Did you happen to record Monty Python’s Flying Circus when it was shown on PBS back in the 1970s?
Do you still have the tapes?
Is there a TIME LIFE logo at the end?
If so, please write to me. Thank you!

Gore Vidal’s Television Plays

(and some radio commercials and one radio play)

Image from Cecil Smith, “Novelist Writes 25 TV Dramas in 18 Months:
Gore Vidal Starts Cold, but Gets Hot,”
The New York Times, Sunday, 17 July 1955, p D3.

This is just a list for those who are interested in tracking down these elusive programs. In an interview conducted on Monday, 18 December 2006, Gore Vidal claimed that, contrary to reports of the disappearance of these programs, he had kinescopes of most or all of them, which he had recently donated to the Houghton Library at Harvard University. He was certain that his donation included even such programs as “The Death of Billy the Kid” and “The Indestructible Mr. Gore,” both of which have been among the most sought-after “lost” programs in television history. Indeed, the online catalogue announces the probable existence, albeit only on VHS, of “The Death of Billy the Kid,” but most of the other teleplays are most definitely not among the holdings.

My contention is that all these programs need to be made available again, and not just in one or two museums for on-site supervised viewing. They should be broadcast again and released on home video. These black-and-white programs are the icons of our American culture and to best experience the true nostalgia of the era, view them on a black-and-white console. People hold on to black-and-white television sets to remind them of what life used to be like and for sentimental reasons. Sometimes the reception isn’t so good but all these “memory lane” televisions need is a little tlc tv repair and they are as good as new.

If you know the whereabouts of copies of any of these teleplays, please write to me! Many thanks!

My apologies for the sloppiness of this web page. It was done in haste. Maybe I’ll brush it up some day when I get more information.

NORMAN ROSS AT WORK
Date	Network	Series	Play	Source Material	Notes
1950-??-??-???			Norman Ross at Work		Commercials
REFERENCE: • The Gore Vidal Finding Aid lists the following: Container 301 Norman Ross at work : Tss with AMs annotations, 1950. 1 folder. Commercials. Three variant scripts for commercial spots that all aired in 1950. [For radio?]
DARK POSSESSION
Date	Network	Series	Play	Source Material	Notes
1954-02-15-Mon 22:00-23:00	CBS	Westinghouse Studio One (season 6 episode 22 [whole number 240])	Dark Possession
REFERENCES: • Available for viewing at the Paley Center for Media (formerly the Museum of Television & Radio) in Manhattan (media number 005740) and in Beverly Hills (media number 100286). • Available for viewing at the Powell Library’s Research Study Center at the University of California at Los Angeles. • Sidney Lohman, “News and Notes Gathered from the Studios,” The New York Times, 1954-02-07-Thu, p X11: • “On Television,” The New York Times, 1954-02-15, p 30: • Harvey Breit, “In and Out of Books,” The New York Times, 1954-02-24-Sun, p BR8 (see below). • TV.com • IMDb • The Gore Vidal Finding Aid lists the following: Container 4428 Dark possession (Television script): video recording, undated. 1 videocassette. VHS videotape. Possibly includes the television program written by GV that aired on the Studio One (CBS), 1954 February 15. Possibly includes recordings of other programs that GV wrote for television including A Man and Two Gods and Summer Pavilion. • This play would be performed live at least two more times, with a different cast and crew each time.
MESSIAH
Date	Network	Series	Play	Source Material	Notes
1954-??-??-???			Messiah [?]	Adapted from Vidal’s novel	Apparently never produced
REFERENCE: • Fred Kaplan, Gore Vidal: A Biography (New York: Anchor Books, October 2000), p 377: “From Key West, in December 1953, while he worked on Dark Possession, he corresponded with [agent Harold] Franklin about a number of television treatments he had proposed, one of them based on Messiah. Franklin found the central character unacceptably static.”
[UNKNOWN PLAY RELATING TO JOHN HORNE BURNS]
Date	Network	Series	Play	Source Material	Notes
1954-??-??-???			[UNKNOWN play relating to John Horne Burns]		Presumably never produced.
REFERENCE: • Harvey Breit, “In and Out of Books,” The New York Times, 1954-02-24-Sun, p BR8:
SMOKE
Date	Network	Series	Play	Source Material	Notes
1954-05-04-Tue 21:30-22:00	CBS	Suspense (season 6 episode 31 [whole number 245])	Smoke	William Faulkner
REFERENCES: • Available for viewing at the Paley Center for Media (formerly the Museum of Television & Radio) in Manhattan (media number 02252) and in Beverly Hills (media number 112956). • “On Television,” The New York Times, 1954-05-04-Tue, p 41: • TV.com • IMDb • The Gore Vidal Finding Aid lists the following: Container 308 Smoke : Ts with AMs corrections, [ca. 1954] 1 folder. Treatment. Adapted by GV from William Faulkner's story. Aired on Suspense (CBS), 1954 May 4. Container 309 Smoke : Ts (mimeograph), 1954. 1 folder. Draft dated 1954 Apr. 29.
A MAN AND TWO GODS
Date	Network	Series	Play	Source Material	Notes
1954-05-24-Mon 22:00-23:00	CBS	Studio One (season 6 episode 36 [whole number 254])	A Man and Two Gods		Based on the book by Jean Morris
REFERENCES: • Presumably this is the play mentioned in Harvey Breit, “In and Out of Books,” The New York Times, 1954-02-24-Sun, p BR8 as forthcoming in April (see above). • “Television Programs This Week,” The New York Times, 1954-05-23-Sun, p X12. • “On Television,” The New York Times, 1954-05-24-Mon, p 34: • TV.com • IMDb • The Gore Vidal Finding Aid lists the following: Container 297 A man and two gods : Ts, 1954. 1 folder. First draft. Based on the book by Jean Morris. Possibly aired on Studio one (CBS), 1954 May 24. Container 298 A man and two gods : Ts, 1954. 1 folder. Second draft.
THE CASE OF THE JINX NURSE
Date	Network	Series	Play	Source Material	Notes
1954-07-20-Tue 20:00-20:30	NBC	Janet Dean, Registered Nurse	The Case of the Jinx Nurse		Lead actress was Gore Vidal’s cousin, Ella Raines.
REFERENCES: • “Television Programs This Week,” The New York Times, 1954-07-18-Sun, p X11. • “On Television,” The New York Times, 1954-07-20-Tue, p 25. • IMDb doesn’t say anything much. • CTVA — The Classic TV Archive — has a complete episode list. If the link no longer works, I filed a back-up copy here. • The Gore Vidal Finding Aid lists Container 274 The case of the jinx nurse : Tss with AMs corrections, [ca. 1953] 1 folder. Two scripts written by GV under the pseudonym Cameron Kay, for the television series, Janet Dean, Registered Nurse. A few variant corrections on each Tss. AMs annotation on first page of first Ts, “Gore Vidal / 1st TV script. Air date of program is not known.”
BARN BURNING
Date	Network	Series	Play	Source Material	Notes
1954-08-17-Tue 21:30-22:00	CBS	Suspense (season 6 episode 46 [whole number 260])	Barn Burning	William Faulkner
REFERENCES: • Available for viewing at the Paley Center for Media (formerly the Museum of Television & Radio) in Manhattan (media number 023713). • “On Television,” The New York Times, 1954-08-17-Tue, p 28: • TV.com • IMDb • Draft scripts available at Gore Vidal Finding Aid: Container 270 Barn burning : Ts with AMs corrections, [ca. 1954] 1 folder. Draft. Aired on Suspense (CBS), 1954 Aug. 17. Container 271 Barn burning : Ts with Ms corrections by Robert Mulligan, 1954. 1 folder. Final draft. Annotation on second page, “Bob Mulligan,” director of the program.
SOVEREIGN STATE
Date	Network	Series	Play	Source Material	Notes
1954-??-??-???			Sovereign State		Presumably never produced.
REFERENCE: • Fred Kaplan, Gore Vidal: A Biography (New York: Anchor Books, October 2000), p 377: “In summer 1954, while working at Edgewater on another Edgar Box, he outlined in detail ideas for two resonant television stories, the first called Sovereign State, the second Billy the Kid.”
CASE OF THE DYING ACCUSATION
Date	Network	Series	Play	Source Material	Notes
1954-07?-??-???	CBS	Philip Morris Telltale Clue	Case of the Dying Accusation		Written under a pseudonym that Vidal can no longer recall
REFERENCE: • The Gore Vidal Finding Aid lists the following: Container 2997 Case of the dying accusation (television script) : contract, 1954. 1 folder. [Contract dated 1954-06-30 for producer/copyright owner Charles E. Martin Productions Inc: “You agree that in the event we use the said script, which we are not required to do, we have the option of making use of your name, if we so desire.” • Exact airdate unknown as the TV listings supplied no details for this short-lived series. Some sources say that Gore Vidal wrote not one but two episodes for The Telltale Clue. • “The Telltale Clue Episode Guide” compiled by The Classic TV Archive with contributions by Rina Fox. • Mention of the première episode: “On Television,” The New York Times, 1954-07-08-Thu, p 30. • Gore Vidal’s assessment of his script contribution(s) to this series can be gleaned from his comment that “Absence of money is a bad thing because you end up writing ‘The Telltale Clue’ on television—which I did” (“The Art of Fiction, No. 50,” The Paris Review, 1974-07). • TV.com
THE CONTRAST
Date	Network	Series	Play	Source Material	Notes
1954-12-12-Sun 17:00-18:30	CBS	Omnibus	The Contrast	Royall Tyler
REFERENCES: • “Television Programs This Week,” The New York Times, 1954-12-12-Sun, p X16: • TV.com • The Gore Vidal Finding Aid lists Container 275 The contrast : Ts, 1954. 1 folder. First draft, revised, dated 1954 Dec. 1. Adapted by GV from Royall Tyler's play, The contrast: a comedy in five acts. Aired on Omnibus (CBS), 1954 Dec. 12.
A SENSE OF JUSTICE
Date	Network	Series	Play	Source Material	Notes
1955-02-06-Sun 21:00-22:00	NBC	Philco Television Playhouse (season 7 episode 234)	A Sense of Justice
REFERENCES: • Available for viewing at the Paley Center for Media (formerly the Museum of Television & Radio) in Manhattan (media number 030938) and in Beverly Hills (media number 121847). • “Television Programs This Week,” The New York Times, 1955-02-06-Sun, p X14: • Review: Jack Gould, “Television: Anxiety — The Heroes Never Quite Pull Out of It in Two Stark ‘Playhouse’ Dramas,” The New York Times, 1955-02-16, p 40. • TV.com • IMDb • The Gore Vidal Finding Aid lists the following: Container 4522 A sense of justice (Television program) : 16 mm film, 2000. 2 reels. Written by GV. Film of the Philco Television Playhouse program that aired on the National Broadcasting Company, inc. on 1955 Feb. 6.
THE TURN OF THE SCREW
Date	Network	Series	Play	Source Material	Notes
1955-02-13-Mon 17:00-18:30	CBS	Omnibus (season 3 episode 39)	The Turn of the Screw	Henry James
REFERENCES: • According to TV.com, the actual title of this play was “The Last Turn of the Screw.” • “Psychological Drama and Satiric Comedy on Video This Week,” The New York Times 1955-02-13-Mon, p 121: • IMDb • The Gore Vidal Finding Aid lists the following: Container 314 The turn of the screw : Ts with AMs corrections, [ca. 1955] 1 folder. Draft of treatment. Includes draft of letter about the treatment. Aired on Omnibus (CBS), 1955 Feb. 13.
THE BLUE HOTEL
Date	Network	Series	Play	Source Material	Notes
1955-02-22-Tue 22:00-22:30	CBS	Danger (season 5 episode 25 [whole number 226])	The Blue Hotel	Stephen Crane	Screenplay rewritten by Halsted Welles
REFERENCES: • The Gore Vidal Finding Aid lists the following: Container 272 Blue hotel : Ts, [ca. 1955 ] 1 folder. Treatment describing GV's adaption of Stephen Crane's story. Aired on Danger (CBS), 1955 Feb.22. Container 273 Blue hotel : Ts (mimeograph), 1955. 1 folder. Script dated 1955 Feb. 10. • TV.com. • “On Television,” The New York Times, 1955-02-22-Tue, p 26: • IMDb • A remake must have been proposed in 1968, as we can see from University of Virginia Library.
STAGE DOOR
Date	Network	Series	Play	Source Material	Notes
1955-04-06-Wed 22:00-23:00	CBS	The Best of Broadway (season 1 episode 8)	Stage Door	George S Kaufman & Edna Ferber
REFERENCES: • “Romance, Warfare and Show Business in Three Television Plays This Week,” The New York Times, 1955-04-03-Sun, p X15: • “On Television,” The New York Times, 1955-04-06-Wed, p 41: • Review: John P Shanley, “Television: ‘Stage Door’ — Gore Vidal Adapts ’36 Comedy for C.B.S.,” The New York Times, 1955-04-08-Fri, p 29. • TV.com • IMDb • The Gore Vidal Finding Aid lists the following: Container 310 Stage door : Ts, [ca. 1955] 1 folder. Possibly final draft. Adapted from the Broadway comedy by George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber. Aired on The best of Broadway (CBS), 1955 April 6.
THE FIRST AND THE LAST
Date	Network	Series	Play	Source Material	Notes
1955-04-28-Thu 20:30-21:30	CBS	Climax! (season 1 episode 23)	The First and the Last	James Galsworthy
REFERENCE: • I can’t remember where I read that Gore Vidal wrote a draft of this script. The credited writer is William Kozlenko. • See TV.com. • IMDb
SUMMER PAVILION
Date	Network	Series	Play	Source Material	Notes
1955-05-02-Mon 22:00-23:00	CBS	Studio One (season 7 episode 33 [whole number 303])	Summer Pavilion
REFERENCES: • Available for viewing at the Paley Center for Media (formerly the Museum of Television & Radio) in Manhattan (media number 000302) and in Beverly Hills (media number 107778). • Val Adams, “Benny Will Lose Sponsor on Radio,” The New York Times, 1955-04-25, p 30: • “On Television,” The New York Times, 1955-05-02-Mon, p 27: • IMDb • TV.com
VISIT TO A SMALL PLANET
Date	Network	Series	Play	Source Material	Notes
1955-05-08-Sun 21:00-22:00	NBC	The Goodyear Television Playhouse (season 4 episode 16 [whole number 90])	Visit to a Small Planet
REFERENCES: • Available for viewing at the Powell Library’s Research Study Center at the University of California at Los Angeles. • “Television Highlights of the Week,” The New York Times, 1955-05-08-Sun, p X13: • Review: Jack Gould, “Television: Saucer Satire — Mixed-Up Spaceman Lands in Vidal Play,” The New York Times, 1955-05-11-Wed, p 42. • TV.com • IMDb.com • The Gore Vidal Finding Aid lists the following: Container 315 Visit to a small planet : Ts with AMs corrections, [ca. 1955] 1 folder. Draft of treatment. Aired on Goodyear television playhouse (NBC), 1955 May 8. Container 316 Visit to a small planet : Ts, 1955. 1 folder. Final version of treatment submitted to Goodyear television playhouse. Container 317 Visit to a small planet : Ts (photocopy) with AMs corrections, undated. 1 folder. Draft. Container 4480 Visit to a small planet (Play) : video recording, undated. 2 videocassettes. VHS videotapes. Directed by Dean Rusu. Possibly a version of GV’s play [as opposed to the original teleplay].
[UNTITLED SCIENCE-FICTION SATIRE]
Date	Network	Series	Play	Source Material	Notes
195?-??-??-???			[UNTITLED SCIENCE-FICTION SATIRE]
REFERENCE: • The Gore Vidal Finding Aid lists the following: Container 320 [Untitled science fiction satire] : Ts with AMs corrections, undated. 1 folder. First draft. Apparently not produced. Container 321 [Untitled science fiction satire] : Ts with AMs corrections, undated. 1 folder. Second draft. [Might this be an earlier version of “Visit to a Small Planet”?]
A FAREWELL TO ARMS
Date	Network	Series	Play	Source Material	Notes
1955-05-26-Thu 20:30-21:30	CBS	Climax! (season 1 episode 26)	A Farewell to Arms	Ernest Hemingway
REFERENCES: • Available for viewing at the Powell Library’s Research Study Center at the University of California at Los Angeles. • “Television Highlights of the Week,” The New York Times, 1955-05-22-Sun, p 139. • John P Shanley, “Devitalized ‘Farewell to Arms’ on ‘Climax,’ The New York Times, 1955-05-27-Fri, p 45. • TV.com • IMDb
THE DEATH OF BILLY THE KID
Date	Network	Series	Play	Source Material	Notes
1955-07-24-Sun 21:00-22:00	NBC	The Philco Television Playhouse (season 7 episode 23 [whole number 246])	The Death of Billy the Kid
REFERENCES: • “Video Will Swing a Bat for Youth,” The New York Times, 1955-07-18-Mon, p 41: • “Television Highlights of the Week,” The New York Times, 1955-07-24-Sun, p X10: • TV.com • IMDb • The Gore Vidal Finding Aid lists the following: Container 282 The death of Billy the kid : Ts with AMs corrections, [ca. 1955] 1 folder. Treatment. Aired on Philco television playhouse (NBC), 1955 July 24. Container 4429 The death of Billy the kid (Television script) : video recording, undated. 1 videocassette. VHS videotape. Possibly includes the television program written by GV that aired on the Philco Television Playhouse (NBC), 1955 July 24.
DR. JEKYLL & MR. HYDE
Date	Network	Series	Play	Source Material	Notes
1955-07-28-Thu 20:30-21:30	CBS	Climax! (season 1 episode 34)	Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde	Robert Louis Stevenson
REFERENCES: • Formerly available on VHS (complete with commercials) from TV-Hits, a division of Amvest Video Corp, 937 E Hazelwood Ave, Rahway NJ 07065, catalogue number VHS-TV31. • Currently available on DVD (with commercials, introduction, afterword, and series credits all deleted, and with new title music) through Rhino Home Video, catalogue number R2 2453. • Complete version available for viewing at the Powell Library’s Research Study Center at the University of California at Los Angeles. • TV.com • IMDb • The Gore Vidal Finding Aid lists the following: Container 283 Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde : Ts, 1955. 1 folder. Final draft. Aired on Climax! (CBS), 1955 July 28. • “On Television,” The New York Times, 1955-07-28-Thu, p 47:
THE DEVIL’S THEATRE
Date	Network	Series	Play	Source Material	Notes
1955-Autumn	ABC	The Devil's Theatre	[ — (N/A) — ]		Proposed series - never produced
REFERENCES: • Val Adams, “Churchill Agrees to Story on Radio: Escape as War Correspondent Will Be Given on C.B.S. &145;Hall of Fame’ Jan. 30,” The New York Times, 1955-01-21, p 29: • Val Adams, “News Gathered from the Studios,” The New York Times, 1955-02-13, p 121:
STATE OF CONFUSION
Date	Network	Series	Play	Source Material	Notes
1955-10-18-Tue 20:00-21:00	NBC	Texaco Star Theatre: The Milton Berle Show	State of Confusion
REFERENCES: • “On Television,” The New York Times, 1955-10-18-Tue, p 75: • Review: “Berle Is Seen in Farce by Gore Vidal,” The New York Times, 1955-10-19-Mon, p 67. • Richard F Shephard, “What Makes a Television Play?” The New York Times, 1956-06-17, p 107: • TV.com. • The Gore Vidal Finding Aid lists the following: Container 311 State of confusion : Ts, [ca. 1955] 1 folder. Written by GV especially for Milton Berle. Production information incomplete. The show possibly aired on an unknown program on 1955 Oct. 18.
THE MILTON BERLE SHOW
Date	Network	Series	Play	Source Material	Notes
1955-11-08-Tue 20:00-21:00	NBC	The Milton Berle Show (season 8 episode 293)	[ — N/A — ]		Broadcast in color
REFERENCES: • Available for viewing at the Paley Center for Media (formerly the Museum of Television & Radio) in Manhattan (media number 041332) and in Beverly Hills (media number 121451). • According to the MTR, a source in a contemporary issue of Variety credited Vidal with one sketch, the spoof of the recent Noël Coward/Mary Martin special, Together with Music. Unfortunately, the three black-and-white copies of this episode on file are all missing the end credits, and hence there is no writing credit for Vidal or for anyone else. • “On Television,” The New York Times, 1955-11-08-Tue, p 63: • IMDb • TV.com
RADIO FREE EUROPE
Date	Network	Series	Play	Source Material	Notes
1955-??-??-???			Radio Free Europe
REFERENCE: • The Gore Vidal Finding Aid lists the following: Container 3057 Radio Free Europe (television script) : contract, 1955. 1 folder. [Was this a play? Or was this, more likely, a gig on Radio Free Europe?]
PORTRAIT OF A BALLERINA
Date	Network	Series	Play	Source Material	Notes
1956-01-01-Sun 21:00-21:30	CBS	General Electric Theatre (season 4 episode 14 [whole number 79])	Portrait of a Ballerina	Screenplay credit to Edgar Box, adapted from Death in the Fifth Position
REFERENCES: • Available for sale to distributors from Buyout Footage. • “TV Programs This Week,” The New York Times, 1956-01-01-Sun, p X10: • TV.com • IMDb • The Gore Vidal Finding Aid lists the following: Container 303 Portrait of a ballerina : Ts, 1955. 1 folder. Revised draft of television script. Dated 1955 Sept. 21. Based on the novel Death in the Fifth Position by Edgar Box, pseudonym of GV. Aired on CBS, 1956 Jan. 1. • A good guess, without having read the novel or seen the teleplay, is that “Portrait of a Ballerina” was an outgrowth of a contract signed with the General Electric Theatre on 1954-07-27: “1. We hereby employ you to prepare and furnish to us an original script... entitled ‘DEGAS BALLET STORY’ and to be written by you. 2. You agree to write said script as required and direct3d by us, in complete form ready for telecasting, and you further agree to promptly make all changes and additions required by us. You also agree to attend all rehearsals, previews, script and story conferences as and shen requested or directed by us. 3. As an inducement to our employing you hereunder and making the payments hereinafter provided for, and with the knowledge that we are relying thereon, you hereby represent and warrant to us that said script or any part thereof, is completely original with you and that you are the sole and exclusive owner and author thereof, and that our use of the said Script including the production, performance and telecast thereof shall not constitute an infringement of the legal, equitable or any other rights of any person, firm or corporation.” The contract goes on to stipulate that the episode must be broadcast no later than 1955-06-19. (See The Gore Vidal Finding Aid, which lists the following: Container 3010 Degas ballet story [television script] : contract, 1954. 1 folder.) Is there a connection here with Edgar Degas (1834–1917) and his paintings of ballet dancers?
DARK POSSESSION
Date	Network	Series	Play	Source Material	Notes
1956-02-02-Thu 15:00-16:00	NBC	NBC Matinee Theatre (season 1 episode 67)	Dark Possession		A new production of the play first aired on 1954-02-15. Broadcast in color.
REFERENCE: • “Television Programs: Wednesday through Saturday,” The New York Times, 1956-01-29-Sun, p 109: • TV.com • IMDb
PRIVATE RELATIONS
Date	Network	Series	Play	Source Material	Notes
1956-??-??-???			Private Relations	Pilot for proposed series adapted from the Edgar Box novels	Never produced
REFERENCE: • The Gore Vidal Finding Aid lists the following: Container 304 Private relations : Ts, undated. 1 folder. Treatment for proposed series based on the novels of Edgar Box, pseudonym of GV. Apparently not produced. Container 305 Private relations : Ts, undated. 1 folder. Pilot script.
HONOR
Date	Network	Series	Play	Source Material	Notes
1956-06-19-Tue 21:30-22:30	NBC	Playwrights 56 (season 1 episode 20)	Honor
REFERENCES: • “On Television,” The New York Times, 1956-06-19-Tue, p 59: • Review: Richard F Shepard, “TV: Drama of Civil War — Gore Vidal’s ‘Honor’ Presented as Final Offering of ‘Playwrights ’56’ Series,” The New York Times, 1956-06-20-Wed, p 63. • TV.com • IMDb • The Gore Vidal Finding Aid lists the following: Container 284 Honor : Ts (photocopy), [ca. 1956] 1 folder. First draft. Aired on Playwrights 56 (NBC), 1956 July 19. Container 285 Honor : Ts (carbon), 1956. 1 folder. Second draft. Container 4521 Honor (Television program) : 16 mm film, 1956. 2 reels. Written by GV. Kinescope recording that aired on the Playwrights 56 program on the National Broadcasting Company, 1956 July 19.
LOUISA PALLANT
Date	Network	Series	Play	Source Material	Notes
1956-08-01-Wed 21:00-21:30	ABC	Screen Directors Playhouse (season 1 episode 33)	Louisa Pallant (retitled “The Bitter Waters” for broadcast)	Henry James	Screenplay rewritten by Zoë Akins. Not live; shot in 35mm.
REFERENCES: • Val Adams, “‘Quiz Kids’ Show Returning to TV,” The New York Times, 1956-01-05, p 95: • “TV Survey of Love Offered to N.B.C. for a Spectacular,” The New York Times, 1956-02-03, p 47: • Oscar Godbout, ”M’Garry Stories Bought for Video,” The New York Times, 1956-06-15-Fri, p 50 (now credited to Zoë Akins): • “On Television,” The New York Times, 1956-08-01-Sun, p 51: • TV.com • IMDb • The Gore Vidal Finding Aid lists the following: Container 294 Louisa Pallant : Ts, undated. 1 folder. Treatment. Adapted from the story by Henry James. Apparently not produced. Container 295 Louisa Pallant : Ts with AMs corrections, undated. 1 folder. Final draft. Annotated on first page: “Done somewhere on TV (G.E.?) much rewritten by Zoë Atkins.” • “The Bitter Waters,” as revised by Zoë Akins, is available for viewing at the Paley Center for Media (formerly the Museum of Television & Radio).
SINCERELY, WILLIS WAYDE
Date	Network	Series	Play	Source Material	Notes
1956-12-13-Thu 21:30-23:00	CBS	Playhouse 90 (season 1 episode 11)	Sincerely, Willis Wayde	John P Marquand	Screenplay credited to Frank Gilroy
REFERENCES: • The Gore Vidal Finding Aid lists the following: Container 307 Sincerely, Willis Wayde : Ts, 1955. 1 folder. Draft. Adapted by GV from the novel by John P. Marquand. Aired on Climax (CBS), 1955 May 5. THAT WAS IN THE SPRING OF 1955. THINGS LATER CHANGED: • Oscar Godbout, “Video Rights to ‘Sincerely, Willis Wayde,’ Novel by Marquand, Acquired by C.B.S.,” The New York Times, 1956-06-04-Mon, p 53 (Frank Gilroy announced as writer): • Richard F Shepard, “TV ‘Playhouse 90’ to Start Oct. 11,” The New York Times, 1956-07-06-Fri, p 45: • “N.B.C. Will Offer Collier Fantasy,” The New York Times, 1956-11-16-Fri, p 38 (credited writer is Frank D Gilroy): • “On Television,” The New York Times, 1956-12-13-Thu, p 75 (credited to Frank D Gilroy): • Review: John P Shanley, “TV Review: Peter Lawford Stars as Willis Wayde,” The New York Times, 1956-12-14-Thu, p 42 (credited to Frank D Gilroy). • TV.com • IMDb
THE INDESTRUCTIBLE MR. GORE
Date	Network	Series	Play	Source Material	Notes
1959-12-13-Sun 20:00-21:00	NBC	Sunday Showcase (season 1 episode 8)	The Indestructible Mr. Gore (earlier titles: The Story of Senator Gore, The Light in the Dark)		Broadcast in color.
REFERENCES: • “Television Programs,” The New York Times, 1959-12-13-Sun, p X22: • Review: John P Shanley, “The Story of Oklahoma’s Blind Senator,” The New York Times, 1959-12-14-Mon, p 63. • Cecil Smith, “The TV Scene — Commercials Can’t Kill This Patient,” The Los Angeles Times, 1959-12-15-Tue, p A14: • TV.com • IMDb — oops! (The program on 1959-11-15-Sun-19:30-21:00 was *not* Gore Vidal’s “The Light in the Dark”; it was an adaption of Henrik Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House,” presented as an episode of the Hall of Fame. See “Television Programs,” The New York Times, 1959-11-15-Sun, p X14. As far as I can tell, Gore Vidal had no involvement whatsoever.) • IMDb — that’s better! • The Gore Vidal Finding Aid lists the following: Container 286 The indestructible Mr. Gore : Ts with AMs corrections, [ca. 1957] 1 folder. Draft of treatment. Aired on Sunday showcase (NBC), 1959 Dec. 13. Container 287 The indestructible Mr. Gore : Ts, [ca. 1957] 1 folder. Early draft of Act III. Container 288 The indestructible Mr. Gore : Tss with AMs annotations and corrections, 1957. 1 folder. Original title The story of Senator Gore. Draft annotated by GV on first page as "never done became Indestructible Mr. Gore." Container 289 The indestructible Mr. Gore : Ts with AMs corrections, [ca. 1959] 1 folder. First revision of final script. Script had the working title The blind senator. Container 290 The indestructible Mr. Gore : Ts, 1959. 1 folder. Second revision of final script. Script had the working title: The light in the dark. Container 291 The indestructible Mr. Gore : Ts with AMs corrections, 1959. 2 folders. Fourth revision of final script. Script housed in black notebook embossed: "NBC Sunday Showcase / The Indestructible Mr. Gore / Gore Vidal." Container 292 The indestructible Mr. Gore : Ts, 1959. 1 folder. Rehearsal schedule for performance on 1959 Dec. 13.
DEAR ARTHUR
Date	Network	Series	Play	Source Material	Notes
1960-03-22-Tue 20:30-21:30	NBC	Ford Startime (season 1 episode 25)	Dear Arthur	Ferenc Molnàr / PG Wodehouse	Broadcast in color
REFERENCES: • Jack Gould, “Filming for TV: A.B.C., Warner Beat Path to Ratings,” The New York Times, 1960-03-20-Sun, p X13. • John P Shanley, “New Area for Actress: Hermione Baddeley to Have First Role on American Television Tuesday,” The New York Times, 1960-03-20-Sun, p X13. • “Television Programs,” The New York Times, 1960-03-20-Sun, p X14. • “Television,” The New York Times, 1960-03-22-Tue, p 75: • Review: Jack Gould, “TV: Rex Harrison in ‘Dear Arthur,’” The New York Times, 1960-03-23-Wed, p 74. • TV.com. • IMDb • The Gore Vidal Finding Aid lists the following: Container 281 Dear Arthur : Ts, 1960. 1 folder. Final script, revised. Aired on Ford startime (NBC), 1960 Mar. 24.
DARK POSSESSION
Date	Network	Series	Play	Source Material	Notes
1960-06-19-Sun 21:00-22:00	NBC	The Chevy Mystery Show (season 1 episode 4)	Dark Possession		Revival performance of Vidal’s first teleplay.
REFERENCES: • “Television Programs,” The New York Times, 1960-06-19-Sun, p X12: • IMDb • TV.com
A VISIT TO A SMALL PLANET
Date	Network	Series	Play	Source Material	Notes
1963-06-12-Wed 21:00	WQXR Radio 1560AM 96.3FM		A Visit to a Small Planet
REFERENCE: • Display Ad: “A Visit to a Small Planet,” The New York Times, 1963-06-12-Wed, p 33.
ON THE MARCH TO THE SEA
Date	Network	Series	Play	Source Material	Notes
1966-07-17-Sun ??:??-??:??	BBC2	Theatre 625 (season 3 episode 34)	On the March to the Sea		Adapted from “Honor” and the subsequent stage play
REFERENCES: • IMDb • The Gore Vidal Finding Aid lists the following: Container 302 On the march to the sea : Ts, 1966. 1 folder. Script adapted from the play of the same title for a production on BBC2. The play was a later version of the earlier television script, Honor. Probably aired on Theater 625 (BBC2), 1966 Mar. 12. • BACKGROUND: • Arthur Gelb, “Chase Acquires New Vidal Play: Will Produce ‘Fire to the Sea’ in December—Styne to Do ‘Gypsy’ Music,” The New York Times, 1958-06-16, p 25. • Lewis Funke, “News and Gossip Gathered on the Rialto,” The New York Times, 1960-02-21, p X1. • Myron Kandel, “Straw-Hat Hopes Are High: Theatres Look Forward to Success Despite Perennial Worries,” The New York Times, 1960-06-19, p X3. • “The Straw-Hat Trail,” The New York Times, 1960-08-14, p X3 (Hyde Park Playhouse). • Richard F Shepard, “How Do You Translate Laughs? Taking Broadway to Berlin is Task of Eric Burger,” The New York Times, 1962-08-28, p 29.
UPTIGHT
Date	Network	Series	Play	Source Material	Notes
1968-05-??-???	CBS	CBS Playhouse	Uptight		Never produced
REFERENCES: • George Gent, “‘C.B.S. Playhouse’ Signs Gore Vidal: Writer Will Offer TV Drama on Invasion of Privacy,” The New York Times, 1967-11-09, p 95: • “Gore Vidal to Pen TV Script,” The Los Angeles Times, 1967-12-06, p D28:
THE COPPER CAGE
Date	Network	Series	Play	Source Material	Notes
?			The Copper Cage (original title: I Shall Die)		Never produced
REFERENCE: • The Gore Vidal Finding Aid lists the following: Container 276 The copper cage : Tss with AMs corrections, undated. 1 folder. Treatment. Original title: I shall die. Apparently not produced. Container 277 The copper cage : Ts with AMs corrections, undated. 1 folder. First draft. Container 278 The copper cage : Ts with AMs corrections, undated. 1 folder. Second draft.
THE DEADLY LADY
Date	Network	Series	Play	Source Material	Notes
			The Deadly Lady	The Judgment of Paris	Never produced
REFERENCE: • The Gore Vidal Finding Aid lists the following: Container 279 The deadly lady : Tss, undated. 1 folder. Three variant treatments. Adapted by GV from his novel, The judgment of Paris. Apparently not produced. Container 280 The deadly lady : Tss, undated. 1 folder. Possibly first draft of script. Apparently not produced.
LORD BYRON
Date	Network	Series	Play	Source Material	Notes
			Lord Byron		Never produced
REFERENCE: • The Gore Vidal Finding Aid lists the following: Container 293 Lord Byron : Ts, undated. 1 folder. Treatment. Apparently not produced.
THE MAGICAL MONARCH OF MO
Date	Network	Series	Play	Source Material	Notes
			The Magical Monarch of Mo	L Frank Baum	Never produced
REFERENCE: • The Gore Vidal Finding Aid lists the following: Container 296 Magical monarch of Mo : Ts, undated. 1 folder. Draft of Act I and Act II. Based on the book by L. Frank (Lyman Frank) Baum. Apparently not produced. (I read somewhere, but I can’t remember where, that this was supposed to feature Groucho Marx!)
THE MONUMENT
Date	Network	Series	Play	Source Material	Notes
			The Monument	Henrik Ibsen's "The Master Builder"	Never produced
REFERENCE: • The Gore Vidal Finding Aid lists the following: Container 300 The monument : Ts, undated. 1 folder. Treatment. Based on the play, The master builder, by Henrik Ibsen. Apparently not produced.
QUEEN AURELIA
Date	Network	Series	Play	Source Material	Notes
		Queen Aurelia	[PILOT EPISODE]		Never produced
REFERENCE: • The Gore Vidal Finding Aid lists the following: Container 306 Queen Aurelia : Ts with AMs corrections, undated. 1 folder. Pilot script. Apparently not produced.
TALL, DARK MAN
Date	Network	Series	Play	Source Material	Notes
			Tall, Dark Man		Probably never produced
REFERENCE: • The Gore Vidal Finding Aid lists the following: Container 312 Tall, dark man : Ts, undated. 1 folder. Treatment. Apparently not produced. • Might this have been “The Tall Man,” season 1 episode 22 of Dark Moment, which dealt with one of Gore Vidal’s favorite stories, Billy the Kid? Probably not.
TRAVELER IN TIME
Date	Network	Series	Play	Source Material	Notes
			Traveler in Time		Never produced
REFERENCE: • The Gore Vidal Finding Aid lists the following: Container 313 Traveler in time : Tss, undated. 1 folder. Two variant treatments. Apparently not produced.
BESUCH AUF EINEM KLEINEN PLANETEN
Date	Network	Series	Play	Source Material	Notes
1971-05-31-Mon ??:??–??:??			Besuch auf Einem Kleinen Planeten	“Visit to a Small Planet”
REFERENCE: • IMDb: A German performance of “Visit to a Small Planet.”
RECHT IN EIGEN HAND
Date	Network	Series	Play	Source Material	Notes
1973-??-??-??? ??:??–??:??			Recht in Eigen Hand	“A Sense of Justice”
REFERENCE: • IMDb: A German performance of “A Sense of Justice.”
DARK POSSESSION / A TURN OF A SCREW / THE DEATH OF BILLY THE KID
Date(s)	Network	Series	Plays	Source Material	Notes
1973-??-??-??? ??:??–??:??	RAI		Dark Possession / Turn of the Screw / The Death of Billy the Kid
REFERENCE: • The Gore Vidal Finding Aid lists the following: Container 3127 Radiotelevisione Italiana. Contracts, 1973-1984. 1 folder. [Proposed Italian performances of the three teleplays. Were these ever produced?]