We wrap up our look at the Fall 1960 primetime TV schedule with Saturday nights.

Fall 1960 Primetime Television: Saturday
All Times Eastern

ABC
ABC’s Saturday nights in 1960 started off with a new throwback drama series called The Roaring 20s, starring actress-singer Dorothy Provine. Although up against two Top 20 shows (Bonanza, Perry Mason), The Roaring 20s was renewed for a second season.

Season 4 of the classic family comedy Leave It To Beaver aired next, followed by the champagne bubble-infused Lawrence Welk Show. Welk aired on ABC from 1955 to 1971, then ran another 11 years in first-run syndication.

The 10-11PM hour on ABC was an hour of live sports programming. The first 45 minutes served up boxing (The Fight of the Week), while the last 15 minutes offered bowling. The new 15 minute series Make That Spare featured professional bowlers trying to pick up challenging splits and spares.

CBS
Saturday nights were owned by CBS in 1960. The night led off with Season 4 of courtroom drama Perry Mason, which was followed by a new detective series called Checkmate.

Checkmate starred Anthony George (Dark Shadows, One Life to Live), Sebastian Cabot (Family Affair) and Doug McClure (The Virginian). The show finished in the Top 25 in its first season, but that success would be short-lived. CBS moved the show to Wednesdays in 1961, ratings dropped and the show was cancelled after two seasons.

Westerns powered CBS on Saturdays, with two Top 5 shows wrangling up the competition. Season 4 of Richard Boone’s Have Gun-Will Travel (#3) aired at 9:30, followed by the half-hour edition of Gunsmoke (#1) at 10PM. The final half-hour of primetime was programmed locally.

NBC
NBC’s Saturday nights kicked off with a two-hour block of westerns, including Season 2 of Bonanza. A new western aired at 8:30 Eastern. The Tall Man featured Barry Sullivan (who previously starred in 1950s shows The Harbormaster and The Man Called X) as Sheriff Pat Garrett and Clu Callagher (The Virginian) as Billy the Kid.

The National Broadcasting Company’s western block wrapped up with the second and final season of The Deputy, starring film legend Henry Fonda. That was followed by The Nation’s Future, a new debate series tackling such issues as censorship and foreign policy. Like CBS, NBC turned over the 10:30PM half-hour to its affiliates.

Epilogue
CBS dominated Saturday nights in 1950, with all four of its shows in the Top 25 including two Top 5 series. This was the final season of the half-hour version of Gunsmoke, which was the number one show of 1960-61.

NBC’s Top 20 western Bonanza would move to Sundays in 1961. The move paid off, as Bonanza became a bonafide Top 10 hit for the next decade.

We resume our look back at the Fall 1960 primetime TV schedule with Friday nights.

Although not included in our grids, CBS and NBC aired 15 minute national newscasts Monday-Friday from 715-730PM Eastern.

Fall 1960 Primetime Television: Friday
All Times Eastern

ABC
ABC programmed 4 new series on Friday nights in 1960, one of which became a true classic.

Matty’s Sunday Funnies led off the night. As you might guess, this show featured cartoon shorts, including Casper the Friendly Ghost. ABC also aired the show on Sunday afternoons. Another new show followed Sunday Funnies: Harrigan and Son. Film actor Pat O’Brien (Angels with Dirty Faces, Some Like It Hot) starred in this sitcom from Desilu Productions. It was cancelled after a single season.

Up next was another new series called…The Flintstones. This animated sitcom was an instant Top 20 hit and would air for 6 seasons, spawning numerous cartoon sequels and live action movies in the decades to come.

At 9 o’clock Eastern ABC aired another Top 20 show, 77 Sunset Strip. It starred Efrem Zimbalist Jr. and ran for 6 seasons from 1958-64. A year later, Zimbalist would star in The F.B.I. That show was even more successful and aired for 9 seasons.

A pair of half-hour crime dramas rounded out the night: The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor and The Law and Mr. Jones. The Detectives aired on ABC for 2 seasons, then moved to NBC for its final season in 1961-62. The Law and Mr. Jones was a new show that starred James Whitmore. It was cancelled after the season, but brought back for another brief run in the spring of 1962.

CBS
CBS introduced 3 new series on Friday nights, including one certifiable hit.

The Eye network’s schedule kicked off with the Clint Eastwood western Rawhide, a Top 10 show. It was followed by a new series from Naked City creator Stirling Silliphant. Route 66 starred Martin Milner (later of Adam-12) and George Maharis. It became a Top 30 hit and ran for 4 seasons.

The 9:30PM Eastern hammock position featured a new drama called Mr. Garlund. It was quickly cancelled after only 6 episodes.

Season 2 of the classic sci-fi anthology series The Twilight Zone aired at 10PM Fridays. The show had new opening theme music and quite an impressive list of guest stars for its sophomore season. That list included Art Carney, John Carradine, Russell Johnson, William Shatner and Inger Stevens.

CBS wrapped up Friday nights with a new public affairs series called Eyewitness to History. It would go on to run for 3 years. The host of the first season was Charles Kuralt, later known for his On The Road segments and CBS News Sunday Morning hosting duties.

NBC
NBC struggled on most nights in 1960 and Friday was no exception. The National Broadcast Company programmed 3 new shows on Fridays and all 3 flopped.

The night started out with the crime drama Dan Raven. Although it only aired for 13 episodes, it did feature some memorable guest stars like Paul Anka, Buddy Hackett and Gavin MacLeod.

A new western, appropriately called The Westerner, aired at 8:30PM Eastern. The show starred Brian Keith (later in Family Affair) and veteran character actor John Dehner. It was created by Sam Peckinpah, who would go on to produce such classic films as 1969’s The Wild Bunch. The pilot for The Westerner originally aired as an episode of the CBS western anthology series Zane Grey Theater. Unfortunately, The Westerner was sent out to pasture after just 13 episodes.

NBC’s Friday 9-10PM slot offered The Bell Telephone Hour, alternating with specials from NBC News. The Bell Telephone Hour aired for nearly 2 decades on radio before moving to TV. It was a concert series featuring classical and Broadway music. The Bell Telephone Hour was also one of the few shows that aired exclusively in color.

Fridays on NBC concluded with another new entry, Michael Shayne. This series was based on the classic detective character that previously appeared in movies and on radio. Richard Denning of Mr. and Mrs. North fame starred in title role and would later appear as the governor on Hawaii Five-0. Michael Shayne lasted a single season.

Epilogue
Friday nights in 1960 belonged to ABC and CBS, each scoring a pair of Top 30 shows on the night.

Of the 10 new shows airing on Fridays, 2 became certified hits: The Flintstones (ABC) and Route 66 (CBS). All 3 of NBC’s new Friday nights shows were failures, two of them only lasting 13 episodes (Dan Raven, The Westerner).