Happy 15th Birthday Turner Classic Movies!

Fifteen years ago today, April 14, Turner Classic Movies went on the air, with host Robert Osborne introducing their very first movie to screen- Gone With The Wind. An appropriate choice, not only for its status as one of the greatest classics in the MGM library which is the source for most of the channel’s programming, but for the fact that the channel is based in Atlanta, along with owner Ted Turner’s other cable operations.

Over the past decade and a half, TCM has not only continued to present a wide variety of classics and not-so-classics from Hollywood’s century of output, but has also helped to finance film restoration projects and produced many hours of documentaries chronicling film history. The channel has not only enthusiastically shared much of Hollywood’s rich history with viewers, but has helped to preserve it as well.

To celebrate here, I thought I would share a scan of a card that I found in a film book that I purchased back right before the channel was due to launch. If you click on the reverse of the card below, you’ll be able to read what the channel was promising to deliver. And unlike much advertising, TCM really did come through with what it promised.

Here’s a toast to the last 15 years and best wishes for the next 15 years. And the 15 years after that. And then the next 15 years…