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 dif ...
that aired live on CBS for four seasons from July 11, 1950, to September 26, 1954. The program was produced by
Mark Goodson
Mark Leo Goodson (January 14, 1915 – December 18, 1992) was an American television producer who specialized in game shows, most frequently with his business partner Bill Todman, with whom he created Goodson-Todman Productions.
Early life and e ...
and
Bill Todman
William Selden Todman (July 31, 1916 – July 29, 1979) was an American television producer and personality born in New York City. He produced many of television's longest-running shows with business partner Mark Goodson, with whom he created ...
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 ...
Lela Swift
Lela Swift (born Lillian Siwoff; February 1, 1919 – August 4, 2015) was a television director and producer, best known for her work on ''Dark Shadows'', which she also produced from 1970–71, and '' Ryan's Hope''.
Early life
She was born i ...
directed on alternate weeks. Kent cigarettes and Embassy Cigarettes sponsored the program, which originated at
WCBS-TV
WCBS-TV (channel 2) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside Riverhead, New York–licensed independent station W ...
.
Synopsis
The dramas on ''The Web'' were all adaptations of stories written by members of the
Mystery Writers of America
Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is an organization of mystery and crime writers, based in New York City.
The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday.
It presents the Edgar Award ...
and featured everyday people in situations beyond their control.
Notable appearances
Stars
Among the future stars who appeared on ''The Web'' are:
*
Anne Bancroft
Anne Bancroft (born Anna Maria Louisa Italiano; September 17, 1931 – June 6, 2005) was an American actress. Respected for her acting prowess and versatility, Bancroft received an Academy Award, three BAFTA Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, two ...
, credited as Ann Marno, in ''The Customs of the Country'' 2, E1*
Edward Binns
Edward Binns (September 12, 1916 – December 4, 1990) was an American actor. He had a wide-spanning career in film and television, often portraying competent, hard working and purposeful characters in his various roles. He is best known for hi ...
1, E30
Onekama ( ) is a village in Manistee County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 411 at the 2010 census. The village is located on the shores of Portage Lake and is surrounded by Onekama Township. The town's name is derived from " ...
John Carradine
John Carradine ( ; born Richmond Reed Carradine; February 5, 1906 – November 27, 1988) was an American actor, considered one of the greatest character actors in American cinema. He was a member of Cecil B. DeMille's stock company and later ...
in ''Stone Cold Dead'' 1, E26and ''Golden Secret'' 2, E8*
Ray Danton
Ray Danton (born Raymond Caplan; September 19, 1931 – February 11, 1992) was a radio, film, stage, and television actor, director, and producer whose most famous roles were in the screen biographies '' The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond'' (196 ...
James Dean
James Byron Dean (February 8, 1931September 30, 1955) was an American actor. He is remembered as a cultural icon of teenage disillusionment and social estrangement, as expressed in the title of his most celebrated film, '' Rebel Without a Caus ...
Brandon deWilde
Andre Brandon deWilde (April 9, 1942 – July 6, 1972) was an American theater, film, and television actor. Born into a theatrical family in Brooklyn, he debuted on Broadway at the age of seven and became a national phenomenon by the time he com ...
in ''The Real Thing'' 3, E23(with his father, billed as "Frederick de Wilde")
* James Gregory in ''All the Way to the Moon'' 2, E2and ''The Keyhole'' 3, E5*
Hurd Hatfield
William Rukard Hurd Hatfield (December 7, 1917 – December 26, 1998) was an American actor. He is best known for having played characters of handsome, narcissistic young men, most notably Dorian Gray in the film '' The Picture of Dorian Gray'' ...
Eileen Heckart
Anna Eileen Heckart ( Herbert; March 29, 1919 – December 31, 2001) was an American stage and screen actress whose career spanned nearly 60 years.
Early life
Heckart was born Anna Eileen Herbert in Columbus, Ohio. The daughter of Esther (), ...
Conrad Janis
Conrad Janis (February 11, 1928 – March 1, 2022) was a jazz trombonist and actor who starred in film and television during the Golden Age Era in the 1950s and 1960s. He played the role of Mindy McConnell's father, Frederick, on television's ' ...
in "Fit to Kill" (November 19, 1950)
* Henry Jones as Mr. Fickett in ''The Dishonorable Thief'' 1, E60*
Grace Kelly
Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982) was an American actress who, after starring in several significant films in the early to mid-1950s, became Princess of Monaco by marrying Prince Rainier III in April 1956.
Kelly ...
Richard Kiley
Richard Paul Kiley (March 31, 1922 – March 5, 1999) was an American stage, film and television actor and singer. He is best known for his distinguished theatrical career in which he twice won the Tony Award for Best Actor In A Musical. Kiley ...
in ''Journey By Night'' 1, E17and ''No Escape'' 1, E52*
Jack Lemmon
John Uhler Lemmon III (February 8, 1925 – June 27, 2001) was an American actor. Considered equally proficient in both dramatic and comic roles, Lemmon was known for his anxious, middle-class everyman screen persona in dramedy pictures, leadi ...
Paul Newman
Paul Leonard Newman (January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008) was an American actor, film director, race car driver, philanthropist, and entrepreneur. He was the recipient of numerous awards, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, three ...
in 'The Bells of Damon' 3, E43and ''One for the Road'' 4, E1* Leslie Nielsen in ''Home For Christmas'' 1, E7and ''You Killed Elizabeth''
1, E30
Onekama ( ) is a village in Manistee County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 411 at the 2010 census. The village is located on the shores of Portage Lake and is surrounded by Onekama Township. The town's name is derived from " ...
*
Jack Palance
Jack Palance ( ; born Volodymyr Palahniuk ( uk, Володимир Палагню́к); February 18, 1919 – November 10, 2006) was an American actor known for playing tough guys and villains. He was nominated for three Academy Awards, all fo ...
Mark Rydell
Mark Rydell (born Mortimer H. Rydell; March 23, 1929) is an American film director, producer, and actor. He has directed several Academy Award-nominated films including '' The Fox'' (1967), '' The Reivers'' (1969), ''Cinderella Liberty'' (1973) ...
Eva Marie Saint
Eva Marie Saint (born July 4, 1924) is an American actress of film, theatre and television. In a career spanning over 70 years, she has won an Academy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award, alongside nominations for a Golden Globe Award and two Brit ...
Joseph Schildkraut
Joseph Schildkraut (22 March 1896 – 21 January 1964) was an Austrian-American actor. He won an Oscar for his performance as Captain Alfred Dreyfus in the film ''The Life of Emile Zola'' (1937); later, he was nominated for a Golden Globe for ...
Eli Wallach
Eli Herschel Wallach (; December 7, 1915 – June 24, 2014) was an American film, television, and stage actor from New York City. From his 1945 Broadway debut to his last film appearance, Wallach's entertainment career spanned 65 years. Origina ...
Ray Walston
Herman Raymond Walston (November 2, 1914 – January 1, 2001) was an American actor and comedian, well known as the title character on ''My Favorite Martian''. His other major film, television, and stage roles included Luther Billis (''South Paci ...
Joanne Woodward
Joanne Gignilliat Trimmier Woodward (born February 27, 1930) is an American actress. A star since the Golden Age of Hollywood, Woodward made her career breakthrough in the 1950s and earned esteem and respect playing complex women with a charact ...
in ''Welcome Home'' 4, E50 (final episode of the series)
Other notable television and film actors whose careers were either launched or furthered by appearing on the series:
Joseph Anthony
Joseph Anthony (born Joseph Deuster; May 24, 1912 – January 20, 1993) was an American playwright, actor, and director. He made his film acting debut in the 1934 film ''Hat, Coat, and Glove'' and his theatrical acting debut in a 1935 producti ...
Don Briggs
Donald Briggs (January 28, 1911 – February 3, 1986) was an American actor, who appeared in over 75 films and television shows between the 1930s and 1970s.
Early life
Briggs was born in Chicago, Illinois and died in Woodland Hills, California ...
Richard Carlyle
Richard Carlyle (March 20, 1914 – November 15, 2009) was a film, television and Broadway actor.
Early years
Carlyle was born in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. His education included attendance at Sherwood Dramatic Art School and the Art In ...
Clay Clement
Clay Clement (May 19, 1888 – October 20, 1956) was an American stage, film, and TV actor. He appeared in more than 80 films between 1918 and 1947. Clement was one of the earliest members of the Screen Actors Guild.Nancy Coleman,
Jerome Cowan
Jerome Palmer Cowan (October 6, 1897 – January 24, 1972) was an American stage, film, and television actor.
Early years
Cowan was born in New York City, the son of William Cowan, a confectioner of Scottish descent, and Julia Cowan, née Palm ...
James Darren
James William Ercolani (born June 8, 1936) known by his stage name James Darren, is an American television and film actor, television director, and singer. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, he had notable starring and supporting roles in fi ...
, Diana Douglas (married to Kirk and mother to Michael),
Mildred Dunnock
Mildred Dorothy Dunnock (January 25, 1901 – July 5, 1991) was an American stage and screen actress. She was twice nominated for an Academy Award: first '' Death of a Salesman'' in 1951, then '' Baby Doll'' in 1956.
Early life
Born in Baltimor ...
Preston Hanson
Preston Hanson (January 17, 1921 – February 12, 2008) was an American actor.
Early years
Hanson was born Iowa and moved to California in 1940. He attended Pasadena Junior College.
Military service
During World War II, Hanson few 65 attack mis ...
,
Russell Hardie
William Russell Hardie (May 20, 1904 – July 21, 1973) was an American film actor.
He appeared in '' The Costello Case'', ''Broadway to Hollywood'', '' Stage Mother'', '' Christopher Bean'', '' As the Earth Turns'', '' Men in White'', ''Oper ...
,
Will Hare
Will T Hare (March 30, 1916 – August 31, 1997) was an American actor who appeared on television and films, often playing old crusty figures and father/grandpa roles. Hare was born in Elkins, West Virginia, the son of Frances Laetitia (née Satt ...
,
Jonathan Harris
Jonathan Harris (born Jonathan Daniel Charasuchin, November 6, 1914 – November 3, 2002) was an American character actor whose career included more than 500 television and film appearances, as well as voiceovers. Two of his best-known roles w ...
,
Vinton Hayworth
Vinton Hayworth (June 4, 1906 – May 21, 1970), also known as Jack Arnold and Vincent Haworth,Although some sources cite Vinton Hayworth's real surname as Haworthwhich clearly shows the surname as Hayworth. The genealogy site indicates that his ...
Conrad Janis
Conrad Janis (February 11, 1928 – March 1, 2022) was a jazz trombonist and actor who starred in film and television during the Golden Age Era in the 1950s and 1960s. He played the role of Mindy McConnell's father, Frederick, on television's ' ...
Richard Kollmar
Richard Tompkins Kollmar (December 31, 1910 – January 7, 1971), also known professionally as Dick Kollmar, was an American stage, radio, film and television actor, television personality and Broadway producer. Kollmar was the husband of jo ...
Berry Kroeger
Berry Kroeger (October 16, 1912 – January 4, 1991) was an American film, television and stage actor.
Career
Kroeger was born in San Antonio, Texas. He got his acting start on radio as an announcer on ''Suspense'' and as an actor, playing fo ...
Audra Lindley
Audra Marie Lindley (September 24, 1918 – October 16, 1997) was an American actress, most famous for her role as landlady Helen Roper on the sitcom ''Three's Company'' and its spin-off ''The Ropers''.
Life and career
Audra Lindley was born ...
Catherine McLeod
Catherine McLeod (July 2, 1921 – May 11, 1997) was an American actress who made over 60 television and movie appearances between 1944 and 1976. She memorably portrayed the one woman whom James Garner's character Bret Maverick wanted to mar ...
,
Meg Mundy
Margaret Anne Mary Mundy (January 4, 1915 – January 12, 2016) was an English-born American actress and model. She was born in London, and in 1921, at the age of six, emigrated to the United States with her family.
Personal life
Mundy was born ...
,
John Newland
John Newland (November 23, 1917 – January 10, 2000) was an American director, actor, television producer, and screenwriter.
Early life and career
Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Newland began his career in vaudeville while still in his teens. Aft ...
George Reeves
George Reeves (born George Keefer Brewer; January 5, 1914 – June 16, 1959) was an American actor. He is best known for portraying Superman in the television series '' Adventures of Superman'' (1952–1958).
His death at age 45 from a g ...
,
Maria Riva
Maria Elisabeth Riva (née Sieber; born December 13, 1924) is a German-born American former actress. She worked on television at CBS in the 1950s, becoming one of the first stars of early kinescope-era television. She is the daughter of actress ...
(daughter of
Marlene Dietrich
Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...
Alfred Ryder
Alfred Ryder (born Alfred Jacob Corn; January 5, 1916 – April 16, 1995) was an American television, stage, radio, and film actor and director, who appeared in over one hundred television shows.
Career
Ryder began to act at age eight and later ...
Warren Stevens
Warren Albert Stevens (November 2, 1919 – March 27, 2012) was an American stage, screen, and television actor.
Early life and career
Born in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania, Stevens entered the United States Naval Academy in 1937 but was medical ...
,
Haila Stoddard
Haila Stoddard (November 14, 1913 – February 21, 2011) was an American actress, producer, writer and director.Weber, Bruce (February 25, 2011)Haila Stoddard, Actress and Producer, Dies at 97.''New York Times''; accessed April 20, 2014.
During ...
Morton Stevens
Morton Stevens (January 30, 1929 – November 11, 1991) was an American film score composer. In 1965, he became director of music for CBS West Coast operations. He is probably best known for composing the theme music for '' Hawaii Five-O'', a ...
(''composed Hawaii Five-O'' (1968) theme and others).
Notables, Season 2 (1951–52)
Joseph Anthony
Joseph Anthony (born Joseph Deuster; May 24, 1912 – January 20, 1993) was an American playwright, actor, and director. He made his film acting debut in the 1934 film ''Hat, Coat, and Glove'' and his theatrical acting debut in a 1935 producti ...
Sidney Blackmer
Sidney Alderman Blackmer (July 13, 1895 – October 6, 1973) was an American Broadway and film actor active between 1914 and 1971, usually in major supporting roles.
Biography
Blackmer was born and raised in Salisbury, North Carolina, t ...
Peter Cookson
Peter Cookson (May 8, 1913 – January 6, 1990) was an American stage and film actor of the 1940s and 1950s. He was known for his collaborations with his wife, Beatrice Straight, an actress and member of the Whitney family.
Early life
Cookso ...
,
Jerome Cowan
Jerome Palmer Cowan (October 6, 1897 – January 24, 1972) was an American stage, film, and television actor.
Early years
Cowan was born in New York City, the son of William Cowan, a confectioner of Scottish descent, and Julia Cowan, née Palm ...
Mildred Dunnock
Mildred Dorothy Dunnock (January 25, 1901 – July 5, 1991) was an American stage and screen actress. She was twice nominated for an Academy Award: first '' Death of a Salesman'' in 1951, then '' Baby Doll'' in 1956.
Early life
Born in Baltimor ...
,
Betty Field
Betty Field (February 8, 1916 – September 13, 1973) was an American film and stage actress.
Early years
Field was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to George and Katharine (née Lynch) Field. She began acting before she reached age 15, and went ...
Russell Hardie
William Russell Hardie (May 20, 1904 – July 21, 1973) was an American film actor.
He appeared in '' The Costello Case'', ''Broadway to Hollywood'', '' Stage Mother'', '' Christopher Bean'', '' As the Earth Turns'', '' Men in White'', ''Oper ...
Anne Jackson
Anne Jackson (September 3, 1925 – April 12, 2016); retrieved April 16, 2016Archivedfrom the original on April 16, 2016. was an American actress of stage, screen, and television. She was the wife of actor Eli Wallach, with whom she often co-st ...
Alfred Ryder
Alfred Ryder (born Alfred Jacob Corn; January 5, 1916 – April 16, 1995) was an American television, stage, radio, and film actor and director, who appeared in over one hundred television shows.
Career
Ryder began to act at age eight and later ...
Ann Shoemaker
Ann Shoemaker (born Anne Dorothea Shoemaker; January 10, 1891 – September 18, 1978) was an American actress who appeared in 70 films and TV movies between 1928 and 1976. She portrayed Sara Roosevelt, mother of Franklin D. Roosevelt, in b ...
Haila Stoddard
Haila Stoddard (November 14, 1913 – February 21, 2011) was an American actress, producer, writer and director.Weber, Bruce (February 25, 2011)Haila Stoddard, Actress and Producer, Dies at 97.''New York Times''; accessed April 20, 2014.
During ...
,
Beatrice Straight
Beatrice Whitney Straight (August 2, 1914 – April 7, 2001) was an American theatre, film and television actress and a member of the prominent Whitney family. She was an Academy Award and Tony Award winner as well as an Emmy Award nominee.
...
Joseph Anthony
Joseph Anthony (born Joseph Deuster; May 24, 1912 – January 20, 1993) was an American playwright, actor, and director. He made his film acting debut in the 1934 film ''Hat, Coat, and Glove'' and his theatrical acting debut in a 1935 producti ...
,
Joseph Barbera
Joseph Roland Barbera ( ; ; March 24, 1911 – December 18, 2006) was an American animator, director, producer, storyboard artist, and cartoon artist who co-founded the animation studio and production company Hanna-Barbera.
Born to Italian ...
as Joseph Roland,
Arthur Batanides
Arthur Batanides (April 9, 1923 – January 10, 2000) was an American film and television actor, originally from Tacoma, Washington.
Biography and career
He became enamored with acting after performing stand-up routines in front of fellow GIs in ...
,
Harry Bellaver
Harry Bellaver (born Enricho Bellaver; February 12, 1905 – August 8, 1993) was an American stage, film and television actor who appeared in many roles from the 1930s through the 1980s.
Early years
Bellaver was born in Hillsboro, Illinois, the ...
,
Sidney Blackmer
Sidney Alderman Blackmer (July 13, 1895 – October 6, 1973) was an American Broadway and film actor active between 1914 and 1971, usually in major supporting roles.
Biography
Blackmer was born and raised in Salisbury, North Carolina, t ...
,
Alan Coe Bunce
Alan Coe Bunce (June 28, 1900 – April 27, 1965) was an American radio and television actor.
Bunce was best remembered for playing the role of Albert Arbuckle alongside Peg Lynch on the sitcom ''Ethel and Albert'' from 1944-50 on radio and ...
Connie Clausen
Connie Clausen (born Constance Clausen on June 11, 1923, in Menasha, Wisconsin, and died September 7, 1997, in New York City) was an American actress, author, and literary agent.
Career
Connie Clausen's career began in 1942 at the age of 19 ...
Russell Collins
Russell Collins (born Russell Henry Collins, October 11, 1897
– November 14, 1965) was an American actor whose 43-year career included hundreds of performances on stage, in feature films, and on television.
Early life
Born in 1897 in Indiana ...
,
Ben Cooper
Ben Cooper (September 30, 1933 – February 24, 2020) was an American actor of film and television, who won a Golden Boot Award in 2005 for his work in westerns.
Stage
Cooper appeared on Broadway in '' Life With Father'' (1939). He debuted in ...
Adrienne Corri
Adrienne Corri (born Adrienne Riccoboni; 13 November 1931 – 13 March 2016) was a Scottish actress.
Early life
She was born Adrienne Riccoboni in Glasgow in November 1931, the daughter of an English mother (Olive Smethurst) and an Italian ...
,
Jerome Cowan
Jerome Palmer Cowan (October 6, 1897 – January 24, 1972) was an American stage, film, and television actor.
Early years
Cowan was born in New York City, the son of William Cowan, a confectioner of Scottish descent, and Julia Cowan, née Palm ...
Mildred Dunnock
Mildred Dorothy Dunnock (January 25, 1901 – July 5, 1991) was an American stage and screen actress. She was twice nominated for an Academy Award: first '' Death of a Salesman'' in 1951, then '' Baby Doll'' in 1956.
Early life
Born in Baltimor ...
Constance Ford
Constance Ford (born Cornelia M. Ford; July 1, 1923 – February 26, 1993) was an American actress and model. She is best known for her long-running role as Ada Lucas Hobson on the daytime soap opera '' Another World'', which she played from 1 ...
Russell Hardie
William Russell Hardie (May 20, 1904 – July 21, 1973) was an American film actor.
He appeared in '' The Costello Case'', ''Broadway to Hollywood'', '' Stage Mother'', '' Christopher Bean'', '' As the Earth Turns'', '' Men in White'', ''Oper ...
Martin Kosleck
Martin Kosleck (born Nicolaie Yoshkin, March 24, 1904 – January 15, 1994) was a German film actor. Like many other German actors, he fled when the Nazis came to power. Inspired by his deep hatred of Adolf Hitler and the Nazis, Kosleck made ...
,
Berry Kroeger
Berry Kroeger (October 16, 1912 – January 4, 1991) was an American film, television and stage actor.
Career
Kroeger was born in San Antonio, Texas. He got his acting start on radio as an announcer on ''Suspense'' and as an actor, playing fo ...
Audra Lindley
Audra Marie Lindley (September 24, 1918 – October 16, 1997) was an American actress, most famous for her role as landlady Helen Roper on the sitcom ''Three's Company'' and its spin-off ''The Ropers''.
Life and career
Audra Lindley was born ...
,
Alexander Lockwood
Alexander Lockwood (May 5, 1902 – January 25, 1990) was an American actor. He appeared in numerous films and television shows throughout the 1930s to the 1980s.
Biography
Lockwood was born in Slezská Ostrava, now Czech Republic, in 19 ...
Carmen Mathews
Carmen Sylvia Mathews (May 8, 1911 – August 31, 1995) was an American actress and environmentalist.
Biography
Mathews was born in Philadelphia. She studied first at Bennett Junior College and then in London at the Royal Academy of Dram ...
,
Darren McGavin
Darren is a masculine given name of uncertain etymological origins. Some theories state that it originated from an Anglicisation of the Irish first name Darragh or Dáire, meaning "Oak Tree". According to other sources, it is thought to come from ...
Lloyd Richards
Lloyd George Richards (June 29, 1919 – June 29, 2006) was a Canadian-American theatre director, actor, and dean of the Yale School of Drama from 1979 to 1991, and Yale University professor emeritus.
Biography
Richards was born in Toron ...
,
Robert F. Simon
Robert Frank Simon (December 2, 1908 – November 29, 1992) was an American character actor.
Earlier years
Simon began acting with Mansfield's Community Players organization when he worked as a clerk in a meat market. Following that experience ...
Robert Sterling
Robert Sterling (born William Sterling Hart; November 13, 1917 – May 30, 2006) was an American actor. He was best known for starring in the television series '' Topper'' (1953–1955).
In 1960, Sterling was honored with a star on the Hollywoo ...
,
Warren Stevens
Warren Albert Stevens (November 2, 1919 – March 27, 2012) was an American stage, screen, and television actor.
Early life and career
Born in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania, Stevens entered the United States Naval Academy in 1937 but was medical ...
,
Harry Townes
Harry Rhett Townes (September 18, 1914 – May 23, 2001) was an American actor who later became an Episcopalian minister.
Early life
Harry Townes was born in Huntsville, Alabama. the son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Townes. He had a brother and ...
Bill Zuckert
William Zuckert (born December 18, 1915-died January 23, 1997) was an American actor.
Life / Career
Born and raised in The Bronx, New York, Zuckert began his career in 1941 in radio and lent his voice to hundreds of dramas over the next two d ...