''Academy Award'' (also listed as ''Academy Award Theater)''Terrace, Vincent. (1999). ''Radio Programs, 1924–1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . p. 8. is a

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 ...

radio anthology series, which presented 30-minute adaptations of plays, novels, or films. Dramas in which actors recreated their original film roles included

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 ...

in ''Young Mr. Lincoln'', Humphrey Bogart in ''The Maltese Falcon'',

Cary Grant Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English-American actor. He was known for his Mid-Atlantic accent, debonair demeanor, light-hearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing. He was one o ...

in ''Suspicion'', Gregory Peck in ''The Keys of the Kingdom'', and Ronald Colman in ''Lost Horizon''. Only six actors recreated their own Oscar-winning roles: Fay Bainter, Bette Davis, Paul Lukas, Victor McLaglen, Paul Muni, and

Ginger Rogers Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath; July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an American actress, dancer and singer during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starri ...

Format

Rather than adaptations of Oscar-winning films, as the title implied, the series offered "Hollywood's finest, the great picture plays, the great actors and actresses, techniques and skills, chosen from the honor roll of those who have won or been nominated for the famous golden Oscar of the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization with the stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motio ...

." With that as a guideline, any drama could be presented as long as the cast included at least one Oscar-nominated performer. For example, Robert Nathan's 1940 novel ''

Portrait of Jennie ''Portrait of Jennie'' is a 1948 American fantasy film based on the 1940 novella by Robert Nathan. The film was directed by William Dieterle and produced by David O. Selznick. It stars Jennifer Jones and Joseph Cotten. At the 21st Academy A ...

'' was not released as a film until 1949. David O. Selznick, having acquired the rights to Nathan's novel in 1944, was spending much time and money in his efforts to bring it to the screen. Thus, ''Academy Awards December 4, 1946, adaptation of ''Portrait of Jennie'', with John Lund and Oscar-winner

Joan Fontaine Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland (October 22, 1917 – December 15, 2013), known professionally as Joan Fontaine, was a British-American actress who is best known for her starring roles in Hollywood films during the "Golden Age". Fontaine appeared ...

, had a promotional aspect, concluding with host/announcer Hugh Brundage revealing, "''Portrait of Jennie'' is soon to be a Selznick International picture starring Jennifer Jones and Joseph Cotten."

Production

Frank Wilson scripted the 30-minute adaptations for producer-director Dee Englebach, and

Leith Stevens Leith Stevens (September 13, 1909 – July 23, 1970) was an American music composer and conductor of radio and film scores. Early life and education Leith Stevens was born in Mount Moriah, Missouri,DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An ...

provided the music. Frank Wilson was the script writer. The sound effects crew included Gene Twombly, Jay Roth, Clark Casey, and Berne Surrey.

Broadcast

The series began March 30, 1946, with

Bette Davis Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress with a career spanning more than 50 years and 100 acting credits. She was noted for playing unsympathetic, sardonic characters, and was famous for her pe ...

Anne Revere Anne Revere (June 25, 1903 – December 18, 1990) was an American actress and a progressive member of the board of the Screen Actors' Guild. She was best known for her work on Broadway and her film portrayals of mothers in a series of critical ...

and

Fay Bainter Fay Okell Bainter (December 7, 1893 – April 16, 1968) was an American film and stage actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for ''Jezebel'' (1938) and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Early life Bainter wa ...

in ''Jezebel''. On that first show,

Jean Hersholt Jean Pierre Carl Buron (12 July 1886 – 2 June 1956), known professionally as Jean Hersholt, was a Danish-American actor. He is best known for starring on the radio series '' Dr. Christian'' (1937–1954) and in the film '' Heidi'' (1937).Obitu ...

spoke as president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, welcoming the E.R. Squibb & Sons pharmaceutical company as the program's sponsor. It was an expensive show to produce, since the stars cost $4000 a week, and another $1,600 went each week to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for the use of their name in the show's title. This eventually became a factor in Squibb's decision to cancel the series after only 39 weeks. The program initially aired on Saturdays at 7 pm (ET) through June, then moved to Wednesdays at 10 pm. The series ended December 18, 1946, with

Margaret O'Brien Angela Maxine O'Brien (born January 15, 1937) is an American film, radio, television, and stage actress, and is one of the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema. Beginning a prolific career as a child actress in feature ...

and one of the series' frequent supporting players,

Jeff Chandler Jeff Chandler (born Ira Grossel; yi, יראַ גראָססעל; December 15, 1918 – June 17, 1961) was an American actor, film producer, and singer, best remembered for playing Cochise in '' Broken Arrow'' (1950), for which he was no ...

(appearing under his real name, Ira Grossel) in ''Lost Angel''.

References

External links

''Academy Award'' article and logDick Judge episode logZoot Radio, Free Academy Award Theater radio show downloads

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