The O. Henry Playhouse was an early American anthology television series which featured television adaptations of short stories written by 19th-century author O. Henry and primarily set in New York City. The series was both hosted and narrated by Thomas Mitchell, who portrayed the title character, and featured several television and film stars during its run such as Maureen Stapleton, Charles Bronson, DeForest Kelley, Lisa Montell, Otto Kruger, Max Showalter and Ernest Borgnine.The series was syndicated and began running on a handful of stations late in 1956. With the sale to General Cigar Company of Baltimore in May 1957, the series was contracted to 188 markets. According to Billboard's "Pulse Film Ratings" The O. Henry Playhouse generally received television ratings around 10.0 for its only season and ranked in the middle of the "Syndicated Film Drama Shows" category.