Omnibus was the most successful cultural magazine series in the history of U.S. commercial television and a prototype for the development of programming on educational television. Developed by the Television-Radio Workshop of the Ford Foundation, Omnibus generated both corporate sponsorship and a loyal, but limited, network audience for intellectual programming over nine years (1952 to 1961) on all three networks.

    Omnibus was the vision of Robert Saudek, a former ABC vice-president of public affairs who became director of the Workshop in 1951. Commissioned to devise an innovative series for network television, Saudek created a variety show for the intellect, a compendium of the arts, literature, science, history, and even some pure entertainment. Saudek hired journalist Alistair Cooke to serve as master of ceremonies. Cooke was known for his literate commentary on Letter from America, a BBC radio series heard throughout Great Britain. With initial underwriting from the Ford Foundation, which TV Guide called "risk capital" for the untried, Saudek also secured financing from advertisers to produce a weekly, ninety-minute series, first airing 4:30-6:00 P.M. on Sunday afternoons. Omnibus premiered on 9 November 1952 over CBS. The first installment featured Rex Harrison and Lilli Palmer as Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn; William Saroyan narrating an adaptation of his short story "The Bad Men"; and the first images of X-ray movies, an inside look at the working human digestive system .

    Saudek and his producers, among them Fred Rickey, William Spier, and Mary V. Ahern, deftly interwove the high and popular arts into a cultural smorgasbord. Their definition of "culture" was flexible enough to encompass Orson Welles's triumphant return form Europe to star in Peter Brook's adaptation of King Lear; a production of William Inge's "Glory in the Flower" with Jessica Tandy, Hume Croyn, and a still very green James Dean; S. J. Perelman's paean to burlesque with Bert Lahr; several appearances by Agnes DeMille, including the performance of her ballet "Three Virgins and the Devil ("Virgins" becoming "Maidens" because of network censors); Jack Benny recreating his notorious role as an avenging angel in "The Horn Blows at Midnight"; and Peter Ustinov in his American television debut as Dr. Samuel Johnson. Omnibus also gave air time to artists new to the mass media: William Faulkner gave a tour of Oxford, Mississippi; James Agee contributed a five-part docudrama on the life of Abraham Lincoln, now considered one of the first miniseries; Frank Lloyd Wright discussed architectural forms with Cooke; and painter Thomas Hart Benton gave a tour of his studio. In addition, individuals who would later become fixtures in prime time received a career boost on Omnibus, including Mike Nichols and Elaine May, who brought their sardonic humor to an edition entitled "Suburban Revue"; Les Ford and Mary Ford, who demonstrated multi-track recording with a madrigal-singing Cooke; and Jacques Cousteau, who screened his first undersea adventure on American television.

    Beginning with Leopold Stokowski and Benjamin Britten's "Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra," Saudek linked pedagogy with showmanship to produce a series of visual lectures that became a model for educational television. The most stimulating and original of the electronic teachers was Leonard Bernstein, who single-handedly enlarged the possibilities of musical analysis and performance on television. Commencing with his dissection of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony in 1954, Bernstein brought an intellectual passion of excitement and discovery to his subject and later explored musical comedy, jazz, grand opera, and modern music with the same vigor. Gene Kelly in his video lecture compared the art and choreography of ballet dancers to the movements of professional athletes, exemplified by his tap dance with boxer Sugar Ray Robinson.

    For most of its run, Omnibus, nearly always broadcast live, graced the "ghetto" of weekend programming, Sunday afternoon. As that daypart became more valuable, beginning on CBS with the success of professional football, Omnibus shifted to other networks. The series was seen on CBS from 1952 to 1956; on ABC 1956 to 1957; and NBC 1957 to 1961. During the final season Omnibus appeared as a series of irregular specials, concluding with a look at the future of the western hemisphere. In all, Saudek and his team assembled 166 volumes totaling more than 230 hours of entertaining enlightenment. The series was revived by producer Martin Starger as a series of special on ABC in 1981.

    The artistic concerns and approaches to production of Omnibus provided a road map for public television. The Ford Foundation, citing Omnibus's struggle for ratings, questioned whether commercial broadcasters were dedicated to "the development of mature, wise and responsible citizens," and began to fund educational television projects. Without the Foundation's support, Saudek in 1955 formed his own production company to create and gain network sponsorship for the series. The Omnibus sensibility has been felt throughout the history of public television. During the National Educational Television years, NET Playhouse (1966-72) and NET Festival (1967-70) were direct descendants. Since the formation of the Public Broadcasting Service, Great Performances (1974-present) partakes of the Omnibus ethos to share a cultural melange with a discriminating audience. And, of course, the ringmaster of Omnibus, Alistair Cooke became a PBS icon for over twenty years as host of Masterpiece Theater.

    -Ron Simon

    HOST

    Alistair Cooke

    PRODUCERS

    Robert Saudek, Fred Rickey, William Spier, Mary V. Ahern

    PROGRAMMING HISTORY

    CBS

    October 1953-April 1956   Sunday 5:00-6:00 ABC

    October 1956-March 1957   Sunday 9:00-10:30 NBC

    April 1957-April 1961   Sunday Irregular Schedule

    FURTHER READING

    Beck, Kirstin. Cultivating the Wasteland. New York: American Council for the Arts, 1983.

    Bernstein, Leonard. The Joy of Music. New York: Fireside, 1963.

    Henderson, Amy. On the Air Pioneers of American Broadcasting. Washington, D. C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1988.

    Leonard Bernstein: The Television Work. New York: Museum of Broadcasting, 1985.

    Rose, Brian. Televising the Performing Arts. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1992.

    _______________. Television and the Performing Arts. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1986.

    Thumbnail of Eartha Kitt

    Eartha Kitt on appearing on the anthology series Omnibus

    06:16
    Thumbnail of Delbert Mann

    Delbert Mann on directing productions of Omnibus

    01:55
    Thumbnail of Kirk Browning

    Kirk Browning on directing the Samuel Beckett play "Krapp's Last Tape" for Omnibus

    02:45
    Thumbnail of Ellen M. Violett

    Ellen M. Violett on working with Alistair Cooke on Omnibus

    01:40
    Thumbnail of Imero Fiorentino

    Imero Fiorentino on lighting Agnes DeMille in a ballet production on Omnibus - one of his favorite moments

    02:17
    Thumbnail of Mary V. Ahern

    Mary V. Ahern on producing Omnibus with Robert Saudek

    05:36

    Mary V. Ahern

    Mary V. Ahern on producing Omnibus with Robert Saudek

    05:36

    Mary V. Ahern on how Omnibus was funded

    02:50

    Mary V. Ahern on the process of producing an episode of Omnibus

    02:46

    Mary V. Ahern on her role in the production of Omnibus

    04:34

    Mary V. Ahern on working with associate producer Paul Feigay on Omnibus

    03:38

    Mary V. Ahern on working with composer Leonard Bernstein on several episode of Omnibus

    02:48

    Mary V. Ahern on working with Omnibus director Andrew McCullough

    01:29

    Mary V. Ahern on the time slot and on the orchestras of Omnibus

    01:55

    Mary V. Ahern on host Alistair Cooke's other contributions to Omnibus, and on drama critic Walter Kerr's involvement with the show

    02:15

    Mary V. Ahern on various historical plays produced for Omnibus

    02:44

    Mary V. Ahern on various creative pairings on Omnibus

    01:42

    Mary V. Ahern on various personalities who appeared on Omnibus, including Orson Welles, Mike Nichols and Elaine May, and Carol Burnett

    04:03

    Mary V. Ahern on Joseph N. Welch (who stood up to Senator Joseph McCarthy at the Army-McCarthy hearings) being involved with the Omnibus series on the Constitution

    06:55

    Mary V. Ahern on Omnibus producer Robert Saudek

    03:08

    Mary V. Ahern on the reasons for the cancellation of Omnibus

    03:28

    Mary V. Ahern on the legacy of Omnibus

    02:46

    Beatrice Arthur

    Beatrice Arthur on appearing on various series including Omnibus and The Steve Allen Show

    03:24

    Edward Asner

    Ed Asner on acting in the Omnibus episode "Capital Punishment"

    01:51

    Bob Banner

    Bob Banner on directing various Omnibus programs including "La Boheme"

    12:38

    Bob Banner on working with Omnibus host Alistair Cooke

    02:20

    Kirk Browning

    Kirk Browning on directing the Samuel Beckett play "Krapp's Last Tape" for Omnibus

    02:45

    Carol Burnett

    Carol Burnett on one of her earliest television appearances on Omnibus, hosted by Leonard Bernstein

    00:57

    Hume Cronyn

    Hume Cronyn on appearing as John Quincy Adams on Ominbus

    02:19

    Charles S. Dubin

    Charles S. Dubin on Omnibus executive producer Robert Saudek

    04:43

    Charles S. Dubin on directing the Omnibus episodes "Jack Be Normal" and "The Azuma Kabuki Dancers"

    01:46

    Charles S. Dubin on directing the Omnibus episodes "The Better Half" and "Plays of the Irish Renaissance"

    01:49

    Charles S. Dubin on the technical aspects of Omnibus

    01:33

    Charles S. Dubin on directing several Omnibus episodes, including "Comedy and Song," "The Spirit of Freedom," "The Bigger Wheel," "The Ballad of Baby Doe," "Baptiste," "Children of Paradise," "And Joy is My Company," and "My Hearts in the Highlands"

    06:52

    Charles S. Dubin on Omnibus host Alistair Cooke, and choreographer Agnes De Mille

    07:14

    Charles S. Dubin on working with Leonard Bernstein on several Omnibus episodes

    05:48

    Charles S. Dubin on the legacy of Omnibus

    00:52

    Nanette Fabray

    Nanette Fabray on appearing on Omnibus

    01:23

    Imero Fiorentino

    Imero Fiorentino on lighting Omnibus

    02:58

    Imero Fiorentino on lighting Agnes DeMille in a ballet production on Omnibus - one of his favorite moments

    02:17

    Jonathan Harris

    Jonathan Harris on appearing on Omnibus, in the episode "Dear Brutus"

    03:47

    Eartha Kitt

    Eartha Kitt on acting on the anthology series Omnibus

    02:47

    Eartha Kitt on appearing on the anthology series Omnibus

    06:16

    Susan Lacy

    Susan Lacy on the impact watching Omnibus as a young girl had upon her

    28:28

    Norman Lloyd

    Norman Lloyd on directing several episodes of Omnibus on the life of Abraham Lincoln

    10:01

    Norman Lloyd on Stanley Kubrick being his second unit director for Omnibus

    03:00

    Norman Lloyd on Stanley Kubrick's work as a second unit director on "Mr. Lincoln" for Omnibus

    02:19

    Delbert Mann

    Delbert Mann on directing productions of Omnibus

    01:55

    Tad Mosel

    Tad Mosel on adapting a James Thurber short story for Omnibus

    03:38

    Tad Mosel on writing for Ominbus

    02:56

    Tad Mosel on a typical episode of Omnibus and adapting a James Thurber short story for the show

    03:52

    Daniel Petrie, Sr.

    Daniel Petrie, Sr. on directing "Excursion," a segment of an Omnibus episode featuring Kim Stanley

    08:13

    Ellen M. Violett

    Ellen M. Violett on writing "The Duchess and the Smuggs"  for Omnibus

    04:26

    Ellen M. Violett on the format of Omnibus

    01:28

    Ellen M. Violett on writing "Brewsie and Willie" for Omnibus

    01:03

    Ellen M. Violett on working with Alistair Cooke on Omnibus

    01:40

    Ellen M. Violett on adapting "Uncle Tom's Cabin" for Omnibus

    02:21

    Ellen M. Violett on adapting "Salome" for Omnibus

    00:58

    Ellen M. Violett on writing "Dear Brutus" for Omnibus

    01:39

    Jonathan Winters

    Jonathan Winters on how he got offered a part on Omnibus after Alistair Cooke discovered him performing his Custer's Last Stand routine at the Ruban Blue nightclub

    02:33

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