Hallmark Hall of Fame
Some amazing productions have been featured on the longest-running prime time series on TV. Uploaded by mytvlog.blogspot.com.
Christmas Eve, 1951. A few privileged people gathered around a box in their living room called a “television” and saw the initial live production of Gian Carlo Menotti’s opera Amahl and the Night Visitors. They were watching the initial production of the Hallmark Hall of Fame (sponsored by Hallmark Cards, natch), a series that continues to this day, the longest-running prime time show in television history.
Glenn Close and Christopher Walken in Sarah, Plain and Tall. Uploaded by sasstrology.com.
Through the years, some great actors and some wonderful productions have been on Hallmark Hall of Fame. In the early years, many Shakespeare productions (abridged to fit on TV, alas), and later, classics like My Name is Bill W. (1989) with James Garner and James Woods and Sarah, Plain and Tall (1991) with Glenn Close. Here are some of the actors and actresses who’ve appeared in a Hall of Fame production:
Grace Kelly * James Dean * James Arness * Julie Harris * Mary Martin * Greer Garson * Boris Karloff * Basil Rathbone * Claude Rains * Christopher Plummer * Carol Channing * Richard Burton * Lee Remick * Tony Randall * Trevor Howard * Maureen O’Hara * Jason Robards * Melvyn Douglas * Peter Ustinov * Charlton Heston * Van Heflin * Richard Chamberlain * Richard Harris * Joanne Woodward * Jimmy Stewart * Helen Hayes * Orson Welles * Sophia Loren * Anthony Hopkins * Alec Guiness * Faye Dunaway * George C. Scott * Danny Kaye * Elizabeth Taylor * Deborah Kerr * John Gielgud * Colin Firth * Morgan Freeman * Tommy Lee Jones * Sissy Spacek * Vanessa Redgrave
Here’s a great feature on the show done by CBS Sunday Morning:
Almost all my favorite TV movies are from Hallmark Hall of Fame. I try never to miss a new one, and they always cause tears. And it’s the one show I watch where I have to also watch the commercials…Hallmark of course!