More Highlights for Entertainment Shows
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Happy 71st Birthday WRAL-FM!
September 6, 1946. That is the day WRAL-FM joined big brother WRAL-AM on the radio. To get the full scoop on how WRAL-FM came into being, we turn to Fred Fletcher’s book, TEMPUS FUGIT to get the facts and a -
Fun on PM Magazine BLOOPERS
Enjoy these outtakes from the popular evening program “PM Magazine” with hosts Tom McNamara and Susan Dahlin circa 1984. You’ll also see legendary WRAL news anchors Charlie Gaddy and Adele Arakawa, as well as chief meteorologist Greg Fishel in a few of the bloopers. Background music is “Kodachrome” by Paul Simon.
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“The Pumpkins Strike Back” vignettes
“The Pumpkins Strike Back” is a delightful, cheesy series of four vignettes that aired on WRAL-TV during the late night Halloween movie on October 31, 1981. During the commercial breaks, “The Pumpkins Strike Back” would air prior to the commercials, then back to the movie.
Rowell Gorman, “The Man of a Thousand Voices”, wrote the script and provided different voices to the pumpkin characters, as well as appearing in the production. Other “actors” were staff members at WRAL, many who had never acted before – and that will be apparent! The vignettes were produced by the WRAL production staff.
The parody is loosely based on several blockbuster movies including STAR WARS, PSYCHO and PATTON. But “The Pumpkins Strike Back” is in a league of its own. Enjoy!
NOTE: Single channel audio. Originally produced on 3/4 inch videotape.
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PM Magazine full episode September 28, 1987
PM Magazine was a weekly television program that was part local/part national. WRAL was one of many stations that participated in this story sharing cooperative made up of member stations across the country.
This particular episode aired September 29, 1987. It is one of the latter shows produced at WRAL. Susan Dahlin was the co-host along with former news reporter Rick Williams who replaced the original co-host Tom McNamara who accepted a news anchoring position in Arizona. In 1988, Rick – a native New Yorker, returned to his news roots at WPVI in Philadephia.
Vintage commercial and promos are included in this episode.
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Ratings Dominator from the Start!
WRAL’s dominance in ratings started right-off-the-bat after The Big 5 signed-on in December, 1956. According to then WRAL General Manager Fred Fletcher in his book Tempus Fugit, “By July, 1958 – a year and a half after sign-on – we