The year 1953 in television involved some significant events. Below is a list of television-related events during 1953.
The Walt Disney Company has produced an anthology television series since 1954 under several titles and formats. The program's current title, The Wonderful World of Disney, was used from 1969 to 1979 and again from 1991 to the present. The program moved among the Big Three television networks in its first four decades, but has aired on ABC since 1997 and Disney+ since 2020.
Albert Gordon MacRae was an American actor, singer and radio/television host who appeared in the film versions of two Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals Oklahoma! (1955) and Carousel (1956) and who played the leading man opposite Doris Day in On Moonlight Bay (1951) and sequel By The Light of the Silvery Moon (1953).
Armstrong Circle Theatre is an American anthology drama television series which ran from June 6, 1950, to June 25, 1957, on NBC, and from October 2, 1957, to August 28, 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. The principal sponsor was Armstrong World Industries.
William Conrad was an American actor, producer, and director whose entertainment career spanned five decades in radio, film, and television, peaking in popularity when he starred in the detective series Cannon.
The United States Steel Hour is an anthology series which brought hour long dramas to television from 1953 to 1963. The television series and the radio program that preceded it were both sponsored by the United States Steel Corporation.
Stephen McNally was an American actor remembered mostly for his appearances in many Westerns and action films. He often played hard-hearted characters, criminals, bullies, and other villains.
An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a different cast in each episode, but several series in the past, such as Four Star Playhouse, employed a permanent troupe of character actors who would appear in a different drama each week. Some anthology series, such as Studio One, began on radio and then expanded to television.
The following is the 1958–59 network television schedule for the four major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States. The schedule covers primetime hours from September 1958 through March 1959. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series cancelled after the 1957–58 season.
The Philco Television Playhouse is an American television anthology series that was broadcast live on NBC from 1948 to 1955. Produced by Fred Coe, the series was sponsored by Philco. It was one of the most respected dramatic shows of the Golden Age of Television, winning a 1954 Peabody Award and receiving eight Emmy nominations between 1951 and 1956.
The following is the 1955–56 network television schedule for the four major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States. The schedule covers primetime hours from September 1955 through March 1956. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series cancelled after the 1954–55 season.
Karl Swenson was an American theatre, radio, film, and television actor. Early in his career, he was credited as Peter Wayne.
Ford Theatre, spelled Ford Theater for the original radio version and known, in full, as The Ford Television Theatre for the TV version, is a radio and television anthology series broadcast in the United States in the 1940s and 1950s. At various times the television series appeared on all three major television networks, while the radio version was broadcast on two separate networks and on two separate coasts. Ford Theatre was named for its sponsor, the Ford Motor Company, which had an earlier success with its concert music series, The Ford Sunday Evening Hour (1934–42).
Martin Ellyot Manulis was an American television, film, and theatre producer. Manulis was best known for his work in the 1950s producing the CBS Television programs Suspense, Studio One Summer Theatre, Climax!, The Best of Broadway and Playhouse 90. He was the sole producer of the award-winning drama series, Playhouse 90, during its first two seasons from 1956 to 1958.
Pursuit is a one-hour American television anthology drama series which aired live on CBS from October 22, 1958, to January 14, 1959.
General Motors Theatre was a Canadian television anthology drama series of television plays, which ran on CBC Television under various titles from September 18, 1952, until January 1, 1961, and in the US on ABC from October 5 to November 2, 1958. The series mainly consisted of one-hour episodes of romance, adventure, or mystery stories, with some social realist drama plays.
The Elgin Hour is a 60-minute live American anthology drama that aired from October 5, 1954 to June 14, 1955, on ABC, alternating with The U.S. Steel Hour.
Somerset Maugham TV Theatre is an American anthology drama program. The series aired on CBS October 18, 1950 – March 28, 1951, and on NBC April 2, 1951 – December 10, 1951, airing 47 episodes.
Star Stage was a half-hour American television anthology series that began on September 9, 1955, and ended on September 7, 1956.
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre was an American Western anthology television series that was broadcast on CBS from October 5, 1956, until September 20, 1962.
