Armstrong Circle Theatre

Armstrong Circle Theatre is an American anthology drama television series which ran from 1950 to 1957 on NBC, and then until 1963 on CBS. It alternated weekly with The U.S. Steel Hour. It finished in the Nielsen ratings at #19 for the 1950-1951 season and #24 for 1951-1952.[1] The principal sponsor was Armstrong World Industries.

Armstrong Circle Theatre
Armstrong Circle Theatre - Sound of Violence 1959.
GenreAnthology drama
Presented byNelson Case (1950–1951)
Joe Ripley
(1952–1953)
Bob Sherry
(1953–1954)
Sandy Becker (1954–1955)
John Cameron Swayze (1955–1957)
Douglas Edwards (1957–1961)
Ron Cochran (1961–1962)
Henry Hamilton (1962–1963)
ComposersHarold Levey
Will Schaefer
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons14
No. of episodes370
Production
Executive producerDavid Susskind (1954–1960)
ProducersSelig Alkon
Jacqueline Babbin
Robert Costello
Hudson Faucett
George Lowther
Ralph Nelson
Henry Salomon
George Simpson
David Susskind
Running time30 mins. (1950–1955)
60 mins. (1955–1963)
Release
Original networkNBC
(1950–1957)
CBS
(1957–1963)
Picture formatBlack-and-white
Audio formatMonaural
Original releaseJune 6, 1950 (1950-06-06) –
June 5, 1963 (1963-06-05)

Between July 8 and September 16, 1959, CBS aired reruns of six documentary dramas originally broadcast during the 1958–1959 season as episodes of Armstrong Circle Theatre under the title Armstrong by Request.[2] Armstrong by Request aired during Armstrong Circle Theatre′s time slot and also alternated with The United States Steel Hour.[2]

Synopsis

The series featured original dramas by noted writers, although sometimes comedies were shown. Its guidelines specifically called for the avoidance of violence. Originally a half-hour production, in 1955 the show expanded to an hour and began to emphasize dramatized versions of real-life contemporary events (including the sinking of the SS Andrea Doria and a documentary on the history of Communism in the Soviet Union. Upon moving to CBS, the show emphasized several Cold War topics, including espionage, Radio Free Europe and escapes from East Germany.[3]

Rod Serling wrote two episodes of the program. George Lowther was the producer for 62 episodes and wrote one.

Hosts and narrators

Guest stars

The series featured numerous guest stars including:

Directors

References
  1. "TV Ratings". Classictvhits.com.
  2. Brooks, Tim, and Earle Marsh, The Complete Directory to Prime-Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present (Sixth Edition), New York: Ballantine Books, 1995, ISBN 0-345-39736-3, p. 57.
  3. Gibberman, Susan. "Armstrong Circle Theatre". Museum.tv. Retrieved 2009-04-10.
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