''Stage 7'' is a 30-minute American TV
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 b ...
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 was broadcast on CBS from December 12, 1954, through September 25, 1955.
This program premiered in December 1954 with the title ''Your Favorite Playhouse'' with all episodes being repeats from other series, but later featured original episodes.
Don Rickles
Donald Jay Rickles (May 8, 1926 – April 6, 2017) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He became known primarily for his insult comedy. His film roles include ''Run Silent, Run Deep'' (1958) with Clark Gable, Carl Reiner's ''Enter La ...
's first dramatic appearance on TV was in the May 15, 1955, episode, "A Note of Fear".
[ Other actors who appeared on the program included Dennis Morgan, Charles Bronson, ]Edmond O'Brien
Eamon Joseph O'Brien (September 10, 1915 – May 9, 1985) was an American actor and film director. His career spanned almost 40 years, and he won one Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
O'Brien w ...
, Gene Barry
Gene Barry (born Eugene Klass, June 14, 1919 – December 9, 2009) was an American stage, screen, and television actor and singer. Barry is best remembered for his leading roles in the films '' The Atomic City'' (1952) and ''The War of The Worl ...
, Phyllis Coates
Phyllis Coates (born Gypsie Ann Evarts Stell; January 15, 1927) is an American former actress, with a career spanning over fifty years. She is best known for her portrayal of reporter Lois Lane in the 1951 film ''Superman and the Mole Men'' and ...
, Frances Rafferty
Frances is a French and English given name of Latin origin. In Latin the meaning of the name Frances is 'from France' or 'free one.' The male version of the name in English is Francis. The original Franciscus, meaning "Frenchman", comes from the F ...
, Macdonald Carey
Edward Macdonald Carey (March 15, 1913 – March 21, 1994) was an American actor, best known for his role as the patriarch Dr. Tom Horton on NBC's soap opera ''Days of Our Lives''. For almost three decades, he was the show's central cast member.
...
, and Phyllis Thaxter
Phyllis St. Felix Thaxter (November 20, 1919 – August 14, 2012) was an American actress. She is best known for portraying Ellen Lawson in ''Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo'' (1944) and Martha Kent in ''Superman'' (1978). She also appeared in ''Bewi ...
.
The program was filmed in Hollywood, with Warren Lewis as producer.Quinn Martin
Quinn Martin (born Irwin Martin Cohn; May 22, 1922 – September 5, 1987) was an American television producer. He had at least one television series running in prime time every year for 21 straight years (from 1959 to 1980). Martin is a mem ...
.
When ''Stage 7'' went into syndication, in some parts of the United States sponsors changed the title to indicate their sponsorship. The first to do so was Standard Oil of California, which used the name ''Chevron Hall of Stars
''Chevron Hall of Stars'' is an American television anthology series which aired in 1956 in
first-run syndication. It was produced by Four Star Productions, and was a half-hour series.
Gene Roddenberry’s script ''The Secret Weapon of 117 ...
'' in its markets. Drewry's Beer signed Don Ameche
Don Ameche (; born Dominic Felix Amici; May 31, 1908 – December 6, 1993) was an American actor, comedian and vaudevillian. After playing in college shows, stock, and vaudeville, he became a major radio star in the early 1930s, which ...
as host and changed the title to ''Don Ameche Presents the Drewry's Play of the Week'' in its 11 market areas in the Midwest.
Episodes
*Episode 1: The Deceiving Eye
*Episode 2: Appointment in Highbridge
*Episode 3: The Legacy
*Episode 4: Debt of Honor - February 20, 1955[
*Episode 17: The Verdict
*Episode 18: The Time of the Day
*Episode 19: Yesterday's Pawnshop
*Episode 20: The Traveling Salesman
*Episode 21: End of the Line
*Episode 22: Debt to a Stranger
*Episode 23: Where You Loved Me
*Episode 24: The Hayfield
*Episode 25: The Fox Hunt
]
References
External links
at CVTA with episode list
* {{IMDb title, id=0046645, title=Stage 7
Episode ''The Time of the Day'' at the Internet Archive
1950s American drama television series
1950s American anthology television series
1955 American television series debuts
1955 American television series endings
CBS original programming
Black-and-white American television shows