''Our American Heritage'' is a series of TV specials broadcast on NBC from 1959 to 1961. Mildred Freed Alberg produced the program with the cooperation of ''

American Heritage American Heritage may refer to: * ''American Heritage'' (magazine) * ''The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language'' * American Heritage Rivers * American Heritage School (disambiguation) See also *National Register of Historic Place ...

'' magazine.

Lowell Thomas Lowell Jackson Thomas (April 6, 1892 – August 29, 1981) was an American writer, actor, broadcaster, and traveler, best remembered for publicising T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia). He was also involved in promoting the Cinerama widescreen ...

was the narrator. Directors included James Lee, Jack Smight and

Alex Segal Alex Segal (July 1, 1915 – August 22, 1977) was an American television director, television producer, and film director. Segal directed more than 25 different television programs, including ''The United States Steel Hour'' and ''Celanese The ...

Writers included Ted Mosel, David Shaw, and

Mann Rubin Mann Rubin (December 11, 1927 – October 12, 2013) was an American film and television screenwriter, whose credits included '' The Best of Everything'' in 1959, '' Brainstorm'' in 1965, ''Warning Shot'' in 1967, ''The First Deadly Sin'' in 1980, ...

. A total of thirteen episodes were aired on the

National Broadcasting Company The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

from October 18, 1959 to May 13, 1961. Actors who were featured included

Raymond Massey Raymond Hart Massey (August 30, 1896 – July 29, 1983) was a Canadian actor, known for his commanding, stage-trained voice. For his lead role in '' Abe Lincoln in Illinois'' (1940), Massey was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. Amo ...

, Dean Jagger,

Walter Matthau Walter Matthau (; born Walter John Matthow; October 1, 1920 – July 1, 2000) was an American actor, comedian and film director. He is best known for his film roles in '' A Face in the Crowd'' (1957), ''King Creole'' (1958) and as a coach of a ...

Roddy McDowell Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude McDowall (17 September 1928 – 4 October 1998) was a British actor, photographer and film director. He began his acting career as a child in England, and then in the United States, in ''How Green Was My Valley'' (1 ...

, Christopher Plummer,

Susan Strasberg Susan Elizabeth Strasberg (May 22, 1938 – January 21, 1999) was an American stage, film, and television actress. Imagined to be the next Hepburn-type ingenue, she was nominated for a Tony Award at age 18, playing the title role in ''The Diary ...

, Melvyn Douglas,

Robert Redford Charles Robert Redford Jr. (born August 18, 1936) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the List of awards and nominations received by Robert Redford, recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Awards, Academy Award from four nomi ...

, and

Teresa Wright Muriel Teresa Wright (October 27, 1918 – March 6, 2005) was an American actress. She was nominated twice for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress: in 1941 for her debut work in ''The Little Foxes'', and in 1942 for ''Mrs. Miniver'', ...

. On January 27, 1960, the Thomas Alva Edison Foundations recognized ''Our American Heritage'' as "the television program best portraying America". The program was sponsored by

The Equitable Life Assurance Society The Equitable Life Assurance Society (Equitable Life), founded in 1762, is a life insurance company in the United Kingdom. The world's oldest mutual insurer, it pioneered age-based premiums based on mortality rate, laying "the framework for sci ...

. Episodes of the program included those shown in the table below:

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, id=1703230, title=Our American Heritage
''Our American Heritage'' at CVTA with episode list
1959 American television series debuts 1961 American television series endings 1950s American anthology television series 1960s American anthology television series NBC original programming