Interviewees discuss the "Golden Age" of television dramas.
About
"It was sort of a little bit like a war, you know. We were all in the trenches...We had three networks. And the red lights would go on, on the three cameras. One camera, one camera, one camera. And you did it. And then when it was finished, it was gone. Nobody saw it again. Nobody could find it again. Nobody had recorded it. And that makes a completely different type of entertainment." - Maria Riva, Actress
Highlights
Maria Riva on the Golden Age of "live" TV in New York in the 1950s, exemplified by such classic anthology series as Studio One
01:04
Tad Mosel on the camaraderie among writers during the Golden Age of Television
03:23
Ellen M. Violett on writing Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" for Cameo Theater
09:18
Jack Lemmon on appearing on the Playhouse 90 production of "Face of a Hero"
04:07
John Conte on appearing as an actor on live television in the 1950s
02:49
Piper Laurie on performing in the Playhouse 90 production "The Days of Wine and Roses"
04:18
Who Talked about This Topic
Edward Asner
Ed Asner on acting in the Studio One episode "The Night America Trembled"
02:03
Erik Barnouw
Erik Barnouw on early television shows and television writers he admired, including Playhouse 90 and Paddy Chayefsky
04:08
Dick Berg
Dick Berg on writing for Kraft Television Theater and Studio One
04:58
Dick Berg on writing "Hollywood Award Winner" for Kaiser Aluminum Hour and "The Clay Pigeon" for Robert Montgomery Presents
03:42
Dick Berg on writing "The Right Hand Man" for Playhouse 90
03:51
Dick Berg on writing "Man Under Glass" for Studio One
01:27
William Blinn
William Blinn on seeing the original live Studio One broadcast of "Twelve Angry Men", and on a Studio One anecdote involving Worthington Miner
03:56
William Clotworthy
William Clotworthy on working on Robert Montgomery Presents
02:17
William Clotworthy on the format of General Electric Theater, produced by William Frye
07:31
John Conte
John Conte on appearing as an actor on live television in the 1950s
02:49
John Conte on appearing in various live television productions
00:42
John Conte on hosting Matinee Theater
20:58
Hume Cronyn
Hume Cronyn on directing live television in the '50s
08:02
Hume Cronyn on directing Jessica Tandy in "Portrait of a Madonna" for Actors Studio
03:12
Hume Cronyn on appearing as John Quincy Adams on Omnibus
02:19
Hume Cronyn on appearing in Studio One's presentation of "A Member of the Family"
02:40
Sam Denoff
Sam Denoff on observing the early days of live television while working as a page at NBC's Studio 8H where Kraft Television Theater, Robert Montgomery Presents, and other live anthology series were filmed
02:57
David Dortort
David Dortort on writing for Suspense
05:22
David Dortort on adapting William Faulkner's "An Error in Chemistry" for Climax!, produced by Martin Manulis
07:45
Norman Felton
Director Norman Felton on his long association with Robert Montgomery Presents (Part 1)
26:52
Imero Fiorentino
Imero Fiorentino on lighting The U.S. Steel Hour at ABC
02:24
Imero Fiorentino on a shadow thrown on the actors from a microphone on live TV, during the first U.S. Steel Hour production "P.O.W." with Richard Kiley
03:05
John Forsythe
John Forsythe on his early experiences on live television including Studio One, Suspense, and The U.S. Steel Hour
00:00
Jerry Goldsmith
Jerry Goldsmith on the craft of composing music for live television broadcasts and on the process of composing for television
04:29
Jerry Goldsmith on the pressure of composing for live television in the '50s and what he learned in that time
01:39
Arthur Hiller
Arthur Hiller on the schedule for producing NBC Matinee Theater and the excitement of directing for live television
02:17
Arthur Hiller on dealing with an athlete who couldn't act appearing on NBC Matinee Theater, and his love of doing "live" television
02:32
Arthur Hiller on camera tricks and fast changes he had to make while directing Playhouse 90
02:29
Kim Hunter
Kim Hunter on appearing on various live television broadcasts in the 1950s
01:22
Kim Hunter on acting on live television in the 1950s
05:22
Kim Hunter on appearing on various Playhouse 90 productions
02:58
Lamont Johnson
Lamont Johnson on directing NBC Matinee Theater
22:47
Russell Johnson
Russell Johnson on enjoying working in live television
01:52
Jeff Kisseloff
Jeff Kisseloff on interviewing people about the classic live drama anthology 1950s series for his book "The Box: An Oral History of Television, 1929-1961"
04:38
Eartha Kitt
Eartha Kitt on acting on the anthology series Omnibus
02:47
Jack Klugman
Jack Klugman on co-starring in the Producers' Showcase production of "The Petrified Forest" with Humphrey Bogart (airdate: May 30, 1955)
06:36
Sheila Kuehl
Sheila Kuehl on acting in live and filmed television dramas in the 1950s
03:40
Piper Laurie
Piper Laurie on performing in the Playhouse 90 production "The Days of Wine and Roses"
04:18
Jack Lemmon
Jack Lemmon on acting on Kraft Television Theatre and appearing on live television
04:06
Jack Lemmon on working on Studio One
03:27
Jack Lemmon on appearing on Ford Television Theatre's "The Day Lincoln Was Shot"
01:42
Jack Lemmon on appearing on the Playhouse 90 production of "Face of a Hero"
04:07
Sidney Lumet
Sidney Lumet on the end of the Golden Age of Television
03:53
Abby Mann
Abby Mann on being a part of the Golden Age of Television, and how television has changed the world
04:59
Delbert Mann
Delbert Mann on directing Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse
28:41
Jayne Meadows
Jayne Meadows on the challenges of working in live television
05:00
JP Miller
JP Miller on what made great live television
03:04
JP Miller on drinking in live television
04:55
JP Miller on the writers of the classic anthology series in the '50s, including Paddy Chayefsky and Horton Foote
06:36
JP Miller on his experience being a writer during the Golden Age of Television
03:59
JP Miller on working with the actors of TV's Golden Age including Broderick Crawford
03:09
JP Miller on working with the directors of TV's Golden Age
01:03
JP Miller on the importance of the writer during TV's Golden Age
01:59
Priscilla Morgan
Priscilla Morgan on the Golden Age of Television
05:27
Tad Mosel
Tad Mosel on writing for Ominbus
06:48
Tad Mosel on writing for Medallion Theater
06:48
Tad Mosel on writing "The Haven" for Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse produced by Fred Coe and on Coe's contribution to television
05:24
Tad Mosel on writing for Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse
10:47
Tad Mosel on writing for Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse
21:16
Tad Mosel on writing for Studio One
04:09
Tad Mosel on writing "The Waiting Place" for Playwrights '56
03:35
Tad Mosel on writing for Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse
10:31
Tad Mosel on working with Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, and Henry Fonda on Producers' Showcase: "The Petrified Forest"
13:05
Tad Mosel on working with Martin Manulis on Playhouse 90
01:50
Tad Mosel on watching Playhouse 90 and other live dramas of his be performed
10:14
Tad Mosel on what the Golden Age of Television means to him
04:13
Tad Mosel on the camaraderie among writers during the Golden Age of Television
03:23
Tad Mosel on writing "The Five Dollar Bill" for Studio One
07:16
Tad Mosel on writing for Playhouse 90
21:51
Agnes Nixon
Agnes Nixon on writing for the Golden Age anthology dramas
00:44
Carroll O'Connor
Carroll O'Connor on the role dramatic anthologies played for New York actors during the 1950s-60s
01:07
Don Pike
Don Pike on acting as technical director for Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse
25:11
Don Pike on being technical director for Chevrolet on Broadway
02:16
David Pressman
David Pressman on early television's relationship to theater
04:23
Tony Randall
Tony Randall on the experience of acting on live television in the '50s
02:54
Frances Reid
Frances Reid on the challenges of working on live television
02:39
Gene Reynolds
Gene Reynolds on working in live television in the '50s
02:56
Maria Riva
Maria Riva on the Golden Age of "live" TV in New York in the 1950s, exemplified by such classic anthology series as Studio One
01:04
Cliff Robertson
Cliff Robertson on starring in the Playhouse 90 live production of "The Days of Wine and Roses"
13:16
Cliff Robertson on The U.S. Steel Hour's "The Two Worlds of Charly Gordon" and the feature film "Charly"
06:07
Joseph Sargent
Joseph Sargent on acting on live television in the '50s
03:00
Ralph Senensky
Ralph Senensky on working on Playhouse 90
23:31
Jack Shea
Jack Shea on working on live anthology dramas like Philco Television Playhouse
01:03
Lynn Stalmaster
Lynn Stalmaster on casting live television for NBC Matinee Theater
01:16
Robert Vaughn
Robert Vaughn on "The Troublemakers" on Playhouse 90 with Ben Gazarra, directed by John Frankenheimer
02:53
Ellen M. Violett
Ellen M. Violett on writing Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" for Cameo Theater
09:18
Ellen M. Violett on writing "Breakdown" for Suspense
03:21
Ellen M. Violett on writing for Omnibus
15:04
Ellen M. Violett on writing for Producer's Showcase
09:48
James Wall
James wall on the challenges of appearing on live television
05:59
Ruth Warrick
Ruth Warrick on acting in live television
10:15
Max Wilk
Max Wilk on writing "Joy to the World" for Ford Television Theatre, and on the moments before going on-air
04:10
Max Wilk on actors improvising on live television broadcasts like Ford Television Theatre
03:59
Jane Wyatt
Jane Wyatt on the excitement of working in live television
05:18
Jane Wyatt on the differences between acting for film, television, and the stage
01:11
Alan Young
Alan Young on appearing on live classic anthology shows in the '50s
03:39