Letter to Loretta

Infobox television
show_name = Letter to Loretta


caption =
format = anthology
runtime = 30 minutes
creator = Lewislor Productions (1953-1958)
Toreto Enterprises (1958-1961)
starring = Loretta Young
country = USA
network = NBC
first_aired = September 20, 1953
last_aired = June 4, 1961
num_episodes = 165

"Letter to Loretta" (also known as "The Loretta Young Show") is a 30-minute dramatic television anthology series telecast on NBC from 1953 to 1961 for a total of 165 episodes. The live show was hosted by Loretta Young, who played the lead in various episodes.

The program, which earned her three Emmys, began with the premise that each drama was an answer to a question asked in her fan mail; the program's original title was "Letter to Loretta". The title was changed to "The Loretta Young Show" during the first season, and the "letter" concept was dropped altogether at the end of the second season. At this time, Young's health required that there be a number of guest hosts and guest stars; her first appearance in the 1955-56 season was for the Christmas show. From this point on, Young appeared in only about half of each season's shows as an actress and merely functioned as the program host for the remainder. This program, minus Young's introductions and summarized conclusions, was rerun in daytime by NBC from 1960 to 1964 and also appeared, again without the introductions and conclusions, in syndication.

After the series ended, Young attempted a comeback on CBS in the 1962-1963 season in "The New Loretta Young Show", in which she played a free-lance writer and the widowed mother of seven children.

External links

*imdb title|id=0045409|title=Letter to Loretta

###@@@KEY@@@###succession box
title=Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress - Drama Series
before=no award
years=1955, 1957, 1959
after=no awardsuccession box
title=Golden Globe Award for Best TV Show
before=unknown
years=1959
after=unknown