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The Philco Television Playhouse
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Philco Television Playhouse was a live television anthology series sponsored by Philco and broadcast from 1948 to 1955. The series was produced by Fred Coe and was carried on NBC, Sundays from 9:00 to 10:00 P.M. It was one of the most respected dramatic shows of the "Golden Age of Television".
The title of the show was briefly changed to Repertory Theatre and Arena Theatre during part of the first season, but then reverted to The Philco Television Playhouse for the remainder of its run.
The first season consisted of adaptations of famed Broadway plays and musicals. The first episode was Dinner at Eight by George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber. The second season was mostly adaptations of popular novels from the Book of the Month Club. During later seasons, both original stories and adaptations were used.
Besides using existing plays, the series launched the television writing careers of Paddy Chayefsky, Horton Foote, Tad Mosel, Alan Arthur, Arnold Schulman, and Gore Vidal.
Its most famous episode was Chayefsky's Marty, which starred Rod Steiger and was later made into a movie that won an Academy Award for Ernest Borgnine.
Among the many performers on the Philco Television Playhouse were Joanne Woodward, Steve McQueen, Rod Steiger, Eva Marie Saint, Grace Kelly, Kim Stanley, Jack Klugman, Eli Wallach and Walter Matthau.
Beginning in 1951, Philco shared sponsorship of the program with Goodyear, with the title alternating between Philco Television Playhouse and Goodyear Television Playhouse to reflect that week's sponsor. In 1955, the show was retitled the Alcoa Hour. The three series were essentially the same, with the only real difference being the name of the sponsor.
In 2006, the NBC series Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip referenced the Philco Television Playhouse (as the "The Philco Comedy Hour", a comedy show that aired on the fictional NBS network). Eli Wallach made a guest appearance on Studio 60, playing a former show writer who was blacklisted in the 1950s.
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