The West Point Story (TV series)
Encyclopedia
The West Point Story is a drama
tic anthology television series shown in the United States
by Columbia Broadcasting System during the 1956-57 season and by ABC
during the 1957-58 season
.
The West Point Story, produced with the full cooperation of the United States Department of Defense
and the United States Military Academy
, was said to be based on actual files documenting many of the real-life dramatic occurrences at West Point over the years. Names and dates were altered in order to protect the privacy of the real people portrayed, however. The program was at first hosted by a fictional cadet
, Charles C. Thompson (portrayed by actor
Donald May), but this device was discontinued prior to the end of 1956.
During its second season on ABC, The West Point Story was in competition with NBC
's The Californians
, set in San Francisco
during the gold
rush of the 1850s, and with The $64,000 Question quiz series on CBS. The West Point Story was replaced on the summer schedule in 1958 by Jack Wyatt
's Confession
, which continued to air during the first half of the 1958-1959 season in the 10 p.m. Tuesday evening time slot.
At the time that The West Point Story was broadcast, four other military dramas aired either through syndication or on the major networks: Harbor Command
, Navy Log
, The Silent Service
, and Men of Annapolis
.
, Clint Eastwood
, Barbara Eden
, Ron Foster
, Larry Hagman
, Ron Hagerthy
, Tyler MacDuff
, and Leonard Nimoy
.
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
tic anthology television series shown in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
by Columbia Broadcasting System during the 1956-57 season and by ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
during the 1957-58 season
1957-58 United States network television schedule
The 1957–58 United States network television schedule was for the period that began in September 1957 and ran through March 1958.As in previous seasons, both CBS and ABC continued to add Westerns to their schedule, filling prime time with as many "oaters" as possible...
.
The West Point Story, produced with the full cooperation of the United States Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
and the United States Military Academy
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...
, was said to be based on actual files documenting many of the real-life dramatic occurrences at West Point over the years. Names and dates were altered in order to protect the privacy of the real people portrayed, however. The program was at first hosted by a fictional cadet
Cadet
A cadet is a trainee to become an officer in the military, often a person who is a junior trainee. The term comes from the term "cadet" for younger sons of a noble family.- Military context :...
, Charles C. Thompson (portrayed by actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
Donald May), but this device was discontinued prior to the end of 1956.
During its second season on ABC, The West Point Story was in competition with NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's The Californians
The Californians (TV series)
The Californians is a 54-episode half-hour Western television series, set in the San Francisco gold rush of the 1850s, which aired on NBC from September 24, 1957, to May 26, 1959...
, set in San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
during the gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
rush of the 1850s, and with The $64,000 Question quiz series on CBS. The West Point Story was replaced on the summer schedule in 1958 by Jack Wyatt
Jack Wyatt
John Francis Minford "Jack" Wyatt was an advertising executive and television host from New York City and Dallas, Texas, who, during his early fifties, was ordained as an Episcopalian priest...
's Confession
Confession (TV series)
Confession is a short-lived ABC crime/police reality show which aired from June 19, 1958, to January 13, 1959, with interviewer Jack Wyatt questioning criminals from assorted backgrounds. The program was carried by videotape from WFAA-TV, the network affiliate in Dallas, Texas, the first station to...
, which continued to air during the first half of the 1958-1959 season in the 10 p.m. Tuesday evening time slot.
At the time that The West Point Story was broadcast, four other military dramas aired either through syndication or on the major networks: Harbor Command
Harbor Command
Harbor Command is a syndicated adventure/drama television series starring Wendell Corey as Captain Ralph Baxter, a fictitious officer of the United States Coast Guard. The 39-episode Ziv program aired in black and white from October 11, 1957, to July 4, 1958. Casey Walters appeared in all episodes...
, Navy Log
Navy Log
Navy Log is an American anthology series that initially aired on CBS. The series featured over 70 regular guests and told about the greatest survival war stories in the history of the United States Navy. This series premiered on September 20, 1955. The following year, it was moved to ABC, where it...
, The Silent Service
The Silent Service (TV series)
The Silent Service was a 1957–1958 syndicated anthology television series based on actual events in the submarine section of the United States Navy. The Silent Service was narrated by Rear Admiral Thomas M. Dykers, who retired from the Navy in 1949 after twenty-two years of service...
, and Men of Annapolis
Men of Annapolis
Men of Annapolis is a 41-episode half-hour syndicated drama television series in anthology format which aired from 1957–1958 and was hosted by the voice of Art Gilmore. Darryl Hickman appeared four times on the program as Dusty Rhodes, a fictitious midshipman at the United States Naval Academy in...
.
Guest stars
Among those appearing on The West Point Story are Pat ConwayPat Conway
Patrick Douglas Conway, known as Pat Conway , was an American actor best known for his role as young but tough Sheriff Clay Hollister on the ABC and then syndicated western television series Tombstone Territory . He was a maternal grandson of silent film star Francis X...
, Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
, Barbara Eden
Barbara Eden
Barbara Eden is an American film and television actress and singer who is best known for her starring role in the sitcom I Dream of Jeannie.-Early years:...
, Ron Foster
Ron Foster (actor)
Ronald R. Foster, known as Ron Foster , is an American actor, whose longest-running role was as Dr. Charles Grant from 1991-1995 in the defunct CBS soap opera The Guiding Light....
, Larry Hagman
Larry Hagman
Larry Martin Hagman is an American film and television actor, producer and director known for playing J.R. Ewing in the 1980s primetime television soap opera Dallas and Major Anthony "Tony" Nelson in the 1960s sitcom I Dream of Jeannie.-Early life and career:Hagman was born in Fort Worth, Texas...
, Ron Hagerthy
Ron Hagerthy
Ronald F. "Ron" Hagerthy is a former American actor known primarily for his guest-starring and supporting roles on television westerns. In 1952, he portrayed Clipper King in the modern western series, Sky King, with Kirby Grant in the title role of Clipper's uncle, Schuyler "Sky" King, pilot of...
, Tyler MacDuff
Tyler MacDuff
Tyler MacDuff, born Tyler Glenn Duff, Jr. , was an American actor, primarily on television westerns and dramas who was cast as Billy the Kid in The Boy from Oklahoma.-Biography:...
, and Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Simon Nimoy is an American actor, film director, poet, musician and photographer. Nimoy's most famous role is that of Spock in the original Star Trek series , multiple films, television and video game sequels....
.
External links
- The Long Gray Line - series referenced in book by author journalist Rick Atkinson.
- USMA Library