Four Star Playhouse 71 years old

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.

Credits

Angela Lansbury
Angela Lansbury

Joan Robinson

Natalie Wood
Natalie Wood

Louise

Jack Benny
Jack Benny

Cautious Gambler

Cast

Name Character
Angela Lansbury She was 26 , now 98 years old as Joan Robinson
Charles Boyer He was 53 , 78 years old when he died as Paul
Ida Lupino She was 34 , 77 years old when she died
Natalie Wood She was 14 , 43 years old when she died as Louise
Dick Powell He was 47 , 58 years old when he died
Jack Benny He was 58 , 80 years old when he died as Cautious Gambler
David Niven He was 42 , 73 years old when he died
David Niven He was 42 , 73 years old when he died as Andy
Barbara Billingsley She was 36 , 94 years old when she died

Crew

Name Job title
Harry Horner Directing He was 42 , 84 years old when he died Director
Frank McDonald Directing He was 52 , 80 years old when he died Director
William Asher Directing He was 31 , 90 years old when he died Director
Blake Edwards Directing He was 30 , 88 years old when he died Director
William Cameron Menzies Directing He was 56 , 60 years old when he died Director
Robert Aldrich Directing He was 34 , 65 years old when he died Director
William Bowers Writing He was 36 , 70 years old when he died Writer
Ronald Colman Writing He was 61 , 67 years old when he died Writer
Robert Florey Directing He was 52 , 78 years old when he died Director
Leonard Freeman Writing He was 31 , 53 years old when he died Writer
Ida Lupino Directing She was 34 , 77 years old when she died Director
Hal Walker Directing He was 56 , 76 years old when he died Director
William A. Seiter Directing He was 62 , 74 years old when he died Director
Don Ettlinger Writing Writer
Roy Kellino Directing He was 40 , 44 years old when he died Director
Four Star Playhouse poster
Four Star Playhouse (71 years)

Ended

  • First Air Date: 1952-09-25
  • Runtime: [30] minutes
  • Number of Episodes: 129