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From 1949 through 1954, Suspense was an American television anthology series that aired on CBS. It was based on the same-named radio program that aired from 1942 to 1962. The show was transmitted live from New York City, as was the case with many early television shows. The Auto-Lite firm sponsored the show, and each episode was presented by host Rex Marshall, who promoted Auto-Lite spark plugs, automobile batteries, headlights, and other car accessories. Early scripts were derived from Suspense radio scripts, but others were written specifically for television. Many of the scripts, like the radio show, were adaptations of well-known authors' literary classics. Pieces from classic authors like Edgar Allan Poe, Agatha Christie, and Charles Dickens were adapted for the series, as as stories by contemporary authors like Roald Dahl and Gore Vidal. Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, Franchot Tone, Robert Emhardt, Leslie Nielsen, Lloyd Bridges, and a slew of other prominent actors participated on the show. Although the show was broadcast live, the majority of the programs were filmed on kinescope. Only roughly 90 of the 260 episodes have survived to this day.