In 1951, the radio program “My Favorite Husband” moved to TV, was renamed “I Love Lucy,” and provided America with its iconic comedy and couple for the decade. The Fifties was the era of Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, and William Inge on Broadway; of Oscars for “Marty” and “Ben Hur;” of “My Fair Lady” and Ed Sullivan and “Some Like It Hot.” It was also the decade of Joseph McCarthy, Ike, Martin Luther King, and Fidel Castro; of Alfred Kinsey and Elvis Presley; of Levittown, McDonald’s, and a vast migration to suburbia (where Ozzie and Harriet lived). These lectures will consider the extraordinary changes in American society during the 1950s, with close analysis of stage and screen narratives as a means to understand them. Ample video clips will range from “On the Waterfront” to “The Pajama Game,” from “The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial” to “Gunsmoke.” Larry Eilenberg has had a distinguished theatrical career as artistic director, educational leader, and pioneering dramaturg. Dr. Eilenberg earned his B.A. at Cornell University and his Ph.D. at Yale University. Professor Emeritus of Theatre Arts at San Francisco State University, he also taught at Yale, Cornell, the University of Michigan, and the University of Denver. Artistic Director of the renowned Magic Theatre during the period 1992-2003, Dr. Eilenberg has served as a commentator for National Public Radio’s “Morning Edition,” as a U.S. theatrical representative to Moscow, and as a popular lecturer on film and on comedy.