This Was Television On July 3
1957: “The boy who invented television” makes his only appearance on it
Philo Farnsworth—whose work developing the “image dissector” vacuum tube and other technologies made all-electronic television possible—made his first and last appearance on a TV program. As a guest on the quiz show I’ve Got A Secret, he was dubbed “Doctor X” and stumped the panel trying to guess his true identity.
For winning the game, Farnsworth received $80 and a pack of cigarettes from sponsor Winston, because 1950s quiz shows, like prisons, operated wholly on a cigarette-based economy. -A.D.
Today’s Birthdays: Andrea Barber, on T.G.I.F.’s wacky-neighbor Mt. Rushmore (36); Thomas Gibson, criminal minder (52); Audra McDonald, private practitioner (42); Olivia Munn, Sorkin must’ve loved her on G4, we guess (32); David Shore, House-builder (53); Kurtwood Smith, Father Foreman (69); Yeardley Smith, star of Herman’s Head and some other Fox show (48); Patrick Wilson, formerly gifted man (39).
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