Events in Film & Television in 1947

Film & TV History

Feb 21 Whipper Billy Watson beats Bill Longson, to become wrestling champ

Golden Globes

Feb 26 4th Golden Globes: "The Best Years of Our Lives", Gregory Peck, & Rosalind Russell win

Mar 4 WWJ (now WDIV) TV channel 4 in Detroit, MI (NBC) begins broadcasting
Mar 13 19th Academy Awards: "Best Years of Our Lives", De Havilland, March win
Apr 1 Shin Takarajima (New Treasure Island) by Osamu Tezuka published, first manga cartoon in tankōbon form

Sports History

Apr 25 Lou Thesz beats Whipper Watson in St Louis, to win National Wrestling Association world heavyweight title

May 7 "Kraft Television Theater" premieres on NBC

Film Release

Jun 11 Perennial Christmas film "Miracle on 34th St" starring John Payne and Maureen O'Hara, directed by George Seaton is released

Jun 27 WRC TV channel 4 in Washington, D.C. (NBC) begins broadcasting
Aug 23 8th Venice Film Festival opens (first since the start of World War II)
Sep 13 WPVI TV channel 6 in Philadelphia, PA (ABC) begins broadcasting

Cannes Film Festival

Sep 25 2nd Cannes Film Festival ends with six different awards presented including Best Musical for Vincente Minnelli's" Ziegfeld Follies" and Walt Disney's "Dumbo" Best Animation

Sep 30 In first televised World Series Baseball game, NY Yankees beat Brooklyn Dodgers, 5-3 in Game 1 at Yankee Stadium; also largest WS crowd to date, 73,365
Oct 3 WMAL (now WJLA) TV channel 7 in Washington, D.C. (ABC) begins

Historic Communication

Oct 5 Harry Truman makes the 1st Presidential address televised from the White House

Oct 20 HUAC opens hearings into alleged Communist influence in Hollywood

Radio Premiere

Oct 27 "You Bet Your Life" with Groucho Marx premieres on ABC radio

Oct 27 WMAR TV channel 2 in Baltimore, MD (NBC) begins broadcasting
Nov 1 Gian Carlo Menotti's musical drama/comedy double bill "The Medium" and " The Telephone" closes at The Ethel Barrymore Theatre, NYC after 211 performances
Nov 6 NBC's "Meet the Press" debuts - US's longest running TV show
Nov 11 "Gentlemen's Agreement" directed by Elia Karan and starring Gregory Peck and Dorothy McGuire premieres in New York (Best Picture 1948)
Nov 12 KPO-AM in San Francisco CA changes call letters to KNBC (now KNBR)
Nov 17 The U.S. Screen Actors Guild implements an anti-Communist loyalty oath.
Nov 21 Bill Longson beats Lou Thesz in St Louis, to win National Wrestlingg Association world heavyweight title
Nov 24 The US House of Representatives Committee on Un-American Activities finds "Hollywood 10" in contempt because of their refusal to reveal whether they were communists
Nov 25 The 1st systematic Hollywood blacklist is instituted, denying employment to American entertainment professionals due to alleged Communist ties or sympathies

Theater Premiere

Dec 3 Tennessee Williams' stage drama "A Streetcar Named Desire", starring Jessica Tandy, Marlon Brando, and Kin Hunter, and directed by Elia Kazan opens the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, NYC; runs for 855 performances, wins a Tony Award and a Pulitzer Prize

Dec 17 WEWS TV channel 5 in Cleveland, Ohio (ABC) begins broadcasting
Dec 27 1st "Howdy Doody Show" (Puppet Playhouse), telecast on NBC

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