Happy 50th Anniversary to 1971 and the Special “Fall Preview” Edition of TV GUIDE
How Life Flashed Before My Eyes in Front of the TV
For many, the 1950s is considered television’s “Golden Age.” But as far as I’m concerned, that era expanded in the 1960s and 1970s, during which time I was born and raised in my hometown of Rochester, New York.
As fate would have it, Rochester was one of the test market areas for TV Guide. Who knew, right? I certainly didn’t, not while I was reading and loving every page of the latest edition of that magazine, every week.
I very much looked forward to buying TV Guide every seven days. I would run, not walk, but RUN to the corner store every end-of-summer to purchase the special, expanded FALL PREVIEW issue.
This all transpired in the era before social media, immediate news, smartphones, cell phones, phone machines, and satellite and cable television. TV, in general, was relatively young, and so was I. It was like we grew up together. In fact, it’s safe to say that I was educated and professionally influenced by TV Guide.
I went on to have a career in television, beginning as an NBC Page, then an actor, TV historian, and TV talk show host all because of the knowledge I attained by way of TV Guide. Oprah was inspired by The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and I was…
