The Millionaire (1955–1960)

In this hit 1950's TV series, a millionaire indulges himself giving away one million dollars apiece to persons that he has never met.

Stars:

Marvin Miller, Paul Frees, Roy Gordon

Cast

Series cast summary:
Marvin Miller	...	Michael Anthony (206 episodes, 1955-1960)
Paul Frees	...	John Beresford Tipton (206 episodes, 1955-1960)

Storyline

In this hit 1950's TV series, a millionaire indulges himself giving away one million dollars apiece to persons that he has never met.

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Plot Keywords:

anthology

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 January 1955 (USA)

Also Known As:

If You Had a Million

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), Don Fedderson Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min 30 min (205 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

As the series progressed:

• $1,000,000 in 1955 had the same purchasing power as $8,010,000 in 2009.
• $1,000,000 in 1956 had the same purchasing power as $7,890,000 in 2009.
• $1,000,000 in 1957 had the same purchasing power as $7,620,000 in 2009.
• $1,000,000 in 1958 had the same purchasing power as $7,420,000 in 2009.
• $1,000,000 in 1959 had the same purchasing power as $7,360,000 in 2009.
• $1,000,000 in 1960 had the same purchasing power as $7,240,000 in 2009.

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Connections

Followed by The Millionaire (1978)

User Reviews

nice work if you can get it

Apparently inspired by the '30s film "If I Had A Million", this was one of the better TV offerings of the Fabulous Fifties. A mysterious (and obviously eccentric) billionaire, John Beresford Tipton would, each week, write out a check for one million dollars and instruct his manservant Michael Anthony (aka Marvin Miller)to deliver it to its recipient, a total stranger, along with instructions that the lucky individual must never reveal it's source or its exact amount on pain of forfeiture. The scripts were, for the most part, literate and engrossing. In fact, it was reported at the time that some viewers found the premise so convincing that they actually wrote their local TV stations pleading to know where the reclusive Mr. Tipton lived so they could, hopefully, get a similar check. Of course, there were also viewers who actually thought "Mr. Ed" could really talk, but we digress. . . This show was, as already mentioned, one of the better shows back then ( as evinced by it's 5 year run ) and will, hopefully, one of these days, reappear on DVD. We should be so lucky.