WJZ-TV 13, Baltimore MD Sign-Off 1981

[opheliamoonstone]

she seems almost... human.

[wmbrown6]

Or as of this writing, by 'seanmc31076':

watch?v=OnXcdt9HrtE ('1980 WJZ All Night Movie Intro')

watch?v=65rqE-5LcVU ('1981 WJZ All Night Movie Opening')

watch?v=9dvl5LDTPcI ('1981 WJZ All Night Movie Intro')

By that yardstick, this clip HAD to be December 1979 at the very least.

[Baltimoreman78]

Unless WJZ TV was lazy before the end of 1981, I'm thinking that s the 1979/1980 Logo for ABC

[mksaelens]

@Baltimoreman78

Why would that be lazy?

WJZ was ABC's longest-running affiliate until it was purchased by CBS as part of its merger with Westinghouse in the mid-1990's.

[JesseL85719]

@Baltimoreman78 Which it is. However, an unknown movie (which included the sign-off in the video) was sent about 1981  so that's why you are getting this title.

[EricEbac22]

ddavenport--

Isn't that the truth? All too often, and I'm just as guilty of this as anyone else, we don't take the time to think about some of the precious gifts that God has given us in our lifetime. Perhaps, the greatest gift that we take for granted is our own lives, which some of us have come close to losing so many times.

[garycalgary]

who would have known that woman would be a billionnaire and have a talk show lasting 25 years and her own studio and network!

[JohnK086]

Supposing this is 1981, the date would be Wednesday night/Thursday morning, December 30 & 31. Also, sign-off slides tended to keep for more than one season, as do many test graphics these days.

[fbebeats]

The music in the beginning reminds me of "Rock the Boat" by Hughes Corporation

[tigahwood]

God obviously didn't give Richard Sher as much as Oprah!

[chipdrusano]

I believe this was December 1979,because the WJZ-13 abc logo is from the 1979-80 season.

[wmbrown6]

@chipdrusano - Possible.  WJZ's ID slides looked quite different in 1981; 'rsm31076' put up a few examples:

watch?v=imOCh-j8rHw

watch?v=HRAOHXU9WaU

watch?v=Z_rWJxYJhes

[Airsoftcleaner]

I'm a native Baltimorian and I remember this

[Tomsonic41]

So they just cut off the transmitter as soon as the National Anthem was over? I thought that was just for effect in the movie Poltergeist...

[zefallafez]

@Tomsonic41 TV signoffs were real and for an insomniac like me were dreaded. All stations were usually off the air by one or two o'clock. I grew up in between Baltimore and Washington and we were able to pick up stations from both cities. WTTG channel 5, a Metromedia owned station at the time, was the last to go of the air. It ran Perry Mason from 1 am to 2 am and that was it for the weekdays. During the weekdays the some UHF stations would run late night features. Ghost Host & Creature Feature

[chiefbeefofficer]

@zefallafez

Yep, and before that The Odd Couple. Those were the days!!

[fbebeats]

@Tomsonic41 Some networks cut the signal; others go to the test pattern.

[timdiggerm]

Oh my. They are still writing "13" with the same font. Wowie Zowie

[BetamaxBabe]

Man, I remember those "inspirationals"' from very early on. I miss how stations used to sign-off.

[manyvideoinerests]

That Opra? It sounds like her.

[blahblah0614]

yup, it's Oprah Winfrey

[djwash5]

Channel 13's ''Group W" font is Anklepants.

[nikkiabi]

Imagine then, if she knew the star she would be now.

I don't even notice a difference in accents. Though I'm Canadian - from Toronto, I don't notice a change in accents from Richard Sher and Oprah.

[bodybager]

Crap ends and signoff begins at 4:40 into this vid.

[Hanssen69]

Man that takes me back and I live in Maryland. I met Richard Sher, nice guy. He recently retired.

[j0ckfeet]

Oprah just bought a huge condo in Baltimore's Ritz Carlton complex I read & was just back east not long ago for a Richard Sher Awards thing. It was a surprise visit, only Sher knew she was coming. I should post the video, it's hysterical & full of dark humor unlike anything you'd expect them. Rumor has it she might even move back here from Chicago. The previous time that Oprah visited the area, she visited WJZ, but NOT WBAL, the station that carries her show in Baltimore, go figure! LOL

[faceswithin]

she has come a long way hasn't she

[robbins1980]

I dont think any station signs off anymore

[Hanssen69]

Thats true. They sign off with those infomercials.

[mileydestinyhannahc]

i live in baltimore and my aunt taped all of those shows and makes me watch them everyday ....she loves oprah

[SuperGoldfish1999]

Baltimore is just like Philadelphia but smaller and minus the "fughettaboutit" bullshit. People in Baltimore speak with thick Canadian accents.

[Macduck92]

didn't know People in Baltimore talked with Canadian Accents eh!

And If you think about it both of or Baseball Teams (Toronto and Baltimore) have there Teams named after Birds

[SuperGoldfish1999]

People in Baltimore speak with the same accent that they do in Michigan basically, so yeah people in Baltimore do have Canadian accents more or less

[copyhut]

That's simply not true. Baltimore dialects are of the Mid-Atlantic variety. It's not even close to Canadian. Similar to Southeastern Pennsylvania dialects, but still distinct. Oprah was from Mississippi, and Richard Sher is educated and speaks standard American English. Check out Marty Bass, another long-time WJZ anchor.

[SuperGoldfish1999]

i GAHT TA perk da cer in da yerd root new der guy, EHH???????? = Baltimore accent

[Macduck92]

Yeah thats pretty much close to a Canadian Accent

[tigahwood]

@SuperGoldfish1999 day took er jobs

[hankaaron1961]

I didn't realize Oprah was that fine back then.

[ctreid89]

Opera dont cum 2 baltimore anymore i havent seen her

[ctreid89]

WOOOOOOOOOW a broke Opera

[bubblinbrownsugar616]

WOW!!! Richard Sher and his Hair!!! LOLOL!!!

[wmbrown6]

WJZ's test pattern was exactly the same design as was used by KYW-TV in Philadelphia, the only differences being: a) the call letters, set in the font that was approximated for Anklepants, was directly above the city/state of license in the inner lower left quad, and b) no '13 in a 13 in a 13'.

[towmangmc]

Richard has as big a 'fro as Oprah

[Hanssen69]

Man I remember Dialing For Dollars. Richard Sher retired last year in November.

[donjabroni]

I'm from the DC area but I do remember channel 13 when it was an ABC channel.

The reason why 13 switch to CBS because if I'm correct 13 was own by Westinghouse and Westinghouse had all of their stations switch to CBS. Originally WBAL 11 was CBS

[bigvoice313]

You are so right on that one.

[johnissoevil]

Yep. And nowadays, the Westinghouse stations are CBS owned and operated. Only two of those stations (this and KPIX) still have the Westinghouse look, the other three sold out to the "CBS Mandate."

[mzsrk]

back when oprah was tolerable. . . and almost thin

[steveandrews1982]

richards afro is bigger then oprahs. lol

[turnertalking]

Where is the one sign off where the guy says "and touch the face of a God."

[maximushuts]

Not many could rock the Jewfro like Richard Sher back in the day.

[jojo123prettygirl]

she never and talks about baltimore but she never say anything about it

[SWBBC]

I used to watch it up till the bitter end. Then, after all the Baltimore stations went off the air, I could start picking up Channel 10 and 3 in Philly, and Channel 12 in Richmond. For some reason this was mostly on Sunday nights.

[tomtrh]

Who's that woman with Richard Sher? lol :p

[wmbrown6]

Three guesses (the first two don't count).

[steveandrews1982]

thats oprah bitch!

[brerbunny7]

Dear signoffsguy,I really love your work. I have a bunch of your videos recorded onto an audio cassette and I love to play them in my car. Keep up the good work,buddy. I especially enjoyed your Nick at Nite feed from New Year's day in 1990. Man,I remember when it originally aired. All the great shows back then. Now Nick is just another channel. TV was so much better back in the 80s. I'm only 30,but I might as well be 100. The only channel I watch regularly is TV Land. Thanks. Bye.

[TEMPmichaelhansen]

WOW I LIKE THE SOUND FIDELITY!!!

[angelapleasant2007]

The ABC Affiliate goes to WMAR-TV

[Nadav34]

when did channel 13 decide not to do sign offs at the end of the day?? When did all this take place? I have noticed on tv now, there are virtually no more sign offs.

[guiansuborna]

OK for Late Night Show & American National Anthem before signing off.....

they're like my schoolmate gurl........

[angelapleasant2009]

In the Sign Off Clip, WJZ-TV Is an ABC Affiliate

[daddy2km]

Trivia Question for everyone...

What was the name of the woman who replaced Oprah on "People are Talking"? Hint.. her initials were B.B.

[grannie530]

Beverly Burke or Beverly Berkley or something?

[mrljk]

Beverly Burke??

[mike8610]

richard sher is still with wjz and still reports

[AmbientMusic]

Those people are not human! How can they live forever? Zombie News Reporters!

[lae2k]

I grew up watching WJZ and Oprah. I often wanted to ask her if she knew what happened to Richard Sher..

[wmbrown6]

Last I heard, Mr. Sher was still with WJZ.

[beatyourfacecrew]

I love the final sign off... static! I can't believe they actually stopped transmitting completely!

[bbinenstock]

Love the "Inspiration for Living"!

[MegaJoy007]

Those were the good old day---I would not listen to any other station--WJZ Oprah was great--I knew she was headed for bigger and better things

[grannie530]

Man remember back in the day when the broadcast day actually ENDED?! There was no 24 hour programming or infomercials. What a wonderful time.

[AmbientMusic]

Sucked to be a night owl back then. That's why I made my parents get me cable! LoL! Fuck Oprah!

[Nadav34]

well, maybe there is some hope to bring back sign offs, because a lot of the american public is NOT HAPPY with infomercials since they are facing multiple lawsuits. I can only pray the day will come again when sign offs will take place once again! Personally, I'd rather be asleep at 1am-2am rather than watch some stupid infomerical.

[nickelwindow53]

@grannie530 No that is terrible! What would you have to watch then?!?!

[AgdrAgon999]

@grannie530 - I often find myself making the mental distinction between change and progress and after pondering it for quite a while now I don't think that we've progressed very far because of having extended the television viewing day to a full 24 hours. Perhaps quite the opposite.

[12301986]

WJZ, the greatest station in Baltimore.

[glenbw]

Oprah's cool Afro hairstyle!

[ddavenport]

Moral of the story: Do not take any of God's gifts for granted.

[thesailormercury1]

@ddavenport ya what god

[patmix]

wow thanx for this vintage singoffsguy

[Squirrel3D]

Do you have the 13 late night movie opening?

[Nadav34]

WHY ON EARTH did they STOP THIS?? And when, and under whose authority?? I liked the late shows. BRING THEM BACK! screw infomericals!

[Tkreft1128]

Man. Oprah ditched Richard. Screw Oprah, hahaha.

[LeroyBright]

That wideo brought back late-night meoories from my Hometown(Baltimore,MD)TV station!

[thaxdouglas]

"what God didn't give you may be the greatest gift of all!"

[bigken6005]

Ever notice WJZ didn't say they were an ABC station or even acknowledge that in anything even before the 1995 network affiliate switch.

[wmbrown6]

The only hint that WJZ was an ABC affiliate here, was that diagonal stripe and circular cutout on the I.D. slide, as in use then by ABC. One question I have here: Who was the announcer on duty that night?

[cracks21229]

Ha! They actually used to sign off. Late at night, mostly on Sunday's, after all Baltimore stations signed off,I could pick up weak signals from Channel 10 and 3 in Philadelphia, and Channel 12, I believe, in Richmond, VA.

[breeinmd]

People are Talking rocked. I loved that show.

[LeroyBright]

I will say one thing, It's hard to imagine one co-host(Richard Sher) is still with the station after all these years(since at that time, Dec. 1981), Reporter for the famed "Eyewitness News".

[CajunGypsy]

Wow! I hadn't known Oprah worked in Balmer TV in her early days. Thanks!

[SterlingSolomon]

Yea, she did Dialing For Dollars. That's what I always rembered her for.

[Squirrel3D]

I really love these old school clips of Baltimore TV stations. This was before I was born (in 1982). It's scary that Oprah became what she is now, compared to back then in this video.

[gurney71]

The year is 1979!

[eximod]

OMG! I remember that Navy band footage from a sign off in Salt Lake City. Don't recall if it was KSL, KCPX, or KUTV. I love these sign offs! I visited your website when I was on dialup and watched as many as I could. Thanks for posting them here!

[NEPatriot]

It's just the quality of the film that aired--rather beat up and with a good amount of hiss in the audio. Wonder if WJZ-TV dubbed it onto that videotape thing--lol! Anyhow, during a bit of DXing in 1990, I saw 'JZ's sister Westinghouse station KYW-TV in Philly sign-off using that same film.

[wmbrown6]

And until the "Moog SSB" came along, WABC-TV, Ch. 7 in New York also used this "Navy SSB" film. (So, I.I.N.M., did WXTV/Ch. 41.)

[Tuberboy104]

If I am not mistaking, did'nt WABC TV briefly use

the same SSB as Ch 9 WOR TV with a woman signing the SSB?

[facepuke]

Couple things I noticed:

1. Why would anyone want to pay people to go to your house to watch TV?

2. Is it just me, or is the conductor of the Navy band out of sync with the music?

[facepuke]

What's that stop smoking method? I sure could use one right now lol

[goriajk]

It was called "SmokeEnders" (like your current Lindora for weight loss) and they took big ads in TV Guide (I have tons of TV Guides from the late 70's and early 80's with SmokeEnders in Los Angeles-Orange Co.) fyi. Joe

[richmjr67]

never worked for my gf

[SterlingSolomon]

It's called over taxation.

[Speed8178]

You, my friend, are a great asset to the net. I, myself, love these old school clips...especially the news intro instrumentals like the Action News 11 (WBAL Baltimore) song "We'll Take You There".

Thanks for the upload.

[Nadav34]

is it possible for the Baltimorians to petition to bring back the sign-offs?? I think informericals and 24/7 television is a waste of time and money, esp since most baltimorians are asleep at 1am.

[LeroyBright]

I'd like to think that the individual TV Stations, Big 3 (CBS,NBC And ABC)Networks all-night newscasts, and especially the FCC are responsible for all this. There seems to be no sanctity in the television field anymore.

[lifesaver72]

I'm with you on that one.  I'm from Baltimore and as crazy as it sounds, I loved the sign-offs. This clip really brought back memories. If someone starts a petition, I will sign it.

[brerbunny7]

Well,I'm not from Baltimore,but I am a child of the 80s. I remember sign-offs,and I love them. It hearkens back to a simpler time in TV history. One that is sorely missed by folks like you and me in this day of 24/7 TV and infomercials. In fact,I actually have this clip recorded onto an audio cassette and play it every now & again. Yeah,I miss the sign-offs with the national anthem. We don't need infomercials. I'm 30 years old and everything now sucks. I hearken for an earlier time. Thank you.