The Witness is an American television show broadcast on the CBS network in the United States within the 1960–61 television season, in which a fictional "Committee" of lawyers cross-examined actors portraying actual people from the recent past of the United States who had been considered criminal or suspicious.

Production

David Susskind was the Executive Producer; Murray Susskind (David's brother) and Nick Mayo were line producers—the production company was Talent Associates. The show was created and written by Irve Tunick, and filmed in the CBS studios in New York City.

Scheduling

The first show premiered on Thursday, September 29, 1960, in the 7:30–8:30 PM (EST) timeslot on the CBS television network — the last show was broadcast January 26, 1961. The show may have been moved to a later timeslot in November or December 1960. Seventeen episodes were produced and broadcast—the pilot episode was never aired; a planned eighteenth episode (on Huey Long) may also have never aired.

Background

The premise of the show was explained in the opening narration:

Regular Cast

Verne Collett played the Court Reporter. William Griffis played the Court Clerk. The Committee Members were played by members of the New York Bar — not all of them appeared together in every episode:

Episodes/stars/air dates

Critical reception

When the show first came on the air, TIME magazine said: However, several months later, daily newspaper television columns disagreed—for example: