''Fireside Theatre'' (also known as ''Jane Wyman Presents'') is an American

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...

drama series that ran on NBC from 1949 to 1958, and was the first successful

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ed series on American

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. Productions were low-budget and often based on

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stories or written by freelance writers such as

Rod Serling Rodman Edward Serling (December 25, 1924 – June 28, 1975) was an American screenwriter, playwright, television producer, and narrator/on-screen host, best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his anthology television series ' ...

. While it was panned by critics, it remained in the top ten most popular shows for most of its run. It predated the other major pioneer of filmed TV in America, ''

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'', by two years.

Overview

Sidney Landfield Jane Wyman Fireside Theater 1955

''Fireside Theatre'' was created by Frank Wisbar, who also wrote and directed many episodes. From 1952 to 1958, the program was presented by a host. This role was first filled by Wisbar (1952–1953), then by Gene Raymond (1953–1955), and finally by the person most associated with the series in the public mind, Jane Wyman (1955–1958). When episodes of this program were

rerun A rerun or repeat is a rebroadcast of an episode of a radio or television program. There are two types of reruns – those that occur during a hiatus, and those that occur when a program is syndicated. Variations In the United Kingdom, the word ...

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during the summer of 1963, it was under the title ''Jane Wyman Presents''; during the period first-run episodes were hosted by Wyman, the series was sometimes known as ''The Jane Wyman Show''. One of ''Fireside Theatres most notable offerings was a 1951 condensed version of

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

's ''

A Christmas Carol ''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. ''A Christmas C ...

'', featuring

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for the only time on American television. He later recreated the role on a spoken word Caedmon Records LP album, with Paul Scofield as narrator. It has since been released on CD. The

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also ran a playscripts club called The Fireside Theatre.

Episodes

Cast

As an anthology series, ''Fireside Theatre'' had no regular cast, just a series of guest stars: *

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* John Archer * Barry Atwater * Phyllis Avery * Parley Baer *

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* Gloria Blondell *

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* Anthony Caruso *

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* Hans Conried *

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* Paul Douglas * Stephen Dunne * Dan Duryea *

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* Richard Erdman * Bill Erwin *

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* William Fawcett * Frank Ferguson * Joe Flynn * Bruce Gordon *

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* Virginia Gregg * Virginia Grey * Kevin Hagen *

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* Charles Herbert * Louis Jean Heydt * William Hopper * Vivi Janiss *

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* Henry Jones * Gail Kobe * Jack Kruschen * Fernando Lamas * Charles Lane * John Larch * Peter Lawford *

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* Jeff Morrow *

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* Jeanette Nolan * Margaret O'Brien *

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* Maudie Prickett *

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* Roberta Shore *

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* Arthur Space *

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* Jan Sterling * Craig Stevens *

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* Marie Windsor * Fay Wray *

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Reception

Critical response

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' magazine praised an episode titled "The Lottery", saying that the cast "all turned in taut, exciting performances to make Lottery a real winner". Unlike most episodes of the series, this episode aired live. In 1954, ''Billboard'' voted it fourth-best filmed network drama series, ahead of the more fondly remembered '' General Electric Theater''; however, ''Billboard''s list excluded "

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' Films * ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film * ''Mystery'' ( ...

" shows (which was a separate list topped by '' Dragnet'').The Billboard, 31 Jul 1954
Page 14.

Ratings

''Fireside Theatre'' became a hit for NBC, always in the Top 30 shows at the end of each TV season, until the 1956–1957 season, when its ratings slumped. After this, it never again regained its top spot. Seasonal rankings (based on average total viewers per episode) of ''Fireside Theatre'' on NBC. (''Note'': In the United States, each network television season starts in September and ends in late May, which coincides with the completion of May

sweeps 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 ...

References

*Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle, '' The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows''

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=0041023, title=Fireside Theatre

1949 American television series debuts 1958 American television series endings 1940s American anthology television series 1950s American anthology television series American Broadcasting Company original programming 1940s American drama television series 1950s American drama television series Black-and-white American television shows English-language television shows NBC original programming