Matinee Theater 69 years old
Matinee Theater is an American anthology series that aired on NBC during the Golden Age of Television, from 1955 to 1958. The series, which ran daily in the afternoon, was frequently live. It was produced by Albert McCleery, Darrell Ross, George Cahan and Frank Price with executive producer George Lowther. McCleery had previously produced the live series Cameo Theatre which introduced to television the concept of theater-in-the-round, TV plays staged with minimal sets. Jim Buckley of the Pewter Plough Playhouse recalled: When Al McCleery got back to the States, he originated a most ambitious theatrical TV series for NBC called Matinee Theater: to televise five different stage plays per week live, airing around noon in order to promote color TV to the American housewife as she labored over her ironing. Al was the producer. He hired five directors and five art directors. Richard Bennett, one of our first early presidents of the Pewter Plough Corporation, was one of the directors and I was one of the art directors and, as soon as we were through televising one play, we had lunch and then met to plan next week’s show. That was over 50 years ago, and I’m trying to think; I believe the TV art director is his own set decorator —yes, of course! It had to be, since one of McCleery’s chief claims to favor with the producers was his elimination of the setting per se and simply decorating the scene with a minimum of props. It took a bit of ingenuity.
Credits
Cast
| Name | Character |
|---|---|
| Richard Jaeckel He was 29 , 70 years old when he died | |
| Angie Dickinson She was 24 , now 93 years old | |
| Lawrence Dobkin He was 36 , 83 years old when he died | |
| K. T. Stevens She was 36 , 74 years old when she died | |
| Joe De Santis He was 46 , 80 years old when he died | |
| Richard Anderson He was 29 , 91 years old when he died | |
| Dennis Hopper He was 19 , 74 years old when he died | |
| Geraldine Page She was 30 , 62 years old when she died | |
| Rita Moreno She was 23 , now 93 years old | |
| Wendy Hiller She was 43 , 90 years old when she died | |
| Betty Lynn She was 29 , now 98 years old | |
| Richard Crenna He was 28 , 76 years old when he died | |
| Werner Klemperer He was 35 , 80 years old when he died | |
| Roger Moore He was 28 , 89 years old when he died | |
| Akim Tamiroff He was 56 , 72 years old when he died | |
| Vincent Price He was 44 , 82 years old when he died | |
| Agnes Moorehead She was 54 , 73 years old when she died | |
| Paul Maxwell He was 33 , 70 years old when he died | |
| Jack Nicholson He was 18 , now 87 years old | as Musician's Son |
| DeForest Kelley He was 35 , 79 years old when he died | |
| John Carradine He was 49 , 82 years old when he died | |
| Cloris Leachman She was 29 , now 98 years old | |
| Earl Holliman He was 27 , now 96 years old | |
| Regis Toomey He was 57 , 93 years old when he died | |
| Marie Windsor She was 35 , 80 years old when she died | |
| Sidney Blackmer He was 60 , 78 years old when he died | |
| Leif Erickson He was 44 , 74 years old when he died | |
| Cathy Downs She was 31 , 52 years old when she died | |
| Jim Backus He was 42 , 76 years old when he died | |
| Nina Foch She was 31 , 84 years old when she died | |
| Peter Graves He was 29 , 83 years old when he died | |
| Edward Binns He was 39 , 74 years old when he died | |
| Vanessa Brown She was 27 , 71 years old when she died | |
| Naomi Stevens She was 29 , 92 years old when she died | |
| Miriam Hopkins She was 53 , 69 years old when she died | |
| Hayden Rorke He was 45 , 76 years old when he died | |
| Dean Stockwell He was 19 , now 88 years old | |
| Michael Landon He was 19 , 54 years old when he died | |
| Darryl Hickman He was 24 , now 93 years old | |
| Bradford Dillman He was 25 , 87 years old when he died | |
| Natalie Trundy She was 15 , 79 years old when she died | |
| Ellen Corby She was 44 , 87 years old when she died | |
| Shelley Fabares She was 11 , now 80 years old | |
| Cedric Hardwicke He was 62 , 71 years old when he died | |
| Lois Smith She was 24 , now 94 years old | |
| Roddy McDowall He was 27 , 70 years old when he died | |
| William Hopper He was 40 , 55 years old when he died | |
| Maidie Norman She was 43 , 85 years old when she died | |
| Victor Jory He was 52 , 79 years old when he died | |
| Harry Carey, Jr. He was 34 , 91 years old when he died |
Crew
| Name | Job title |
|---|---|
| Frank D. Gilroy Writing He was 30 , 89 years old when he died | Writer |
| Boris Sagal Directing He was 32 , 57 years old when he died | Director |
| Helene Hanff Writing She was 39 , 80 years old when she died | Writer |
| Walter Grauman Directing He was 33 , 93 years old when he died | Director |
| Dale Wasserman Writing He was 40 , 94 years old when he died | Writer |
| Dennis Patrick Directing He was 37 , 84 years old when he died | Director |
Matinee Theater (69 years)
Ended
- First Air Date: 1955-10-31
- Runtime: [60] minutes
- Number of Episodes: 574