Also produced under the titles of Gun Law and Marshal Dillon. A television western series starring James Arness in the lead role of Marshal Matt Dillon, Dennis Weaver as Chester Goode, Milburn Stone as Dr Galen ‘Doc’ Adams and Amanda Blake as Miss Kitty, owner of the fictional Long Branch Saloon in Dodge City, Kansas. Everyone remembers Dennis Weaver playing the limping Chester ‘Mis-ter Dil-lon’ Goode.
Hancock’s Half Hour (1956–69): BBC TV. This was the television version of the popular radio comedy series. As with the radio series, it starred Tony Hancock as Anthony Aloysius St John Hancock, who continually failed in his attempts to rise above his humble origins. Sid James was the only other cast member to transfer across from radio, although Kenneth Williams and Hattie Jacques did make some guest appearances. Liz Frazer, Irene Handl, Hugh Lloyd, John Le Mesurier, Warren Mitchell, Arthur Mullard and Richard Wattis also made guest appearances. Wally Scott composed the distinctive tuba-based theme.
I Love Lucy (1955–65): ITV. One of the first ever family situation comedies shown on ITV when the new channel started in 1955. It starred Lucille Ball as Lucy Ricardo, the scatty wife of singer/bandleader Ricky Ricardo, played by Lucy’s real-life husband, Desi Arnaz. In the series, Lucy got herself into all sorts of madcap situations with friends and landlords Ethel Mertz, played by Vivian Vance, and Fred Mertz, played by William Frawley. This was one of the funniest shows on television. Kids and grownups loved it!
Juke Box Jury (1959–67): BBC TV and BBC1. A pop music panel show in which the host, DJ David Jacobs, played excerpts from the latest pop records and the four celebrity jury made comments and voted the record a ‘hit’ or a ‘miss’. Guest panel members in the 1960s included Cilla Black, Sid James, Brian Epstein, Freddie Garrity and Adam Faith. On 7 December 1963 the panel was made up of the four Beatles, and on 4 July 1964 it consisted of the five Rolling Stones. The original theme was Juke Box Fury, written and performed by Tony Osborne under the name of Ozzie Warlock and the Wizards, but the theme was changed in 1960 to the more familiar, Hit and Miss, by the John Barry Seven.
The Likely Lads (1964–66): BBC1. A situation comedy series created and written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais. It starred the perfectly cast duo of James Bolam and Rodney Bewes as Terry Collier and Bob Ferris. Set in the mid-1960s, it featured Terry and Bob as two working-class young men from Newcastle who had been best friends since childhood. The two characters were complete opposites: Terry was a hopeless, work-shy, but opinionated Jack-the-lad character, while Bob was a smartly dressed traditionalist man of reason. In the 1970s the two were reunited for the sequel, Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads (1973–74), which was filmed in colour.
The Lone Ranger (produced 1949–57; repeated throughout the 1960s): ITV. This was the best-known adaptation of the Lone Ranger story, the masked Texas Ranger hero who righted injustices in the American Old West with his trusty Indian sidekick, Tonto. It starred Clayton Moore as the Lone Ranger (except for a two-year period, between 1952–54, when Clayton Moore was in dispute and John Hart stood in) and Jay Silverheels as Tonto. ‘Nowhere in the pages of history can one find a greater champion of justice.’ At the end of each episode, one of the grateful subjects of his heroism would always ask, ‘Who was that masked man?’ only to be told, ‘Why, he’s the Lone Ranger!’ … ‘Hi-yo Silver, away!’
These two cowboy adventure series were show again and again on television throughout the 1960s (The Lone Ranger was actually made in the 1950s).
Magpie (1968–80): Thames Television for ITV. A children’s television programme created by Lewis Judd in the style of the BBC’s long-running Blue Peter, but presented in a trendier format. Its 1960s presenters were the former BBC Radio DJ Pete Brady, Susan Stranks, Tony Bastable and Douglas Rae.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964–68): BBC1. An American television secret agent series that followed the exploits of two secret agents, Napoleon Solo, played by Robert Vaughn, and Illya Kuryakin, played by David McCullum. Both worked for the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement whose headquarters were located behind a secret doorway in Del Floria’s tailor shop on New York’s East Side. The two heroes were involved in an endless fight against the agents of THRUSH (Technical Hierarchy for the Removal of Undesirables and the Subjugation of Humanity). Many
well-known guests made an appearance, including William Shatner, Kurt Russell, Joan Collins, Nancy Sinatra, Sonny Bono and Cher, Joan Crawford and Telly Savalas.
Maverick (1957–62): ITV. An American western series that originally starred James Garner as the humorous and likeable Bret Maverick, a travelling poker player, and Jack Kelly as his equally keen card-playing brother, Bart Maverick. The stories revolved around the difficult situations their gambling got them into. Garner left the series in 1960 and was replaced by Roger Moore, who played cousin Beau Maverick. Garners’ departure led to a slide in the show’s popularity and Robert Colbert was brought in to play another brother, Brent Maverick. But the show was never as popular as it had been with James Garner in the lead role, and so the series was dropped in 1962.
Mission Impossible (1966–73): ITV. American drama series that follows the exploits of the Impossible Missions Force (IMF), a small team of secret agents used for covert missions against evil organisations. The identities of the organisation that oversaw the IMF and the government it worked for were never revealed. Each week, secret agent Jim Phelps (Peter Graves) would receive instructions for a new mission, ‘Your mission, Jim, should you accept it …’ Each agent had his or her own special talent that would be used to help the team succeed in the impossible mission.
The Monkees (1966–68): ITV. An American comedy/pop music show that followed a pop group’s (the Monkees) madcap adventures. The four members of the group were brought together specially for this show, having been selected from 400 applicants. It starred Mickey Dolenz, Michael Nesmith, Peter Tork and British actor Davy Jones as the Monkees. As a pop group, the Monkees had seven UK top-twenty hit records, including I’m a Believer, which went to number one in the UK charts in January 1967.
