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Four Star Productions
Four Star Television, also called Four Star International, was an American television production company. Founded in 1952 as Four Star Productions by prominent Hollywood actors Dick Powell, David Niven, Charles Boyer, and Joel McCrea, it was inspired by Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz founding Desilu Productions a year earlier. McCrea left soon after its founding to continue in films, television and radio, and was replaced by Ida Lupino as the fourth star—although Lupino did not own stock in the company. Four Star produced several popular programs in the early days of television, including ''Four Star Playhouse'' (its first series), ''Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre'', ''Stagecoach West'', ''The June Allyson Show'' (also known as ''The DuPont Show Starring June Allyson''), ''The Dick Powell Show'', '' Burke's Law'', '' The Rogues'' and ''The Big Valley''. Despite its stars sharing equal billing, Powell played the biggest role in the company's early success and growth. Powell became ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Four Star Logo
4 (four) is a number, numeral (linguistics), numeral and numerical digit, digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is tetraphobia, considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest composite number, its proper divisors being and . Four is the sum and product of two with itself: 2 + 2 = 4 = 2 x 2, the only number b such that a + a = b = a x a, which also makes four the smallest squared prime number p^. In Knuth's up-arrow notation, , and so forth, for any number of up arrows. By consequence, four is the only square one more than a prime number, specifically 3, three. The sum of the first four prime numbers 2, two + 3, three + 5, five + 7, seven is the only sum of four consecutive prime numbers that yields an Parity (mathematics), odd prime number, 17 (number), seventeen, which is the fourth super-prime. Four lies between the first proper pair of twin primes, 3, three and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lucille Ball
Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedienne and producer. She was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning five times, and was the recipient of several other accolades, such as the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award and two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She earned many honors, including the Women in Film Crystal Award, an induction into the Television Hall of Fame, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Kennedy Center Honors, and the Governors Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Ball's career began in 1929 when she landed work as a model. Shortly thereafter, she began her performing career on Broadway using the stage name Diane (or Dianne) Belmont. She later appeared in films in the 1930s and 1940s as a contract player for RKO Radio Pictures, being cast as a chorus girl or in similar roles, with lead roles in B-pictures and supporting roles in A-pictures. During this time, she met Cuban bandlea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trackdown (TV Series)
''Trackdown'' is an American Western television series starring Robert Culp that aired on CBS between 1957 and 1959. The series was produced by Dick Powell's Four Star Television and filmed at the Desilu-Culver Studio. ''Trackdown'' was a spin-off of Powell's anthology series, ''Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre''. Overview ''Trackdown'' stars Robert Culp as Texas Ranger Hoby Gilman. It is set in the 1870s after the American Civil War. In early episodes, stories focused on Gilman going to different Texas towns in pursuit of wanted fugitives. At midseason, the series became set in the town of Porter, Texas. Episodes touched on multiple Western themes and topics, so it was known as "the thinking man's Western". Gilman is the'' de facto'' sheriff in Porter. His friends in the town include Henrietta Porter, portrayed by Ellen Corby (who later played Esther Walton on CBS's ''The Waltons''). She is the widow of the town's founder and owns ''The Porter Enterprise'' newspaper. Occasiona ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Rifleman
''The Rifleman'' is an American Western television program starring Chuck Connors as rancher Lucas McCain and Johnny Crawford as his son Mark McCain. It was set in the 1880s in the fictional town of North Fork, New Mexico Territory. The show was filmed in black and white, in half-hour episodes. ''The Rifleman'' aired on ABC from September 30, 1958, to April 8, 1963, as a production of Four Star Television. It was one of the first primetime series on US television to show a single parent raising a child. The program was titled to reflect McCain's use of a Winchester Model 1892 rifle, a historical anachronism, as the show was set in the 1880s, and customized to allow repeated firing by cycling its lever action. He demonstrated this technique in the opening credits, as well as a second modification that allowed him to cycle the action with one hand using a technique known as "spin-cocking". Overview The series centers on Lucas McCain, a Union veteran of the American Civil War an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Big Valley
''The Big Valley'' is an American Western drama television series that originally aired from September 15, 1965, to May 19, 1969 on ABC. The series is set on the fictional Barkley Ranch in Stockton, California, from 1884 to 1888. The one-hour episodes follow the lives of the Barkley family, one of the wealthiest and largest ranch-owning families in Stockton, led by matriarch Victoria Barkley ( Barbara Stanwyck), her sons Jarrod ( Richard Long) and Nick (Peter Breck), daughter Audra (Linda Evans), and their half-brother Heath (Lee Majors). The series was created by A.I. Bezzerides and Louis F. Edelman, and produced by Levy-Gardner-Laven for Four Star Television. Plot synopsis The series begins about 6 years after the death of the family patriarch, Thomas Barkley. Although he is never shown in the series (other than a painting and a statue), the character of Thomas Barkley is referred to as a major plot point many times. The character of Heath Barkley is introduced in episod ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Rogues (TV Series)
''The Rogues'' is an American television series that appeared on NBC from September 13, 1964, to April 18, 1965, starring David Niven, Charles Boyer, and Gig Young as a related trio of former conmen who could, for the right price, be persuaded to trick a very wealthy and heinously unscrupulous mark. Although it won the 1964 Golden Globe award for Best Television Series, the show was cancelled after one season consisting of thirty episodes. Production Niven and Boyer were two of the co-owners of Four Star Television, which produced the show. Although sometimes appearing together, the three lead actors tended to rotate appearances as their schedules permitted. This resulted in Young helming more episodes because the other two were engaged on other projects; Boyer and Niven were still major film stars (Niven had received an Academy Award for Best Actor in 1958). Larry Hagman, who portrayed "J.R. Ewing" in the television series ''Dallas'' two decades later, was brought aboard fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Burke's Law (1963 TV Series)
''Burke's Law'' is an American detective series that aired on ABC from 1963 to 1966. The show starred Gene Barry as millionaire captain of Los Angeles Police homicide division Amos Burke, who is chauffeured around to solve crimes in his 1962 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II complete with an early car phone. The original series was converted into a spy drama, ''Amos Burke Secret Agent'', in its third and final season. The series was revived in 1994–1995 on CBS, with Barry reprising the role of the millionaire detective. Premise The show shares stylistic similarities with Barry's previous series, ''Bat Masterson'', in which he played a debonair lawman of the Old West. During the opening credits, as the title flashes onscreen, a woman's voice seductively pronounces the words "It's Burke's Law!" The title also reflects Burke's habit of dispensing wisdom to his underlings in a professorial manner, ''e.g.'', "Never ask a question unless you already know the answer. Burke's Law." The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Dick Powell Show
''The Dick Powell Show'' is an American television anthology series that ran on NBC from September 26, 1961, until September 17, 1963, primarily sponsored by the Reynolds Metals Company. Overview The series was an anthology of various dramas and comedies. Programs were initially hosted by longtime film star Dick Powell until his death from lung cancer on January 2, 1963, then by a series of guest hosts (under the revised title ''The Dick Powell Theater'') until the series ended. The first of these hosts was Gregory Peck, who began the January 8 program with a tribute to Powell, recognizing him as "a great and good friend to our industry." Peck was followed by fellow actors such as Robert Mitchum, Frank Sinatra, Ronald Reagan, Glenn Ford, Charles Boyer, Jackie Cooper, Rock Hudson, Milton Berle, Jack Lemmon, Dean Martin, Robert Taylor (American actor), Robert Taylor, Steve McQueen, David Niven, Danny Thomas, Robert Wagner, and John Wayne. It featured many future stars, produ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The June Allyson Show
''The DuPont Show with June Allyson'' (also known as ''The June Allyson Show'') is an American anthology drama series which aired on CBS from September 21, 1959, to April 3, 1961, with rebroadcasts continuing until June 12, 1961. The series was hosted by actress June Allyson and was a Four Star-Pamric Production. Allyson sometimes starred in episodes, one of which ("A Summer's Ending") was her first appearance on TV with her husband, Dick Powell. Aaron Spelling was the producer. Paul Henreid, James Neilson, and Jack Smight were directors. Richard Levinson and William Link William Theodore Link (December 15, 1933 – December 27, 2020) was an American film and television screenwriter and producer who often worked in collaboration with Richard Levinson. Biography Early life Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ... were writers for the program. Allyson took offense when critics dismissed the program with comments that included comparing its episodes to contents of wome ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stagecoach West (TV Series)
''Stagecoach West'' is an American Western television series about stagecoach drivers on the American frontier. It stars Wayne Rogers, Richard Eyer, and Robert Bray, and originally aired on ABC. It premiered on October 4, 1960 and ended on June 27, 1961, with a total of 38 episodes over the course of one season. Synopsis Luke Perry and Simon "Sime" Kane are veterans of the American Civil War who own and operate a stagecoach line on the American frontier.McNeil, Alex, ''Total Television: The Comprehensive Guide to Programming From 1948 to the Present, Fourth Edition'', New York: Penguin Books, 1996, , p. 783.Brooks, Tim, and Earle Marsh, ''The Complete Directory to Prime-Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present (Sixth Edition)'', New York: Ballantine Books, 1995, , pp. 967–968. They share driving duties during stagecoach runs, and Sime′s courageous and resourceful son Davey often accompanies them on their trips. Based in the remote, unincorporated frontier town of Outpo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
''Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre'' is an American Western anthology television series that was broadcast on CBS from October 5, 1956, until September 20, 1962. Format Many episodes were based on novels by Zane Grey, to all of which Four Star Films held exclusive rights. Dick Powell was the host and the star of some episodes. Many of the guest stars made their TV debuts on the program. Powell said that working with Grey's stories proved to be both a benefit and a challenge. While he spoke of "the vast output of wonderful action stories from Zane Grey's pen", he acknowledged the challenge of "trying to compress a novel into half an hour of storytelling on television." Some stories could be adapted relatively easily, while others had to be skipped or only parts of them could be used for scripts. Over time, script writers used up the supply of adaptable material from Grey and began to adapt other authors' stories. Preview and reception A preview of the show in the trade publicat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Four Star Playhouse
''Four Star Playhouse'' is an American anthology series that ran from 1952 to 1956. Four Star Playhouse was owned by Four Star International. Its episodes ranged anywhere from surreal mysteries, such as "The Man on the Train", to light comedies, such as "The Lost Silk Hat". The original premise was that Charles Boyer, Ida Lupino, David Niven, and Dick Powell would take turns starring in episodes. However, several other performers took the lead from time to time, including Ronald Colman and Joan Fontaine. The show was sponsored in its first bi-weekly season by The Singer Company. Bristol-Myers became an alternate sponsor when it became a weekly series in the fall of 1953 (both sponsors' names alternated as part of the show's title in its initial broadcasts). While it never made the Nielsen Top 30, the ratings were sufficient to keep it on the air for four seasons. In 1954, Billboard voted it the second best filmed network television drama series. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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