1956 in television (original) (raw)
See also: 1955 in television, other events of 1956, 1957 in television and the list of 'years in television'.
Events
- January 28 - Elvis Presley makes his national television debut on The Dorsey Brothers Stage Show
- April 3 - Elvis Presley appears on the Milton Berle show
- May 6 - Elvis Presley appears on the Milton Berle show
- July 1 - Elvis Presley appears on the Steve Allen show
- April - WNBQ Chicago becomes the first TV station to broadcast all its local programming in color.
- April Ampex demonstrates a videotape recorder at the NAB Convention in Chicago, Illinois. The three networks place orders for the recorders.
- August 8 - Final telecast of the DuMont network
- September 9 - Elvis Presley appears on The Ed Sullivan Show for the first time.
- October 1 - Ernie Kovacs becomes the host for NBC's Tonight Show on Mondays and Tuesdays.
- October 29 - First use of videotape in network television programming; CBS uses its Ampex VTR to record the evening news, anchored by Douglas Edwards. The tape is then fed to West Coast stations three hours later
- October 29 - Chet Huntley and David Brinkley take over anchor duties of the NBC evening newscast, which is renamed The Huntley-Brinkley Report
- November - The first use of videotape on a network television entertainment program; Jonathan Winters, uses videotape and superimposing techniques to be able to play two characters in the same skit for his NBC television show
- November 3 - The Wizard of Oz is shown on television for the first time (the viewing audience was estimated at 45 million people).
- Television broadcasting begins in Australia
- Television broadcasting begins in Uruguay
- Black-and-white portable TV sets hit the market
Debuts
- April 2 - As the World Turns (1956-present)
- April 2 - The Edge of Night (1956-1984)
Popular Television Shows
- The Gale Storm Show, Oh! Susanna (1956-1960), starring Gale Storm and Zazu Pitts
- Jungle Jim (1956-1957), starring Johnny Weissmuller
- The Price is Right game show premieres
- The Ed Sullivan Show (1948-1971)
- Gunsmoke (1955-1975)
- The Honeymooners, starring Jackie Gleason, Art Carney and Audrey Meadows (1955-1956)
- Lawrence Welk Show (1955-1982)
- The Tonight Show (1954-present)
- Disneyland (1954-1983)
Births
- January 7 - David Caruso, actor
Deaths
- December 7 - Huntley Gordon, pioneer Hollywood actor