Four Star Playhouse
Anthology series with rotating stars and surreal mysteries.
via Wikipedia: Four Star Playhouse · see source
Four Star Playhouse, also known as Star Performance, is an American anthology series that aired from September 25, 1952, through September 27, 1956. It was owned by Four Star International and featured rotating stars including Charles Boyer, Dick Powell, David Niven, and Ida Lupino.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Anthology
- Runtime
- 25 minutes
- Creator
- Four Star International
- Starring
- David Niven
- Charles Boyer
- Dick Powell
- Ida Lupino
- Music
- Theme No. 4: 'Four Star Emblem by Herschel Burke Gilbert
- Country
- United States
- Network
- CBS
- First aired
- 25 September 1952
Facts from the source article.
Overview
Four Star Playhouse was a production of Four Star International, offering episodes that ranged from surreal mysteries like "The Man on the Train" to light comedies such as "The Lost Silk Hat." The show originally planned to rotate Charles Boyer, Dick Powell, Rosalind Russell, and Joel McCrea as its stars, but by the time it aired, David Niven and Ida Lupino had taken the places of McCrea and Russell. Other actors who occasionally headlined included Ronald Colman, Joan Fontaine, Frank Lovejoy, Merle Oberon, and Teresa Wright. Colman made his television debut on October 23, 1952, in "The Lost Silk Hat," an episode he also adapted. Powell played the recurring role of Willie Dante, an illegal gambling-house operator, which later spun off into the 1960 series Dante starring Howard Duff.
Production
The Singer Company sponsored the first season of Four Star Playhouse, which aired every other week. When the show switched to a weekly schedule in the fall of 1953, Bristol-Myers joined as an alternate sponsor, and during its early broadcasts, the names of both companies appeared in the program’s title. The series aired on Thursdays from 8:30 to 9 p.m. Eastern Time from September 1952 through September 1954. In October 1954, it moved to the 9:30 to 10 p.m. Thursday slot, where it remained for the rest of its run. Although the show never cracked the Nielsen Top 30, its ratings were strong enough to sustain it for four seasons. In 1954, Billboard named it the second best filmed network television drama series. Blake Edwards made his directorial debut on the program in 1952, and he also wrote and directed for it. The pilot for Meet McGraw, starring Frank Lovejoy, aired on February 25, 1954, under that title. Another episode, “Search in the Night” on November 5, 1953, featured Lovejoy reprising his role as Chicago newspaper reporter Randy Stone from the radio drama Nightbeat. Directors who worked on the series included Roy Kellino (41 episodes, 1953–1956), Robert Florey (31 episodes, 1952–1956), Richard Kinon (7 episodes, 1956), Robert Aldrich (5 episodes, 1953–1954), Blake Edwards (5 episodes, 1953–1954), Frank McDonald (3 episodes, 1954), Laslo Benedek (3 episodes, 1956), William Asher (2 episodes, 1954), and William A. Seiter (2 episodes, 1955–1956). Writers included Gwen Bagni (15 episodes, 1952–1954), John Bagni (13 episodes, 1952–1954), Richard Carr (13 episodes, 1954–1956), Frederick Brady (9 episodes, 1954–1956), Blake Edwards (7 episodes, 1952–1954), Seeleg Lester (5 episodes, 1953–1954), Merwin Gerard (4 episodes, 1953), Frederick J. Lipp (4 episodes, 1954–1955), Larry Marcus (3 episodes, 1952–1954), Milton Merlin (3 episodes, 1952–1953), Marc Brandell (3 episodes, 1954–1956), László Görög (3 episodes, 1955–1956), James Bloodworth (3 episodes, 1956), Amory Hare (2 episodes, 1953), Octavus Roy Cohen (2 episodes, 1954–1955), Milton Geiger (2 episodes, 1954–1955), Thelma Robinson (2 episodes, 1954), Oscar Millard (2 episodes, 1955–1956), Willard Wiener (2 episodes, 1955), Robert Eggenweiler (2 episodes, 1956), Ida Lupino (2 episodes, 1956), and Roland Winters (2 episodes, 1956).
Frequently Asked Questions
Which network aired Four Star Playhouse?
Four Star Playhouse aired on CBS.
How many episodes of Four Star Playhouse are there?
Four Star Playhouse has 129 episodes.
More in Television Series by Four Star Television
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