Explore TV Series

Brave Eagle is a 26-episode half-hour western television series which aired on CBS from September 28, 1955, to March 14, 1956, with rebroadcasts continuing until June 6. Keith Larsen, who was of Norwegian descent, starred as Brave Eagle, a peaceful young Cheyenne chief. The program was unconventional in that it ⁕ reflects the Native American viewpoint in the settlement of the American West and ⁕ was the first series to feature an American Indian as a lead character. Larsen's co-stars were Kim Winona, a Sioux Indian, as Morning Star, Brave Eagle's romantic interest; Anthony Numkena of Arizona, a Hopi Indian then using the stage name Keena Nomkeena, appeared as Keena, the adopted son of Brave Eagle; Pat Hogan as Black Cloud, and Bert Wheeler of the comedy team Wheeler & Woolsey, as the halfbreed Smokey Joe, full of tribal tall tales but accompanying wisdom. The episodes center upon routine activities among the Cheyenne, clashes with other tribes, attempts to prevent war, encroachment from white settlers, racial prejudice, and a threat of smallpox.

It's Always Jan is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from September 10, 1955 to April 28, 1956. The series stars Janis Paige as single mother 10-year old daughter and night club singer Jan Stewart.

The $64,000 Question is an American game show broadcast from 1955–1958, which became embroiled in the scandals involving TV quiz shows of the day. The $64,000 Challenge was its popular spin-off show.

Zeit im Bild (ZIB in the logo, otherwise also ZiB) has been the name for the nationally and internationally oriented television news programs of the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF) since December 1955.

A six-part British television travel series written, directed, and presented by Orson Welles for ITV in 1955. Filmed entirely in Europe, the series follows Welles through Vienna, the Basque Country, Madrid, Paris’s Saint-Germain-des-Prés, and London’s Chelsea Pensioners, blending travelogue, cultural portraiture, and personal essay. Moving between documentary observation and reflective commentary, the episodes combine interviews, local history, and Welles’s distinctive narration into a series that functions as both travel film and cinematic essay.

A series of three minute strange tales narrated by Peter Williams.

Orson Welles' Sketch Book is a series of six short television commentaries by Orson Welles for the BBC in 1955. Written and directed by Welles, the 15-minute episodes present the filmmaker's commentaries on a range of subjects. Welles frequently draws from his own experiences and often illustrates the episodes with his own sketches.

First Performance is a Canadian dramatic television series which aired on CBC Television from 1956 to 1958.

The Lawrence Welk Show is an American televised musical variety show hosted by big band leader Lawrence Welk. The series aired locally in Los Angeles for four years, then nationally for another 27½ years via the ABC network and first-run syndication. In the years since first-run syndication ended, The Lawrence Welk Show has continued to reach new audiences through repeat episodes, broadcast in the United States by Public Broadcasting Service stations. These airings incorporate an original program—usually, a color broadcast from 1965 through 1982—in its entirety. In place of the commercials, newer performance and interview clips from the original stars and/or a family member of the performers are included; these clips are occasionally updated.

Steve Donovan, Western Marshal is an American Western series that aired in syndication from September 1955, to June 1956. The series stars Douglas Kennedy as Marshal Steve Donovan and Eddy Waller as his sidekick, Rusty Lee. The series, set in Wyoming, was also broadcast under the title Western Marshal.

Norby is an American sitcom television series that aired from January 5 until April 6, 1955 on NBC in color. RCA's color system wasn't used until the fall of 1954. This is the first color show that I'm aware of.

Sketch comedy starring Eddie Cantor as host

Star Tonight, an American television anthology series, aired on ABC from February 1955 to August 1956.

Professional Father is a 1955 CBS situation comedy television series starring Stephen Dunne as Dr. Tom Wilson, a child psychologist successful with his patients but less than effective with his own family. Barbara Billingsley, two years before she was cast as the concerned mother in Leave It to Beaver, played Tom's wife, Helen Wilson.Beverly Washburn, later in the Walt Disney film Old Yeller and in CBS's The New Loretta Young Show, starred as daughter Kathryn "Kit" Wilson. Ted Marc portrayed the son, Tom Wilson, Jr., or "Twig", who played for a baseball team called "The Beavers", ironic in view of Billingsley's later June Cleaver role. Billingsley's characters on both Professional Father and Leave It to Beaver had an aunt named Martha. Phyllis Coates and Joseph Kearns played the neighbors, Madge and Fred Allen. Ann O'Neal starred as the housekeeper "Nana", and Arthur Q. Bryan played Mr. Boggs, the handyman. The series was created and produced by Harry Kronman, directed by Sherman Marks, and partly written by Bob Schiller. In the May 14 episode, Larry J. Blake appeared as a neighbor, Donald Peterson, whom Dr. Wilson invites on a fishing trip. Blake had the distinction of having been the first actor to portray Adolf Hitler in a film.

The investigations of two French detectives. Filmed in Paris, the series is also known as `World Crime Hunt.'

Life with the Lyons is a British radio and television domestic sitcom dating from the 1950s.

Homer Bell, an elected judge/practicing attorney and widower, looks after his orphaned niece Casey with the help of his housekeeper Maude.

While working as a staff writer on The Red Skelton Show, local Los Angeles television comedian Carson filled in as host when Skelton was injured during a show rehearsal. As a result of Carson’s performance, CBS created the primetime variety program: The Johnny Carson Show, a traditional potpourri of comedy, music, dance, skits and monologues. The short-lived 1955-56 series served as a precursor of what would come later for Carson, planting the seeds for sketches he would perform on the later The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson such as "Mighty Carson Art Players".

St. Ives was a television mini-series broadcast in 1955. Based on the novel of the same name, it aired on the BBC for a total of six 30-minute episodes. Cast included William Russell, Noelle Middleton, and Francis Matthews. The most notable aspect of the production is that, unlike many BBC series of the era, the episodes still exist. Later BBC television versions of the story aired in 1960 and 1967, but are believed to have been wiped.

Celebrity Playhouse is an American drama series that aired on NBC from September 1955, to June 1956.

William Thompson, an American intelligence agent, goes on missions deep behind enemy lines to gather information about threats to American security and protect American diplomats abroad.

Damon Runyon Theater is an American television program that presented dramatized versions of Damon Runyon's short stories. Hosted by Donald Woods, the program, sponsored by Anheuser-Busch's Budweiser beer, aired for a total of 39 episodes on CBS from April 1955 through February 1956.

Make the Connection is an American game show, sponsored by Borden, that ran on Thursday nights from July 7 to September 29, 1955 on NBC. Originally hosted by Jim McKay, he was replaced after the first four episodes by future Match Game host Gene Rayburn for the final nine episodes. The series was a Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Production, and as such it had many things in common with the other panel shows developed by the company. Like I've Got a Secret, there were four celebrity panelists who were each given a timed period in which to ask questions. Each panelist that was stumped earned the contestants money. Betty White made one of her earliest game show appearances as a panelist on the series. White would later be a frequent panelist on every version of the Rayburn-hosted Match Game.

The Big Surprise is a television quiz show broadcast in the United States by NBC from October 8, 1955 to June 9, 1956 and from September 18, 1956 to April 2, 1957. It was hastily created by NBC in response to the overwhelming ratings success of The $64,000 Question, which had premiered on CBS in Summer 1955 and almost instantly became a smash hit. The Big Surprise offered a grand prize of $100,000. The series was originally hosted by game-show entrepreneur Jack Barry through March 3, 1956, after which he was replaced by journalist Mike Wallace for the rest of the run.

Sam and Friends was an early live-action/puppet television show created by puppeteer Jim Henson and his eventual wife Jane. It was taped and aired locally in Washington, D.C. on WRC-TV in black-and-white, and later, color on weekdays from May 9, 1955 to December 15, 1961.

Captain Z-Ro is an American children's television show that ran locally on KRON in San Francisco beginning in November 1951, and was later nationally syndicated in the United States, ending its run of original episodes on June 10, 1956. It remained in syndication until 1960. Modeled on the science fiction space operas popular at the time, it featured sets and costumes emulating the futuristic designs of Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon.

New Orleans PD

Stage 7 is the title of a United States TV drama anthology series that aired in 1955. This program premiered in December 1954 with the title Your Favorite Playhouse with all episodes being repeats from other series. The program's 25 episodes showcased the talents of actors and actresses such as Charles Bronson, Edmond O'Brien, Gene Barry, Phyllis Coates, Frances Rafferty, Macdonald Carey, and Phyllis Thaxter. Some directing was done by Quinn Martin.

It's Alec Templeton Time was an early American television program broadcast on the now defunct DuMont Television Network. The series ran during the summer of 1955. It was a musical program hosted by blind satirist and musician Alec Templeton. The program, produced and distributed by DuMont, aired on Friday nights on most DuMont affiliates. It's Alec Templeton Time has the distinction of being one of the last programs to air on the dying DuMont Television Network, along with Have a Heart, What's the Story and Boxing From St. Nicholas Arena. The struggling network was already beginning to shut down network operations before It's Alec Templeton Time even aired its first episode, and Paramount Pictures would take control of DuMont during the summer; as a result, the series' run was brief, and did not last past the summer months.

An early series of individual plays that ran on ITV from 1955-1956

Wide Wide World was a 90-minute documentary series telecast live on NBC on Sunday afternoons at 4pm Eastern. Conceived by network head Pat Weaver and hosted by Dave Garroway, Wide Wide World was introduced on the Producers' Showcase series on June 27, 1955. The premiere episode, featuring entertainment from the US, Canada and Mexico, was the first international North American telecast in the history of the medium. It returned in the fall as a regular Sunday series, telecast from October 16, 1955 to June 8, 1958. The program was sponsored by General Motors and Barry Wood was the executive producer. In March 1956, Time magazine reported that it was the highest-rated daytime show on television.

Ozark Jubilee is the first U.S. network television program to feature country music's top stars, and featured performers located in Springfield, Missouri which has long emulated Nashville, Tennessee as a center of American country music. The weekly live stage show premiered on ABC-TV on January 22, 1955, was renamed Country Music Jubilee on July 6, 1957, and was finally named Jubilee USA on August 2, 1958. Originating "from the heart of the Ozarks," the Saturday night variety series helped popularize country music in America's cities and suburbs, drawing more than nine million viewers. The ABC Radio version was heard by millions more starting in August 1954. A typical program included a mix of vocal and instrumental performances, comedy routines, square dancing and an occasional novelty act. The host was Red Foley, the nation's top country music personality. Big names such as Patsy Cline, Eddy Arnold, Johnny Cash and Faron Young were interspersed with a regular cast, including a group of young talent the Jubilee brought to national fame: 11-year-old Brenda Lee, Porter Wagoner, Wanda Jackson, Sonny James, Jean Shepard and The Browns. Other featured cast members were Webb Pierce, Bobby Lord, Leroy Van Dyke, Norma Jean and Carl Smith.

Musical Chairs was a short-lived NBC game show that ran from July 9 to September 17, 1955; The host was Bill Leyden and the series featured voice actor Mel Blanc, composer Johnny Mercer, and orchestra leader Bobby Troup as regular panelists. Troup's band, the Troup Group, provided the music for the series, often with the assistance of the Cheerleaders singing group or members of the panel itself. The show was a summer replacement series on NBC after a successful two-year run in Los Angeles.