American Bandstand

American Bandstand 1957

8.40

American Bandstand was an American music-performance show that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989 and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as producer. The show featured teenagers dancing to Top 40 music introduced by Clark; at least one popular musical act—over the decades, running the gamut from Jerry Lee Lewis to Run DMC—would usually appear in person to lip-sync one of their latest singles. Freddy "Boom Boom" Cannon holds the record for most appearances at 110. The show's popularity helped Dick Clark become an American media mogul and inspired similar long-running music programs, such as Soul Train and Top of the Pops. Clark eventually assumed ownership of the program through his Dick Clark Productions company.

1957

Wawa Welcome America

Wawa Welcome America 1970

1

Wawa Welcome America is an annual series of celebrations leading up to Independence Day, held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, currently sponsored by Wawa and aired on WPVI-TV, and starts 10 days prior to Independence Day. It was formerly known as the Sunoco Welcome America event. The parade is announced by Mayor Michael Nutter and it is hosted by Rick Williams and Cecily Tynan.

1970

6abc Dunkin' Donuts Thanksgiving Day Parade

6abc Dunkin' Donuts Thanksgiving Day Parade 1970

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The 6ABC - Dunkin' Donuts Thanksgiving Day Parade is an annual Thanksgiving Day Santa Claus parade held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, currently sponsored and aired by WPVI-TV. It is currently the oldest Thanksgiving parade in the country. It was formerly known as the 6abc IKEA Thanksgiving Day Parade, 6abc Boscov's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Channel 6 Mellon PSFS Thanksgiving Day Parade, Channel 6 MasterCard Thanksgiving Day Parade and originally the Gimbels Thanksgiving Day Parade until Gimbels department store closed operations in 1986.

1970

Operation Alphabet

Operation Alphabet 1970

1

Operation Alphabet was a daily educational television program designed to teach literacy to adults. Produced in Philadelphia by WFIL-TV in association with the Philadelphia Junior Chamber of Commerce and the National Association for Public School Adult Education, the program was hosted by Alexander Shevlin of the Philadelphia Board of Education. The series was designed to teach the basics of reading and writing to adults who were illiterate, using subjects that are relevant to adults; the program especially benefited immigrants, prisoners and those in the military. Operation Alphabet was not only one of the first educational programs to deal with literacy, it was one of the first to be aimed at an adult population, rather than towards children. Two series of the program were produced—the first, aimed for reading at a fourth-grade level, was produced in 1961; a second series, for reading at an eighth-grade level, was filmed in 1964. Each series was designed for daily, weekday telecasts. In Philadelphia, WFIL-TV broadcast the series at 6 AM on weekdays—the station opted to place the program in that early time slot, so that adults could watch the program and take the coursework before going to work. The early hour also benefited the viewers, as they could learn to read without fear of embarrassment.

1970