Crown Theatre (with Gloria Swanson) – Nostalgia Central

1 9 5 2 – 1 9 5 5 (USA)
26 x 30 minute episodes

In 1952, singer and actor Bing Crosby decided to invest some of his mushrooming funds in television via his company, Bing Crosby Enterprises, with long-time employee Basil Grillo in charge.

They began by syndicating two film series, Royal Playhouse and Rebound, but the increasing demand for programming moved them to produce a new weekly anthology series of drama shows hosted by veteran actress Gloria Swanson (who appeared in four of the teleplays).

The productions were broadcast from New York City and featured prominent talent in stories by writers including Louis Bromfield, Richard Llewellyn, DD Beauchamp, Walter Doniger, Leonard Merrick, William Bruckner, Herbert Dalmas, and Muriel Ray Bolton.

The teleplays had an average cost of $25,000 to $30,000 each, and while other TV film producers had to constantly seek financial backing, the ever-prosperous Bing Crosby Enterprises simply transferred funds from one account to another as an extended investment.

Episodes

The House on the Hill | Short Story | Choice of Weapons | Con Game | Crystal Set | Gold from the Sea | Mr Influence | The Right Type of Man | Half the Action | The House | Was It Red? | Hemingway | Dry with Three Olives | This Day Is Yours | Uncle Harry | A Fond Farewell | Hands | The Buzzer | Thank You, Mr Finch | The Host | A Chair on the Boulevard | If Speech Be Silvern | My Last Duchess | Portrait of a Lady | Up Ferguson Way | The Best Years | The Antique Shop