Vacation Playhouse

Vacation Playhouse
Created by	Richard Michaels
Directed by	Hy Averback Richard Crenna Jack Donohue Claudio Guzmán Jerry Hopper Fletcher Markle Norman Z. McLeod Gene Reynolds Barry Shear Don Taylor Richard Whorf Don Weis
Starring	(see below)
Composer(s)	Jerry Fielding
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	5
No. of episodes	50
Production
Executive producer(s)	Warren Lewis William Dozier
Producer(s)	Hal Kanter Arthur Julian Jack Donohue Stanley Shpetner Edward H. Feldman Jim McGinn
Editor(s)	Bill Heath Robert L. Swanson
Location(s)	Desilu Studios CBS Television City
Running time	30 minutes
Production company(s)	Bing Crosby Productions Desilu Productions Four Star Television Universal Television
Release
Original network	CBS
Original release	July 22, 1963 – August 21, 1967

Vacation Playhouse was an American comedy and drama which was broadcast during the Summer months on CBS from July 22, 1963–August 21, 1967. The series aired fifty episodes.^[1]

Premise

Vacation Playhouse premiered on Monday, July 22, 1963 on CBS. The show was aired as a Summer replacement for CBS's popular sitcom The Lucy Show which starred Lucille Ball.

The concept of the series was the showing of unaired and unsold television pilots that did not make the television lineup for CBS. The show was successful during its first few seasons due to the fact that the show's concept, airing unsold and unaired television pilots, was a popular concept in the 1960s. But during its last two seasons on the air, the series did find some trouble due to the fact that the series were running out of pilots to air and, in their 4th season, they began airing repeats from the three seasons prior. During its 1966 summer run, the series aired eights new pilots and two repeats and during its last year airing five new pilots and four repeats.

The series aired its final episode on Monday, August 21, 1967 finishing its run with four years, five seasons, and fifty episodes.^[2][3]

Cast

Since the series was a compilation of unsold pilots, the series saw many characters. This section is a list of the stars of the five seasons that the series aired.

Production notes

The series was directed by actors Don Taylor, and Richard Crenna and television producer/director Jack Donohue. The series was produced by producers Hal Kanter, Arthur Julian and Donohue.

The series was filmed alternatively between the Desilu Studios and Television City. The series was also produced with the association of Bing Crosby Productions, Desilu Productions, Four Star Television, and Universal Television.^[4]

Broadcast history

Vacation Playhouse aired on Mondays from 8:30-9PM during its first and second seasons as a Summer replacement for The Lucy Show. During its third season, (1965), the series aired on Friday nights from 9:30-10PM as a Summer replacement for Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.. It returned to its regular time on Monday nights in 1966 and remained there for the rest of its run.

Episodes

Season	Episodes	Season Premiere	Season Finale
1	10	July 22, 1963	September 23, 1963
2	14	June 15, 1964	September 14, 1964
3	12	June 20, 1965	September 5, 1965
4	9	July 4, 1966	September 5, 1966
5	5	July 3, 1967	August 21, 1967

Season 1

• Love Affair For Just Three - July 22, 1963
• Three Wishes - July 29, 1963
• Hide and Seek - August 5, 1963
• Mickey and the Contessa - August 12, 1963
• The Big Brain - August 19, 1963
• Swingin' Together - August 26, 1963
• All About Barbara - September 2, 1963
• Hooray for Love - September 9, 1963
• Come A-Runnin' - September 16, 1963
• Maggie Brown - September 23, 1963

Season 2

• Hey Teacher - June 15, 1964
• Hooray for Hollywood - June 22, 1964
• Papa G.I. - June 29, 1964
• I and Claude - July 6, 1964
• He's All Yours - July 20, 1964
• Love is a Lion's Roar - July 27, 1964
• At Your Service - August 3, 1964
• The Graduation Dress - August 10, 1964
• The First Hundred Years - August 17, 1964
• My Darling Judge - August 31, 1964
• The Bean Show - September 7, 1964
• The Ivy League - September 14, 1964

Season 3

• Sybil - June 20, 1965
• Alec Tate - June 27, 1965
• The Barbara Rush Show - July 4, 1965
• Patrick Stone - July 11, 1965
• Starr - July 18, 1965
• The Brave Duke - July 25, 1965
• Luke and the Tenderfoot Part I - August 1, 1965
• Luke and the Tenderfoot Part II - August 8, 1965
• Coogan's Reward - August 15, 1965
• Three on an Island - August 22, 1965
• Cap'n Ahab - August 29, 1965
• Down Home - September 5, 1965

Season 4

• Hey Teacher - July 4, 1966
• The Good Old Days - July 11, 1966
• Frank Merriwell - July 25, 1966
• Where's There Smokey - August 1, 1966
• My Lucky Penny - August 8, 1966
• The Hoofer - August 15, 1966
• My Son, the Doctor - August 22, 1966
• The Two of Us - August 29, 1966
• Off We Go! - September 5, 1966

Season 5

• You're Only Young Twice - July 3, 1967
• My Boy Google - July 24, 1967
• Alfred of the Amazon - July 31, 1967
• Heaven Help Us - August 7, 1967
• The Jones Boys - August 14, 1967

^[5][6]

References

1. "Vacation Playhouse (1963-1967)". www.imdb.com. Retrieved October 9, 2014.
2. "Status Guide - "Vacation Playhouse"". www.tvobscurities.com. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
3. "Vacation Playhouse CBS (ended 1967)". www.tv.com. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
4. "Vacation Playhouse (1963) Crew". tv.famousfix.com. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
5. "Vacation Playhouse Episode Guide". www.tv.com. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
6. "Vacation Playhouse (1963-67)". ctva.biz. Retrieved October 12, 2014.

External links

• Vacation Playhouse at the Internet Movie Database
• Vacation Playhouse at TV.com