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''The United States Steel Hour'' is an
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 ...
which brought hour-long dramas to television from 1953 to 1963. The television series and the radio program that preceded it were both sponsored by the
United States Steel Corporation The United States Steel Corporation is an American steel company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It maintains production facilities at several additional locations in the U.S. and Central Europe. The company produces and sells steel products, ...
(U.S. Steel).


''Theatre Guild on the Air''

The series originated on radio in the 1940s as ''Theatre Guild on the Air''. Organized in 1919 to improve the quality of American theater, the
Theatre Guild The Theatre Guild is a theatrical society founded in New York City in 1918 by Lawrence Langner, Philip Moeller, Helen Westley and Theresa Helburn. Langner's wife, Armina Marshall, then served as a co-director. It evolved out of the work of ...
first experimented with radio productions in ''Theatre Guild Dramas'', a CBS series which ran from December 6, 1943 to February 29, 1944. Actress-playwright
Armina Marshall Armina Marshall (1895-1991) was a playwright and actress, and the first co-director of New York's Theatre Guild. Marshall's New York acting debut was in 1922 in Paul Claudel's ''The Tidings Brought to Mary''. She shifted to producing once she ...
(1895–1991), a co-administrator of the Theatre Guild, headed the Guild's newly created Radio Department, and in 1945, ''Theatre Guild on the Air'' embarked on its ambitious plan to bring Broadway theater to radio with leading actors in major productions. It premiered September 9, 1945 on ABC with
Burgess Meredith Oliver Burgess Meredith (November 16, 1907 – September 9, 1997) was an American actor and filmmaker whose career encompassed radio, theater, film, and television. Active for more than six decades, Meredith has been called "a virtuosic actor" ...
,
Henry Daniell Charles Henry Pywell Daniell (5 March 1894 – 31 October 1963) was an English actor who had a long career in the United States on stage and in cinema. He came to prominence for his portrayal of villainous roles in films such as '' Camille'' ( ...
and
Cecil Humphreys Cecil Humphreys (1883–1947) was a British film and theatre actor who played in 46 films between 1916 and 1948, mostly in supporting roles as doctors, aristocrats, and generals. Among his best-known roles were Judge Linton, in the 1939 version ...
in ''
Wings Over Europe ''Wings Over Europe'' is a combat flight simulator game set during the Cold War era where the USSR has attacked NATO forces in West Germany. It was developed by Third Wire Productions and released for Microsoft Windows in 2006. The US release ...
'', a play by Robert Nichols and Maurice Browne which the Theatre Guild had staged on Broadway in 1928–29. Within a year the series drew 10 to 12 million listeners each week. Presenting both classic and contemporary plays, the program was broadcast for eight years before it became a television series. Playwrights adapted to radio ranged from
Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...
and
Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...
to
Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of Realism (theatre), realism, earlier associated with ...
and
Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the three ...
. Numerous Broadway and Hollywood stars acted in the series, including
Ingrid Bergman Ingrid Bergman (29 August 191529 August 1982) was a Swedish actress.Obituary ''Variety Obituaries, Variety'', 1 September 1982. With a career spanning five decades, Bergman is often regarded as one of the most influential screen figures in cin ...
,
Ronald Colman Ronald Charles Colman (9 February 1891 – 19 May 1958) was an English-born actor who started his career in theatre and silent film in his native country, then emigrated to the United States where he had a highly successful Cinema of the United ...
,
Bette Davis Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress of film, television, and theater. Regarded as one of the greatest actresses in Hollywood history, she was noted for her willingness to play unsympatheti ...
,
Rex Harrison Sir Reginald Carey Harrison (5 March 1908 – 2 June 1990) was an English actor. Harrison began his career on the stage at the Liverpool Playhouse in 1924. He made his West End debut in 1936 appearing in the Terence Rattigan play '' French W ...
,
Helen Hayes Helen Hayes MacArthur (; October 10, 1900 – March 17, 1993) was an American actress. Often referred to as the "First Lady of American Theatre", she was the second person and first woman to win EGOT, the EGOT (an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and ...
,
Katharine Hepburn Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress whose Katharine Hepburn on screen and stage, career as a Golden Age of Hollywood, Hollywood leading lady spanned six decades. She was known for her headstrong ...
,
Gene Kelly Eugene Curran Kelly (August 23, 1912 – February 2, 1996) was an American dancer, actor, singer, director and choreographer. He was known for his energetic and athletic dancing style and sought to create a new form of American dance accessibl ...
,
Deborah Kerr Deborah Jane Trimmer CBE (30 September 192116 October 2007), known professionally as Deborah Kerr (), was a Scottish actress. She was nominated six times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, becoming the first person from Scotland to be no ...
,
Sam Levene Sam Levene (born Scholem Lewin; August 28, 1905 – December 28, 1980) was an American Broadway theatre, Broadway, films, radio, and television actor and Television director, director. In a career spanning over five decades, he appeared in over ...
,
Agnes Moorehead Agnes Robertson Moorehead (December 6, 1900April 30, 1974) was an American actress. In a career spanning five decades, her credits included work in radio, stage, film, and television.Obituary '' Variety'', May 8, 1974, page 286. Moorehead was th ...
,
Basil Rathbone Philip St. John Basil Rathbone MC (13 June 1892 – 21 July 1967) was an Anglo-South African actor. He rose to prominence in the United Kingdom as a Shakespearean stage actor and went on to appear in more than 70 films, primarily costume drama ...
,
Charles Tyner Charles Tyner (June 8, 1923https://sv.findagrave.com/memorial/189067627/charles_vivian-tyner#view-photo=272601851 - November 8, 2017) was an American film, television and stage character actor known principally for his performances in the films '' ...
and
Mary Sinclair Mary Sinclair (born Ella Delores Cook; November 15, 1922 – November 5, 2000) was an American television, film and stage actress and “a familiar face to television viewers in the 1950s” as a performer in numerous plays produced and broadca ...
. One notable performance was
John Gielgud Sir Arthur John Gielgud ( ; 14 April 1904 – 21 May 2000) was an English actor and theatre director whose career spanned eight decades. With Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier, he was one of the trinity of actors who dominated the Britis ...
as ''
Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...
'', in an expanded 90-minute broadcast with
Dorothy McGuire Dorothy Hackett McGuire (June 14, 1916 – September 13, 2001) was an American actress. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for '' Gentleman's Agreement'' (1947) and won the National Board of Review Award for Best Actr ...
as Ophelia.
Fredric March Fredric March (born Ernest Frederick McIntyre Bickel; August 31, 1897 – April 14, 1975) was an American actor, regarded as one of Hollywood's most celebrated stars of the 1930s and 1940s.Obituary '' Variety'', April 16, 1975, page 95. As ...
was heard in his only performance as
Cyrano de Bergerac Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac ( , ; 6 March 1619 – 28 July 1655) was a French novelist, playwright, epistolarian, and duelist. A bold and innovative author, his work was part of the libertine literature of the first half of the 17th ce ...
, a role he played neither onstage or onscreen. The series also featured the only radio broadcast of
Rodgers and Hammerstein Rodgers and Hammerstein was a theater-writing team of composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and lyricist-dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960), who together created a series of innovative and influential American musicals. Their musical ...
's flop musical, ''
Allegro Allegro may refer to: Common meanings * Allegro (music), a tempo marking that indicates to playing quickly and brightly (from Italian meaning ''cheerful'') * Allegro (ballet), brisk and lively movement Artistic works * L'Allegro (1645), a poem b ...
''. The radio series was broadcast until June 7, 1953, when U.S. Steel decided to move the show to television. The September 8, 1946, episode was "Angel Street", starring Hayes,
Victor Jory Victor Jory (November 23, 1902 – February 12, 1982) was a Canadian-American actor of stage, film, and television. He initially played romantic leads, but later was mostly cast in villainous or sinister roles, such as Oberon in ''A Midsummer Ni ...
, and Leo G. Carroll.


Television overview

The television version aired from October 27, 1953, to 1955 on
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...
, and from 1955 to 1963 on
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
. Like its radio predecessor, it was a live dramatic anthology series. Although episodes were normally dramatic productions, the series occasionally presented a musical program or a comedy. While most episodes were broadcast live, some were taped. At least one combined the methods, as on April 6, 1960,
Robert Loggia Salvatore "Robert" Loggia ( , ; January 3, 1930 – December 4, 2015) was an American actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for '' Jagged Edge'' (1985) and won the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor for ...
had three roles in an episode. The segments in which he played a 45-year-old man and his 22-year-old son were done live, while between them the segment in which he portrayed an 80-year-old uncle was on tape. By its final year in 1963, it was the last surviving live anthology series from the
Golden Age of Television The first Golden Age of Television is an era of television in the United States marked by its large number of live productions. The period is generally recognized as beginning in 1947 with the first episode of the drama anthology '' Kraft Televi ...
. It was still on the air during President
John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...
's famous April 11, 1962, confrontation with steel companies over the hefty raising of their prices. The show featured a range of television acting talent, and its episodes explored a wide variety of contemporary social issues, from the mundane to the controversial. Notable guest star actors included
Martin Balsam Martin Henry Balsam (November 4, 1919 – February 13, 1996) was an American actor. He had a prolific career in character roles in film, in theatre, and on television. An early member of the Actors Studio, he began his career on the New ...
,
Tallulah Bankhead Tallulah Brockman Bankhead (January 31, 1902 – December 12, 1968) was an American actress. Primarily an actress of the stage, Bankhead also appeared in several films including an award-winning performance in Alfred Hitchcock's ''Lifeboat (194 ...
,
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 ...
,
James Dean James Byron Dean (February 8, 1931September 30, 1955) was an American actor. He became one of the most influential figures in Hollywood in the 1950s, despite a career that lasted only five years. His impact on cinema and popular culture was p ...
,
Dolores del Río María de los Dolores Asúnsolo y López Negrete (3 August 1904 – 11 April 1983), known professionally as Dolores del Río (), was a Mexican actress. With a career spanning more than 50 years, she is regarded as the first major female Latin Am ...
,
Keir Dullea Keir Atwood Dullea ( ; born May 30, 1936) is an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of astronaut David Bowman in the 1968 film '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'' and its 1984 sequel, '' 2010: The Year We Make Contact''. His other film rol ...
,
Bennye Gatteys Bennye Gatteys (born November 20, 1940) is an American singer and actress who appeared in many anthology television series and soap operas. Early life Gatteys grew up in Dallas, Texas. The unusual spelling of her first name is because her paren ...
,
Andy Griffith Andy Samuel Griffith (June 1, 1926 – July 3, 2012) was an American actor, comedian, television producer, singer, and writer whose career spanned seven decades in music and television. Known for his Southern drawl, his characters with a folksy ...
,
Dick Van Dyke Richard Wayne Van Dyke (born December 13, 1925) is an American actor, entertainer and comedian. Dick Van Dyke on screen and stage, His work spans screen and stage, and List of awards and nominations received by Dick Van Dyke, his awards includ ...
, Harrison,
Celeste Holm Celeste Holm (April 29, 1917 – July 15, 2012) was an American actress. Holm won an Academy Award for her performance in Elia Kazan's '' Gentleman's Agreement'' (1947), and was nominated for her roles in '' Come to the Stable'' (1949) and ''A ...
,
Sally Ann Howes Sally Ann Howes (20 July 1930 – 19 December 2021) was an English actress and singer. Her career on screen, stage and television spanned six decades. She is best known for the role of Truly Scrumptious in the 1968 musical film ''Chitty Chitt ...
,
Jack Klugman Jack Klugman (April 27, 1922 – December 24, 2012) was an American actor of stage, film, and television. He began his career in 1949 and started television and film work with roles in ''12 Angry Men (1957 film), 12 Angry Men'' (1957) and ...
,
Sam Levene Sam Levene (born Scholem Lewin; August 28, 1905 – December 28, 1980) was an American Broadway theatre, Broadway, films, radio, and television actor and Television director, director. In a career spanning over five decades, he appeared in over ...
,
Peter Lorre Peter Lorre (; born László Löwenstein, ; June 26, 1904 – March 23, 1964) was a Hungarian and American actor, active first in Europe and later in the United States. Known for his timidly devious characters, his appearance, and accented vo ...
,
Walter Matthau Walter John Matthau ( Matthow; ; October 1, 1920 – July 1, 2000) was an American actor, known for his "hangdog face" and for playing world-weary characters. He starred in 10 films alongside his real-life friend Jack Lemmon, including '' The Od ...
,
Paul Newman Paul Leonard Newman (January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008) was an American actor, film director, race car driver, philanthropist, and activist. He was the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Paul Newman, numerous awards ...
,
George Peppard George Peppard (October 1, 1928 – May 8, 1994) was an American actor. He secured a major role as struggling writer Paul Varjak when he starred alongside Audrey Hepburn in '' Breakfast at Tiffany's'' (1961), and later portrayed a character ...
,
Janice Rule Mary Janice Rule (August 15, 1931 – October 17, 2003) was an American actress and psychotherapist, earning her PhD while still acting, then acting occasionally while working in her new profession. Early life Rule was born in Norwood, Ohio, to ...
,
Albert Salmi Albert Salmi (March 11, 1928 – April 22, 1990) was an American actor of stage, film, and television. Best known for his work as a character actor, he appeared in over 150 film and television productions. Early life Salmi was born and raised ...
,
George Segal George Segal Jr. (February 13, 1934 – March 23, 2021) was an American actor. He became popular in the 1960s and 1970s for playing both dramatic and comedic roles. After first rising to prominence with roles in acclaimed films such as '' Ship o ...
, Jamie Smith,
Suzanne Storrs Suzanne Storrs (April 13, 1934 – January 25, 1995), born Suzanne Storrs Poulton and later known by her married name Suzanne Pincus, was a former Miss Utah and an American television actress, who appeared in 16 television series between 1954 a ...
, and Johnny Washbrook. Washbrook played Johnny Sullivan in ''The Roads Home'' in his first ever screen role. Griffith made his onscreen debut in the show's production of ''
No Time for Sergeants ''No Time for Sergeants'' is a 1954 best-selling novel by Mac Hyman, which was adapted into a teleplay on '' The United States Steel Hour'', a popular Broadway play and 1958 motion picture, as well as a 1964 television series. The book chronic ...
'', and would reprise the lead role in the 1958 big screen adaptation. In 1956–57,
Read Morgan Read Lawrence Morgan (January 30, 1931 – April 20, 2022) was an American film and television actor. He was perhaps best known for playing Sergeant Hapgood Tasker in the American western television series '' The Deputy''. Life and career Mo ...
made his television debut on the ''Steel Hour'' as a young boxer in two episodes titled "Sideshow". Child actor Darryl Richard, later of ''
The Donna Reed Show ''The Donna Reed Show'' is an American sitcom starring Donna Reed as the middle-class housewife Donna Stone. Carl Betz co-stars as her Pediatrics, pediatrician husband Dr. Alex Stone, and Shelley Fabares and Paul Petersen as their teenage childr ...
'', also made his acting debut in the episode "The Bogey Man", which aired January 18, 1955. On August 17, 1955, in her series debut,
Janice Rule Mary Janice Rule (August 15, 1931 – October 17, 2003) was an American actress and psychotherapist, earning her PhD while still acting, then acting occasionally while working in her new profession. Early life Rule was born in Norwood, Ohio, to ...
played the titular protagonist–and actor Jamie Smith her "likable, solid-type fiancé"–in the episode "The Bride Cried". In 1960,
Johnny Carson John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, and writer best known as the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (1962–1992). Carson is a cultural phenomenon and w ...
starred with
Anne Francis Anne Francis (September 16, 1930 – January 2, 2011) was an American actress known for her ground-breaking roles in the science fiction film ''Forbidden Planet'' (1956) and the television action-drama series '' Honey West'' (1965–1966). ...
in "Queen of the Orange Bowl". Many notable writers contributed episodes, including
Ira Levin Ira Marvin Levin (August 27, 1929 – November 12, 2007) was an American novelist, playwright, and songwriter. His works include the novels '' A Kiss Before Dying'' (1953), '' Rosemary's Baby'' (1967), '' The Stepford Wives'' (1972), '' This Perf ...
,
Richard Maibaum Richard Maibaum (May 26, 1909 – January 4, 1991) was an American screenwriter, film producer, and playwright, best known for his work on the James Bond films. He wrote 13 of the 16 Eon Productions Bond films produced between 1962 and 1989, be ...
and
Rod Serling Rodman Edward Serling (December 25, 1924 – June 28, 1975) was an American screenwriter and television producer best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his Anthology series, anthology television series ''The Twilight Zone (1 ...
. The program also broadcast one-hour musical versions of ''
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' (also simply known as ''Tom Sawyer'') is a novel by Mark Twain published on June 9, 1876, about a boy, Tom Sawyer, growing up along the Mississippi River. It is set in the 1830s-1840s in the town of St. Petersbu ...
'' and ''
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn ''Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' is a picaresque novel by American author Mark Twain that was first published in the United Kingdom in December 1884 and in the United States in February 1885. Commonly named among the Great American Novels, th ...
''. The latter was broadcast on November 20, 1957, with a cast including
Jimmy Boyd Jimmy Devon Boyd (born James Devon Boyd; January 9, 1939 – March 7, 2009) was an American singer, musician, and actor known for his 1952 recording of the song " I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus." Early years Jimmy Boyd was born in 1939 in Mis ...
,
Earle Hyman Earle Hyman (born George Earle Plummer; October 11, 1926 – November 17, 2017) was an American stage, television, and film actor. Hyman is known for his role on ''ThunderCats'' as the voice of Panthro and various other characters. He also appe ...
,
Basil Rathbone Philip St. John Basil Rathbone MC (13 June 1892 – 21 July 1967) was an Anglo-South African actor. He rose to prominence in the United Kingdom as a Shakespearean stage actor and went on to appear in more than 70 films, primarily costume drama ...
,
Jack Carson John Elmer Carson (October 27, 1910 – January 2, 1963), known as Jack Carson, was a Canadian-born American film actor. Carson often played the role of comedic friend in films of the 1940s and 1950s, including '' The Strawberry Blonde'' ...
and
Florence Henderson Florence Agnes Henderson (February 14, 1934 – November 24, 2016) was an American singer and actress. With a career spanning six decades, she is best known for her starring role as Carol Brady on the ABC sitcom ''The Brady Bunch''. Henderson ...
. Boyd had previously played Finn in the earlier telecast of
Tom Sawyer Thomas "Tom" Sawyer () is the title character of the Mark Twain novel '' The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' (1876). He appears in three other novels by Twain: '' Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' (1884), '' Tom Sawyer Abroad'' (1894), and '' Tom Sawy ...
.
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, ...
was the announcer when the program was on ABC.


Debuts

Debuts that occurred during the series's run included: * Imogene Coca's dramatic debut (April 11, 1956) * Griffith's TV debut (March 15, 1955) *
Gene Hackman Eugene Allen Hackman (January 30, 1930 – ) was an American actor. Hackman made his credited film debut in the drama ''Lilith (film), Lilith'' (1964). He later won two Academy Awards, his first for Academy Award for Best Actor, Best Actor for ...
's TV debut (April 22, 1959) * Shari Lewis's "drama debut for grownups" (July 12, 1961) * Robert Morley's American TV debut (December 7, 1955) *
Patti Page Clara Ann Fowler (November 8, 1927 – January 1, 2013), better known by her stage name Patti Page, was an American singer. Primarily known for Pop music, pop and Country music, country music, she was the top-charting female vocalist and b ...
's acting debut (June 19, 1957) * Richard's acting debut (January 18, 1955)


Broadcast schedule

On ABC the program was broadcast from 9:30 to 10:30 p.m. on alternate Tuesdays. Episodes were distributed live on 76 network affiliates and by
kinescope Kinescope , shortened to kine , also known as telerecording in Britain, is a recording of a television program on motion picture film directly through a lens focused on the screen of a video monitor. The process was pioneered during the 1940s ...
on 31 others. The latter status caused a problem because "The television rights to a story property cannot be obtained in certain cases if the program is to be televised in some areas by delayed film broadcasts." During its first season on television, the program alternated bi-weekly with ''
The Motorola Television Hour ''The Motorola Television Hour'' is an hourlong anthology series that alternated biweekly with ''The United States Steel Hour'' on ABC. The show premiered on November 3, 1953. It was originally known as ''The TV Hour''. Actors who appeared on the ...
'', which was replaced by '' Center Stage'' June 1, 1954 - September 21, 1954. '' The Elgin Hour'' became the alternate program in October 1954. NBC and CBS tried to obtain the series, and CBS succeeded with the ability to have it carried live on 115 affiliates. The series's last ABC broadcast was on June 21, 1955. Its CBS debut was at 10 p.m. E. T. on July 6, 1955, alternating with ''
Front Row Center ''Front Row Center'' is the title of two American television programs with different formats that were broadcast on different networks. DuMont version ''Front Row Center,'' an American variety show, aired on the DuMont Television Network from ...
''. In later years it alternated with ''
Armstrong Circle Theatre ''Armstrong Circle Theatre'' is an American anthology drama television series which ran from June 6, 1950, to June 25, 1957, on NBC, and from October 2, 1957, to August 28, 1963, on CBS. It alternated weekly with '' The United States Steel Ho ...
''. It ended on June 12, 1963.


Episodes


1953–1954

, - , February 16, 1954 , , "Highway" , ,
Diana Lynn Diana Marie Lynn (born Dolores Eartha Loehr, July 5, 1926 – December 18, 1971) was an American actress. She built her career by starring in Paramount Pictures films and various television series during the 1940s and 1950s. Two stars on th ...
,
Kevin McCarthy Kevin Owen McCarthy (born January 26, 1965) is an American politician who served as the List of speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 55th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from January until he was Remova ...
, - , March 2, 1954 , , "Morning Star" , ,
Gertrude Berg Gertrude Berg (born Tillie Edelstein; October 3, 1899 – September 14, 1966) was an American actress, screenwriter, and producer. A pioneer of classic old-time radio, radio, she was one of the first women to create, write, produce, and star in a ...
, Oscar Karlweis
Marilyn Erskine Marilyn Erskine (born April 24, 1926) is an American actress who started performing at the age of three on radio, and has since appeared in radio, theater, film and television roles from the 1920s through the 1970s. Early life Erskine was born i ...
,
Jo Van Fleet Jo Van Fleet (December 29, 1915"The Birth of C ...
, Sidney Armin, ic]"">"The Birth of C ...
, Sidney Armin, Fred Sadoff, Pat Breslin">Fred Sadoff">ic]"">"The Birth of C ...
, Sidney Armin, Fred Sadoff, Pat Breslin, Hal Gary, Anatole Winogradof , - , March 16, 1954 , , "Welcome Home" , ,
Helen Hayes Helen Hayes MacArthur (; October 10, 1900 – March 17, 1993) was an American actress. Often referred to as the "First Lady of American Theatre", she was the second person and first woman to win EGOT, the EGOT (an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and ...
, Charlie Ruggles , - , March 30, 1954 , , "The Last Notch" , , Richard Jaeckel, Jeff Morrow, Louisa Horton, John McQuade, Harry Bellaver, Royal Dano, John Kellogg (actor), John Kellogg , - , April 13, 1954 , , "Late Date" , ,
Jessie Royce Landis Jessie Royce Landis (born Jessie Medbury; November 25, 1896 – February 2, 1972) was an American actress. Her name is also seen as Jesse Royce-Landis. She remains perhaps best-known for her mother roles in the Hitchcock films '' To Catch a Thi ...
,
Walter Matthau Walter John Matthau ( Matthow; ; October 1, 1920 – July 1, 2000) was an American actor, known for his "hangdog face" and for playing world-weary characters. He starred in 10 films alongside his real-life friend Jack Lemmon, including '' The Od ...
, - , April 27, 1954 , , "The Laphams of Boston" , ,
Dorothy Gish Dorothy Elizabeth Gish (March 11, 1898June 4, 1968) was an American stage and screen actress. Dorothy and her older sister Lillian Gish were major movie stars of the silent era. Dorothy also had great success on the stage, and was inducted int ...
, Thomas Mitchell,
Patricia Wheel Patricia Wheel (December 9, 1925 – June 3, 1986) was an American actress who appeared in films and TV series from the 1940s to the 1970s. Early years Wheel was the daughter of Lester H. Wheel and his wife, Helene, and she had a sister, Lesley. ...
,
Paul Newman Paul Leonard Newman (January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008) was an American actor, film director, race car driver, philanthropist, and activist. He was the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Paul Newman, numerous awards ...
,
Lois Smith Lois Arlene Smith (née Humbert; born November 3, 1930) is an American actress whose career spans 7 decades. She made her film debut in the 1955 drama film '' East of Eden'', and later played supporting roles in a number of movies, including '' ...
,
Jean Dixon Jean Dixon (born Jean Jacques; July 14, 1893 – February 12, 1981) was an American stage and film actress. Early years Dixon was born in Waterbury, Connecticut. She attended St. Margaret's School in Waterbury, and was also educated in Fr ...
,
Colin Keith-Johnston Colin Keith-Johnston (8 October 1896 – 3 January 1980) was a British actor. Keith-Johnston was born in London, the son of Robert Keith-Johnston and Jessy Macfie, and was a prominent actor of the stage. As well as film appearances, he appeare ...
,
Addison Richards Addison Whittaker Richards, Jr. (October 20, 1902 – March 22, 1964) was an American actor of film and television. Richards appeared in more than 300 films between 1933 and his death in 1964. Biography A native of Zanesville, Ohio, Richard ...
, - , May 11, 1954 , , "The End of Paul Dane" , , Robert Preston,
Teresa Wright Muriel Teresa Wright (October 27, 1918 – March 6, 2005) was an American actress. She won the 1942 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Carol Beldon in ''Mrs. Miniver''. She was nominated for the same award in 1941 for her ...
,
Warren Stevens Warren Albert Stevens (November 2, 1919 – March 27, 2012) was an American stage, screen, and television actor. Early life and career Stevens was born in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania and graduated from Clarks Summit High School.
, - , May 25, 1954 , , "The Great Chair" , ,
Walter Hampden Walter Hampden Dougherty (June 30, 1879 – June 11, 1955), known professionally as Walter Hampden, was an American actor and theatre manager. He was a major stage star on Broadway in New York who also made numerous television and film appear ...
,
Gary Merrill Gary Fred Merrill (August 2, 1915 – March 5, 1990) was an American film and television actor whose credits included more than 50 feature films, a half-dozen mostly short-lived TV series, and dozens of television guest appearances. He starr ...
,
Lori March Lori March (March 6, 1923 – March 19, 2013) was an American television actress. She was best known for her roles on daytime soap operas. Her obituary on the Television Academy's web site noted that she "was dubbed 'First Lady of Daytime Tele ...
, - , June 8, 1954 , , "Good for You" , ,
Diana Lynn Diana Marie Lynn (born Dolores Eartha Loehr, July 5, 1926 – December 18, 1971) was an American actress. She built her career by starring in Paramount Pictures films and various television series during the 1940s and 1950s. Two stars on th ...
,
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, - , June 22, 1954 , , " Fearful Decision" , ,
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 ...
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Frank Overton Frank Emmons Overton (March 12, 1918April 24, 1967) was an American actor. He was best known for the roles of Major Harvey Stovall in '' 12 O'Clock High'' (1964-1967), Sheriff Heck Tate in ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' (1962), and General Bogan in '' ...
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, Frank Wilson, George Mitchell, Theodore Newton , - , July 6, 1954 , , "Haven's End" , ,
Howard Lindsay Howard Lindsay, born Herman Nelke, (March 29, 1889 – February 11, 1968) was an American playwright, librettist, director, actor and theatrical producer. He is best known for his writing work as part of the collaboration of Lindsay and Crouse ...
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, Richard Hylton, Royal Beal, Jamie Smith,
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, Chester Stratton,
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Lauren Gilbert Lauren Edwin Gilbert"New York, New York City, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1940-1947", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:WCQL-G2N2 : Thu Mar 07 12:35:56 UTC 2024), Entry for Lauren Edwin Gilbert and Unemployed ...
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, Donald Murphy , - , August 3, 1954 , , "Oberstrasse 49", ,
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1954–1955


1955–1956


1956–1957


1957–1958


1958–1959


1959–1960


1960–1961


1961–1962


1962–1963


Production

The Theatre Guild supervised production of the TV series. Executive producers included Marshall Jamison. Producers included George Kondolf. Episodes on ABC were produced at ABC Television Center on West 66th Street in New York. Broadcasts originated from
WABC-TV WABC-TV (channel 7) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the ABC network. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, WABC-TV maintains studios in the Hudson Square neighborhood ...
. During its time on ABC,
Alex Segal Alex Segal (July 1, 1915 – August 22, 1977) was an American television director, television producer, and film director. Early years Segal was born on July 1, 1915, in Trenton, New Jersey. Career In 1948, Segal became a production assista ...
was the director. Directors on CBS included
Boris Sagal Boris Sagal (October 18, 1923 – May 22, 1981) was an American television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather t ...
, Marshall Jamison,
Paul Bogart Paul Bogart (né Bogoff; November 13, 1919 – April 15, 2012) was an Americans, American television director and producer. Bogart directed episodes of the television series 'Way Out (TV series), Way Out'' in 1961, ''Coronet Blue'' in 1967, '' ...
, Don Richardson, Tom Donovan,
Norman Felton Norman Francis Felton (April 29, 1913 – June 25, 2012) was a British-born American television producer, known for his involvement in shows such as ''The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' and '' Dr. Kildare''. Background Felton was born in London, the so ...
, Dan Petrie, and
Sidney Lumet Sidney Arthur Lumet ( ; June 25, 1924 – April 9, 2011) was an American film director. Lumet started his career in theatre before moving to film, where he gained a reputation for making realistic and gritty New York City, New York dramas w ...
. Concurrent with the change of networks, the Guild applied "the well-known theory that a certain director may be skilléd in staging a comedy, but somewhat inept at serious drama". The March 15, 1955, episode ("No Time for Sergeants") was the show's first presentation before a live studio audience. A network representative said that the change should "engender honest laughter".


Adaptations and other uses of episodes

* " Bang the Drum Slowly (1956) – '' Bang the Drum Slowly'' (film, 1973) "P. O. W.", the series's premiere episode, was used to help American armed forces personnel who had problems as they returned from fighting in Korea. At the request of the
United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and superv ...
, ABC provided a film of the live broadcast to be used as a training film. The series's musical adaptation of ''
Tom Sawyer Thomas "Tom" Sawyer () is the title character of the Mark Twain novel '' The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' (1876). He appears in three other novels by Twain: '' Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' (1884), '' Tom Sawyer Abroad'' (1894), and '' Tom Sawy ...
'' was itself adapted into a stage musical. The production debuted on July 13, 1958, at the Starlight Theatre in Swope Park in
Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...
. A "full-blown West End presentation of ''Who's Earnest''" was produced in London in 1957. The musical was an adaptation of the October 9, 1957, ''Steel Hour'' episode. The script for "Welcome Home" (March 16, 1954) was developed into a full-length play for stage performances.


Controversy

Rod Serling was not regarded as a controversial scriptwriter until he contributed to ''The United States Steel Hour'', as he recalled in his collection ''Patterns'' (1957):
In the television seasons of 1952 and 1953, almost every television play I sold to the major networks was "non-controversial". This is to say that in terms of their themes they were socially inoffensive, and dealt with no current human problem in which battle lines might be drawn. After the production of ''Patterns'', when my things were considerably easier to sell, in a mad and impetuous moment I had the temerity to tackle a theme that was definitely two-sided in its implications. I think this story is worth repeating. The script was called ''Noon on Doomsday''. It was produced by the Theatre Guild on ''The United States Steel Hour'' in April 1956. The play, in its original form, followed very closely the Till case in Mississippi, where a young Negro boy was kidnapped and killed by two white men who went to trial and were exonerated on both counts. The righteous and continuing wrath of the Northern press opened no eyes and touched no consciences in the little town in Mississippi where the two men were tried. It was like a cold wind that made them huddle together for protection against an outside force which they could equate with an adversary. It struck me at the time that the entire trial and its aftermath was simply "They're bastards, but they're our bastards." So I wrote a play in which my antagonist was not just a killer but a regional idea. It was the story of a little town banding together to protect its own against outside condemnation. At no point in the conception of my story was there a black-white issue. The victim was an old Jew who ran a pawnshop. The killer was a neurotic malcontent who lashed out at something or someone who might be materially and physically the scapegoat for his own unhappy, purposeless, miserable existence. Philosophically I felt that I was on sound ground. I felt that I was dealing with a sociological phenomenon—the need of human beings to have a scapegoat to rationalize their own shortcomings. ''Noon on Doomsday'' finally went on the air several months later, but in a welter of publicity that came from some 15,000 letters and wires from
White Citizens' Council The White Citizens' Councils were an associated network of white supremacist, segregationist organizations in the United States, concentrated in the South and created as part of a white backlash against the US Supreme Court's landmark ''Brown v ...
s and the like protesting the production of the play. In news stories, the play had been erroneously described as "The story of the Till case". At one point earlier, during an interview on the Coast, I told a reporter from one of the news services the story of ''Noon on Doomsday''. He said, "Sounds like the Till case." I shrugged it off, answering, "If the shoe fits..." This is all it took. From that moment on ''Noon on Doomsday'' was the dramatization of the Till case. And no matter how the Theatre Guild or the agency representing U.S. Steel denied it, the impression persisted. The offices of the Theatre Guild, on West 53rd Street in New York City, took on all the aspects of a football field ten seconds after the final whistle blew.


Critical response

A review of the broadcast in ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' said, "Mr. Serling grappled with a potentially compelling theme —how the narrow-mindedness of a small town led members of the community to forgo principle." To do so, the review said, "Serling indulged in a succession of rather implausible events and then coated them with so much emotion that his work seemed artificially supercharged instead of genuinely powerful." It added that the episode's characters emerged as stereotypes more than "as people of persuasive dimension".


Awards

''Theater Guild on the Air'' won a
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 ...
for drama in 1947. ''The United States Steel Hour'' won
Emmys 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 ...
in 1954 for Best Dramatic Program and Best New Program. The following year it won an Emmy for Best Dramatic Series, and
Alex Segal Alex Segal (July 1, 1915 – August 22, 1977) was an American television director, television producer, and film director. Early years Segal was born on July 1, 1915, in Trenton, New Jersey. Career In 1948, Segal became a production assista ...
was nominated for Best Direction. It received eight Emmy nominations in 1956, then one nomination for the years 1957, 1959, and 1961. In 1962, the episode "The Two Worlds of Charlie Gordon" was nominated for the
Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation The Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation is given each year for theatrical films, television episodes, or other dramatized works related to science fiction or fantasy released in the previous calendar year. Originally the award covered both ...
. The program won ''
TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...
s Gold Medal Award for 1953-54 as one of three programs "honored for their outstanding achievement, initiative and enterprise and their major contributions to the industry".
Gracie Fields Dame Gracie Fields (born Grace Stansfield; 9 January 189827 September 1979) was a British actress, singer and comedian. A star of cinema and music hall, she was one of the top ten film stars in Britain during the 1930s and was considered the h ...
won a 1956
Sylvania Award The Sylvania Awards were given by the television manufacturer Sylvania Electric Products for various categories of television performance, broadcasting, scripts, music and other aspects of production between 1951 and 1959. In their day they rivaled ...
for her performance in "The Old Lady Shows Her Medals".


References


Further reading

* William L. Bird, Jr. ''"Better Living": Advertising, Media, and the New Vocabulary of Business Leadership, 1935–1955.'' Evanston, Illinois: Northwestern University Press, 1999.


Listen to

*


External links


''Company Voice Advertising'', Museum of Broadcast Communications
* * ttp://www.rodserling.com/PPBintro.htm "Writing for Television" by Rod Serlingbr>''The United States Steel Hour'' at CVTA with episode list''Theatre Guild United States Steel Hour'' records, 1956–1963
held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division,
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, is located at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, in the Lincoln Center complex on the Upper West Side in Manhattan, New York City. Situated between the Metropolitan O ...

Watch ''U.S. Steel Hour'' episodes
at the
UCLA Film and Television Archive The UCLA Film & Television Archive is a visual arts organization focused on the film preservation, preservation, film studies, study, and appreciation of film and television, based at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). As a nonpro ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:United States Steel Hour, The 1953 American television series debuts 1963 American television series endings 1940s American radio programs 1950s American radio programs 1950s American anthology television series 1950s American drama television series 1960s American drama television series American radio dramas Anthology radio series American live television series Black-and-white American television shows American English-language television shows Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series winners U.S. Steel NBC radio programs ABC radio programs CBS Radio programs 1960s American anthology television series American Broadcasting Company television dramas CBS television dramas