ABC Stage 67
Encyclopedia
ABC Stage 67 was the umbrella title for a series of 26 weekly shows that included dramas, variety shows, documentaries, and original musicals.
It premiered on American Broadcasting Company
on September 14, 1966 with Murray Schisgal
's The Love Song of Barney Kempinksi, directed by Stanley Prager
and starring Alan Arkin
as a man enjoying the sights and sounds of New York City
in his last remaining hours of bachelorhood. Arkin was nominated for an Emmy Award
for Outstanding Single Performance By An Actor in a Leading Role in a Drama and the program was nominated as Outstanding Dramatic Program.
Future programs included appearances by Petula Clark
, Bobby Darin
, Sir Laurence Olivier
, Albert Finney
, Peter Sellers
, David Frost
, and Jack Paar
.
ABC's effort to bring culture to the masses was a noble but unsuccessful experiment. Scheduled first against I Spy on Wednesdays and then The Dean Martin Show
on Thursdays, the show consistently received low ratings. Its last production, an adaptation of Jean Cocteau
's one-woman play The Human Voice
starring Ingrid Bergman
, aired on May 4, 1967.
"Stage 67" was not actually a part of the primary ABC facilities in Los Angeles
. It was produced at the old Monogram Studios
backlot that was later sold to KCET
.http://www.kcet.org/about/station-history/index.php?ID=3
It premiered on American Broadcasting Company
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
on September 14, 1966 with Murray Schisgal
Murray Schisgal
Murray Schisgal is an American playwright and screenwriter.Native New Yorker Schisgal won his first recognition for the 1963 off-Broadway double-bill The Typists and The Tiger, which won him the Drama Desk Award. His 1965 Broadway debut, Luv, earned him Tony Award nominations for Best Play and...
's The Love Song of Barney Kempinksi, directed by Stanley Prager
Stanley Prager
Stanley Prager was an American actor and a television and theatre director.Born in New York City, Prager began his career as the stage manager for the Broadway production The Skin of Our Teeth in 1942...
and starring Alan Arkin
Alan Arkin
Alan Wolf Arkin is an American actor, director, musician and singer. He is known for starring in such films as Wait Until Dark, The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Catch-22, The In-Laws, Edward Scissorhands, Glengarry Glen Ross, Marley & Me, and...
as a man enjoying the sights and sounds of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in his last remaining hours of bachelorhood. Arkin was nominated for an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
for Outstanding Single Performance By An Actor in a Leading Role in a Drama and the program was nominated as Outstanding Dramatic Program.
Future programs included appearances by Petula Clark
Petula Clark
Petula Clark, CBE is an English singer, actress, and composer whose career has spanned seven decades.Clark's professional career began as an entertainer on BBC Radio during World War II...
, Bobby Darin
Bobby Darin
Bobby Darin , born Walden Robert Cassotto, was an American singer, actor and musician.Darin performed in a range of music genres, including pop, rock, jazz, folk and country...
, Sir Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
, Albert Finney
Albert Finney
Albert Finney is an English actor. He achieved prominence in films in the early 1960s, and has maintained a successful career in theatre, film and television....
, Peter Sellers
Peter Sellers
Richard Henry Sellers, CBE , known as Peter Sellers, was a British comedian and actor. Perhaps best known as Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther film series, he is also notable for playing three different characters in Dr...
, David Frost
David Frost
Sir David Frost is a British broadcaster.David Frost may also refer to:*David Frost , South African golfer*David Frost , classical record producer*David Frost *Dave Frost, baseball pitcher...
, and Jack Paar
Jack Paar
Jack Harold Paar was an author, American radio and television comedian and talk show host, best known for his stint as host of The Tonight Show from 1957 to 1962...
.
ABC's effort to bring culture to the masses was a noble but unsuccessful experiment. Scheduled first against I Spy on Wednesdays and then The Dean Martin Show
The Dean Martin Show
The Dean Martin Show is a TV variety-comedy series that ran from 1965 to 1974 for 264 episodes. It was broadcast by NBC and hosted by crooner Dean Martin...
on Thursdays, the show consistently received low ratings. Its last production, an adaptation of Jean Cocteau
Jean Cocteau
Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau was a French poet, novelist, dramatist, designer, playwright, artist and filmmaker. His circle of associates, friends and lovers included Kenneth Anger, Pablo Picasso, Jean Hugo, Jean Marais, Henri Bernstein, Marlene Dietrich, Coco Chanel, Erik Satie, María...
's one-woman play The Human Voice
The Human Voice
The Human Voice a 1930 play, first staged at the Comédie Française in 1930, written by Jean Cocteau, is a monologue taking place in Paris, where a middle-aged woman is on a phone call with her lover of the last five years. He is to marry another woman the next day, which causes her to despair...
starring Ingrid Bergman
Ingrid Bergman
Ingrid Bergman was a Swedish actress who starred in a variety of European and American films. She won three Academy Awards, two Emmy Awards, and the Tony Award for Best Actress. She is ranked as the fourth greatest female star of American cinema of all time by the American Film Institute...
, aired on May 4, 1967.
"Stage 67" was not actually a part of the primary ABC facilities in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. It was produced at the old Monogram Studios
Monogram Pictures
Monogram Pictures Corporation is a Hollywood studio that produced and released films, most on low budgets, between 1931 and 1953, when the firm completed a transition to the name Allied Artists Pictures Corporation. Monogram is considered a leader among the smaller studios sometimes referred to...
backlot that was later sold to KCET
KCET
KCET, channel 28, is an independent, non-commercial public television station licensed to Los Angeles, California, USA. KCET's studio is located on West Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, and its transmitter is atop Mount Wilson. Al Jerome is the current CEO and President, serving since 1996.KCET was...
.http://www.kcet.org/about/station-history/index.php?ID=3
Significant episodes
- The Kennedy Wit (aired October 5, 1966) featured Jack Paar discussing John F. KennedyJohn F. KennedyJohn Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
's speeches with David PowersDavid PowersDavid Francis Powers was Special Assistant and assistant Appointments Secretary to President of the United States John F. Kennedy. Powers served as Museum Curator of the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum from 1964 until his retirement in May 1994. Powers was a military veteran who had served in...
, who served as Special Assistant to the President in the White HouseWhite HouseThe White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
and was the original curator of the Kennedy Library. - Olympus 7-0000 (aired October 12, 1966), a musical comedy by Richard AdlerRichard AdlerRichard Adler is an American lyricist, composer and producer of several Broadway shows.-Biography:Born in New York City, Adler had a musical upbringing, his father being a concert pianist. After serving in the Navy he began his career as a lyricist, teaming up with Jerry Ross in 1950...
and featuring Larry BlydenLarry BlydenLarry Blyden was an American actor and game show host, best known for his appearances on Broadway and as the host of the game show What's My Line?-Personal life:...
, Donald O'ConnorDonald O'ConnorDonald David Dixon Ronald O’Connor was an American dancer, singer, and actor who came to fame in a series of movies in which he co-starred alternately with Gloria Jean, Peggy Ryan, and Francis the Talking Mule...
and Phyllis NewmanPhyllis NewmanPhyllis Newman is an American actress and singer. She was nominated twice for the Drama Desk Award and won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.-Early life:...
. A coach attempts to organize a professional football team. - The Confession (aired October 19, 1966), a drama starring Brandon De WildeBrandon De WildeAndre Brandon deWilde was an American theatre and film actor. He was born into a theatrical family in Brooklyn. Debuting on Broadway at the age of 7, De Wilde became a national phenomenon by the time he completed his 492 performances for The Member of the Wedding and was considered a child...
, Dana ElcarDana ElcarDana Elcar was an American television and movie character actor. Although he appeared in about 40 films, his most memorable role was on the 1980s and 1990s television series MacGyver as Peter Thornton, an administrator working for the Phoenix Foundation...
, Hugh FranklinHugh FranklinHugh Hale Franklin was an American theatre and soap opera actor. He was born in Muskogee, Oklahoma.Franklin was best known for his role as Dr. Charles Tyler on All My Children, a role he played from the show’s first episode in 1970 until 1983...
, Katharine HoughtonKatharine HoughtonKatharine Houghton is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Joanna "Joey" Drayton, a Caucasian woman who brings home an African-American fiancé to meet her parents, in the 1967 film Guess Who's Coming to Dinner...
, Arthur KennedyArthur Kennedy (actor)Arthur Kennedy was an American stage and film actor known for his versatility in supporting film roles and his ability to create "an exceptional honesty and naturalness on stage" especially in the original casts of Arthur Miller plays on Broadway.- Early life and education :Kennedy was born John...
, and Byron Sanders. - The Canterville Ghost (aired November 2, 1966), an original musical version of the Oscar WildeOscar WildeOscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
tale with a score by Jerry BockJerry BockJerrold Lewis "Jerry" Bock was an American musical theater composer. He received the Tony Award for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama with Sheldon Harnick for their 1959 musical Fiorello! and the Tony Award for Best Composer and Lyricist for the 1964 musical Fiddler on the Roof with...
and Sheldon HarnickSheldon HarnickSheldon Harnick is an American lyricist best known for his collaborations with composer Jerry Bock on hit musicals such as Fiddler on the Roof....
. It starred Michael RedgraveMichael RedgraveSir Michael Scudamore Redgrave, CBE was an English stage and film actor, director, manager and author.-Youth and education:...
, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.Douglas Elton Fairbanks, Jr. KBE was an American actor and a highly decorated naval officer of World War II.-Early life:...
, and Frankie HowerdFrankie HowerdFrancis Alick "Frankie" Howerd OBE was an English comedian and comic actor whose career, described by fellow comedian Barry Cryer as "a series of comebacks", spanned six decades.-Early career:...
. - Evening Primrose (aired November 16, 1966), an original musical (with a book by James GoldmanJames GoldmanJames Goldman was an American screenwriter and playwright, and the brother of screenwriter and novelist William Goldman.He was born in Chicago, Illinois, and grew up primarily in Highland Park, Illinois, a Chicago suburb...
and a score by Stephen SondheimStephen SondheimStephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award...
) about a poet who opts to drop out of society and live in a department store. It was directed by Paul BogartPaul BogartPaul Bogart is an American television and film director. He directed episodes of the television series "Coronet Blue" in 1967 Get Smart and All In The Family from 1976 to 1979...
and starred Anthony PerkinsAnthony PerkinsAnthony Perkins was an American actor, best known for his Oscar-nominated role in Friendly Persuasion and as Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho , and its three sequels.-Early life:...
, Charmian CarrCharmian CarrCharmian Carr is an American actress and singer. She is mainly known for her role as Liesl, the eldest Von Trapp daughter in The Sound of Music where she starred with Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, Nicholas Hammond, Heather Menzies, Duane Chase, Angela Cartwright, Debbie Turner, and Kym...
, and Dorothy StickneyDorothy StickneyDorothy Stickney was a Broadway actress best known for appearing in the long running Life with Father.Born in Dickinson, North Dakota, Stickney attended the North Western Dramatic School in Minneapolis, Minnesota...
. The program was taped after regular business hours at the now-defunct Stern Brothers department store in ManhattanNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. A studio recording with Neil Patrick HarrisNeil Patrick HarrisNeil Patrick Harris is an American actor, singer, director, and magician.Prominent roles of his career include the title role in Doogie Howser, M.D., Colonel Carl Jenkins in Starship Troopers, the womanizing Barney Stinson in How I Met Your Mother, a fictionalized version of himself in the Harold...
in the Perkins role was released in 2001. This episode is available for viewing at the Museum of Television & RadioMuseum of Television & RadioThe Paley Center for Media, formerly The Museum of Television & Radio and The Museum of Broadcasting, founded in 1975 by William S...
branches in New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and Beverly Hills. - The Legend of Marilyn MonroeThe Legend of Marilyn MonroeThe Legend of Marilyn Monroe is a 1966 American documentary film chronicling the life and career of actress Marilyn Monroe. Directed by Terry Sanders, and narrated by John Huston, the film was also released under the title The Marilyn Monroe Story in the UK.- Cast :Gladys Baker, Albert Bolender,...
(aired November 30, 1966), a documentary about the film star narrated by John HustonJohn HustonJohn Marcellus Huston was an American film director, screenwriter and actor. He wrote most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered classics: The Maltese Falcon , The Treasure of the Sierra Madre , Key Largo , The Asphalt Jungle , The African Queen , Moulin Rouge...
. The episode has been released on DVD. - On the Flip Side (aired December 7, 1966), an original rock musical, with songs by Burt BacharachBurt BacharachBurt F. Bacharach is an American pianist, composer and music producer. He is known for his popular hit songs and compositions from the mid-1950s through the 1980s, with lyrics written by Hal David. Many of their hits were produced specifically for, and performed by, Dionne Warwick...
and Hal DavidHal DavidHarold Lane "Hal" David is an American lyricist. He grew up in Brooklyn, New York. David is best known for his collaborations with composer Burt Bacharach.-Career:...
, about a teen idol has-been portrayed by Ricky NelsonRicky NelsonEric Hilliard Nelson , better known as Ricky Nelson or Rick Nelson, was an American singer-songwriter, instrumentalist, and actor...
. An original soundtrack album was released by Decca RecordsDecca RecordsDecca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
. - A Christmas MemoryA Christmas Memory"A Christmas Memory" is a short story by Truman Capote. Originally published in Mademoiselle magazine in December 1956, it was reprinted in The Selected Writings of Truman Capote in 1963...
(aired December 21, 1966), an adaptation of Truman CapoteTruman CapoteTruman Streckfus Persons , known as Truman Capote , was an American author, many of whose short stories, novels, plays, and nonfiction are recognized literary classics, including the novella Breakfast at Tiffany's and the true crime novel In Cold Blood , which he labeled a "nonfiction novel." At...
's semi-autobiographical novella, won a Peabody AwardPeabody AwardThe George Foster Peabody Awards recognize distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals. In 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters formed a committee to recognize outstanding achievement in radio broadcasting...
and Emmy Awards for Capote and Eleanor PerryEleanor PerryEleanor Perry was an American writer known primarily for her screenplays.Born Eleanor Irene Rosenfeld in Cleveland, Ohio, she attended Western Reserve University, where she wrote for the college's literary magazine. Together with her first husband, attorney Leo G...
's teleplay and Geraldine PageGeraldine PageGeraldine Sue Page was an American actress. Although she starred in at least two dozen feature films, she is primarily known for her celebrated work in the American theater...
's leading performance. - Sex in the Sixties (aired January 12, 1967), a documentary about the changing sexual mores of the decade, included discussions with William Masters and Virginia E. JohnsonVirginia E. JohnsonVirginia Eshelman Johnson is a former American sexologist and psychologist, best known as the junior member of the Masters and Johnson sexuality research team...
, authors of Human Sexual ResponseHuman sexual responseHuman sexual response may refer to:* Human sexual arousal.* Human Sexual Response , a book by William Howell Masters and Virginia Eshelman Johnson.* Human Sexual Response , a New Wave musical group from Boston, Massachusetts, United States....
, and PlayboyPlayboyPlayboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
s Hugh HefnerHugh HefnerHugh Marston "Hef" Hefner is an American magazine publisher, founder and Chief Creative Officer of Playboy Enterprises.-Early life:...
. - The Light Fantastic (aired February 9, 1967), a lighthearted look at the influence of dance on society with Lauren BacallLauren BacallLauren Bacall is an American film and stage actress and model, known for her distinctive husky voice and sultry looks.She first emerged as leading lady in the Humphrey Bogart film To Have And Have Not and continued on in the film noir genre, with appearances in The Big Sleep and Dark Passage ,...
and John ForsytheJohn ForsytheJohn Forsythe was an American stage, television and film actor. Forsythe starred in three television series, spanning four decades and three genres: as single playboy father Bentley Gregg in the sitcom Bachelor Father ; as the unseen millionaire Charles Townsend on the crime drama Charlie's...
. - Rodgers and Hart Today (aired March 2, 1967), a salute to Richard RodgersRichard RodgersRichard Charles Rodgers was an American composer of music for more than 900 songs and for 43 Broadway musicals. He also composed music for films and television. He is best known for his songwriting partnerships with the lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II...
and Lorenz HartLorenz HartLorenz "Larry" Milton Hart was the lyricist half of the famed Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart...
hosted by Petula ClarkPetula ClarkPetula Clark, CBE is an English singer, actress, and composer whose career has spanned seven decades.Clark's professional career began as an entertainer on BBC Radio during World War II...
and Bobby DarinBobby DarinBobby Darin , born Walden Robert Cassotto, was an American singer, actor and musician.Darin performed in a range of music genres, including pop, rock, jazz, folk and country...
, with Quincy JonesQuincy JonesQuincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...
as musical director. Guests included the Mamas & the PapasThe Mamas & the PapasThe Mamas & the Papas were a Canadian/American vocal group of the 1960s . The group recorded and performed from 1965 to 1968 with a short reunion in 1971, releasing five albums and 11 Top 40 hit singles...
, the SupremesThe SupremesThe Supremes, an American female singing group, were the premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s.Originally founded as The Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, The Supremes' repertoire included doo-wop, pop, soul, Broadway show tunes, psychedelic soul, and disco...
, Count BasieCount BasieWilliam "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
and his Orchestra, and Peter GennaroPeter GennaroPeter Gennaro was an American dancer and choreographer.-Biography:Gennaro was born in Metairie, Louisiana. He made his Broadway debut in the ensemble of Make Mine Manhattan in 1948. He followed this with Kiss Me, Kate and Guys and Dolls...
and his dancers. The show was unique in that it included not one word of dialogue. Three of the songs the Mamas and the Papas performed ("My Heart Stood Still," "Sing For Your Supper," and "Here in My ArmsHere in My Arms"Here in My Arms" is a popular song.The music was written by Richard Rodgers, the lyrics by Lorenz Hart. The song was published in 1925.The song was introduced in the Broadway musical Dearest Enemy, and has become a standard recorded by many artists....
") appear on the DVD "California Dreamin': The Songs of the Mamas & the Papas" released in 2005. - The American Boy (aired March 9, 1967) was a trio of films about adolescent boys living in the city, the suburbs, and the country. One of the three, SkaterdaterSkaterdaterSkaterdater is a 1965 American short film. It was Produced by Marshal Backlar, and written and directed by Noel Black and was the winner of the Palme d'Or for Best Short Film at the 1966 Cannes Film Festival. It was also nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Short Subject category...
, had been nominated for a 1965 Academy Award as Best Live Action Short, and was the winner of nine international film festival awards, including the Palme D'OrPalme d'OrThe Palme d'Or is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival and is presented to the director of the best feature film of the official competition. It was introduced in 1955 by the organising committee. From 1939 to 1954, the highest prize was the Grand Prix du Festival International du...
at CannesCannesCannes is one of the best-known cities of the French Riviera, a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival. It is a Commune of France in the Alpes-Maritimes department....
. - A Time For Laughter: A Look at Negro Humor in America (aired April 6, 1967) was a showcase for African-American performers produced by Harry BelafonteHarry BelafonteHarold George "Harry" Belafonte, Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, actor and social activist. He was dubbed the "King of Calypso" for popularizing the Caribbean musical style with an international audience in the 1950s...
and featuring Godfrey CambridgeGodfrey Cambridge-External links:*...
, Diahann Carroll, Dick GregoryDick GregoryRichard Claxton "Dick" Gregory is an American comedian, social activist, social critic, writer, and entrepreneur....
, Richard PryorRichard PryorRichard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor was an American stand-up comedian, actor, social critic, writer and MC. Pryor was known for uncompromising examinations of racism and topical contemporary issues, which employed colorful vulgarities, and profanity, as well as racial epithets...
, George KirbyGeorge KirbyGeorge Kirby was an American comedian, singer, and actor from Chicago, Illinois.Kirby broke into show business in the 1940s at the Club DeLisa, a South Side establishment that employed a variety-show format and preferred to hire local singers, dancers, and comedians...
, Redd FoxxRedd FoxxJohn Elroy Sanford , better known by his stage name Redd Foxx, was an American comedian and actor, best known for his starring role on the sitcom Sanford and Son.-Early life:...
, and Moms MableyMoms MableyJackie "Moms" Mabley, born Loretta Mary Aiken , was an American standup comedian and a pioneer of the so-called "Chitlin' Circuit" of African-American vaudeville.-Early years:...
(in her television debut). It was nominated for an Emmy as Outstanding Variety Program.