Editing Michael Rennie (section)

===''The Third Man'' and ''Mary Mary''===
Rennie became a familiar face on television, taking the role of [[Harry Lime (character)|Harry Lime]] in ''[[The Third Man (TV series)|The Third Man]]'' (1959–65), an Anglo-American [[syndicated television]] series very loosely derived from the film. It ran for several years but the schedule meant Rennie had plenty of time off to work on other projects. "Every scene of every show I do for money", he said.<ref name="page"/>

At the start of the 1960s, Michael Rennie made his only [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] appearance in ''[[Mary, Mary (play)|Mary, Mary]]'' playing Dirk Winsten, a jaded film star. After two previews, the sophisticated five-character marital comedy written by [[Jean Kerr]] and directed by [[Joseph Anthony]] opened at the [[Helen Hayes Theatre]] on 8 March 1961. It ran for a very successful 1,572 performances, closing at the [[Morosco Theatre]] on 12 December 1964. Rennie stayed with the production less than five months and was replaced by [[Michael Wilding (actor)|Michael Wilding]] in July 1961.

When [[Warner Bros.]] cast the film version in early 1963, Rennie, along with leading man [[Barry Nelson (actor)|Barry Nelson]] and supporting actor [[Hiram Sherman]] (who joined the play two years after the opening in the part first played by [[John Cromwell (director)|John Cromwell]]), were the only Broadway cast members to carry over. [[Debbie Reynolds]] was given the title role created by [[Barbara Bel Geddes]], and Warner's contract player [[Diane McBain]], whom the studio saw as a potential star of the future, took over "the socialite part" essayed by [[Betsy von Furstenberg]]. [[Mervyn LeRoy]] produced and directed [[Mary, Mary (film)|the film]], which opened at [[Radio City Music Hall]] on 25 October 1963.

Rennie was cast in a lead role in the comedy play ''[[Any Wednesday (play)|Any Wednesday]]'' but left the project during out of town try outs. He was replaced by Don Porter and the play was a huge success.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/sonofanywednesda0000resn/page/14/mode/1up?|first=Muriel|last=Resnick|title=Son of Any Wednesday|year=1965|publisher=New York, Stein and Day }}</ref>