Life Is Worth Living
Character Building
TV Flash files “Character Building” as the last listed hour of season 1956 — Life Is Worth Living (1952–1957) on DuMont/ABC, season 1956, episode 17, aired 1956-01-01, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S1956E17: listed hour 36 of 42 in the Life Is Worth Living guide, last listed hour of season 1956. It aired 1956-01-01 (30 min). The listed hour before it is “Angels” (S1956E16). Next is “Best City in the World in Which to Be Broke” (S1957E01).
Viewer FAQ
Where does Character Building sit in the Life Is Worth Living guide?
S1956E17 is listed hour 36 of 42 — last listed hour of season 1956, season 1956 episode 17.
When did Life Is Worth Living S1956E17 air?
Character Building aired 1956-01-01 and is listed at 30 minutes.
Where should I start?
Start with Sheen, the cape, and the chalkboard. One half-hour of philosophy-and-faith talk teaches the whole unlikely hit.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Life Is Worth Living put Bishop Fulton Sheen and a chalkboard against Milton Berle some weeks — and won. Cape, ideas, faith talk as unexpected prime-time muscle. Watch it in 2026 as the ratings freak that proved a lecture could beat vaudeville: Uncle Fultie versus Uncle Miltie, still the decade's strangest head-to-head.
The chalkboard is the only prop and it is beating vaudeville some weeks. Life Is Worth Living (DuMont then ABC, 1952–1957) put Catholic Bishop Fulton J. Sheen on a half-hour of philosophy, faith, and modern life — cape, charisma, ideas as unexpected prime-time muscle. Forty-two catalog hours, five seasons. Surprisingly large audiences. An Emmy. The informal ratings rivalry with Milton Berle's comedy hour became Uncle Fultie versus Uncle Miltie, the decade's strangest head-to-head. **They are not amicable**, the…
Filed against
- Fulton J. Sheen as Host
Fulton J. Sheen chalked prime time on Life Is Worth Living — a bishop and a blackboard against Milton Berle some weeks, and winning. Cape, ideas, faith talk as unexpected muscle. Uncle Fultie versus Uncle Miltie. TV Flash files him as…