Alcoa Premiere (also known as Premiere, Presented by Fred Astaire ) is an American anthology drama series sponsored by the Alcoa Corporation that aired from October 10, 1961, to September 12, 1963, on ABC. The series was hosted by Fred Astaire, who also starred in several of the episodes.

Overview

Each episode presented a new story, with no overriding theme to the series as a whole. While some episodes were light entertainment, and at least one variety show was aired, the dramatic episodes often offered powerful stories on painful or controversial subjects as opposed to classic drama. The series showcased writers such as Ray Bradbury, Howard Rodman, Ernest Kinoy, Donald S. Sanford, Alfred Bester, and Gene L. Coon, amongst others. The program also featured actors such as James Stewart, John Wayne, Charlton Heston, James Whitmore, Maureen O'Sullivan, Arthur Kennedy and Ray Milland. Both Stewart and Wayne appeared in an episode directed by John Ford, "Flashing Spikes". The premiere telecast, "People Need People" starred Lee Marvin and Arthur Kennedy. Alex Segal was its director. Several Alcoa Premiere episodes were actually pilots for TV shows, often produced by other hands and picked up as anthology episodes by Alcoa. Most of these pilots went no further than their appearance on Alcoa Premiere, but three series (Channing, Wide Country, and McHale's Navy ) were developed from the pilot films shown on this anthology series. One first-season episode ("The Jail") had been produced with the intention of airing as an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, but was shown on Alcoa Premiere instead. The episode was written by Ray Bradbury and produced by the AHP crew, with Hitchcock credited as executive producer of the aired episode.

Broadcast history

During its first season, the show was broadcast on Tuesday evenings at 10:00 pm. The show moved to Thursday evenings at the same time for its second season.

Awards

The anthology was nominated for 14 Emmy Awards during its two-year run.

Episodes

Season 1 (1961–62)

Season 2 (1962–63)

Production

Alcoa Premiere was filmed.