Comedian Bill Dana, whose death at age 92 was announced Monday, was best known for his “Jose Jimenez” character in the 1960s. But he also had a small role in Orlando TV history.
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Greed, movies and soda: How Channel 6 became WCPX-TV in 1982
Thirty-five years ago this month, there was a big change in Orlando television. You can blame a greedy, lazy station owner as well as the FCC, a movie company and even a soft-drink maker.
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Former Fox 35 meteorologist Jim Van Fleet forecasting weather for Royal Caribbean cruises
Former Fox 35 morning meteorologist Jim Van Fleet has a new gig on the high seas. He’s the chief meteorologist for Royal Caribbean Cruises – the cruise industry’s first such position.
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Orlando’s massive TV tower came crashing down in 1973
The Bithlo TV tower was called the tallest structure on the planet at one point. But as workers were preparing to install an an antenna for educational station WMFE-Channel 24 on June 8, 1973, the tower collapsed into a massive pile of steel and wires. A structural failure was cited as the cause.
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Orlando’s first TV signal broadcast 63 years ago
It was at 11:16 p.m. on Friday, June 4, that Channel 6 turned on its transmitter for the first time and sent out its first broadcast, a test pattern. The signal came from an 80-foot antenna atop the station’s new 500-foot tower on Texas Avenue, just north of West Colonial Drive.
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‘Batman’ Adam West dies at 88, had huge impact on ABC, WFTV-Channel 9
Adam West, the caped crusader “Batman” who helped change the ratings fortunes of ABC and WFTV-Channel 9 in the mid-1960s, died Friday night at age 88. West is best known as TV’s “Batman,” and the show’s three-season run made a huge impact across the nation and here in Central Florida on Channel 9
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The man who helped Channel 9 launch ‘Central Florida News’
When Channel 9 went on the air in February 1958 as WLOF-TV, it took about a year and half to launch a regular evening and late-night newscast. That finally happened on Monday, Sept. 7, 1959, when the station began an ambitious program called “Central Florida News.”
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It’s Eyewitness News, from 36 years ago
Another blast from the past. A full-length Channel 9 Eyewitness News from May 29, 1981 featuring Bob Jordan, Carole Nelson, weatherman Danny Treanor and sportscaster Mike Storms
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Christmas in May? Cool off with this classic clip
More and more old Orlando TV tapes are showing up on YouTube, which is great for someone who loves history. This one arrived recently — it’s a clip from “Santa’s Toy Shop,” WFTV’s Christmas special in 1965, which poster Jason Ivey says ran live for six weeks on Channel 9….
WFTV dropping weather channel for MegaTV
If you’re like me, and find yourself tuning into Severe Weather Center 9 on Channel 9.2 during thunderstorms or bad weather, you’re going to be disappointed in this news. WFTV is removing the 24-hour radar and weather service from its digital subchannel, and replacing it with new Spanish-language channel MegaTV….