The Dick Powell Show

The Dick Powell Show
Also known as ''The Dick Powell Theater''
Directed by Blake Edwards, Sam Peckinpah, Ralph Nelson, Arthur Hiller, Robert Ellis Miller, Lewis Allen (director), Ray Milland, Buzz Kulik, Don Medford
Starring Dick Powell
Milton Berle
Charles Boyer
Jackie Cooper
Glenn Ford
Rock Hudson
Jack Lemmon
Dean Martin
Steve McQueen
Robert Mitchum
David Niven
Gregory Peck
Frank Sinatra
Robert Taylor
Danny Thomas
Robert Wagner
John Wayne
Composer(s) Herschel Burke Gilbert
Country of origin United States
No. of episodes 60
Production
Running time 45–48 minutes
Production company(s) Four Star Television
Release
Original network NBC
Picture format Black-and-white
Audio format Monaural
Original release September 26, 1961 (1961-09-26) – April 30, 1963 (1963-04-30)

The Dick Powell Show is an American anthology series that ran on NBC from 1961 to 1963, primarily sponsored by the Reynolds Metals Company. It was hosted by longtime film star Dick Powell until his death from lung cancer on January 2, 1963, then by a series of guest hosts (under the revised title The Dick Powell Theater) until the series ended. The first of these hosts was Gregory Peck, who began the January 8 program with a tribute to Powell, recognizing him as "a great and good friend to our industry."[1] Peck was followed by fellow actors such as Robert Mitchum, Frank Sinatra, Ronald Reagan, Glenn Ford, Charles Boyer, Jackie Cooper, Rock Hudson, Milton Berle, Jack Lemmon, Dean Martin, Robert Taylor, Steve McQueen, David Niven, Danny Thomas, Robert Wagner and John Wayne.[2]

Overview

Guest stars for the premiere episode, "Who Killed Julie Greer?". Standing, from left: Ronald Reagan, Nick Adams, Lloyd Bridges, Mickey Rooney, Edgar Bergen, Jack Carson, Ralph Bellamy, Kay Thompson, Dean Jones. Seated, from left, Carolyn Jones and Dick Powell.

The series was an anthology of various dramas and comedies. It featured many future stars, producers and directors early in their careers, including Aaron Spelling, William Friedkin, and Bruce Geller. Blake Edwards wrote and directed a number of episodes including two featuring Robert Vaughn as an Ivy League private eye known as The Boston Terrier. Several episodes, including those featuring "The Boston Terrier", doubled as pilots for potential Four Star series, including an unsuccessful attempt to revive The Westerner in a modern-day setting, featuring Lee Marvin in Brian Keith's original role. The original pilot episode for Burke's Law ("Who Killed Julie Greer?"), starring Powell as "Amos Burke", appeared as the debut episode of this series, featuring Ronald Reagan (who would later go on serve as the Governor of California, and then become the 40th President of the United States).

Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater had run on CBS in the late 1950s, but he switched networks for his last series. The Dick Powell Show was one of the many productions of Four Star Television. The series' theme, "More Than Love" {aka "Theme from The Dick Powell Show"}, and the majority of musical compositions heard throughout the series, was the work of Herschel Burke Gilbert.

References

  1. ↑ "Reading Eagle - Google News Archive Search". google.com. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  2. ↑ "The Press-Courier - Google News Archive Search". google.com. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
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