''Theatre-Five'' (aka ''Theater-Five'' or ''Theatre 5'') was a radio drama series, presented by the
ABC Radio Network
Cumulus Media Networks was an American radio network owned and operated by Cumulus Media. From 2011 until its merger with Westwood One, it controlled many of the radio assets formerly belonging to the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), which ...
between 1964 and 1965, and broadcast from
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. The series used an anthology format, presenting a number of short (20-minute) radio plays across a number of genres, a number of which reflected topical issues contemporary with its airing.
Writers for the show varied, as did actors, although the roster included
George O. Petrie
George O. Petrie (November 16, 1912 – November 16, 1997) was an American radio and television actor.
Early years
Petrie was born on November 16, 1912, in New Haven, Connecticut.DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biograph ...
,
Brett Morrison,
Jackson Beck
Jackson Beck (July 23, 1912 – July 28, 2004) was an American actor best known as the announcer on radio's '' The Adventures of Superman'' and the voice of Bluto in the Famous era Popeye theatrical shorts.
Early years
Beck was born on July 23, ...
,
Robert Dryden
Robert Dryden (February 8, 1917 – December 16, 2003) was an American actor and voice-over performer "whose acting career spanned over four decades of radio, television, theater, and film appearances."
Radio
Dryden played Sergeant Maggio in ...
,
Elliott Reid
Edgeworth Blair "Elliott" Reid (January 16, 1920 – June 21, 2013) was an American actor.
Early life
Reid was born in Manhattan, the son of artist Christine Challenger Reid and banker Blair Reid. He attended the Professional Children's Sc ...
,
Court Benson
A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between Party (law), parties and Administration of justice, administer justice in Civil law (common law), civil, Criminal law, criminal, an ...
,
Cliff Carpenter
Clifford A. Carpenter (March 2, 1915 – January 9, 2014) was an American actor who appeared in radio, television and films.
Career
In 1937, Carpenter began his professional career on the radio serial '' Terry and the Pirates''. The show was ad ...
, and
Bryna Raeburn
Bryna Raeburn (born Bertha Sinai;["Death Notices: Bertha Smi ...](_blank)
. The show's 1965 run featured several well-known actors, including an early role for
James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones (January 17, 1931 – September 9, 2024) was an American actor. A pioneer for black actors in the entertainment industry, Jones is known for his extensive and acclaimed roles on stage and screen. Jones is one of the few perfor ...
(''Incident on US 1''), a pre-''
M*A*S*H
''M*A*S*H'' (an acronym for Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richa ...
''
Alan Alda
Alan Alda (; born Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo; January 28, 1936) is an American actor. A six-time Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award winner and a three-time Tony Award nominee, he is best known for playing Captain Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pier ...
(''A Bad Day's Work''), and radio veteran
Ed Begley
Edward James Begley Sr. (March 25, 1901 – April 28, 1970) was an American actor of theatre, radio, film, and television. He won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the film '' Sweet Bird of Youth'' (1962) an ...
(''The Pigeon'') three years after his Academy Award win. Another Theatre-Five actor was
Romeo Muller
Romeo Earl Muller, Jr. (August 7, 1928 – December 30, 1992) was an American screenwriter and actor most remembered for his screenplays for the Rankin/Bass Christmas specials including ''Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer'', ''The Little Drumm ...
, who also wrote stories for the series
but who became best known for his work with
Rankin/Bass Productions
Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment (founded and formerly known as Videocraft International, Ltd. and Rankin/Bass Productions, Inc.) was an American production company located in New York City. It was known for its seasonal television specials, ...
such as ''
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a fictional reindeer created by Robert L. May. Rudolph is usually depicted as the ninth and youngest of Santa Claus's reindeer, using his luminous red nose to lead the reindeer team and guide Santa's sleigh on C ...
''.
The ABC Radio Network Advance Program Schedule for January 1965 indicates ''Theatre-Five'' was fed to subscribing affiliates from 2:30 to 2:54 PM EST and again from 10:29 to 10:54 PM EST Monday through Friday.
Background
In the spring of 1964, ABC put
Ed Byron
Ed Byron (born Edward Armour Byron, October 1905 - November 21, 1964) was an American radio and television producer — "a pioneer in radio dramatic production".
Biography
The oldest of three children born to Armour C. Byron and Cecilia Halloran ...
in charge of the network's plan "for the restoration of top-grade radio drama".
At that time, Byron was an account executive in news program sales at NBC Television, but earlier in his career he had developed radio programs, including ''
Mr. District Attorney''. ABC's plan to restore drama to radio had begun more than a year before Byron was selected. A report in the trade publication ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' attributed the delay to "a shortage of writing talent the we felt would be up to projected standards."
[
]
Sources
''Theatre Five (Theatre 5)'' Radio Program
*ABC Radio Network Advance Program Schedule, January, 1965
References
External links
- plot summaries and reviews.
''Theater Five single episodes''
1960s American radio programs
1964 radio programme debuts
1965 radio programme endings
ABC radio programs
American radio dramas
Anthology radio series
{{US-radio-show-stub