''The Eternal Light'' was an American radio and television program on the

NBC Radio Network The National Broadcasting Company's NBC Radio Network (also known as the NBC Red Network from 1927 to 1942) was an American commercial radio network which was in continuous operation from 1926 through 1999. Along with the NBC Blue Network, it wa ...

, produced in conjunction with the Jewish Theological Seminary, that was broadcast between 1944 and 1989. Featuring interviews, commentary, and award-winning dramas from the perspective of

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

, it began on radio in 1944 and continued as a weekly radio program through 1989. A 1946 program, for example, dramatized humanitarian

Lillian Wald Lillian D. Wald (March 10, 1867 – September 1, 1940) was an American nurse, humanitarian and author. She strove for human rights and started American community nursing. She founded the Henry Street Settlement in New York City and was an early ...

's founding of New York City's

Henry Street Settlement The Henry Street Settlement is a not-for-profit social service agency on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City that provides social services, arts programs and health care services to New Yorkers of all ages. It was founded under the ...

in 1895. The May 31, 1959, program featured a tour of the

Holy Land The term "Holy Land" is used to collectively denote areas of the Southern Levant that hold great significance in the Abrahamic religions, primarily because of their association with people and events featured in the Bible. It is traditionall ...

narrated by

Ralph Bellamy Ralph Rexford Bellamy (June 17, 1904 – November 29, 1991) was an American actor whose career spanned 65 years on stage, film, and television. During his career, he played leading roles as well as supporting roles, garnering acclaim and award ...

. Beginning in 1952, ''The Eternal Light'' was also televised by

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

as part of its Sunday morning religious programming, along with ''Frontiers of Faith'' (produced in conjunction with the

National Council of Churches The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, usually identified as the National Council of Churches (NCC), is a left-wing progressive activist group and the largest ecumenical body in the United States. NCC is an ecumenical partners ...

) and ''

The Catholic Hour Fulton John Sheen (born Peter John Sheen; May 8, 1895 – December 9, 1979) was an Catholic Church in the United States, American Catholic prelate who served as Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester, Bishop of Rochester from 1966 to 1969. He was ...

''. By the mid-1950s, the program had an audience of more than six million weekly on radio and television. Milton E. Krents (1912–2000) was executive producer of ''The Eternal Light'' radio program for 44 years. NBC television's director for ''The Eternal Light'', along with its other Sunday morning televised religious programs, was Martin Hoade (1916–2006). The program's editor was Moshe Davis of the Jewish Theological Seminary, who explained its purpose to a ''New York Times'' interviewer: "The common man is always the hero in our show. We try to put a contemporary subject in a concept of eternity." NBC donated the air time, and the Jewish Theological Seminary budgeted the show's production expenses. Spurning potential sponsorship offers, Davis told one persistent business executive, "My good man, God needs no sponsor". Among the notables appearing on the series were

Alan Arkin Alan Wolf Arkin (March 26, 1934 – June 29, 2023) was an American actor, filmmaker and musician. In a career spanning seven decades, he received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Tony A ...

, Joseph Cotten,

Joan Crawford Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, 190? was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway theatre, Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion-picture cont ...

Mel Ferrer Melchor Gastón FerrerAncestry Library Edition (August 25, 1917 – June 2, 2008) was an American actor, director, and producer, active in film, theatre, and television. He achieved prominence on Broadway before scoring notable film hits with ...

, Sam Levene, E. G. Marshall, Raymond Massey,

Alexander Scourby Alexander Scourby (; November 13, 1913 – February 22, 1985) was an American film actor, film, television actor, television, and voice actor and narrator known for his deep and resonant voice and Northeastern elite accent, Mid-Atlantic acce ...

Maureen Stapleton Lois Maureen Stapleton (June 21, 1925 – March 13, 2006) was an American actress. She received numerous accolades becoming one of the few actors to have achieved the Triple Crown of Acting winning an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award ...

Elie Wiesel Eliezer "Elie" Wiesel (September 30, 1928 – July 2, 2016) was a Romanian-born American writer, professor, political activist, List of Nobel Peace Prize laureates#1980, Nobel laureate, and Holocaust survivor. He authored Elie Wiesel bibliogra ...

, and

Gene Wilder Gene Wilder (born Jerome Silberman; June 11, 1933 – August 29, 2016) was an American actor, comedian, writer, and filmmaker. He was mainly known for his comedic roles, including his portrayal of Willy Wonka in ''Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Fa ...

. The program won numerous awards, including two

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

s, many Emmy nominations, and

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...

s in 1962, 1967, and 1973. Krents received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the

National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), also known as the National Television Academy until 2007, is an American professional service organization founded in 1955 for "the advancement of the arts and sciences of televisio ...

for his production of ''The Eternal Light''. In 2007, a documentary about the series done by

Diva Communications Diva Communications, Inc. is a programming and production company based in New York City. It specializes in production of film that explores social justice issues through a faith-based and humanistic lens. Founded by Dr. Debra Gonsher Vinik in 1985 ...

, ''The Eternal Light—A Historical Retrospective'', won a New York

References

External links

''The Eternal Light''—A Historical Retrospective

The Jewish Museum on ''The Eternal Light''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eternal Light 1940s American radio programs 1950s American radio programs 1960s American radio programs 1970s American radio programs 1980s American radio programs 1950s American television series 1960s American television series 1970s American television series 1980s American television series Jewish Theological Seminary of America NBC original programming Peabody Award–winning radio programs Jewish radio Jewish American television series NBC radio programs