The O. Henry Playhouse

The O. Henry Playhouse was an early American anthology television series which featured television adaptations of short stories written by 19th-century author O. Henry and primarily set in New York City. The series was both hosted and narrated by Thomas Mitchell, who portrayed the title character, and featured several television and film stars during its run such as Maureen Stapleton, Charles Bronson, DeForest Kelley, Ernest Borgnine, Tom Conway, Stanley Clements, Otto Kruger, Dave O'Brien, Jane Nigh, Louis Hayward, Marsha Hunt, John Carradine, and Richard Arlen.

The syndicated series began running in 23 regional markets in late 1956. When General Cigar Company of Baltimore signed on as a sponsor in May 1957, the series was contracted to 188 markets. The O. Henry Playhouse generally received very good ratings and became one of the top 10 filmed series in some markets, ranking as high as #6 in Atlanta and #2 in Los Angeles and Minneapolis-St. Paul.

The O. Henry Playhouse became popular among educators. Tom Gibbons, who owned WAFB-TV in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, asked Gross-Krasne if film prints of the series could be shown to high school English classes. Gross-Krasne worked out a more practical plan where students were instructed to watch the program on WAFB and discuss the program the following day. Thomas Mitchell himself made a personal appearance in Baton Rouge, to speak before the students. Mitchell's interactions with the students were so stimulating that Gross-Krasne arranged for the actor to tour other schools nationwide.