Television Milestones of the 1960s

As the price of television sets began to decrease in the early 1960s, the number of households with televisions increased. Many families were now able to enjoy the luxury of having entertainment in their own home, beginning to make televisions an essential household item.

The first live debate broadcast on television occurred on September 26, 1960 between presidential candidates John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon. This was also the first use of a “split screen.” In 1962 Walter Cronkite succeeded anchorman Douglas Edward on The CBS Evening News, beginning his long career in journalism. Then by 1967, many television programs were broadcast in color, although it was not until the 1970s that half of Americans owned a color television set.

The all encompassing theme of many ’60s television shows included family values, just like the ’50s. Dick Van Dyke and Flipper had a theme of single parents, while Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C, Green Acres, and The Andy Griffith Show displayed the stereotypical theme of simple-minded southerners.

Many of the television programs did focus on old fashioned family values, although some started to deviate from the norm. Paving the way was the comedy Bewitched, staring Elizabeth Montgomery as Samantha Stephens and Dick York or Dick Sargent as Darrin Stephens. Although Samantha was a good witch, many people were first in awe because the use of witchcraft in the past was not a laughing matter. Other unusual families broadcasted include The Addams Family and The Munsters. Alike in many ways, both eclectic families still promoted traditional values, although they had spooky physical appearances, very different from the rest of society.

Cartoons were also popular to watch in the ’60s, not only by children, but adults as well, and especially on Saturday mornings. The popular Hanna-Barbera Productions included The Flintstones, a “modern Stone Age family,” and The Jetsons, a family in a futuristic era. Heckle and Jeckle, Bugs Bunny, Space Ghost, and Superman were also in the cartoon spotlight in the 1960s.  

To let out a laugh many tuned in to the sketch comedy show Laugh-In, starring comedians Dan Rowan and Dick Martin. The term “laugh-in” was derived from the current hippie culture terms, such as “love-ins” and “sit-ins.” The Carol Burnett Show was another sketch comedy program that laughed viewers into stitches.

The decade concluded with one of the most memorable television transmissions in the world on July 20, 1969, humanity’s first walk on the moon by Neil Armstrong of Apollo 11. While making his “giant leap for mankind,” 720 million people around the world tuned in to their television sets.