"I think the best part of it [working on The Ed Sullivan Show] was that it was always different. Because there were different people on the show every week it never got boring. There was always something new going on."  

    About This Interview

    In her one-hour interview, Emily Meisler talks about growing up in Westchester County and shares her early memories of watching television. She recalls her first job - working for the Television Academy in New York City - and shares how she subsequently joined the CBS secretarial pool. She describes her time working for the CBS scenic department, and then details her many years working for The Ed Sullivan Show. Meisler talks about her duties as a production secretary on the show, working with the musical performers on the show, and serving as a color girl for the program. She then discusses working at ABC's Wide World of Entertainment, moving to Los Angeles, and working for Michael Eisner. She also talks of working for Donald Wrye, Bob Broder, Melvin Simon Productions, Twentieth Century Fox, Carson Productions Group, Hal Roach Film Classics, and Christensen, Miller, Fink, Jacobs, Glaser, Weil and Shapiro, LLP. She speaks about her then-current role as an administrator and offers advice to anyone going into administration. She also shares B-roll photos from her career. Karen Herman conducted the interview on November 15, 2003 in Beverly Hills, CA. 

    All views expressed by interviewees are theirs alone and not necessarily those of the Television Academy.
    Thumbnail of Emily Meisler

    Emily Meisler on Jackie Mason and "the finger incident" on The Ed Sullivan Show

    01:09
    Thumbnail of Emily Meisler

    Emily Meisler on The Beatles' first performance on The Ed Sullivan Show

    01:10
    Thumbnail of Emily Meisler

    Emily Meisler on being a color girl for The Ed Sullivan Show and on the show transitioning from black and white to color

    02:03
    Thumbnail of Emily Meisler

    Emily Meisler on her impressions of young Brian Grazer

    00:35
    Thumbnail of Emily Meisler

    Emily Meisler on working at ABC's Wide World of Entertainment

    00:44
    Thumbnail of Emily Meisler

    Emily Meisler on working with Michael Eisner in Los Angeles

    01:25
    Play Full Interview

    Chapter 1

    On her childhood and early interests; on her early memories of watching television; on her first job - working for the Television Academy in New York City; on joining the CBS secretarial pool; on working for the CBS scenic department; on working as a production secretary on The Ed Sullivan Show and writing down lyrics of the musical performances on the show; on memorable musical acts on the show

    11:40

    On working with Ed Sullivan and Bob Precht on The Ed Sullivan Show; on memorable guests on the show; on her involvement with scripts; on her role during tapings of the show and on her memories of the studio; on being a color girl for The Ed Sullivan Show and on the show transitioning from black and white to color; on leaving and returning to The Ed Sullivan Show; on what her friends thought of her working on the show

    14:13

    On working at ABC's Wide World of Entertainment; on working for Bob Shanks - head of late-night programming at ABC; on moving to Los Angeles; on becoming Michael Eisner's secretary

    02:28

    Chapter 2

    On working with Michael Eisner; on Barry Diller and Martin Starger; on moving to Warner Bros. Television - the first time she ever worked on a lot; on working with Michael Peacock; on her impressions of a young Brian Grazer; on working for Donald Wrye; on working with Bob Broder and Lee Gabler at ICM, but not liking the agency business

    07:50

    On working for Melvin Simon Productions; on working in the Twentieth Century Fox Licensing and Merchandising department; on working with Richard Fischoff at Carson Productions Group; on working at Hal Roach Film Classics - her first job doing more than just secretarial duties; on leaving the entertainment industry

    06:03

    On working for Christensen, Miller, Fink, Jacobs, Glaser, Weil and Shapiro, LLP, a law firm in Century City that handles business, real estate and corporate law, and working her way up from secretary to administrator; on advice for someone going into administration

    05:16

    On B-roll photos from her career: a photo of The Beatles in Miami, of The Beatles performing on The Ed Sullivan Show, of some of the people who worked on The Ed Sullivan Show, on a press photo of The Dave Clark Five, of the marquee for The Ed Sullivan Show, of her when she was working on The Ed Sullivan Show, of Ed Sullivan with the production secretaries who worked on the show, of her at the Emmy awards, of a newspaper article on The Ed Sullivan Show

    03:33

    Ed Sullivan Show, The aka Toast of the Town

    Emily Meisler on Bill Bohnert helping to get her a job with Jack McGeehan on The Ed Sullivan Show

    00:34

    Emily Meisler on starting to work for The Ed Sullivan Show in 1963 -- on her job duties, including writing down lyrics for songs that would be performed

    03:06

    Emily Meisler on musical acts on The Ed Sullivan Show

    01:29

    Emily Meisler on working with Ed Sullivan and Bob Precht on The Ed Sullivan Show

    02:26

    Emily Meisler on her involvement with scripts for The Ed Sullivan Show

    00:51

    Emily Meisler on her role during tapings of The Ed Sullivan Show and on her memories of the studio

    03:26

    Emily Meisler on being a color girl for The Ed Sullivan Show and on the show transitioning from black and white to color

    02:02

    Emily Meisler on traveling with The Ed Sullivan Show - on traveling to Miami for The Beatles' show

    00:38

    Emily Meisler on a photo of The Beatles performing on The Ed Sullivan Show

    00:16

    Emily Meisler on a photo of some of the people who worked on The Ed Sullivan Show

    00:42

    Emily Meisler on a press photo of The Dave Clark Five, who appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show

    00:12

    Emily Meisler on a photo of the marquee for The Ed Sullivan Show

    00:19

    Emily Meisler on a photo of her when she was working on The Ed Sullivan Show

    00:11

    Emily Meisler on a photo of Ed Sullivan with the production secretaries of The Ed Sullivan Show

    00:20

    Emily Meisler on a photo of a newspaper article on The Ed Sullivan Show

    00:34

    Emmy Awards, The (Primetime and Daytime)

    Emily Meisler on a photo of her when she attended the Emmys

    00:25

    Advice

    Emily Meisler on advice for someone going into administration

    01:45

    Memorable Moments on Television

    Emily Meisler on The Beatles' first performance on The Ed Sullivan Show

    01:10

    Pop Culture

    Emily Meisler on The Beatles' first performance on The Ed Sullivan Show

    01:10

    Rock 'n' Roll on TV (1950s & '60s)

    Emily Meisler on The Beatles' first performance on The Ed Sullivan Show

    01:10

    Technological Innovation

    Emily Meisler on being a color girl for The Ed Sullivan Show and on the show transitioning from black and white to color

    02:03

    Television Industry

    Emily Meisler on advice for someone going into administration

    01:45

    Emily Meisler on why she left the entertainment industry and on how she was treated throughout her career

    01:40

    Production Professionals

    Emily Meisler on starting to work for The Ed Sullivan Show in 1963 -- on her job duties as a production secretary, including writing down lyrics for songs that would be performed

    03:06

    Music Shows & Variety Shows/Specials

    Emily Meisler on working as a production secretary for The Ed Sullivan Show

    19:46

    Emily Meisler on photos from her time working on The Ed Sullivan Show

    03:32

    James T. Aubrey

    Emily Meisler on being a secretary for James T. Aubrey at CBS

    00:25

    Bill Bohnert

    Emily Meisler on Bill Bohnert helping to get her a job with Jack McGeehan on The Ed Sullivan Show

    00:22

    Bob Broder

    Emily Meisler on working with Bob Broder and Lee Gabler at ICM, but not liking the agency business

    01:34

    Barry Diller

    Emily Meisler on Barry Diller

    00:14

    Michael Eisner

    Emily Meisler on becoming Michael Eisner's secretary

    00:37

    Emily Meisler on working with Michael Eisner in Los Angeles

    01:25

    Richard Fishcoff

    Emily Meisler on working with Richard Fischoff at Carson Productions Group

    00:40

    Brian Grazer

    Emily Meisler on her impressions of young Brian Grazer

    00:35

    Tim Kiley

    Emily Meisler on working with The Ed Sullivan Show director Tim Kiley

    00:29

    Jackie Mason with Emerson College

    Emily Meisler on Jackie Mason and "the finger incident" on The Ed Sullivan Show

    01:09

    Jack McGeehan

    Emily Meisler on Bill Bohnert helping to get her a job with Jack McGeehan on The Ed Sullivan Show

    00:35

    Emily Meisler on a photo of some of the people who worked on The Ed Sullivan Show

    00:42

    Michael Peacock

    Emily Meisler on working with Michael Peacock

    01:03

    Robert Precht

    Emily Meisler on working with Bob Precht on The Ed Sullivan Show

    01:08

    Bob Shanks

    Emily Meisler on working for Bob Shanks - head of late-night programming at ABC

    00:35

    Melvin Simon

    Emily Meisler on working for Melvin Simon Productions

    00:56

    Martin Starger

    Emily Meisler on ABC executive Martin Starger

    00:52

    Ed Sullivan

    Emily Meisler on her impressions of Ed Sullivan on The Ed Sullivan Show

    01:17

    Beatles, The

    Emily Meisler on The Beatles' first performance on The Ed Sullivan Show

    01:10

    Emily Meisler on traveling with The Ed Sullivan Show - on traveling to Miami for The Beatles' show

    00:38

    Emily Meisler on a photo of The Beatles in Miami

    00:20

    Emily Meisler on a photo of The Beatles performing on The Ed Sullivan Show

    00:16

    Donald Wrye

    Emily Meisler on working for Donald Wrye

    00:42

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