Our American Heritage

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Our American Heritage is a series of TV specials broadcast on NBC from 1959 to 1961. [1]

Mildred Freed Alberg produced the program with the cooperation of American Heritage magazine. [1] Lowell Thomas was the narrator. [2] Directors included James Lee, [3] Jack Smight [4] and Alex Segal [2] Writers included Morton Wishengrad, [5] Tad Mosel, [6] David Shaw, [3] and Mann Rubin. [7]

A total of thirteen episodes were aired on the National Broadcasting Company from October 18, 1959 to May 13, 1961. Actors who were featured included Raymond Massey, Dean Jagger, Walter Matthau, Roddy McDowall, Christopher Plummer, Susan Strasberg, Melvyn Douglas, Robert Redford, and Teresa Wright.

On January 27, 1960, the Thomas Alva Edison Foundations recognized Our American Heritage as "the television program best portraying America". [8] The program was sponsored by The Equitable Life Assurance Society. [9]

Episodes of the program included those shown in the table below:

Partial List of Episodes of Our American Heritage
DateTitleSubjectStar(s)
October 18, 1959"Divided We Stand" Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, George Washington Ralph Bellamy, Arthur Kennedy, Howard St. John [5]
November 22, 1959"The Practical Dreamer" Eli Whitney Burgess Meredith [10]
January 24, 1960"Destiny, West" John C. Frémont Jeffrey Hunter [11]
February 21, 1960"Shadow of a Soldier" Ulysses S. Grant James Whitmore [12]
April 10, 1960––– Andrew Carnegie David Wayne, Judith Anderson [13]
October 21, 1960"Not Without Honor" Alexander Hamilton Arthur Kennedy, Ralph Bellamy [14]
December 2, 1960"Born a Giant" Andrew Jackson Bill Travers, Barbara Rush [7]
January 13, 1961"The Invincible Teddy" Theodore Roosevelt George Peppard [4]
March 11, 1961"The Secret Rebel" John Honeyman Hugh O'Brian [2]
May 13, 1961"Woodrow Wilson and the Unknown Soldier" Woodrow Wilson Judson Laire, Don Ameche [3]

References

  1. 1 2 McNeil, Alex (1996). Total Television (4th ed.). New York, New York: Penguin Books USA, Inc. p. 629. ISBN   0-14-02-4916-8.
  2. 1 2 3 Shanley, John P. (March 3, 1961). "'Secret Rebel' on 'Our American Heritage'". The New York Times. p. 59. ProQuest   115222970 . Retrieved March 27, 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 "'Heritage' Spotlights WW-I Leader". The Bradenton Herald. April 15, 1961. p. 5. Retrieved March 31, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
  4. 1 2 Shanley, John P. (January 14, 1961). "His Early Years Are Depicted as Part of 'Our American Heritage' Series". The New York Times. p. 47. ProQuest   115425323 . Retrieved March 27, 2021.
  5. 1 2 Crosby, John (October 21, 1959). "'Divided We Stand' Offers Taste of Historic Heritage". The Bay City Times. p. 36. Retrieved September 27, 2025. "The first of the series, Sunday on NBC, was called "Divided We Stand" and was largely concerned with the bitter warfare between two great Americans, Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton, who were politically, temperamentally, emotionally, and ethically in violent disagreement. [...] Morton Wishengrad, who wrote the script, concentrated on a tiny incident in the war between France and England in which this country desired strenuously to stay neutral. [...] Ralph Bellamy played Jefferson with both elegance and eloquence and Arthur Kennedy was suitably fiery as Hamilton. I found Howard St. John rather earthbound as George Washington, but then, of all our forebears, Washington is the hardest to bring to life. Perhaps he belongs on Mount Rushmore."
  6. ↑ "Congress" (PDF). Television Digest. 17 (8): 9. February 20, 1961. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
  7. 1 2 Shepard, Richard F. (December 3, 1960). "TV: Story of 'Giant': Life of Andrew Jackson Is Depicted on N.B.C.'s 'Our American Heritage'". The New York Times. p. 47. ProQuest   115122670 . Retrieved March 27, 2021.
  8. ↑ "Edison Foundation makes annual awards" (PDF). Broadcasting. February 8, 1960. p. 80. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
  9. ↑ "Focus on People" (PDF). Television. January 1960. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
  10. ↑ "Meredith To Play Role Of Eli Whitney". The Paducah Sun. November 22, 1959. p. 37. Retrieved March 31, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "'Destiny, West' to Be Televised on NBC". The Times Dispatch. January 24, 1960. p. 6-L. Retrieved March 31, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "(photo caption)". St. Joseph News-Press. February 20, 1960. p. 7. Retrieved March 31, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ Gaver, Jack (April 10, 1960). "Telecasts Of Baseball Start Next Weekend". The Times Recorder. Ohio, Zanesville. United Press International. p. 36. Retrieved March 27, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ Hadden, Briton; Luce, Henry Robinson (October 24, 1960). "Time Listings: Television". Time. p. 114. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
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