Wake Up America (Jayverse)
Wake Up America is an American lifestyle and variety talk show that aired on the UBC since September 16, 1985 as America which lasted until January 3, 1986. The program, which emanated from Hollywood, California, premiered on September 16, 1985, and was initially hosted by Stuart Damon, Sarah Purcell, and McLean Stevenson with Charlie O'Donnell announcing.
America is filmed on the Paramount Pictures at Studio 27 in Hollywood until September 5, 2008 when production is moved to the new UBC Studio Center Lot in Hollywood beginning in September 8, 2008
Format
Each show began with O'Donnell saying "good afternoon and welcome to America," (later changed to "Welcome to America") then giving the date and a rundown of the topics covered by the show in the sixty minutes to come. After that, the hosts were introduced and the show began. Feature stories included focuses on people, places, and trends, as well as an interview segment with a celebrity. Some stories were presented by reporters working for the affiliate stations; for example, the December 18, 1985, episode featured a story about a Little Rock, Arkansas, girl in need of a liver transplant that was presented by then-KATV reporter Greg Hurst.
Later when the Show Moved to a Morning Slot on January 6, 1986, it stayed from the 8 to 9 am timeslot before expanding in September 15, 1986 to 2 hours and still remains to this day.
Personnel
Current On-Air Staff
- Nate Burleson (2016-Present)
- Samantha Harris (2010-Present)
- Kalyn Hemphill (2017-Present)
- Keltie Knight (2017-Present)
- Cheslie Kryst (2019-Present)
- Allie LaForce (2018-Present)
- Rachael Lindsay (2020-Present)
- Mark Wright (2019-Present)
Former On-Air Staff
- Stuart Damon (1986-1997)
- Giselle Fernandez (1999-2003)
- Phil Keoghan (1997-2001)
- Sarah Purcell (1985-1994)
- McLean Stevenson (1985-1986)
- Robb Weller (1986-1989)
Notable Moments
On January 3, 1986, McLean Stevenson's last episode of America airs the show featured an appearance by his Successor Robb Weller, followed by a video montage of McLean's Tenure set to "Glory Days" by Bruce Springsteen that served as the closing credits.
Since 1988, Despite of UBC airing the Summer & Winter Olympic Games, Wake Up America takes the show to the site of the Olympics under the title "Wake Up America @ The Olympic Games"