American Playhouse is an American anthology television series periodically broadcast by Public Broadcasting Service (PBS).
Overview
It premiered on January 12, 1982, with The Shady Hill Kidnapping, written and narrated by John Cheever and directed by Paul Bogart. Its final broadcast, In the Wings: Angels in America on Broadway, a rerun of a behind-the-scenes look at Tony Kushner's award-winning play in two parts, aired on January 1, 1994.
The series proved to be the springboard for the careers of numerous performers, including David Marshall Grant, Laura Linney, A Martinez, Conchata Ferrell, Eric Roberts, Lynne Thigpen, John Malkovich, Peter Riegert, Lupe Ontiveros, Ben Stiller, and Megan Mullally.
As part of WGBH's development of the Descriptive Video Service (DVS), American Playhouse was one of the first U.S. television programs to air with audio description for the visually impaired on the Secondary audio program (SAP). After trialing the system during previous seasons, the 1990 season was the first to offer it as part of their wider rollout of DVS, initially through 32 member stations.
Episodes
Season 1 (1982)
Season 2 (1983)
Season 3 (1984)
Season 4 (1984–1985)
Season 5 (1986)
Season 6 (1987)
Season 7 (1988)
Season 8 (1989)
Season 9 (1990)
Season 10 (1991)
Season 11 (1992–1993)
Season 12 (1994)
Season 13 (1995–1996)
Notable cast
Tom Aldredge
Anne Bancroft
Christine Baranski
Claire Bloom
Jacques Boudet
Kenneth Branagh
Kate Burton
Jeff Daniels
Pedro De Pool
Ruby Dee
Matt Dillon
Olympia Dukakis
Megan Follows
Matt Frewer
Lillian Gish
Joanna Gleason
Danny Glover
Annie Golden
Louis Gossett Jr. George Grizzard Ed Harris Rosemary Harris Edward Herrmann Helen Hunt Glenda Jackson James Earl Jones Raul Julia Swoosie Kurtz Cloris Leachman John Malkovich Butterfly McQueen Rita Moreno Paul Newman Geraldine Page Sarah Jessica Parker Estelle Parsons Mandy Patinkin Bernadette Peters Vanessa Redgrave Keanu Reeves Lee Remick Jason Robards Esther Rolle Liliane Rovère Susan Sarandon Sylvia Sidney Jean Simmons Gary Sinise Anna Deavere Smith Elaine Stritch Richard Thomas Anne Twomey Dick Van Dyke Chuck Wagner Christopher Walken Eli Wallach Robert Westenberg Lynn Whitfield Paul Winfield Alfre Woodard Chip Zien
Accolades
Some of the productions won multiple Emmys: one from Robert Morse in Tru, Outstanding Children's Program for Displaced Person and technical achievements for The Meeting alongside many nominations.
Academy Award recognitions included El Norte'''s nomination for Best Original Screenplay,Robert Benton and Peter Shaffer winning Writing Oscars®-Oscars on YouTube a Best Actress nod for Jane Alexander in TestamentShirley MacLaine Wins Best Actress: 1984 Oscars and a Best Actor nod for Edward James Olmos in Stand and Deliver.Dustin Hoffman Wins Best Actor: 1989 Oscars
Golden Globe recognitions included 3 for Stand and Deliver (two for Olmos (Leading Actor) and Diamond Phillips (Supporting Actor) and one for Best Motion Picture - Drama).American Playhouse also won a Peabody Award in 1990.
Legacy
Episodes like Nothing But a Man, The Thin Blue Line, El Norte and Stand and Deliver were each inducted into the National Film Registry.Overdrawn at the Memory Bank was featured as an episode of the cult science fiction series Mystery Science Theater 3000''.