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Susan King is a Times staff writer

Curious what’s inside a radio and TV museum? Here’s a sampling of the programs that visitors may view and hear at the new Museum of Television & Radio. (A * denotes programs that are among the most popular in the collection.)

RADIO

* “President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s First Fireside Chat” (March 12, 1933): In his first Fireside Chat radio broadcast, FDR reassures the nation about the safety of banks.

“Five Star Theatre: Flywheel, Shyster and Flywheel” (May 15, 1933, NBC Blue): Radio comedy series starring Groucho and Chico Marx.

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“The Fleischmann’s Yeast Hour” (June 18, 1936, NBC): Rudy Vallee is the host of this radio variety series. In this entry, he performs the standard “Whiffenpoof Song” and Cornelia Otis Skinner and a young Vincent Price do a dramatic scene from the play “There’s Always Juliet.”

* “Mercury Theatre on the Air” (Oct. 30, 1938, CBS). Orson Welles and his players’ landmark adaptation of the H.G. Wells’ thriller “War of the Worlds.”

* “Here’s Babe Ruth” (Sept. 23, 1944, NBC): The Sultan of Swat answers questions about baseball on this sports radio series for kids.

* “The Camel Show” (no date, NBC). Abbott and Costello perform their classic routine “Who’s on First?”

TELEVISION

* “Howdy Doody Time” (1948, NBC): In “Howdy Doody for President,” Buffalo Bob sings Howdy’s campaign song and the Peanut Gallery tries to guess what his opponent looks like.

“President Harry S. Truman: Dismissal of General MacArthur” (April 11, 1951, CBS): President Truman addresses the nation from the White House about the Korean War and announces that Gen. Douglas MacArthur will be relieved of his Far East command.

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“Ernie in Kovacsland” (1951, NBC): Episode of an early Kovacs comedy-variety series.

“The Guiding Light” (July 10, 1952, CBS): In this vintage episode of the still-running daytime series, Trudy and Meta discuss Meta’s plans to leave New York and return to California.

“Our Miss Brooks” (Oct. 2, 1952, CBS): Premiere of Eve Arden’s long-running comedy series about high school English teacher Connie Brooks. Richard Crenna and Gale Gordon also star.

* “World Series 1952, Game Seven, Parts III and IV” (Oct. 7, 1952, WNBT): The New York Yankees win their fourth consecutive World Series, beating the Brooklyn Dodgers four games to three. Mel Allen and Red Barber are the announcers.

“You Are There: The Death of Socrates” (May 3, 1953, CBS): A young Paul Newman, Robert Culp and Richard Kiley star in this drama narrated by Walter Cronkite; Sidney Lumet directed.

“See It Now: Report on Senator McCarthy” (March 9, 1954, CBS): The famous investigative examination of the controversial Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy, by Edward R. Murrow.

“Gunsmoke: Matt Gets It” (Sept. 10, 1955, CBS): The premiere of the long-running Western series starring James Arness.

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* “The $64,000 Question” (Sept. 20, 1955, CBS): In this installment of the quiz show, a Georgia housekeeper wins $32,000 answering questions about baseball.

* “Queen for a Day” (March, 1956, NBC): In this episode of the game show hosted by Jack Bailey, one housewife asks for power tools if she could be “Queen for a Day.” Another woman wishes for a washer and dryer and the third contestant asks for a bicycle. The winner gets a house and food for her family.

“Winky Dink and You” (Feb. 16, 1957, CBS): Children were able to participate in this animated series by drawing on a “magic window” placed over the TV screen.

“Face the Nation: Nikita Khrushchev” (June 2, 1957, CBS): This special version of the news program was filmed in Moscow in the Kremlin office of the Soviet premier.

“The Edsel Show” (Oct. 13, 1957, CBS): The car may have been a lemon, but the Ford did spawn a musical-variety special featuring Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney and Crosby’s son Lindsay. Included is a commercial for the 1958 Edsel.

“Masters Golf Tournament, Parts I and II” (April 6, 1958, CBS): Arnold Palmer wins the green jacket. Jim McKay is the commentator.

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“77 Sunset Strip, Parts I and II” (Oct. 10, 1958, ABC): Premiere episode of the popular detective series starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr.

“Person to Person: Fidel Castro and Norman Rockwell” (Feb. 6, 1959, CBS): Host Edward R. Murrow visits with the Cuban leader, who discusses his childhood and political trials in Cuba. The second segment features a chat with the popular American illustrator.

“Nixon-Khrushchev Debate at the RCA Pavilion in Moscow” (July 25, 1959, ABC): The program covers the remarks of Vice President Richard Nixon and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev at a cultural exchange exhibit in Moscow, where they viewed a demonstration of the RCA closed-circuit color TV system.

* “Rocky and His Friends” (Nov. 19, 1959, ABC): The premiere episode of Jay Ward’s classic animated series features “Rocky and Bullwinkle: Jet Fuel Formula, Ep. 1,” “Bullwinkle’s Corner: The Swing” and a promo for “The Rifleman” with Chuck Connors.

* “Kellogg’s Corn Flakes Commercial” (circa late-1950s). George Reeves, a.k.a. Superman, hawks cereal in this spot, which finds him out of his blue tights and wearing a bathrobe.

* “The Ed Sullivan Show” (Feb. 9, 1964, CBS). The Beatles make their first of three appearances on the musical-variety series.

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“Shindig!” (Sept. 16, 1964, ABC): In the premiere of this rock-pop variety show, Sam Cooke performs “Tennessee Waltz” and the Everly Brothers sing “Come to Me.” Bobby Sherman is among the regulars.

* “Lost in Space” (1965): Unaired pilot of the cult CBS sci-fi series starring Guy Williams, June Lockhart, Billy Mumy and Angela Cartwright. Scored by Bernard Herrmann.

* “Star Trek” (1965): “The Cage,” the unaired original pilot of the cult NBC sci-fi series, stars Jeffrey Hunter and Leonard Nimoy.

* “The Outer Limits” (Sept. 16, 1963, ABC): Cliff Robertson stars in “The Galaxy Being,” the premiere episode of the sci-fi anthology series.

“Color Me Barbra” (1966, CBS): Dress rehearsal of the Streisand special that aired on CBS on March 30, 1966.

“To Tell the Truth (May 22, 1967, CBS): The final episode in the long-running masquerade series hosted by Bud Collyer and featuring panelists Kitty Carlisle, Orson Bean, Peggy Cass and Tom Poston.

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* “The Woody Allen Special” (Sept. 21, 1969, CBS). Allen welcomes special guests Candice Bergen, Billy Graham and the Fifth Dimension to his one-hour comedy special.

* “The Brady Bunch” (Sept. 26, 1969, ABC). It’s the pilot of the comedy series.

* “Monty Python’s Flying Circus” (Oct. 5, 1969, BBC): “Sex and Violence,” the premiere episode of the wacky British comedy series, aired on PBS on Oct. 6, 1974.

* “Sesame Street” (Nov. 11, 1969, PBS): Big Bird, Kermit and Bert and Ernie make their debut on PBS.

“The Dick Cavett Show, Part I: John Lennon and Yoko Ono and Stan Freberg” (Sept. 24, 1971, ABC): Lennon and Ono answer questions from both Cavett and the studio audience concerning the art of songwriting and rumors about Paul McCartney’s death. With a discussion with comic ad man Freberg.

* “Jeopardy!” (Feb. 10, 1972, NBC). The 2,000th episode of the popular quiz show. Art Fleming is the host.

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