''The Campbell Playhouse'' (also known as ''Campbell Soundstage'', ''TV Soundstage'', and ''Campbell Summer Soundstage'', (summer hiatus only, see ''

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'')) was an American

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 differ ...

and

television drama In film and television show, television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or docudrama, semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humour, humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms t ...

that originally aired on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

from June 6, 1952 to May 28, 1954. The series was sponsored by the

Campbell Soup Company Campbell Soup Company, trade name, doing business as Campbell's, is an American processed food and snack company. The company is most closely associated with its flagship canned soup products; however, through mergers and acquisitions, it has gro ...

History

Radio series

The television series was based on the 1938–40 radio series of the same name. The radio version was originally aired 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 ...

as ''

The Mercury Theatre on the Air ''The Mercury Theatre on the Air'' is a radio series of live radio dramas created and hosted by Orson Welles. The weekly hour-long show presented classic literary works performed by Welles's celebrated Mercury Theatre repertory company, with mus ...

'' beginning July 11, 1938. The series made its last broadcast under that title on December 4, 1938. After that, the

Television series

The Campbell's Soup Corporation decided to renew the radio series but this time on television. On June 6, 1952, The Campbell Playhouse aired on

. The series originally aired as a one time summer replacement for the NBC

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

The Aldrich Family ''The Aldrich Family'', a popular radio teenage situation comedy (July 2, 1939 – April 19, 1953), was also presented in films, television and comic books. In the radio series' opening exchange, awkward teen Henry's mother called, "Hen-''reeeee ...

''. The next year on July 10, 1953, the series came back for its second season as a permanent summer replacement series, (''The Aldrich Family'' went off the air on May 28, 1953), and also premiered on the fall lineup. The series also aired under the new name ''Campbell Soundstage''. The series ended its run on May 28, 1954.

Campbell Summer Soundstage

On June 4, 1954, the series aired a summer hiatus series entitled ''Campbell Summer Soundstage''. It was a short-lived revival of the television series. The series aired reruns of anthology series such as

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

's ''

Gruen Playhouse ''Gruen Playhouse'' (also known as ''Gruen Guild Playhouse'') is a dramatic anthology series that aired on ABC and the now-defunct DuMont Television Network. Sponsored by the Gruen Watch Company, the series aired on ABC on Thursdays at 9:30pm E ...

'', (later known as ''Gruen Guild Theatre''), DuMont's ''Dramatic Shorts'', and

's ''

Ford Theatre ''Ford Theatre'', spelled ''Ford Theater'' for the original radio version and known, in full, as ''The Ford Television Theatre'' for the TV version, is a radio and television anthology series broadcast in the United States in the 1940s and 1950 ...

''.

Production notes

The series was originally filmed live until its second season when it was released on film.

Directors

* Garry Simpson *

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 ...

*Don Appell *

Marc Daniels Marc Daniels (January 27, 1912 – April 23, 1989), born Danny Marcus, was an American television director. He directed on programs such as I Love Lucy, Gunsmoke, Star Trek, Mission: Impossible, Hogan's Heroes, and more. Life and career Da ...

*Richard Irving *

Don Medford Donald Muller (November 26, 1917 – December 12, 2012), known professionally as Don Medford, was an American television director who directed over 75 TV series between 1951 and 1989, and who also directed three movies. Medford directed the fina ...

Producers

*Martin Horrell (also served as executive producer) *

(also served as associate producer)

Episodes

Season 1 (1952)

Season 2 (1953–54)

Broadcast history

''The Campbell Playhouse'' aired on Fridays at 9:30–10:00 pm for its entire run. ''Campbell Summer Soundstage'' aired at that time as well.

References

External links

*' {{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell Playhouse 1950s American anthology television series 1952 American television series debuts 1954 American television series endings American live television series Black-and-white American television shows Campbell Soup Company English-language television shows NBC original programming