Albert McCleery

Albert McCleery (30 December 1911 – 13 May 1972) was an American pioneering television producer during the 1950s.

He created his innovative Cameo Theatre for television in 1950. A weekly live production, it continued until 1955. On this half-hour series, McCleery offered dramas seen against pure black backgrounds instead of walls of a set. This enabled cameras in the darkness to pick up shots from any angle. His work with Cameo Theatre led to his position with NBC's Matinee Theatre in 1955.

Jim Buckley of the Pewter Plough Playhouse (Cambria, California) recalled:

In 1953, McCleery directed the first two-hour television production of Hamlet ever shown on U.S. television, for the Hallmark Hall of Fame. The production starred Maurice Evans and was Evans' only portrayal of the role on television, after having played it on Broadway in several productions.

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