In 1952, a group of Hollywood movie actors joined forces to found Four Star Television (also known as Four Star Films, Four Star Productions & Four Star International). The company was formed in the United States by Dick Powell, David Niven and Charles Boyer (later Ida Lupino, although she owned no shares in the company). Four Star was a prolific production company, producing television shows such as The David Niven Show, The Big Valley, Burke's Law, Wanted: Dead or Alive, Zane Grey Theater, The Rifleman, Richard Diamond - Private Detective, The Rogue's, The June Allyson Show and The Detectives.

Hollywood veteran Dick Powell came up with the idea of producing an anthology series using four established stars. Powell's idea was to rotate the actors in each of the weekly Four Star Playhouse shows. Dick Powell had long wanted to produce and direct and although he had done so for RKO Pictures, owned by Howard Hughes, he saw the potential in the fledgling medium of television.

Powell had originally intended that his three colleagues in the venture should be Charles Boyer, Joel McCrea and Rosalind Russell, but McCrea and Russell pulled-out. Dick Powell then brought in David Niven as his third star, and the fourth star would at first be a guest in the shows, Ida Lupino made up the quartet as the de facto fourth star

Four Star Playhouse was picked-up by CBS and debuted in the autumn of 1952, although alternating weekly in its first season with The Amos and Andy Show. Four Star Playhouse was a success and continued on a weekly basis for its second and subsequent seasons until its demise in 1956.

Following the cancellation of Four Star Playhouse, the company went on to produce many other shows and has a prolific and impressive body of work to its name, including: Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater (1956-1960), Richard Diamond - Private Detective, starring David Janssen (1957-1960), Wanted: Dead or Alive, starring Steve McQueen as Josh Randall (1958-1960), The Rifleman, starring Chuck Connors (1958-1960), The Detectives, starring Robert Taylor (1959-1962), The June Allyson Show (1959-1961) and Burke's Law, starring Gene Barry (1965-1966).

Four Star helped launch the careers of many top movie and television actors, producers and directors of the 20th century, including - Steve McQueen, David Janssen, Mary Tyler-Moore, Chuck Connors, Sam Peckinpah and Aaron Spelling.

On January 2 1963, the visionary behind Four Star, Dick Powell died, just one day after making what was to be his last show; he had been suffering from stomach cancer. Following the death of Powell, an advertising executive, Thomas McDermott was brought in to run the company for Powell's family, Niven and Boyer.

The loss of Dick Powell also meant the loss of the original vision and driving-force behind the company. Sadly, as a result of Powell's death, Four Star went into decline and by 1965 the studio had only five shows on the air and by 1967 this dwindled to just one, The Big Valley.

In 1968 Four Star was sold to new owners and renamed Four Star International and as such had a hit with the popular series Thrill Seekers, hosted by Chuck Connors (1973-1974). The studio also continued to earn revenue from the syndication of its earlier shows. In 1989 Roger Corman's New World Pictures acquired Four Star International and in 1997 New World itself became part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation.