the lover of Grace Kelly, whose husband Ray Milland tries to kill her. The film was a hit. Cummings then supported Doris Day in a musical at Warner Bros, Lucky Me (1954). He was chosen by producer John Wayne as his co-star to play airline pilot Captain Sullivan in The High and the Mighty, partly due to Cummings's flying experience; however, director William A. Wellman overruled Wayne and hired Robert Stack for the part. Twelve Angry Men In 1954, Cummings appeared in Twelve Angry Men, an original TV play for Westinghouse Studio One written by Reginald Rose and directed by Franklin Schaffner, alongside actors including Franchot Tone and Edward Arnold. Cummings played Juror Number Eight, the role taken by Henry Fonda in the feature-film adaptation. Cummings's performance earned him the 1955 Emmy Award for Best Actor in a Single Performance. Other television appearances included Campbell Summer Soundstage ("The Test Case"), Justice ("The Crisis"), The Elgin Hour ("Floodtide"), and a TV version of Best Foot Forward (1954). Laurel Productions and The Bob Cummings Show In July 1954, Cummings formed his own independent film production company, Laurel Productions, Incorporated. The company's name had several affiliations to Cummings: his youngest daughter was named Laurel Ann Cummings; the street he and his family lived on was named Laurel Way; his wife's grandmother's name was Laurel; and finally, the fact that Laurel & Hardy had given Cummings his film debut back in 1933. His wife Mary Elliott was appointed president of Laurel Productions. In July 1954, Cummings filmed the pilot for his television show, The Bob Cummings Show, and would go on to produce 173 episodes. Cummings intended to produce a film titled The Damned through Laurel Productions, from a novel by John D. MacDonald and to be written and directed by Frank Tashlin. In December 1954, Cummings and George Burns formed Laurmac Productions, with the hope of co-producing a feature film in May 1955. In January 1955, The Bob Cummings Show began airing, and went through 1959. Cummings starred on the successful NBC sitcom, The Bob Cummings Show (known as Love That Bob in reruns), where he played Bob Collins, a former World War II pilot who became a successful professional photographer. As a bachelor in 1950s Los Angeles, the character considered himself quite the ladies' man. The sitcom was noted for some very risqué humor for its time. A popular feature of the