GE True

GE True (also known as General Electric True) is a 33-episode, American anthology series sponsored by General Electric that aired from September 30, 1962, until May 26, 1963, with repeats through September 1963. Telecast on CBS, the series presented stories, both published and unpublished, from the files of True magazine. The series' executive producer was Jack Webb through his Mark VII Limited company; he also acted as host-narrator, directed several episodes, and acted in several episodes.

Program overview
A representative of the publisher of True magazine met Jack Webb at a party in New York and suggested the magazine as a source of material. Webb and others then researched the magazine's files for story ideas. Stories were adapted for television primarily by head writer Harold Jack Bloom. More than half of the episodes were directed by William Conrad, who portrayed Matt Dillon on radio's Gunsmoke and was later the star of the CBS crime drama Cannon.

In an overview of the 1962 television season, Time noted:


 * Jack ("dum-de-dum-dum") Webb is back. This time he is retelling stories from the files of True magazine. The first one was set on a hospital ship off Okinawa, where a doctor (played by William Conrad) operated on a marine who had a live and sensitive shell in his body capable of blowing a six-foot hole in a steel deck. It was a hell of a moment, but Webb sank it. "At 1830 hours exactly," he intoned, "the operation began on a human bomb dead center in the circle of death." He hosts the program in an echo-chambered voice, while he stands beside the word TRUE, spelled out in block letters 22 feet high, or roughly 10 times as tall as Jack Webb.



GE True aired at 9:30p.m. Sundays, following The McCoys, a sitcom that had moved to CBS from ABC. GE True aired a half-hour later than a predecessor series, General Electric Theater, hosted by Ronald Reagan, which had aired at 9p.m. from 1953 to 1962. Both The McCoys and GE True faced opposition from the highly rated Western series Bonanza on NBC.

The show had a unique opening, of which there were at least two variants. Each opening featured a large "TRUE" sign, apparently several stories tall and shown at an oblique angle, initially in deep shadow. One variant began with Webb voicing "Good evening. Your host, General Electric." with a large GE logo displayed next to the TRUE sign. Another variant lacked the GE logo, but included a superimposed quotation from Daniel Webster: "There is nothing so powerful as truth, and often nothing so strange." Strong symphonic music was featured as part of a majestic opening theme. Webb walked alongside the TRUE sign and stated either "And this, is true" (GE logo variant) or simply "This is true". The sign became brightly lit and the camera changed to a direct view of Webb, who then introduced the episode.

The Webb-hosted short film Red Nightmare (1962) had similarities to the GE True episode "The Last Day", although the former was presented as fantasy via a dream sequence.

In February 1963, Webb succeeded William T. Orr as executive in charge of Warner Bros. Television, with Orr moving to the motion picture part of Warner Bros. At the beginning of June 1963, it was reported that GE True would not continue. Webb's role with Warner ended in December 1963.

Reruns of GE True were later syndicated under the title True.

Guest stars
In addition to performers mentioned above, other notable persons who guest starred on GE True include:


 * Anna-Lisa
 * Philip Abbott
 * Lloyd Bochner
 * James T. Callahan
 * Philip Carey
 * James Doohan
 * Don Dubbins
 * David Frankham
 * Stacy Harris
 * Arte Johnson
 * Russell Johnson
 * Robert Knapp
 * James Millhollin
 * Mort Mills
 * Jeanette Nolan
 * Albert Paulsen
 * Jacqueline Scott
 * Simon Scott
 * Malachi Throne
 * Pat Woodell