''Hollywood Screen Test'' is an American

talent show A talent show is an event in which participants perform the arts of singing, dancing, lip-syncing, acting, martial arts, playing an instrument, poetry, comedy or other activities to showcase skills. Many talent shows are performances rather ...

that aired on ABC from 1948 to 1953. This program holds the distinction as the first regularly broadcast television series by the American Broadcasting Company.

Format

Debuting on April 15, 1948, and hosted first by

Bert Lytell Bertram Lytell (February 24, 1885 – September 28, 1954) was an American actor in theater and film during the silent film era and early talkies. He starred in romantic, melodrama, and adventure films. Background Born in New York City, Lyt ...

and then Neil Hamilton, ''Hollywood Screen Test'' sought to give exposure to many up-and-coming actors who were looking for their big break. The relatively unknown actors would be picked to guest star on the show, then they would have half-hour scenes of dialogue with established stage and screen actors. Actors who appeared on ''Hollywood Screen Test'' included

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Jack Klugman Jack Klugman (April 27, 1922 – December 24, 2012) was an American actor of stage, film, and television. He began his career in 1950 and started television and film work with roles in '' 12 Angry Men'' (1957) and '' Cry Terror!'' (1958). ...

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, Michael Strong,

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, and Ralph Clanton. Martha Wayne and Robert Quarry were assistants on the program. Ted Campbell was the announcer. Lester H. Lewis created the program. He and his wife, Juliette Lewis were the producers. Directors were Frederic Carr and Alton Alexander. In 1951, participants on the program were selected via regional talent searches, such as a June 5, 1951, session in Detroit in which Jessica Landau, a Universal-International representative, chose a winner from 10 contestants. That was one of 11 searches over six weeks in a cooperative effort between Universal and the program.

Schedule

This program was the first network series telecast on ABC, which began regular broadcasting in April 1948. Notes: All times Eastern. Source: ''The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present''

Reception and lawsuit

Jack Gould John Ludlow Gould (February 5, 1914 – May 24, 1993) was an American journalist and critic, who wrote commentary about television. Early life and education Gould was born in New York City into a socially prominent family and attended the Loomis ...

, in a review of the February 2, 1953, episode in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', praised the show as "a program that in its own quiet way often does more real experimentation in drama than many of its more publicized counterparts." He complimented the presentation of "With Malice Toward None" as "creative TV, with a point of view and imagination and made for an absorbing thirty minutes". In January 1949, Screen Test, Incorporated, sued ABC and the show's producers for $500,000, charging that their idea had been stolen. The plaintiffs had a ''Screen Test'' radio program and said that existence of ''Hollywood Screen Test'' had cost them an opportunity to sell their show. A Supreme Court justice in New York City refused to issue a permanent injunction against ''Hollywood Screen Test'' when he put the case on the court's docket.

Episodes

Six episodes are in the collection of the

UCLA Film and Television Archive The UCLA Film & Television Archive is a visual arts organization focused on the preservation, study, and appreciation of film and television, based at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Also a nonprofit exhibition venue, the ar ...

References

External links