The 10th Emmys Evaluated (1958)

PLAYHOUSE 90 writer Rod Serling (with the biggest smile I’ve ever seen on the man) and producer Paul Monash at the 10th Emmy Awards in 1958

Welcome to “Emmys Evaluated,” a series that looks at the nominations and wins in the television industry’s foremost awards ceremony and performs some revisionist history to retroactively pick the winners from the categories and nominees the The Television Academy selected.

In 1958, the Emmy Awards were a decade old. It’s kind of a strange milestone because, from today’s perspective, 1958 still feels like the primeval days. But unlike the film or recording industries, television had had its flagship awards show essentially from the beginning of its significant commercial emergence. By the 10th Emmy Awards, held on April 15, 1958, the landscape of the television medium had changed significantly. In 1948, there were about 350,000 TV sets in America. Ten years later, there were probably 49 million. This change in economic reality also changed the face of the content of American television; there were more shows, of varied genre and subject matter, for an ever-growing audience.

Funnily enough, however, the 1957–1958 season that the 10th Emmys was recognizing was somewhat hijacked by just one genre: the Western. It was a phenomenon that meant more than a few non-Western shows fell by the wayside, and it was notable enough that metafictional commentators like George Burns, on his and his wife Gracie Allen’s show, made light of it. The industry-wide changes weren’t relegated to Westerns, either. TV had more of its roots in radio than in film, and radio was produced from New York. By the late 1950s, however, television production had become produced primarily in the Hollywood we all know and love, which also pushed live broadcasts out and pulled more filmed series in.

THE GUMBY SHOW

This is the landscape that the 10th Emmy Awards represented. It was hosted by Danny Thomas, the titular star of the program that was itself nominated a couple of times at the ceremony. Although I wasn’t able to track down a broadcasting record of the event, I’ve focused on the “major” categories that have analogues to today’s “majority,” as opposed to including all of the numerous categories that contain more “technical” achievements like art design. That leaves us with 20 to evaluate, from which reality’s most nominated (11) and awarded (4) was PLAYHOUSE 90; this was its second year in a row to earn those distinctions. I’ve found it difficult to really find any notable snubs for these years of television, since I actually find most anything worth watching to be recognized in some form by these contemporary forms of The Television Academy. In fact, the only ones I can really think of are kid’s shows, which weren’t recognized with a category at the 10th Emmys anyways: ZORRO, THE RUFF AND REDDY SHOW, and THE GUMBY SHOW.

Now, though, I’ll mark with an * the actual winner, bold my pick at the top of the list, and rank in order of my enjoyment from there. I’ve denoted shows or episodes that I couldn’t really track down online (specifically for the year for which they were eligible for this ceremony) with a ~.

Best Comedy Series

• THE PHIL SILVERS SHOW*
• CAESAR’S HOUR
• THE JACK BENNY PROGRAM
• FATHER KNOWS BEST
• THE BOB CUMMINGS SHOW

I’ve been pleasantly surprised by THE PHIL SILVERS SHOW. I’ve known it was a popular show of its day, but in my non-Emmys-related explorations of old-school television, the comedy was left out. But it’s really a quite clever sitcom, with boneheaded schemes going awry to great comedic effect, anchored of course by its titular star. CAESAR’S HOUR is still a great sketch comedy show, but between the ubiquity of it and its predecessor YOUR SHOW OF SHOWS at the Emmys, I must admit I am experiencing diminishing returns with it. As I’ve mentioned before, the dynamics of Emmys voting must be interesting. Do you recognize the good ol’ shows that are still trucking along to expectations, or really laud new exciting things? Is sustained, quality longevity more impressive in the TV space? In any event, THE JACK BENNY PROGRAM also maintains a quality longevity by 1957; I think the legendary comedian just has a great delivery. But FATHER KNOWS BEST and THE BOB CUMMINGS SHOW, newer programs than the last two mentioned, don’t skate by on novelty. In fact, they’re the kind of bland 1950s television that modern pop culture equates with everything on the airwaves at the time.

Best Dramatic Anthology Series

• ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS
• PLAYHOUSE 90*
• STUDIO ONE
• CLIMAX!
• HALLMARK HALL OF FAME

Even though PLAYHOUSE 90 is quite remarkable and its achievements are recognized by me at the end of this piece, the show was also simply nominated more times at the 10th Emmys than ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS. But in The Television Academy of 1958’s view or not, AHP probably was the best dramatic anthology series at the time. It had great, snappy teleplays in the half-hour format, thrillers and dramas that, as a whole, still hold up today. PLAYHOUSE 90’s feature-length productions are impressive, and some in particular are more than that, but the whole show doesn’t feel as vital today. These two shows, though, are stronger in the face of STUDIO ONE’s waning quality; it still had its good episodes, but it was no longer the premiere dramatic anthology show it once was. CLIMAX! was always sort of a lower-rent drama show anyways, and that is no different in 1957. I must admit, though, that HALLMARK HALL OF FAME was barely evaluable for this year because not much than a couple few-minute clips are around, from what I can tell.

Best Dramatic Series with Continuing Characters

• MAVERICK
• PERRY MASON
• GUNSMOKE*
• WAGON TRAIN
• LASSIE

The Television Academy distinguished anthology and episodic/serialized drama series at the 10th Emmys, which actually makes sense to me. The two formats do kind of exist on separate planes. However, I find it hard to be effusive for this category. I was surprised to find MAVERICK, a Western I was barely aware of, to be the outstanding nominee here. It has a wit that makes it a more enjoyable watch than the “grittier” GUNSMOKE, but in between the two is the then-uber-popular PERRY MASON. The procedural legal/police/crime show format is inherently a bit frustrating to me, but the simplicity of it as on display for PERRY MASON (like, really, why is this lawyer doing any investigation outside of the courtroom?) is too much. I have to acknowledge the general quality of the program for its time, but it’s not something I could commit much time to, iconic as it is. However, these three shows are in a different class than WAGON TRAIN, a semi-anthology Western, and LASSIE, that classic punching bag for opponents of 1950s “gee willikers” energy.

Best Musical, Variety, Audience Participation or Quiz Series

• THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW
• THE STEVE ALLEN SHOW
• THE DINAH SHORE CHEVY SHOW*
• THE PERRY COMO SHOW
• TONIGHT STARRING JACK PAAR~

Even though this category nominally considers quiz shows, those programs that were once-ubiquitous at the Emmys are snubbed, perhaps a reflection of the “quiz show scandals” developing at the time. Regardless, the category is really just turned over to those musical and variety series. THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW takes the cake for me here because of the historical significance of all of the musical acts that the titular host had on, like Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, and Sam Cooke. Some comedy spots are worth noting, like appearances from the likes of Burns and Allen and a young Johnny Carson. Coming in second place, is THE STEVE ALLEN SHOW, the former host of THE TONIGHT SHOW’s place to participate in various sketches and put on musical numbers. The more comedic bent gives it points over THE DINAH SHORE CHEVY SHOW and THE PERRY COMO SHOW, fine examples of the musical revue format.

Best Public Service Program or Series

• THE BELL SYSTEM SCIENCE SERIES
• OMNIBUS*
• SEE IT NOW
• WIDE WIDE WORLD
• PERSON TO PERSON

When I first sat down to watch THE BELL SYSTEM SCIENCE SERIES, I had forgotten how interested in it I was. That is because legendary director Frank Capra directed the first four of the total nine educational films produced in the series, two of which aired in 1957. They are colorful (literally), creative bits of edutainment, complete with animation and puppets. “The Strange Case of the Cosmic Rays” is an especially impressive television production of its kind, and the whole series is a more timeless work than runner-up OMNIBUS. However, I should mention that I appreciate OMNIBUS’ commitment to bringing the “fine arts” to TV, and an episode with frequent host Leonard Bernstein really enlightened me to the distinctions between “classical” and “modern” music. It is still really educational and thought-provoking today. SEE IT NOW, an in-depth news magazine show hosted by famed broadcaster Edward R. Murrow, offered a cool look at automation, a topic that was apparently as relevant 64 years ago as it is today. WIDE WIDE WORLD covered topics as diverse as a production of OTHELLO and the ongoing Space Race, while PERSON TO PERSON brought Murrow into celebrities’ homes remotely for little 15-minute interviews. These last three nominees are still interesting today, but they feel a little bit more tied to the news of the day and therefore end up feeling a little more disposable.

Best New Program Series of the Year

• LEAVE IT TO BEAVER
• THE SEVEN LIVELY ARTS*
• MAVERICK
• WAGON TRAIN
• TONIGHT STARRING JACK PAAR~

Look, I have a soft, nostalgic spot in my heart for LEAVE IT TO BEAVER, even as it may embody the 1950s “gee willikers” energy that I described before. However, I do think its writing is more clever than that, and I don’t mind slipping into the misleading bliss of light sitcoms from the decade. Still, it was a tough decision to put it over THE SEVEN LIVELY ARTS, which brought a series of films to the air to demonstrate the value of the title’s artforms, a term coined by author Gilbert Seldes. Most notable of its productions was “The Sound of Jazz,” which brought together just a ton of jazz musicians to demonstrate the scope of the art. It’s really cool, and if nothing else, listening to the accompanying soundtrack LP is a good way to get a sense of the program. MAVERICK and WAGON TRAIN have been discussed before, but I should also point out the absence of TONIGHT, which had just begun its Jack Paar reign. As with the time of Allen and the early years of Carson, not much from Paar’s era is still around today, even as THE TONIGHT SHOW has endured as a show business proving ground. It seems that status is slipping more and more as time goes on, however.

Best Single Program of the Year

• “The Comedian” — PLAYHOUSE 90*
• “Helen Morgan” — PLAYHOUSE 90
• THE EDSEL SHOW
• GENERAL MOTORS 50TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW~
• “The Green Pastures” — HALLMARK HALL OF FAME~

PLAYHOUSE 90 was nominated a whole bunch at the 10th Emmys on the strength of two 1957 productions: “The Comedian” and “Helen Morgan.” They were respectively directed by John Frankenheimer and George Roy Hill, Golden Age of Television powerhouses that would go on to have celebrated careers in film as well. “The Comedian” stars Mickey Rooney as an egomaniacal star of a television comedy show, a star who has been said to be an emulation of Milton Berle, among other influences. Rooney is great in the episode, and he benefits from a Rod Serling script. “Helen Morgan,” on the other hand, is steeped a bit too much in the 1950s approach to fictional accounts of real people’s lives. Nevertheless, it’s still a good drama, and much of my “negative” feelings toward it are mostly in comparison to “The Comedian.” For in terms of this category, they are both far ahead of THE EDSEL SHOW, a Bing Crosby-hosted variety special heralding the arrival of Ford’s Edsel line of cars. It’s actually an entertaining time, but a temporary pleasure as opposed to the lasting impact of PLAYHOUSE 90’s two nominated episodes.

Best Continuing Performance (Male) in a Series

• Sid Caesar — CAESAR’S HOUR
• Jack Benny — THE JACK BENNY PROGRAM*
• Steve Allen — THE STEVE ALLEN SHOW
• Perry Como — THE PERRY COMO SHOW
• Jack Paar — TONIGHT STARRING JACK PAAR~

Before I continue, I should explain the distinction of these performing categories. See, The Television Academy of 1958 attempted to break them up into categories where the stars played various characters or some version of themselves, and categories where the stars were acting in a dramatic or comedic capacity. Yes, dramatic and comedic actors were directly competing against each other. However, there are some inconsistencies, such as Lucille Ball or Loretta Young, who were put into the camp of “themselves,” which isn’t correct in my opinion. In any event, I’m comparing these performers as the contemporary Television Academy saw them, and so Sid Caesar takes the win here. His continued virtuosity in sketch comedy just barely tops Jack Benny’s in monologuing and situation comedy. I haven’t been able to put my finger on what exactly Benny’s style is…I might call it “intentionally ineffectual.” But it has to be a cousin of Bob Hope’s. Anyways, the two are riotously funny compared to Steve Allen, who I must make clear is a good host and given good material, but isn’t quite the innate performer like the other two guys are. As for Perry Como, he certainly is a performer, but his musical field isn’t as electrifying to me as the comedy guys.

Best Continuing Performance (Female) in a Series

• Lucille Ball — I LOVE LUCY
• Gracie Allen — THE GEORGE BURNS AND GRACIE ALLEN SHOW
• Loretta Young — THE LORETTA YOUNG SHOW
• Dinah Shore — THE DINAH SHORE CHEVY SHOW*
• Dody Goodman — TONIGHT STARRING JACK PAAR~

1957 was the final year of I LOVE LUCY, although its characters were carried forward into the occasional specials of what would come to be known as THE LUCY-DESI COMEDY HOUR from ‘57–60. Even by the end, as Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz’s marriage was eroding and so too was their energy on screen, Ball was still the funniest person on TV. She deserved a final win for the best show the medium had yet produced, but I suppose that will just have to come from me and my fake retrospection. Ball’s competitor Gracie Allen also faced the end of her show, although in Allen’s case, it was also her retirement from show business. Allen drove her show’s narrative more than Burns did, although it’s hard to say if I like her sitcom mishaps or his meta monologues more, and in any case, she definitely deserves second place recognition here. Loretta Young was still delivering fine dramatic performances on her anthology show, but they don’t feel as timeless as Ball’s or Allen’s, and Dinah Shore falls in the same camp as Como in the above category.

Best Continuing Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Dramatic or Comedy Series

• Phil Silvers — THE PHIL SILVERS SHOW
• James Arness — GUNSMOKE
• Danny Thomas — THE DANNY THOMAS SHOW
• Robert Young — FATHER KNOWS BEST*
• Bob Cummings — THE BOB CUMMINGS SHOW

It feels strange to compare Phil Silvers and James Arness, and perhaps stranger still that the latter is the only dramatic representative in this category. Nevertheless, Silvers’ conman Bilko is a great character, and Silvers gives him funny mannerisms and a great voice. Arness leads GUNSMOKE admirably, while Danny Thomas, Robert Young, and Bob Cummings lead their shows with varying degrees of patriarchal charm.

Best Continuing Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Dramatic or Comedy Series

• Ida Lupino — MR. ADAMS AND EVE
• Eve Arden — THE EVE ARDEN SHOW
• Jane Wyatt — FATHER KNOWS BEST*
• Jan Clayton — LASSIE
• Spring Byington — DECEMBER BRIDE~

Ida Lupino is one of the greatest actresses and most important filmmakers of all time, so I feel her talents were a bit wasted on the sitcom MR. ADAMS AND EVE. However, in playing a movie star alongside her real husband Howard Duff, Lupino made a bunch of great choices that served to lampoon movie stardom more effectively than the domestic scripts would necessarily allow. I was also impressed by Eve Arden on her titular show, who was just coming off of the end another sitcom, OUR MISS BROOKS (1952–56). She plays a similar, sarcastic character, but that doesn’t make her jabs any less entertaining. Jane Wyatt and Jan Clayton play admirable matriarchs on their respective shows, but they honestly aren’t given much outstanding material to work with.

Best Continuing Supporting Performance by an Actor in a Dramatic or Comedy Series

• Carl Reiner — CAESAR’S HOUR*
• William Frawley — I LOVE LUCY
• Paul Ford — THE PHIL SILVERS SHOW
• Louis Nye — THE STEVE ALLEN SHOW
• Dennis Weaver — GUNSMOKE

Maybe it’s just because I’m also watching a lot of THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW (1961–66) right now, but Carl Reiner is really funny, man. Controversial opinion, I know. I love when he plays snide sidekicks on CAESAR’S HOUR, and he gets to do that a lot. The range is more considerable than William Frawley’s cantankerous Fred Mertz on I LOVE LUCY, but the character is still funny and likable. Paul Ford, Louis Nye, and Dennis Weaver are all in toss-up range, but as I’ve found throughout this Emmys journey so far, comedy television from yesteryear holds up better today.

Best Continuing Supporting Performance by an Actress in a Dramatic or Comedy Series

• Vivian Vance — I LOVE LUCY
• Pat Carroll — CAESAR’S HOUR
• Ann B. Davis — THE BOB CUMMINGS SHOW*
• Verna Felton — DECEMBER BRIDE~
• Marion Lorne — SALLY~

This is an interesting time to reflect on the fact that Desi Arnaz was the only member of the main cast of I LOVE LUCY to not be nominated for an Emmy personally throughout the show’s run. Was it racism? Maybe, probably, I don’t know. He also was the weakest actor of the four! In any event, Vivian Vance closed out the run with her customary support of Lucille Ball’s craziness. Pat Carroll gave us some great characters on CAESAR’S HOUR, but the appeal of Vance’s Ethel Mertz is more lasting, while Ann B. Davis on THE BOB CUMMINGS SHOW is, unfortunately, kind of forgettable.

Actor — Best Single Performance — Lead or Support

• Mickey Rooney — “The Comedian” (PLAYHOUSE 90)
• Peter Ustinov — “The Life of Samuel Johnson” (OMNIBUS)*~
• Lee J. Cobb — “No Deadly Medicine” (STUDIO ONE)~
• David Wayne — “Heartbeat” (SUSPICION)~
• Ed Wynn — “On Borrowed Time” (HALLMARK HALL OF FAME)~

Although Mickey Rooney’s role in “The Comedian” is the only available one for this category, it is not cheapened at all. Rooney gives the kind of performance that redefines a career. His rage and controlling guile is channeled really well through some key closeups.

Actress — Best Single Performance — Lead or Support

• Julie Andrews — CINDERELLA
• Polly Bergen — “Helen Morgan” (PLAYHOUSE 90)*
• Helen Hayes — “Mrs. Gilling and the Skyscraper” (THE ALCOA HOUR)~
• Piper Laurie — “The Deaf Heart” (STUDIO ONE)~
• Teresa Wright — “The Miracle Worker” (PLAYHOUSE 90)~

Polly Bergen is OK as the title character/real person of “Helen Morgan,” but Julie Andrews literally sings out from CINDERELLA. The television musical production from Rodgers & Hammerstein was the most watched thing, ever, on TV up to that point. It’s not quite that incredible, but it’s a fun and lively show, and Andrews sings beautifully and gives her good, sympathetic take on the fairytale heroine.

Best Direction, Half Hour or Less

• Robert Stevens — “The Glass Eye” (ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS)*
• Sheldon Leonard — THE DANNY THOMAS SHOW
• Peter Tewksbury — FATHER KNOWS BEST
• Clark Jones — THE PATRICE MUNSEL SHOW
• Bill Hobin — YOUR HIT PARADE~

“The Glass Eye” is one of the more memorable episodes of ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS from across its run, and it involves a ventriloquist and his dummy. Robert Stevens directs the episode with more horror than may have been extracted from the script by someone else. It is so much more remarkable than the relatively invisible sitcom direction coming from Sheldon Leonard on THE DANNY THOMAS SHOW or Peter Tewksbury on FATHER KNOWS BEST, or the musical direction of Clark Jones on THE PATRICE MUNSEL SHOW, that Stevens is the clear winner.

Best Direction, One Hour or More

• John Frankenheimer — “The Comedian” (PLAYHOUSE 90)
• George Roy Hill — “Helen Morgan” (PLAYHOUSE 90)
• Bob Banner — THE DINAH SHORE CHEVY SHOW*
• George Schaefer — HALLMARK HALL OF FAME~
• Arthur Penn — “The Miracle Worker” (PLAYHOUSE 90)~

As with the previous category, I don’t really know how to compare the cinematic imagery of Frankenheimer and Hill’s direction on their respective episodes of PLAYHOUSE 90 to the variety show direction of Bob Banner on THE DINAH SHORE CHEVY SHOW. The latter just can’t even come close, and besides being better in other respects as well, “The Comedian” beats out “Helen Morgan” with those Rooney closeups I mentioned earlier, as well as some clever spins around the soundstage on which his egomaniac works.

Best Teleplay Writing, Half Hour or Less

• Joe Connelly, Bob Mosher — “Beaver Gets Spelled” (LEAVE IT TO BEAVER)
• John Meston — “Born to Hang” (GUNSMOKE)
• Roswell Rogers — “Margaret Hires a Gardener” (FATHER KNOWS BEST)
• Paul Monash — “The Lonely Wizard” (SCHLITZ PLAYHOUSE OF STARS)*~
• Morton Wishengrad — “A Chassidic Tale” (FRONTIERS OF FAITH)~

I would say “Beaver Gets Spelled” is one of the more famous episodes of LEAVE IT TO BEAVER (and it was the show’s first), and its central misunderstanding is a great epitome of children’s logic. Today, it’s a delightful reprieve compared to the seriousness of GUNSMOKE’s “Born to Hang” or the racism of FATHER KNOWS BEST’s “Margaret Hires a Gardener.”

Best Teleplay Writing, One Hour or More

• Rod Serling — “The Comedian” (PLAYHOUSE 90)*
• Marc Connelly — “The Green Pastures” (HALLMARK HALL OF FAME)~
• William Gibson — “The Miracle Worker” (PLAYHOUSE 90)~
• Arthur Hailey — “No Deadly Medicine” (STUDIO ONE)~
• James Lee — “The Life of Samuel Johnson” (OMNIBUS)~

Rod Serling hadn’t yet created THE TWILIGHT ZONE, but by 1957, he was already on his way to being enshrined as one of the best television writers of his time. “The Comedian” is great not only because of Rooney’s performance or Frankenheimer’s direction, but also because of Serling’s understanding of the egomania that can drive a star. He twists it a bit further than you might expect, but he makes it believable. Serling fuses the clown with the psychopath, and it’s really quite remarkable.

Best Comedy Writing

• Billy Friedberg, Nat Hiken, Coleman Jacoby, Arnold Rosen, A.J. Russell, Terry Ryan, Phil Sharp, Tony Webster, Sydney Zelinka — THE PHIL SILVERS SHOW*
• Gary Belkin, Mel Brooks, Larry Gelbart, Sheldon Keller, Neil Simon, Michael Stewart, Mel Tolkin — CAESAR’S HOUR
• George Balzer, Hal Goldman, Al Gordon, Sam Perrin — THE JACK BENNY PROGRAM
• Roswell Rogers, Paul West — FATHER KNOWS BEST
• Ernie Kovacs — THE ERNIE KOVACS SHOW~

The various, silly schemes Bilko and friends get up to mark THE PHIL SILVERS SHOW as the outstanding display of comedy writing. The CAESAR’S HOUR writers cooked up numerous funny sketches, but for some reason, the repetition of THE PHIL SILVERS SHOW doesn’t grate and instead represents a sort of consistency. THE JACK BENNY PROGRAM is written well, but as I’ve observed before, a lot of its appeal just comes from the way its star delivers that writing. Finally, FATHER KNOWS BEST never fails to disappoint me; it’s not a terrible show, but certainly not one to represent the best in television, of any year.

I wrote in my 9th Emmys Evaluated piece that the 1957 ceremony felt like some kind of an end of an era, but I think that is especially true of 1958’s. I LOVE LUCY was done, THE GEORGE BURNS AND GRACIE ALLEN SHOW was essentially over, and many of the other reliable nominees were starting to fade. I agreed with The Television Academy of 1958 only six out of 20 times, a 30 percent matchup; perhaps this is a sign that as TV was broadening, my modern tastes won’t be as narrowly able to align with a limited batch of “outstanding” productions of the year. Still, I did think PLAYHOUSE 90 was the best show of the year, so far as Emmys categories go, with four wins. “The Comedian” may not be as strong as “Requiem for a Heavyweight,” but the depth of the entire series exceeded most anything else in the dramatic field from the year.