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Tv History, Birthdays and Viewing Choices For The Week

© F. Colin Kingston

THIS WEEK IN TV HISTORY: REAL PEOPLE premieres on NBC on April 18, 1979. Produced by LAUGH-IN producer George Schlater, this magazine style series helped launch the ³reality based² programming frenzy. Patterned after a traditional newsmagazine series, this show focused on the fact that many Americans ³march to the beat of their own drum.² The series spotlighted extrordinary achievements, crazy inventions etc. Among the hosts were Byron Allen, John Barbour, Fred Willard and Sarah Purcell.

CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS: Here is a listing of the tv-related celebrity birthdays for the week:

Friday, April 16th Martin Lawrence, 34, MARTIN Jay O. Sanders, 78, CRIME STORY

Saturday, April 17th Norman ³Boomer² Esiason, 38, MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL Don Kirshner, 65 DON KIRSHNER¹S ROCK CONCERT

Sunday, April 18th Melissa Joan Hart, 23, SABRINA: THE TEENAGE WITCH John James, 43, DYNASTY Jane Leeves, 38, FRASIER Dorothy Lyman, 52, MAMA¹S FAMILY

Monday, April 19th Don Adams, 72, GET SMART Elinor Donahue, 62, FATHER KNOWS BEST Hugh O¹Brian, 69, WYATT EARP

Tuesday, April 20th Carmen Electra, 26, HYPERION BAY Joey Lawrence, 23, BLOSSOM RYAN O¹NEAL, 58, PEYTON PLACE

Wednesday, April 21st Tony Danza, 48, TAXI Charles Grodin, 64, THE CHARLES GRODIN SHOW Patti LuPone, 50, LIFE GOES ON

Thursday, April 22nd

Eddie Albert, 91, GREEN ACRES Byron Allen, 38, REAL PEOPLE Glen Campbell, 64, THE GLEN CAMPBELL GOODTIME HOUR Charlotte Rae, 73, FACTS OF LIFE Aaron Spelling, 71, Producer, MELROSE PLACE, 7TH HEAVEN

Here are my television viewing recommendations for the week:

Friday, April 16th BOY MEETS WORLD, ABC, 8:30 - 9:00 p.m., PST Fred Savage (Kevin from THE WONDER YEARS) guests on his brother Ben¹s show. He plays a young college professor who makes an unwanted move on Topanga.

BIONIC SHOWDOWN, Fox Family Channel, 9:00 - 11:00 p.m., PST Before she became a big film star, Sandra Bullock guest starred in this tv-movie which reunited THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN (Lee Majors) with THE BIONIC WOMAN (Lindsey Wagner).

Saturday, April 17th EARLY EDITION, CBS, 8:00 - 9:00 p.m., PST Versatile film and television star Red Buttons guest stars as a man who may be killed unless Gary and his friends can save him.

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, NBC, 11:30 p.m. - 1:00 a.m., PST Jennifer Love Hewitt (PARTY OF FIVE) is the guest host.

Sunday, April 18th WONDERFUL WORLD OF DISNEY, ABC, 7:00 - 9:00 p.m., PST Jeff Daniels stars in FLY AWAY HOME, a heartwarming film about a father and daughter and the flock of geese that help bring them together. Worth watching with the entire family.

TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL, CBS, 8:00 - 9:00 p.m., PST Former teen heartthrob Joey Lawrence (BLOSSOM) guest stars as a young man suspected of armed robbery.

Monday, August 19th

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