On Christmas Day 1949, The Czech government outlawed all people who’d fled the country during the 1948 Communist coup. While Cary Grant and Besty Drake were married in a private ceremony.

At 5PM eastern time, CBS put on a star-studded holiday rendition of “The Man Who Came to Dinner.” Jack Benny played the male title role in this screwball comedy. Holiday specials were a network tradition, and Benny was no stranger to them.

At 7PM eastern, The Jack Benny show signed on CBS. This episode was heard by roughly twenty-five million people.