For the radio program of the same name, see Four Star Playhouse (radio program).
American TV series or program
Four Star Playhouse
Title card
Genre
Anthology
Created by
Four Star International
Starring
David Niven
Charles Boyer
Dick Powell
Ida Lupino
Country of origin
United States
No. of episodes
129
Production
Running time
25 minutes
Production company
Four Star International
Original release
Network
CBS
Release
September 25, 1952 (1952-09-25) – July 26, 1956 (1956-07-26)
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)
L–R: Adam Williams & David Niven in episode Night Ride (1953)
L–R: Charles Boyer and Dorothy Hart in episode "Second Dawn" (1954)
Four Star Playhouse is an American anthology series that ran from 1952 to 1956. Four Star Playhouse was owned by Four Star International. Its episodes ranged anywhere from surreal mysteries, such as "The Man on the Train", to light comedies, such as "The Lost Silk Hat". 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.
The show was 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 (both sponsors' names alternated as part of the show's title in its initial broadcasts).
While it never made the Nielsen Top 30, the ratings were sufficient to keep it on the air for four seasons. In 1954, Billboard voted it the second best filmed network television drama series.[1]
^The Billboard: Four Star Playhouse. Posted on 31 Jul 1954.
and 24 Related for: Four Star Playhouse information
came on board as the "third star". The fourth star would be a guest star at first. CBS liked the idea, and FourStarPlayhouse made its debut in the fall...
different cast in each episode, but several series in the past, such as FourStarPlayhouse, employed a permanent troupe of character actors who would appear...
in FourStarPlayhouse (1952–1956). In 1960, Boyer was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame with a motion pictures star and a television star. Both...
film titled "No Identity," for the series, "FourStarPlayhouse, (Season 1, episode 13.) He also co-starred with another former child actor, Tony Dow,...
programs as Gruen Playhouse, FourStarPlayhouse, Ford Theatre, Lux Video Theatre, Mr. and Mrs. North, Schlitz Playhouse of Stars and Playhouse 90. In 1956...
Edwards's debut as a director came in 1952 on the television program FourStarPlayhouse. In the 1954–1955 television season, Edwards joined with Richard...
debut at the La Jolla Playhouse in Herman Melville's Billy Budd. Coburn's first television appearance was in 1953 on FourStarPlayhouse. He was selected for...
Sweeney) and an appearance with David Niven in his anthology series FourStarPlayhouse. In 1957, she costarred with Dean Stockwell and Natalie Trundy in...
Wife" in an episode of The Adventures of Superman. During the 1960s, she starred in short musical films for the Scopitone video-jukebox system. Her songs...
television debut on the DuMont series Gruen Playhouse in 1952. Jones appeared in several episodes of Dragnet starring Jack Webb from 1953-1955, credited as...
while continuing to appear in films, guest-starring on shows such as The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse ("Education of a Fullback", 1951), and Kraft...
by Ida Lupino. She began appearing on TV shows such as FourStarPlayhouse, Ford Theatre, Star Stage, The 20th Century Fox Hour, The Joseph Cotten Show...
Thomas announced that he had decided to end the show in order to produce and star in other projects. After the series ended, 17-year-old Hamer enrolled at...
Town and in the starring role of Miss Robin Crusoe, a 1954 adaptation of the Robinson Crusoe adventure. In 1954, she appeared in A Star Is Born. Blake...
Fafara appeared in episodes of various television series including Schlitz Playhouse of Stars, Private Secretary, Lassie, The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, Make...
character while he is awaiting execution, while 1954's White Christmas starring Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye saw Vigran in the role of Novello, a nightclub...
Motion Picture Study. "Complete copy of FourStarPlayhouse: The Witness". Internet Archive. 1953. "FourStarPlayhouse The Bad Streak". Internet Archive....
the original on March 24, 2019. Retrieved March 23, 2019. "Dina Merrill: A Star on Her Toes". The New York Times. April 3, 1983. Retrieved April 9, 2014...
retired actress, best known for roles in the John Ford directed, John Wayne starring Westerns The Searchers (1956) and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)...
Global Information
