WLS Channel 7 - Eyewitness News at 10pm - "Christmas Day '83" (Complete Broadcast, 12/25/1983) 📺 🎄 🎁

Here's a late Christmas Day edition of WLS Channel 7's Eyewitness News with Mary Ann Childers and Jim Gibbons. (previous to this we also saw the 12/24/83 10pm Eyewitness News, posted here:    • WLS Channel 7 - Eyewitness News at 10...  )

Includes:

Most of ending ABC Sunday Night Movie bumper

Peter Jennings wishes holiday greetings on behalf of ABC News

Preview of coming edition

Commercials for:

Top Job cleaner

Commonwealth Edison - with Building Trades Council president Tom Nayder

Station ID segueing into newscast open and intro

Top stories:

- Christmas Day temps bottom out at -17 degrees (and -40 wind chill), with Loop parking attendants among those getting worst of it; kids and parents at Daley Plaza looking at ice sculptures

- Record low temps even affect Texas and Florida; a stretch of I-65 in Northern Indiana still closed

- Alan Krashesky promising relief from bitter cold, which saw this the coldest Christmas ever

- Jesse Jackson to travel to Syria to try to secure release of American, Lt. Robert Goodman, held in that country

- Artillery and rocket fire in southern suburb of Beirut leaves at least 18 dead; Bob Hope was leaving Marine base while this happened

- Bethlehem Christmas celebrations with fewer pilgrims due to heavy security

- President Reagan has turkey dinner at White House with family

Commercials for:

Duncan Hines High Risin' Cake

Solo heavy duty laundry detergent

The Gallant Men of Olds (voiceover by Ken Nordine)

News resumes:

- O'Hare bogged by flight delays and cancellations

- Tim Ryan reports on 180 people stranded at airport when they should have been already in Hawaii (where they finally arrived two hours before newscast)

- 900 AT&T operators fielding calls from millions calling across country; scenes at office at 212 W. Washington shown

Commercials for:

J.B. Robinson Jewelers

Toyota Year-End Dividend

Red Lobster - "10 Minute On-Time Lunch"

ColecoVision - "Sorry, Atari..." (different version of the ad posted here:    • The Loop FM 98 - "Lorelei Exercising"...  )

Back to news:

- In St. Peter's Square, Pope John Paul II gives Christmas message and greetings in 43 different languages

- Salvation Army gives over 2,000 Christmas meals to hungry and needy

- ABC's Joe Spencer reports on Cedar Springs, MI's prosperous Christmas due to high sales of long johns made at Red Flannel factory; general manager Michael Huckleberry and various workers are interviewed

Commercials for:

Handy Size Duraflame

Chicagoland/Northwestern Indiana Pontiac Dealers - Front Wheel Drive Specials

Alpo Liv-a-Snaps - "Season's Treatings"

Osco Photo Express

Alan returns with weather forecast

Commercials for:

Al Piemonte Ford

Streetware Clothing - at the Suitery

The Loop FM 98 - with Lorelei Exercising (posted separately here:    • The Loop FM 98 - "Lorelei Exercising"...  )

Celozzi-Ettelson Chevrolet - test drive an '84 Cavalier

Jim Rose with sports:

- In NCAA Semi-Final rematch, Houston beats Louisville

- Knicks beat Nets in overtime, followed by other NBA scores

- Preview of NFC Wild Card game, Dallas Cowboys vs. Los Angeles Rams at Texas Stadium

- In college football, South beats North in 46th annual Blue-Gray Classic

Mary Ann introduces clip of examples of Christmas spirit with area families [music had to be degraded to avoid YouTube blocking], before she and Jim close newscast with wishes and upcoming ABC News Weekend Report

Promo for "The Olympiad," later tonight (voiceover by Gary Gears?)

Commercials for:

Schaumburg Roselle AMC/Jeep/Renault

(incomplete) True Value Hardware Stores sale on Master Mechanic tools (voiceover by Pat Summerall) (recording ends midway)

This aired on local Chicago TV on Sunday, December 25th 1983 during the 9:58pm to 10:29pm timeframe.

About The Museum of Classic Chicago Television:

The MCCTv (FuzzyMemoriesTV) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit whose primary mission is the preservation and display of off-air, early home videotape recordings (70s to early 80s, mostly) recorded off of TV (in Chicago or other cities now too); things which would likely be lost if not sought out and preserved digitally. If you have any old 1970s videotapes recorded off of TV please email: [email protected] Even though (mostly) short clips are displayed here, we preserve the entire broadcasts in our archives - the complete programs with breaks (or however much is present on the tape), for historical preservation. For information on how to help in our mission, to donate or lend tapes to be converted to DVD, please e-mail [email protected] Thank you for your help!