GE True

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American anthology TV series

title: "GE True" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1962-american-television-series-debuts", "1963-american-television-series-endings", "1960s-american-anthology-television-series", "black-and-white-american-television-shows", "cbs-television-dramas", "american-english-language-television-shows", "general-electric-sponsorships", "television-series-by-mark-vii-limited", "television-series-by-warner-bros.-television-studios", "television-shows-based-on-magazines"] description: "American anthology TV series" topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GE_True" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American anthology TV series ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox television"]

Field	Value
image	GE_True_opening.png
caption	A screenshot from the opening sequence
alt_name	General Electric True
genre	Anthology
writer	Harold Jack Bloom
Otis Carney
John Kneubuhl
Lou Morheim
Dean Riesner
Michael Zagor
director	William Conrad
Robert M. Leeds
Jack Webb
presenter	Jack Webb
narrated	Jack Webb
country	United States
language	English
num_seasons	1
num_episodes	33
executive_producer	Jack Webb
producer	Michael Meshekoff
cinematography	Daniel L. Fapp
Bert Glennon
Carl E. Guthrie
Harold E. Stine
company	Warner Bros. Television
CBS Television Network
camera	Single-camera
runtime	25 minutes
channel	CBS
first_aired
last_aired
::

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 Telecast on CBS, the series presented stories, both published and unpublished, from the files of True magazine.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. 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.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Jan_Shepard_GE_True_Gertie_the_Great_1963.JPG" caption="[[Jan Shepard]] in episode "Gertie the Great""] ::

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.

Episodes

|background=#000 |overall= |title= |writer= |director= |airdate= |episodes= | EpisodeNumber = 1 | Title = Circle of Death | DirectedBy=Jack Webb | WrittenBy=Dale Wasserman| OriginalAirDate =
| ShortSummary = During the Battle of Okinawa, a doctor (William Conrad) operates on a marine with a live projectile shell in his body. | LineColor = 000 }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 2 | Title = V-Victor 5 | DirectedBy=Robert M. Leeds | WrittenBy=Gene Roddenberry and Harold Jack Bloom|OriginalAirDate =
| ShortSummary = In 1933, an off-duty police officer (Karl Held) attempts to apprehend five wanted criminals in Hell's Kitchen. | LineColor = 000 }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 3 | Title = Harris Vs. Castro | DirectedBy=William Conrad | WrittenBy=Harold Jack Bloom|OriginalAirDate =
| ShortSummary = Miami advertising executive Erwin Harris takes legal action against Fidel Castro to make good on an advertising contract. | LineColor = 000 }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 4 | Title = Code Name: Christopher (Part 1) | DirectedBy=Jack Webb | WrittenBy=Otis Carney|OriginalAirDate =
| ShortSummary = In late 1942, a Marine Corps captain (Jack Webb) is sent to assist with the sabotage of a Nazi chemical plant in Norway. | LineColor = 000 }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 5 | Title = Code Name: Christopher (Part 2) | DirectedBy=Jack Webb | WrittenBy=Otis Carney|OriginalAirDate =
| ShortSummary = Conclusion; see above. | LineColor = 000 }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 6 | Title = The Handmade Private | DirectedBy=William Conrad | WrittenBy=Dean Riesner| OriginalAirDate =
| ShortSummary = During World War II, a U.S. Army corporal (Jerry Van Dyke) creates an imaginary private, who then becomes the subject of a worldwide search. | LineColor = 000 }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 7 | Title = The Last Day | DirectedBy=William Conrad | WrittenBy=John Joseph (John Furia Jr.) & Harold Jack Bloom| OriginalAirDate =
| ShortSummary = During the Cold War, what appears to be a typical American town is actually a Russian spy school. | LineColor = 000 }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 8 | Title = Man With a Suitcase | DirectedBy=William Conrad | WrittenBy=Harold Jack Bloom|OriginalAirDate =
| ShortSummary = A man (Bill Berger) smuggles a woman (Erika Peters) out of East Berlin in a suitcase. | LineColor = 000 }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 9 | Title = Mile Long Shot To Kill | DirectedBy=William Conrad | WrittenBy=Harold Jack Bloom|OriginalAirDate =
| ShortSummary = During the Civil War, a Union Army officer develops a telescopic sight. | LineColor = 000 }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 10 | Title = Cheating Cheaters | DirectedBy=Robert M. Leeds | WrittenBy=Harold Jack Bloom| OriginalAirDate =
| ShortSummary = A card game expert (Jack Hogan) is sent to a cruise ship to help investigate the death of a passenger. | LineColor = 000 }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 11 | Title = UXB (Unexploded Bomb) | DirectedBy=Robert M. Leeds | WrittenBy=Harold Jack Bloom| OriginalAirDate =
| ShortSummary = Major Bill Hartley (Michael Evans) is part of a bomb disposal unit still disarming German bombs from World War II in London. | LineColor = 000 }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 12 | Title = The Wrong Nickel | DirectedBy=William Conrad | WrittenBy=Harold Jack Bloom|OriginalAirDate =
| ShortSummary = A Soviet spy is eventually captured following the discovery of a modified nickel. | LineColor = 000 }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 13 | Title = The Amateurs | DirectedBy=William Conrad | WrittenBy=Dean Riesner| OriginalAirDate =
| ShortSummary = In 1909, a Boston jeweler (Jonathan Hole) gets a lead to $1 million in stolen jewels from a former Harvard classmate (Vinton Hayworth). | LineColor = 000 }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 14 | Title = Open Season |DirectedBy=William Conrad | WrittenBy=Harold Jack Bloom & Barry Oringer| OriginalAirDate =
| ShortSummary = Courageous Wisconsin game warden Ernie Swift (James Best) faces the reprisal of organized crime after he tickets gangster Frank MacErlane (David McLean) for illegal fishing. | LineColor = 000 }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 15 | Title = Defendant: Clarence Darrow |DirectedBy=William Conrad | WrittenBy=Harold Jack Bloom| OriginalAirDate =
| ShortSummary = In 1912, Clarence Darrow (Tol Avery), the Chicago lawyer who later clashed with William Jennings Bryan over the theory of evolution at the Scopes trial, is accused of having attempted to bribe a juror. Darrow argues passionately over legal procedures with his own lawyer, Earl Rogers (Robert Vaughn). | LineColor = 000 }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 16 | Title = O.S.I. |DirectedBy=William Conrad | WrittenBy=Harold Jack Bloom| OriginalAirDate =
| ShortSummary = A communist spy asks for help from the Office of Special Investigations to secure the safety of his family in East Germany. | LineColor = 000 }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 17 | Title = Firebug | DirectedBy=William Conrad | WrittenBy=John Kneubuhl|OriginalAirDate =
| ShortSummary = Victor Buono plays Charles Colvin, a barber in Los Angeles, who is by night a pyromaniac. The United States Forest Service believes that one arsonist is causing a series of fires. The episode also stars Keith Andes and Arch Johnson. | LineColor = 000 }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 18 | Title = Little Richard | DirectedBy=Jack Webb | WrittenBy=Harold Jack Bloom| OriginalAirDate =
| ShortSummary = An Oklahoma man (Hampton Fancher) seeks help when his hunting dog becomes trapped in a hole. | LineColor = 000 }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 19 | Title = Escape (Part 1) | DirectedBy=William Conrad | WrittenBy=Louis Morheim| OriginalAirDate =
| ShortSummary = An escape artist poses as an RAF officer, allows himself to be captured, and helps RAF pilots escape from a German prisoner-of-war camp. | LineColor = 000 }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 20 | Title = Escape (Part 2) | DirectedBy=William Conrad | WrittenBy=Louis Morheim| OriginalAirDate =
| ShortSummary = Conclusion; see above. | LineColor = 000 }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 21 | Title = The Moonshiners | DirectedBy=William Conrad | WrittenBy=John Kneubuhl| OriginalAirDate =
| ShortSummary = Walter Kopek (Gene Evans), an agent of the United States Treasury Department, assumes an undercover role to halt a bootlegging operation in Florida, run by mobster Bill Munger (Robert Emhardt). James Griffith is cast in this episode as Stan Woolman. | LineColor = 000 }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 22 | Title = Security Risk | DirectedBy=William Conrad | WrittenBy=John Kneubuhl| OriginalAirDate =
| ShortSummary = In 1960, George Ellsworth (Charles Aidman), an official with the United States Embassy in Warsaw, Poland, is blackmailed through a romantic affair with a young woman named Erica (Erika Peters) into passing secret information to the communists at the height of the Cold War. He confessed his guilt despite the protection of diplomatic immunity. Karl Swenson and Parley Baer also appeared in this episode. | LineColor = 000 }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 23 | Title = The Black-Robed Ghost |DirectedBy=William Conrad | WrittenBy=Harold Jack Bloom & Maxine Robinson & John Robinson| OriginalAirDate =
| ShortSummary = After a young female artist dies suddenly, an aunt (Josephine Hutchinson) reports seeing her outside their home. | LineColor = 000 }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 24 | Title = Ordeal |DirectedBy=William Conrad | WrittenBy=Harold Jack Bloom| OriginalAirDate =
| ShortSummary = In New Orleans, an ex-convict (Chris Robinson) kills a police sergeant, then forces his way into an apartment where he holds a family of three (the father played by Kevin Hagen) hostage. | LineColor = 000 }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 25 | Title = Pattern for Espionage |DirectedBy=William Conrad | WrittenBy=Harold Jack Bloom| OriginalAirDate =
| ShortSummary = In 1954, a U.S. Army colonel, Harvey Madison (Rex Reason), is approached by a former Russian comrade-in-arms to spy for the communists. Instead, he covertly cooperates with the FBI to uncover a spy ring operated by the Soviet Union. Anthony Eisley and Gregory Walcott also appeared in this episode. | LineColor = 000 }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 26 | Title = The Tenth Mona Lisa | DirectedBy=William Conrad | WrittenBy=Louis Morheim| OriginalAirDate =
| ShortSummary = In 1911, Vincenzo Peruggia (Vito Scotti) steals the Mona Lisa from the Louvre in Paris, but is apprehended by a French detective when he attempts to sell the painting to an art dealer. | LineColor = 000 }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 27 | Title = Gertie The Great | DirectedBy=Robert M. Leeds | WrittenBy=Harold Jack Bloom| OriginalAirDate =
| ShortSummary = A mallard duck in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, captivates the community; Jan Shepard plays a reporter assigned to cover the story. | LineColor = 000 }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 28 | Title = Black Market | DirectedBy=Alan Crosland Jr. | WrittenBy=Michael Zagor| OriginalAirDate =
| ShortSummary = In post-World War II Munich, an American investigator (Ron Foster) works to stop black market trafficking of cigarettes. Hanna Landy also stars. | LineColor = 000 }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 29 | Title = Nitro | DirectedBy=John Peyser | WrittenBy=Harold Jack Bloom & Les Pine| OriginalAirDate =
| ShortSummary = An employee of an electroplating business in Kansas City, Missouri, accidentally makes 9 gal of nitroglycerin while mixing chemicals. | LineColor = 000 }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 30 | Title = Heydrich (Part 1) | DirectedBy=William Conrad | WrittenBy=John Kneubuhl & Harold Jack Bloom| OriginalAirDate =
| ShortSummary = In 1942, Nazi chief of the Reich Security Main Office, Reinhard Heydrich (Kurt Kreuger), is assassinated by Czech resistance, and Adolf Hitler takes revenge on a village. Werner Klemperer also stars as Karl Hermann Frank. | LineColor = 000 }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 31 | Title = Heydrich (Part 2) | DirectedBy=William Conrad | WrittenBy=John Kneubuhl & Harold Jack Bloom| OriginalAirDate =
| ShortSummary = Conclusion; see above. | LineColor = 000 }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 32 | Title = Commando | DirectedBy=William Conrad | WrittenBy=Michael Zagor| OriginalAirDate =
| ShortSummary = A safecracker (Sean McClory) is recruited to assist in a commando raid in Rome during World War II. | LineColor = 000 }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 33 | Title = Five Tickets to Hell | DirectedBy=Robert M. Leeds | WrittenBy=Harold Jack Bloom & Richard Harbinger| OriginalAirDate =
| ShortSummary = In the series finale, John Quigley (Bing Russell), a Chicago mobster travels to Chihuahua, Mexico, where he robs the mint of $500,000 and kills seven men in the commission of the crime. Police Lieutenant Juan Garcia (Carlos Romero) tracks down Quigley and his three accomplices. Barbara Luna appears in this episode as Cotita. | LineColor = 000

Guest stars

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

Notes

References

(September 22, 1962). "'Just The Truth, Ma'am,' Theme Of New Jack Web Drama Series". [[Santa Maria Times]].
(October 12, 1962). "Show Business: The Retreads".
(September 29, 1962). "Jack Webb in Pursuit of Truth". [[Press & Sun-Bulletin]].
Lowry, Cynthia. (September 30, 1962). "Webb's TV Series Will Face Stiff Competition". [[Charleston Gazette-Mail]].
See episode "Code Name Christopher"
See episode "V-Victor 5"
(February 20, 1963). "Webb Lands Post With Warner Bros.". [[The Ardmoreite]].
Finnigan, Joseph. (June 1, 1963). "Jack Webb Is Running Warner Lot". [[Cumberland Evening Times]].
(December 23, 1963). "TV Notes". [[The Salinas Californian]].
Rahn, Pete. (October 10, 1962). "Jack Webb 'True' Series Good Tv". [[St. Louis Globe-Democrat]].
(25 May 2022). "G E True - V Victor Five Karl Held".
Kirkley, Donald. (October 10, 1962). "Look and Listen (column)". [[The Baltimore Sun]].
(September 29, 1962). "'Harris Vs. Castro' Story Of Unique Legal Conflict". [[Napa Valley Register]].
"GE True 1962 Code Name Christopher - sabotaging Nazi A-bomb factory - Jack Webb".
(November 4, 1962). "Sunday's Best On Television". [[The News & Observer]].
"The Last Day - Jack Webb host - frightening cold war drama that is like a Twilight Zone episode".
(November 17, 1962). "She's Tiny, Has Accent—She Gets Part". [[Press & Sun-Bulletin]].
"GE TRUE 1962 Mile Long Shot to Kill history of the telescopic rifle Civil War - Russell Johnson".
(December 1, 1962). "Fool and Money Part Easily". [[The Salinas Californian]].
(December 9, 1962). "Program Notes". [[The Gazette (Cedar Rapids, Iowa).
(December 15, 1962). "'Wrong Nickel' on 'General Electric True'". The Times-Mail.
(December 30, 1962). "TV Scout". [[The Tennessean]].
(January 6, 1963). "TV Previews for Tonight". [[Press & Sun-Bulletin]].
"G E TRUE: "DEFENDANT: CLARENCE DARROW" Jack Webb Narrator. 1-13-1963. (HD)".
(January 20, 1963). "Television for the Week". [[The Miami News]].
"GE TRUE 1963 - Firebug - Victor Buono, Keith Andes - host Jack Webb - directed by William Conrad".
(February 2, 1963). "Dog's Rescue Told". [[The Register-Herald]].
(February 10, 1963). "Television listing". [[Detroit Free Press]].
(February 16, 1963). "Television listing". [[Windsor Star]].
(February 23, 1963). "Agent 'Joins' Bootleg Ring". [[The Times Herald]].
"G.E. TRUE: "SECURITY RISK" Charles Aidman, Erika Peters Guest Stars. 3-3-1963. (HD HQ 1080p)".
(March 9, 1963). "Featured Sunday". [[The Marion Star]].
(March 15, 1963). "Family Held Prisoner On 'GE True'". [[The News Leader]].
"PATTERN FOR ESPIONAGE 1963 - host Jack Webb, Rex Reason - true life story similar to I Led 3 Lives".
(March 31, 1963). "A Short Order". [[The Boston Globe]].
(April 13, 1963). "(photo)". [[Scranton Tribune]].
(April 20, 1963). "Previews of Television and Radio Shows". [[The Dispatch / The Rock Island Argus.
(April 20, 1963). "TV Previews, Programs". [[Rutland Daily Herald]].
(April 28, 1963). "Television Programs". [[The Kansas City Star]].
"G.E. TRUE 1963 Nitro hosted by Jack Webb - harrowing story of chemical plant accident".
(May 4, 1963). "Himmler's Aide Target On GE True". [[The Times Herald]].
(May 5, 1963). "TV Highlights". [[Arizona Daily Star]].
(May 5, 1963). "Terrorist". [[The Fresno Bee]].
"G.E. TRUE: "COMMANDO" Jack Webb Narrator, Sean McCory. 5-19-1963. (HD HQ 1080p)".
(May 25, 1963). "'Five Tickets To Hell' Set As 'True' Drama Sunday". [[The Register-Herald]].
(May 25, 1963). "Plays Waitress In 'True' Sunday". [[The Register-Herald]].

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