''The American Short Story'' is an American television

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 ...

produced by Learning in Focus and Sea Cliff Productions for the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). It consisted of adaptations of

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...

by both classic and contemporary American writers. Robert Geller was the Executive Producer. Directors included

Lamont Johnson Ernest Lamont Johnson Jr. (September 30, 1922 – October 24, 2010) was an American actor and film director who has appeared in and directed many television shows and movies. He won two Emmy Awards. Early years Johnson was born in Stockto ...

John Korty John Korty (June 22, 1936 – March 9, 2022) was an American film director and animator, best known for the television film '' The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman'' and the documentary '' Who Are the DeBolts? And Where Did They Get Nineteen ...

Joan Micklin Silver Joan Micklin Silver (May 24, 1935 – December 31, 2020) was an American director of films and plays. Born in Omaha, Silver moved to New York City in 1967 where she began writing and directing films. She is best known for Hester Street (film), ' ...

Ján Kadár Ján Kadár (1 April 1918 – 1 June 1979) was a Hungarian-born Slovak film writer and director of Jewish heritage. As a filmmaker, he worked in Czechoslovakia, the United States, and Canada. Most of his films were directed in tandem with Elm ...

, and

Randa Haines Randa Jo Haines (born February 20, 1945, in Los Angeles) is a film and television director and producer. Haines started her career as a script supervisor on several low-budget features in the 1970s, including '' Let's Scare Jessica to Death'' ...

. The series was hosted by

Henry Fonda Henry Jaynes Fonda (May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982) was an American actor. He had a career that spanned five decades on Broadway and in Hollywood. He cultivated an everyman screen image in several films considered to be classics. Born and ra ...

and Colleen Dewhurst. A total of 17 episodes aired on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

from 1974 to 1980.

Episodes

References

*''The American Short Story'' Volume One, edited by Calvin Skaggs, published by Dell Publishing (1977) *''The American Short Story'' Volume Two, edited by Calvin Skaggs, published by Dell Publishing (1980) {{DEFAULTSORT:American Short Story, The (TV series) 1974 American television series debuts 1980 American television series endings 1970s American anthology television series 1980s American anthology television series 1970s American drama television series 1980s American drama television series English-language television shows PBS original programming