• Music of 1959
• Radio in 1959
• TV in 1959
• Movies of 1959
• Books of 1959
• Postwar Cars
• Vietnam in 1959
• 1959 Memorabilia

Barbie Doll

Fidel Castro

(interpreted)

• Civil War in Congo
• World population reaches 3 billion
• Fidel Castro becomes President of Cuba
• Cyprus gains independence from Britain; Archbishop Makarios becomes President
• The Dalai Lama flees to India after China crushes an uprising in Tibet.
• Lee Kuan Yew becomes Prime Minister of Singapore.
• Bob Heffron becomes Premier of NSW
• Lunik 1, 11 & 111 (Russian Moon probes take photos of back of Moon)
• Fuel cell invented
• Richard and Mary Leakey discover an Australopithecus skull in Africa.
• First Morris Mini car
• "Payola" scandal (US DJs accused of accepting bribes to play records) 
• Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and the Big Bopper killed in a plane crash
• Barbie doll introduced
• Alaska & Hawaii become States of USA
• Australian population reaches 10 million
• Sydney Opera House commenced (opened 1973)
• Qantas Empire Airways introduce Boeing 707 service
• "Princess of Tasmania" make first passenger/vehicle ferry trip to Tasmania
• "The Sound of Music" opens on Broadway
• "My Fair Lady" plays in Australia

The "Payola" Scandal
The emergence of quality recordings and "Top 40" music radio in the late 1950s changed the revenue stream of the music industry. Previously, the bulk of their revenue had come from jukebox sales.
As rock & roll emerged, radio disc jockeys chose the records that they would play. This influenced record sales and upset the record companies who lost control over what was sold. The record companies reacted by accusing the disc jockeys of accepting "payola" to play particular records.
The disc jockeys who had been the early supporters of rock & roll, such as Alan Freed and Dick Clark, were caught up in the scandal.
The radio industry reacted by not allowing disc jockeys to select the records that they played - giving them playlists instead.

Mini Minor

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The Music of 1959

• Dream Lover (Bobby Darin)
• Mack the Knife (Bobby Darin)
• Living Doll (Cliff Richard)
• Travellin' Light (Cliff Richard)
• Venus (Frankie Avalon)
• The Three Bells (Browns)
• Heartaches by the Number (Guy Mitchell)
• The Battle of New Orleans (Johnny Horton)
• Chipmunk Song (Chipmunks)
• Smoke Gets in Your Eyes (Platters)
• It Doesn't Matter Anymore (Buddy Holly)
• Shout (Johnny O'Keefe)
• Birddog (Everly Brothers)
• Sleep Walk (Santo & Johnny)
• Milord (Edith Piaf)

Australian Radio in 1959

• Australia's Amateur Hour (1940-60)
• The Children's Hour - Argonauts' Club (1941-69)
• Tarzan (1940s & 50s)
• The Quiz Kids (1942-early 60s)
• The Air Adventures of Biggles(1945-60s)
• When a Girl Marries (1946-65)
• Pick-a-Box (1948-71)
• Blue Hills (1948-76)
• Dr Paul (!949-71)
• Superman (late 1940s-late 50s)
• The Goons (1951-60)
• Portia Faces Life (1952-70)
• Life with Dexter (1953-64)
• Eric Baume's This I Believe (1953-67)
• Keith Smith's Pied Piper (1954-60s)
• The Air Adventures of Hop Harrigan (1955-60)
• The Children's Hour - The Muddleheaded Wombat (1957-71)

Television in 1959

The Lone Ranger	1949-61	cast
The Nelsons	1952-66	cast
The Loretta Young Show	1953-60
Father Knows Best	1954-63	cast
Lassie	1954-72
The Mickey Mouse Club	1955-59	cast
The Phil Silvers Show (Sgt Bilko)	1955-59	cast
The Adventures of Robin Hood	1955-59	cast
The Life & Legend of Wyatt Earp	1955-60	cast
Cheyenne	1955-62	cast
Gunsmoke	1955-75	cast
Sea Hunt	1957-60	cast
Hancock's Half Hour	1956-61 & 63	cast
Bachelor Father	1957-61	cast
Sugarfoot	1957-61	cast
Maverick	1957-62	cast
Leave It to Beaver	1957-62	cast
The Real McCoys	1957-62	cast
Have Gun Will Travel	1957-63	cast
Wagon Train	1957-61 & 63	cast
Perry Mason	1957-65	cast
Pick-a-Box	1957-71
(Australian) Bandstand	1957-72
Desilu Playhouse	1958-59
Peter Gunn	1958-60	cast
Yogi Bear	1958-62	cast
Huckleberry Hound	1958-62	cast
Naked City	1958-62
77 Sunset Strip	1958-63	cast
The Rifleman	1958-63	cast
Rawhide	1958-66	cast
The Black & White Minstrel Show	1958-78
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis	1959-62	cast
Laramie	1959-62
Six O'Clock Rock	1959-62
Dennis the Menace	1959-63	cast
The Untouchables	1959-63	cast
Dr Finlay's Casebook	1959-65
Alfred Hitchcock Presents	1959-65
Bonanza	1959-71	cast

Movies in 1959

Title	Cast	Academy Awards	Buy
Ben Hur directed by William Wyler	Charlton Heston Jack Hawkins Stephen Boyd Haya Harareet Hugh Griffith Martha Scott	Best Picture Best Actor Best Supporting Actor Best Director Best Art & Set Design Best Cinematography Best Costume Design Best Editing Best Score Best Sound Best Special Effects
Breathless directed by Jean-Luc Goddard	Jean Seberg Jean-Paul Belmondo
The 400 Blows	Patrick Auffay
Hiroshima Mon Amor directed by Alain Resnais	Emmanuelle Riva Eiji Okada Bernard Fresson
I'm All Right, Jack directed by John Boulting Roy Boulting	Peter Sellers Terry Thomas Margaret Rutherford
Journey to the Centre of the Earth directed by Henry Levin	Pat Boone James Mason Arlene Dahl
L'il Abner directed by Melvin Frank	Peter Palmer Leslie Parrish Stubby Kaye Howard St John Julie Newmar
North by Northwest directed by Alfred Hitchcock	Cary Grant Eva Marie Saint James Mason Leo G. Carroll Martin Landau Jessie Royce Landis
Pillow Talk directed by Michael Gordon	Doris Day Rock Hudson Tony Randall Thelma Ritter Nick Adams Julia Meade	Best Screenplay
Porgy & Bess directed by Otto Preminger	Sidney Portier Dorothy Dandridge	Best Score
Psycho directed by Alfred Hitchcock	Anthony Perkins Janet Leigh Vera Miles John Gavin Martin Balsam John McIntyre
Room at the Top directed by Jack Clayton	Laurence Harvey Simone Signoret Heather Sears Hermione Badderley	Best Actress Best Screenplay
Some Like It Hot directed by Billy Wilder	Jack Lemon Tony Curtis Marilyn Monroe	Best Costume Design
Smiley Gets a Gun directed by Anthony Kimmins	Keith Calvert Angela Lansbury Sybil Thorndike Chips Rafferty
Summer of the Seventeenth Doll directed by Leslie Norman	John Mills Angels Lansbury Anne Baxter Ernest Borgnine

Watch a free movie from 1959 now:

• Plan 9 from Outer Space An Ed Wood “classic.” Considered one of the worst films ever made.
• A Bucket of Blood Roger Corman’s classic comedy/horror film set in Bohemian San Francisco. Shot in 5 days for $50,000.
• The Young Land Dennis Hopper stars in a Western
• The Tingler The coroner finds a creature that lives inside every human being, feeds with fear and is controlled by the scream. 
• House on Haunted Hill An atmospheric movie with spooky background music, plenty of cobwebs, ceilings that drip blood and organs that play all by themselves. Stars Vincent Price.

Books of 1959

Title	Author	Buy
Thunderball (a James Bond book)	Ian Fleming
The Naked Lunch	William Burroughs
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner	Alan Sillitoe
The Tin Drum	Gunter Grass
Advise & Consent	Allen Drury
Goodbye Columbus	Phillip Roth
The Devil's Advocate	Morris West

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