TV's Golden Age (1940s & '50s)

The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation Presents

02:26

Tabs

About

"The golden age is, for me… the plays and Sid Caesar and Ed Sullivan and Martha Rae and Red Skeleton and Paddy Chayefsky... The people who went out live and faced the audiences of fifty million people. And that took guts, it really did." - Tad Mosel, Writer

Interviewees discuss the "Golden Age" of television.

Highlights

Tad Mosel on what the Golden Age of Television means to him

Angela Lansbury on the experience of doing "live TV" during the "Golden Age of Television," after having been a theater performer.

Ethel Winant on the Golden Age of Television and what represents the best of television

David Pressman on early television's relationship to theater

Sidney Lumet on the end of the Golden Age of Television

Eartha Kitt on being an African-American performer on television in the 1950s

Who talked about this topic

Edward Asner

Ed Asner on acting in the Studio One episode "The Night America Trembled"

Erik Barnouw

Erik Barnouw on early television shows and television writers he admired, including Playhouse 90 and Paddy Chayefsky

Dick Berg

Dick Berg on writing for Kraft Television Theater and Studio One

Dick Berg on writing "Hollywood Award Winner" for Kaiser Aluminum Hour and "The Clay Pigeon" for Robert Montgomery Presents

Dick Berg on writing "The Right Hand Man" for Playhouse 90

Dick Berg on writing "Man Under Glass" for Studio One

Paul Bogart

Paul Bogart briefly on being a stage manager on Your Show of Shows

William Clotworthy

William Clotworthy on working on Robert Montgomery Presents

William Clotworthy on the format of General Electric Theater, produced by William Frye

Betty White with Emerson College

Betty White on being a pioneer on television and appearing on early live local television in Los Angeles

Robert Conrad

Robert Conrad on the first time he saw television

John Conte

John Conte on appearing as an actor on live television in the 1950s

John Conte on appearing in various live television productions

John Conte on hosting Matinee Theater

Hal Cooper

Hal Cooper on his first television jobs creating and directing Your School Reporter, TV Babysitter, and The Magic Cottage for DuMont

Fred de Cordova

Fred de Cordova on the '50s Golden Age of Television

Walter Cronkite

Walter Cronkite on how the news went live in 1950 with no script

Walter Cronkite on replacing Douglas Edwards on the CBS Evening News, at that time the news broadcast was only 15 minutes long

Walter Cronkite on some of the bloopers that happened when filming live television for the program You Are There involving a historical re-creation of the Hindenburg disaster

Hume Cronyn

Hume Cronyn on directing live television in the '50s

Hume Cronyn on directing Jessica Tandy in "Portrait of a Madonna" for Actors Studio

Hume Cronyn on appearing as John Quincy Adams on Ominbus

Hume Cronyn on appearing in the series The Marriage with wife Jessica Tandy

Hume Cronyn on appearing in Studio One's presentation of "A Member of the Family"

Bill Dana

Bill Dana on breaking in new material on live television

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

Richard Donner

Richard Donner on his experience in live television

David Dortort

David Dortort on writing for Suspense

David Dortort on adapting William Faulkner's "An Error in Chemistry" for Climax!, produced by Martin Manulis

Charles Dubin

Charles S. Dubin on directing live television in the 1950s

Dick Van Dyke

Dick Van Dyke on the early days of television

Dick Van Dyke recalls the first time he appeared on television

Jamie Farr

Jamie Farr on Sherwood Schwartz writing for The Red Skelton Show

Norman Felton

Director Norman Felton on the "Chicago School" of Broadcasting, which included shows Garroway-at-Large and Studs' Place, crediting the philosophy to writers Charlie Andrews and Paul Rhymer

Director Norman Felton on his long association with Robert Montgomery Presents (Part 1)

Imero Fiorentino

Imero Fiorentino on lighting The U.S. Steel Hour at ABC

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

Imero Fiorentino on Paul Whiteman's Goodyear Revue, with Glenn Osser (conducting) and Paul Whiteman and a story about an opera singer who refused to sing the show's finale

Horton Foote

Horton Foote on his thoughts on the Golden Age of Television

John Forsythe

John Forsythe on his early experiences on live television including Studio One, Suspense, and The U.S. Steel Hour

Sonny Fox

Sonny Fox on producing The Golden Age of Television

John Frankenheimer

John Frankenheimer on the end of the Golden Age of Television

Larry Gelbart

Larry Gelbart on the changes in the profession since TV's "Golden Age"

Larry Gelbart on the rigorous work ethic and camraderie of the writers of Caesar's Hour

Jerry Goldsmith

Jerry Goldsmith on the craft of composing music for live television broadcasts and on the process of composing for television

Jerry Goldsmith on the pressure of composing for live television in the '50s and what he learned in that time

Mary Lynn Gottfried

Mary Lynn Gottfried on working as a receptionist for The Ed Sullivan Show

Mary Lynn Gottfried on The Ed Sullivan Show

Jeffrey Hayden

Jeffrey Hayden on directing for "live" TV as similar to directing theater (versus the rushed schedule of filmed TV)

Arthur Hiller

Arthur Hiller on the schedule for producing NBC Matinee Theater and the excitement of directing for live television

Arthur Hiller on dealing with an athlete who couldn't act appearing on NBC Matinee Theater, and his love of doing "live" television

Arthur Hiller on camera tricks and fast changes he had to make while directing Playhouse 90

Arthur Hiller on the excitement of "live" television

Ron Howard

Ron Howard on the migration of TV production from New York to Los Angeles in the 1950s, and his father, Rance Howard's, natural gravitation to western roles

Ron Howard on a mistake he made on "live" TV as a child actor on Playhouse 90

Kim Hunter

Kim Hunter on appearing on various live television broadcasts in the 1950s

Kim Hunter on acting on live television in the 1950s

Kim Hunter on appearing on various Playhouse 90 productions

Lamont Johnson

Lamont Johnson on directing NBC Matinee Theater

Russell Johnson

Russell Johnson on enjoying working in live television

Lucille Kallen

Lucille Kallen on the Golden Age of Television

Ernest Kinoy

Ernest Kinoy on the Golden Age of Television

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"

Eartha Kitt

Eartha Kitt on being an African-American performer on television in the 1950s

Eartha Kitt on acting on the anthology series Omnibus

Jack Klugman

Jack Klugman on co-starring in the Producers' Showcase production of "The Petrified Forest" with Humphrey Bogart (airdate: May 30, 1955)

Jack Klugman on the Golden Age of Television

Don Knotts

Don Knotts on a moment in "live" TV in the 1950s when fellow actor Les Damon went up on his lines on soap opera Search for Tomorrow

Don Knotts on the challenges of performing on "live TV" in the 1950s

Don Knotts on TV actors not needing agents during the early days of TV in New York City

Sheila Kuehl

Sheila Kuehl on playing "Jackie Erwin" on The Stu Erwin Show aka Trouble With Father

Sheila Kuehl on acting in live and filmed television dramas in the 1950s

Perry Lafferty

Perry Lafferty on the Golden Age of Television

Angela Lansbury

Angela Lansbury on the experience of doing "live TV" during the "Golden Age of Television," after having been a theater performer.

Jack Larson

Jack Larson on working on a live drama, where line cuts were made hours before airtime

Piper Laurie

Piper Laurie on performing in the Playhouse 90 production "The Days of Wine and Roses"

Norman Lear

Norman Lear on the challenges of working all day and night in the days of live television

Norman Lear on what he sees as the best of television, from the days of Edward R. Murrow and the "golden age" of television

Jack Lemmon

Jack Lemmon on acting on Kraft Television Theatre and appearing on live television

Jack Lemmon on working on Studio One

Jack Lemmon on appearing on Ford Television Theatre's "The Day Lincoln Was Shot"

Jack Lemmon on appearing on the Playhouse 90 production of "Face of a Hero"

Sidney Lumet

Sidney Lumet on the end of the Golden Age of Television

Stewart MacGregory

Stewart MacGregory on being stage coordinator for NBC Television starting in 1948

Stewart MacGregory on the atmosphere and logistics of a live television broadcast

Stewart MacGregory on the cameras and other equipment used in the Golden Age of Television

Nancy Malone

Nancy Malone on the pressures of working in early, live television

Delbert Mann

Delbert Mann on directing Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse

Abby Mann

Abby Mann on being a part of the Golden Age of Television, and how television has changed the world

Bob Markell

Bob Markell on what represents the Golden Age of Television

E. G. Marshall

E.G. Marshall on the the classic anthology series of the '50s, and the producers of those shows

E.G. Marshall on acting on live television in the '50s

Jayne Meadows

Jayne Meadows on the challenges of working in live television

Jayne Meadows on getting a job as a panelist on I've Got a Secret and meeting Steve Allen

Jayne Meadows on being a panelist on I've Got a Secret

Jayne Meadows on her sister Audrey Meadows as "Alice Kramden" on The Honeymooners

Jayne Meadows on how television has changed since the '50s

Priscilla Morgan

Priscilla Morgan on the Golden Age of Television

Howard Morris

Howard Morris on co-starring on Admiral Broadway Revue, Your Show of Shows, and Caesar's Hour, along with Sid Caesar, Imogene Coca, and Carl Reiner

Tad Mosel

Tad Mosel on writing for Ominbus

Tad Mosel on writing for Medallion Theater

Tad Mosel on writing "The Haven" for Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse produced by Fred Coe and on Coe's contribution to television

Tad Mosel on writing for Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse

Tad Mosel on writing for Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse

Tad Mosel on writing for Studio One

Tad Mosel on writing "The Waiting Place" for Playwrights '56

Tad Mosel on writing for Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse

Tad Mosel on working with Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, and Henry Fonda on Producers' Showcase: "The Petrified Forest"

Tad Mosel on working with Martin Manulis on Playhouse 90

Tad Mosel on writing "The Five Dollar Bill" for Studio One

Tad Mosel on writing for Playhouse 90

Tad Mosel on watching Playhouse 90 and other live dramas of his be performed

Tad Mosel on what the Golden Age of Television means to him

Tad Mosel on the camaraderie among writers during the Golden Age of Television

Bill Mumy

Bill Mumy on acting on The Twilight Zone

Nichelle Nichols

Nichelle Nichols on watching the test pattern on early television

Agnes Nixon

Agnes Nixon on writing for the Golden Age anthology dramas

Hugh O'Brian

Hugh O'Brian on the challenges and advantages of working in live television

Carroll O'Connor

Carroll O'Connor on the role dramatic anthologies played for New York actors during the 1950s-60s

Don Pike

Don Pike on acting as technical director for Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse

Don Pike on being technical director for Lights Out and Your Hit Parade

Don Pike on being technical director for Chevrolet on Broadway

David Pressman

David Pressman on early television's relationship to theater

Frances Reid

Frances Reid on the challenges of working on live television

Carl Reiner

Carl Reiner on Your Show of Shows and Caesar's Hour

Gene Reynolds

Gene Reynolds on working in live television in the '50s

Maria Riva

Actress Maria Riva on making costume changes in "live" TV in the 1950s

Maria Riva on how she became a contract player for CBS in the early 1950s, along with actress Mary Sinclair, John Newland, and (possibly) John Forsythe all of whom then worked on such CBS series of the day as Studio One and Danger

Maria Riva on establishing herself as a TV star in the 1950s, and how little TV demanded of acting "talent" in the early days of the medium

Maria Riva on a gaffe that happened on "live" TV in the 1950s when the prop gun that actor Rod Steiger was using didn't fire— prompting him to instead say "bang" (possibly on Lux Video Theater: "Cafe Ami" [their only confirmed co-starring TV show])

Maria Riva on the Golden Age of "live" TV in New York in the 1950s, exemplified by such classic anthology series as Studio One

Cliff Robertson

Cliff Robertson on starring in the Playhouse 90 live production of "The Days of Wine and Roses"

Cliff Robertson on The U.S. Steel Hour's "The Two Worlds of Charly Gordon" and the feature film "Charly"

Howard Rosenberg

Howard Rosenberg on how television changed and evolved during the '70s and his thoughts on the Golden Age of Television

Jay Sandrich

Jay Sandrich on the technical challenges of shooting for both coasts in the 1950s

Jay Sandrich on how the television comedies of the 1950s, such as The Danny Thomas Show (Make Room for Daddy), would have one, strong director

Joseph Sargent

Joseph Sargent on acting on live television in the '50s

William Schallert

William Schallert on working on Matinee Theater

William Schallert on working in live TV on Matinee Theater

William Schallert on appearing on The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show

William Schallert on appearing on The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show

Ralph Senensky

Ralph Senensky on working on Playhouse 90

William Shatner

William Shatner on the experience of doing live dramas in the '50s

David Shaw

David Shaw on the Golden Age of Television

Jack Shea

Jack Shea on working on live anthology dramas like Philco Television Playhouse

James Sheldon

James Sheldon on directing the radio show "We, The People," which was then simulcast on television and radio and became a regular television show

James Sheldon on changes in the television business in the 1950s that led to directors becoming freelancers rather than employees of advertising agencies or networks

Hazel Shermet

Hazel Shermet on appearing on The Morey Amsterdam Show

Hazel Shermet on appearing on The Fred Allen Show

Hazel Shermet on doing Songs You've Never Heard for WOR

Garry Simpson

Garry Simpson on broadcast standards for early television

Garry Simpson on directing Jimmy Durante, Ed Wynn, and Jackie Gleason on Four Star Revue

Dick Smith

Dick Smith on NBC censorship when he had to make Laurence Olivier look like he had leprosy

Aaron Spelling

Aaron Spelling on writing for and production of Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater

Mary Kay Stearns

Mary Kay and Johnny Stearns on how Mary Kay and Johnny (one of TV's earliest sitcoms) came about

Mary Kay and Johnny Stearns on the challenges of acting in live television; on sets and locations on Mary Kay and Johnny

Johnny Stearns

Mary Kay and Johnny Stearns on how Mary Kay and Johnny (one of TV's earliest sitcoms) came about

Mary Kay and Johnny Stearns on the challenges of acting in live television; on sets and locations on Mary Kay and Johnny

Johnny Stearns of Mary Kay and Johnny on the Golden Age of Television

Howard Storm

Howard Storm on the burlesque sketch "Joe the Bartender" he would do on early comedy-variety shows

Gale Storm

Gale Storm on how My Little Margie impacted television

Mel Tolkin

Mel Tolkin on writing for Your Show of Shows

Mel Tolkin on classic sketches from Caesar's Hour featuring Sid Caesar

Robert Vaughn

Robert Vaughn on "The Troublemakers" on Playhouse 90 with Ben Gazarra, directed by John Frankenheimer

Ellen M. Violett

Ellen M. Violett on writing Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" for Cameo Theater

Ellen M. Violett on writing "Breakdown" for Suspense

Ellen M. Violett on writing for Omnibus

Ellen M. Violett on writing for Producer's Showcase

Clint Walker

Clint Walker on the legacy of Cheyenne

Ruth Warrick

Ruth Warrick on acting in live television

Ethel Winant

Ethel Winant on the Golden Age of Television and what represents the best of television

All Topics