Goodyear Television Playhouse is an American anthology series that was telecast live on NBC from 1951 to 1957 during the first Golden Age of Television.
Goodyear alternated sponsorship with Philco, and the Philco Television Playhouse was seen on alternate weeks. In October 1955, Alcoa took over alternating sponsorship from Philco, the title was shortened to The Goodyear Playhouse and it aired on alternate weeks with The Alcoa Hour.
Producer Fred Coe nurtured and encouraged a group of young, mostly unknown writers that included Robert Alan Aurthur, George Baxt, Paddy Chayefsky, Horton Foote, Howard Richardson, Tad Mosel and Gore Vidal. Notable productions included Vidal's Visit to a Small Planet (1955), Richardson's Ark of Safety and Chayefsky's The Catered Affair.
From 1957 to 1960, it became a taped, half-hour series titled Goodyear Theater, seen on Mondays at 9:30 p.m.
Goodyear Television Playhouse finished #16 in the Nielsen ratings for the 1951–1952 season, #15 for 1952–1953 and #22 for 1953–1954.[1]
Goodyear Television Playhouse was a production of Showcase Productions, Incorporated".[4] Herbert Brodkin was the producer. During his 12-week vacation in 1956, associate producer Philip Barry Jr. produced the series.[5] Other producers included Gordon Duff. Directors included Arthur Penn..[3]
A review in The New York Times praised Heckart's performance in "My Lost Saints" (1955), saying, "Miss Heckart's brilliant work overshadowed the deficiencies in script construction."[3] The review said that the episode might not have exceeded soap-opera status had it not been for Heckart's acting, but she created "a moving and entirely believable characterization" of a housekeeper who faced a crisis.[3] It concluded, "She raised what was basically an ordinary drama to a level of distinction."[3]