It seems hard to believe now, but for 11 years, (1967-77), Chattanooga viewers watched a 20-hour annual telethon (from 11:00 p.m. Saturday to around 6:30 p.m. Sunday) for the March of Dimes. Broadcast live from first the Tivoli Theater, and later the Memorial Auditorium, the stage was filled with celebrities, and the technical gear was operated by crews from all three local TV stations. Yes, once a year, competition was put aside for a common goal: the battle against birth defects, led locally by Dr. Walter Boehm.
The March of Dimes “Telerama” was held each January, hosted by Roy Morris from 1967 through 1974. Roy was a popular TV personality who also acted and sang in Little Theater productions, so he was quite capable of filling time during a 20-hour live TV show. Channel 3 televised the event from 1967 to 1973. Roy hosted the ’74 Telerama for Channel 9. That station continued the tradition for three more years, with Jackie Schulten and Wayne Hannah hosting in 1975, and the news team of Bob Johnson, Darrell Patterson and Don Welch among the emcees in 1976 and 1977.
Similar March of Dimes telethons were done by stations nationwide beginning in the early 1960s, all following the same format. Local singers and bands were recruited to perform, because, well, 20 hours is a lot of time to fill. National celebrities provided some star power. With only three major networks at the time, there weren’t many stars to go around, but a surprising number spent many January weekends on the road. James Arness and Dennis Weaver from “Gunsmoke,” Fess Parker and Ed Ames from “Daniel Boone,” and Max Baer and Irene Ryan from “The Beverly Hillbillies” made the rounds from Pittsburgh, to Charlotte, to Knoxville, Seattle and beyond to help the March of Dimes. Some, like Weaver, Parker, and Ames, could sing or play a guitar on the shows. Others would simply appear on stage, joke around with the hosts, and help answer the phones. Fans who attended the shows often got autographs from the Hollywood stars.
I may have made my first TV appearance on a Telerama. The producers would ask local radio deejays to man the pledge table, reading the challenges that had been phoned in. This was a thrill for me, then a teenage disc jockey. When hosts Bob, Darrell and Don took a wee-hours break, someone signaled for me to go on stage and introduce a local singing group. Sure, it was 3:30 a.m., but I was on TV! A couple of hours later, the big three re-emerged, and I slithered back into obscurity.
During all those January weekends, we welcomed some big-name talent into Chattanooga. Michael Landon, the most popular star of TV’s number-one show set the standard in 1967. “Bonanza” was riding high in the ratings, and everybody loved “Little Joe.”
Michael Landon at a March of Dimes Telerama
Landon was on-camera frequently during those 20 hours, posing for pictures, signing autographs, and making a tearful (and effective) plea for viewers to donate.
Each year, we would anxiously await the announcement of the next Telerama stars. The Chattanooga producers tried to top themselves each year. In 1968, Leonard Nimoy came to town. That was a bit of a letdown after Michael Landon the year before. It sounds strange now, but “Star Trek” wasn’t that popular when it first aired, so an appearance by “Mr. Spock” didn’t create as much excitement as you would think. Sharing the bill with Nimoy that year were “The Virginian” star James Drury, “King of the Road” singer Roger Miller, and country comedian Minnie Pearl, so collectively there were plenty of stars.
1972 March of Dimes Telerama, with Roy Morris and Richard Dawson standing, and Don Galloway (“Ironside” and Jon Hager of “Hee Haw” kneeling to the right.
In the years to come, there were more western stars (David Canary of “Bonanza” and actors from “High Chaparral”), “Hee Haw” stars Roy Clark, Gunilla Hutton, Roni Stoneman and the Hagers, “Laugh-In” cast member Richard Dawson, Peter Marshall of “Hollywood Squares,” husband and wife team Gary Collins and Mary Ann Mobley, Anson Williams of “Happy Days”, singer Crystal Gayle, and surprise guests like Lee Majors (“The Six Million Dollar Man”) and singer Tiny Tim.
Few visiting stars were more popular than Elly May Clampett herself, Donna Douglas, who visited in 1974. “The Beverly Hillbillies” had ended its network run a few years earlier, but it was still popular in reruns. She happily accepted the invitation, as she had done frequently for March of Dimes telethons around the nation. She posed for this photograph:
Shane Hullender and Donna Douglas, 1974
Shane Hullender was two years old, and often attended the Chattanooga telethons. Later in life, he never let his disability keep him down. He was a great co-worker at Channel 3 for many years, and has since worked at Siskin Hospital for Physical Rehabilitation. He is a wonderful friend, and attending his wedding to Allison Hobson in 2012 was a joyful experience. When we learned that Donna Douglas died this week at the age of 82, Shane sent this beautiful photo, which reminded me of his achievements, Donna Douglas’s warm heart, and those unforgettable Telerama days.
Local telethons eventually faded out, giving way to national extravaganzas like Jerry Lewis’s annual Muscular Dystrophy Telethon, which is now also a thing of the past. But for more than a decade, Chattanooga TV viewers were treated to an annual gathering of local and national talent that is still remembered fondly today.
I hope this has brought you some nice memories as well. If you have a Telerama story to tell, please share it in the comments section, or e-mail me at 3dc@epbfi.com
Great article, David. It brought back a lot of memories. I was 12 when the first telethon aired and I remember it quite well as I was a big fan of “Bonanza.”
I attended one telethon and I still have the poster somewhere. The big star that year was Richard Anderson of “The Six Million Dollar Man.” When it was announced on air that Lee Majors was on his way down to join his co-star, my buddies and I headed to the auditorium. The other stars that year were Gary Collins and his wife Mary Ann Mobley. Don Galloway and Elizabeth Bauer from the “Ironside” series were also there.
I could be mistaken, but I believe Tiny Tim was there one year. I recall him being on some local show when someone phoned in and made an unkind comment of some sort in reference to him.
I answered phones when Richard Dawson was there. I was in Bets Sigma Phi.
My sister (Cindy Thompson)was the March of Dimes poster child in 76.
I appeared in Spokane March of Dimes telerama around 1963 telling the Cinderella story spoonerism. Richard Dawson was the host. He wondered how I could talk that way. The handsome prince was the Prandsome Hince. He gave me a hug on stage at 5 in the morning.