Everything about Life Is Worth Living totally explained
Life is Worth Living was a popular inspirational
American television series which aired on the
DuMont Television Network from
1951 to
1955, and then on
ABC until 1957. It is still shown in reruns on the
Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) and the
Trinity Broadcasting network (TBN).
Hosted by
Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, the series consisted mainly of Sheen speaking to the camera and discussing moral issues of the day, often using a blackboard to explain the topic.
DuMont was searching for programming ideas and put on a series of rotating religious programs with a
Protestant minister, a
Jewish rabbi and a
Catholic bishop. While the other shows didn't catch on, the bishop (Sheen) became an overnight hit, found a sponsor in
Admiral television sets, and was DuMont's only
Emmy Award winner in its brief period of broadcasting. It also held the distinction of being aired on more stations than any other regularly-scheduled DuMont program.
It has been said that, had Sheen not been a Catholic bishop, he might have been one of America's great Shakespearean actors. Prior to
Life is Worth Living, Sheen had appeared on the radio program
Catholic Hour from
1930 to
1952. With his hypnotic gaze, disarming smile, and dramatic delivery, Sheen was a natural for television. Airing opposite NBC's highly popular
Milton Berle show on Tuesday nights, Sheen was the only person ever to give "Mr. Television" a run for his money, drawing as many as 10 million viewers.
Sheen and Berle enjoyed a friendly rivalry. Berle is reported to have joked, "We both work for the same boss, Sky Chief," making reference to a brand of gasoline produced by
Texaco, his sponsor. Later, when Sheen won an Emmy, Berle quipped, "He's got better writers!" As a take-off on Berle's popular nickname with the public, Sheen once opened his program by saying, "Good evening, this is Uncle Fultie."
The charismatic Sheen became one of television's earliest and most unlikely superstars, winning several
Emmy Awards for his program. When DuMont ceased network broadcasting in
1955, Sheen moved his show to
ABC, then lectured for a while, and returned to television in
1961 with
The Fulton Sheen Program, essentially another version of
Life is Worth Living. The show was broadcast on
local stations across America until
1968, with the later programs in color. Times had changed, however, and the 1960's programs didn't match the audience of his earlier years. Sheen was later appointed as Bishop of the Diocese of Rochester, New York. He died in 1979.
Reruns of
Life Is Worth Living and
The Fulton Sheen Program continued to circulate as late as the early
1990s on broadcast stations, and are currently televised weekly by
EWTN on Friday nights at 9 pm
Eastern time, introduced by actor
Joseph Campanella.
A similar program of the 1950s was
Faith Of Our Children, hosted by former movie dancer
Eleanor Powell.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Life Is Worth Living'.
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