Life Is Worth Living 

The show featured Most Reverent Fulton J. Sheen, the Roman Catholic Auxiliary Bishop of New York City, offering anecdotes and moral lessons. Many of the talks were about the evils of the Communist form of government.

Stars:

Fulton J. Sheen, Don Russell

Nominated for 3 Primetime Emmys.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Fulton J. Sheen	...	Self - Host 13 episodes, 1952-1957
Don Russell	...	Self - Announcer 11 episodes, 1952-1957

Storyline

The vast majority of the episodes were concerned with the moral aspects of the Catholic faith from the perspective of the natural law and philosophy. Less frequently the shows touched on some aspects of the Catholic faith or a topical matter. He often spoke directly to the viewer, establishing an intimacy with his audience which was unique. He often answered viewer mail. Bishop Sheen frequently used personal anecdotes and stories to illustrate his ideas. His conversational manner of speaking and his use home spun wisdom help to explain his ideas in a simple and accessible way.

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Plot Keywords:

religion | early television | chalk talk | non fiction | 

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Genres:

Family | Talk-Show

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Surprisingly, Bishop Fulton J. Sheen was the Emmy winner as "Most Outstanding Television Personality" of 1952, over Lucille Ball, Edward R. Murrow, Arthur Godfrey and Jimmy Durante.

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Connections

Referenced in EWTN Live: Word on Fire's Catholicism Miniseries (2011)

User Reviews

A masterpiece from secular television.

Okay, get this. I'm pitching a prime time major network television show. It's about this Catholic bishop giving a 30 minute monologue each week. It's not so much Catholic based, not even Christian, as said bishop is well versed in literature, philosophy, and politics. Whadya say, Mr. TV Exec?

Never in a million years would a show like this get put on TV today! But in TV's infancy... what a breath of fresh air!

My oh my... how far downward our society has fallen. This show proves beyond all others from this or any other era that our country's intellect has been washed away. Can you imagine someone trying to pitch a show to go on ABC, NBC, CBS or Fox today? Or even secular cable? 55 years ago it wasn't so far fetched at all. In fact, the Bishop's ratings were pretty high. And this was pretty esoteric stuff he was talking about. It's pretty sad that I cannot imagine the MTV generation sitting still for this, not that he's slow moving, he's not, but he's got so much to tell us and black and white kine-scopes are going to keep the current generation from embracing his wit, wisdom, love, and... how to give a public speech. (I used to teach public speaking to high school students.) There is no one better, no one.

I'm in my 40s. I guess you would call me an evangelical, charismatic Christian, certainly not of the Catholic brand. However, I go out of my way to watch Bishop Sheen on EWTN every Friday night now. My brain gets stimulated. He's so spot on and so inspired by the Holy Spirit, it's exhausting. The Bishop had a gift; it came from Him.

It is amazing to see how prophetic he was. He was dead on about where this country was heading.

Thank you EWTN for broadcasting the best show on your network!! And thank you Bishop Sheen Archives in Rochester, NY for restoring these programs. I just wished you would have left the original titles and credits alone. I don't get the new narration and the Bishop's bio at the end of every program. That's nit picky, I know. Still, I feel so blessed by Bishop Sheen and his ministry more than any other Christian broadcaster.

I look forward to meeting him in Heaven one day. Bye now! God love you!!

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 February 1952 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Adelphi Theatre, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

American Broadcasting Company (ABC), DuMont Television Network

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White