Golden Age of Television

*The Night America Trembled* was *Studio One*'s September 9, 1957, top-rated television recreation of Orson Welles's radio broadcast of *The War of the Worlds* on October 30, 1938. Alexander Scourby is seen in the foreground. Warren Beatty (not pictured), in one of his earliest roles, appeared in the bit part of a card-playing college student.

The first Golden Age of Television^[1] is an era of television in the United States marked by its large number of live productions. The period is generally recognized as beginning in 1947 with the first episode of the drama anthology Kraft Television Theater^[2] and ending in 1960 with the final episode of Playhouse 90^[3] (although a few Golden Age shows and stars continued into the 1960s). The Golden Age was followed by the network era, wherein television audiences and programming had shifted to less critically acclaimed fare, almost all of it taped or filmed.

^ The Dark Side of Television's 'Golden Age' - Pacific Standard
^ Anthony Slide, ed., The Television Industry: A Historical Dictionary, Greenwood Press, 1991, p. 121.
^ Cite error: The named reference PlayhouseEnd was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[1] The Dark Side of Television's 'Golden Age' - Pacific Standard

[Slide-2] Anthony Slide, ed., The Television Industry: A Historical Dictionary, Greenwood Press, 1991, p. 121.

[PlayhouseEnd-3] Cite error: The named reference PlayhouseEnd was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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