American Playhouse

American Playhouse is an anthology television series periodically broadcast by Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the United States.[1][2][3]

American Playhouse
GenreAnthology
Directed byPerry Miller Adato
Robert Allan Ackerman
Paul Bogart
Kirk Browning
Jonathan Demme
Bill Duke
Peter H. Hunt
David Hugh Jones
Barbara Kopple
Jack O'Brien (director)
Philip Leacock
Marshall W. Mason
Vivian Matalon
Sharron Miller
Joanne Woodward
ComposerDavid Amram
Country of originUSA
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons11
Production
Production companiesKCET, South Carolina Educational Television, WGBH, WNET
Release
Original networkPBS
Original releaseJanuary 12, 1982 (1982-01-12) –
December 22, 1993 (1993-12-22)

Overview

It premiered on January 12, 1982, with The Shady Hill Kidnapping, written and narrated by John Cheever and directed by Paul Bogart. Its final broadcast, In the Wings: Angels in America on Broadway, a rerun of a behind-the-scenes look at Tony Kushner's award-winning play in two parts, aired on January 1, 1994.

The series proved to be the springboard for the careers of numerous performers, including David Marshall Grant, Laura Linney, A Martinez, Conchata Ferrell, Eric Roberts, Lynne Thigpen, John Malkovich, Peter Riegert, Lupe Ontiveros, Ben Stiller, and Megan Mullally.

As part of WGBH's development of the Descriptive Video Service (DVS), American Playhouse was one of the first U.S. television programs to air with audio description for the visually impaired on the Secondary audio program (SAP). After trialing the system during previous seasons, the 1990 season was the first to offer it as part of their wider rollout of DVS, initially through 32 member stations.[4][5][6]

Notable productions

Episodes

Season 1 (1982)
  • The Shady Hill Kidnapping (January 12, 1982)
  • King of America (January 19, 1982)
  • Seguin (January 26, 1982)
  • Who Am I This Time? (February 2, 1982)
  • Any Friend of Nicholas Nickleby Is a Friend of Mine (February 9, 1982)
  • Come Along with Me (February 16, 1982)
  • For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf (February 23, 1982)
  • Carl Sandburg: Echoes and Silences (March 2, 1982)
  • Fifth of July (March 9, 1982)
  • The Great American Fourth of July and Other Disasters (March 16, 1982)
  • Pilgrim, Farewell (March 23, 1982)
  • Northern Lights (March 30, 1982)
  • Medal of Honor Rag (April 6, 1982)
  • Working (April 13, 1982)
  • Weekend (April 20, 1982)
  • Private Contentment (April 27, 1982)
  • My Palikari (May 4, 1982)
  • Oppenheimer (1) (May 11, 1982)
  • Oppenheimer (2) (May 18, 1982)
  • Oppenheimer (3) (May 25, 1982)
  • Oppenheimer (4) (June 1, 1982)
  • Oppenheimer (5) (June 8, 1982)
  • Oppenheimer (6) (June 15, 1982)
  • Oppenheimer (7) (June 22, 1982)
  • The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez (June 29, 1982)

Season 2 (1983)
  • The Skin of Our Teeth (January 18, 1983)
  • Miss Lonelyhearts (January 25, 1983)
  • Family Business (February 1, 1983)
  • Keeping On (February 8, 1983)
  • The File on Jill Hatch (1) (February 15, 1983)
  • The File on Jill Hatch (2) (February 22, 1983)
  • The File on Jill Hatch (3) (March 1, 1983)
  • For Us the Living: The Medgar Evers Story (March 22, 1983)
  • Verse Person Singular (March 29, 1983)
  • Until She Talks (April 5, 1983)
  • Wings (April 26, 1983)
  • The Rothko Conspiracy (May 3, 1983)

Season 3 (1984)

Season 4 (1984–1985)

Season 5 (1986)
  • The Rise and Rise of Daniel Rocket (January 20, 1986)
  • The Roommate (January 27, 1986)
  • Valentine's Revenge (February 3, 1986)
  • Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1) (February 10, 1986)
  • Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (2) (February 17, 1986)
  • Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (3) (February 24, 1986)
  • Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (4) (March 3, 1986)
  • Tell Me a Riddle (March 17, 1986)
  • The Little Sister (April 7, 1986)
  • The House of Ramon Iglesia (April 14, 1986)
  • A Flash of Green (April 21, 1986)
  • Damien (April 28, 1986)
  • Rocket to the Moon (May 5, 1986)
  • A Case of Libel (May 12, 1986)
  • Painting Churches (May 19, 1986)
  • Roanoak (1) (May 26, 1986)
  • Roanoak (2) (June 2, 1986)
  • Roanoak (3) (June 9, 1986)
  • Sunday in the Park with George (June 16, 1986)

Season 6 (1987)
  • All My Sons (January 19, 1987)
  • The Prodigious Hickey (January 26, 1987)
  • The Wide Net (February 2, 1987)
  • Smooth Talk (February 9, 1987)
  • A Mistaken Charity (February 16, 1987)
  • Eleanor: In Her Own Words (March 9, 1987)
  • The Innocents Abroad (March 23, 1987)
  • Story of a Marriage (1) (April 6, 1987)
  • Story of a Marriage (2) (April 13, 1987)
  • Story of a Marriage (3) (April 13, 1987)
  • A Case of Libel (May 4, 1987)
  • Charley's Aunt (May 11, 1987)
  • Gal Young 'Un (May 18, 1987)
  • The House of Blue Leaves (May 25, 1987)
  • Blue Window (June 1, 1987)
  • Dottie (June 8, 1987)
  • Waiting for the Moon (June 15, 1987)

Season 7 (1988)
  • Strange Interlude (1) (January 18, 1988)
  • Strange Interlude (2) (January 19, 1988)
  • Strange Interlude (3) (January 20, 1988)
  • The Return of Hickey (February 3, 1988)
  • Lemon Sky (February 10, 1988)
  • The Revolt of Mother (February 17, 1988)
  • Pigeon Feathers (February 17, 1988)
  • Billy Galvin (February 24, 1988)
  • A Flash of Green (March 23, 1988)
  • Journey Into Genius (April 6, 1988)
  • Suspicion (April 20, 1988)
  • The Trial of Bernard Goetz (May 11, 1988)
  • The Land of Little Rain (June 1, 1988)
  • I Never Sang for My Father (June 15, 1988)
  • Native Son (June 29, 1988)
  • The Big Knife (July 27, 1988)

Season 8 (1989)

Season 9 (1990)
  • Sensibility and Sense (January 24, 1990)
  • Women & Wallace (January 31, 1990)
  • Zora Is My Name! (February 14, 1990)
  • Andre's Mother (March 7, 1990)
  • Bloodhounds of Broadway (May 23, 1990)
  • Hyde in Hollywood (July 6, 1990)

Season 10 (1991)
  • Into the Woods (March 15, 1991)
  • The Grapes of Wrath (March 22, 1991)
  • Three Hotels (March 29, 1991)
  • The Sunset Gang (April 5, 1991)
  • Hot Summer Winds (May 22, 1991)
  • The Hollow Boy (June 12, 1991)

Season 11 (1992–1993)

Season 12 (1994)
  • Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City (January 10, 1994)
  • The Sunset Gang (March 21, 1994)
  • Brother's Keeper (May 2, 1994)
  • Tales from Hollywood (June 10, 1994)
  • Tales from Hollywood (June 17, 1994)
  • Tales from Hollywood (June 24, 1994)
  • Tales from the Crypt "Only Sin Deep" (July 8, 1994)
  • Tales from the Crypt: Part 2 (July 15, 1994)
  • Tales from the Crypt: Part 3 (July 22, 1994)
  • Long Shadow (August 26, 1994)
  • Break of Dawn (September 9, 1994)
  • La Carpa (September 23, 1994)

Season 13 (1995–1996)

Notable cast

Accolades

Some of the productions won multiple Emmys: one from Robert Morse in Tru,[17] Outstanding Children's Program for Displaced Person[18] and technical achievements for The Meeting alongside many nominations.[19]

Academy Award recognitions included El Norte's nomination for Best Original Screenplay[20][21] and a Best Actor nod for Edward James Olmos in Stand and Deliver.[22][23]

American Playhouse also won a Peabody Award in 1990.[24]

Episodes like Nothing But a Man, The Thin Blue Line, El Norte and Stand and Deliver were each inducted into the National Film Registry.[25]

References
  1. The New York Times
  2. The New York Times
  3. The New York Times
  4. Gibson, Gwen. "Words worth 1,000 pictures". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
  5. Molotsky, Irvin (1988-01-13). "New TV System Offers Descriptions for Blind". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
  6. Ellis, Katie (2019-02-01). Disability and Digital Television Cultures: Representation, Access, and Reception. Routledge. ISBN 9781317627845.
  7. The New York Times
  8. The New York Times
  9. The New York Times
  10. The New York Times
  11. John Corry (August 28, 1985). "Les and Bess, A Play About Radio, On PBS". The New York Times.
  12. John O'Connor (May 5, 1986). "Odets's 'Rocket to the Moon on 13". The New York Times.
  13. Charles Isherwood (November 11, 2006). "A Square Caught Up in a Love Triangle". The New York Times.
  14. Don Shirley (1988-02-17). "Television Reviews : 'Revolt of Mother'; 'Pigeon Feathers'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2016-10-17.
  15. The Los Angeles Times
  16. The New York Times
  17. TRU (AMERICAN PLAYHOUSE)|Television Academy
  18. Displaced Person American Playhouse|Television Academy
  19. THE MEETING AMERICAN PLAYHOUSE|Television Academy
  20. 1985|Oscars.org
  21. Robert Benton and Peter Shaffer winning Writing Oscars®-Oscars on YouTube
  22. 1989|Oscars.org
  23. Dustin Hoffman Win Best Actor: 1989 Oscars
  24. "American Playhouse". Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  25. Brief Descriptions and Expanded Essays of National Film Registry Titles | Film Registry | National Film Preservation Board
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