1978 in American television
This is a list of American television -related events in 1978.
Events
Date
Event
January 15
Super Bowl XII airs on CBS , the first time the NFL's championship event is played and telecast at night. The Dallas Cowboys defeat the Denver Broncos 27-10.
January 23
Roots One Year Later , a special examining the impact and influence of the miniseries, airs on ABC .
January 28
The Doobie Brothers make a guest appearance on ABC 's What's Happening!!
February 5
ABC celebrates its silver anniversary with a retrospective special.
February 28
Robin Williams makes his first appearance as Mork from Ork on an episode of Happy Days on ABC . The episode proved to be such a success, that it would soon give way to a spin-off starring Williams entitled Mork & Mindy .
March 7
Showtime goes nationwide on the air.
March 22
The Beatles spoof The Rutles : All You Need Is Cash airs on NBC .
March 26 – April 1
CBS commemorates its golden anniversary in radio and TV broadcasting with CBS: On the Air , a 9½-hour retrospective special airing over 7 nights.
April 16–19
Holocaust , starring James Woods and Meryl Streep first airs on NBC .
April 22
The Blues Brothers make their first appearance on NBC 's Saturday Night Live ; the duo of Jake & Elwood Blues (John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd ) are introduced in a skit by Paul Shaffer (as Don Kirshner ) and performs "Hey Bartender".
April 26
Ringo Starr 's, Ringo , a musical version of The Prince and the Pauper , airs on NBC, with Starr's fellow former Beatle , George Harrison , providing the narration.
May 1
KDOG-TV, Houston 's independent station , changes its call sign to KRIV-TV following its purchase by Metromedia .
June 12
WHNB-TV, NBC affiliate in New Britain /Hartford /New Haven, Connecticut , changes its name to its current WVIT-TV , shortly after Viacom purchased the station.
June 26
WTOP-TV changes its call sign to WDVM-TV. In return the NBC affiliate , WWJ-TV changes its call sign to WDIV-TV .
July 1
In Charlotte, North Carolina , NBC affiliate WSOC-TV leaves the network and joins ABC , citing a stronger affiliation (at the time, NBC is in last place among the three major networks, while ABC is in first place). NBC eventually aligns with Ted Turner -owned independent station WRET-TV (now WCNC-TV ), tempted by promises Turner made to NBC to make $2.5 million worth of upgrades, including a stronger transmitter and the launch of a news department; former ABC affiliate WCCB becomes an independent station, and eventually a charter affiliate of Fox in 1986.[ 1]
July 10
On ABC , the ABC Evening News is revamped to become ABC World News Tonight , employing a unique three-anchor setup (Frank Reynolds serving as lead anchor from Washington , Max Robinson presenting national news from Chicago, and Peter Jennings with international news from London).
August 1
Taking advantage of an oral escape-clause in his contract with ABC , Harry Reasoner returns to CBS , eventually rejoining 60 Minutes , the program he anchored with Mike Wallace from its 1968 premiere until he joined ABC News in 1970.
September 17
The ceremony formalizing the success of the peace talks between Israel 's Menachem Begin and Egypt 's Anwar Sadat —the Camp David accords—is televised live from the White House East Room.
September 19
The chairs on which Archie and Edith Bunker sat through 8 seasons of the CBS comedy All in the Family are presented to the Smithsonian Institution .
September 27
Replacing Zara Cully and Damon Evans , Jay Hammer joins the cast of the CBS comedy The Jeffersons , for a short period of time.
October 7
On NBC 's Saturday Night Live , The Rolling Stones become the first and to date, only band to serve as both hosts and musical guests in the same episode .
October 31
On NBC , Norma Brown wins $28,800 playing the Money Cards on Card Sharks , the first and only time a contestant has won the maximum amount.
November 9
Jack Soo makes his final appearance as Nick Yemana on the ABC sitcom Barney Miller prior to his death from cancer on January 11, 1979. The Season 5 finale of Barney Miller (airing later that May) would subsequently, feature the cast stepping out of character to pay tribute to Soo.
November 12
In Fort Smith, Arkansas , KLMN-TV (now Fox affiliate KFTA-TV ) signs-on the air and takes CBS programming from KFPW-TV/KTVP . Both KFPW-TV and KTVP subsequently become full-time ABC affiliates, giving Fort Smith in-market affiliates of all three major networks.
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 .
Programs
Debuting this year
Resuming this year
Ending this year
Made-for-TV movies and miniseries
Networks and services
Launches
Network conversions and rebrandings
Closures
There are no closures for Cable and satellite television channels in this year.
Television stations
Station launches
Date
City of License /Market
Station
Channel
Affiliation
Notes/Ref.
January 3
Rock Hill, South Carolina (Charlotte, North Carolina )
WNSC-TV
30
PBS
Part of South Carolina ETV
February 9
Martin, South Dakota
KZSD-TV
8
Part of South Dakota Public Broadcasting
March 23
Washington, D.C.
WPXW-TV
66
Religious independent
March 26
Manassas, Virginia /Washington, D.C.
WTKK
66
May 1
Mason City, Iowa
KYIN
24
PBS
Part of Iowa Public Television
August 6
Cheyenne, Oklahoma
KWET
12
Part of the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority
August 9
Shreveport, Louisiana
KLTS-TV
24
Part of Louisiana Public Broadcasting
August 18
El Paso, Texas
KCOS
13
August 21
Cookeville, Tennessee
WCTE
22
September 2
Phoenix, Arizona
KTVW
23
Spanish International Network
Now a Univision affiliate
September 9
KNXV-TV
15
Independent
September 26
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
WPTT-TV
22
September 27
Montpelier, Vermont
WNNE
31
NBC
Signed on as a satellite of WPTZ-TV /Plattsburgh, New York
October 1
Juneau, Alaska
KTOO-TV
3
PBS
Satellite of KAKM /Anchorage
October 24
Salt Lake City, Utah
KSTU
20 (now 13)
Independent
November 12
Fort Smith, Arkansas
KLMN-TV
24
CBS
November 27
Rockford, Illinois
WQRF-TV
39
Independent
December 17
Kansas City, Missouri
KYFC
50
Was previously on air as KCIT-TV from 1969 to 1971.
Network affiliation changes
Station closures
Births
Date
Name
Notability
January 2
Patricia de Leon
Actress
January 3
Kimberley Locke
TV Personality (American Idol , Little Talent Show )[ 2]
January 5
January Jones
Actress (Mad Men , The Last Man on Earth )
January 7
Ryan Star
Singer
January 8
Ron Pederson
Canadian actor (Mad TV )
January 9
AJ McLean
Actor and singer (Backstreet Boys )
January 10
Jill Nicolini
Actress
January 14
Sage Brocklebank
Actor
January 15
Jamie Clayton
Actress (Sense8 )
Eddie Cahill
Actor (CSI: NY )
January 24
Kristen Schaal
Actress (Bob's Burgers , The Last Man on Earth , Gravity Falls )
January 26
Kelly Stables
Actress (W.I.T.C.H. , Two and a Half Men , The Exes )
February 2
Rich Sommer
Actor (Mad Men )
February 3
Kelly Sullivan
Actress (Henry Danger , The Adventures of Kid Danger )
Eliza Schneider
Actress (Beakman's World , South Park , Squirrel Boy )
February 6
Har Mar Superstar
Actor
February 7
Ashton Kutcher
Actor (That '70s Show , Two and a Half Men )
February 14
Joanna Canton
Actress
Danai Gurira
Actor (The Walking Dead )
February 16
John Tartaglia
Actor
February 20
Lauren Ambrose
Actress (Six Feet Under )
Chelsea Peretti
Actress (Brooklyn Nine-Nine )
Jay Hernandez
Actor
February 21
Nicole Parker
Comedian, actress and singer (Mad TV )
February 24
Nicole Lyn
Actress
February 28
Geoffrey Arend
Actor
March 1
Donovan Patton
Actor (Blue's Clues , Team Umizoomi , Clarence )
Jensen Ackles
Actor (Days of Our Lives , Dark Angel , Smallville , Supernatural )
March 5
Kimberly McCullough
Actress (Once and Again , General Hospital )
March 8
Nick Zano
Actor (What I Like About You )
March 11
Rob Simonsen
Composer
March 14
Chris McCaleb
Director
March 16
Matthew Montgomery
Actor
Brooke Burns
Actress
March 17
Patrick Seitz
Actor
March 19
Virginia Williams
Actress (One Life to Live , Monarch Cove , Fairly Legal )
March 23
Anastasia Griffith
Actress (Damages , Trauma , Copper )
David Tom
Actor
Nicholle Tom
Actress (The Nanny )
Perez Hilton
Blogger
March 24
Amanda Brugel
Actress
March 25
Maribeth Monroe
Actress and comedian (Workaholics , The Brink )
April 1
Jason Bell
American former professional football player
April 2
Jaime Ray Newman
Actress (General Hospital , Eastwick )
Deon Richmond
Actor (The Cosby Show , Sister, Sister )
April 3
Matthew Goode
Actor
April 6
Lauren Ridloff
Actress
Tim Hasselbeck
American sports journalist
April 7
Nelson Cragg
Director
Jimmy Akingbola
Actor
April 12
Riley Smith
Actor
April 13
Kyle Howard
Actor (My Boys )
April 15
Chris Stapleton
Singer
April 17
Lindsay Hartley
Actress and singer (Days of Our Lives , All My Children , Passions )
Adam Jamal Craig
Actor (NCIS: Los Angeles )
April 19
James Franco
Actor (Freaks and Geeks )
Sheinelle Jones
American journalist and news anchor
April 20
Clayne Crawford
Actor (Lethal Weapon )
Matt Austin
Actor (Power Rangers S.P.D. )
Matthew Wilkas
Actor
April 22
Manu Intiraymi
Actor (Star Trek: Voyager )
April 23
Ian Brennan
Actor and writer
April 26
Stana Katic
Actress (Castle )
Pablo Schreiber
Canadian-American actor (The Wire , Orange Is the New Black )
Stephen Williams
Jamaican-Canadian director
April 28
Nate Richert
Actor (Sabrina the Teenage Witch )
Robert Oliveri
Former actor
April 29
Tyler Labine
Actor (New Amsterdam )
May 1
James Badge Dale
Actor (24 , The Pacific , Rubicon )
May 2
Kumail Nanjiani
American-Pakistani actor (Silicon Valley , Franklin & Bash , Adventure Time )
May 4
Erin Andrews
Actress
May 5
Santiago Cabrera
Venezuelan-born Chilean-British actor (Heroes )
May 8
Matthew Davis
Actor (The Vampire Diaries )
May 9
Daniel Franzese
Actor
May 10
Corri English
Actress
Kenan Thompson
Actor (All That , Kenan & Kel , Saturday Night Live )
May 12
Jason Biggs
Actor (Orange Is the New Black , Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles )
Malin Akerman
Actress (Childrens Hospital , Trophy Wife , Billions )
May 13
Brooke Anderson
Former co-host of The Insider
May 15
David Krumholtz
Actor (Numb3rs )
Caroline Dhavernas
Actress (Off the Map , Hannibal , Mary Kills People )
May 16
Jim Sturgess
Actor
May 17
Kat Foster
Actress ('Til Death )
Carlos Peña
Broadcaster
May 22
Ginnifer Goodwin
Actress (Ed , Big Love , Once Upon a Time )
May 24
Bryan Greenberg
Actor (October Road ), (How to Make It in America )
May 26
Benji Gregory
Actor (ALF )
Adam Robitel
Director, producer, screenwriter, and actor
May 27
Cindy Sampson
Canadian actress (Supernatural )
May 28
Jake Johnson
Actor (New Girl )
June 1
Link Neal
TV host
June 2
Justin Long
Actor (Ed )
Nikki Cox
Actress (Unhappily Ever After , Las Vegas )
June 4
Robin Taylor
Actor (Gotham )
June 5
Nick Kroll
Actor, comedian and writer (The League , Kroll Show )
Rob Nelson
Afternoon anchor for Newsy, Scripps Television's all news channel
June 6
Judith Barsi
Actress (d. 1988 )
June 7
Bill Hader
Actor and comedian (Saturday Night Live , South Park , Documentary Now! )
June 8
Maria Menounos
Actress
June 9
Michaela Conlin
Actress (Bones )
Brian Patrick Wade
Actor
June 10
Shane West
Actor (Once and Again , ER , Nikita )
DJ Qualls
Actor (Legit )
June 11
Joshua Jackson
Canadian actor (Dawson's Creek , Fringe )
June 12
Shiloh Strong
Actor
Timothy Simons
Actor (Veep )
Jeremy Rowley
Actor
June 13
Bianna Golodryga
Moldovan-born American journalist
June 15
Ethan Embry
Actor (Brotherhood )
June 18
Tara Platt
Voice actress (Naruto , Bleach , Ben 10: Omniverse )
June 19
Dirk Nowitzki
NBA basketball player
Zoe Saldana
Actress
Mía Maestro
Actress and singer
June 20
Mike Birbiglia
Actor
Quinton Jackson
Actor
June 21
Erica Durance
Canadian actress (Smallville , Saving Hope )
June 24
Geoff Keighley
Canadian gaming TV presenter (GT.TV , G4tv.com , Spike Video Game Awards )
June 26
Tory Mussett
Actress
June 27
Courtney Ford
Actress
June 29
Lenard McKelvey
Media Personality (Uncommon Sense with Charlamagne , Hell of A Week )
Luke Kirby
Actor
Nicole Scherzinger
Singer
July 1
Hillary Tuck
Actress (Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show )
July 2
Owain Yeoman
Actor
July 4
Becki Newton
Actress (Ugly Betty , The Goodwin Games )
Andrea Gabriel
Actress (Lost )
July 6
Adam Busch
Actor (The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo , Buffy the Vampire Slayer , Men at Work )
Tamera Mowry
Actress (Sister, Sister , Strong Medicine , Tia & Tamera )
Tia Mowry
Actress (Sister, Sister , Bratz , The Game , Tia & Tamera , Instant Mom )
July 8
Rachael Lillis
Actress
July 9
Linda Park
South Korean actress (Star Trek: Enterprise )
Sundance Head
Singer (American Idol , The Voice )
Kyle Davis
Actor
July 11
Jeremy Rowley
Actor (iCarly , Bunsen Is a Beast )
July 12
Michelle Rodriguez
Actress (Lost )
Topher Grace
Actor (That '70s Show )
July 13
Jessica Barth
Actress
July 15
Greg Sestero
Actor
July 18
Eddie Matos
Actor (Port Charles )
July 19
Ginifer King
Actress (The Haunted Hathaways )
Mark Proksch
Actor
Marcela Valladolid
American chef
July 21
Josh Hartnett
Actor
Justin Bartha
Actor
July 22
A. J. Cook
Actress (Higher Ground , Criminal Minds )
July 24
Jeff Mauro
Co-host of the Food Network series The Kitchen
August 2
Natashia Williams
Actress (Romeo! )
August 3
Shanelle Workman
Actress
August 6
Marisa Miller
Actress
August 8
Countess Vaughn
Actress and singer (Moesha , The Parkers )
August 15
Jennie Eisenhower
Actress
August 18
Andy Samberg
Actor and comedian (Saturday Night Live , Brooklyn Nine-Nine )
August 20
Noah Bean
Actor (Damages , Nikita )
August 22
James Corden
English comedian and host (The Late Late Show )
August 23
Kobe Bryant
NBA basketball player (died 2020 )
August 24
Beth Riesgraf
Actress (Leverage , Caper )
August 25
Kel Mitchell
Actor (All That , Kenan & Kel , Clifford the Big Red Dog , One on One , Pink Panther and Pals , Wild Grinders , Game Shakers )
August 26
Amanda Schull
Actress (Pretty Little Liars , Suits , 12 Monkeys )
August 28
Kelly Overton
Actress (All My Children , True Blood , Legends )
Rachel Kimsey
Actress (The Young and the Restless , Justice League Action )
August 29
Danielle Hampton
Actress
September 4
Wes Bentley
Actor (American Horror Story )
September 6
Mathew Horne
Actor
September 7
Devon Sawa
Actor
September 12
Ben McKenzie
Actor (The O.C. , Southland , Gotham )
Ruben Studdard
Singer and actor
September 13
Megan Henning
Actress (7th Heaven )
September 16
Michael Mosley
Actor (Scrubs , Pan Am , Sirens )
Matthew Rogers
American television host
September 17
Nick Cordero
Actor (died 2020)
September 18
Billy Eichner
Actor
September 20
Charlie Weber
Actor (How to Get Away with Murder )
September 22
Daniella Alonso
Actress (Revolution , The Night Shift )
September 23
Keri Lynn Pratt
Actress (Jack & Bobby )
Josh Miller
Filmmaker
Anthony Mackie
Actor
September 25
Rossif Sutherland
Actor
September 28
Peter Cambor
Actor (NCIS: Los Angeles )
Nikki McKibbin
Singer (Popstars , American Idol ) (died 2020)
October 1
Katie Aselton
Actress
Nicole Atkins
Singer-songwriter
October 3
Shannyn Sossamon
Actress
Jake Shears
Singer
Christian Coulson
Actor
October 4
Dana Davis
Actress (Heroes , 10 Things I Hate About You , Franklin & Bash )
Phillip Glasser
Actor
Mark Day
Actor
October 5
James Valentine
American musician
Morgan Webb
TV host
Jesse Palmer
TV host
October 7
Omar Benson Miller
Actor (CSI: Miami , Ballers , Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles )
October 10
Jodi Lyn O'Keefe
Actress (Nash Bridges , Prison Break )
October 14
Usher
Singer and Actor
October 15
Devon Gummersall
Actor (My So-Called Life )
October 16
Kala Savage
Actress
Novie Edwards
Actress and singer (Cyberchase , Total Drama Island )
October 17
Erin Karpluk
Canadian actress (Being Erica )
October 18
Wesley Jonathan
Actor (City Guys , What I Like About You , The Soul Man )
Jake Farrow
American television writer and actor
October 20
Dionne Quan
Voice actress (Rugrats , The Fairly OddParents , All Grown Up! , Bratz )
David Caspe
American film and television writer
October 21
Will Estes
Actor (American Dreams , Blue Bloods )
Michael McMillian
Actor (What I Like About You , True Blood , Hot in Cleveland )
October 22
Zuzanna Szadkowski
Polish-American actress (Gossip Girl )
October 25
Zachary Knighton
Actor
October 26
CM Punk
Actor
October 27
David Walton
Actor (New Girl , About a Boy )
October 28
Gwendoline Christie
English actress (Wizards vs Aliens , Game of Thrones ) and singer
Justin Guarini
Singer
October 30
Matthew Morrison
Actor (Glee )
October 31
Brian Hallisay
Actor (Privileged , The Client List , Revenge )
November 1
Mary Kate Schellhardt
Actress
November 2
Erika Flores
Actress (Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman )
November 6
Nicole Dubuc
Actress (Major Dad , Young Justice )
Taryn Manning
Actress
Erik Cole
Former professional ice hockey left winger
November 9
Sisqó
Actor
November 10
Eve
Rapper and actress (Eve )
Diplo
DJ
David Paetkau
Canadian actor (Flashpoint )
November 12
Ashley Williams
Actress (As the World Turns , Good Morning, Miami , The Jim Gaffigan Show )
November 15
Samantha Shelton
Actress (Monarch Cove )
November 17
Zoë Bell
New Zealand actress
Tom Ellis
Actor
Rachel McAdams
Actress (True Detective )
November 18
Daniel Chong
Animator
November 19
Eric Nenninger
Actor (Malcolm in the Middle )
Chad Doreck
Voice actor (Brad Carbunkle on My Life as a Teenage Robot )
November 20
Nadine Velazquez
Actress (My Name is Earl , The League , Major Crimes ) and model
November 24
Katherine Heigl
Actress (Roswell , Grey's Anatomy , State of Affairs )
November 28
Aimee Garcia
Actress (Greetings from Tucson , All About the Andersons , George Lopez , Dexter )
November 29
Lauren German
Actress (Chicago Fire )
November 30
Clay Aiken
Singer (American Idol , Celebrity Apprentice )
December 1
Jen Psaki
MSNBC political analyst and former press secretary
December 2
Nelly Furtado
Singer
December 7
Shiri Appleby
Actress (Roswell , Life UneXpected , UnREAL )
December 8
Ian Somerhalder
Actor (Smallville , Lost , The Vampire Diaries )
December 9
Jesse Metcalfe
Actor (Passions , Desperate Housewives )
December 10
Summer Phoenix
Actress
December 11
Minty Lewis
Voice actress (Eileen on Regular Show )
December 12
Gbenga Akinnagbe
Actor (The Wire )
December 13
B.J. Penn
Mixed martial artist[ 3]
December 18
Josh Dallas
Actor (Once Upon a Time )
Ravi Patel
Actor
Katie Holmes
Actress (Dawson's Creek , The Kennedys )
December 19
Patrick Casey
Actor
December 20
Amanda Swisten
Actress
December 22
Joanne Kelly
Actress
Anthony Jeselnik
Comedian
December 23
Estella Warren
Canadian actress
December 28
John Legend
Actor
December 30
Michael Grimm
Singer
Tyrese Gibson
Singer
Deaths
See also
References
External links