NOTE: This program was originally posted on November 21, 2015, but in researching a new post, it couldn’t be found. Somehow it has disappeared from the site. So, if it looks familiar to some of you, it’s because you’ve seen it before. For others, it will be brand new.
Stewart appeared on just one program in this series, but it was a very special one. It was broadcast on November 21, 1954, just six days after the death of the program’s host, Lionel Barrymore. Instead of the normal play, Hallmark presented a special memorial show for Barrymore. By this point in 1954, television had taken over most of the space on the entertainment pages of most newspapers, so the listing “Hallmark Hall of Fame” is about all that appeared in most newspapers. One exception was to be found in the New York Times:
Although not mentioned here, Jimmy Stewart was on the show. With him were Frank Goss (the regular announcer for the program), Edward Arnold, who hosted he show, Gene Fowler, Helen Hayes, Bing Crosby, Louis Calhern, Parley Baer, Virginia Gregg, Dore Schary, J.C. Hall (President of Hallmark Cards), Agnes Moorehead, Lew Ayres, Dr. Norman Vincent Peale and Barrymore himself via recordings.
Stewart appears with Miss Hayes near the beginning of the show.
