Cameo Theatre

Cameo Theatre
Sir Cedric Hardwicke in George Bernard Shaw's "The Inca of Perusalem", 1955
Genre	Drama
Written by	Arthur Miller Rod Coneybeare Raphael Hayes Shirley Jackson
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	4
No. of episodes	38
Production
Running time	30 minutes
Release
Original network	NBC
Original release	16 May 1950 – 7 August 1955

Cameo Theatre is an American anthology series that aired on NBC during the Golden Age of Television, from 1950 to 1955.

The live series, produced by Albert McCleery, introduced to television the concept of theater-in-the-round, which had been well established and popularized since 1947 by Margo Jones with her Theatre '47 in Dallas, Texas. McCleery's method of staging employed minimal sets and props well lit within a black background, enabling cameras to move about with much freedom in the darkness, picking up shots from any angle. McCleery's skill with this type of staging led directly to his producer role with NBC's Matinee Theatre. The technique put the focus directly on the characters and dialogue rather than scenery.

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

Cameo Theatre featured adaptations from the short stories of Roald Dahl, Shirley Jackson, Irwin Shaw, and others. The Paley Center for Media detailed the scripting contribution of Ellen M. Violett:

Cameo Theatre was notable for developing young writers. Scripter Raphael Hayes recalled entering broadcasting after he left the Army:

NBC carried the series as a replacement show four times: It was telecast from June to August 1950 as a summer replacement for the second half-hour of Four Star Revue. In 1951, it was broadcast as a June to August replacement for The Voice of Firestone. It replaced Leave It to the Girls from January to April 1952. The series concluded in 1955 as a summer replacement (July to August) for Letter to Loretta.

Each episode ended with McCleery's trademark closing tag, a hand holding chalk and writing "Albert McCleery" on a blackboard. The hand, however, was not McCleery's; although realistic in appearance, it was actually a mannequin hand holding the chalk.