Events in Film & TV
- 1949-01-17 Radio series "The Goldbergs" by Gertrude Berg premieres on US TV on CBS
- 1950-10-03 Ethel Waters becomes 1st Black lead actress on TV sit-com (Beulah)
Television Debut
1955-10-01 Jackie Gleason's sitcom "The Honeymooners" debuts on CBS, replacing his variety series; production ends after 39 episodes
- 1957-01-04 "Blondie" situation comedy premieres on NBC TV (later on CBS)
- 1957-10-04 TV sitcom "Leave It to Beaver" debuts on CBS
Television Premiere
1960-09-30 "The Flintstones" the first animated sitcom created by Hanna-Barbera premieres on ABC in the US
- 1960-10-03 US sitcom "The Andy Griffith Show" premieres in CBS (runs till 1968)
- 1961-10-03 TV sitcom "Mr Ed" premieres on CBS
Television Debut
1964-09-26 TV sitcom "Gilligan's Island", starring Bob Denver as Gilligan, debuts on CBS
- 1965-09-14 Western sitcom "F-Troop" premieres in the US on ABC
- 1965-09-17 CBS premiere of WWII sitcom "Hogan's Heroes"
Television Premiere
1965-09-18 Mel Brooks and Buck Henry's spy spoof sitcom "Get Smart" starring Don Adams, Barbara Feldon, and Edward Platt, debuts on NBC-TV
Television Premiere
1965-09-18 TV sitcom "I Dream of Jeannie", starring Barbara Eden as a 2,000-year-old genie, and Larry Hagman as an astronaut who becomes her master, premieres on NBC
Television Premiere
1969-09-26 TV sitcom "The Brady Bunch" created by Sherwood Schwartz premieres on ABC in the US
- 1972-05-18 "Me and The Chimp" an American TV sitcom last airs on CBS in the US
- 1972-09-12 TV sitcom "Maude", a spin-off of "All In The Family", starring Bea Arthur and Bill Macy premieres on CBS
- 1974-01-15 TV sitcom "Happy Days" created by Garry Marshall and starring Ron Howard, Henry Winkler, Marion Ross, and Tom Bosley, begins an 11 year run on ABC
- 1974-02-08 TV sitcom "Good Times", spin-off from "Maude", starring Esther Rolle, John Amos, and J.J. Walker, premieres on CBS TV
- 1975-01-24 "Hot l Baltimore" situation comedy premieres on ABC TV
- 1975-04-04 British sitcom "The Good Life" starring Richard Briers, Felicity Kendal, Paul Eddington and Penelope Keith debuts on BBC One
Television Premiere
1978-09-12 Situation comedy "Taxi" premieres on ABC television starring Judd Hirsch, Jeff Conaway, Danny DeVito, Tony Danza, Marilu Henner, and Andy Kaufman
- 1978-09-18 "WKRP in Cincinnati", an ensemble TV sitcom created by Hugh Wilson and set in a struggling radio station debuts on CBS
- 1979-02-26 CBS' premiere of NYC sitcom "Flatbush", which received many derision phone calls about it from Brooklynites to CBS
- 1981-02-06 TV sitcom "The Brady Brides", a sequel to "The Brady Brunch" debuts on NBC TV, runs for 10 episodes
- 1982-05-21 "WKRP in Cincinnati", an ensemble TV sitcom created by Hugh Wilson and set in a struggling radio station, 90th and final episode airs on CBS
- 1982-06-10 American TV sitcom "Taxi" last airs on ABC, cancelled after 4 seasons and 15 Emmy Award wins; moves to NBC in the fall, airing for 1 season and wins 3 more Emmys
Television Premiere
1982-09-22 Sitcom "Family Ties starring Michael J. Fox premieres on NBC
- 1982-09-29 Situation comedy "Cheers" premieres on NBC-TV, starring Ted Danson and Shelley Long
Television Finale
1983-05-10 TV sitcom "Laverne & Shirley" last airs on ABC-TV
Television Premiere
1984-03-19 American sitcom "Kate & Allie" premieres on CBS TV starring Susan Saint James and Jane Curtin
- 1988-06-30 Sitcom "Sledge Hammer!" last airs on ABC-TV
- 1988-11-14 Sitcom "Murphy Brown" starring Candice Bergen premieres on CBS
Television Premiere
1990-03-21 TV sitcom "Sydney" starring Valerie Bertinelli, Matthew Perry and Craig Bierko premieres on CBS-TV
- 1991-09-07 "The New WKRP in Cincinnati", an ensemble TV sitcom sequel created by Hugh Wilson and set in a struggling radio station debuts in syndication; 3 members of the original series cast reprise their roles
- 1992-04-20 100th episode of American sitcom "Murphy Brown" airs
- 1993-05-22 "The New WKRP in Cincinnati", an ensemble TV sitcom sequel created by Hugh Wilson and set in a struggling radio station, concludes syndicated run
Television Debut
1994-09-22 "Friends" TV sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman debuts on NBC, starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer
- 1995-04-21 British sitcom "Father Ted" written by Arthur Mathews & Graham Linehan, starring Dermot Morgan premieres on Channel 4
- 1995-05-22 TV sitcom Laverne & Shirley 20th anniversary reunion special, televised
Television Debut
1996-01-09 1st episode of TV sitcom "3rd Rock from the Sun" by Bonnie and Terry Turner and starring John Lithgow and Kristen Johnston screens on NBC
Television Debut
1997-08-13 Animated TV sitcom "South Park" debuts on Comedy Central
Television Premiere
1998-06-06 TV sitcom "Sex and the City" premieres in the US on HBO, starring Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon
Television Premiere
2003-11-02 US sitcom "Arrested Development" Premieres created by Mitchell Hurwitz, starring Jason Bateman, Porta de Rossi, Michael Cera and an ensemble cast on Fox
Television Finale
2004-05-06 TV sitcom "Friends" airs season finale in 10th and final season in US (52.5 million viewers)
Television Premiere
2006-10-11 US sitcom "30 Rock" created by and starring Tina Fey alongside Alec Baldwin and Tracy Morgan first premieres on NBC in the US
- 2010-06-16 "Hot In Cleveland", cable channel TV Land's first original sitcom premieres; starring Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves, Wendie Malick, and Betty White
Film & TV History
2011-03-07 Charlie Sheen is fired from the CBS sitcom "Two and a Half Men"
Television Premiere
2014-09-24 US sitcom "Black-ish" premieres created by Kenya Barris, starring Anthony Anderson and Tracee Ellis Ross
Film & TV History
2019-05-16 Last episode of TV sitcom "The Big Bang Theory" starring Jim Parson, Johnny Galecki and Kaley Cuoco after 12 seasons
- 2021-05-27 "Friends" reunion screens, 17 years after the TV sitcom series ended
- 2023-01-17 Revival of 1980s American TV sitcom "Night Court", premieres on NBC TV; John Larrquette is the sole returning cast member
Birthdays in Film & TV
- 1756-10-28 ALF [Gordon Shumway], fictional Melmacian Alien Life Form from the American sitcom "ALF"
- 1932-02-02 Robert Mandan, American actor best known for his role as Chester Tate in US sitcom "Soap", born in Clever, Missouri (d. 2018)
Courteney Cox (58 years old)
1964-06-15 American actress (Monica Geller on Friends), born in Birmingham, Alabama
Weddings in Film & TV
Brooke Shields
2001-04-04 Actress and model Brooke Shields (35) weds sitcom writer Chris Henchy (37) in Catalina Island, California
Deaths in Film & TV
- 2001-09-11 David Angell, American sitcom creator (Frazier), dies aboard a plane in a terrorist attack on the World Trade Center at 55
- 2018-04-29 Robert Mandan, American actor best known for his role as Chester Tate in US sitcom "Soap", dies at 86