''Lux Video Theatre'' is an American television

anthology series An anthology series is a written series, radio, television, film, or video game series that presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a different ca ...

that was produced from 1950 until 1957. The series presented both comedy and drama in original

teleplay A teleplay is a screenplay or script used in the production of a scripted television program or series. In general usage, the term is most commonly seen in reference to a standalone production, such as a television film, a television play, or a ...

s, as well as abridged adaptations of films and plays.

Overview

The ''Lux Video Theatre'' was a spin-off from the successful '' Lux Radio Theater'' series broadcast on the NBC Blue Network (1934–1935) and CBS (1935–1955). ''Lux Video Theatre'' began as a live 30-minute Monday evening CBS series on October 2, 1950, switching to Thursday nights during August, 1951. In September 1953, the show relocated from New York to Hollywood. On August 26, 1954, it debuted on NBC as an hour-long show on Thursday nights, telecast until September 12, 1957. With the introduction of the one-hour format and the move to Hollywood, abridged versions of popular films were often used as the basis for shows. To introduce each act and interview the stars at the conclusion, NBC added a series of regular hosts: James Mason (1954–55), Otto Kruger (1955–56), Gordon MacRae (1956–57) and Ken Carpenter (1955–1957). Kruger recalled: :All I do is come up and tell the people who I am and what we're up to. I don't have a single thing to do with producing, directing or casting the show. Yet I get letters every week complimenting me on my production, my directing, my casting, even my script adaptations. New episodes were broadcast during the summer as the ''Summer Video Theatre''. In 1957–58, Lux shifted sponsorship to a half-hour musical variety show, '' The Lux Show Starring Rosemary Clooney''. For the 1958–59 season, the dramatic series was brought back with a new name, ''Lux Playhouse''. The new series alternated weeks with '' Schlitz Playhouse''. Those broadcasts began on October 3, 1958, and ended on September 18, 1959. The series finished in the

Nielsen ratings Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...

at #30 in the 1950–51 season and #25 in 1955–56.

Episodes

Notable guest stars

Among those cast in the productions were: * Julie Adams * Mary Astor * Anne Bancroft * William Bendix * Joan Blondell * Ann Blyth * Richard Boone * Ernest Borgnine * Eddie Bracken * Scott Brady * Walter Brennan * Barbara Britton * Charles Bronson * Raymond Burr * Hoagy Carmichael * Art Carney * Jack Carson * Rosemary Clooney * Lee J. Cobb * Charles Coburn * Nat 'King' Cole * Jackie Cooper * Broderick Crawford *

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...

* Robert Cummings * Arlene Dahl * Laraine Day * James Dean * John Derek * Melvyn Douglas * Paul Douglas * Joanne Dru * Nelson Eddy * Bill Erwin * Barry Fitzgerald * Nina Foch * Janet Gaynor * Bonita Granville * Coleen Gray * Eileen Heckart * Van Heflin *

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* William Holden * Celeste Holm *

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was an American comedian, actor, entertainer and producer with a career that spanned nearly 80 years and achievements in vaudeville, network radio, television, and USO Tours. He appeared ...

* Miriam Hopkins * Dennis Hopper * Rock Hudson * Dean Jagger * David Janssen *

Shirley Jones Shirley Mae Jones (born March 31, 1934) is an American actress and singer. In her six decades in show business, she has starred as wholesome characters in a number of musical films, such as ''Oklahoma! (film), Oklahoma!'' (1955), ''Carousel (fi ...

Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), known professionally as Boris Karloff () and occasionally billed as Karloff the Uncanny, was a British actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film ''Frankenstei ...

* Buster Keaton * Grace Kelly * Veronica Lake * Burt Lancaster * Angela Lansbury * Cloris Leachman * Jack Lemmon * Gene Lockhart * June Lockhart * Jack Lord * Peter Lorre * Dayton Lummis *

Jeanette MacDonald Jeanette Anna MacDonald (June 18, 1903 – January 14, 1965) was an American soprano and actress best remembered for her musical films of the 1930s with Maurice Chevalier (''The Love Parade'', ''Love Me Tonight'', ''The Merry Widow (1934 film) ...

* Fred MacMurray * Dorothy Malone * Herbert Marshall * Fredric March * James Mason * Raymond Massey * Carole Mathews * Walter Matthau * Mercedes McCambridge * Roddy McDowell * Dorothy McGuire * Butterfly McQueen * Sal Mineo * Vera Miles * Thomas Mitchell (actor) * Felicia Montealegre Bernstein * Rita Moreno * Dennis Morgan * Audie Murphy * Don Murray (actor) * Kim Novak * Margaret O'Brien * Maureen O'Hara * Maureen O'Sullivan * Geraldine Page * Lilli Palmer * Dick Powell * Robert Preston (actor) * Vincent Price * Luise Rainer * Edward G. Robinson * Basil Rathbone *

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

* Thelma Ritter * Lizabeth Scott * Karen Sharpe * Ann Sheridan * Sylvia Sidney * Alexis Smith * Karen Steele * Rod Steiger * Jan Sterling * Robert Sterling * Rod Taylor * Phyllis Thaxter * Franchot Tone * Claire Trevor * Roland Young * Beverly Washburn * James Whitmore * Esther Williams * Natalie Wood * Joanne Woodward * Teresa Wright

References

External links

* *
''Lux Video Theatre'' at CVTA
{{Portal bar, Television, 1950s 1950 American television series debuts 1957 American television series endings 1950s American anthology television series American live television series CBS television dramas NBC television dramas Television series based on radio series Black-and-white American television shows American English-language television shows