1978 in television
See also: 1977 in television, other events of 1978, 1979 in television and the list of 'years in television'.
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2 Debuts 3 Popular Television Shows 4 Ending this year 5 Births 6 Deaths |
Events
- January 28 - The Doobie Brothers make a guest appearance on the television show What's Happening.
- February 22 - The Police appear in a television commercial for Wrigley's chewing gum
- April 22 - The Blues Brothers make their first appearance on Saturday Night Live. The duo of Jake & Elwood Blues (John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd) was introduced by Paul Shaffer (as Don Kirschner) and performed "Hey Bartender".
- April 26 - Ringo Starr's, Ringo, a musical version of The Prince and the Pauper airs on American television. Starr's fellow former Beatle George Harrison provides the narration.
- November 17 - The Star Wars Holiday Special airs on CBS. The special gives fans their first glimpse of Boba Fett, a character from the upcoming Star Wars sequel.
- The Beatles spoof, The Rutles - All You Need Is Cash airs on television.
- Steve Martin performs the original "King Tut" on Saturday Night Live. The song is later released as a single and becomes a hit for the comedian.
- April 16-April 19 - Holocaust (miniseries), starring James Wood and Meryl Streep first aired on NBC.
Debuts
- Dallas premieres on CBS (1978-1991)
- Diff'rent Strokes premieres on NBC (1978-1986)
- Mork & Mindy premieres on ABC (1978-1982)
- Taxi premieres on ABC (1978-1983)
- WKRP in Cincinnati premieres on CBS (1978-1982)
Popular Television Shows
- Alice (1976-1985)
- All In The Family (1971-1979)
- Charlie's Angels (1976-1981)
- Dr Who (1963-1989)
- Happy Days (1974-1984)
- Hawaii Five-O (1968-1980)
- The Jeffersons (1975-1985)
- Laverne & Shirley (1976-1983)
- Lawrence Welk Show (1955-1982)
- Little House on the Prairie (1974-1983)
- M*A*S*H (1972-1983)
- The Muppet Show (1976-1981)
- One Day at a Time (1975-1984)
- Saturday Night Live (1975-present)
- Sesame Street (1969-present)
- Soap (1977-1981)
- The Tonight Show (1954-present)
- The Waltons (1972-1981)
- Three's Company (1977-1984)
- What's Happening (1976-1979)
- Wheel of Fortune (1975-present)
- The Wonderful World of Disney (1954-1983)
Ending this year
- The Bob Newhart Show (1972-1978)
- The Carol Burnett Show (1967-1978)
- Maude (1972-1978)
- Rhoda (1974-1978)
- Six Million Dollar Man (1974-1978)
Births
Deaths
- February 28 - Zara Cully, actress then-currently appearing on The Jeffersons
- March 18 - Peggy Wood, actress
- April 22 - Will Geer, actor
- June 29 - Bob Crane, actor, murdered