Hallmark of Firsts
-- Broadcasting & Cable, 2/19/2001
On Feb. 7, at its annual gala at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York, The Museum of Television & Radio celebrated the 50th anniversary of Hallmark Hall of Fame, the longest-running and most honored series of dramatic specials in the history of American television.
Presenters at the museum's annual gala were Hallmark Hall of Fame actors and actresses, including Glenn Close, Hume Cronyn, Blythe Danner, Charles Dutton, James Garner, Ed Herrmann, Gena Rowlands, James Woods and Joanne Woodward.
Hallmark Hall of Fame debuted on Dec. 24, 1951, with the world premiere of Gian Carlo Menotti's opera, Amahl and the Night Visitors -the first opera commissioned for television. The series was also the first sponsored program presented in color and the first to air a Shakespearean play (Hamlet) on television.
