Hollywood Star Playhouse

Hollywood Star Playhouse was a dramatic anthology radio series that aired from April 24, 1950, to February 15, 1953. The show featured a different top Hollywood movie star each week in original stories of mystery and adventure written by leading Hollywood writers.

It distinguished itself from other anthology programs of the era by focusing on tense, original suspense plays well-suited for the half-hour format. The series was broadcast on CBS, ABC, and NBC over its nearly three-year run, with two different sponsors during that time.

The Stars

As the name implies, Hollywood Star Playhouse showcased a wide array of movie stars of the era, including the likes of Cary Grant, Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell, Dick Powell, Alan Ladd, and many others.

The program was also the venue for the radio debuts of several notable actors, such as James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, and Charlton Heston.

While the stars changed from week to week, the one consistent voice was the host-narrator, which was originally filled by Herbert Rawlinson and later by Orval Anderson.

Key Dates

• Hollywood Star Playhouse debuted on April 24, 1950.
• During its run, the series switched networks, airing on CBS from April 1950 to July 1951.
• on ABC from July 1951 to January 1952.
• and finally on NBC from February 1952 to its conclusion.
• The program also had two different sponsors over the course of its lifespan, with Bromo-Seltzer sponsoring the show from 1950 to 1951, and Bakers of America taking over the sponsorship from 1952 to 1953.
• Final broadcast was on February 15, 1953.

Other Information

One notable aspect of Hollywood Star Playhouse was its unique approach to commercials during the Bakers of America sponsorship. The sponsor requested that local bakers refrain from buying commercial time adjacent to the program’s time slot, in order to emphasize the baking industry as a whole rather than individual local bakeries. This was described as a “nique among institutional air efforts” at the time, as local advertisers typically sought to capitalize on the national advertising by purchasing nearby time slots.

It was a series that brought suspense and drama to the radio with well-told stories.