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{{short description|American radio and television show}}
{{more citations needed|date=August 2017}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox radio show 
| name = Family Theater
| image = 
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| other_names = 
| format = [[Anthology series|Anthology]]
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| country = United States
| language = English  
| home_station = 
| syndicates = [[Mutual Broadcasting System]] 
| television =
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| creator = 
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| producer = [[Family Theater Productions]]
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| rec_location = 
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| first_aired = February 13, 1947 
| last_aired = September 11, 1957
| num_series = 
| num_episodes = 540
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| sponsor = 
| website = {{URL|https://www.familytheater.org/classicradio}}
| podcast =
}}

'''''Family Theater''''' is a weekly half-hour dramatic anthology radio program which aired on the [[Mutual Broadcasting System]] in the United States from February 13, 1947, to September 11, 1957.

==Production history==
''Family Theater'' developed from a Rosary prayer program on a local radio station in Albany, New York, started in 1943 by [[Congregation of Holy Cross|Holy Cross priest]] [[Patrick Peyton]]. On Mother's Day 1945, he produced a similar national radio program on the Mutual Broadcasting System.

In 1947, Peyton formed Family Theater Productions, a film and radio studio extension of the [[Family Rosary Crusade]] founded by Peyton to promote family prayer. The program had no commercial sponsor. By agreement with the Mutual network, the radio dramas were nonsectarian but focused on moral problems. Mutual provided the airtime, while Peyton covered production costs through donations.

A total of 482 original episodes were produced.<ref name=Phelan>[https://books.google.com/books?id=dmmLAgAAQBAJ&dq=Family+Theater&pg=PA276 Phelan, Patricia. "Family Theater", ''The Concise Encyclopedia of American Radio'', (Christopher H. Sterling, Cary O'Dell, eds.), Routledge, 2010, p. 275]{{ISBN|9781135176846}}</ref>  The program featured not only religious stories, but also half-hour adaptations of literary works such as ''[[A Tale of Two Cities]]'', ''[[Moby-Dick]]'', and ''[[Don Quixote]]''.

Peyton and Family Theater Productions continued in radio and expanded into films and television.<ref>[https://www.familytheater.org/about-us "About Us", Family Theater]</ref> Peyton arranged for many of [[Cinema of the United States|Hollywood]]'s stars in film and radio at the time to appear on ''Family Theater''. Throughout its ten-year run, well-known actors and actresses, including [[James Stewart]], [[Gregory Peck]], [[Dennis Morgan]], [[Dorothy Warenskjold]], [[Irene Dunne]], [[Robert Mitchum]], [[Henry Fonda]], [[Bob Hope]], [[Lucille Ball]], [[Shirley Temple]], [[Natalie Wood]], [[Barbara Whiting]], [[Raymond Burr]], [[Jane Wyatt]], [[Charlton Heston]], [[Lizabeth Scott]], [[Bing Crosby]], [[Jack Benny]], [[Gene Kelly]], [[Kate Smith]], [[William Shatner]], and [[Chuck Connors]], appeared as announcers, narrators, or stars. Many donated their services.<ref name=Phelan/>

''Family Theater'' was broadcast in the United States, Canada, Latin American, Australia, Mozambique, and the Philippines and won a number of industry awards.<ref name=Phelan/> The motto of Family Theater Productions is "[[The family that prays together stays together]]."

==Television==
In 1951, while the radio version was still on the air, ''Family Theater'' moved to television, where it aired in [[Broadcast syndication|syndication]]. The spelling of the title was altered to ''Family Theatre'' and the series was extended to one hour. Father Peyton also hosted the TV version, which ran for seven years.

One of the TV episodes was "Hill Number One", famous for featuring an early appearance by [[James Dean]] as [[John the Apostle]] (not [[John the Baptist]], as erroneously noted on DVD releases of the episode). It combined a [[Korean War]] story with the story of the [[Crucifixion]] of [[Christ]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=O'Hare |first1=Kate |title=James Dean Proclaims the Resurrection in 'Hill Number One' |url=http://blog.familytheater.org/easter-sunday-james-dean-proclaims-the-resurrection-in-hill-number-one-on-ewtn/ |website=Family Theater Productions |accessdate=March 23, 2019 |date=April 14, 2017}}</ref>

==Present day==
After Peyton's death in 1992, Family Theater Productions became part of Holy Cross Family Ministries, sponsored by the [[Congregation of Holy Cross]].

''Family Theater'', now digitally remastered, continues to air in reruns in the United States and many other parts of the world. [[EWTN]], for instance, airs the program on Sunday nights under the name "Family Theater Classic Radio".<ref>{{cite web|title=EWTN Weekly Radio Schedule|url=https://www.ewtn.com/radio/weekly-grid/domestic-english|accessdate=October 10, 2020}}</ref> In addition, the program is available to download or stream on internet services such as the [[Internet Archive]].

==References==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
*{{official website|https://www.familytheater.org/classicradio}}
*[http://www.otr.net/?p=famt OTR Network Library: ''Family Theater'' (384 episodes)]
*[http://zootradio.com/Family_Theater.php Zoot Radio, free old time radio show downloads of ''Family Theater'']
* {{IMDb title|id=0120956|title=Family Theatre}}
* {{IMDb title|id=0394561|title=Family Theatre ep. "Hill Number One: A Story of Faith and Inspiration"}}
* {{Internet Archive film|id=HillNumberOne|name=Family Theatre ep. "Hill Number One: A Story of Faith and Inspiration"}}

[[Category:American Christian radio programs]]
[[Category:American radio dramas]]
[[Category:Christian radio dramas]]
[[Category:Mutual Broadcasting System programs]]
[[Category:Catholic radio programs]]
[[Category:1947 radio programme debuts]]
[[Category:1957 radio programme endings]]
[[Category:Radio programs adapted into television shows]]
[[Category:1951 American television series debuts]]
[[Category:1958 American television series endings]]
[[Category:1950s American anthology television series]]
[[Category:1940s American radio programs]]
[[Category:1950s American radio programs]]
[[Category:Anthology radio series]]
[[Category:Congregations of Holy Cross]]
[[Category:Christian entertainment television series]]
[[Category:Black-and-white American television shows]]
[[Category:American English-language television shows]]
[[Category:First-run syndicated television programs in the United States]]