News

"Law & Order" Ends its Long Run on May 24

NBC announced last week that Law & Order will end its 20-year run this season. Law & Order is the longest running crime drama on American prime time television and is tied with Gunsmoke for longest

Don Knotts' Only Dramatic Role-- on '50s Soap Opera "Search for Tomorrow"

Don Knotts will forever be know as the comic sidekick "Barney Fife" on The Andy Griffith Show, as Mr. Furley on Three's Company, and as the star of a series of funny family friendly '60s films

Betty White Triumphs on "SNL"

The reviews and ratings are golden for Betty White's turn as guest host on Saturday Night Live. With Betty's latest TV success, the Archive looks back on her Emmy-winning role as Sue Ann Nivens- the

"Battlestar Galactica" Ended Its Run 30 Years Ago Today

Technically, the original Battlestar Galactica ended its run 31 years ago, when ABC pulled the plug on the show in 1979. But when the fans protested, a ten-episode version entitled Galactica 1980

Soap Star Helen Wagner, Matriarch of "As the World Turns," Dies at Age 91- Archive Interview Online

Helen Wagner, listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for her long-running performance as Nancy Hughes on As the World Turns since the show debuted in 1956, has died. She sadly misses the the

Suzanne Pleshette Doubled her Double on "One Step Beyond"

Alcoa Presents will forever be known for its syndicated title, One Step Beyond. The series dramatized real-life case histories of various occult subjects, with Rod Serling-esque intros by

Falcon Crest Debuts on DVD Today

Falcon Crest joins Dallas, Dynasty, and Knots Landing on DVD today-- the last of the long-running '80s prime time soaps to make the jump to home video. The series ran from 1981-1990, and starred

Mel Brooks & Carl Reiner for Tax Day

Today is tax day, luckily there's classic TV to cheer us up. On a February 1965 episode of The Hollywood Palace, Carl Reiner interviews "tax expert" Mel Brooks' "Philip J. Heinker," who discusses his

Valerie Harper Wraps Up "Looped"

What's the opposite of Rhoda Morgenstern? Answer: Tallulah Bankhead. Valerie Harper is playing Tallulah Bankhead in "Looped" on Broadway, and, as noted by The Hollywood Reporter's Frank Scheck

Leonard Nimoy in the 1950s & early '60s

Leonard Nimoy was living hand-to-mouth in the 1950s and early 60s, as a struggling actor in TV and movies, before his stardom on Star Trek and Mission: Impossible. He landed the leading role in the

"Dynasty" Star John Forsythe Has Died-- Archive Interview Online

John Forsythe, best known as oil tycoon Blake Carrington on the '80s prime time soap Dynasty, has died at the age of 92. Forsythe's TV career dates back to the 1940s, and baby boomers will remember

April Archive Newsletter

The latest Archive of American Television newsletter is out. If you'd like to be on our mailing list, enter your e-mail information in the box on the right column of our homepage.

Classic "All in the Family" episode given the "Simpsons" Treatment

On the recent Simpsons episode "Stealing First Base" (airdate: 3/21/10) Sarah Silverman guest-starred as a girl who plants a kiss on Bart, leading to a Cinema Paradiso-inspired montage of famous movie

Chet Simmons, the First President of ESPN, Has Died

Chet Simmons, who served as ESPN's first President when the network started in 1979, has died at the age of 81. Simmons began in sports programming in the 1950s and was instrumental in the development

Producer-director Ira Skutch ("Match Game," "Philco Television Playhouse") Has Died-- Archive Interview Online

Ira Skutch, a producer-director and a television historian, has died at the age of 88. Skutch worked as a stage manager on some of the earliest regularly scheduled shows on NBC, including the landmark