The Twentieth Century is a half-hour documentary television series broadcast over CBS-TV from 1957 until 1966.[1] It was hosted and narrated by Walter Cronkite and telecast Sunday evenings (originally at 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time, shifting to 6 p.m. in the fall of 1961). Its theme music was written by American composer George Antheil.
The series covered significant events of the 20th century and consisted largely of newsreel footage. However, some episodes focused on contemporary subjects, such as "The Violent World of Sam Huff," a behind-the-scenes profile of the New York Giants football player which originally aired on October 30, 1960.
The series was sponsored by Prudential Insurance, with the opening and closing credits for the series superimposed over a still photo of the Rock of Gibraltar, Prudential's symbol. The series won two Emmy Awards, and was succeeded in January 1967 by The 21st Century, a slightly different documentary series focusing on the future, which lasted until January 1970.
This was a long-running documentary series telecast weekly by a major commercial television network, at an hour close to prime time. Such a practice would most likely be frowned on by today's commercial TV executives, who would probably relegate the show either to PBS or to cable television. A new edition of the series, with Mike Wallace acting as host, was telecast on A&E in the 1980s, but not on CBS, NBC, or ABC.