The 1958 Sylvania Television Awards were presented on January 22, 1959, at the Plaza Hotel in New York City. The Sylvania Awards were established by Sylvania Electric Products.
The 31-member panel that decided the winners was chaired by Deems Taylor and also included Marvin Barrett, television editor of Newsweek; Kenneth Bartlett of Syracuse University; pitcher Bob Feller; Judge Samuel S. Leibowitz; actor and playwright Elliott Nugent; actress and author Cornelius Oits Skinner; and lawyer and writer Telford Taylor.
Nominees The programs nominated for "Outstanding Telecast" included The Plot to Kill Stalin; the Moiseyev Dancers on The Ed Sullivan Show; An Evening with Fred Astaire; Little Moon of Alban; All the King's Men on Kraft Television Theatre; The Bridge of San Luis Rey on DuPont Show of the Month; and the episode "African Adventure" from Lowell Thomas's High Adventure.
The nominees for outstanding actor included Paul Muni in The Last Clear Chance; Melvyn Douglas in The Plot to Kill Stalin; Neville Brand in All the King's Men; and Fredric March in The Winslow Boy.
The nominees for outstanding actress included Rosalind Russell in Wonderful Town; Piper Laurie in Days of Wine and Roses; Julie Harris in Little Moon of Alban; and Judith Anderson and Viveca Lindfors in The Bridge on San Luis Rey.
Winners The winners were: Outstanding telecast - Little Moon of Alban, Hallmark Hall of Fame (NBC) Outstanding dramatic program - Little Moon of Alban Outstanding performance by an actress - Julie Harris for Little Moon of Alban Outstanding performance by an actor - Neville Brand, All the King's Men Best supporting performance by an actress - Maureen Stapleton, All the King's Men Best supporting performance by an actor - Oscar Homolka as Nikita Khrushchev in The Plot to Kill Stalin, Playhouse 90 Original original teleplay - James Costigan, Little Moon of Alban Outstanding variety show - Bob Hope's Moscow show Outstanding comedy show - The Sid Caesar Show Light musical show - An Evening with Fred Astaire Outstanding documentary program - The Face of Red China (CBS) and coverage of the coronation of Pope John XXIII (CBS) Outstanding documentary series - The Twentieth Century Outstanding news and special events program - live telecast of the Explorer launch (NBC) Outstanding contributions to serious music in television - Leonard Bernstein for programs on two networks Best comedy writing - John Vlahos for The Beaver Patrol, U.S. Steel Hour TV adaptation - Ludi Claire for The Bridge of San Luis Rey Outstanding children's program - Art Carney Meets Peter and the Wolf Outstanding public service program - NBC's Continental Classroom Merit citation - Rome Eternal on the Catholic Hour Outstanding religious series - Frontiers of Faith, Catholic Hour, and Eternal Light
References