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Welcome to Central Illinois' On-Line Broadcast Museum. This website documents in detail the history of each of the viewable TV stations, past and present, across mid-Illinois in text, photos, and videos, as well as each station's current status. This site also includes local radio history and automated analog formats, again told in pictures, videos, and text.
Note that this website displays best on a full-size monitor, desktop, or laptop computer. If you're watching on your mobile phone, the mobile phone view has been replaced by the desktop view throughout this site. You can zoom in on the page if needed. Also, you may have to sign in to YouTube to view some videos. Some browsers do not allow some embedded videos to play, so click on the "YouTube" logo on the video to view it from YouTube.
Here I am at my home studio, where this website is produced. This was taken in October 2025.
Doug Quick
Radio/TV Broadcaster/Historian, Author, Webmaster
complete bio available here.
Visit the TV Time Capsule!
Through November, prepare for a rare look at one local TV station's program log from January 2, 1958! Programs, commercials, promos, station IDs, and what that log tells us about their method of operation.... and why that station's culture affected its descendant station through the years! Just click on the site at the left.
Featured Videos
I hope you had a great Thanksgiving! Now, we're on the slide that will take us through the Christmas and New Year's Holidays!
I'm combining the Christmas Holiday period with the 100th Birthday of East Central Illinois and Danville native Dick Van Dyke on December 13. Among a selection of Christmas-themed shows and specials, I include two of the only Christmas-themed shows from his two sitcom series, "The Dick Van Dyke Show" and "The New Dick Van Dyke Show". I also include a Holiday appearance from 1959 with Dick on "The Perry Como Show."
The selection of Christmas TV shows includes one of my favorite installments of "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet," also known as "Ozzie and Harriet. It's a flashback episode of a flashback episode. The original episode begins in 1952, and it's used in a 1956 flashback episode, where Ozzie and Harriet reframe the original storyline to show what Christmas was like in 1956. Later, the 1956 episode was used to showcase the original episode, highlighting the changes that had occurred by 1964.
One of the most popular at the time, but now all but extinct, is the variety show. For you, younger TV viewers, a "Variety Show" would include comedy skits and music, often teaming the show's star(s) in a song or two with guest star appearances, along with appearances in one or more comedy sketches. For this selection of Featured Videos, I include some good ones. Watch "The Dean Martin Show," "Sonny and Cher," "The Carpenters," and "Barbara Mandrell and the Mandrell Sisters." You can also include Dick Van Dyke's appearance in "The Perry Como Show" from 1959 as part of that collection.
The Classic Radio collection includes a series of early pre-war episodes of "The Jack Benny Program," when he began a decades-long Christmas comedy gag in which he shops for cheap gifts for his cast members. I also include a WWII Broadcast that aired on all of the radio networks on Christmas Eve 1943.
I hope you have a terrific Holiday Season and continue to visit Central Illinois' On-Line Broadcast Museum and my YouTube Channel at Doug Quick On-Line. Be sure to "Like" my YouTube Videos there, and please subscribe to the channel. Everything you see here on this website and my YouTube Channel is free for you to visit. That's my gift to you this Holiday Season!
Click on the image to watch the video directly from YouTube.
Ozzie and Harriet Christmas Episodes (1950s-60s) ABC Rick Nelson
"The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet" is television's longest-running live-action sitcom. It aired on ABC from October 3, 1952, through April 23, 1966, after being on network radio for several years from the 1940s and early 1950s. It even aired on television and radio simultaneously during the 1950s.
This particular episode was shown in 1964, but it included a flashback episode from 1956.
It was seen across mid-Illinois on WCIA, WTVH, WDAN-TV, KTVI, and later on WTVP (WAND). It was seen several years on WCIA as the ad agency sponsor (Kodak and Coca-Cola) negotiated a deal allowing WCIA to air the series to reach a larger audience across central Illinois, taking it away from WTVP, which had a much-limited coverage area.
TV's Nelson Family from 1964. From left to right: Harriet, Ozzie, then June (Blair) and David with son Danny, and Kristin (Harmon) and Rick with daughter Tracy.
(YouTube screen grab)
Even so, WCIA did not air the series live across the network; instead, it aired 16mm film versions with the intended network commercials inserted about a week or two after the original ABC broadcast.
Meanwhile, WDAN-TV had an "all-run" contract with ABC, which allowed it to air the series live across the network but did not provide network compensation to the station. The WDAN-TV signal served the Danville area, and if one had their UHF antenna pointed east from Champaign-Urbana, viewers could also have seen it on WDAN-TV Channel 24.
Click on the image to watch the video directly from YouTube.
Dean Martin Christmas Show with the Sinatras(1967) NBC
The top two members of the Rat Pack unite with their respective families at Christmas time for this 1967 NBC Holiday edition of "The Dean Martin Show."
This most memorable show features more than a dozen holiday classics and a medley of their favorites.
This video features family members who have been successful on their own: Nancy Sinatra, Frank Sinatra Jr., and Tina Sinatra, all from his first wife, Nancy Sr.. Mrs. (Dean)Barbara Martin represents the Martins, along with Dean Paul Martin Jr., Claudia, Craig, Deana, Gail, Gina, and Ricci Martin.
Dean Martin and fellow Rat-Pack member and leader Frank Sinatra in the 1967 NBC Dean Martin Show Christmas Special
(YouTube screen grab)
The Martin family included future son-in-law Carl Wilson (of the Beach Boys), married to Gina in 1987 until he died in 1998, and future wives of John Paul Martin: actress Olivia Hussey, followed by figure skater Dorothy Hamill. Craig was married to Lou Costello's daughter, Carole, until her death from a stroke. Dean Paul Martin was killed in a crash while flying his F-4 Phantom II jet fighter for the California Air National Guard on March 21, 1987.
Frank Sinatra Jr. was kidnapped in December of 1963, with his father paying a $240,000 ransom. At the time of this broadcast, Frank had been married to Mia Farrow since July 19, 1966. By August of 1968, they were divorced.
The Dean Martin Christmas Show with the Sinatras aired throughout mid-Illinois on WICS, WICD, WEEK, WTWO, WGEM-TV, and KSD-TV.
WCIA Fall Promo 1981
Click on the image to watch the video directly from YouTube.
Click on the image to watch the video directly from YouTube.
The Carpenters: A Christmas Portrait (1978) ABC
"The Carpenters: A Christmas Portrait" aired December 19, 1978, on ABC Television. This video is of the second Christmas special from the Carpenters, being recorded in October 1978. It served as a promotion for the group's Christmas album, which was certified platinum. Their Holiday songs have remained popular throughout the years, so much so that younger generations know them only from those recordings.
This Christmas-themed program was the duo's second and final Christmas special. 1978 and 1979 were turning points in the personal health and careers of both siblings. Richard dealt with a prescription drug addiction, and Karen with anorexia nervosa, which would finally end her life on February 4, 1983. Richard underwent addiction therapy for six weeks in 1979 and returned to produce remixes of recordings from the Carpenters' catalog, including some previously unreleased songs with Karen, through the 1980s.
Richard, Karena Carpenter, with Gene Kelly from the "Christmas Portrait Special" from 1978, as broadcast in 1978.
(YouTube screen grab)
On June 1, 2008, a fire at Universal Studios destroyed a 3-acre section of the Universal backlot, including the King Kong attraction. That event resulted in the destruction of 40 to 50,000 archived digital video and film of television series and movies, along with up to 175,000 audio master tapes held by the Universal Music Group. That included recordings of Karen and Richard Carpenter. Meanwhile, Richard was looking to use the masters to remix some of the existing Carpenter songs once again. It's reported that he had made numerous inquiries for the tapes before the fire, but Universal would not release them to him. Later, as Richard tells the story, a Universal employee told him the recordings were lost in the fire. To read more about this tragic event, visit the 2008 Universal Studios Fire.
"The Carpenters: A Christmas Portrait" was seen on ABC affiliates across mid-Illinois, including WAND, WRAU, WBAK, and KTVI.
Click on the image to watch the video directly from YouTube.
Barbara Mandrell and the Mandrell Sisters (1980) NBC Christmas Special
Sid and Marty Krofft produced this Christmas Special for the 1980 Holiday Season. It aired on NBC, probably on December 20, 1980. Barbara Mandrell and the Mandrell Sisters launched a successful musical variety show on November 18, 1980, airing through 1982. The show ended its two-year run as the star suffered from exhaustion. It's been said that the producers would tape three shows in 2 weeks, then take a week off, while Barbara would continue performing and playing golf in various tournaments.
In this episode, you'll see Tennessee Ernie Ford, Jon "Bowzer" Bauman, and the Krofft Puppets. It was recorded at Sunset Gower Studios, located along Sunset Boulevard and Gower Street in Hollywood. It is the former home of Columbia Studios from 1924 to the early 1970s.
The Mandrell Sisters, with Irlene left, Barbara center, and Louise right, in the 1980 Christmas Special, originally broadcast on NBC, while this version was on the TNN Cable Channel.
(YouTube Channel)
Click on the image to watch the video directly from YouTube.
The Perry Como Show (1959) Guest: Dick Van Dyke
Perry Como was one of the most beloved TV variety show hosts ever. His 15-minute NBC Show began in December 1948 and continued through June of 1950. CBS picked up the show, which ran Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 6:45 pm to 7 pm, from October 1950 through June 1955. He returned to NBC, where he would continue from 1955 to 1963. In later years, he would do several TV specials per year. This one is from 1959 with guest, Danville's own Dick Van Dyke.
Dick Van Dyke is welcomed by Perry Como in this 1959 Christmas installment of "The Perry Como Show."
(YouTube screen grab)
For local NBC affiliate WCHU, based in Champaign with a measly 15-mile coverage area, most people in Danville wouldn't get to watch their hometown boy on network TV! This is one negative result of a culture that began with WDAN-TV and then WICS/WCHU. The ownership of WICS, when it also owned the Champaign/Danville TV stations, WCHU and WDAN-TV(later WICD). It was a complicated situation that persisted for many years and still affects television in eastern central Illinois. See my latest blog, link above in the far right menu.
Click on the image to watch the video directly from YouTube.
The Dick Van Dyke Show (1963) Christmas Episode
"The Alan Brady Show Presents" Christmas show is a show within a show. Head writer Rob Petre (Dick Van Dyke) explains to the audience of The Alan Brady Show, in flashback, how the creation of the show developed.
It was then followed by segments featuring the writing staff, Buddy and Sally (Morey Amsterdam and Rose Marie), with Rob's wife, Laura (Mary Tyler Moore), and producer Mel Cooley (Richard Deacon). Alan Brady played Santa (Carl Reiner).
A show within a show, "The Alan Brady Show" was the show that included the writers Rob, Buddy, and Sally.
(YouTube screen grab)
Right: the main cast staring in a sketch in "The Alan Brady Show" showcasing the talent of the "behind the scenes" writers of the fictional TV series.
(YouTube screen grab)
Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore appearing on "The Alan Brady Show."
(YouTube screen grab)
Click on the image to watch the video directly from YouTube.
The New Dick Van Dyke Show (1972) CBS Christmas Episode
"The New Dick Van Dyke Show" episode above aired on CBS Sunday, 8 pm (CT), December 24, 1972, and was broadcast across mid-Illinois on WCIA, WMBD-TV, WTHI-TV, KHQA, and KMOX-TV.
The show, created in part by Carl Reiner, was produced in Carefree, Arizona, where the Van Dyke family lived in the early 1970s. In this sitcom, Dick played Dick Preston, a host of a local talk show on a fictitious Phoenix television station, KXIV-TV. Just like the original "Dick Van Dyke Show," it featured storylines based on his work and home life.
Hope Lang played his wife, Jenny Preston. Others in the cast included Marty Brill, Fannie Flagg, Nancy Dussault, David Doyle, Michael Shea, Dick Van Patten, Barry Gordon, Richard Dawson, Chita Rivera, and Barbara Rush. You might notice that some other cast members would be seen as regulars or semi-regulars in the mid to late 70s on "The Match Game," a CBS game show hosted by Gene Rayburn.
During the third season of "The New Dick Van Dyke Show," the show's setting changed to Hollywood. There, Dick Preston would be cast in a mythical daytime drama, "Those Who Care." During that season, the Prestons would end up with next-door neighbors played by Richard Dawson and Chita Rivera. Fans of the original "Dick Van Dyke Show" might remember that Richard Dawson made a guest appearance as the talk show host, "Tracy Rattigan."
Dick as Santa in the Christmas episode of "The New Dick Van Dyke Show" shown above.
(YouTube screen grab)
Dick Van Dyke in a scene from the Christmas episode of "The New Dick VanDyke Show."
(YouTube screen grab)
Classic Radio
Click on the image to watch the video directly from YouTube.
The Jack Benny Program (1952) CBS Radio Thanksgiving Pilgrims
"The Jack Benny Program" sure knew how to stretch out a gag! One of the longest-running gags in broadcast programming featured Jack Benny shopping for his cast members every Christmas. The question was what kind of cheap gift he would buy for his announcer, Don Wilson?
Above was the cast of "The Jack Benny Program" from most of the second half of the 1940s. From left to right, there's "Rochester" Eddie Anderson, Dennis Day, band leader Phil Harris, Mary Livingston, Jack Benny, Don Wilson, and Mel Blanc.
(unknown source)
This collection is how it all began. It features three shows, starting with 1938, when Jack shopped in New York, followed by the 1939 show in which he buys perfume and a necktie. It concludes with a 1940 edition. The gag continued through the late 1940s and early 1950s. Those later shows from the 1940s and early 1950s were posted here in previous years. I'm sure I'll post them again in the future.
Happy Holidays from Jack and the gang!
Jack Benny from his time on "The Jack Benny Program" on both radio and television.
(unknown source)
Half Acre Bridge
Click the picture above to watch my latest video on a Christian County, Illinois, landmark from my YouTube Channel.
It was generally called "Half Acre Bridge," but others called it "The Hell's Half Acre Bridge." News accounts of the day record a suicide by hanging taking place near it, while stories of a baby being thrown off the bridge have been alleged, along with at least one death by hanging from the bridge. There's at least one local newspaper account of a village near the bridge named "Hell's Half Acre" that hosted a general store and a saloon that overlooked the river and the main roadway that connected Morrisonville and Taylorville, Illinois, during the late 1800s.
The Weather for
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click on the links below the logo for the latest weather story and current radar view of Mid-Illinois.
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Latest Updates to the Museum
Due to illness, I haven't been able to update as I would like. Expect more timely updates soon!
Over time, I've gotten several comments from mostly radio people about my "at home" radio station. I've done some re-formating over the last few months and now offer up a couple of samples. One being a one-hour aircheck, the other a 3-hour aircheck. These airchecks have most of the music edited out to avoid copyright issues. You can hear it by clicking the graphic above or going to the automated radio format page here.
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Much of the information on the history of TV pages on this site comes directly from my 2016 book "Pictures on the Prairie: The First Ten Years of Mid-Illinois Television." There are many more pictures on this site than in the book as space was limited.
Latest TV
Headlines
2025-0909 Updated on 2025-1028
The Weigel Broadcasting-owned digital multicast network MeTV is now on DISH Satellite's channel lineup, along with other popular Weigel Broadcasting networks!
Users of DISH satellite service can access MeTV Network, Cathy Comedy, WEST, and MeTV Toons. It is only available as a streaming channel (and on the 120+ package plans). The even better news is that they are available in high definition, which improves the look of many of the "filmed" programs, which were recorded from the master 35mm film and used for playback. In fact, viewers can now watch many of the vintage shows on the schedule with better video quality than they were initially seen on network TV!
"We are always pushing to make MeTV as accessible to as many viewers as possible. We are happy to partner with Dish on this carriage and pleased that millions of Sling TV customers will now be able to watch MeTV's memorable entertainment programming," said Neal Sabin, vice-chairman for Weigel Broadcasting.
MeTV continues to be seen on subchannels of stations in mid-Illinois markets. For most here in central and east central Illinois, it's available on WAND-TV's main channel and translators (Jacksonville, Effingham, and Danville) on subchannel 17.6 in standard definition. Unfortunately, the other channels are not available in the Mid-Illinois TV market. They are available in the Chicago and St. Louis markets, but not necessarily in HD.
Now Streaming Nationally
Click on the image above to listen to MeTVFM. It's the popular music companion to MeTV, Memorable Entertainment Television, America’s #1 all classic television network. Launched at 87.7FM in late February, 2015, MeTVFM features a unique mix of timeless and memorable music incorporating a wide variety of classic hits, deep tracks and softer sounds spanning several decades of popular music.
Previously on Videos of the Week...
If you've missed any of the "Videos of the Week" or "Classic Radio" recordings, you'll find them here. Unfortunately, there's no written narrative to go along with each. You have to visit each week for that.
Classic Radio
KXOK (1961) Complete Air Check
Chun King Chow Mein Hour (1962) ABC
Fractured Fairy Tales (1959-60) NBC Jay Ward Productions
The Jetsons (1962) ABC "A Date With Jet Screamer"
I'm Dickens, He's Fenster (1962) ABC Pilot
McHale's Navy (1962) Pilot "An Ensign for McHale"
McHale's Navy Blooper Reel (1960s) ABC Universal Studios
Turn On (1969) Never Shown Episode 2
Turn On (1969) Never Shown Episode 3
Classic Radio
WLS 890AM Chicago (1987) Larry Lujack Part 1
WLS 890AM Chicago (1987) Larry Lujack
The Joey Bishop Show (1968) ABC
The Dick Cavett Show (1970) ABC
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1976) NBC
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1981) NBC
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (1992) NBC
The Late Show with David Letterman (1993) CBS
CLASSIC RADIO
WDWS, 1400AM, Champaign, IL (2021) Brian Barnharrt
WNNS, 98.7FM, Springfield, IL (1981)
Bewitched (1964) Scene from the First Episode
Bewitched (1964) Opening Credits
The Munsters Unaired pilot in color
The Munsters (1964) First Broadcast Episode
Addams Family (1964) ABC First Episode
Alf (1988) NBC "Can I Get A Witness?"
The Invaders (1968) ABC Final Episode
The Outer Limits (1963) ABC Episode Synopsis
War of the Worlds (1938) CBS Radio
The Ed Sullivan Show-The Beatles (1964) CBS Feb 9, 1964
The Ed Sullivan Show-The Beatles (1964) CBS Feb 16, 1964
The Ed Sullivan Show-The Beatles (1964) CBS Feb 23, 1964
The Ed Sullivan Show-The Beatles (1964) CBS Sept 12, 1965
The Late Show with David Letterman (2009) CBS
Our Fair Beatles (1964) WISH-TV Indianapolis
Follow the Beatles (1964) British TV Documentary
A Hard Day's Night Intro (1968) NBC
A Hard Day's Night (1964) The Movie
The Music of Lennon and McCartney (1965) Granada TV
The Beatles Cartoon TV Series (1965-66) ABC Saturday
KXOK (1965) Johnny Rabbitt awards Beatles Tix
That Girl (1967) ABC "Thanksgiving Comes But Once a Year, Thankfully"
Lawrence Welk Show (1970) ABC Thanksgiving Show
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1979) NBC Thanksgiving Plans
Newhart (1986) CBS Thanksgiving Episode
The Smothers Brothers Show (1988) CBS Thanksgiving Show
Thanksgiving Day-NBC TV Movie (1990)
The Pink Panther (1993) Syndicated "Pilgrim Panther"
Dharma & Greg (1999) ABC Thanksgiving
Friends-Thanksgiving Scenes (1994-2004) NBC
Macy's 2024 Thanksgiving Day Parade
Classic Radio
The Jack Benny Program (1952) CBS Radio Thanksgiving Pilgrims
Next Regular Update Sunday December 14th
More Christmas TV selections yet to come with Andy Williams, Dean Martin, and many others!
Central Illinois On-Line Broadcast Museum and dougquick.com supports the work of the St. Louis Media History Foundation.
Visit their website at:
To commemorate Dick Van Dyke's 100th Birthday on December 13, I present a selection of his many Christmas appearances on his and other TV shows
Click on the image to watch the video directly from YouTube.
WWII Broadcast hosted by Bob Hope and Bing Crosby (1943), All Radio Networks
From YouTube: "Bob Hope Hosts Christmas Eve At The Front. This Show Stars Bob Hope and Bing Crosby. Original Air Date Was 12/24/1943. Originally broadcast from 10-11:15 pm(ET), and carried on all four broadcast networks {NBC, CBS, Blue, Mutual}; this was the NBC feed."