Edward Platt

Edward Platt

Born: February 14, 1916
Died: March 19, 1974
in Staten Island, New York, USA
Forever and fondly remembered as Don Adams' foil on the popular Mel Brooks/Buck Henry spy series Get Smart (1965), character actor Ed Platt (also billed as Edward C. Platt) had been around for two decades prior to copping that rare comedy role. Born in Staten Island, New York, on Valentine's Day, 1916, he inherited an appreciation of music on his mother's side. He spent a part of his childhood in Kentucky and in upstate New York where he attended Northwood, a private school in Lake Placid, and was a member of the ski jump team. He majored in romantic languages at Princeton University but left a year later to study at the Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati after his thoughts turned to a possible operatic career. He later was accepted into Juilliard.

Instead of opera, however, Ed first became a band vocalist with Paul Whiteman and Orchestra. He then sang bass as part of the Mozart Opera Company in New York. With the Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company in 1942, he appeared in the operettas "The Mikado," "The Gondoliers" and "The Pirates of Penzance".

WWII interrupted his early career. Ed served as a radio operator with the army and would find himself on radio again in the post-war years where his deep, resonant voice proved ideal. A number of musical comedy roles also came his way again. In 1947, he made it to Broadway with the musical "Allegro." Star José Ferrer took an interest in Ed while they both were appearing in "The Shrike" on Broadway in 1952.

Around 1953, Edward moved to Texas to be near his brother and began anchoring the local news and kiddie birthday party show called "Uncle Eddie's Kiddie Party." Ferrer remembered Platt and invited him to Hollywood where Ferrer was starring in the film version of The Shrike (1955). Ed recreated his stage role. He also earned fine notices as James Dean's understanding juvenile officer in the classic film Rebel Without a Cause (1955).

This led to a plethora of film and TV support offers where the balding actor made fine use of his dark, rich voice, stern intensity and pragmatic air, portraying a slew of professional and shady types in crime yarns, soap dramas and war pictures -- everything from principals and prosecutors to mobsters and murderers.

After years of playing it serious, which included stints on the daytime drama General Hospital (1963), Ed finally was able to focus on comedy as "The Chief" to Don Adams klutzy secret agent on Get Smart (1965), a show that inevitably found a cult audience. Picking up a few occasional guest spots in its aftermath, he later tried producing.

Twice married and the father of four, Platt died on March 19, 1974. Death was attributed to a massive heart attack at the time. Years later his son revealed that his father, suffering from acute depression and undergoing severe financial pressures, committed suicide at his Santa Monica, California apartment.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.ne

Movies for Edward Platt...

The Snoop Sisters
Title: The Snoop Sisters
Character: Julius Nero
Released: December 18, 1972
Type: Movie
A spinster and her widowed sister, who are the authors of murder-mystery novels, try to track down the killer of a former movie star. This TV pilot film became a series of rotating movies the following season.
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Title: Temperatures Rising
Character: Senator Bradley
Released: September 12, 1972
Type: TV
Temperatures Rising is an American television sitcom that ran from September 12, 1972 to August 29, 1974 on the ABC network. The network had a good deal of faith in the low-rated series, which went through three cast changes, two different formats, and two time slots during its run.
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Title: Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law
Character: Caldwell
Released: September 16, 1971
Type: TV
Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law is an American legal drama, jointly created by David Victor and former law professor Jerry McNeely, that starred actor Arthur Hill. The series was broadcast on ABC from 1971 to 1974. A two-hour pilot movie had aired as a 1971 ABC Movie of the Week entry prior to the series run.
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Title: The Odd Couple
Character: Bill Donnelly
Released: September 24, 1970
Type: TV
Felix and Oscar are two divorced men. Felix is neat and tidy while Oscar is sloppy and casual. They share a Manhattan apartment, and their different lifestyles inevitably lead to conflicts.
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Title: Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Character: Self
Released: September 9, 1967
Type: TV
An American sketch comedy television program hosted by comedians Dan Rowan and Dick Martin.
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Get Smart: A Man Called Smart
Title: Get Smart: A Man Called Smart
Character: Chief
Released: April 8, 1967
Type: Movie
KAOS steals a secret formula that turns water into vapor and threatens the USA to dry up its entire water supply.
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The Further Adventures of Gallegher
Title: The Further Adventures of Gallegher
Character: The Judge
Released: October 3, 1965
Type: Movie
The young copyboy helps the town’s first female newspaper reporter, who is writing a series on confidence men. The swindlers are caught up in a sting, but they catch on and the reporter and Gallegher have to subdue them in order to escape and write their article.
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Title: Get Smart
Character: Thaddeus
Released: September 18, 1965
Type: TV
Get Smart is an American comedy television series that satirizes the secret agent genre. Created by Mel Brooks with Buck Henry, the show stars Don Adams, Barbara Feldon, and Edward Platt. Henry said they created the show by request of Daniel Melnick, who was a partner, along with Leonard Stern and David Susskind, of the show's production company, Talent Associates, to capitalize on "the two biggest things in the entertainment world today"—James Bond and Inspector Clouseau. Brooks said: "It's an insane combination of James Bond and Mel Brooks comedy." This is the only Mel Brooks production to feature a laugh track. The success of the show eventually spawned the follow-up films The Nude Bomb and Get Smart, Again!, as well as a 1995 revival series and a 2008 film remake. In 2010, TV Guide ranked Get Smart's opening title sequence at No. 2 on its list of TV's Top 10 Credits Sequences, as selected by readers.
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Title: Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
Character: Morgan
Released: September 14, 1964
Type: TV
Join the crew of the Seaview aboard their super high-tech submarine, where no mission is too dangerous and no threat is too deadly, be it enemy agents, mad scientists, deadly sea creatures, or impending nuclear disaster.
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Bullet for a Badman
Title: Bullet for a Badman
Character: Tucker
Released: September 1, 1964
Type: Movie
Former Texas Rangers Sam Ward and Logan Keliher become enemies when Sam turns bank robber and Logan marries Sam's ex-wife.
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Title: Petticoat Junction
Character: General Patterson
Released: September 24, 1963
Type: TV
The Bradley family are proud owners of the Shady Rest Hotel. Kate and her three young daughters do the job of running the hotel.
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Title: Burke's Law
Character: Capt. Frank Metcalfe
Released: September 20, 1963
Type: TV
Burke's Law is an American detective series that ran on ABC from 1963 to 1965 and was revived on CBS in the 1990s. The show starred Gene Barry as Amos Burke, millionaire captain of Los Angeles police homicide division, who was chauffeured around to solve crimes in his Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II.
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Title: Temple Houston
Released: September 19, 1963
Type: TV
Temple Houston is a 1963–64 NBC television series which has been called "the first attempt . . . to produce an hour-long Western series with the main character being an attorney in the formal sense." It was the only show Jack Webb sold to a network during his ten months as the head of production at Warner Bros. Television. It was also the lone series in which actor Jeffrey Hunter played a regular part.
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Title: The Outer Limits
Character: Dean Radcliffe
Released: September 16, 1963
Type: TV
The Outer Limits is an anthology tv series of self-contained sci-fi-horror stories, sometimes with a plot twist at the end.
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Title: The Outer Limits
Character: Mr. Terrence
Released: September 16, 1963
Type: TV
The Outer Limits is an anthology tv series of self-contained sci-fi-horror stories, sometimes with a plot twist at the end.
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Title: The Outer Limits
Character: David Hunt (as Edward C. Platt)
Released: September 16, 1963
Type: TV
The Outer Limits is an anthology tv series of self-contained sci-fi-horror stories, sometimes with a plot twist at the end.
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Title: Arrest and Trial
Character: Superior Court Judge
Released: September 15, 1963
Type: TV
Arrest and Trial is a 90-minute American crime/legal drama series that ran during the 1963-1964 season on ABC, airing Sundays from 8:30-10 p.m. Eastern.
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Title: Arrest and Trial
Character: Judge Kenneth W. Browne
Released: September 15, 1963
Type: TV
Arrest and Trial is a 90-minute American crime/legal drama series that ran during the 1963-1964 season on ABC, airing Sundays from 8:30-10 p.m. Eastern.
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Title: Arrest and Trial
Character: Judge Phillips
Released: September 15, 1963
Type: TV
Arrest and Trial is a 90-minute American crime/legal drama series that ran during the 1963-1964 season on ABC, airing Sundays from 8:30-10 p.m. Eastern.
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Title: Arrest and Trial
Released: September 15, 1963
Type: TV
Arrest and Trial is a 90-minute American crime/legal drama series that ran during the 1963-1964 season on ABC, airing Sundays from 8:30-10 p.m. Eastern.
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Title: Arrest and Trial
Character: Judge
Released: September 15, 1963
Type: TV
Arrest and Trial is a 90-minute American crime/legal drama series that ran during the 1963-1964 season on ABC, airing Sundays from 8:30-10 p.m. Eastern.
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A Ticklish Affair
Title: A Ticklish Affair
Character: Captain Haven Hitchcock
Released: August 18, 1963
Type: Movie
A young widow Amy Martin with three young boys is investigated by the Navy after one of her children inadvertently sends out a distress signal in Morse code by the blinds on his upstairs bedroom window. Commander Weedon and crew observe the signal from their ship and investigates. He falls for the young mother and proposes marriage. However, she is reluctant to have her family live out of a suitcase and initially declines. Gramps tries to bring her on board to sail the sea of love with the commander.
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Black Zoo
Title: Black Zoo
Character: Chief Rivers
Released: May 15, 1963
Type: Movie
Michael Conrad, owner of a group of strange animals, trains his beasts to obey him, unleashing them on anyone who stands in his way. His wife and mute assistant begin to suspect that they too are becoming part of the black zoo.
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Johnny Shiloh
Title: Johnny Shiloh
Character: General Thomas
Released: January 20, 1963
Type: Movie
Johnny Shiloh is a 1963 made for TV film that originally aired in two parts on the Wonderful World of Disney in Color. It was released in other countries theatrically as one film and is on DVD as one film. Johnny Shiloh is the true story about Johnny Clem, the ten year old drummer boy who became a union officer in the Civil War.
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Title: General Electric True
Released: September 30, 1962
Type: TV
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Title: The Virginian
Character: Stuart Brynmar
Released: September 19, 1962
Type: TV
The Shiloh Ranch in Wyoming Territory of the 1890s is owned in sequence by Judge Henry Garth, the Grainger brothers, and Colonel Alan MacKenzie. It is the setting for a variety of stories, many more based on character and relationships than the usual western.
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Title: Saints and Sinners
Character: Dr. Gates
Released: September 17, 1962
Type: TV
Saints and Sinners is an American drama series that aired on NBC during the 1962-63 television season. The program stars Nick Adams as newspaper reporter Nick Alexander. Saints and Sinners was created by Adrian Spies, who worked as a journalist before becoming a screenwriter.
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Cape Fear
Title: Cape Fear
Character: Judge
Released: April 12, 1962
Type: Movie
Sam Bowden witnesses a rape committed by Max Cady and testifies against him. When released after 8 years in prison, Cady begins stalking Bowden and his family but is always clever enough not to violate the law.
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The Explosive Generation
Title: The Explosive Generation
Character: Mr. Morton
Released: October 19, 1961
Type: Movie
Peter Gifford is a likable, dedicated schoolteacher that teaches a senior life skills class. When student Janet Sommers brings up the topic of sex and dating, he asks students to write questions on the topic, and will cover them in the next class. The parents get wind of what Gifford is about to do, notify the principal, and he warns Peter not to read the questions in class. Gifford decides to go against this and is suspended. The whole student body protests, and the administration gets worried on what to do.
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Title: The Dick Van Dyke Show
Character: Lou Gregory
Released: October 3, 1961
Type: TV
The Dick Van Dyke Show centers around the work and home life of television comedy writer Rob Petrie. The plots generally revolve around problems at work, where Rob got into various comedic jams with fellow writers Buddy Sorrell, Sally Rogers and producer Mel Cooley.
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Title: Dr. Kildare
Character: Dr. Tom Paulson
Released: September 27, 1961
Type: TV
The story of a young intern in a large metropolitan hospital trying to learn his profession, deal with the problems of his patients, and win the respect of the senior doctor in his specialty, internal medicine.
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Who Killed Julie Greer?
Title: Who Killed Julie Greer?
Character: Joe Nolan
Released: September 26, 1961
Type: Movie
Amos Burke is an L.A. cop who's inherited millions and usually arrives at crime scenes in a chauffeur-driven Rolls-Royce. Investigating the death of actress Julie Greer, he finds lots of suspects - but the killer's identity surprises him.
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Atlantis: The Lost Continent
Title: Atlantis: The Lost Continent
Character: Azor the High Priest
Released: May 3, 1961
Type: Movie
A Greek Fisherman brings an Atlantean Princess back to her homeland which is the mythical city of Atlantis. He is enslaved for his trouble. The King is being manipulated by an evil sorcerer who is bent on using a natural resource of Atlantis to take over the world. The Atlanteans, or rather the slaves of Atlantis, are forced to mine a crystalline material which absorbs the suns rays. These crystals can then be used for warmth. The misuse of science has created weapons out of the crystals that can fire a heat ray to destroy whatever it touches.
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The Fiercest Heart
Title: The Fiercest Heart
Character: Madrigo
Released: April 30, 1961
Type: Movie
Two British soldiers in 1830s South Africa flee military discipline and join a group of Boers heading north on "the Great Trek." In between fighting off Zulu attacks, one of these soldiers falls in love with the trek-leader's granddaughter who has been promised to another man.
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Title: Surfside 6
Released: October 6, 1960
Type: TV
Surfside 6 was an ABC television series which aired from 1960 to 1962. The show centered on a Miami Beach detective agency set on a houseboat and featured Troy Donahue as Sandy Winfield II; Van Williams as Kenny Madison; and Lee Patterson as Dave Thorne. Diane McBain co-starred as socialite Daphne Dutton, whose yacht was berthed next to their houseboat. Margarita Sierra also had a supporting role as Cha Cha O'Brien, an entertainer who worked at The Boom Boom Room, a popular Miami Beach hangout at the Fontainebleau Hotel, directly across the street from Surfside 6. Surfside 6 was in fact a real address in Miami Beach, where an unrelated houseboat was moored at the time; it can also be seen in the sweeping aerial establishing shot of the Fontainebleu in 1964's Goldfinger.
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Title: Thriller
Character: James Weeks
Released: September 13, 1960
Type: TV
Thriller is an American anthology television series that aired during the 1960–61 and 1961–62 seasons on NBC. The show featured host Boris Karloff introducing a mix of self-contained, macabre weird-horror and morbid, hitchockian crime stories, in some of which he also starred.
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Pollyanna
Title: Pollyanna
Character: Ben Tarbell
Released: May 19, 1960
Type: Movie
A young girl comes to an embittered town and confronts its attitude with her determination to see the best in life.
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Cash McCall
Title: Cash McCall
Character: Harrison Glenn
Released: January 20, 1960
Type: Movie
Wealthy hotshot Cash McCall makes his money by purchasing unsuccessful businesses, whipping them into shape and then selling them for a huge profit. When Cash comes across Austen Plastics, a small manufacturing corporation on its last legs, he realizes it might be a gamble to buy the company. But when Cash finds out that the company's owner is the father of his old flame, Lory, he buys the business just to get a second chance at romance.
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Title: Mr. Lucky
Released: October 24, 1959
Type: TV
Mr. Lucky is a CBS adventure/drama television series that aired from October 24, 1959, to June 18, 1960, with repeats until September 3. Blake Edwards developed the program as a retooling of his Willie Dante character from Four Star Playhouse, where the role was played by studio boss Dick Powell. In the 1960–1961 season, Howard Duff assumed the role of Willie Dante in the NBC adventure/drama series Dante. Mr. Edwards directed and co-wrote the first episode of Mr. Lucky, and the credits of the first eighteen episodes included "Entire production supervised by Blake Edwards." Jack Arnold produced the show and directed fifteen of the thirty-four episodes. Henry Mancini's smooth theme music for the show reached Number 21 in the US singles charts. He released two successful LP's based on the show, Mr. Lucky and Mr. Lucky Goes Latin.
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Title: Hawaiian Eye
Released: October 7, 1959
Type: TV
Private Eyes Tom Lopaka and Tracy Steele are based out of Hawaiian Village Resort where they work both hotel security and are hired by others to look into various matters. They're helped by their trusty right-hand man Kazuo Kim who runs a taxi company and is always eager to help them.
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Title: The Twilight Zone
Character: Doctor
Released: October 2, 1959
Type: TV
A series of unrelated stories containing drama, psychological thriller, fantasy, science fiction, suspense, and/or horror, often concluding with a macabre or unexpected twist.
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Title: Bonanza
Character: Harvey Buford
Released: September 12, 1959
Type: TV
The High-Sierra adventures of Ben Cartwright and his sons as they run and defend their ranch while helping the surrounding community.
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Title: Bonanza
Character: Wade Colly
Released: September 12, 1959
Type: TV
The High-Sierra adventures of Ben Cartwright and his sons as they run and defend their ranch while helping the surrounding community.
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Title: The Deputy
Character: Noah Harper
Released: September 12, 1959
Type: TV
The Deputy is an American western series that aired on NBC from September 1959, to July 1961. The series stars Henry Fonda as Chief Marshal Simon Fry of the Arizona Territory and Allen Case as Deputy Clay McCord, a storekeeper who tried to avoid using a gun.
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Inside the Mafia
Title: Inside the Mafia
Character: Dan Regent
Released: September 1, 1959
Type: Movie
A mob assassin holds innocent hostages at an airport in upstate New York.
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North by Northwest
Title: North by Northwest
Character: Victor Larrabee
Released: July 8, 1959
Type: Movie
Advertising man Roger Thornhill is mistaken for a spy, triggering a deadly cross-country chase.
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The Rebel Set
Title: The Rebel Set
Character: Mr. Tucker / Mr. T
Released: June 28, 1959
Type: Movie
Three beatniks are brought together to rob an armored car, only to face betrayal from amongst their ranks.
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They Came to Cordura
Title: They Came to Cordura
Character: Col. DeRose
Released: June 1, 1959
Type: Movie
An army major, himself guilty of cowardice, is asked to recommended soldiers for the Congressional Medal of Honor during the Mexican Border Incursion of 1916.
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Title: The Lawless Years
Released: April 16, 1959
Type: TV
The Lawless Years is an American crime drama series that aired on NBC from April 16 1959, to September 22, 1961. The series is the first of its kind set set during the Roaring 20s, having predated ABC's far more successful The Untouchables by six months. The series stars James Gregory and Robert Karnes.
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Title: One Step Beyond
Character: Will Denning
Released: January 20, 1959
Type: TV
Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond is an American anthology series created by Merwin Gerard. The original series ran for three seasons on ABC from January 1959 to July 1961.
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Title: Rawhide
Released: January 9, 1959
Type: TV
The tale of trail boss Gil Favor and his trusty foreman Rowdy Yates as they drives cattle across the old west. Along the way they meet up with adventure and drama.
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Destination Space
Title: Destination Space
Character: Dr. Easton (as Edward C. Platt)
Released: January 1, 1959
Type: Movie
1959 television science fiction
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Title: 77 Sunset Strip
Released: October 10, 1958
Type: TV
Stu Bailey and Jeff Spencer are the wisecracking, womanizing private-detective heroes of this Warner Brothers drama. They work out of an office located at 77 Sunset Strip in Los Angeles, California, right next door to a snazzy restaurant where Kookie works as a valet. The finger-snapping, slang-talking Kookie occasionally helps Stu and Jeff with their cases, and eventually becomes a full-fledged member of the detective agency. Rex Randolph and J.R. Hale also join the firm, and Suzanne is their leggy secretary.
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Title: 77 Sunset Strip
Character: Mr. Jacobin
Released: October 10, 1958
Type: TV
Stu Bailey and Jeff Spencer are the wisecracking, womanizing private-detective heroes of this Warner Brothers drama. They work out of an office located at 77 Sunset Strip in Los Angeles, California, right next door to a snazzy restaurant where Kookie works as a valet. The finger-snapping, slang-talking Kookie occasionally helps Stu and Jeff with their cases, and eventually becomes a full-fledged member of the detective agency. Rex Randolph and J.R. Hale also join the firm, and Suzanne is their leggy secretary.
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Title: Bat Masterson
Character: Roy Evens
Released: October 8, 1958
Type: TV
Bat Masterson is an American Western television series which showed a fictionalized account of the life of real-life marshal/gambler/dandy Bat Masterson. The title character was played by Gene Barry and the half-hour black-and-white shows ran on NBC from 1958 to 1961. The series was produced by Ziv Television Productions, the company responsible for such hit series as Sea Hunt and Highway Patrol.
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Title: Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
Released: October 6, 1958
Type: TV
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse is an American television anthology series produced by Desilu Productions. The show ran on CBS television between 1958 and 1960. Two of its 48 episodes served as pilots for the 1950s television series The Twilight Zone and The Untouchables.
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Title: The Rifleman
Released: September 30, 1958
Type: TV
The Rifleman is an American Western television program starring Chuck Connors as rancher Lucas McCain and Johnny Crawford as his son, Mark McCain. It was set in the 1880s in the town of North Fork, New Mexico Territory. The show was filmed in black-and-white, half-hour episodes. "The Rifleman" aired on ABC from September 30, 1958 to April 8, 1963 as a production of Four Star Television. It was one of the first prime time series to have a widowed parent raise a child.
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Title: Bronco
Released: September 23, 1958
Type: TV
Bronco is a Western series on ABC from 1958 through 1962. It was shown by the BBC in the United Kingdom. The program starred Ty Hardin as Bronco Layne, a former Confederate officer who wandered the Old West, meeting such well-known individuals as Wild Bill Hickok, Billy the Kid, Jesse James, Theodore Roosevelt, Belle Starr, Cole Younger, and John Wesley Hardin.
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Title: Peter Gunn
Released: September 22, 1958
Type: TV
Peter Gunn is an American private eye television series. Filmed in a film noir atmosphere and featuring Henry Mancini music that could tell you the action with your eyes closed, Peter Gunn worked in style. Known as Pete to his friends and simply as Gunn to his enemies, he did his job in a calm cool way.
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The Last of the Fast Guns
Title: The Last of the Fast Guns
Character: Sam Grypton
Released: July 1, 1958
Type: Movie
A rich, dying Easterner hires gunfighter Brad Ellison to find his brother and heir in Mexico. En route, it becomes clear to Ellison that his is a dying profession. At a remote rancho, Ellison enlists ranch foreman Miles Lang to help him search the hills where the missing man is rumored to have lived. They find nothing ...except that someone wants to kill them; and Ellison becomes wrapped in a maze of double crosses.
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Gunman's Walk
Title: Gunman's Walk
Character: Purcell Avery
Released: July 1, 1958
Type: Movie
A powerful rancher always protects his wild adult son by paying for damages and bribing witnesses, until his crimes become too serious to rectify.
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The High Cost of Loving
Title: The High Cost of Loving
Character: Eli Cave
Released: May 16, 1958
Type: Movie
Middle-aged middle-manager Jim Fry, with the same company for fifteen years, is in a comfortable rut. But life becomes less predictable when he doesn't receive an invitation to an important luncheon being held by the new company president. Convinced that he's about to lose his job, Jim begins to mull over his limited prospects when his wife confirms that she's pregnant.
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Summer Love
Title: Summer Love
Character: Dr. Thomas Daley
Released: March 10, 1958
Type: Movie
A neighborhood rock band gets a job playing at a summer camp.
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Damn Citizen
Title: Damn Citizen
Character: Joseph Kosta (as Edward C. Platt)
Released: March 1, 1958
Type: Movie
Louisiana's governor asks war hero Francis C. Grevemberg (Keith Andes) to lead the state police against corruption.
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The Gift of Love
Title: The Gift of Love
Character: Dr. Jim Miller
Released: February 11, 1958
Type: Movie
Fearing she will die, a physicist's wife hopes her husband will be consoled by the orphan she adopts.
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Oregon Passage
Title: Oregon Passage
Character: Roland Dane
Released: December 29, 1957
Type: Movie
A cavalry lieutenant becomes a hated enemy of a Shoshone chief, Black Eagle, when he rescues an Indian maid from a ceremonial camp in this action-packed Western.
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Title: Trackdown
Released: October 4, 1957
Type: TV
Trackdown is an American Western television series starring Robert Culp that aired on CBS between 1957 and 1959. More than seventy episodes of this series were produced by Dick Powell's Four Star Television and filmed at the Desilu-Culver Studio. The series was itself a spin-off of Powell's anthology series, Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater.
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The Helen Morgan Story
Title: The Helen Morgan Story
Character: Johnny Haggerty
Released: October 2, 1957
Type: Movie
Torch singer Helen Morgan rises from sordid beginnings to fame and fortune only to lose it all to alcohol and poor personal choices.
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Title: Alcoa Theatre
Character: Lieutenant
Released: September 30, 1957
Type: TV
Alcoa Theatre is a half-hour American anthology series telecast on NBC at 9:30 pm on alternate Monday nights from October 7, 1957 to September 16, 1960. The program also aired under the title Turn of Fate, with the stories depicting the difficulties faced by individuals who are suddenly thrust into unexpected and perilous dangers. Alcoa Theatre was syndicated together with Goodyear Theatre as Award Theatre. In 1955, The Alcoa Hour premiered in a one-hour format aired on Sunday nights, but it was reduced to 30 minutes, retitled Alcoa Theatre, and moved to Monday evening in 1957. The show employed an alternating rotating company of actors: David Niven, Robert Ryan, Jane Powell, Jack Lemmon and Charles Boyer. Each appeared in dramatic and light comedic roles through the first season.
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Title: Perry Mason
Character: Tom Stratton
Released: September 21, 1957
Type: TV
The cases of master criminal defense attorney Perry Mason and his staff who handled the most difficult of cases in the aid of the innocent.
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Title: Perry Mason
Character: Cmdr. Driscoll
Released: September 21, 1957
Type: TV
The cases of master criminal defense attorney Perry Mason and his staff who handled the most difficult of cases in the aid of the innocent.
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Title: Wagon Train
Character: Spinoza de Costa
Released: September 18, 1957
Type: TV
The series initially starred veteran movie supporting actor Ward Bond as the wagon master, later replaced upon his death by John McIntire, and Robert Horton as the scout, subsequently replaced by lookalike Robert Fuller a year after Horton had decided to leave the series. The series was inspired by the 1950 film Wagon Master directed by John Ford and starring Ben Johnson, Harry Carey Jr. and Ward Bond, and harkens back to the early widescreen wagon train epic The Big Trail starring John Wayne and featuring Bond in his first major screen appearance playing a supporting role. Horton's buckskin outfit as the scout in the first season of the television series resembles Wayne's, who also played the wagon train's scout in the earlier film.
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Title: Have Gun, Will Travel
Released: September 14, 1957
Type: TV
Have Gun – Will Travel is an American Western television series that aired on CBS from 1957 through 1963. It was rated number three or number four in the Nielsen ratings every year of its first four seasons. It was one of the few television shows to spawn a successful radio version. The radio series debuted November 23, 1958. The television show is presently shown on the Encore-Western channel. Have Gun – Will Travel was created by Sam Rolfe and Herb Meadow and produced by Frank Pierson, Don Ingalls, Robert Sparks, and Julian Claman. There were 225 episodes of the TV series, 24 written by Gene Roddenberry. Other contributors included Bruce Geller, Harry Julian Fink, Don Brinkley and Irving Wallace. Andrew McLaglen directed 101 episodes and 19 were directed by series star Richard Boone.
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House of Numbers
Title: House of Numbers
Character: The Warden
Released: September 12, 1957
Type: Movie
Story of twin brothers - one trying to help another escape from prison.
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Omar Khayyam
Title: Omar Khayyam
Character: Jayhan
Released: August 23, 1957
Type: Movie
Omar Khayyam was one of the greatest Persian poets. He was also a brilliant mathematician. Though his quatrains were written in the 11th century, they are still popular the world over. The details of his life are unknown, so this movie invents a biography for him and includes in it his real achievements - the invention of a new calendar and the penning of those epigrammatic poems. This film has him romancing a sultan's bride and foiling the assassin sect's plot to kill the sultan's son.
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Designing Woman
Title: Designing Woman
Character: Martin J. Daylor
Released: May 16, 1957
Type: Movie
A sportswriter who marries a fashion designer discovers that their mutual interests are few, although each has an intriguing past which makes the other jealous.
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The Tattered Dress
Title: The Tattered Dress
Character: Ralph Adams, Reporter (as Edward C. Platt)
Released: March 14, 1957
Type: Movie
After a wild night, wealthy Michael Reston's adulterous wife Charleen comes home with her ripe young body barely concealed by a dress in rags; murder results. Top defense lawyer J.G. Blane, whose own marriage exists in name only, arrives in Desert View, Nevada to find the townsfolk and politically powerful Sheriff Hoak distinctly hostile to the Restons. In due course, Blane discovers he's been "taken for a ride," and that quiet desert communities can be deadly...
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The Unguarded Moment
Title: The Unguarded Moment
Character: Attorney Briggs (as Edward C. Platt)
Released: December 27, 1956
Type: Movie
A high-school music teacher is the victim of a student who writes indecent notes and assaults women.
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Rock, Pretty Baby
Title: Rock, Pretty Baby
Character: Thomas Daley Sr.
Released: December 1, 1956
Type: Movie
A high school rock group enters a band contest.
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The Great Man
Title: The Great Man
Character: Dr. O'Conner (as Edward C. Platt)
Released: December 1, 1956
Type: Movie
Joe Harris, preparing a eulogy for popular radio commentator Herb Fuller, finds that nobody has a good word to say about him.
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Reprisal!
Title: Reprisal!
Character: Neil Shipley
Released: November 2, 1956
Type: Movie
New ranch owner Frank Madden, half Indian but posing as white, arrives just as an all white jury finds the three white Shipley brothers who lynched three Indians innocent. There is soon trouble between Frank and the Shipleys who are using Frank's land to graze their cattle. When the brother of one of the Indian victims kills a Shipley, Frank is accused and put in jail. The Shipleys then organize a lynch mob and head for the jail.
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Title: West Point
Released: October 5, 1956
Type: TV
The West Point Story is a dramatic anthology television series shown in the United States by Columbia Broadcasting System during the 1956-57 season and by ABC during the 1957-58 season. The West Point Story, produced with the full cooperation of the United States Department of Defense and the United States Military Academy, was said to be based on actual files documenting many of the real-life dramatic occurrences at West Point over the years. Names and dates were altered in order to protect the privacy of the real people portrayed, however. The program was at first hosted by a fictional cadet, Charles C. Thompson, but this device was discontinued prior to the end of 1956. During its second season on ABC, The West Point Story was in competition with NBC's The Californians, set in San Francisco during the gold rush of the 1850s, and with The $64,000 Question quiz series on CBS. The West Point Story was replaced on the summer schedule in 1958 by Jack Wyatt's Confession, which continued to air during the first half of the 1958-1959 season in the 10 p.m. Tuesday evening time slot. At the time that The West Point Story was broadcast, four other military dramas aired either through syndication or on the major networks: Harbor Command, Navy Log, The Silent Service, and Men of Annapolis.
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Title: Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Character: Marshall Mays
Released: October 5, 1956
Type: TV
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre, sometimes simply called Zane Grey Theatre, is an American Western anthology series which ran on CBS from 1956 to 1961.
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Title: Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Character: Sheriff Galt
Released: October 5, 1956
Type: TV
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre, sometimes simply called Zane Grey Theatre, is an American Western anthology series which ran on CBS from 1956 to 1961.
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Written on the Wind
Title: Written on the Wind
Character: Dr. Paul Cochrane
Released: October 4, 1956
Type: Movie
Mitch Wayne is a geologist working for the Hadleys, an oil-rich Texas family. While the patriarch, Jasper, works hard to establish the family business, his irresponsible son, Kyle, is an alcoholic playboy, and his daughter, Marylee, is the town tramp. Mitch harbors a secret love for Kyle's unsatisfied wife, Lucy -- a fact that leaves him exposed when the jealous Marylee accuses him of murder.
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Title: Wire Service
Character: Palmer
Released: October 4, 1956
Type: TV
Wire Service is an American drama series that aired on ABC as part of its 1956-57 season lineup.
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Title: State Trooper
Released: September 25, 1956
Type: TV
State Trooper is an American crime drama set in the 1950s American West, starring Rod Cameron as Rod Blake, an officer of the Nevada Department of Public Safety. The series aired 104 episodes in syndication from September 25, 1956, to June 25, 1959.
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Storm Center
Title: Storm Center
Character: Rev. Wilson
Released: July 31, 1956
Type: Movie
Politicians go after a small-town librarian when she refuses to ban a book. She's quickly labeled a Communist.
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The Proud Ones
Title: The Proud Ones
Character: Dr. Barlow
Released: May 15, 1956
Type: Movie
Robert Ryan plays an aging sheriff responsible for law and order in a frontier cattle town. Virginia Mayo plays his fiancee. As if handling wild cattle drovers isn't enough, a crooked casino operator from Ryan's past comes to town. An early scuffle in the casino leaves Ryan with vision problems that interfere with his duties. Jeffrey Hunter who came to town with a cattle drive encounters Ryan, who killed Hunter's father when Hunter was young. Feelings of animosity soon change as Hunter begins to sense Ryan is telling the truth about his father. What follows is a plot that continues to thicken to the inevitable showdown.
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Serenade
Title: Serenade
Character: Everett Carter
Released: March 23, 1956
Type: Movie
A wealthy woman discovers a vineyard worker with a beautiful operatic singing voice. She helps make him a star but then breaks his heart. He flees in misery to Mexico where he meets a sweet farm girl.
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Backlash
Title: Backlash
Character: Sheriff J.C. Marson
Released: March 14, 1956
Type: Movie
Jim Slater's father (whom he never knew) died in the Apache ambush at Gila Valley, and Jim is searching for the one survivor, who supposedly went for help but disappeared with a lot of gold. In the process, he gets several people gunning for him, and he keeps meeting liberated woman Karyl Orton, who may be on a similar mission. Renewed Apache hostilities and an impending range war provide complications.
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The Steel Jungle
Title: The Steel Jungle
Character: Judge Wahller
Released: March 10, 1956
Type: Movie
The tale of a young bookie, married to a beautiful woman who goes to jail, and becomes involved with hoodlums.
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The Lieutenant Wore Skirts
Title: The Lieutenant Wore Skirts
Character: Major Dunning - Psychiatrist
Released: January 11, 1956
Type: Movie
TV writer Greg Whitcomb did his military service heroically but now has settled into everyday life with a young wife, Katy. A letter from the war department arrives that Katy believes is calling Greg back to active duty from the Air Force reserve, but she hides it during a party celebrating their wedding anniversary.
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Sincerely Yours
Title: Sincerely Yours
Character: Dr. Eubank (uncredited)
Released: November 5, 1955
Type: Movie
He dazzled America for decades with his musical artistry. Now fans as well as those curious about this exciting entertainer’s unique appeal can relive the Liberace magic in his only starring film, Sincerely Yours. In a poignant story scripted by Irving Wallace, Liberace plays a concert pianist threatened by deafness. Plunged into despair, he finds escape from personal sorrow by secretly involving himself in the problems of strangers. Liberace touches the heart and delights the ear with sparkling renditions of 31 selections from Chopin to Chopsticks. Along the way he romances Joanne Dru and Dorothy Malone, trades barbs with old pro William Demarest and in a warmly humorous nightclub scene, pokes fun at his own image as the 1950s matinee idol of the little-old-lady set. From beginning to end, Sincerely Yours perfectly captures the charisma and sheer musicality of the legendary Mr. Showmanship.
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Rebel Without a Cause
Title: Rebel Without a Cause
Character: Ray Fremick
Released: October 27, 1955
Type: Movie
After moving to a new town, troublemaking teen Jim Stark is supposed to have a clean slate, although being the new kid in town brings its own problems. While searching for some stability, Stark forms a bond with a disturbed classmate, Plato, and falls for local girl Judy. However, Judy is the girlfriend of neighborhood tough, Buzz. When Buzz violently confronts Jim and challenges him to a drag race, the new kid's real troubles begin.
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Illegal
Title: Illegal
Character: Ralph Ford
Released: October 9, 1955
Type: Movie
A hugely successful DA goes into private practice after sending a man to the chair -- only to find out later he was innocent. Now the drunken attorney only seems to represent criminals and low lifes.
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Title: Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Character: Mr. Henshaw
Released: October 2, 1955
Type: TV
A television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock featuring dramas, thrillers, and mysteries.
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Title: Gunsmoke
Character: Mr. Burgess
Released: September 10, 1955
Type: TV
Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West. The central character is lawman Marshal Matt Dillon, played by William Conrad on radio and James Arness on television.
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The Shrike
Title: The Shrike
Character: Harry Downs (as Edward C. Platt)
Released: June 16, 1955
Type: Movie
Film version of Joseph Kramm's Pulitzer Prize play, about a Broadway playwright driven to a nervous breakdown by his shrewish wife.
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Cult of the Cobra
Title: Cult of the Cobra
Character: Lamian Threatening Death (uncredited)
Released: March 30, 1955
Type: Movie
While stationed in Asia, six American G.I.'s witness the secret ritual of Lamians (worshipers of women who can change into serpents). When discovered by the cult, the High Lamian Priest vows that "the Cobra Goddess will avenge herself". Once back in the United States, a mysterious woman enters into their lives and accidents begin to happen. The shadow of a cobra is seen just before each death.
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Title: Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color
Character: Judge (uncredited)
Released: October 27, 1954
Type: TV
Walt Disney Productions has produced an anthology television series under several different titles since 1954. The original version of the series premiered on ABC, Wednesday night, October 27, 1954. The same basic show has since appeared on several networks, with its latest revival debuting in 2012 on Disney Junior. The show is the second longest showing prime-time program on American television, behind its rival, Hallmark Hall of Fame. However, Hallmark Hall of Fame was a weekly program only during its first five seasons, while Disney remained a weekly program for more than forty years.
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Title: Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color
Character: General Thomas
Released: October 27, 1954
Type: TV
Walt Disney Productions has produced an anthology television series under several different titles since 1954. The original version of the series premiered on ABC, Wednesday night, October 27, 1954. The same basic show has since appeared on several networks, with its latest revival debuting in 2012 on Disney Junior. The show is the second longest showing prime-time program on American television, behind its rival, Hallmark Hall of Fame. However, Hallmark Hall of Fame was a weekly program only during its first five seasons, while Disney remained a weekly program for more than forty years.
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Title: Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color
Character: Lease Harris
Released: October 27, 1954
Type: TV
Walt Disney Productions has produced an anthology television series under several different titles since 1954. The original version of the series premiered on ABC, Wednesday night, October 27, 1954. The same basic show has since appeared on several networks, with its latest revival debuting in 2012 on Disney Junior. The show is the second longest showing prime-time program on American television, behind its rival, Hallmark Hall of Fame. However, Hallmark Hall of Fame was a weekly program only during its first five seasons, while Disney remained a weekly program for more than forty years.
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Title: Letter to Loretta
Character: Henry
Released: September 20, 1953
Type: TV
Letter to Loretta is an American anthology drama series telecast on NBC from September 1953 to June 1961 for a total of 165 episodes. The filmed show was hosted by Loretta Young who also played the lead in various episodes. Letter to Loretta was sponsored by Procter & Gamble from 1953 through 1960. The final season's sponsor was Warner-Lambert's Listerine.
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Title: Letter to Loretta
Character: Sutter
Released: September 20, 1953
Type: TV
Letter to Loretta is an American anthology drama series telecast on NBC from September 1953 to June 1961 for a total of 165 episodes. The filmed show was hosted by Loretta Young who also played the lead in various episodes. Letter to Loretta was sponsored by Procter & Gamble from 1953 through 1960. The final season's sponsor was Warner-Lambert's Listerine.
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Title: Cavalcade of America
Character: Dr. Banner
Released: October 1, 1952
Type: TV
Cavalcade of America is an anthology drama series that was sponsored by the DuPont Company, although it occasionally presented a musical, such as an adaptation of Show Boat, and condensed biographies of popular composers. It was initially broadcast on radio from 1935 to 1953, and later on television from 1952 to 1957. Originally on CBS, the series pioneered the use of anthology drama for company audio advertising. Cavalcade of America documented historical events using stories of individual courage, initiative and achievement, often with feel-good dramatizations of the human spirit's triumph against all odds. This was consistent with DuPont's overall conservative philosophy and legacy as an American company dating back to 1802. The company's motto, "Maker of better things for better living through chemistry," was read at the beginning of each program, and the dramas emphasized humanitarian progress, particularly improvements in the lives of women, often through technological innovation.
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Title: Cavalcade of America
Released: October 1, 1952
Type: TV
Cavalcade of America is an anthology drama series that was sponsored by the DuPont Company, although it occasionally presented a musical, such as an adaptation of Show Boat, and condensed biographies of popular composers. It was initially broadcast on radio from 1935 to 1953, and later on television from 1952 to 1957. Originally on CBS, the series pioneered the use of anthology drama for company audio advertising. Cavalcade of America documented historical events using stories of individual courage, initiative and achievement, often with feel-good dramatizations of the human spirit's triumph against all odds. This was consistent with DuPont's overall conservative philosophy and legacy as an American company dating back to 1802. The company's motto, "Maker of better things for better living through chemistry," was read at the beginning of each program, and the dramas emphasized humanitarian progress, particularly improvements in the lives of women, often through technological innovation.
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Title: Four Star Playhouse
Character: Chief of Police
Released: September 25, 1952
Type: TV
Four Star Playhouse is an American television anthology series that ran from 1952 to 1956, sponsored in its first bi-weekly season by The Singer Company; Bristol-Myers became an alternate sponsor when it became a weekly series in the fall of 1953. The original premise was that Charles Boyer, Ida Lupino, David Niven, and Dick Powell would take turns starring in episodes. However, several other performers took the lead from time to time, including Ronald Colman and Joan Fontaine. Blake Edwards was among the writers and directors who contributed to the series. Edwards created the recurring character of illegal gambling house operator Willie Dante for Dick Powell to play on this series. The character was later revamped and spun off in his own series starring Howard Duff, then-husband of Lupino. The pilot for Meet McGraw, starring Frank Lovejoy, aired here, as did another episode in which Lovejoy recreated his role of Chicago newspaper reporter Randy Stone, from the radio drama Nightbeat.
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Title: Four Star Playhouse
Character: Dr. Fain
Released: September 25, 1952
Type: TV
Four Star Playhouse is an American television anthology series that ran from 1952 to 1956, sponsored in its first bi-weekly season by The Singer Company; Bristol-Myers became an alternate sponsor when it became a weekly series in the fall of 1953. The original premise was that Charles Boyer, Ida Lupino, David Niven, and Dick Powell would take turns starring in episodes. However, several other performers took the lead from time to time, including Ronald Colman and Joan Fontaine. Blake Edwards was among the writers and directors who contributed to the series. Edwards created the recurring character of illegal gambling house operator Willie Dante for Dick Powell to play on this series. The character was later revamped and spun off in his own series starring Howard Duff, then-husband of Lupino. The pilot for Meet McGraw, starring Frank Lovejoy, aired here, as did another episode in which Lovejoy recreated his role of Chicago newspaper reporter Randy Stone, from the radio drama Nightbeat.
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Title: Four Star Playhouse
Character: Freddie
Released: September 25, 1952
Type: TV
Four Star Playhouse is an American television anthology series that ran from 1952 to 1956, sponsored in its first bi-weekly season by The Singer Company; Bristol-Myers became an alternate sponsor when it became a weekly series in the fall of 1953. The original premise was that Charles Boyer, Ida Lupino, David Niven, and Dick Powell would take turns starring in episodes. However, several other performers took the lead from time to time, including Ronald Colman and Joan Fontaine. Blake Edwards was among the writers and directors who contributed to the series. Edwards created the recurring character of illegal gambling house operator Willie Dante for Dick Powell to play on this series. The character was later revamped and spun off in his own series starring Howard Duff, then-husband of Lupino. The pilot for Meet McGraw, starring Frank Lovejoy, aired here, as did another episode in which Lovejoy recreated his role of Chicago newspaper reporter Randy Stone, from the radio drama Nightbeat.
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Title: Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Character: Sparks
Released: October 5, 1951
Type: TV
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars is an anthology series that was telecast from 1951 until 1959 on CBS. Offering both comedies and drama, the series was sponsored by the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company. The title was shortened to Schlitz Playhouse, beginning with the fall 1957 season.
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I Was a Male War Bride
Title: I Was a Male War Bride
Character: Lieutenant in Gates' Office (uncredited)
Released: August 26, 1949
Type: Movie
After marrying an American lieutenant with whom he was assigned to work in post-war Germany, a French captain attempts to find a way to accompany her back to the States under the terms of the War Bride Act.