''Ford Theatre'', spelled ''Ford Theater'' for the original radio version and known, in full, as ''The Ford Television Theatre'' for the TV version, is a radio and television anthology series broadcast in the United States in the 1940s and 1950s. At various times the television series appeared on all three major television networks, while the radio version was broadcast on two separate networks and on two separate coasts. ''Ford Theatre'' was named for its sponsor, the Ford Motor Company, which had an earlier success with its concert music series, ''

The Ford Sunday Evening Hour ''The Ford Sunday Evening Hour'' is an American concert radio series sponsored by the Ford Motor Company. The hour-long program was broadcast from 1934 to 1946,Sies, Luther F. (2014). ''Encyclopedia of American Radio, 1920-1960, 2nd Edition, Volum ...

'' (1934–42).

Radio

''Ford Theater'' as a radio series lasted for only two seasons. Its first season was broadcast from New York City on NBC with such actors as

Ed Begley Edward James Begley Sr. (March 25, 1901 – April 28, 1970) was an American actor of theatre, radio, film, and television. He won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the film ''Sweet Bird of Youth'' (1962) an ...

Shirley Booth Shirley Booth (born Marjory Ford; August 30, 1898October 16, 1992) was an American actress. One of only 24 performers to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting, Booth was the recipient of an Academy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards and three Tony Awa ...

, Gary Merrill,

Everett Sloane Everett H. Sloane (October 1, 1909 – August 6, 1965) was an American character actor who worked in radio, theatre, films, and television. Early life Sloane was born in Manhattan on October 1, 1909, to Nathaniel I. Sloane and Rose (Gers ...

and

Vicki Vola Victoria Vola (August 27, 1916 – July 21, 1985) was an American actress. She was best known for her portrayal of Edith Miller on both the radio and television runs of ''Mr. District Attorney''. Early years Vola was born in Denver, Colorado. L ...

. This season ran from October 5, 1947, to June 27, 1948. Due to poor ratings, Ford moved the show to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

and CBS for the second season, where top Hollywood actors headed the casts. This season, which lasted from October 8, 1948, to July 1, 1949, received much higher ratings. However, with television rising in popularity, Ford decided to end its radio show and focus solely on television. Howard Lindsay became the program's master of ceremonies on October 5, 1947.

Television

The first ''Ford Theatre'' on U.S. television appeared on October 17, 1948, near the beginning of regularly scheduled

prime time Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...

network programming. It was an hour-long drama, broadcast live, as was most television of the era. This series used primarily Broadway actors. The program began as a monthly series, switching to biweekly a year later, in alternation on Friday nights at 9:00 pm Eastern time with the ''

54th Street Revue ''54th Street Revue'' is an American variety television program that was broadcast on CBS from May 5, 1949, through March 25, 1950. The program was a "showcase for up-and-coming professionals", originating from a theater on 54th Street in New York ...

.'' During this period, programming included adaptations of ''

Little Women ''Little Women'' is a coming-of-age novel written by American novelist Louisa May Alcott (1832–1888). Alcott wrote the book, originally published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869, at the request of her publisher. The story follows the lives ...

,'' with June Lockhart and

Kim Hunter Kim Hunter (born Janet Cole; November 11, 1922 – September 11, 2002) was an American theatre, film, and television actress. She achieved prominence for portraying Stella Kowalski in the original production of Tennessee Williams' ''A Streetcar N ...

, and ''One Sunday Afternoon,'' with Burgess Meredith and Hume Cronyn. During the following season, the final season for the program on CBS, the alternation in the same time slot was with ''Magnavox Theater.'' Garth Montgomery was the producer, with Carl Beier as associate producer. Franklin Schaffner was the director. A half-hour filmed ''Ford Theatre'' returned to the airwaves on NBC for the 1951–52 season on Thursday nights at 9:30 pm Eastern. At this time, production was moved from New York to

, and featured actors based there rather than on Broadway. Some of these programs were comedies instead of dramas. Performers appearing during this era included Frank Bank, Scott Brady, Claudette Colbert, Charles Coburn, Ed Hinton, Vivi Janiss, Peter Lawford, Sam Levene, Ida Lupino, Thomas Mitchell,

Dennis Morgan Dennis Morgan (born Earl Stanley Morner, December 20, 1908 – September 7, 1994) was an American actor-singer. He used the acting pseudonym Richard Stanley before adopting the name under which he gained his greatest fame. According to one obi ...

, Karen Sharpe,

Ann Sheridan Clara Lou "Ann" Sheridan (February 21, 1915 – January 21, 1967) was an American actress and singer. She is best known for her roles in the films ''San Quentin'' (1937) with Humphrey Bogart, ''Angels with Dirty Faces'' (1938) with James Cagne ...

Barry Sullivan Barry Sullivan may refer to: *Barry Sullivan (American actor) (1912–1994), US film and Broadway actor *Barry Sullivan (stage actor) (1821–1891), Irish born stage actor active in Britain and Australia *Barry Sullivan (lawyer), Chicago lawyer and ...

, and Beverly Washburn. Also appearing for the first time together were

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

and Nancy Davis, in an episode entitled "First Born," which first aired on February 3, 1953. In October 1954, ''Ford Theatre'' became the first network television series to be filmed regularly in color. During this period, ''Ford Theatre'' finished in the

Nielsen ratings Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...

at number 30 for the 1952–1953 season, number seven in 1953–1954, number 9 in 1954–1955, and number 13 in 1955–1956. After four seasons on NBC, the program was shown for a final season on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

during the 1956–57 season. The time slot was changed to Wednesdays at 9:30 pm. The last prime time broadcast of ''Ford Theatre'' was on July 10, 1957. From 9:00 to 9:30 p.m. on Saturdays during the summer of 1958, NBC broadcast the anthology series ''Opening Night'', which consisted entirely of reruns of episodes of ''Ford Theatre'' from the 1956–1957 season.Brooks and Marsh (1995), p. 779. First aired on June 14, 1958, ''Opening Night'' was broadcast every other week, alternating in its time slot with '' Club Oasis with Spike Jones''. Its final episode aired on September 8, 1958. In 1954,'' Billboard'' voted ''Ford Theatre'' the best filmed network television drama series.

Episodes

Season 1 (1948–49)

Season 2 (1949–50)

Season 3 (1950–51)

Season 4 (1952–53)

Season 5 (1953–54)

Season 6 (1954–55)

Season 7 (1955–56)

Season 8 (1956–57)

References

External links

– the radio series

* *

Listen to

*{{InternetArchiveOTR, id=FordTheater, title=Ford Theater

Watch

Episodes of the television version of ''Ford Theatre'' from the Internet Archive
1948 American television series debuts 1957 American television series endings 1940s American radio programs 1940s American anthology television series 1950s American anthology television series American Broadcasting Company original programming American live television series Black-and-white American television shows CBS original programming English-language television shows NBC original programming Television series by Screen Gems Television series by Sony Pictures Television Ford Motor Company NBC radio programs CBS Radio programs Anthology radio series