Four Star Playhouse is an American television anthology series that ran from 1952 to 1956. Four Star Playhouse was owned by Four Star International. Its episodes ranged anywhere from surreal mysteries, such as “The Man on the Train”, to light comedies, such as “The Lost Silk Hat”. The original premise was that Charles Boyer, Ida Lupino, David Niven, and Dick Powell would take turns starring in episodes. However, several other performers took the lead from time to time, including Ronald Colman and Joan Fontaine.

The show was sponsored in its first bi-weekly season by The Singer Company. Bristol-Myers became an alternate sponsor when it became a weekly series in the fall of 1953 (both sponsors’ names alternated as part of the show’s title in its initial broadcasts).

While it never made the Nielsen Top 30, the ratings were sufficient to keep it on the air for four seasons. In 1954, Billboard voted it the second best filmed network television drama series.

Cast
While Charles Boyer, Ida Lupino, David Niven, and Dick Powell are the four main stars of the series, many other actors have appeared in different roles in more than one episode, including:
Herb Vigran (15 episodes, 1952–1956)
Regis Toomey (8 episodes, 1952–1956)
Ralph Moody (7 episodes, 1953–1956)
Robert Bice (7 episodes, 1954–1956)
Ray Walker (6 episodes, 1952–1956)
Christopher Dark (6 episodes, 1955–1956)
Richard Hale (6 episodes, 1953–1956)
Rhys Williams (6 episodes, 1952–1955)
Joan Camden (5 episodes, 1953–1955)
Alan Mowbray (5 episodes, 1955–1956)
Richard Reeves (5 episodes, 1953–1955)
William Forrest (5 episodes, 1953–1955)
Dorothy Green (4 episodes, 1953–1956)
Gene Hardy (4 episodes, 1953–1956)
Ronald Colman (4 episodes, 1952–1954)
Merle Oberon (4 episodes, 1953–1955)
Beverly Garland (4 episodes, 1954–1956)
Nestor Paiva (4 episodes, 1953–1955)
Berry Kroeger (4 episodes, 1955–1956)
Joseph Waring (4 episodes, 1954–1956)
Walter Sande (4 episodes, 1952–1956)
Walter Kingsford (4 episodes, 1953–1956)
Hugh Beaumont (4 episodes, 1954–1956)
Walter Coy (4 episodes, 1955–1956)
Lewis Martin (4 episodes, 1954–1956)
John Harmon (4 episodes, 1953–1954)
John Doucette (4 episodes, 1954–1955)
Alex Frazer (4 episodes, 1953–1956)
William F. Leicester (4 episodes, 1952–1955)
Sam Flint (4 episodes, 1954–1955)
Brooks Benedict (4 episodes, 1952–1956)
Barbara Lawrence (4 episodes, 1953–1956)
Frank Lovejoy (3 episodes, 1953–1956)
Joanne Woodward (3 episodes, 1954–1956)
Jeanette Nolan (3 episodes, 1953–1956)
Jean Howell (3 episodes, 1953–1955)
Dick Foran (3 episodes, 1954–1955)
James Seay (3 episodes, 1953–1956)
Lawrence Dobkin (3 episodes, 1953–1955)
Arthur Space (3 episodes, 1954–1956)
Morris Ankrum (3 episodes, 1955–1956)
Craig Stevens (3 episodes, 1953–1956)
Joan Banks (3 episodes, 1953–1954)
Ted Stanhope (3 episodes, 1954)
Paul Bryar (3 episodes, 1954–1956)
Herbert Lytton (3 episodes, 1954–1956)
Noreen Nash (3 episodes, 1952–1955)
Jean Willes (3 episodes, 1953–1955)
Frances Rafferty (3 episodes, 1953–1954)
Jay Novello (3 episodes, 1952–1955)
Howard McNear (3 episodes, 1952–1955)
Chuck Connors (3 episodes, 1954–1955)
Edward Platt (3 episodes, 1954–1955)
Harry Bartell (3 episodes, 1953–1956)
John Hoyt (3 episodes, 1954–1956)
Frank J. Scannell (3 episodes, 1954–1956)
George Macready (3 episodes, 1952–1954)
Don Shelton (3 episodes, 1954–1956)
William Boyett (3 episodes, 1952–1955)
Leonard Bremen (3 episodes, 1953–1954)
John Alvin (3 episodes, 1953–1954)
Claire Carleton (3 episodes, 1952–1954)
Ross Elliott (3 episodes, 1954–1956)
John Dehner (3 episodes, 1954–1955)
Hugh Sanders (3 episodes, 1954–1955)
Alexander Campbell (3 episodes, 1955–1956)
Norbert Schiller (3 episodes, 1955–1956)
Nolan Leary (3 episodes, 1956)
Joan Fontaine (2 episodes, 1953–1955)
Virginia Grey (2 episodes, 1952–1954)
James Millican (2 episodes, 1953)
Beverly Washburn (2 episodes, 1954–1956)
Elisabeth Fraser (2 episodes, 1953)
Maxine Cooper (2 episodes, 1956)
Steven Geray (2 episodes, 1955)
Tris Coffin (2 episodes, 1955–1956)
Willis Bouchey (2 episodes, 1954–1956)
Larry J. Blake (2 episodes, 1953–1954)
Ellen Corby (2 episodes, 1953–1954)
Alix Talton (2 episodes, 1953)
Harry Lauter (2 episodes, 1956)
Virginia Christine (2 episodes, 1953–1954)
Ralph Peters (2 episodes, 1954–1956)
Anthony Eustrel (2 episodes, 1954–1955)
Irene Tedrow (2 episodes, 1955–1956)
Tim Graham (2 episodes, 1955–1956)
William Swan (2 episodes, 1956)
Nick Dennis (2 episodes, 1953–1956)
Lucille Barkley (2 episodes, 1953)
Gloria Marshall (2 episodes, 1954–1956)
Jimmy Baird (2 episodes, 1955)
Frank Gerstle (2 episodes, 1953–1954)
Jack Lomas (2 episodes, 1954)
Jeanne Ferguson (2 episodes, 1956)
Tony Dante (2 episodes, 1956)
Martha Hyer (2 episodes, 1953–1954)
Angela Lansbury (2 episodes, 1954–1955)
Marguerite Chapman (2 episodes, 1954)
Vera Miles (2 episodes, 1954)
Hillary Brooke (2 episodes, 1952–1953)
Stacy Harris (2 episodes, 1953–1956)
Barbara Billingsley (2 episodes, 1953–1955)
Hal Baylor (2 episodes, 1954–1955)
Paul Picerni (2 episodes, 1954–1955)
Robert J. Wilke (2 episodes, 1954–1955)