TV Yesteryear is reader-supported. When you purchase through links on our site, we earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. Learn more.
January 17th in TV History
Birthdays
 | Betty White | 1922 in Oak Park, IL | - Mary Tyler Moore Show, Golden Girls |
 | Shari Lewis | 1933 in New York City, NY | - Ventriloquist known for her puppet Lamb Chop. |
 | Andy Kaufman | 1949 in New York City, NY | - Taxi, Saturday Night Live |
Deaths
 | Allan Melvin | 2008 in Brentwood, Los Angeles, CA | - Archie Bunker's Place, The Brady Bunch |
TV Episode Debuts
I Love Lucy | "First Stop" | 1955 |
The Phil Silvers Show | "Kids in the Trailer" | 1956 |
The Phil Silvers Show | "Bilko Presents Kay Kendall" | 1958 |
Gunsmoke | "Passive Resistance" | 1959 |
The Rifleman | "Long Trek" | 1961 |
The Dick Van Dyke Show | "Punch Thy Neighbor" | 1962 |
The Twilight Zone | "Valley of the Shadow" | 1963 |
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet | "The Girl at the Ski Lodge" | 1963 |
The Twilight Zone | "The Self-Improvement of Salvadore Ross" | 1964 |
77 Sunset Strip | "Not Such a Simple Knot" | 1964 |
12 O'Clock High | "Underground" | 1966 |
The Andy Griffith Show | "The Legend of Barney Fife" | 1966 |
The Fugitive | "The One That Got Away" | 1967 |
Lost in Space | "The Time Merchant" | 1968 |
The Beverly Hillbillies | "Topless Anyone?" | 1968 |
Star Trek | "The Mark of Gideon" | 1969 |
Doctor Who | "Spearhead from Space, Part Three" | 1970 |
Hogan's Heroes | "The Meister Spy" | 1971 |
Gunsmoke | "Tara" | 1972 |
Cannon | "Death of a Stone Seahorse" | 1973 |
Adam-12 | "Clear with a Civilian (2)" | 1973 |
The Rockford Files | "Sleight of Hand" | 1975 |
The Six Million Dollar Man | "Lost Love" | 1975 |
The Mary Tyler Moore Show | "Once I Had a Secret Love" | 1976 |
Lou Grant | "Hero" | 1978 |
Laverne & Shirley | "The Horse Show" | 1978 |
Three's Company | "The Baby Sitters" | 1978 |
Happy Days | "Joanie's First Kiss" | 1978 |
Mork & Mindy | "Mork Learns to See" | 1980 |
Doctor Who | "Warriors' Gate, Part Three" | 1981 |
Three's Company | "Baby, It's Cold Inside" | 1984 |
The A-Team | "Say It With Bullets" | 1984 |
Happy Days | "The People vs. The Fonz" | 1984 |
Night Court | "Nuts About Harry" | 1985 |
The Cosby Show | "Physician of the Year" | 1985 |
Family Ties | "Philadelphia Story" | 1985 |
The Fall Guy | "Reunion" | 1986 |
Dallas | "The Deadly Game" | 1986 |
227 | "A Matter of Choice" | 1987 |
Family Ties | "The Spirit of Columbus" | 1988 |
Moonlighting | "Shirts and Skins" | 1989 |
Night Court | "Razing Bull" | 1990 |
Murder, She Wrote | "Double Jeopardy" | 1993 |
Murphy Brown | "The Deal of the Art" | 1994 |
