Schlitz Playhouse of Stars aka Celebrity Playhouse


The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation Presents

02:26

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About

From Wikipedia:

Schlitz Playhouse of Stars is a weekly anthology television series telecast Friday nights on CBS from 1951 until 1959. The series presented both comedies and drama. The series was sponsored by Schlitz beer. The series name was shortened to Schlitz Playhouse, beginning with the fall 1957 season.

Initially, the show was broadcast live, but starting in the summer of 1953, some of the episodes were filmed in advance. Beginning with the 1956-57 season, all of the shows were filmed.

Between October 1951 and March 1952, the hour-long show was shown at 9pm. In April 1952, the running time was reduced from an hour to 30 minutes. The series moved to 9:30pm in the 1955 fall season.

Two episodes served as pilots for later NBC series: The Restless Gun with John Payne (March 29, 1957 pilot) and Tales of Wells Fargo with Dale Robertson. The Restless Gun pilot was based on the radio series The Six Shooter, and Payne's character had the same name, Britt Ponset, as the radio character; that name was changed to Vint Bonner when the actual series began.

For the 1958-59 season, the series alternated weeks with the Lux Playhouse.

Guest stars included the child actress Beverly Washburn, who appeared in episodes entitled "The Closed Door" (1953) and "One Left Over" (1957). Dayton Lummis appeared as editor Cartwright in "The Last Pilot Schooner" and as Arthur Healy in "Ambitious Cop" (both 1955). Tyler MacDuff made his television debut in the 1954 episode "At the Natchez Inn".

Composer(s)

Melvyn Lenard

Paul Dunlap

Stanley Wilson

Country of origin United States

Language(s) English

No. of seasons 8

Production

Executive producer(s) Nat Holt

Producer(s) William Self

Frank P. Rosenberg

Jules Bricken

Editor(s)

Joseph Gluck

Richard Belding

Sam Gold

George Amy

Robert B. Warwick, Jr.

Location(s) Revue Studios

Cinematography George T. Clemens

Russell Harlan

Running time 60 minutes

Production company(s)

Meridian Productions

Revue Studios

Distributor CBS Television

Mill Creek Entertainment

Studios USA Television

Broadcast

Original channel CBS Television

Picture format Black-and-white

Audio format Monaural

Original run October 5, 1951 – July 31, 1959

Who talked about this show

Barbara Billingsley

View Interview
Barbara Billingsley on her work on Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
06:39

Jonathan Harris

View Interview
Jonathan Harris on appearing on Schlitz Playhouse of Stars in "The Kind Mr. Smith" with Vincent Price, and on appearing on Kraft Television Theatre
02:31

Richard Lewis

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Richard Lewis on producing Schlitz Playhouse of the Stars and Tales of Wells Fargo
02:04

Paul Monash

View Interview
Paul Monash on writing "The Lonely Wizard" for Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
05:02

Ricardo Montalban

View Interview
Ricardo Montalban on actor Joseph Schilkraut's nervousness during a Schlitz Playhouse production
01:07

Rita Moreno

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Rita Moreno on appearing on Fireside Theatre and Schlitz Playhouse of Stars and on her early ethnic roles
08:17

William Self

View Interview
William Self on producing Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
03:12
William Self on producing the live anthology series Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
02:17
William Self on finding the stories for the live anthology series Schlitz Playhouse of Stars, the various stars who appeared, and on his duties as producer of that show
02:40
William Self on various episodes of Schlitz Playhouse of Stars, including "The Unlighted Road," starring James Dean
04:45
William Self on Anthony Quinn appearing on Schlitz Playhouse of Stars, and on dealing with bigger stars
02:06
William Self on the involvement of the sponsors with the production of Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
01:06
William Self on directing Thomas Mitchell and Mike Connors on Schlitz Playhouse of Stars, and various other actors
03:51
William Self on working with John Ireland and Vera Miles on Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
03:52
William Self on directing a few episodes of Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
01:49

David Shaw

View Interview
David Shaw on writing for Schlitz Playhouse of Stars and The Autobiography of Grandma Moses
03:59

Howard Smit

View Interview
Howard Smit on doing makeup for "The Lonely Wizard," an episode of Schlitz Playhouse of Stars, starring Rod Steiger
02:31

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