I Led 3 Lives (1953–1956)

Herbert Philbrick was a young professional and pacifist in 1939 Boston. He joined an anti-war group and quickly found himself caught up in the secret world of underground communist activity... See full summary »

Stars:

Richard Carlson, John Zaremba, Virginia Stefan

Nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Richard Carlson	...	Herbert A. Philbrick (115 episodes, 1953-1956)
John Zaremba	...	Special Agent Jerry Dressler (67 episodes, 1953-1956)

Storyline

Herbert Philbrick was a young professional and pacifist in 1939 Boston. He joined an anti-war group and quickly found himself caught up in the secret world of underground communist activity. He agreed to spy on the Communists for the FBI, and spent the next 9 years of his life as a Communist, FBI spy, and Communist counter-spy, since they had asked him to follow other comrades to test their loyalty. Hence the 3 lives; and his family, co-workers, and church never knew. This TV show is based on the TRUE story of how Philbrick (played ably by Richard Carlson) could never relax, but had to sneak to secret cell meetings and meet FBI agents in clandestine places to make info drops, never knowing when he might be found out, and if he would live to see the next rendezvous.

---

Plot Keywords:

spy | communism | number in title

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

September 1953 (USA)

Filming Locations:

858 S. Westchester Pl., Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

ZIV Television Programs

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to the PBS special _"Who Was Lee Harvey Oswald?" (1992) (mini)_, this was Lee Harvey Oswald's favorite TV show.

---

Connections

Featured in Frontline: Who Was Lee Harvey Oswald? (1993)

User Reviews

A fine, authentic expose of subversive activities.

"I Led 3 Lives" was a sincere and authentic expose of the activities of the Communist Party USA. I was impressed by it as a child and I think the plot lines remain very interesting. Although rather cheaply done it had good workmanlike production values. It still provides good insight into the motivations and activities of fanatical subversives which are still valid to this day. I think Richard Carlson did a good, serious job with his role and he was always one of my favorite actors of the '50's. My father, who was a USMC officer at the time with a great interest in the psychology of communism, followed the show regularly. All in all this was one of the more important television productions to ever come along. Unfortunately it would not be touched with a 10 foot pole by the establishment media producers today!