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The Loretta Young Show

January 01, 1970

The Loretta Young Show (originally known as Letter to Loretta) is an American anthology drama television series broadcast on Sunday nights from September 2, 1953, to June 4, 1961, on NBC for a total of 165 episodes. The series was hosted by actress Loretta Young, who also played the lead in various episodes.

The Loretta Young Show
The Loretta Young Show video cover
Also known asLetter to Loretta
GenreAnthology/Drama
Directed byLaslo Benedek, Richard Carlson, Richard Donner, Robert Florey, Norman Foster, Rudolph Maté, Richard Morris, John Newland, Tay Garnett, Jeffrey Hayden, Don Weis
Presented byLoretta Young
Theme music composerHarry Lubin
Opening theme"Loretta"
ComposerHarry Lubin
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons8
No. of episodes165
Production
Camera setupSingle-camera
Running time30 minutes (including commercials)
Production companiesLewislor Films (1953–58)
Toreto Enterprises (1958–61)
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseSeptember 2, 1953 (1953-09-02) –
June 4, 1961 (1961-06-04)

Series overview edit

The Loretta Young Show was sponsored by Procter & Gamble for its first six seasons, from 1953 to 1959. After a dispute with her sponsor, Young found other sponsors to sustain her program: The Toni Company (1959–1961), Philip Morris (1959–1960), and Warner-Lambert's Listerine (1960–1961).

The program began with the premise that each drama was an answer to a question asked in her fan mail; the program's original title was Letter to Loretta. The title was changed to The Loretta Young Show during the first season (as of February 14, 1954), and the "letter" concept was dropped altogether at the end of the second season. At this time, Young's health, which had deteriorated due to a heavy production schedule during the second season, required a number of guest hosts and guest stars; her first appearance in the 1955–56 season was for the Christmas show.

From this point on, Young appeared in only about half of each season's shows as an actress and merely functioned as the program hostess for the remainder. She became known for swirling around in her gowns during her entrance through a door at the start of the show, a convention parodied by many comedians, including Ernie Kovacs.[1]

Young was quoted as saying[2]

After the audience had seen me well-groomed, I can wear horrible clothes, ugly make-up, or even a false nose during the show without anyone wondering whether I've aged overnight or something.

This program, minus Young's introductions and summarized conclusions (Young insisted on their deletion due to her concern that the dresses she wore in those segments would "date" the program), was rerun in daytime by NBC as The Loretta Young Theatre from October 1960 to December 1964, and then appeared, again without the introductions and conclusions, in syndication through the 1970s. In 1992, selected episodes of the original series (with Young's opening and closing segments intact), authorized by Young herself and chosen from her personal collection of 16 mm film prints, were released on home video, and eventually shown on cable television.[citation needed]

During the series' eight-year run, the series was popular with audiences and critics, and it finished in 28th place in the Nielsen ratings in the spring of 1955.[3] It finished its last season far behind its competition, Candid Camera on CBS, and was thereby cancelled. In 1954, Billboard voted it the third-best network filmed drama series.[4]

Selected guest stars edit

Ratings and time slots edit

Season Year Time slot Rank Rating
1 1953–1954 Sunday, 10:00pm Not in the Top 30
2 1954–1955 #28 27.7
3 1955–1956 Not in the Top 30
4 1956–1957
5 1957–1958 #30 26.6
6 1958–1959 Not in the Top 30
7 1959–1960
8 1960–1961

Accolades edit

In 1959, the series won a Golden Globe Award for Best TV Show. Loretta Young earned three Best Actress Primetime Emmy Awards in 1955, 1957 and 1959. Norbert Brodine claimed an Emmy for Best Cinematography in 1957. Young also earned Emmy nominations in 1954, 1956, 1958, 1960 and 1961, while Brodine was nominated in 1955, 1956 and 1958 as well. Other Emmy nominations were for Best New Program in 1954, Best Dramatic Series – Less Than One Hour in 1959, Best Direction for Robert Florey in 1955, Best Teleplay Writing – Half Hour or Less for Richard Morris in 1957 and Best Art Direction in a Television Film for Frank Paul Sylos in 1959.

The Directors Guild of America nominated Robert Florey in 1955 and Norman Foster in 1957 for their work on the series.

Reboot edit

The New Loretta Young Show ran for one season on CBS from September 24, 1962, to March 18, 1963, under the alternating sponsorship of Lever Brothers and The Toni Company. The show was an episodic comedy/drama, with Young playing the role of Christine Massey, a widow raising seven children in suburban Connecticut. Her romantic interest was Paul Belzer; the two characters were married in the 26th and final episode. Running against the popular series Ben Casey, the New Loretta Young Show received poor ratings and was not renewed for a second season.

Young introduced and closed each episode as herself, as she had done with The Loretta Young Show. Episodes of The New Loretta Young Show are sometimes included in certain syndicated packages of The Loretta Young Show, with the new series title removed and the original Loretta Young Show theme and titles added.

Lyl Productions (Young's company) had a contract dispute and court case with Portland Mason. Aged 13, she was cast as Marnie, then dismissed before the pilot episode was shot. Upset by producers rejecting her wardrobe, which she was contractually required to supply, her mother sent her home to eat lunch and recompose herself. Meanwhile, Lyl decided if she was not back by that afternoon, Celia Kaye would play Marnie. Nobody told the Masons and Portland returned late. After Kaye replaced her, the Masons and Lyl sued each other for breach of contract; the court ruled in favor of the former.[5]

Cast edit

Further reading edit

  • "Tuning in to Women in Television" (National Women's History Museum)

References edit

  1. ^ "Loretta Young, 1913-2000". People.com. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  2. ^ p.207 Bowers, Ronald L. Loretta Young Films in Review April 1969 Vol XX no 4
  3. ^ "ClassicTVguide.com: TV Ratings > 1950's". Classictvhits.com. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  4. ^ "Billboard". Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 31 July 1954. Retrieved 26 August 2018 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ Mason v. Lyl Productions (Supreme Court of California 1968-07-26), Text.

External links edit

  • Letter to Loretta at IMDb  
  • The New Loretta Young Show at IMDb  
  • The Loretta Young Show at CVTA with episode list
Awards
Preceded by
no award
 Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress - Drama Series
1955, 1957, 1959 		Succeeded by
no award
Preceded by
unknown
 Golden Globe Award for Best TV Show
1959 		Succeeded by
unknown

January 01, 1970
loretta, young, show, originally, known, letter, loretta, american, anthology, drama, television, series, broadcast, sunday, nights, from, september, 1953, june, 1961, total, episodes, series, hosted, actress, loretta, young, also, played, lead, various, episo. The Loretta Young Show originally known as Letter to Loretta is an American anthology drama television series broadcast on Sunday nights from September 2 1953 to June 4 1961 on NBC for a total of 165 episodes The series was hosted by actress Loretta Young who also played the lead in various episodes The Loretta Young ShowThe Loretta Young Show video coverAlso known asLetter to LorettaGenreAnthology DramaDirected byLaslo Benedek Richard Carlson Richard Donner Robert Florey Norman Foster Rudolph Mate Richard Morris John Newland Tay Garnett Jeffrey Hayden Don WeisPresented byLoretta YoungTheme music composerHarry LubinOpening theme Loretta ComposerHarry LubinCountry of originUnited StatesOriginal languageEnglishNo of seasons8No of episodes165ProductionCamera setupSingle cameraRunning time30 minutes including commercials Production companiesLewislor Films 1953 58 Toreto Enterprises 1958 61 Original releaseNetworkNBCReleaseSeptember 2 1953 1953 09 02 June 4 1961 1961 06 04 Contents 1 Series overview 2 Selected guest stars 3 Ratings and time slots 4 Accolades 5 Reboot 5 1 Cast 6 Further reading 7 References 8 External linksSeries overview editThe Loretta Young Show was sponsored by Procter amp Gamble for its first six seasons from 1953 to 1959 After a dispute with her sponsor Young found other sponsors to sustain her program The Toni Company 1959 1961 Philip Morris 1959 1960 and Warner Lambert s Listerine 1960 1961 The program began with the premise that each drama was an answer to a question asked in her fan mail the program s original title was Letter to Loretta The title was changed to The Loretta Young Show during the first season as of February 14 1954 and the letter concept was dropped altogether at the end of the second season At this time Young s health which had deteriorated due to a heavy production schedule during the second season required a number of guest hosts and guest stars her first appearance in the 1955 56 season was for the Christmas show From this point on Young appeared in only about half of each season s shows as an actress and merely functioned as the program hostess for the remainder She became known for swirling around in her gowns during her entrance through a door at the start of the show a convention parodied by many comedians including Ernie Kovacs 1 Young was quoted as saying 2 After the audience had seen me well groomed I can wear horrible clothes ugly make up or even a false nose during the show without anyone wondering whether I ve aged overnight or something This program minus Young s introductions and summarized conclusions Young insisted on their deletion due to her concern that the dresses she wore in those segments would date the program was rerun in daytime by NBC as The Loretta Young Theatre from October 1960 to December 1964 and then appeared again without the introductions and conclusions in syndication through the 1970s In 1992 selected episodes of the original series with Young s opening and closing segments intact authorized by Young herself and chosen from her personal collection of 16 mm film prints were released on home video and eventually shown on cable television citation needed During the series eight year run the series was popular with audiences and critics and it finished in 28th place in the Nielsen ratings in the spring of 1955 3 It finished its last season far behind its competition Candid Camera on CBS and was thereby cancelled In 1954 Billboard voted it the third best network filmed drama series 4 Selected guest stars editJulie Adams John Agar Claude Akins Rico Alaniz Anna Maria Alberghetti Eddie Albert Eleanor Audley Jean Pierre Aumont Frances Bavier Gene Barry Hugh Beaumont Barbara Billingsley Charles Bronson Argentina Brunetti Ellen Burstyn Richard Carlson Mae Clark Mike Connors Chuck Connors Jackie Coogan Johnny Crawford Hume Cronyn Pat Crowley Jane Darwell Laraine Day Elinor Donahue Bobby Driscoll Joanne Dru James Drury Irene Dunne Shelley Fabares Steve Forrest Nina Foch William Frawley Kathleen Freeman Alan Hale Jr Barbara Hale Darryl Hickman Dwayne Hickman Dennis Hopper Clegg Hoyt Dean Jagger Vivi Janiss Van Johnson Phyllis Kirk Tommy Kirk Cloris Leachman Anna Lee Viveca Lindfors Jack Lord Marjorie Lord Anita Louise Frank Lovejoy Sue Lyon George Macready Dorothy Malone Virginia Mayo Mercedes McCambridge Ethel Merman Gary Merrill Roger Mobley Ricardo Montalban Elizabeth Montgomery Bill Mumy Burt Mustin Alan Napier Maidie Norman Hugh O Brian Merle Oberon Edward Platt Marion Ross Rosalind Russell Natalie Schafer William Schallert Max Showalter Lois Smith Barbara Stanwyck Jan Sterling Robert Sterling Hope Summers Phyllis Thaxter Marshall Thompson Mary Treen Teresa WrightRatings and time slots editSeason Year Time slot Rank Rating 1 1953 1954 Sunday 10 00pm Not in the Top 30 2 1954 1955 28 27 7 3 1955 1956 Not in the Top 30 4 1956 1957 5 1957 1958 30 26 6 6 1958 1959 Not in the Top 30 7 1959 1960 8 1960 1961Accolades editIn 1959 the series won a Golden Globe Award for Best TV Show Loretta Young earned three Best Actress Primetime Emmy Awards in 1955 1957 and 1959 Norbert Brodine claimed an Emmy for Best Cinematography in 1957 Young also earned Emmy nominations in 1954 1956 1958 1960 and 1961 while Brodine was nominated in 1955 1956 and 1958 as well Other Emmy nominations were for Best New Program in 1954 Best Dramatic Series Less Than One Hour in 1959 Best Direction for Robert Florey in 1955 Best Teleplay Writing Half Hour or Less for Richard Morris in 1957 and Best Art Direction in a Television Film for Frank Paul Sylos in 1959 The Directors Guild of America nominated Robert Florey in 1955 and Norman Foster in 1957 for their work on the series Reboot editThe New Loretta Young Show ran for one season on CBS from September 24 1962 to March 18 1963 under the alternating sponsorship of Lever Brothers and The Toni Company The show was an episodic comedy drama with Young playing the role of Christine Massey a widow raising seven children in suburban Connecticut Her romantic interest was Paul Belzer the two characters were married in the 26th and final episode Running against the popular series Ben Casey the New Loretta Young Show received poor ratings and was not renewed for a second season Young introduced and closed each episode as herself as she had done with The Loretta Young Show Episodes of The New Loretta Young Show are sometimes included in certain syndicated packages of The Loretta Young Show with the new series title removed and the original Loretta Young Show theme and titles added Lyl Productions Young s company had a contract dispute and court case with Portland Mason Aged 13 she was cast as Marnie then dismissed before the pilot episode was shot Upset by producers rejecting her wardrobe which she was contractually required to supply her mother sent her home to eat lunch and recompose herself Meanwhile Lyl decided if she was not back by that afternoon Celia Kaye would play Marnie Nobody told the Masons and Portland returned late After Kaye replaced her the Masons and Lyl sued each other for breach of contract the court ruled in favor of the former 5 Cast edit Loretta Young as Christine Massey James Philbrook as Paul Belzer Dack Rambo as Peter Massey Dirk Rambo as Paul Massey Cindy Carol as Binkie Massey Sandy Descher as Judy Massey Tracy Stratford as Maria Massey Beverly Washburn as Vickie Massey Celia Kaye as Marnie MasseyFurther reading edit Tuning in to Women in Television National Women s History Museum References edit Loretta Young 1913 2000 People com Retrieved 26 August 2018 p 207 Bowers Ronald L Loretta Young Films in Review April 1969 Vol XX no 4 ClassicTVguide com TV Ratings gt 1950 s Classictvhits com Retrieved 26 August 2018 Billboard Nielsen Business Media Inc 31 July 1954 Retrieved 26 August 2018 via Google Books Mason v Lyl Productions Supreme Court of California 1968 07 26 Text External links editLetter to Loretta at IMDb nbsp The New Loretta Young Show at IMDb nbsp The Loretta Young Show at CVTA with episode list Awards Preceded byno award Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress Drama Series1955 1957 1959 Succeeded byno award Preceded byunknown Golden Globe Award for Best TV Show1959 Succeeded byunknown Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Loretta Young Show amp oldid 1208215790, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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