Star Tonight

Star Tonight, an American television anthology series, aired on ABC from February 1955 to August 1956. It consisted of 80 total episodes, 30 from 1955 and 50 from 1956. Each episode was a self-contained story, usually adapted from famous plays, short-stories or novels by some of the writers of the day.

Notable guest stars

Theodore Bikel
Leo G. Carroll
Buster Crabbe
Robert Culp
Richard Davalos
Signe Hasso
Kim Hunter
June Lockhart
Nancy Malone
Kevin McCarthy
Jason Robards
Lois Smith
Rudy Vallee
Jo Van Fleet
Elizabeth Wilson
Joanne Woodward
Efrem Zimbalist Jr

External links

The Producers

The Producers may refer to:

Titled works

Bands

The Producers (musical)

The Producers is a musical adapted by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan from Brooks' 1968 film of the same name, with lyrics written by Brooks and music composed by Brooks and arranged by Glen Kelly and Doug Besterman. As in the film, the story concerns two theatrical producers who scheme to get rich by overselling interests in a Broadway flop. Complications arise when the show unexpectedly turns out to be successful. The humor of the show draws on ridiculous accents, caricatures of homosexuals and Nazis, and many show business in-jokes.

After 33 previews, the original Broadway production opened at the St. James Theatre on April 19, 2001, starring Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick, and ran for 2,502 performances, winning a record-breaking 12 Tony Awards. It spawned a successful London production running for just over two years, national tours in the US and UK, many productions worldwide and a 2005 film version.

Background

David Geffen persuaded Mel Brooks to turn his movie into a stage musical. When Brooks met with Jerry Herman to discuss their working together, Herman declined, telling Brooks that he should do the job himself, as he was a good songwriter. Brooks then asked Thomas Meehan to join him in writing the book for the stage. Brooks persuaded Mike Ockrent and his wife Susan Stroman to join the creative team as director and choreographer. After Ockrent's death in 1999, Stroman agreed to continue as both director and choreographer.

The Producers (1968 film)

The Producers is a 1968 American satirical comedy film written and directed by Mel Brooks. The film is set in the late 1960s and tells the story of a theatrical producer and an accountant who want to produce a sure-fire Broadway flop. They take more money from investors than they can repay (the shares they sell total more than 100% of any profits) and plan to abscond to Brazil as soon as the play closes, only to see the plan go awry when the show turns out to be a hit.

The film stars Zero Mostel as Max Bialystock, the producer, and Gene Wilder as Leo Bloom, the accountant. It features Dick Shawn as L.S.D., the actor who ends up playing the lead in the musical within the movie, and Kenneth Mars as a playwright and former Nazi soldier, Franz Liebkind.

The Producers was the first film directed by Brooks. He won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Decades later, the film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry and placed 11th on the AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs list. It was later remade successfully by Brooks as an acclaimed Broadway stage musical, which itself was adapted as a film.