- Jan 1 KDSD TV channel 16 in Aberdeen, SD (PBS) begins broadcasting
- Jan 14 "Sanford & Son" starring Redd Foxx and Demond Wilson premieres on NBC TV
- Jan 14 WMAH TV channel 19 in Biloxi, Mississippi (PBS) begins broadcasting
- Jan 14 WMAU TV channel 17 in Bude, Mississippi (PBS) begins broadcasting
- Jan 14 WMAW TV channel 14 in Meridian, Mississippi (PBS) begins broadcasting
- Jan 15 TV drama "Emergency" with Randolph Mantooth and Robert Fuller premieres on NBC TV
- Jan 24 WRIP (now WDSI) TV channel 61 in Chattanooga, TN (IND) 1st broadcast
"Jumpers"
Feb 2 Tom Stoppard's play "Jumpers" premieres in London
29th Golden Globes
Feb 6 29th Golden Globes: "The French Connection", Gene Hackman, & Jane Fonda win
- Feb 10 BBC bans "Give Ireland Back to the Irish" by Wings
Cabaret
Feb 13 Film adaptation of "Cabaret", directed by Bob Fosse, based on John Kander and Fred Ebb's musical of the same name, starring Liza Minnelli, Michael York, and Joel Grey is released
- Feb 14 CBS "Late Movie" premieres
The Mike Douglas Show
Feb 14 John Lennon and Yoko Ono co-host the syndicated TV show "The Mike Douglas Show" for an entire week, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Feb 18 John Lennon and Yoko Ono end a week of co-hosting the syndicated "The Mike Douglas Show", in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Music History
Feb 24 Priscilla and Elvis Presley separate
- Mar 1 KHMA TV channel 11 in Houma, LA (IND) begins broadcasting
Music History
Mar 10 "What's Up, Doc?", Peter Bogdanovich's film homage to screwball comedies, starring Barbra Streisand, Ryan O'Neal, Madeline Kahn & Kenneth Mars premieres
The Godfather
Mar 15 "The Godfather," based on the book by Mario Puzo, directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Marlon Brando and Al Pacino, premieres in NYC (Academy Awards Best Picture 1973)
Back off Boogaloo
Mar 17 Ringo Starr releases single "Back off Boogaloo" in the UK
A Funny Thing
Mar 30 Revival of Stephen Sondheim's musical-comedy "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum", starring Phil Silvers, opens at Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, NYC; runs for 156 performances and wins 2 Tony Awards
- Apr 10 44th Academy Awards: "The French Connection", Gene Hackman & Jane Fonda win
- Apr 15 Barbra Streisand, James Taylor, Carole King, and Quincy Jones perform benefit concert for George McGovern for President campaign at the Forum in Inglewood, California
Radio History
Apr 30 "Arthur Godfrey Time" ends a 27 year run on radio
- May 14 24th Emmy Awards: "All in the Family", Carrol O'Conner & Jean Stapleton win
Don't Play Us Cheap
May 16 Melvin Van Peebles' musical "Don't Play Us Cheap" opens at Barrymore Theater, NYC; runs for 164 performances
- May 18 "Me and The Chimp" an American TV sitcom last airs on CBS in the US
- May 19 25th Cannes Film Festival: "The Working Class Goes to Heaven" directed by Elio Petri and "The Mattei Affair" directed by Francesco Rosi jointly awarded the Grand Prix du Festival International du Film
- May 19 WMAV TV channel 18 in Oxford, MS (PBS) begins broadcasting
#1 in the Charts
Jun 10 Sammy Davis Jr.'s cover of "The Candy Man" by Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse (from the film "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory") goes to #1 on the charts - his biggest single
- Jun 23 22nd Berlin International Film Festival: "The Canterbury Tales" wins the Golden Bear
Film & TV History
Jun 27 Legendary video game and home computer Atari, Inc. founded by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney in Sunnyvale, California
- Jul 2 American pole vaulter Bob Seagren breaks world record for the 4th and final time with 5.63m in Eugene, Oregon
- Jul 26 Priscilla and Elvis Presley file for legal separation
- Aug 12 Revival of Stephen Sondheim's musical-comedy "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum", starring Phil Silvers, closes at Lunt-Fontanne Theater, NYC, after 156 performances
- Aug 13 Dutch KRO-TV transmits 440th & last episode of American western series "Bonanza"
- Aug 18 4th San Diego Comic-Con International opens at El Cortez Hotel
- Aug 21 33rd Venice Film Festival opens
Republicans Renominate Spiro Agnew
Aug 23 Republican convention (Miami Beach, Fla) renominates Vice President Spiro Agnew but not unanimously: 1 vote went to NBC newsman David Brinkley
- Sep 4 "The Price is Right" - US's longest running games show debuts on CBS
Telethon
Sep 4 John Lennon and Yoko Ono perform three songs ("Imagine"; "Now Or Never"; "Give Peace A Chance") on Jerry Lewis' 7th Muscular Dystrophy telethon at the Americana Hotel, NYC
Television Premiere
Sep 12 TV sitcom "Maude", a spin-off of "All In The Family", starring Bea Arthur and Bill Macy premieres on CBS
The Bob Newhart Show
Sep 16 "The Bob Newhart Show" sitcom (the Chicago one) debuts on CBS-TV, the first episode "Fly Unfriendly Skies" stars Penny Marshall as The Stewardess
- Sep 16 1st TV series about mixed marriage, "Bridget Loves Bernie" premieres
M*A*S*H
Sep 17 TV comedy series "M*A*S*H", adapted from the movie, starring Alan Alda, Loretta Swit, Wayne Rogers, and McLean Stevenson debuts on CBS in the US; runs for 11 years garnering 14 Emmy and 1 Peabody Award
- Sep 25 KAVT (now KSMQ) TV channel 15 in Austin, MN (PBS) begins broadcasting
Music History
Oct 12 Paramount Pictures and Motown Productions release film "Lady Sings the Blues", very loosely based on singer Billie Holiday's autobiography, starring Diana Ross and Billy Dee Williams
- Oct 23 WNJS TV channel 23 in Camden, NJ (PBS) begins broadcasting
- Oct 26 Ringo Starr and singer Lulu appear in non-speaking cameos on "Monty Python's Flying Circus" program
- Nov 1 1st gay themed TV movie - "That Certain Summer"
- Nov 19 KFIZ TV channel 34 in Fond du Lac, WI suspends broadcasting
- Nov 26 Bomb explosion at the Film Centre Cinema, in O’Connell Bridge House in Dublin, Ireland
Pong
Nov 29 Co-founder of Atari, Nolan Bushnell releases Pong, the 1st commercially successful video game, in Andy Capp's Tavern in Sunnyvale, California
- Nov 30 BBC bans Wings' "Hi, Hi, Hi"
The Poseidon Adventure
Dec 12 "The Poseidon Adventure", starring Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, Shelley Winters and Jack Albertson premieres in NYC
- Dec 17 WGVC (now WUCX) TV channel 35 in Grand Rapids, MI (PBS) 1st broadcast
"The Effect of Gamma Rays"
Dec 20 "The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds" film directed by Paul Newman and starring his wife Joanna Woodward, premieres in NYC
"The Sunshine Boys"
Dec 20 Neil Simon's play "The Sunshine Boys" starring Jack Albertson and Sam Levene, and directed by Alan Arkin, opens at Broadhurst Theater (later transferring Shubert, then the Lunt-Fontanne), NYC; runs for 538 performances, winning 2 Tony Awards
- Dec 29 "Aguirre, the Wrath of God" film written and directed by Werner Herzog, starring Klaus Kinski premieres in West Germany
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