Events in Film & Television in 1959

Jan 9 "Rawhide" with Clint Eastwood premieres on CBS TV

Jan 24 Dmitri Shostakovich's comedy "Cheryomushk" premieres in Moscow

Jan 24 WHCT TV channel 18 in Hartford, CT (IND) begins broadcasting
Jan 26 KOKH TV channel 25 in Oklahoma City, OK (IND/PBS) begins broadcasting
Jan 29 Walt Disney's "Sleeping Beauty" released
Feb 1 WVUE TV channel 8 in New Orleans, LA (ABC) begins broadcasting
Feb 23 KVIE TV channel 6 in Sacramento-Stockton, CA (PBS) begins broadcasting

Mar 5 16th Golden Globes: "The Defiant Ones", David Niven, & Susan Hayward win

Mar 29 "Some Like It Hot", directed by Billy Wilder and starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, and Jack Lemmon, is released in NYC

Apr 24 WICD TV channel 15 in Champaign, IL (NBC/ABC) begins broadcasting
Apr 28 KLOE TV channel 10 in Goodland, KS (CBS) begins broadcasting
Apr 28 KPLR TV channel 11 in Saint Louis, MO (IND) begins broadcasting
Apr 28 6th National Film Awards (India): "Sagar Sangamey" wins the Golden Lotus
May 4 "The 400 Blows", French film directed by François Truffaut, starring Jean-Pierre Léaud, is released
May 13 Kraft Music Hall with Milton Berle last airs on NBC-TV
May 15 12th Cannes Film Festival: "Black Orpheus" directed by Marcel Camus wins the Palme d'Or
May 16 WTOM TV channel 4 in Cheboygan, MI (NBC) begins broadcasting
Jun 13 "Sammy Kaye Show" last airs on ABC-TV
Jun 18 New York City premiere of the film version of Kathryn Hulme's "The Nun's Story"
Jun 26 9th Berlin International Film Festival: "The Cousins" wins Golden Bear
Jul 1 WVTV TV channel 18 in Milwaukee, WI (IND) begins broadcasting
Jul 6 WENH TV channel 11 in Durham, NH (PBS) begins broadcasting
Jul 12 NBC uses cameras to show catchers signals during Yankee-Red Sox game

Jul 17 "North by Northwest" directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint premieres in Los Angeles

Jul 18 "The Nun's Story" based on the novel by Kathryn Hulme, starring Audrey Hepburn premieres in Los Angeles

Jul 22 Ed Wood's cult classic "Plan 9 From Outer Space", called one of the worse films ever, premieres
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Jul 24 500,000th Dutch TV set registered
Aug 1 WAAY TV channel 31 in Huntsville, AL (ABC/NBC) begins broadcasting
Aug 23 20th Venice Film Festival: "The Great War" directed by Mario Monicelli and "General della Rovere" directed by Roberto Rossellini jointly awarded Golden Lion
Sep 12 "Bonanza" premieres on NBC-TV
Sep 14 WQEX TV channel 16 in Pittsburgh, PA (PBS) begins broadcasting

Sep 19 Nikita Khrushchev is denied access to Disneyland

Oct 7 "Pillow Talk" film directed by Michael Gordon and starring Doris Day and Rock Hudson is first released

Oct 11 KTHI TV channel 11 in Fargo-Grand Forks, ND (NBC) begins broadcasting
Oct 14 WMUB (now WPTO) TV channel 14 in Oxford, OH (PBS) begins broadcasting
Oct 15 KNDO TV channel 23 in Yakima, WA (NBC) begins broadcasting
Oct 20 WABG TV channel 6 in Greenwood-Greenville, MS (ABC) 1st broadcast
Nov 8 KJTV (now KGET) TV channel 17 in Bakersfield, CA (NBC) 1st broadcast
Nov 10 Corinne Rottschaeffer of the Netherlands elected Miss World

Nov 18 "Ben-Hur" directed by William Wyler and starring Charlton Heston premieres in New York City (Academy Awards Best Picture 1960)