''Frances Farmer Presents'' is an American

anthology series An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a differ ...

that aired on

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

station WFBM-TV (then an

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

affiliate). The series premiered on October 13, 1958 and ended in September

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

Synopsis

Film actress

Frances Farmer Frances Elena Farmer (September 19, 1913August 1, 1970) was an American actress and television hostess. She appeared in over a dozen feature films over the course of her career, though she garnered notoriety for sensationalized accounts of her l ...

had gone to Indianapolis to appear in the play ''

The Chalk Garden ''The Chalk Garden'' is a play by Enid Bagnold that premiered in the US in 1955 and was produced in Britain the following year. It tells the story of the imperious Mrs St Maugham and her granddaughter Laurel, a disturbed child under the care of ...

'', where a WFBM executive saw her performance and suggested she would be an ideal celebrity to host their new daily series showcasing vintage films. The show premiered in October 1958, and quickly became the top-rated show in its time period, a position it retained until it left the air in September 1964. It was one of the first locally produced television programs to be broadcast in color. Farmer not only introduced the daily feature, she also frequently interviewed visiting celebrities, people as diverse as

Mitch Miller Mitchell William Miller (July 4, 1911 – July 31, 2010) was an American choral conductor, record producer, record-industry executive, and professional oboist. He was involved in almost all aspects of the industry, particularly as a conductor ...

Dan Blocker Bobby Dan Davis Blocker (December 10, 1928 – May 13, 1972) was an American television actor and Korean War veteran, who played Hoss Cartwright in the long-running NBC Western television series ''Bonanza''. Biography Early life Blocker was born ...

, Marsha Hunt,

Marge Champion Marjorie Celeste Champion ( Belcher; September 2, 1919October 21, 2020) was an American dancer and actress. At fourteen, she was hired as a dance model for Walt Disney Studios animated films. Later, she performed as an actress and dancer in film ...

, and her ex-husband Leif Erickson. Farmer also took her show on the road to

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

. There is existing film of her two weeks at Purdue, where she hosted the show while simultaneously appearing in ''The Sea Gull''. Farmer interviewed many of the students appearing in the play, as well as Purdue's president and theater department chairman, Joseph Stockdale.

References

External links

*
''Shedding Light on Shadowland'': An essay about Farmer and the series
1958 American television series debuts 1964 American television series endings 1950s American anthology television series 1960s American anthology television series English-language television shows American non-fiction television series {{US-nonfiction-tv-prog-stub