1997 in television

Table of contents

1 Events 2 Debuts 3 Popular Television Shows 4 Ending this year 5 Births 6 Deaths

Events

• January - The U.S. television networks adopt ratings systems for their programming, similar to those used for motion pictures.
• January 3 - NBC's Today Show Bryant Gumbel signs off for the last time.
• February 9 - The Simpsons surpasses The Flintstones as the longest-running prime-time animated series.
• June 6 - Actress Farrah Fawcett makes a bizarre appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman. Fawcett tells long, rambling stories without a point, fails to understand simple questions, and gets easily distracted by things like blinking lights on the set.

Debuts

• South Park (1997-present)
• King of the Hill (1997-present)
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003)

Popular Television Shows

• Cops (1989-present)
• Everybody Loves Raymond (1996-present)
• Friends (1994-present)
• Hey Arnold (1996-present)
• Home Improvement (1991-1999)
• Inspector Morse (1987-2000)
• Jeopardy (1984-present)
• The Larry Sanders Show (1992-1998)
• Late Night with Conan O'Brien (1993-present)
• The Late Show with David Letterman (1993-present)
• One Foot in the Grave (1990-2000)
• The Real World (1992-present)
• Rugrats (1991-present)
• Saturday Night Live (1975-present)
• Sesame Street (1969-present)
• Seinfeld (1989-1998)
• The Simpsons (1989-present)
• The Tonight Show (1954-present)
• Wheel of Fortune (1975-present)
• The Late Late Show (1962-present)

Ending this year

• Beavis and Butthead (1993-1997)
• Married... With Children (1987-1997)
• Roseanne (1988-1997)

Births

Deaths

• February 26 - David Doyle, actor
• April 15 - Donald Bexley, actor on Sanford & Son
• May 4 - Alvy Moore, actor on Green Acres
• May 11 - Howard Morton, character actor
• June 8 - Reid Shelton, actor
• June 24 - Brian Keith, actor
• July 4 - Charles Kuralt, journalist
• August 27 - Brandon Tartikoff, former president of NBC
• September 9 - Burgess Meredith, actor
• September 17 - Red Skelton, comedian
• October 16 - Audra Lindley, actress on Three's Company
• October 24 - Don Messick, voice actor
• December 18 - Chris Farley, accidental overdose of cocaine and morphine
• December 25 - Denver Pyle, actor