This first picture below above is from Thanksgiving 1962. Then, as now, the Thanksgiving Day Parade was a mainstay of both CBS and NBC. As now, NBC was the network of the Macy's Parade, with longtime hosts Betty White and Lorne Greene. CBS had the Macy's Parade too, but they also specialized in parades from around the country - the Gimbels' parade in Philadelphia (wonder why TVG gives this big press? It's because their headquarters were in Pennsylvania) and the Hudson's parade in Detroit. The department stores aren't around anymore, but both Philly and Detroit continue to celebrate the day with big parades.
I always preferred the CBS coverage - Macy's was OK, but getting to see Detroit and Philadelphia (and later on Toronto's Santa Claus parade) made the day even bigger. Back in the 60s Captain Kangaroo hosted the overall coverage from New York (William "Cannon" Conrad would perform the same function through much of the 70s), with CBS newsmen and celebrities alternating as hosts in the various cities. Besides, seeing the Detroit parade would be an early tipoff to the weather for that morning's football game.
The next picture, also from 1962, is for the Pat Boone Thansgiving special. Pretty good cast, although Peter, Paul & Mary seem a bit out of place. Or perhaps Pat wasn't as much of a square as people thought. Notice the start time: 4:30 pm (Central time). Doesn't seem likely any more that a network show would come on at that hour, not with the news saturation that local stations have today.
Here's another late afternoon special from 1961, with Al Hirt and a cast of thousands, or at least the popular singer Gordon MacRae, the opera star Patrice Munsel, and dancer Carol Haney. "Home for the Holidays" - then, as now, Thanksgiving was the start of the Christmas season. Notice that these ads prominently boast that the specials are "In Color!"
The holidays are always a time to bring back stars who haven't had regular series for several years. Bonne was one, and the Old Redhead, Arthur Godfrey was another. His 1963 Thanksgiving night special promises "a post-turkey pot of tea." I imagine things were a bit muted that year, since JFK had been buried just three days previous.
Perry Como no longer had a weekly series in 1962, but his Kraft Music Hall appeared several times a year. Since the show was always on Wednesday nights, his November special was always on Thanksgiving Eve. (And that's exactly how it was described - putting Thanksgiving Eve on a par with Christmas Eve.)
Of course, you can't have Thanksgiving without football. Look at how CBS advertises its game between the Colts and Lions in 1965:
I actually remember watching that game (I won't say how old I am now, but I was five back then). The Colts and Lions battled to a 24-24 tie that pleased nobody. Nowadays, I imagine the Lions would be pretty happy with that result. And remember those Seagram's ads that used to appear with every major sporting event? There were three games played that day; in addition to the Colts and Lions, the AFL game on NBC featured the Buffalo Bills and the San Diego Chargers, and ABC's college action was the traditional battle between Oklahoma and Nebraska.
It wasn't just television shows that advertised for Thansgiving - take a look at this ad for General Electric. I wonder how many families took advantage of the free heat 'n' serve baby dish for every baby born on November 28, 1963. (Just think - that baby would be almost 50 today.)
Thanksgiving wasn't only a day, though - traditionally, it was one of the biggest television weeks of the season. Check out the sidebar on the 1965 cover - from football to the Hallmark Hall of Fame, tributes to recently deceased Stan Laurel and Cole Porter, specials starring Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr., a White House tour with Mrs. LBJ, and a James Bond documentary. And this was before VCRs.
And this is just scratching the surface - for example, in 1962 the Bell Telephone Hour had special guest Carl Sandburg, the American poet and Lincoln biographer. It seems to me that there truly was a sense that Thanksgiving was a time for the family to get together, and with a little of something for everyone there was no better way for quality family time than to sit in front of the television. ◙
