The Ford Television Theatre

Radio

The radio version of Ford Theater ran for two seasons. Its first season aired from New York City on NBC from October 5, 1947, to June 27, 1948, featuring actors such as Ed Begley, Shirley Booth, and Gary Merrill. After poor ratings, the show moved to Hollywood and CBS Radio for the second season, which ran from October 8, 1948, to July 1, 1949, and achieved higher ratings. Howard Lindsay served as master of ceremonies from the first broadcast.

Television

The first Ford Theatre television broadcast occurred on October 17, 1948, as an hour-long live drama using primarily Broadway actors. It began as a monthly series, then switched to biweekly, alternating on Friday nights at 9:00 pm Eastern with the 54th Street Revue. Adaptations included Little Women and One Sunday Afternoon. Garth Montgomery produced, with Carl Beier as associate producer and Franklin Schaffner as director.

A half-hour filmed version returned on NBC for the 1951–52 season on Thursdays at 9:30 pm Eastern, with production moved to Hollywood and actors such as Claudette Colbert, Peter Lawford, and Ida Lupino. Ronald Reagan and Nancy Davis appeared together for the first time in the episode "First Born" on February 3, 1953. In October 1954, Ford Theatre became the first network series filmed regularly in color. Nielsen ratings placed it at number 30 for 1952–1953, number 7 for 1953–1954, number 9 for 1954–1955, and number 13 for 1955–1956.

After four seasons on NBC, the program aired its final season on ABC during 1956–57 on Wednesdays at 9:30 pm, with the last broadcast on July 10, 1957. During summer 1958, NBC aired reruns from the 1956–1957 season under the title Opening Night, alternating with Club Oasis. Billboard named Ford Theatre the best filmed network television drama series in 1954.