Four Star Playhouse

Four Star Playhouse is an American television anthology series that aired from 1952 to 1956. It was initially sponsored by The Singer Company during its first bi-weekly season, and Bristol-Myers became an alternate sponsor when the show transitioned to a weekly format in the fall of 1953. The series was originally conceived with Charles Boyer, Ida Lupino, David Niven, and Dick Powell alternating as lead performers in individual episodes. However, other actors also took on starring roles at times, including Ronald Colman and Joan Fontaine. Blake Edwards was among the writers and directors who contributed to the series. Edwards created the recurring character of illegal gambling house operator Willie Dante, which was performed by Dick Powell on the show. The character was later adapted and spun off into its own series, starring Howard Duff, who was Ida Lupino's then-husband. The pilot for Meet McGraw, featuring Frank Lovejoy, aired on Four Star Playhouse, as did another episode in which Lovejoy reprised his role as Chicago newspaper reporter Randy Stone from the radio drama Nightbeat.

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