1987 in American television explained

The year 1987 in television involved some significant events. This is a list of notable events in the United States.

Events

Date Event
After being canceled by CBS at the end of the 1984–85 season, Charles in Charge resurfaces in first-run syndication, where it would run for an additional four seasons.
January 5Remington Steele is resumed by NBC after a six-month hiatus. During the hiatus, the series' main actor Pierce Brosnan won the film role of James Bond, only to lose the role when NBC unexpectedly renewed the television series. Remington Steele adopts a TV-movie length format but only runs for a few installments before being canceled permanently.
January 17NBC announces purchase of CBS affiliate WTVJ, and stripped off WSVN, thus the switch did not take effect until two years later.
January 22R. Budd Dwyer shoots and kills himself at a televised press conference. The decision by some companies to broadcast the footage results in a debate concerning journalistic ethics.
January 25CBS' broadcast of Super Bowl XXI becomes the first NFL game to be broadcast in Dolby Surround sound and in stereo.[1] CBS also debuted the theme music (composed by Lloyd Landesman) that would later be used for their college football coverage during this game, as well as its open that was used through 1990.
February 2PBS broadcasts the critically acclaimed series Eyes on the Prize.
February 7In the very special episode of Valerie titled "Bad Timing", David and a former girlfriend debate whether to have sex.[2] [3] The episode featured the first use of the word condom on a prime time television program.[4] Parental advisory warnings were issued in ads for the episode and NBC placed an advisory warning before the episode aired stating that parents may want to watch the episode with their children. Because of the episode's subject matter, some of NBC's affiliates either aired the show outside of prime time or refused to air it at all. The episode was later released to home video, especially for teachers and health educators to use as a tool to promote safe sex.
February 14Pee-wee Herman guest stars on the NBC sitcom 227.
February 15Amerika, the science-fiction drama miniseries, showing life ten years after the United States is defeated and occupied by the USSR, was broadcast on ABC.
February 20David Hartman anchors ABC's Good Morning America for the final time. He would be succeeded by Charles Gibson, who would anchor the program alongside Joan Lunden.
February 24James Coco makes his final recurring appearance as Tony Micelli's father–in–law, Nick Milano on the ABC sitcom Who's the Boss? Just one day later, Coco would die of a heart attack at the age of 56. The Season 4 episode "A Farewell to Nick" would later be produced in Coco's honor.
February 25Frank Sinatra makes a guest appearance on Magnum P.I., in what would be his last credited screen performance.
March 9KETK-TV in Jacksonville, Texas signs on the air, giving the Tyler market its first full-time NBC affiliate. (NBC had previously been shared on KLTV with CBS (until KLMG-TV signed on in 1984), and later ABC which KLTV retains as a full-time affiliate.)
March 12"A, My Name is Alex", a special hour-long episode of Family Ties is broadcast on NBC. The second half-hour was broadcast without commercials. The episode would win numerous awards, including a Primetime Emmy Award, a Humanitas Prize and a Writers Guild of America Award for writing as well as a DGA Award.
March 19Televangelist Jim Bakker resigns as the host of The PTL Club after involvement in a sex scandal.
March 23The first ever Soul Train Music Awards is broadcast in syndication.
The soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful debuts on CBS.
March 27On CBS, The Price Is Right surpasses Concentration as the longest-running daytime game show in history.
March 28The forerunner to the Kids' Choice Awards, dubbed 'The Big Ballot', airs on Nickelodeon. The Big Ballot was actually aired over four consecutive weeks (with the movie winners, TV winners, music winners, and finally sports winners being announced for each week) as part of the movie review program .
March 29In front of 93,173 fans Hulk Hogan retains the WWF World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 3 at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan defeating his former friend André The Giant.
March 30CBS Sports uses the song "One Shining Moment" for the first time during the highlight package at the end of their coverage of NCAA men's basketball tournament final.
March 31On Moonlighting, Maddie and David consummate their relationship after two and a half years of romantic tension.
April 5The Fox TV network makes its prime-time debut, marking the first time since 1955 that there were four U.S. networks with prime-time programming. The network debuted two shows, Married... with Children and The Tracey Ullman Show, which are broadcast three times each during the night so that viewers watching other networks can switch over and sample the shows.
April 6During an episode of the ABC late-night news program Nightline devoted to the upcoming 40th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's debut in Major League Baseball, Los Angeles Dodgers general manager Al Campanis makes racially insensitive comments when asked about the scarcity of black field or general managers in MLB. Campanis would be fired two days later.
April 17Bill Murray announces a Chicago Cubs-Montreal Expos game at Wrigley Field on WGN. Working alongside color analyst Steve Stone, Murray was filling in while broadcaster Harry Caray was recovering from a stroke. Caray would eventually return to the booth on May 19.
April 19Matt Groening's The Simpsons debuts as a series of short animated segments as part of The Tracey Ullman Show on Fox.
April 29Independent station in New York City, WOR-TV changes its call sign to WWOR-TV.
May 4Valerie Harper makes her final appearance as Valerie Hogan on what was initially called Valerie. After Harper was fired from the series following contractual disputes, the series was renamed Valerie's Family and finally, The Hogan Family come the fourth season.
May 6Mr. Belvedere is canceled after three seasons; however criticism causes ABC executives to rethink the decision and renew the series for a fourth season. (Since the fall programming schedules were already set, Mr. Belvedere would not premiere until late October.)
May 7Shelley Long makes her final regular appearance as Diane Chambers on Cheers. She would appear once more in the series finale in 1993.
May 15Pamela Ewing's car speeds out of control, crashes into a tanker, and explodes on the season finale of the CBS drama Dallas.
Joan Rivers makes her final appearance as host of Fox's talk show The Late Show following her recent firing by the network. For the final show, the set is vandalized with toilet paper, slime, and shaving cream. Her guests are Howie Mandel, Pee-Wee Herman, then-fledgling comedian Chris Rock, Wendy O. Williams, and show stage manager Michelle Aller as her alter-ego Mavis Vegas Davis.[5] [6] Soon afterward, the program is renamed The Late Show and features rotating guest hosts including Suzanne Somers, Richard Belzer, and Robert Townsend. After firing prospective guest host Frank Zappa, producer John Scura replaces him with Arsenio Hall, who would make his debut as a talk show host. Eventually, Hall is named the permanent replacement host in mid-1987.
May 17The Return of the Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman, which features Lee Majors and Lindsay Wagner reprising their roles as Steve Austin and Jaime Sommers respectively, airs on NBC. This would be followed by two more television movies, (1989) and Bionic Ever After? (1994).
June 4CBS becomes the last American network to cease a chime intonation at the beginning of telecasts; satellite feeds have made the tones obsolete (their function was to signal to the affiliates to start broadcasting the network feed in synchronization with the others).
June 30U.S. daytime television was interrupted for the Iran-Contra hearings.
July 15Genie Francis, of General Hospital fame, starts a new soap opera role as Diana Colville on the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives, which she will play until 1989.
July 17The initial pilot for Good Morning, Miss Bliss airs on NBC. One year later, the series proper would air on the Disney Channel, becoming the first program to be produced by a major television network for cable TV. After one season on Disney Channel, Good Morning, Miss Bliss would be retooled into Saved by the Bell, which would air as part of NBC's Saturday morning line-up.
July 28Actor Crispin Glover appears on Late Night with David Letterman to promote River's Edge.[7] To the surprise of Letterman and the audience, Glover appears wearing platform shoes and a wig. During the interview, Glover behaves erratically and nearly kicks Letterman in the face, causing Letterman to walk off the set.[8] Four years later, the film Rubin & Ed premiered, in which Glover has a starring role as titular character Rubin Farr. After the release of Rubin & Ed, some speculated that Glover was acting in-character as Rubin Farr during his appearance on Late Night.[9] [10]
July 31Movietime, forerunner to E!, goes on the air.
August 1ABC affiliate KRCR-TV in Redding, California launches full-time satellite KAEF-TV in Arcata, California, giving the Eureka market its first full-time ABC affiliate.
August 31CBS airs the special Michael Jackson: The Magic Returns, which features the broadcast premiere of Jackson's 18 minute long music video "Bad".
August 31Columbus independent station WWAT-TV goes in the air.
September 5Dick Clark's American Bandstand is broadcast for the 2,751st and last time by ABC, after 30 years on the network. (It continued in syndication, then on cable for 2 more years.)
September 7The original series of Disney's well known animated series DuckTales begins airing on ITV in the UK before being shown in its normal country.
September 7CBS begins broadcasting its prime time programs with stereo sound dubbed CBS StereoSound.
September 11Dan Rather of the CBS Evening News leaves the newscast when a televised tennis match runs two minutes over. He is missing for six minutes.
September 12The final episode of Down and Out in Beverly Hills, an adaptation of the 1986 film of the same name, airs on Fox. It has the distinction of being the first ever show to be cancelled by Fox; 5 of the 13 produced episodes did not air.[11]
September 14Filmation's final animated series BraveStarr has its broadcast premiere in syndication.
September 18DuckTales finally begins airing in the U.S. for the first time ever in syndication.
September 19NBC debuts a weekday package of sitcoms for its owned-and-operated stations called "". The shows included are Marblehead Manor (airing Mondays), She's the Sheriff (airing Tuesdays), a series adapted from the George S. Kaufman play You Can't Take It with You (airing Wednesdays), Out of This World (airing Thursdays), and a revival of the short-lived 1983 NBC series We Got It Made closing out the week on Fridays.
September 21Following its cancellation by ABC after four seasons, the sitcom Webster is relaunched in first-run syndication, where it would run for two additional seasons.
September 22Long-running sitcom Full House created by Jeff Franklin debuts on ABC.
September 24Kirstie Alley makes her debut as Rebecca Howe in the sixth-season premiere of Cheers.
September 26The pilot episode for the sitcom Second Chance airs on Fox. In the opening scene, as a throwaway joke, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi is shown being judged after his death, with the date given as July 29, 2011. In the year after the Berlin discotheque bombing and the U.S. response, the 1987 pilot was playing off Gaddafi's prominent negative perception by the American public. Twenty-four years later, by coincidence, Gaddafi's death (on October 20, 2011) occurred within three months of the "predicted" date and was from the same cause (multiple gunshot wounds).[12]
September 28The pilot episode for premieres in syndication.
October 3Once a Hero, the show's lowest rated program of the season holds its last aired episode on ABC. The following week, specials replaced it until the debut of Sable in its time period on November 7.
October 4On the final day of the Major League Baseball season, the Detroit Tigers clinch the American League East title against their divisional rivals the Toronto Blue Jays. The game was broadcast on Sunday afternoon on ABC with Al Michaels, Jim Palmer and Tim McCarver on the call.
October 12Valerie Harper files a lawsuit against NBC and Lorimar for breach of contract after being dismissed from her sitcom Valerie.
October 14CNN quickly reports on the story of 18-month-old toddler Jessica McClure falling down a well in Midland, Texas, and the event helped make its name.
October 15Bob Barker stops dyeing his hair brown and appears on The Price is Right for the first time with white hair. He is given a minute-long standing ovation by the audience.
October 16Max Headroom makes its final airing on its Friday night timeslot on ABC. The previously unaired episodes will later burn off in its Thursday night time slot during the 1988 WGA strike on ABC, replacing Probe. The fourth season opener of Mr. Belvedere and the premiere of Pursuit of Happiness will replace Headroom two weeks later, on October 30 on its Friday night time period.
October 24ABC allows Game 6 of the World Series between the Minnesota Twins and St. Louis Cardinals to be played at 3 p.m. CT (4 p.m. ET) on Saturday afternoon  - the only day game of the series, and the last World Series game to date to be played in the daytime (although as the game was played in the Metrodome, the game took place under artificial illumination all the same).
October 26ABC airs a special, secondary edition of Monday Night Football for the Minneapolis and Denver markets. The game between the Vikings and Broncos was moved from Sunday, October 25 to the following Monday night because the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome was being used for Game 7 of the World Series. Gary Bender and Lynn Swann would call this special contest from Minnesota while the rest of the nation sees the Los Angeles Rams face off against the Cleveland Browns.
October 30The third season of Punky Brewster begins after the series was off the air for over a year and a half. After NBC cancelled it at the end of the 1985–86 season, the show would continue production throughout the 1986–87 season leading up to its return to the air via first-run syndication.
November 8ESPN broadcasts its first ever Sunday night National Football League game, a contest between the New York Giants and New England Patriots. It marked the first time that a cable television outlet broadcast an NFL game.
November 9Fox's Salt Lake City affiliate KSTU moves its channel allocation from UHF channel 20 to VHF channel 13.[13]
November 13Sonny & Cher reunite for a performance on NBC's late-night talk show Late Night with David Letterman.
November 15The animated crossover The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones premieres in syndication.
November 22During a showing of the Doctor Who story "Horror of Fang Rock", PBS member station WTTW-TV Channel 11 in Chicago is interrupted for 88 seconds by a pirate television transmitter overriding the station's transmission signal to broadcast a video of himself in a Max Headroom mask being spanked. The similar incident (for 15–20 seconds) occurred during WGN-TV's newscast when it showed the mask moving up and downwards.
makes its network broadcast television premiere on NBC.
November 26The very first Survivor Series professional wrestling event is broadcast on pay-per-view. That same night, the World Wrestling Federation's competitor, Jim Crockett Promotions held their fifth annual Starrcade supercard event. Jim Crockett Promotions had previously aired Starrcade only on closed-circuit television. To compete with Starrcade, the WWF introduced the Survivor Series event, and held it on the same night as Starrcade. The WWF also limited the amount of pay-per-view providers that would carry Starrcade by not allowing providers to carry WrestleMania IV if they did not carry Survivor Series exclusively. Only a small amount of providers carried Starrcade, and it drew a 3.30 buy rate while Survivor Series drew a 7.0 buy rate.
December 7Remote Control, MTV's first original non-musical program and first game show makes its debut.
December 16San Antonio television station KABB goes on the air.
SuperStation WTBS airs the 1983 film A Christmas Story[14] [15] [16] for the very first time. Turner Broadcasting (as both an independent company and, from 1996 onward, as a subsidiary of the company presently operating as Warner Bros. Discovery) would maintain ownership of the broadcast rights to A Christmas Story. Beginning in the mid-1990s, they would air the film increasingly on both TBS and TNT throughout the holiday season annually.
December 27Through a short stint with NBC Sports, Gayle Sierens became the first woman to do play-by-play for an NFL regular season football game when she called a game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Kansas City Chiefs.
December 28The first ever Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon series premieres in syndication starting off with the first four episodes.

Programs

Debuting this year

DateTitleNetwork
January 3Unsolved Mysteries NBC
January 8Shell GameCBS
January 17Ohara ABC
January 22The Tortellis NBC
January 25Hard Copy[17] CBS
January 26Square One TVPBS
February 2Eyes on the Prize
March 4HarryABC
March 9Rags to Riches NBC
March 11Houston Knights CBS
March 19The Bronx Zoo NBC
Roomies
March 20The Charmings ABC
March 23The Bold and the Beautiful CBS
The Popcorn Kid
March 31Max Headroom ABC
April 1Mariah
RoxieCBS
Take Five
April 2Nothing in Common NBC
April 5Married... with Children Fox
The Tracey Ullman Show
April 1221 Jump Street
April 18Sweet Surrender NBC
April 19Bionic SixSyndication
Duet Fox
April 20Hard KnocksShowtime
April 26Down and Out in Beverly HillsFox
May 3Mr. President
May 21The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd NBC
June 1Adventures of the Little KoalaNickelodeon
June 12CBS Summer PlayhouseCBS
June 15Home Shopping GameSyndication
July 11Good Morning, Miss BlissDisney Channel
Werewolf Fox
July 18Karen's Song
The New Adventures of Beans Baxter
August 8Animal Crack-Ups ABC
August 27First ImpressionsCBS
August 30CrossbowCBN Cable Network
SeptemberMaple TownSyndication
September 12Showtime at the Apollo ABC
I'm Telling! NBC
The New Archies
Popeye and Son CBS
September 13Private EyeNBC
September 14DinosaucersSyndication
BraveStarr
Maxie's World
New Monkees
The Wil Shriner Show
Frank's Place CBS
September 16The Oldest Rookie
Wiseguy
September 17Out of This World Syndication
September 18DuckTales (Original series)
September 19The Kidsongs TV Show
Marblehead Manor
She's the Sheriff
Once a Hero ABC
Hello Kitty's Furry Tale TheaterCBS
September 20The Highwayman
My Two Dads
Syndication
September 21Beverly Hills Teens Syndication
Spiral Zone
September 22Full House ABC
I Married Dora
September 23Hooperman
The Slap Maxwell Story
September 24A Different World NBC
Tour of Duty CBS
September 25Beauty and the Beast
September 26Jake and the Fatman
NBC
J.J. Starbuck
Second Chance (aka Boys Will Be Boys) Fox
You Can't Take It With YouSyndication
September 27Dolly ABC
The Law & Harry McGraw CBS
September 28LingoSyndication
September 29thirtysomething ABC
October 3Everything's Relative CBS
Leg Work
Syndication
October 11Women in Prison Fox
November 2Finders Keepers Nickelodeon
November 5Beverly Hills Buntz NBC
November 7Sable ABC
November 30CBS This Morning CBS
December 7Remote Control MTV
December 11The Wilton North Report Fox
December 14Teenage Mutant Ninja TurtlesSyndication

Resuming this year

Title Final aired Previous network New title Returning network Date of return
Charles in Charge1985CBSSameSyndicationJanuary 3
Blockbusters1982NBCSameJanuary 5
Concentration1978SyndicationClassic ConcentrationNBCMay 4
We Got it Made1984NBCSameSyndicationSeptember 11
Snorks1985SameSeptember 12
High Rollers1980SyndicationSeptember 14
Truth or Consequences1978Syndication
The Jetsons1963ABCOctober 19

Ending this year

Date TitleDebut
January 10Heart of the City1986
February 6Dads
February 9Gung Ho
February 7Too Close for Comfort1980
February 27The Love Boat1977
March 1The New Adventures of Jonny Quest1986
March 3Silver Spoons1982
March 7The Berenstain Bears1985
March 8The A-Team1983
March 12The Wizard1986
March 20Capitol1982
March 25Harry1987
March 26The Colbys1985
March 27Zoobilee Zoo1986
March 30You Again?
Fraggle Rock1983
April 8Roxie1987
April 10Amazing Stories1985
April 17Remington Steele1982
April 24Together We Stand1986
April 29Easy Street
May 1Blockbusters1980
May 2Starman1986
May 8Stingray1985
May 12Gimme a Break!1981
The Tortellis1987
May 13The New Mike Hammer1984
May 15Roomies1987
May 18Fame1982
May 19Hill Street Blues1981
May 28Scarecrow and Mrs. King1983
Our World1986
May 30Outlaws
June 3Nothing in Common1987
June 13Sidekicks1986
June 19Nightlife
June 27Gung Ho
July 8Sweet Surrender1987
August 7Airwolf1984
September 7The Ellen Burstyn Show1986
September 11Split Second1972
September 12Down and Out in Beverly Hills1987
Karen's Song
September 14Photon1986
September 23My Little Pony1984
October 1First Impressions1987
October 3Once a Hero
October 25Maxie's World
November 7Everything's Relative
Leg Work
Teen Wolf1986
November 11The Transformers1984
November 12The Jetsons1962
November 28The New Adventures of Beans Baxter1987
December 7New Monkees
December 11Dinosaucers
December 12Popeye and Son
The P.T.L. Club1976
December 18Beverly Hills Teens1987
Spiral Zone
December 19My Pet Monster
Pound Puppies1986

Changing networks

ShowMoved from Moved to
AirwolfCBSUSA Network
Alfred Hitchcock PresentsNBC
Candid CameraCBS
We Got it MadeSyndication
High Rollers
Punky Brewster
Charles in ChargeCBS
Webster ABC
American Bandstand
ConcentrationSyndicationNBC
Inspector GadgetNickelodeon

Made-for-TV movies and miniseries

Title Network Premiere date
Amerika ABC February 8
The Facts of Life Down Under NBC February 15
February 1
November 16
Roman Holiday December 28

Networks and services

Launches

NetworkType Launch dateNotes Source
The Travel ChannelCable televisionFebruary 8
FoxBroadcast televisionApril 5Previously had a "soft launch" on October 9, 1986
MovietimeCable televisionJuly 31
Harmony Premiere NetworkCable televisionUnknown

Conversions and rebrandings

Old network nameNew network nameTypeConversion DateNotesSource
NetSpanTelemundoCable televisionUnknown
Spanish International NetworkUnivisionCable and satelliteUnknown
SuperStation WTBSSuperStation TBSCable televisionUnknown

Closures

NetworkType Closure dateNotes Source
Home Theater NetworkCable televisionJanuary 31
Operation Prime TimeCable televisionUnknown

Television stations

Station launches

DateCity of License/MarketStationChannel AffiliationNotes/Ref.
January 11KDOR-TV17TBN
February WHLT22
February 2K39AS39
February 7WLSY43Independent
February 9Dallas/Fort Worth, TexasKDTX-TV58TBN (O&O)
February 13W39BT39 TBN
February 14Biloxi/Gulfport, MississippiWXXV-TV25
February 15San Juan, Puerto RicoWSJN-TV24Independent
March 9WJZY46Independent
Tyler, TexasKETK56NBC
March 23W48AP48Independent
April KRWF43ABC
April 7Mobile, AlabamaWFGX35Independent
April 18 WNGM-TV34Independent
MayLos Angeles, CaliforniaKDDE
68Educational independent
May 6W11BT11Independent
May 13Buffalo, New YorkWNEQ-TV23
May 22Terre Haute, IndianaW65BK65TBN
May 25WFLI-TV53Independent
May 29KTTW7Fox
June 18WRES68Educational independent
June 30 Kalamazoo/Battle Creek/Grand Rapids, MichiganWLLA64Christian independent
July 1Clairemore/Tulsa, OklahomaKXON-TV35Educational independent
July 233Audio-only independentPulse 87
July 4Frederick, Maryland
WFPT62PBSPart of the Maryland Public Television network
July 16Houston, TexasKETH14TBN (O&O)
August 1Arcata/Eureka, CaliforniaKREQ23Fox
August 5Baton Rouge, LouisianaW49KG49Independent
August 10Rochester, Minnesota
KXLT-TV47Independent Originally a satellite of KXLI/Minneapolis
August 14WGOT60Independent
August 15Barstow/Los Angeles, CaliforniaKVVT64Independent
August 24Columbus, OhioWOCB-CD
39Religious independent
August 27WCLJ-TV42TBN
August 28KKTU39NBC
August 31Columbus, OhioWWAT53Independent
September Buffalo, New YorkWNYB-TV49Independent
September Silver City, New MexicoKOVT10ABC Satellite of KOAT-TV/Albuquerque
September 1 Bozeman/Butte, MontanaKCTZ7ABC
September 2Denver, ColoradoKUBD59Independent
September 5KLUZ41Univision
September 18KXLN45Univision
September 21New Orleans, LouisianaK59DG59Daystar
September 28 Bridgeport, Connecticut
WBCT-TV43Independent
October 12 Albuquerque, New MexicoKAZQ34Religious independent
October 18KTNW31PBS Satellite of KWSU-TV/Spokane
October 19 Tamuning, GuamKTGM14ABC (primary)
CBS (secondary)
Indianapolis, IndianaWMCC23Independent
October 28Chicago, IllinoisW54AP54Independent
W54AP54
October 29W57BA57Channel America
November 12Stockton, California
KFTL64Independent
November 15Gary, Indiana
WYIN56
December 2South Bend, IndianaW12BK (original) 12Independent
December 7Galveston/Houston, TexasKTMD47Telemundo
December 8Chicago, IllinoisW46AO46TBN
W38AQ38
December 14Albany, New YorkWOCD55Independent
December 15Elkhart/South Bend, Indiana24TBN
Hopkinsville, Kentucky
W22CH22
December 16San Antonio, TexasKABB29 Independent
Unknown dateWAIG43Independent
WVGI17
Christiansted, U.S. Virgin IslandsWMEG15Religious independent
Panama City, FloridaW46AN46Tourist information

Network affiliation changes

DateCity of License/MarketStationChannel Old affiliationNew affiliationNotes/Ref.
January 19Boston, MassachusettsWFXT25IndependentFox
April 5 Davenport, Iowa (Quad Cities) KLJB-TV18
44
WMKW-TV30
30
WEMT38
July 6Columbus, GeorgiaWXTX54[18]
Jackson, MississippiWDBD40
Knoxville, TennesseeWKCH-TV43[19]
September 7Cape Girardeau, Missouri
KBSI23[20] [21]
October 19Hagatna, GuamKUAM-TV8NBC (primary)
CBS/ABC/Fox (secondary)
NBC (primary)
CBS/Fox (secondary)
Saipan, Northern Mariana IslandsWSZE-TV10 Satellite of KUAM-TV/Hagtna, Guam
December 5Huntsville/Decatur/Florence, AlabamaWZDX54IndependentFox[22] [23]

Births

Date Name Notability
January 2Lauren StormActress (Flight 29 Down)
Shelley HennigActress (Days of Our Lives, The Secret Circle, Teen Wolf)
January 5Kristin CavallariActress (, The Hills)
January 7Lyndsy FonsecaActress (The Young and the Restless, How I Met Your Mother, Nikita, Agent Carter, Turner & Hooch)
January 8Freddie StromaActor
January 9Pablo SantosMexican actor (Greetings from Tucson) (d. 2006)
January 12Naya RiveraActress (The Royal Family, The Bernie Mac Show, Glee) (d. 2020)
January 17Joy TaylorAmerican media personality
January 18Zane HoltzCanadian actor (Make It or Break It, ) and model
January 20Evan PetersActor (Phil of the Future, American Horror Story)
Mark WrightTV personality
Pete PloszekActor (Teen Wolf)
January 24Ruth BradleyIrish actress (Humans)
January 27Kylie SparksActress (Squaresville)
January 28Misha CrosbyBritish actor (The Lying Game)
Chelsea BrummetActress (All That)
Katie NolanAmerican sports television host
January 29Alex MurrelActress ()
February 1Heather MorrisActress (Glee) and singer
Ronda RouseyActress and martial artist (Total Divas, UFC, WWE, 9-1-1)[24]
February 2Actor (8 Simple Rules, Good Luck Charlie)
February 5 Actor (Glee, A Very Potter Musical, Transformers: Robots in Disguise) and singer
Actor
February 9Henry CejudoMartial artist[25]
Rose LeslieScottish actress (Game of Thrones, Downton Abbey)
February 11Julio TorresActor
February 12Gary LeRoi GrayActor (The Cosby Show, Even Stevens, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Rocket Power, The Fairly OddParents, Whatever Happened to Robot Jones)
February 19Jeffery SelfActor
February 20Actor
February 21Actor (Pit Pony, hosted Saturday Night Live, 2008)
Ashley GreeneActress
February 24Voice actor (Rocket Power, Clifford the Big Red Dog, The Zeta Project)
February 25Actress (Rita Rocks)
February 28Actress
March 1KeshaAmerican singer
March 9 Rapper (host of 106 & Park)
March 10Actor
March 17Rob KardashianActor (Keeping Up with the Kardashians)
Zach VillaActor
March 19Josie LorenActress
March 23Jessica Marie GarciaActress
March 28Mary Kate WilesActress (The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, Squaresville) and singer
March 29Lisandra TenaActress
April 1Actress (Halt and Catch Fire)
April 2Actress
April 3Benjamin StoneBritish actor (The Nine Lives of Chloe King)
Rachel BloomActress and singer (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend)
April 4Sarah GadonCanadian actress (My Dad the Rock Star, Ruby Gloom, Friends and Heroes, Total Drama)
April 7Maria MolinaAmerican meteorologist
April 9Jesse McCartneyActor (All My Children, Summerland, Young & Hungry, Young Justice), and singer
April 10Jamie Renée SmithActress (Ask Harriet)
Shay MitchellCanadian actress (Pretty Little Liars)
April 12Brooklyn DeckerActress (Friends with Better Lives, Grace and Frankie) and model
Mike ManningActor ()
Brendon UrieSinger
Ilana GlazerActress
April 15Actress (Orange is the New Black)
April 16Actor
April 17Jacqueline MacInnes WoodActress (The Bold and the Beautiful)
April 18Rosie Huntington-WhiteleyEnglish actress
Ellen WoglomAmerican actress
April 19Courtland MeadActor (Kirk, Nightmare Ned, Recess, Lloyd in Space)
April 20John Patrick AmedoriActor
April 26Jessica Lee RoseActress (Lonelygirl15, Sorority Forever, Hooking Up)
April 27William MoseleyEnglish actor (The Royals)
May 2Pat McAfeeSports commentator (ESPN, WWE)
May 7Aidy BryantActress and comedian (Saturday Night Live, Danger & Eggs)
Maya ErskineActress and writer
May 10Eileen April BoylanActress (South of Nowhere, Greek)
May 12Robbie RogersTelevision producer
May 13Candice KingActress (The Vampire Diaries) and singer
May 15Ersan İlyasovaBaseball player
May 19Jayne WisenerIrish actress (6Degrees)
May 21Ashlie BrillaultActress (Lizzie McGuire)
May 23Bray WyattPro wrestler (WWE) (died 2023)
May 24Bethany C. MeyersAmerican fitness and lifestyle entrepreneur
May 26Brandi CyrusActress (Hannah Montana, )
May 27Bella HeathcoteAustralian actress (Neighbours)
May 29Noah ReidCanadian actor (Pippi Longstocking, Franklin, Rolie Polie Olie)
Joseph HaroAmerican actor
May 30Javicia LeslieActress
May 31Curtis WilliamsActor (The Parent 'Hood)
Shaun FlemingVoice actor (Teacher's Pet, Kim Possible, Fillmore!, )
Meredith HagnerActress (As the World Turns, Men at Work)
June 3LalaineActress (Lizzie McGuire)
Michelle KeeganActress
June 9Rheagan WallaceActress
June 12Chris GalyaActor (Jessie)
June 16Diana DeGarmoActress (The Young and the Restless)
Kelly BlatzActor (Aaron Stone, Glory Daze)
Abby ElliottActress (Saturday Night Live, Odd Mom Out) and daughter of Chris Elliott
June 17Rebecca BreedsAustralian actress (The Originals)
June 18Niels SchneiderFrench-Canadian actor
June 19Chelsea J. WilsonActress (Lizzie McGuire)
June 22Joe DempsieEnglish actor (Skins, Game of Thrones)
Jerrod CarmichaelComedian
June 23Haley StrodeActress (Wendell & Vinnie)
June 27India de BeaufortActress
Ed WestwickEnglish actor (Gossip Girl)
July 3Chris HunterActor (South of Nowhere)
July 5Charles RogersActor
July 6Matt O'LearyActor (Spy Kids)
July 7Julianna GuillActress (My Alibi, Glory Daze, Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce)
July 11Cristina VeeVoice actress (, Sailor Moon)
July 12Tilian PearsonSinger
July 14Charly ArnoltSports broadcaster and TV personality (WWE, ESPN, Fox News)
Sara CanningCanadian actress (The Vampire Diaries)
Dan ReynoldsSinger
July 16AnnaLynne McCordActress (American Heiress, 90210)
Kate BerlantActress
July 19Jon JonesMixed martial artist[26]
July 21Peter DoocyTV journalist
July 22Bre-ZActress
July 24Mara WilsonActress
July 25Michael WelchActor
July 28Asher GrodmanActor
July 29Genesis RodriguezActress (Dame Chocolate, )
July 31Brittany ByrnesAustralian actress (H2O: Just Add Water)
August 4Sam UnderwoodActor
August 8Katie LeungActress
Jenn ProskeActress
August 10Ari BoylandNew Zealand actor (Power Rangers RPM)
August 11Jemima WestAnglo-American actress (15/Love, Maison Close, Indian Summers)
August 14James BuckleyActor
August 17Manny JacintoActor
August 18Mika BooremActress (The Tom Show)
August 21Cody KaschActor (Desperate Housewives)
August 25Blake LivelyActress (Gossip Girl)
August 26Nieves ZuberbühlerArgentine journalist
August 27Tiffany BooneActress
August 30Johanna BraddyActress (, Greek, Video Game High School, UnREAL, Quantico)
September 2Mazin ElsadigActor (, Stoked)
September 3Megan AmramWriter
September 5Jeremy VuoloPlayer
Jenny TaftAmerican sports television personality
September 7Evan Rachel WoodActress (Once and Again, Westworld) and singer
Lily CowlesActress
September 8Wiz KhalifaActor and rapper
September 9Clayton SnyderActor (Lizzie McGuire)
Taylor BagleyActress
September 10Alex SaxonActor (The Fosters, Finding Carter, Nancy Drew)
September 11Elizabeth HenstridgeActress (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.)
Tyler HoechlinActor (7th Heaven, Teen Wolf)
September 13Erin WayActress (I Heart Vampires, Alphas)
September 16Daren KagasoffActor (The Secret Life of the American Teenager)
September 17Augustus PrewEnglish actor (Prison Break)
September 19Danielle PanabakerActress (Shark, The Flash)
September 20Sarah NatochennyVoice actress (Ash Ketchum on Pokémon)
September 22Teyonah ParrisActress (Mad Men, WandaVision)
September 23Skylar AstinActor (Ground Floor, Graves, )
September 24Grey DamonActor (Friday Night Lights, The Nine Lives of Chloe King, Twisted, Star-Crossed, Aquarius)
Spencer Treat ClarkActor (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Animal Kingdom)
September 28 Actress (Lizzie McGuire, Younger) and singer
September 29David Del RioActor (The Troop)
October 1Matthew DaddarioActor (Shadowhunters)
October 2Christopher LarkinActor (The 100)
Erika Lauren WasilewskiActress ()
October 8Griffin FrazenActor (Grounded for Life)
October 9Melissa VillaseñorActress (Saturday Night Live)
October 10Carla EsparzaMixed martial artist[27]
October 13Ashley NewbroughActress (Privileged)
October 14Jay PharoahActor (Saturday Night Live)
October 15Canadian voice actress (Dragon Tales, , Pucca)
October 18 Actor (Summerland, High School Musical, Down to Earth with Zac Efron)
October 23Leah Van DalePro wrestler (WWE, Total Divas)[28]
October 29Cleopatra ColemanAustralian actress (The Last Man on Earth)
November 5Actor (Jonas, Married to Jonas) and singer (Jonas Brothers)
November 7Rachele Brooke SmithActress
November 9Emily TyraActress
November 10Jessica ToveyAustralian actress (Home and Away)
November 11Giles MattheyBritish-Australian actor (True Blood, Once Upon a Time)
November 19Jake AbelActor
Jared AbrahamsonActor
November 20Amelia Rose BlaireActress (True Blood, Blue Bloods)
November 23SnookiAmerican reality television personality
November 25American rapper (d. 2009)
November 28Karen GillanScottish actress (Doctor Who)
November 30Trinity FatuPro Wrestler (Total Divas)[29]
Christel KhalilActress (The Young and the Restless)
Lauren ZimaAmerican television personality
December 1Actress
December 3Actor (Cover Me, Will & Grace)
Actress
December 4 Actor (Family Matters, Two of a Kind, That's So Raven, Waynehead, The Proud Family, Fillmore!, Clifford's Puppy Days) and rapper
December 6Actor (All That, 100 Things to Do Before High School, )
December 7Aaron CarterActor (House of Carters), singer and brother of Nick Carter (died 2022)
December 11Alex RussellAustralian actor
December 12Kate ToddCanadian actress
December 13English actor (Once Upon a Time)
December 16Hallee HirshActress (ER, Flight 29 Down)
December 28Actor (Still Standing)
English actress (Kerching!, Dream Team, Hollyoaks) and sister of Kara Tointon
Actor (, The Secret Circle, Backstrom)
Adam GregoryActor (90210, Winx Club, The Bold and the Beautiful)
December 29Actor (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.)

Deaths

Date Name Age Notability
January 1Lloyd Haynes52Actor (Room 222)
February 4Liberace67American pianist, singer and actor
February 22 David Susskind66Commentator and producer (The David Susskind Show)
February 25 James Coco56Actor
March 3 Danny Kaye76Actor & comedian (The Danny Kaye Show)
March 21 Dean Paul Martin35Actor (Misfits of Science) and singer (Dino, Desi & Billy)
March 28 Patrick Troughton67Actor (the Second Doctor on Doctor Who from 1966 to 1969)
April 17 Dick Shawn63Actor
April 19Milt Kahl78Animator
May 4 Cathryn Damon56Actress (Mary on Soap)
May 14Rita Hayworth68Actress and singer
May 31 Roy Winsor75Soap opera writer (Search for Tomorrow)
June 22Fred Astaire88Actor and singer
June 24 Jackie Gleason71Actor (The Honeymooners, The Jackie Gleason Show)
August 11 Clara Peller85Wendy's spokesperson (Where's the Beef? ad campaign)
August 19 Hayden Rorke76Actor (Dr. Bellows on I Dream of Jeannie)
September 5 Quinn Martin65Executive producer (The Fugitive and many others)
September 11 Lorne Greene72Actor (Ben Cartwright on Bonanza)
September 22 Dan Rowan65Comedian (co-host of Laugh-In)
Carman Maxwell84Voice actor (Bosko on Looney Tunes)
September 25Mary Astor81Actress[30]

Television debuts

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Small-format video technology pictured for 1987. Broadcasting Magazine. April 5, 2017. 178–180. January 5, 1987.
  2. News: Albany TV station cancels NBC show over condom issue . The New York Times. Associated Press . February 8, 1987 . August 14, 2008.
  3. News: Lewin, Tamar . New sex mores are chilling TV ardor . . March 8, 1987 . August 14, 2008.
  4. Book: Rettenmund, Matthew. Totally Awesome 80s: A Lexicon of the Music, Videos, Movies, TV Shows, Stars, and Trends of that Decadent Decade. October 15, 1996. Macmillan. 9780312144364. Google Books.
  5. Web site: Rivers Says Goodbye Not A Minute Too Soon. Chicago Tribune. 10 December 2014.
  6. Web site: Name Is Fake But The Songs Are Her Own. https://web.archive.org/web/20141220160414/http://articles.philly.com/1993-01-15/entertainment/25958839_1_dark-ages-black-music-berry-gordy. dead. December 20, 2014. Philly.com. 10 December 2014.
  7. Crispin Glover Goes Back to the Crazy – Top 10 Disastrous Letterman Interviews. February 13, 2009. Time. May 29, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20130413194926/http://entertainment.time.com/2009/02/13/top-10-disastrous-letterman-interviews/slide/crispin-glover-goes-back-to-the-crazy/. April 13, 2013. live.
  8. Web site: David Letterman's Most Memorable Late-Night Moments. Reed. Ryan. 20 May 2021. Ultimate Classic Rock. 29 May 2021.
  9. Book: Smith, Lory. 1999. Party in a Box: The Story of the Sundance Film Festival. Gibbs Smith. 3. 978-0879058616. The movie starred Crispin Glover as Rubin - he was actually in the Rubin character the infamous night he nearly karate-kicked off David Letterman's nose..
  10. Web site: Bill Hader To Narrate Cult Film Documentary 'Beaver Trilogy Part IV' – Sundance. Yamato. Jen. 20 January 2015. Deadline Hollywood. 29 May 2021.
  11. http://www.tv.com/down-and-out-in-beverly-hills/show/2863/episode_listings.html "Down and out in Beverly Hills: 13 episodes"
  12. Web site: Matthew Perry Sitcom 'Second Chance' Predicted Gaddafi Would Die in 2011 . Alex . Moaba . October 20, 2011 . . 2011-10-20 . bot: unknown . https://web.archive.org/web/20141021030432/http://www.aoltv.com/2011/10/20/matthew-perry-sitcom-second-chance-predicted-gaddafi-die-2011/ . October 21, 2014 .
  13. News: 1987-06-29. In Brief. Broadcasting. 2021-12-17.
  14. News: Tonight On Television. The Roanoke Times. 22. Newspapers.com. December 16, 1987. December 17, 2024.
  15. News: Wednesday Movies. News-Press. 178. Newspapers.com. December 13, 1987. December 17, 2024.
  16. News: Christmas Specials on Cablevision. The Wichita Eagle. 103. Newspapers.com. December 13, 1987. December 17, 2024.
  17. News: 'Hard Copy' doesn't get the facts straight . Tom . Jicha . . . . 2-D . January 25, 1987 . March 14, 2022 . newspapers.com.
  18. News: June 19, 1987 . Trotting With Fox . 15 . Ledger-Enquirer.
  19. News: Carter . Reon . June 25, 1987 . WKCH joins fourth network . B7 . The Knoxville News-Sentinel . Knoxville, Tennessee . live . November 29, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211130031301/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89762781/wkch-joins-fourth-network/ . November 30, 2021 . Newspapers.com.
  20. News: August 5, 1987 . KBSI to air Fox Network programs . A12 . The Paducah Sun . August 14, 2021.
  21. News: Weil . Nancy . August 16, 1987 . KBSI joins Fox; debuts Sept. 7 . Television 2 . Southern Illinoisan . August 5, 2023 . Newspapers.com.
  22. News: Kaylor . Mike . October 31, 1987 . WZDK [sic] to join Fox network in December ]. 2A . The Huntsville Times . live . February 27, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230227090450/https://www.genealogybank.com/newspaper-clippings/wzdk-join-fox-network-december/jnlvmyesqyumdfsrcostjssnbozbjfdw_wma-gateway018_1677481712794 . February 27, 2023.
  23. News: December 7, 1987 . Briefly Noted . 46 . .
  24. Web site: Ronda Rousey Actress, Producer, Writer . 2023-12-29 . IMDb . en-US.
  25. Web site: Iole . Kevin . 2018-08-03 . How a near-death experience inspired Henry Cejudo to reach for greatness . 2024-07-05 . Yahoo Sports . en-US.
  26. Web site: Jon Jones Biography . 2024-08-23 . ESPN . en.
  27. Web site: Carla Esparza (Women's Strawweight) MMA Profile . 2024-12-13 . ESPN . en.
  28. Web site: Carmella WWE (Corey Graves' Wife) News, Latest Updates & More @ Sportskeeda . 2023-11-20 . www.sportskeeda.com.
  29. Web site: 2022-04-04 . WWE Profile - Naomi . 2024-11-18 . ESPN.com . en.
  30. Web site: Mary Astor - American actress . Encyclopedia Britannica . 12 June 2018 . en.