About
"Learn the basics of how to put a show together and establish a level of taste for the kind of material you want to do. Meet as many other producers that you can because so they can help you, too. A lot of it has to do with the people you worked with before. That's the way I've gotten a lot of my jobs: having done a good job for these people, they wanted to hire me for something else."
In his three-and-a-half-hour interview, Henry Colman (1923-2012) talks of his start in television as an assistant to the director on Kraft Television Theater. He discusses his work on other programs, including Robert Montgomery Presents and Colgate Comedy Hour, and describes how he then became a television executive, overseeing the pilot of The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. He recalls joining the CBS development department, working on programs such as Green Acres and Hawaii Five-0, and details the development of The Love Boat, where he became line producer. Colman also speaks of producing the series Hotel and shares tales of being an interviewer himself for the Archive of American Television. Karen Herman conducted the interview on March 16, 2001 in Brentwood, CA.
Highlights
Henry Colman on working in live television, where an actor thought the dress rehearsal was the aired show
Henry Colman on covering The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour for the network when Tom Smothers wouldn't relinquish a tape to CBS
Henry Colman on producing the first Love Boat pilot; on the development and casting of The Love Boat series
Henry Colman on a scene of a black man dancing with a white woman on one of Matthew Rapf's shows and the network's decision to cut the scene
Henry Colman on escorting Elizabeth Taylor to a party while he was a producer on Hotel (continued)
Full Interview
Chapter 1
On his early years and education; on serving in the Air Force during World War II
On attending Columbia University and training at NBC studios; on his early theater work; on his transition to television at NBC
Chapter 2
On working on early NBC shows including Kraft Television Theatre
On working on Navy Log and Robert Montgomery Presents
Chapter 3
On leaving Robert Montgomery Presents; on doing program development at The Theatre Guild and pitching shows to ABC; on turning down the chance to produce The U.S. Steel Hour
On working in as a commercial producer at an Emil Mogul Advertising agency; on producing Pillsbury commercials for Arthur Godfrey and His Friends
On producing the soap opera Love of Life; on joining General Artists Corporation to head up program development; on developing The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis; on the Blacklist
On moving to Los Angeles and working for a video production company; on becoming associate producer on Dr. Kildare
Chapter 4
On working as associate producer on Dr. Kildare
On working as an associate producer on Peyton Place
On joining the CBS-TV Program Department; on working with Filmways; on being a program executive for The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Hawaii Five-0, The Prisoner, and The Lucy Show
On covering The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour for the network when Tom Smothers wouldn't relinquish a tape to CBS for approval
On being an executive on Medical Center; on approving O.J. Simpson on his first TV acting role
On becoming VP of Current Programs at Paramount Television in 1970 and working on such series as Mission: Impossible and Mannix
Chapter 5
On working as a Paramount production executive on Love, American Style and The Brady Bunch
On working as VP of Current Programs at Screen Gems on such shows as He & She, The Partridge Family, Bewitched, and Bridget Loves Bernie
On freelancing and producing the TV movies The Dead Don't Die and Who is the Black Dahlia?
On producing the first Love Boat pilot; on the development and casting of The Love Boat series
Chapter 6
On producing The Love Boat
On producing Hotel (starting in the second season)
Chapter 7
On escorting Elizabeth Taylor to a party while he was a producer on Hotel (continued)
On producing Top of the Hill
On producing TV movies including The Rape of Dr. Willis and Body of Evidence; on his then-current projects; on being an interviewer for the Archive of American Television
On his advice to aspiring producers; on how he would like to be remembered
On some photos from his collection
Shows
Amahl and the Night Visitors
Henry Colman briefly on watching the rehearsals for Amahl and the Night Visitors
Arthur Godfrey and His Friends
Henry Colman on producing Pillsbury commercials for Arthur Godfrey and His Friends
Bewitched
Henry Colman on working as a Screen Gems production executive on Bewitched (and his run-in with William Asher)
Brady Bunch, The
Henry Colman on working as a Paramount production executive on The Brady Bunch
Bridget Loves Bernie
Henry Colman on working as a Screen Gems production executive on Bridget Loves Bernie
Colgate Comedy Hour, The
Henry Colman on an incident early in his career when he was working on The Colgate Comedy Hour
Dr. Kildare
Henry Colman on becoming associate producer on Dr. Kildare
Henry Colman on working as associate producer on Dr. Kildare
Hawaii Five-O
Henry Colman on working as a CBS program executive on Hawaii Five-0 and The Prisoner
He & She
Henry Colman on working as a Paramount production executive on He & She
Hotel
Henry Colman on producing Hotel
Henry Colman on escorting Elizabeth Taylor to a party while he was a producer on Hotel (continued)
Kraft Television Theatre
Henry Colman details being production coordinator on Kraft Television Theatre
Love Boat, The
Henry Colman on working as a Paramount production executive on Love, American Style and its influence on The Love Boat
Henry Colman on producing the first Love Boat pilot; on the development and casting of The Love Boat series
Henry Colman on producing The Love Boat
Love of Life
Henry Colman on producing Love of Life
Love, American Style
Henry Colman on working as a Paramount production executive on Love, American Style and its influence on The Love Boat
Lucy Show, The
Henry Colman on working as a CBS program executive on The Lucy Show
Mannix
Henry Colman on working as a Paramount executive on Mannix
Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, The
Henry Colman on developing The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
Mary Tyler Moore Show, The
Henry Colman on working as a CBS program executive during the development of The Mary Tyler Moore Show
Medical Center
Henry Colman on being an executive on Medical Center; on approving O.J. Simpson on his first TV acting role
Mission: Impossible
Henry Colman being an executive on Mission: Impossible when producer Bruce Geller died in a plane crash
Navy Log
Henry Colman on working in production on Navy Log
Partridge Family, The
Henry Colman on working as a Screen Gems production executive on The Partridge Family
Peyton Place
Henry Colman on working as an associate producer on Peyton Place
Prisoner, The
Henry Colman on working as a CBS program executive on Hawaii Five-0 and The Prisoner
Robert Montgomery Presents
Henry Colman on working in live television, where an actor thought the dress rehearsal was the aired show
Henry Colman on being assistant to the production supervisor on Robert Montgomery Presents
Henry Colman on his encounter with the Blacklist during his tenure at Robert Montgomery Presents
Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, The
Henry Colman on covering The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour for the network when Tom Smothers wouldn't relinquish a tape to CBS
Top of the Hill
On producing Top of the Hill
Who Is the Black Dahlia?
Henry Colman on producing the NBC TV movie Who is the Black Dahlia?
Topics
Bloopers
Henry Colman on working in live television, where an actor thought the dress rehearsal was the aired show
Censorship / Standards & Practices
Henry Colman on an incident early in his career when he was working on The Colgate Comedy Hour (Jimmy Durante)
Hollywood Blacklist
Henry Colman on his encounter with the Blacklist during his tenure at Robert Montgomery Presents
Studio and Network Management
Henry Colman on covering The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour for the network when Tom Smothers wouldn't relinquish a tape to CBS
Underrepresented Voices
Henry Colman on a scene of a black man dancing with a white woman on one of Matthew Rapf's shows and the network's decision to cut the scene
War
Henry Colman on serving in the Air Force during World War II
World War II
Henry Colman on serving in the Air Force during World War II
Genres
Classic Anthology Series
Henry Colman on working in live television, where an actor thought the dress rehearsal was the aired show
Commercials
Henry Colman details being production coordinator on Kraft Television Theatre
Henry Colman on working in as a commercial producer at an Emil Mogul Advertising agency in 1956; on working on Pillsbury commercials for Arthur Godfrey and His Friends
People
William Asher
Henry Colman on working as a Screen Gems production executive on Bewitched
Lucille Ball
Henry Colman on working as a CBS program executive on The Lucy Show
Arthur Godfrey
Henry Colman on producing Pillsbury commercials for Arthur Godfrey and His Friends
Paul Monash
Henry Colman on working as an associate producer on Peyton Place
Robert Montgomery
Henry Colman on being assistant to the production supervisor on Robert Montgomery Presents
Stanley Quinn
Henry Colman details being production coordinator on Kraft Television Theatre
Matthew Rapf
Henry Colman on a scene of a black man dancing with a white woman on one of Matthew Rapf's shows and the network's decision to cut the scene
O. J. Simpson
Henry Colman on being an executive on Medical Center; on approving O.J. Simpson on his first TV acting role
Tom Smothers
Henry Colman on covering The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour for the network when Tom Smothers wouldn't relinquish a tape to CBS
Barbra Streisand
Henry Colman on working as a Paramount production executive on He & She
Elizabeth Taylor
Henry Colman on escorting Elizabeth Taylor to a party while he was a producer on Hotel (continued)