''The Loretta Young Show'' (originally known as ''Letter to Loretta'') 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 Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

broadcast on Sunday nights from September 2, 1953, to June 4, 1961, on

NBC 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 ...

for a total of 165 episodes. The series was hosted by actress

Loretta Young Loretta Young (born Gretchen Young; January 6, 1913 – August 12, 2000) was an American actress. Starting as a child, she had a long and varied career in film from 1917 to 1953. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the fil ...

, who also played the lead in various episodes.

Series overview

''The Loretta Young Show'' was sponsored by

Procter & Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer hea ...

for its first six seasons, from 1953 to 1959. After a dispute with her sponsor, Young found other sponsors to sustain her program: The Toni Company (1959-1961), Philip Morris (1959-1960), and Warner-Lambert's

Listerine Listerine is an American brand of antiseptic mouthwash that is promoted with the slogan "Kills germs that cause bad breath", Named after Joseph Lister, who pioneered antiseptic surgery at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary in Scotland, Listerine was ...

(1960-1961). The program began with the premise that each drama was an answer to a question asked in her

fan mail Fan mail is mail sent to a public figure, especially a celebrity, by their admirers or " fans". In return for a fan's support and admiration, public figures may send an autographed poster, photo, reply letter or note thanking their fans for th ...

; the program's original title was ''Letter to Loretta''. The title was changed to ''The Loretta Young Show'' during the first season (as of February 14, 1954), and the "letter" concept was dropped altogether at the end of the second season. At this time, Young's health, which had deteriorated due to a heavy production schedule during the second season, required a number of guest hosts and guest stars; her first appearance in the 1955–56 season was for the

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

show. From this point on, Young appeared in only about half of each season's shows as an actress and merely functioned as the program hostess for the remainder. She became known for swirling around in her gowns during her entrance through a door at the start of the show, a convention parodied by many comedians, including

Ernie Kovacs Ernest Edward Kovacs (January 23, 1919 – January 13, 1962) was a Hungarian-American comedian, actor, and writer. Kovacs's visually experimental and often spontaneous comedic style influenced numerous television comedy programs for years afte ...

. Young was quoted as saying

After the audience had seen me well-groomed, I can wear horrible clothes, ugly make-up, or even a false nose during the show without anyone wondering whether I've aged overnight or something.

This program, minus Young's introductions and summarized conclusions (Young insisted on their deletion due to her concern that the dresses she wore in those segments would "date" the program), was rerun in daytime by NBC as ''The Loretta Young Theatre'' from October 1960 to December 1964, and then appeared, again without the introductions and conclusions, in

syndication Syndication may refer to: * Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system * Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips * Web syndication, ...

through the 1970s. In 1992, selected episodes of the original series (with Young's opening and closing segments intact), authorized by Young herself and chosen from her personal collection of 16 mm film prints, were released on home video, and eventually shown on cable television. During the series' eight-year run, the series was popular with audiences and critics, and it finished in 28th place 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 ...

in the spring of 1955. It finished its last season far behind its competition, '' Candid Camera'' on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

, and was thereby cancelled. In 1954, ''Billboard'' voted it the third-best network filmed drama series.

Selected guest stars

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* Richard Carlson *

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* Steve Forrest *

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* Sue Lyon *

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Ratings and time slots

Accolades

In 1959, the series won a

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

for Best TV Show. Loretta Young earned three Best Actress

Primetime Emmy Awards The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...

in 1955, 1957 and 1959.

Norbert Brodine Nobert Brodine (December 16, 1896 – February 28, 1970), also credited as Norbert F. Brodin and Norbert Brodin, was a film cinematographer. The Saint Joseph, Missouri-born cameraman worked on over 100 films in his career before retiring from fi ...

claimed an Emmy for Best Cinematography in 1957. Young also earned Emmy nominations in 1954, 1956, 1958, 1960 and 1961, while Brodine was nominated in 1955, 1956 and 1958 as well. Other Emmy nominations were for Best New Program in 1954, Best Dramatic Series – Less Than One Hour in 1959, Best Direction for

Robert Florey Robert Florey (14 September 1900 – 16 May 1979) was a French-American director, screenwriter, film journalist and actor. Born as Robert Fuchs in Paris, he became an orphan at an early age and was then raised in Switzerland. In 1920 he worked a ...

in 1955, Best Teleplay Writing – Half Hour or Less for Richard Morris in 1957 and Best Art Direction in a Television Film for Frank Paul Sylos in 1959. The

Directors Guild of America The Directors Guild of America (DGA) is an entertainment guild that represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry and abroad. Founded as the Screen Directors Guild in 1936, the group merge ...

nominated Robert Florey in 1955 and

Norman Foster Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Nor ...

in 1957 for their work on the series.

Reboot

''The New Loretta Young Show'' ran for one season on

from September 24, 1962, to March 18, 1963, under the alternating sponsorship of

Lever Brothers Lever Brothers was a British manufacturing company founded in 1885 by two brothers: William Hesketh Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme (1851–1925), and James Darcy Lever (1854–1916). They invested in and successfully promoted a new soap-making p ...

and The Toni Company. The show was an episodic comedy/drama, with Young playing the role of Christine Massey, a widow raising seven children in suburban Connecticut. Her romantic interest was Paul Belzer; the two characters were married in the 26th and final episode. Running against the popular series ''

Ben Casey ''Ben Casey'' is an American medical drama series that aired on ABC from 1961 to 1966. The show was known for its opening titles, which consisted of a hand drawing the symbols " ♂, ♀, ✳, †, ∞" on a chalkboard, as cast member Sam Jaff ...

'', the ''New Loretta Young Show'' received poor ratings and was not renewed for a second season. Young introduced and closed each episode as herself, as she had done with ''The Loretta Young Show''. Episodes of ''The New Loretta Young Show'' are sometimes included in certain syndicated packages of ''The Loretta Young Show'', with the new series title removed and the original ''Loretta Young Show'' theme and titles added. Lyl Productions (Young's company) had a contract dispute and court case with

Portland Mason Portland Mason (; 26 November 1948 – 10 May 2004) was an American child actress and writer. Early life Mason was born on 26 November 1948 and was the elder child of English actors James Mason and Pamela Mason. She was named after Portl ...

. Aged 13, she was cast as Marnie, then dismissed before the pilot episode was shot. Upset by producers rejecting her wardrobe, which she was contractually required to supply, her mother sent her home to eat lunch and recompose herself. Meanwhile, Lyl decided if she was not back by that afternoon, Celia Kaye would play Marnie. Nobody told the Masons and Portland returned late. After Kaye replaced her, the Masons and Lyl sued each other for breach of contract; the court ruled in favor of the former.

Cast

*Loretta Young as Christine Massey *

James Philbrook James Philbrook was an American actor who appeared in several major films, including ''I Want to Live!'' (1958), ''Woman Obsessed'' and as Colonel Tall in the 1964 war picture '' The Thin Red Line''. He had supporting roles on television, includi ...

as Paul Belzer *

Dack Rambo Norman Jay Rambo (November 13, 1941 – March 21, 1994), professionally known as Dack Rambo, was an American actor, widely known for his role as Walter Brennan's grandson Jeff in the series ''The Guns of Will Sonnett'', as Steve Jacobi in the ...

as Peter Massey *

Dirk Rambo Norman Jay Rambo (November 13, 1941 – March 21, 1994), professionally known as Dack Rambo, was an American actor, widely known for his role as Walter Brennan's grandson Jeff in the series ''The Guns of Will Sonnett'', as Steve Jacobi in the ...

as Paul Massey * Cindy Carol as Binkie Massey *

Sandy Descher Sandra Kay Descher (born November 30, 1945) is an American former child actress of the 1950s. Life and career Born November 30, 1945, in Burbank, California, Descher is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Descher. She has a younger brother, Michae ...

as Judy Massey * Tracy Stratford as Maria Massey *

Beverly Washburn Beverly Washburn (born November 25, 1943) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles in the Walt Disney drama ''Old Yeller'' (1957) and the American General Pictures horror '' Spider Baby'' (1967). Early years Washburn was born in L ...

as Vickie Massey *

Celia Kaye Celia Kaye (born Celia Kay Burkholder; February 24, 1942) is an American actress. She is most famous for her starring role in the 1964 film adaptation of ''Island of the Blue Dolphins'' which won her a Golden Globe award. Early life Kaye is o ...

as Marnie Massey

References

External links

* *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Loretta Young Show 1953 American television series debuts 1961 American television series endings 1962 American television series debuts 1963 American television series endings 1950s American anthology television series 1960s American anthology television series 1950s American drama television series 1960s American drama television series Black-and-white American television shows English-language television shows NBC original programming Television series about widowhood Television shows set in Connecticut