Vanessa Brown

Vienna, Austria

Biography

Known as the bright radio "Quiz Kid," Vanessa Brown became a popular leading lady in films and stage productions of the 1940s and 1950s and later a respected writer. During her heyday as an actress, Brown appeared in such varied productions as "The Seven Year Itch" opposite Tom Ewell on Broadway (a role later assumed by Marilyn Monroe in the film version) and the motion picture "Tarzan and the Slave Girl." Brown toured with Katharine Hepburn in a Theatre Guild production of Shakespeare's "As You Like It" and became something of a protege of the legendary actress. Among Brown's major films of the late 1940s and the early 1950s were "I've Always Loved You," "The Late George Apley," "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir," "The Foxes of Harrow," "The Heiress," "The Fighter" and "The Bad and the Beautiful."

Movies

Matinee Theater is an American anthology series that aired on NBC during the Golden Age of Television, from 1955 to 1958. The series, which ran daily in the afternoon, was frequently live. It was produced by Albert McCleery, Darrell Ross, George Cahan and Frank Price with executive producer George Lowther. McCleery had previously produced the live series Cameo Theatre which introduced to television the concept of theater-in-the-round, TV plays staged with minimal sets. Jim Buckley of the Pewter Plough Playhouse recalled: When Al McCleery got back to the States, he originated a most ambitious theatrical TV series for NBC called Matinee Theater: to televise five different stage plays per week live, airing around noon in order to promote color TV to the American housewife as she labored over her ironing. Al was the producer. He hired five directors and five art directors. Richard Bennett, one of our first early presidents of the Pewter Plough Corporation, was one of the directors and I was one of the art directors and, as soon as we were through televising one play, we had lunch and then met to plan next week’s show. That was over 50 years ago, and I’m trying to think; I believe the TV art director is his own set decorator —yes, of course! It had to be, since one of McCleery’s chief claims to favor with the producers was his elimination of the setting per se and simply decorating the scene with a minimum of props. It took a bit of ingenuity.

More info
Matinee Theater
1955