Cast and Crew of The Philco Television Playhouse

Cast of
The Philco Television Playhouse

About The Philco Television Playhouse

  • Released on October 03, 1948
  • Drama

The Philco Television Playhouse stands as a testament to the pioneering days of television, a time when the medium was still in its infancy and experimentation was rife. Airing from 1948 to 1955, this American anthology series was broadcast live on NBC, adding an element of excitement and unpredictability to each episode. The show was produced by Fred Coe, a visionary in the field who helped shape the landscape of television with his innovative approach to storytelling.

Sponsored by Philco, a leading manufacturer of radios and televisions at the time, The Philco Television Playhouse was more than just a marketing vehicle. It became a platform for some of the most compelling drama of the era, earning critical acclaim and a legion of devoted fans. The series was a mainstay of the Golden Age of Television, a period that saw the medium emerge as a major force in entertainment and culture. This was a time when television was not just about entertainment, but also about art and education, and The Philco Television Playhouse exemplified this ethos.

The show's impact on the industry was profound, as evidenced by the numerous accolades it received. In 1954, it was honored with the prestigious Peabody Award, a testament to its quality and influence. Furthermore, between 1951 and 1956, it received no less than eight Emmy nominations, further solidifying its status as one of the most respected dramatic shows of its time. The Philco Television Playhouse wasn't just a television show; it was a cultural phenomenon, a shining example of what television could be, and a symbol of a bygone era that still holds a special place in the hearts of those who remember it.

Main Cast of The Philco Television Playhouse

Bert Lytell
plays Self - Host (267 episodes)

Secondary Cast of The Philco Television Playhouse

Tonio Selwart

John Marley

John Marley

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Nydia Westman

Walter Brooke

Margaret Wycherly

Madeleine Carroll

Hugh Reilly

Jerome Cowan

Paul McGrath

Joseph Anthony

Madeleine Sherwood
plays Tweed's daughter (1 episode)

Natalie Schafer

Dorothy Peterson

Phyllis Kirk
plays Dolly (1 episode)

Robert Keith

Buster Crabbe

Brandon De Wilde

Gerald S. O'Loughlin

Vanessa Brown

Nancy Kelly

John Ireland

Joey Adams
plays Bill Dix (1 episode)

Sylvia Sidney

Carlos Montalbán
plays Saguro (1 episode)

Robert Ellenstein
plays Dr. Lehmbruck (1 episode)

Tom Tully
plays Major Avery (1 episode)

Lenka Peterson

Geoffrey Horne

John Cassavetes

Joan Lorring

Jeffrey Lynn

Peter Brandon

Terry Becker

Edna Best

Charlton Heston

Charlton Heston

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Frank Albertson

Ruth McDevitt

Enid Markey

Hugh Marlowe

Dane Clark

Cyril Ritchard

Claude Dauphin

John Qualen
plays Gus Gruntle (1 episode)

Ward Costello
plays Investigator Robert Wheelock (1 episode)

William Smithers

Patrick O'Neal
plays Cliff (1 episode)

Mark Roberts

Charlotte Rae

Lee Meriwether

Jean Stapleton
plays Bus Girl (1 episode)

Sal Mineo

Jessica Tandy
plays Liz Marriott (1 episode)

Jack Lord

William Bendix
plays Genteman Suitor (1 episode)

Jean-Pierre Aumont
plays John James Audubon (1 episode)

Mary Wickes
plays Amelia Coop (1 episode)

Cameron Mitchell
plays Pvt. Kenneth Dowey (1 episode)

Conrad Janis

Bert Lahr
plays Skid Johnson (1 episode)

Jeanne Bates

Cara Williams

Richard Webb

Edward Everett Horton

Mark Rydell

Robert Mulligan

Bess Myerson

Lee Grant

Paul Muni
plays George Simon (1 episode)

Vivian Blaine

Una O'Connor

Donald Woods

Joan Greenwood

Georges Renavent

Catherine McLeod

Marjorie Gateson

Joyce Van Patten

Joan Chandler

Richard Davalos
plays Tom Bates (1 episode)

Cathleen Cordell

Faye Emerson
plays The Glamour Girl (1 episode)

Betsy Blair

Jeff Morrow

Warren Stevens

Grace Hartman
plays Nettie Upjohn (1 episode)

Florence Eldridge
plays Nanine (1 episode)

George Coulouris

William Windom
plays Dennis Baldwin (1 episode)

Edith Atwater
plays Marian Burnett (1 episode)

Carl Benton Reid
plays Papa (1 episode)

Ruth Chatterton

Zasu Pitts
plays Belinda Pryde (1 episode)

Donald Cook

Richard Hart
plays John (1 episode)

Lilia Skala
plays Nellie Rimpleger (1 episode)

Josephine Hull

Francis Lederer

Leo Penn

Stephen Elliott

Bill Goodwin

Richard Coogan

Barbara Baxley

David Swift

Marian Winters

Will Hare
plays Houston Ticket Agent (1 episode)

Will Hare as Houston Ticket Agent

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Wesley Addy

Oskar Homolka
plays Bert (1 episode)

Robert Quarry
plays Dr. Wheeler (1 episode)

Parker Fennelly

Nehemiah Persoff
plays Ed Kagan (2 episodes)

Darren McGavin
plays Bill Starbuck (1 episode)

Kim Hunter

Alfred Ryder
plays Philip (1 episode) , Van Dorn (1 episode) , (5 episodes)

John Newland
plays Steven Kent (1 episode) , D.W. Griffith (1 episode) , (5 episodes)

Henry Calvin

Lesley Woods

Peggy McCay

Anthony Dawson

Augusta Dabney
plays Laura Wilkins (1 episode) , (2 episodes)

Edmon Ryan

Audra Lindley

Audra Lindley

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Robert McQueeney
plays Doctor (1 episode)

Joe Maross

Malcolm Keen

Richard Derr

Tod Andrews

John Forsythe

Luis van Rooten
plays Harry Shelton (1 episode)

Gaby Rodgers

Michael Conrad
plays Charles Bowdre (1 episode)

Harry Bellaver
plays Joe (1 episode)

Ethel Remey
plays Mrs. Mulberry (1 episode)

Marsha Hunt
plays Phoebe Throssel (1 episode) , Viola (1 episode)

Arthur Franz
plays Norman (1 episode)

Melvyn Douglas
plays The Stranger (1 episode) , Richard Gordon (1 episode)

Don Fellows
plays Lanier (1 episode)

Don Fellows as Lanier

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Patricia Breslin

Crahan Denton

Constance Ford

Ernest Truex

Madge Evans
plays Elinor Dashwood (1 episode) , Elizabeth Bennet (1 episode)

Moultrie Patten
plays 1st Announcer (1 episode)

Walter Matthau
plays Iago (1 episode) , Stuart Benson (1 episode) , (5 episodes)

Murray Hamilton

Joe Mantell
plays Bachelor (1 episode)

Ethel Griffies
plays Mrs. White (1 episode) , Grandmother (1 episode)

Kurt Kasznar
plays Alexander Ingles (1 episode)

Bartlett Robinson

Natalie Trundy
plays Emiliy Marriott (1 episode)

Viveca Lindfors
plays Widow (1 episode)

Victor Jory

Henry Daniell
plays Colonel Chart (1 episode)

Burt Brinckerhoff

Joyce Redman
plays Lady Macbeth (1 episode)

Mary Astor

Frank M. Thomas
plays Marley's Ghost (1 episode)

Jean Carson

Alfred Drake
plays Captain Brown (1 episode)

Mary Morris

Leueen MacGrath
plays Kathleen Moore (1 episode)

Lilli Palmer
plays Molly Collicutt (1 episode)

David White

Bruce Gordon
plays Burton (1 episode)

Philip Bourneuf

Virginia Gilmore

Jack Warden

Paul Hartman
plays Horace Upjohn (1 episode)

Judith Evelyn
plays Marguerite Gautier (1 episode)

Dean Jagger
plays Charles Burnett (1 episode)

Mady Christians
plays Mama (1 episode)

Joe Downing
plays Patton (1 episode)

David Lewis
plays Albert Brisbane (1 episode)

Janet Blair
plays Amelie (1 episode)

Louisa Horton Hill

John Beal

Carol Stone
plays Barbara Allen (1 episode)

Nina Foch
plays Elizabeth (1 episode)

Nina Foch as Elizabeth

Nina Foch (born Nina Consuelo Maud Fock; April 20, 1924 – December 5, 2008) was a Dutch American actress. After signi...

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Claudia Morgan

Aline MacMahon

Burgess Meredith

Marian Seldes
plays Emilia (1 episode) , (2 episodes)

Francis L. Sullivan

Steven Hill
plays Horace Mann Borden (1 episode) , George (1 episode)

Scott McKay

Torin Thatcher

Phyllis Love

Romney Brent

Anne Jackson
plays Daughter (1 episode) , (1 episode)

John Hoyt

Sidney Blackmer

Helen Wagner

Henry Beckman

Betty Field

Bert Freed

Maureen Stapleton
plays Daughter (1 episode) , Mrs. Johnson (1 episode)

J. Pat O'Malley
plays Brannigan (1 episode) , (2 episodes)

Biff McGuire

Michael Strong
plays Lloyd Mills (1 episode) , John Poe (1 episode)

Peggy Wood
plays Mrs. Oliver Jordan (1 episode) , Florence McDavid (1 episode)

Bethel Leslie

Robert H. Harris

Peggy Allenby

Walter Abel
plays Macduff (1 episode) , (1 episode)

Paul Ford

James Daly

Mary Jackson
plays Aunt Edna (1 episode)

Andrew Duggan

Anne Meara
plays Betty Blake (1 episode)

Anne Meara as Betty Blake

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Alex March

Anthony Ross
plays Father (1 episode) , (2 episodes)

Ernest Graves
plays Christian de Neuvillette (1 episode) , (1 episode)

Jackie Cooper
plays Bubbo (1 episode)

Dick York
plays Andy (1 episode)

Logan Ramsey

Scott Forbes

Rod Steiger
plays Marty Pilletti (1 episode) , (3 episodes)

Rod Steiger as Marty Pilletti

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Mildred Dunnock
plays Berdina Ferris (1 episode) , (1 episode)

Kevin Coughlin
plays Gary (1 episode)

Eva Gabor
plays Melanie Winters (1 episode)

Richard Sanders
plays Prosecuting Attorney (1 episode) , (1 episode)

Eddie Albert

Dorothy Gish
plays Mary Surratt (1 episode) , (2 episodes)

June Lockhart

June Lockhart

June Lockhart (born June 25, 1925) is an American actress, primarily in 1950s and 1960s television, but with memorabl...

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Neva Patterson
plays Elizabeth Chapin (1 episode) , (3 episodes)

Don Murray

George Chandler

Anne Crawford
plays Theresa (1 episode) , Margaret Fuller (1 episode)

Martin E. Brooks

Lin McCarthy

William Prince
plays Hadrian the adopted son (1 episode) , (5 episodes)

Ralph Bellamy
plays Tice Collins (1 episode) , (2 episodes)

Frank Marth

Lily Cahill

James Westerfield

Tony Randall
plays Ernest Winkler (1 episode) , (1 episode)

John Randolph
plays Neil Dalton (1 episode) , Hotstuff (1 episode)

Werner Klemperer
plays Leopold (2 episodes) , (2 episodes)

Werner Klemperer as Leopold

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John McQuade

Mel Ruick

John Carradine
plays Malvolio (1 episode)

Les Tremayne

Howard Smith

Mary Beth Hughes

Joan Croydon
plays Mrs. Dennis (1 episode)

Mildred Natwick

Donald Curtis

Shepperd Strudwick
plays Benedict Arnold (1 episode) , Lincoln Venner (1 episode) , (2 episodes)

Loring Smith
plays Ghost of Christmas Present (1 episode) , (4 episodes)

James Gregory
plays Lester Thompson (1 episode) , Angus (1 episode) , (2 episodes)

Larry Blyden

Vaughn Taylor
plays Mr. Mergenthwirker (1 episode) , (1 episode) , Alfred Stubbs (1 episode) , Pa Blanchard (1 episode) , Sir Andrew Aguecheek (1 episode)

Adam West
plays Ham Ector (1 episode)

Adam West as Ham Ector

Adam West (September 19, 1928 - June 9, 2017) was an American actor best known for his lead role in the Batman (1966–...

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Jack Weston
plays Lumpkin (1 episode)

Harry Townes

Frances Reid
plays Roxane (1 episode) , (3 episodes)

Eli Wallach
plays Nacho (1 episode) , (2 episodes)

Bill Erwin
plays Herman (1 episode)

Howard St. John

Gene Wood
plays Henry Howard (1 episode)

Arthur Treacher
plays Uncle Fred (1 episode) , (2 episodes)

Pat Henning
plays Claessens (1 episode)

Jack Klugman

Frank Maxwell
plays Captain Dana Healey (1 episode) , (2 episodes)

Edward Binns

Henry Jones
plays Professor Stark-Purvis (1 episode)

Kim Stanley

Bertha Belmore

Jack Lemmon

Jack Lemmon

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Walter Greaza

Jason Evers

Margaret Hayes

Leo G. Carroll
plays Father Moynihan (1 episode) , Duncan (1 episode) , Professor White (1 episode)

Leopoldine Konstantin
plays Countess (1 episode)

Hildy Parks

Addison Richards

Edward Andrews

Ross Martin
plays Rodney Wilkins (1 episode) , (1 episode)

Bramwell Fletcher
plays Maxim de Winter (1 episode) , (3 episodes)

Pat Hingle

William Eythe
plays Foxworth (1 episode) , (2 episodes)

Betty Lou Keim
plays Phyllis (1 episode)

Kathleen Maguire
plays Helen (1 episode) , (1 episode)

Jo Van Fleet
plays Shirley (1 episode) , (2 episodes)

Paul Newman
plays Billy the Kid (1 episode)

Paul Newman as Billy the Kid

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Anthony Eisley
plays Jimmy (1 episode)

Kent Smith
plays John Wilkes Booth (1 episode) , (2 episodes)

John Kerr
plays George Avery (1 episode)

Grace Kelly
plays Lucy Bakewell Audubon (1 episode) , Bethel Merriday (1 episode) , Ann Rutledge (1 episode) , (1 episode) , Paula (1 episode)

Mario Gallo

Lydia Clarke

Dan Frazer
plays 2nd Announcer (1 episode)

Calvin Thomas

Anthony Quinn

Ernest Borgnine

Ernest Borgnine

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John Marriott

Dennis Cross
plays Railroad Ticket Agent (1 episode)

Kevin McCarthy
plays Romeo (1 episode) , (2 episodes)

John C. Becher

Chris Gampel
plays Diego (1 episode)

Richard Fraser
plays Keith Reddington (1 episode)

Louis Sorin

Hume Cronyn

Jean Muir

Everett Sloane
plays Vincent Van Gogh (1 episode) , Dr. Ignatius Semmelweis (1 episode) , (2 episodes)

Franchot Tone

Lois Wilson

Betty Furness

Leora Dana
plays Clarice (1 episode) , Emmy Blanchard (1 episode) , (3 episodes)

Nancy Marchand
plays Clara (1 episode)

John Ericson

Vinton Hayworth
plays Mr. Devereaux (1 episode) , H.L. Potter (1 episode) , Ted Nichols (1 episode) , (7 episodes)

Betsy Palmer
plays Janice Gans (1 episode) , (2 episodes)

Joanne Woodward
plays Arabella Cookenboo (1 episode) , Emily (1 episode)

Wright King

Lillian Gish
plays Narrator (1 episode) , Abby (1 episode) , Carrie Watts (1 episode)

William Hansen

Florida Friebus

Philip Abbott
plays David Lomak (1 episode) , (2 episodes)

Herbert Berghof

Cloris Leachman
plays Marianne Dashwood (1 episode) , Jenny Blanchard (1 episode) , (1 episode) , Patricia (1 episode)

Cloris Leachman as Marianne Dashwood

Cloris Leachman (April 30, 1926 – January 26, 2021) was an American actress and comedian, whose career spanned over s...

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James Broderick

Johnny Desmond
plays Nick Mercer (1 episode) , (1 episode)

E.G. Marshall
plays Alf Rylett (1 episode) , N. Y. Times editor (1 episode) , Barnwell Rhett (1 episode) , Jerry (1 episode) , Horace Greeley (1 episode) , Dennis Leighton (1 episode) , Hiram Holliday (1 episode) , (6 episodes)

Frank Sutton
plays Bill (1 episode) , (2 episodes)

Martin Balsam

Eileen Heckart
plays Ruthie (1 episode) , Jessie Mae (1 episode) , (3 episodes)

Sidney Poitier
plays Tommy Tyler (1 episode) , (1 episode)

Larry Gates
plays Darcy (1 episode) , (1 episode)

Ed Begley
plays Ernie Barger (1 episode) , (1 episode)

Jason Robards
plays Mason (1 episode) , Joe Grant (1 episode)

Barbara O'Neil
plays Mme. Pollard (1 episode) , Ruth (1 episode)

David Opatoshu
plays Boss (1 episode) , Joe Manx (1 episode) , Colie (1 episode) , Ibrahim (1 episode) , (2 episodes) , George (2 episodes)

Kay Medford

Addison Powell
plays Chester Wilson (1 episode) , Chester (1 episode) , (2 episodes)

Eva Marie Saint
plays Thelma (1 episode) , Dorie Wilson (1 episode) , Betty (1 episode) , Bonnie Keel (1 episode)

Frank Overton
plays Pat Garrett (1 episode) , Mr. Davis (1 episode) , Sheriff (1 episode)

Arthur O'Connell

Charles Dingle
plays Daddy Tom (1 episode) , (1 episode)

Peter Mark Richman
plays Tinian (1 episode) , Charles Blake (1 episode) , Jack (1 episode) , (1 episode)

James Dean
plays Robbie Warren (1 episode)

Oliver Thorndike

Ivan F. Simpson

Mary K. Wells

Frank Stephens

Katherine Meskill

Mary Patton

Ralph Longley

Stephen Courtleigh
plays Abraham Lincoln (1 episode)

Carmen Mathews
plays Mariella Barger (1 episode)

John Connell
plays Ray Barger (1 episode)

Joseph Sweeney
plays Mr Barger (1 episode)

Patricia Fay
plays Louise (1 episode)

Crew of The Philco Television Playhouse

Discover the backstage crew of The Philco Television Playhouse →