Westinghouse Preview Theatre

Not to be confused with Westinghouse Playhouse.

Westinghouse Preview Theatre is an American anthology television series that aired on NBC in the summer of 1961 The 30-minute episodes consisted of unsold television pilots for situation comedies and one musical program.

Westinghouse Preview Theatre
Genre	Anthology series
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	11
Production
Running time	30 minutes
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	July 14 (1961-07-14) – September 22, 1961 (1961-09-22)

Background

The practice of television executives of ordering dozens of pilots for proposed television series each year – far more than their networks could possibly broadcast as series – created a sizable body of unsold pilots that had never aired.^[1] Packaging these unsold pilots in anthology series and airing them during the summer provided television networks with a way of both providing fresh programming during the summer rerun season and recouping at least some of the expense of producing them.^[1] Westinghouse Preview Theatre was one of these series, aired by NBC in the summer of 1961.^[1] It consisted of 10 unsold pilots for situation comedies and one musical program.^[2]

Broadcast history

Westinghouse Preview Theatre ran for 11 episodes over the course of 11 consecutive weeks in the summer of 1961, airing on NBC from 9:30 to 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday evenings.^[1][2] It premiered on July 14,^[1][2] and its last episode aired on September 22.^[2]

Episodes

SOURCES ^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]}

No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	"Five's a Family"	Unknown	Unknown	July 14, 1961 (1961-07-14)
A retired detective joins his son, who also is a detective, in the hunt for an arsonist. Starring Joe E. Brown, Dick Foran, and Petite Michel.
2	"Harry's Business"	Unknown	Unknown	July 21, 1961 (1961-07-21)
A small-town pharmacist in Kansas has his first date with a woman after an automobile accident strands her in his community. Starring Ray Walston and Elena Verdugo.
3	"The McGonigle"	Ralph Murphy	Dick Chevillat, Dan Gallery, & Ray Singer	July 28, 1961 (1961-07-28)
Two United States Navy sailors try to help a USO entertainer meet up with her husband so that they can have a honeymoon. Starring Mickey Shaughnessy, Tom D'Andrea, Frank Gerstle, Wally Cassell, Charlie Picerni, Norman Grabowski, Mark Damon, and Diane Jergens.
4	"I Married a Dog"	Unknown	Phil Rapp	August 4, 1961 (1961-08-04)
After a man marries in haste, he discovers that his new wife has a clever pet poodle named Jonah that performs in movies, and that he must compete with the dog for her attention. Jonah takes an immediate dislike to his owner's new husband, and tries to convince other humans that the man is trying to kill him by limping whenever other people are around and by throwing himself into a bathtub. Starring Hal March.
5	"Innocent Jones"	Unknown	Unknown	August 11, 1961 (1961-08-11)
A spoof of international adventure dramas in which the "hero" — a free-lancer writer who travels the world in search of stories — is really much more of a coward, as becomes evident when he lets a woman get him involved with a group of notorious counterfeiters . Starring Chris Warfield and Merry Anders.
6	"Shore Leave"	Unknown	Unknown	August 18, 1961 (1961-08-18)
Two trouble-prone sailors in the peacetime United States Navy try to serve out their enlistments without getting in too much trouble for their antics. Starring Paul Gilbert and Peter Marshall.
7	"Happily Ever After"	Norman Z. McLeod	John L. Greene & Philip Shuken	August 25, 1961 (1961-08-25)
Two families face the challenge of living under one roof after a newlywed couple that experiences a financial setback is forced to move in with the bride's parents. Starring Olive Sturges, John Armstrong, Catherine McLeod, Walter Coy, Rita Lynn, Cheryl Holdridge, Steven Terrell, Mary Ellen Terry, Ned Weaver, Olan Soule, and Michael Ross.
8	"The Jan Clayton Show"	Unknown	Unknown	September 1, 1961 (1961-09-01)
A widow who is a dedicated professor of English studies in a small college town in the Midwestern United States and often goes out of her way to help her students falls in love with a man during her summer vacation. Starring Jan Clayton and Tom Helmore.
9	"Picture Window"	Rod Amateau	Unknown	September 8, 1961 (1961-09-08)
A satirical look at suburban life through the eyes of a happily married couple. Starring Mary LaRoche and Charles Stewart.
10	"The Benny Goodman Show"	Unknown	Unknown	September 15, 1961 (1961-09-15)
A performance of swing music by Benny Goodman and his band, filmed in Anaheim, California. The only episode of Westinghouse Preview Theatre that was not the unsold pilot for a situation comedy.
11	"Heave Ho Harrigan"	Unknown	Unknown	September 22, 1961 (1961-09-22)
After a brief and disastrous tour of duty as a signalman aboard an aircraft carrier, a United States Navy seaman receives a new assignment from his commanding officer, which is to give three visiting Soviet scientists a tour of a submarine — and he accidentally kidnaps one of them. Starring Myron McCormick, Darryl Hickman, and Allyn Joslyn.

References

Citations

1. "UNSOLD PILOTS ON TELEVISION, 1956–1966". tvobscurities.com. Television Obscurities. 15 August 2019. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
2. Brooks & Marsh, p. 1120. sfn error: no target: CITEREFBrooks_&_Marsh (help)
3. "Television Programs," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 14, 1961, p. 29.
4. "TV Key Previews," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 21, 1961, p. 31.
5. "Your Weekly TV Guide," Williamson Daily News, July 22, 1961, p. 3.
6. Schenectady Gazette, July 11, 1964, p. 18.
7. Schenectady Gazette, July 18, 1964, p. 18.
8. "TV Scout Preview," St. Petersburg Times, August 4, 1961, p. 12-B.
9. "Sunday TV," St. Joseph News-Press, August 5, 1961, pp. 6–7.
10. "TV Scout Preview," St. Petersburg Times, August 11, 1961, p. 10-D.
11. "TV Programs for Week of Aug. 27 – Sep. 2," Lakeland Ledger, August 27, 1961, unpaginated.
12. "Film clips from Westinghouse Preview Theatre: The Benny Goodman Show". nmaahc.si.edu. National Museum of African American History and Culture. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
13. "Windsor, District Television Listings," The Windsor Star, September 22, 1961, p. 19.
14. "TV Program Notes," The Lewiston Daily Sun, September 22, 1961, unpaginated.
15. Terrace 2019, pp. 96, 159, 191, 224. sfn error: no target: CITEREFTerrace_2019 (help)
16. Terrace 2014, p. 3922. sfn error: no target: CITEREFTerrace_2014 (help)

Bibliography

• Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle (1995). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows (Sixth ed.). New York City: Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-345-39736-3.
• Terrace, Vincent (2014). Encyclopedia of Television Shows 1925–2010 Volume I, Second Edition. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-1-4766-3810-2.
• Terrace, Vincent (2019). Encyclopedia of Television Pilots: 2,470 Films Broadcast 1937–2019, Second Edition. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-1-4766-3810-2.

External links

• Westinghouse Preview Theatre at IMDb