Cameo Theatre

Television in the round

The live series introduced to television the concept of theater-in-the-round, a staging method popularized since 1947 by Margo Jones with her Theatre '47 in Dallas, Texas. This technique placed focus on characters and dialogue rather than scenery. McCleery's camera work became known as the "cameo shot" and was widely imitated. His skill with this staging led directly to his role as producer of NBC's Matinee Theatre.

Jim Buckley of the Pewter Plough Playhouse recalled that McCleery, after returning to the States, originated Matinee Theatre to televise five different stage plays per week live around noon to promote color television to American housewives. McCleery hired five directors and five art directors; Buckley served as an art director. The art director also acted as set decorator, selecting furnishings and hand props, since McCleery eliminated the setting per se and decorated scenes with a minimum of props.

Story sources

Cameo Theatre featured adaptations from short stories by Roald Dahl, Shirley Jackson, Irwin Shaw, and others. Ellen M. Violett's first produced teleplay was an adaptation of Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" for Cameo Theatre in 1950. Broadcast on June 14, 1950, as the fifth episode, it helped establish McCleery's reputation as a television innovator with his no-scenery technique. The episode received the Single Program Award from the National Conference for Community and Justice for promoting mutual tolerance, causing controversy during the blacklisting era and drawing articles in Time and Life magazines.

Time called it one of the most exciting plays ever shown on U.S. television. Violett's teleplay was produced again on August 31, 1951, as an episode of Fireside Theatre starring Margaret Hayes. The series was notable for developing young writers; scripter Raphael Hayes recalled entering broadcasting after leaving the Army.

Summer and mid-season replacements

NBC used Cameo Theatre as a fill-in program on four separate occasions. It first ran as a summer stand-in for the latter half of Four Star Revue from June 14 to September 27, 1950. The following year, it took over the slot of What's My Name? from June 18 to August 6, 1951. In 1952, it filled in for Leave It to the Girls between January 6 and April 13. Its final run was a summer replacement for The Loretta Young Show from July 3 to August 21, 1955. Broadcast times varied: Wednesdays at 8:30 p.m. Eastern in 1950, Mondays at 8 p.m. in 1951, and Sundays at 10 p.m. in both 1952 and 1955. Each episode closed with a mannequin hand writing "Albert McCleery" on a blackboard.