November 10, 1963: "That Was the Week That Was" Premieres In America

David Frost is 3rd from the right.

November 10, 1963: An American version of the British comedy TV show That Was the Week That Was premieres on NBC. It is a hit, briefly, and inspires several later TV shows.

"TW3" was is a satirical television comedy program (or "programme," as it would be "spelt" in Britain), created by British comedy legend Johnny Speight, that aired on BBC Television from November 24, 1962 to December 28, 1963. David Frost was the host. It is considered a significant element of the satire boom in Britain in the early 1960s, as it broke ground in comedy by lampooning political figures.

Its success led to a U.S. version, also hosted by Frost, supported by Henry Morgan, Buck Henry, Tom Bosley and Alan Alda, the latter two then known as Broadway performers, not yet as TV superstars. Nancy Adams sang the opening news-satire song. Regularly contributing writers included Gloria Steinem, Tom Lehrer and Calvin Trillin. The pilot's guests were Henry Fonda and the comedy team of Mike Nichols and Elaine May.

It ran until May 4, 1965. My parents, who had recently started dating, were big fans. The show helped inspire such shows as Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, Monty Python's Flying Circus, Saturday Night Live, and any show inspired by those.

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November 10, 1963 was a Sunday. There were 2 games in the NHL that day. The Detroit Red Wings beat the Montreal Canadiens, 3-0 at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit. Gordie Howe of the Red Wings scored his 545th career goal, making him the NHL's all-time leader. I have a separate entry for that event. And the Boston Bruins beat the Chicago Black Hawks, 4-2 at the Boston Garden. The New York Rangers and the Toronto Maple Leafs were not scheduled.

Only 1 game was played in the NBA: The Los Angeles Lakers beat the New York Knicks, 104-79 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena. Len Chappell scored 23 for the Knicks, and Johnny Green 22, but no other Knick got into double figures. In contrast, Elgin Baylor led the Lakers with 21, but all 5 starters had at least 11.

There were 7 games in the NFL:

* The New York Giants beat their arch-rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles, 42-14 at Yankee Stadium.

* The Baltimore Colts beat the Detroit Lions, 24-21 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore.

* The Pittsburgh Steelers beat their arch-rivals, the Cleveland Browns, 9-7 at Pitt Stadium in Pittsburgh.

* The Chicago Bears beat the Los Angeles Rams, 6-0 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The Green Bay Packers beat the Minnesota Vikings, 28-7 at the new Green Bay City Stadium. It was renamed Lambeau Field 2 years later.

* The NFL version of the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Washington Redskins, 24-20 at the 1st Busch Stadium in St. Louis. It was previously the last Sportsman's Park.

* And the San Francisco 49ers beat the Dallas Cowboys, 31-24 at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco.

There were 2 games played in the American Football League. The New York Jets lost to the Houston Oilers, 31-27 at Jeppesen Stadium in Houston. And the San Diego Chargers beat the Boston Patriots, 7-6 at Fenway Park in Boston. The AFL Championship Game would also be a San Diego win over Boston, but by a considerably larger margin.

And Mike Powell, the world record holder in the long jump, was born on this day.