| "Around the World in 90 Minutes" | |
|---|---|
| Playhouse 90 episodes | |
 Newspaper ad for the production | |
| Episode nos. | Season 2 Episodes 6 [1] |
| Directed by | Byron Paul |
| Featured music | Arthur Fiedler |
| Original air date | October 17, 1957 [1] |
| Guest appearances | |
"Around the World in 90 Minutes" was an American television special that was broadcast on October 17, 1957, as part of the second season of the CBS television series Playhouse 90 .
The event was held at Madison Square Garden and hosted by Elizabeth Taylor, Mike Todd, and Garry Moore. Art Cohn was the producer and Byron Paul the director. Arthur Fiedler conducted the Symphony of the Air. Walter Cronkite, Jim McKay, and Bill Leonard served as reporters during the event. [1] [2]
The event was attended by 18,000 persons and shared live with a national television audience. The event was a celebration of the first anniversary of Mike Todd's film, Around the World in 80 Days . Todd reportedly paid nothing for the party, as CBS provided a production budget of $125,000, and numerous sponsors provided gifts and displays. When asked how much CBS had given him for the party, Todd said: "I wouldn't know. I'm an artist — I don't think in terms of money." [3]
During the broadcast, Mike Todd's wife Elizabeth Taylor was given the responsibility to cut the first piece from a 30 by 14 foot birthday cake. [4]
Guests appearing at the special included Frank Sinatra, Maurice Chevalier, Charles Boyer, Hubert Humphrey, Elsa Maxwell, Ginger Rogers, George Jessel, Hedda Hopper, Tony Curtis, Cedric Hardwicke, James Mason, Joe E. Lewis, Fernandel, and Janet Leigh. [1] [2]
The program was aired at the same time as Hallmark Hall of Fame 's acclaimed presentation of The Green Pastures on the NBC network. Around the World in Ninety Minutes received a Trendex rating of 34.5, trouncing The Green Pastures which received a rating of 12.5. [5]
Variety wrote that the event was filled with contagious disorganization, though the mishaps provided "a welcome relief from the myriad of dancers, parading extras, bagpipers, horses, elephants, horses, dancers and horses." [6] Time magazine called it "mass gaucherie". [5]
The year 1959 in television involved some significant events. Below is a list of television-related events during 1959.
The year 1957 in television involved some significant events. Below is a list of television-related events during 1957.
The year 1955 in television involved some significant events. Below is a list of television-related events during 1955.
The year 1953 in television involved some significant events. Below is a list of television-related events during 1953.
The year 1952 in television involved some significant events. Below is a list of television-related events during 1952.
The year 1951 in television involved some significant events. Below is a list of television-related events during 1951.
Anthony Leonard Randall was an American actor of film, television and stage. He is best known for portraying the role of Felix Unger in the 1970–75 television adaptation of the 1965 play The Odd Couple by Neil Simon. In a career spanning six decades, Randall received six Golden Globe Award nominations and six Primetime Emmy Award nominations, winning one Emmy.
The Arthur Murray Party is an American television variety show that ran from July 1950 until September 1960. The show was hosted by dancers Arthur and Kathryn Murray, the show featured various acts and celebrity guests and acted as advertisement for their chain of dance studios. Each week, the couple performed a mystery dance, and the viewer who correctly identified the dance would receive two free lessons at a local studio.
Around the World in 80 Days is a 1956 American epic adventure-comedy film starring David Niven, Cantinflas, Robert Newton and Shirley MacLaine, produced by the Michael Todd Company and released by United Artists.
The first Golden Age of Television is an era of television in the United States marked by its large number of live productions. The period is generally recognized as beginning in 1947 with the first episode of the drama anthology Kraft Television Theater and ending in 1960 with the final episode of Playhouse 90. The Golden Age was followed by the network era, wherein television audiences and programming had shifted to less critically acclaimed fare, almost all of it taped or filmed.
Playhouse 90 is an American television anthology drama series that aired on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 133 episodes. The show was produced at CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California. Since live anthology drama series of the mid-1950s usually were hour-long shows, the title highlighted the network's intention to present something unusual: a weekly series of hour-and-a-half-long dramas rather than 60-minute plays.
Michael Todd was an American theater and film producer, celebrated for his 1956 Around the World in 80 Days, which won an Academy Award for Best Picture. Actress Elizabeth Taylor was his third wife. Todd was the third of Taylor's seven husbands, and the only one Taylor did not divorce. He died in a private plane accident a year after they married. He was the driving force behind the development of the eponymous Todd-AO widescreen film format.
Lux Video Theatre is an American television anthology series that was produced from 1950 until 1957. The series presented both comedy and drama in original teleplays, as well as abridged adaptations of films and plays.
Without Incident is a 1957 episode of Playhouse 90 starring Errol Flynn.
"Helen Morgan" is an American television play broadcast on May 16, 1957, as part of the CBS television series, Playhouse 90. It was the 33rd episode of the first season of Playhouse 90.
"The Green Pastures" was an American television play first broadcast on NBC on October 17, 1957, as part of the television series Hallmark Hall of Fame. It was adapted from Marc Connelly's 1930 Pulitzer Prize–winning play which was in turn adapted from Roark Bradford's Ol' Man Adam an' His Chillun (1928). It was one of five programs nominated as Best Program of the Year at the 10th Primetime Emmy Awards.
"A Corner of the Garden" is an American television play broadcast on April 23, 1959 as part of the CBS television series, Playhouse 90. The cast includes Eileen Heckart and Gary Merrill. Robert Stevens was the director and Tad Mosel the writer.
"The Jet Propelled Couch" is an American television play broadcast on November 14, 1957, as part of the second season of the CBS television series Playhouse 90. Burgess Meredith and James Clark directed. Donald O'Connor, David Wayne, and Peter Lorre starred.
"The Playroom" was an American television play broadcast on October 10, 1957, as part of the second season of the CBS television series Playhouse 90. Tad Mosel wrote the teleplay. Franklin Schaffner directed, Martin Manulis was the producer, Dominick Dunne was the assistant to the producer, and Albert Heschong was the art director. Mike Todd was the host, and Tony Randall, Nina Foch, and Patricia Neal starred.
"Reunion" was an American television play broadcast live from CBS Television City in Hollywood on January 2, 1958, as part of the second season of the CBS television series Playhouse 90. Merle Miller wrote the teleplay based on his novel of the same name. Allan Reisner directed. Hugh O'Brian, Martha Hyer, Dane Clark, and Charles Drake starred.