Fireside Theater

"This program should not be confused with The Firesign Theatre."Infobox Television
show_name = Fireside Theater


caption =
aka =
genre = Anthology drama
creator =
writer =
director =
presenter = Frank Wisbar (1952-1953)
Gene Raymond (1953-1955)
Jane Wyman (1955-1958)
starring =
voices =
narrated =
theme_music_composer =
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endtheme =
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country = USA
language = English
num_seasons =
num_episodes =
list_episodes =
executive_producer =
co_exec =
producer = Jack Bernhard
John Houseman
John Reinhardt
Frank Wisbar
sup_producer =
asst_producer = Sidney Smith
cons_producer =
co-producer = Jane Wyman
editor =
story_editor =
location =
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runtime = 60 mins.
channel = NBC
picture_format =
audio_format =
first_run =
first_aired = April 5, 1949
last_aired = May 22, 1958

"Fireside Theater" is an American anthology drama series that ran from on NBC from 1949 to 1958, and was the first successful filmed series on American television. Stories were low budget and often based on public domain stories or written by freelance writers such as Rod Serling. While it was panned by critics, it remained in the top ten most popular shows for most of its run. It predated the other major pioneer of filmed TV in America, "I Love Lucy", by two years.

From 1952 to 1958, the program was presented by a host. This role was first filled by Frank Wisbar (1952-1953), then by Gene Raymond (1953-1955), and finally by the person most associated with the series in the public mind, Jane Wyman (1955-1958). When episodes of this program were rerun on ABC during the summer of 1963, it was under the title "Jane Wyman Presents"; during the period first-run episodes were hosted by Wyman it was sometimes known as "The Jane Wyman Show".

The otherwise-unrelated comedy troupe The Firesign Theatre based their name on this series.

U.S. television ratings

Seasonal rankings (based on average total viewers per episode) of "Fireside Theater" on NBC.

"Note: Each U.S. network television season starts in late September and ends in late May, which coincides with the completion of May sweeps."

"Fireside Theater" became a hit for NBC, always in the Top 30 shows at the end of each tv season. In the 1956-1957 season, its ratings slumped and decreased in the ratings. It wasn't in the Top 30 Ratings in the 1956-1957 TV season and was never again until it ended in 1958.

References

*Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle, "The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows"

External links

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* [http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/F/htmlF/firesidethea/firesidethea.htm "Fireside Theater" at the Museum of Broadcast Communications]