''Gulf Playhouse'', also known as ''Gulf Playhouse: 1st Person'' and ''First Person Playhouse'', is an American anthology series that aired on Friday nights from 1952 to 1953 on

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 ...

. Originally a standard live dramatic anthology series, it was later redeveloped as a summer replacement series whose anthology stories were now told as seen through the "eye" of the camera. The actors in each episode would talk to the camera as if it were a person, animal or object. ''Gulf Playhouse'' debuted on October 3, 1952, replacing ''

We the People The Preamble to the United States Constitution, beginning with the words We the People, is a brief introductory statement of the Constitution's fundamental purposes and guiding principles. Courts have referred to it as reliable evidence o ...

''. It initially ran on NBC opposite ''

My Friend Irma ''My Friend Irma'' is a media franchise that was spawned by a top-rated, long-running radio situation comedy created by writer-director-producer Cy Howard. The radio show was so popular in the late 1940s that its success escalated the films, ...

''. When it was cancelled, Gulf replaced it with ''

The Life of Riley ''The Life of Riley'' is an American radio situation comedy series of the 1940s that was adapted into a 1949 feature film, a 1950s television series, and a 1958 comic book. Radio The radio program initially aired on the Blue Network (later kn ...

''. The revised version, ''Gulf Playhouse: 1st Person'', was the summer replacement for ''Riley'' in 1953. The series ran for twenty-four episodes with stars that included

Rod Steiger Rodney Stephen Steiger (; April 14, 1925July 9, 2002, aged 77) was an American actor, noted for his portrayal of offbeat, often volatile and crazed characters. Cited as "one of Hollywood's most charismatic and dynamic stars," he is closely assoc ...

Tony Randall Anthony Leonard Randall (born Aryeh Leonard Rosenberg; February 26, 1920 – May 17, 2004) was an American actor. He is best known for portraying the role of Felix Unger in a television adaptation of the 1965 play ''The Odd Couple'' by Neil Sim ...

Kim Stanley Kim Stanley (born Patricia Kimberley Reid; February 11, 1925 – August 20, 2001) was an American actress, primarily in television and theatre, but with occasional film performances. She began her acting career in theatre, and subsequently at ...

Eddie Bracken Edward Vincent Bracken (February 7, 1915 – November 14, 2002) was an American actor. Bracken became a Hollywood comedy legend with lead performances in the films ''Hail the Conquering Hero'' and ''The Miracle of Morgan's Creek'' both from ...

Ward Bond Wardell Edwin Bond (April 9, 1903 – November 5, 1960) was an American film character actor who appeared in more than 200 films and starred in the NBC television series ''Wagon Train'' from 1957 to 1960. Among his best-remembered roles are Ber ...

Wendell Corey Wendell Reid Corey (March 20, 1914 – November 8, 1968) was an American actor and politician. He was President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and was a board member of the Screen Actors Guild. Biography Early years Corey was ...

, Felicia Montealegre Bernstein, 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 ...

. The show's sponsor was

Gulf Oil Gulf Oil was a major global oil company in operation from 1901 to 1985. The eighth-largest American manufacturing company in 1941 and the ninth-largest in 1979, Gulf Oil was one of the so-called Seven Sisters oil companies. Prior to its merger ...

, and it was produced and directed by Frank Telford. Among its other directors were

Arthur Penn Arthur Hiller Penn (September 27, 1922 – September 28, 2010) was an American director and producer of film, television and theater. Closely associated with the American New Wave, Penn directed critically acclaimed films throughout the 19 ...

. and Wes McKee. Bill Hoffman edited the scripts. Many of the writers were relatively unknown at the time. They included

Carey Wilber Carey Wilber (June 26, 1916 – May 2, 1998) was an American journalist and television writer born in Buffalo, New York. He began his career in the live days of television, and wrote for a variety of programs over the next three decades, including ' ...

, Frank D. Gilroy,

Abby Mann Abby Mann (December 1, 1927 – March 25, 2008) was an American film writer and producer. Life and career The son of Russian-Jewish immigrants, Mann was born as Abraham Goodman in Philadelphia. He grew up in East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. D ...

, and

Norman Lessing Norman Lessing (June 24, 1911 – October 22, 2001) was an American television screenwriter and producer, playwright, chess master, and chess writer. Biography Lessing grew up in New York City, and played a great deal of chess as a youth, reach ...

Episodes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gulf Playhouse 1952 American television series debuts 1953 American television series endings 1950s American anthology television series American live television series Black-and-white American television shows NBC original programming