The First Commercially Sponsored Color TV Show (June 26)

How did we ever get along without color TV? If watch an episode of an old TV show, like 1966’s Batman for example, you’ll see the words “In Color” under the bat-logo. By then, most, but not all, TV shows were airing in color, but it took a lot of work and years to get there.

1951 – CBS Jumps Ahead of the Color TV War

NTSC color bar calibration. *(Wikipedia)*

Attempts to create color TV programming began as early as 1928 when John Logie Baird in Britain demonstrated a mechanical color TV. And by the 1940s, RCA (the parent company of NBC at that time) and CBS were both working on two different color systems. Both competed to receive approval from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for a color broadcasting method that met their criteria including cost, quality and convenience.

RCA had the advantage as their system was compatible with the current black-and-white TV sets of the day. CBS’s system was not. However, the FCC gave its approval to CBS’s field-sequential color system in late 1950. (RCA was free to continue working on its own system.)

On this day in 1951, CBS aired Premiere, the first color broadcast special. The live show aired on five CBS stations located in New York City, Washington D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia and Boston.

Hello? Anyone There?

Although many people consider this event as a historical achievement, very few people actually saw the show. That’s because existing TVs had to modified with a color receiver in order to watch Premiere. Without the receiver, viewers would only see distorted images. And according to IMDB, Variety estimated that only 30 color receivers were available in the New York area.

During this same time, CBS bought Air King, a TV manufacturer to create the CBS-Columbia dual color/B&W television set. CBS bought a full-page advertisement in the New York Times on the day of the TV special. The TV had a price tag of $499.95.

Premiere opened with a greeting from Patricia Stinnette aka, “Miss CBS Color”. She was a model who posed for CBS’ on-camera tests of their color TV system. She did some demonstrations including pouring beer in a glass.

The rest of Premiere consisted of demonstrations of colorful paintings, ballet performers, Broadway performers, comedians and an orchestra. A total of 16 advertisers participated in the special promoting products like Pepsi, Aunt Jemima pancake mix, Ivory Soap and Wrigley’s gum.

Those who saw the Premiere were impressed and expressed a desire to buy a color TV. However, all of the hoopla surrounding CBS’s TV system didn’t last long. In 1953, the FCC approved a composite color standard. It became the U.S. commercial color TV system. Even so, color programing was still sparse. It wasn’t until 1959 when shows like Bonanza began airing regular color programming.

1959 – Sean Connery’s First Leading Role

Sean Connery in "Darby O'Gill and the Little People" — Sean Connery in *Darby O’Gill and the Little People. (TVDB)*

Sean Connery maybe remembered for his roles as James Bond or Indiana Jones Sr., but for his first starring role, he shared screen time with a bunch of leprechauns. Connery appeared in Walt Disney’s Darby O’Gill and the Little People which also starred Albert Sharpe and Janet Munro.

Darby O’Gill has its share of fans. To this day, this comedy/adventure film has a 100% “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

As for Connery’s performance though, The New York Times described Connery as “merely tall, dark and handsome”. Variety thought Connery was “artificial” and he was “the weakest link in Robert Stevenson’s otherwise distinguished direction.” Ouch. However, his singing was much better. He and Munro sang a duet of the song, Pretty Irish Girl.”

2002 – National Stitch Day

Stitch from the live action version of Lilo and Stitch — Stitch from the live action version of *Lilo and Stitch (Disney)*

Disney’s original animated Lilo and Stitch movie opened in theater on June 16, 2002, and the live action version of the story opened on May 23, 2025. However, June 26 is National Stitch Day and dedicated to the “cute and fluffy” blue one as National Stitch Day. (Stitch is known as “Experiment 626”.)

The original 2002 movie surprised many. It wasn’t a huge hit during its first couple of weeks in theaters. But it eventually became the second-highest grossing animated film of that year (Ice Age was #1).

The 2025 version of Lilo and Stitch was also a hit. It made over $1 billion in ticket sales. This is pretty impressive since the movie was made with a mere $1 million. Needless to say, a sequel is in the works.

1948: ‘The Lottery’ Ruffles Feathers

Author Shirley Jackson *(Wikimedia Commons)*

One of the most famous short stories in the history of American literature was published on the pages of The New Yorker magazine on this day. However, Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery, is a disturbing fictional tale. Although famous, it isn’t everyone’s favorite story. The Lottery is set within a small community of 300 or so residents. Each year the town holds a lottery where one resident gets stoned to death!

Many readers cancelled their subscriptions and/or sent hate mail to the magazine. Both Jackson and The New Yorker were surprised by the negative reaction.

A month later, Jackson gave an explanation for the story: “Explaining just what I had hoped the story to say is very difficult. I suppose, I hoped, by setting a particularly brutal ancient rite in the present and in my own village to shock the story’s readers with a graphic dramatization of the pointless violence and general inhumanity in their own lives.”

Ironically, some of the letters were not from haters. They were from curious readers who wanted to know where these lotteries were held and if they would be allowed to watch! Yikes!

1963 – Oscar Winner: ‘Tom Jones’

A scene from the movie "Tom Jones" — *Tom Jones (TVDB)*

Based on Henry Fielding’s 1749 novel, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, Edwin J. Collins directed the movie, Tom Jones in 1917. In 1963, Tony Richardson directed a remake which starred Albert Finey and Susannah York.

The story centers on Tom Jones (who is a rascal, but he has a good heart) in England during the 18th century. He is popular among the ladies, but he only has eyes for Sophie Western despite her family’s opposition.

Nominated for 10 Academy Awards, the comedy/adventure film won four Oscars for Best Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay and Original Score.

2009 – Oscar Winner: ‘The Hurt Locker’

Directed by Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker tells the tale of an Iraq War Explosive Ordnance Disposal team. The fictional story was written by journalist Mark Boal who wrote about his time embedded with bomb squads during the war.

The movie stared Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Ralph Fiennes, David Morse and Guy Pearce.

The Hurt Locker was nominated for nine Academy Awards and it won six Oscars. Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to win an Oscar for Best Director. The movie also received Oscars for Best Picture, Original Screenplay, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing and Film Editing.

1870 – Merry Christmas

The United States formally declared that the Christmas holiday was now a federal holiday.

1927 – A Cyclone of Fun

Cyclone roller coaster — *(Wikimedia Commons)*

The Cyclone, a wooden roller coaster, was built at Luna Park in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City.

1977 – Elvis Left the Building

Elvis Presley held is last concert in Indianapolis, Indiana. He later died on August 16, 1977.

1999 – Take Your Dog to Work Day

A pug sitting in an office chair — *(Michael Siebert/Pixabay)*

Move over kids, “take your child to work day” has gone to the dogs. On this day in 1999, Pet Sitters International created the unofficial holiday, “Take Your Dog to Work Day”. Celebrated the Friday after Father’s Day, the purpose of this day is to celebrate pooches and encourage pet adoptions. Pet Sitters also created “Bring Your Cat to Work Day” (celebrated on the Monday after Father’s Day) and “Take Your Pet to Work Week” (which runs the whole week before).