Charles S. Dubin

In his three-and-a-half-hour interview, Charles S. Dubin (1919-2011) describes his lengthy career as a television director, which began in 1950 when he was hired at ABC as an associate director and culminated in his long association with M*A*S*H, for which he directed more episodes than any other individual director. Dubin details his early work in "live" television for such series as Pulitzer Prize Playhouse and Opera vs. Jazz. He speaks in great detail about the over twenty segments of Omnibus that he directed, including celebrated pieces with choreographer Agnes de Mille and conductor/composer Leonard Bernstein. Dubin then talks about how his association with Bernstein in this capacity led to his directing the first three concerts of the New York Philharmonic Young People's Concert. Additionally, Dubin discusses his work as a director on the quiz show series Twenty-One, which became the center of the Quiz Show Scandals, although Dubin was at the time unaware of the backstage practices that led to the show's demise. He discusses his appearance before the House of Un-American Activities Committee, at which he plead the Fifth and was blacklisted from the industry for five years. He describes his later work, directing multiple episodes of The Defenders, Kojak, Ironside, Hawaii Five-O, and the Father Dowling Mysteries. Gary Rutkowski conducted the interview on September 9, 2003 in Brentwood, CA.