The 75th Anniversary of Goodyear Television Playhouse

It was 75 years ago on this date, October 14, 1951, that the anthology series Goodyear Television Playhouse debuted on NBC. The series was critically acclaimed. It was also nominated for its share of Emmy Awards. Goodyear Television Playhouse was also relatively popular with audiences. It ranked at no. 16 in the 1951-1952 season, no 15 in the 1952-1953 season, and no 22 in th 1953-1954.

Of course, in some ways The Goodyear Television Playhouse could simply be considered the same show as The Philco Television Playhouse give they shared the same producer (Fred Coe) and the same crew. Indeed, The Goodyear Television Playhouse and The Philco Television Playhouse are often referred to collectively as The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse, even that was never the actual name of either program. The Philco Television Playhouse came about when Philco entered into a partnership with Actors Equity Association to produce adaptations of Broadway plays for television. It debuted on October 3, 1948. The show would shift to adaptations of popular novels in its second season and then its third season to original teleplays. 

It was in 1951 that Philco started sharing sponsorship with Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. The two sponsors alternated weeks, so that one week The Philco Television Playhouse would air and the next week The Goodyear Television Playhouse would air. It was in 1955 that Philco dropped its sponsorship, so The Philco Television Playhouse came to an end. The Goodyear Television Playhouse then alternated weeks with The Alcoa Hour, sponsored by the Alcoa Corporation. Unlike The Philco Television Playhouse, it truly was a different show from The Goodyear Television Playhouse, with its own production team. 

Over the years, several well-known actors guest-starred on The Goodyear Television Playhouse, including Eddie Albert, Ernest Borgnine, Melvyn Douglas, John Forsythe, June Lockhart, Roddy McDowall, Tony Randall, and many more. Some of the young actors appearing on Goodyear Television Playhouse would go onto become major stars. These included Grace Kelly, Sal Mineo, and Tuesday Weld. It also produced teleplays that are remembered to this day, at least two of which were later adapted as movies ("Visit to a Small Planet" and "The Catered Affair").  The show also proved pivotal in the careers of several writers, including  Paddy Chayefsky, Horton Foote, Gore Vidal, and others. 

By 1957, live anthology shows had more or less run their course. Goodyear Television Playhouse ended its run and instead Goodyear sponsored a filmed, half-hour anthology series titled Goodyear Theatre. It ran for three seasons, ending in 1960. 

Sadly, as a live television show whose episodes were at best preserved on kinescopes, Goodyear Television Playhouse would not have a syndication run. Today it seems likely that not many beyond those alive at the time and television historians and classic television buffs know about it. But for a time, Goodyear Television Playhouse produced some of the best teleplays on American television.