George Schaefer Showcase Theatre
Encyclopedia
George Schaefer Showcase Theatre was a syndicated
series that ran on cable channels in the 1980s. It consisted of videotape
d productions in color directed by George Schaefer
which had originally been telecast on the Hallmark Hall of Fame
and had been sold as a television package to stations around the U.S.
Among the programs were:
These programs were sometimes broadcast on late-night television, as if they were forgotten old films, but they were often award-winning or award-nominated television specials that were telecast in the 1960s.
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
series that ran on cable channels in the 1980s. It consisted of videotape
Videotape
A videotape is a recording of images and sounds on to magnetic tape as opposed to film stock or random access digital media. Videotapes are also used for storing scientific or medical data, such as the data produced by an electrocardiogram...
d productions in color directed by George Schaefer
George Schaefer (director)
George Louis Schaefer was a director of television and Broadway theatre from the 1950s to the 1990s.-Life and career:...
which had originally been telecast on the Hallmark Hall of Fame
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Hallmark Hall of Fame is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City based greeting card company. The second longest-running television program in the history of television, it has a historically long run, beginning in 1951 and continuing into 2011...
and had been sold as a television package to stations around the U.S.
Among the programs were:
- Victoria Regina, with Julie HarrisJulie HarrisJulia Ann "Julie" Harris is an American stage, screen, and television actress. She has won five Tony Awards, three Emmy Awards and a Grammy Award, and was nominated for an Academy Award. In 1994, she was awarded the National Medal of Arts. She is a member of the American Theatre Hall of Fame...
as Queen Victoria, James DonaldJames DonaldJames Donald was a Scottish actor. Tall and thin, he usually specialised in playing authority figures.Donald was born in Aberdeen, and made his first professional stage appearance sometime in the late-1930s, having been educated at Rossall School on Lancashire's Fylde coast...
as Prince AlbertPrince AlbertPrince Albert was the husband and consort of Queen Victoria.Prince Albert may also refer to:-Royalty:*Prince Albert Edward or Edward VII of the United Kingdom , son of Albert and Victoria...
, and Basil RathboneBasil RathboneSir Basil Rathbone, KBE, MC, Kt was an English actor. He rose to prominence in England as a Shakespearean stage actor and went on to appear in over 70 films, primarily costume dramas, swashbucklers, and, occasionally, horror films...
in what amounted to a cameo as Benjamin Disraeli
- A ninety-minute version of Shakespeare's The Tempest, starring Maurice EvansMaurice Evans (actor)Maurice Herbert Evans was an English actor noted for his interpretations of Shakespearean characters. In terms of his screen roles, he is probably best known as Dr...
, Lee RemickLee RemickLee Ann Remick was an American film and television actress. Among her best-known films are Anatomy of a Murder , Days of Wine and Roses , and The Omen .-Early life:...
, Roddy MacDowall, and Richard BurtonRichard BurtonRichard Burton, CBE was a Welsh actor. He was nominated seven times for an Academy Award, six of which were for Best Actor in a Leading Role , and was a recipient of BAFTA, Golden Globe and Tony Awards for Best Actor. Although never trained as an actor, Burton was, at one time, the highest-paid...
. It was Burton's only performance in an American made-for-television production of a Shakespeare play.
- Lamp at Midnight, a play about the Catholic Church's dispute with Galileo, starring Melvyn DouglasMelvyn DouglasMelvyn Edouard Hesselberg , better known as Melvyn Douglas, was an American actor.Coming to prominence in the 1930s as a suave leading man , Douglas later transitioned into more mature and fatherly roles as in his Academy Award-winning performances in Hud...
- The Invincible Mr. Disraeli, with Trevor HowardTrevor HowardTrevor Howard , born Trevor Wallace Howard-Smith, was an English film, stage and television actor.-Early life:...
in the title role.
These programs were sometimes broadcast on late-night television, as if they were forgotten old films, but they were often award-winning or award-nominated television specials that were telecast in the 1960s.