Anthology Drama

The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation Presents

02:26

Tabs

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

Interviewees discuss the "Golden Age" of television dramas.

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

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

Delbert Mann

Delbert Mann on directing Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse

28:41

Abby Mann

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

04:59

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 writing "The Five Dollar Bill" for Studio One

07:16

Tad Mosel on writing for Playhouse 90

21:51

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

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

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