About
"I wanted to show what people were like in other parts of the world. To Americans, Russia was the evil empire, and yet they had to see that Russians have the same hopes and dreams as Americans do, and they were farmers and businessmen and mothers and fathers and children. That's what television at its best can do: change people's minds, open people's minds, and show them truth."
In her two-and-a-half-hour interview, Lucy Jarvis (1917-2020) chronicles her early years and how a degree in home economics led to her work at McCall's magazine in the 1940s. She speaks about how her criticism of a woman's show produced by David Susskind provoked him to request that she write a critical essay about it, which ultimately led to her first jobs in television. She discusses her work at NBC's Capitol Close-Up, where she served as co-producer (with Meet the Press creator Martha Rountree), a rarity at that time. She discusses her work on the public affairs series, The Nation's Future, and on coverage of the 1960 presidential election. Jarvis reminisces about her acclaimed documentary The Kremlin and becoming the first Westerner to film there. She recalls her documentary, The Louvre, and serving as the first producer of the first ABC Barbara Walters specials. Throughout the interview, Jarvis outlines her philosophy on good documentary production and how the roles of women have grown in the television industry. Jane Altschuler conducted the interview in a joint venture with New York Women in Film & Television on September 18, 2006 in New York, NY.
Highlights
Lucy Jarvis on creating Capitol Close-Up with Martha Rountree
Lucy Jarvis on producing a landmark series about the United States and the Soviet Union in the early '60s for The Nation's Future featuring John Glenn and Soviet cosmonaut Gherman Titov
Lucy Jarvis on filming The Kremlin during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962
Lucy Jarvis on producing the NBC News special documentary The Louvre: A Golden Prison
Lucy Jarvis on the impact of the organization Women in Film
Full Interview
Chapter 1
On her early life and influences; on her early experience with television; on her first idea for a television show
On working with producer David Susskind; on Martha Rountree and Meet the Press
Chapter 2
On creating Capital Close-Up with Martha Rountree; on women in network news circa 1960; on creating The Nation's Future
On her duties as producer of The Nation's Future; on producing a landmark series about the United States and the Soviet Union featuring John Glenn and Soviet cosmonaut Gherman Titov
Chapter 3
On hiring women and organizing a discrimination suit; on producing the documentary The Kremlin; on the extraordinary access she was granted to film The Kremlin
On unknowingly being in Moscow during the Cuban Missile Crisis; on reaction to The Kremlin; on producing the documentary The Louvre: The Golden Prison
Chapter 4
On the challenges of being the first crew to film inside the Louvre; on the writing and narration of The Louvre: A Golden Prison
On what makes a good news documentary; on producing the documentary Who Shall Live?; on how she came to produce the news documentary China and the Forbidden City
Chapter 5
On her work with Barbara Walters; on then-current projects
On her mentors and how networks have changed over the years; on television fulfilling its potential
Shows
Barbara Walters Specials
Lucy Jarvis on producing four specials for Barbara Walters at ABC in 1976
Lucy Jarvis on her working relationship with Barbara Walters
Capitol Close-Up
Lucy Jarvis on creating Capitol Close-Up with Martha Rountree
Lucy Jarvis on the work environment for women in network news in the early '60s
China & the Forbidden City
Lucy Jarvis on how she came to produce the NBC News documentary China and the Forbidden City
Kremlin, The
Lucy Jarvis on producing the documentary The Kremlin for NBC News
Lucy Jarvis on the technical difficulties of filming inside the Kremlin and NBC destroying unused footage
Lucy Jarvis on her crew for The Kremlin and it being NBC first major color broadcast
Lucy Jarvis on filming Joseph Stalin's apartment and an apartment to be used for an eventual visit by President Kennedy for The Kremlin
Lucy Jarvis on filming The Kremlin during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962
Lucy Jarvis on the reaction to the NBC News special The Kremlin
Louvre, The: A Golden Prison
Lucy Jarvis on producing the NBC News special documentary The Louvre: A Golden Prison
Lucy Jarvis on the challenges of being the first crew to film inside the Louvre Museum
Lucy Jarvis on working with writer Sidney Carroll on The Louvre: A Golden Prison
Lucy Jarvis on getting Charles Boyer to narrate The Louvre: A Golden Prison
Meet the Press
Lucy Jarvis on Martha Rountree being aced out of Meet the Press
Lucy Jarvis on creating Capitol Close-Up with Martha Rountree
Nation's Future, The
Lucy Jarvis on her move to NBC in 1960 and becoming producer of The Nation's Future
Lucy Jarvis on her duties as producer of The Nation's Future
Lucy Jarvis on producing a landmark series about the United States and the Soviet Union in the early '60s for The Nation's Future featuring John Glenn and Soviet cosmonaut Gherman Titov
Lucy Jarvis on hiring women for The Nation's Future and organizing a landmark class action suit against NBC for discrimination against its female employees
Who Shall Live?
Lucy Jarvis on producing the NBC News documentary Who Shall Live?
Topics
Cold War
Lucy Jarvis on producing a landmark series about the United States and the Soviet Union in the early 60s for The Nation's Future featuring John Glenn and Soviet cosmonaut Gherman Titov
Lucy Jarvis on producing the documentary The Kremlin for NBC News
Lucy Jarvis on the technical difficulties of filming inside the Kremlin and NBC destroying unused footage
Lucy Jarvis on her crew for The Kremlin and it being NBC first major color broadcast
Lucy Jarvis on filming The Kremlin during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962
Creative Influences and Inspiration
Lucy Jarvis on her mentors
JFK Assassination and Funeral
Lucy Jarvis on her NBC News documentary Museum Without Walls utilizing the Telstar satellite for the broadcast
John F. Kennedy
Lucy Jarvis on producing a landmark series about the United States and the Soviet Union in the early 1960s for The Nation's Future featuring John Glenn and Soviet cosmonaut Gherman Titov
Lucy Jarvis on producing the documentary The Kremlin for NBC News
Lucy Jarvis on filming The Kremlin during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lucy Jarvis on producing the NBC News documentary Who Shall Live?
Representation on Television
Lucy Jarvis on the impact of the organization Women in Film
Lucy Jarvis on the work environment for women in network news in the early 1960s
Lucy Jarvis on hiring women for The Nation's Future and organizing a landmark class action suit against NBC for discrimination against its female employees
Technological Innovation
Lucy Jarvis on her crew for The Kremlin and it being NBC first major color broadcast
Lucy Jarvis on her NBC News documentary Museum Without Walls utilizing the Telstar satellite for the broadcast
Television and the Presidency
Lucy Jarvis on producing a landmark series about the United States and the Soviet Union in the early 1960s for The Nation's Future featuring John Glenn and Soviet cosmonaut Gherman Titov
Lucy Jarvis on producing the documentary The Kremlin for NBC News
Lucy Jarvis on filming The Kremlin during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962
Lucy Jarvis on producing the NBC News documentary Who Shall Live?
War
Lucy Jarvis on producing a landmark series about the United States and the Soviet Union in the early 1960s for The Nation's Future featuring John Glenn and Soviet cosmonaut Gherman Titov
Lucy Jarvis on producing the documentary The Kremlin for NBC News
Lucy Jarvis on the technical difficulties of filming inside the Kremlin and NBC destroying unused footage
Lucy Jarvis on her crew for The Kremlin and it being NBC first major color broadcast
Lucy Jarvis on filming The Kremlin during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962
Women
Lucy Jarvis on the impact of the organization Women in Film
Lucy Jarvis on the work environment for women in network news in the early 1960s
Lucy Jarvis on hiring women for The Nation's Future and organizing a landmark class action suit against NBC for discrimination against its female employees
Professions
Journalists & News Producers
Lucy Jarvis on advice to aspiring documentarians
Lucy Jarvis on what makes a good news/documentary program
News Producer
Lucy Jarvis on advice to aspiring documentarians
Lucy Jarvis on what makes a good news/documentary program
Genres
News and Documentary
Lucy Jarvis on producing The Nation's Future
Lucy Jarvis on producing the documentary The Kremlin for NBC News
Lucy Jarvis on producing the NBC News special documentary The Louvre: A Golden Prison
Lucy Jarvis on producing The Louvre: A Golden Prison
Lucy Jarvis on producing Who Shall Live?
Lucy Jarvis on producing Museum Without Walls
People
Charles Boyer
Lucy Jarvis on getting Charles Boyer to narrate The Louvre: A Golden Prison
Sidney Carroll
Lucy Jarvis on working with writer Sidney Carroll on The Louvre: A Golden Prison
Jimmy Carter
Lucy Jarvis on producing four specials for Barbara Walters at ABC in 1976
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lucy Jarvis on producing the NBC News documentary Who Shall Live?
John F. Kennedy
Lucy Jarvis on producing a landmark series about the United States and the Soviet Union in the early '60s for The Nation's Future featuring John Glenn and Soviet cosmonaut Gherman Titov
Lucy Jarvis on producing the documentary The Kremlin for NBC News
Lucy Jarvis on filming The Kremlin during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962
Nikita Khrushchev
Lucy Jarvis on producing the documentary The Kremlin for NBC News
Lucy Jarvis on filming The Kremlin during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962
Edwin Newman
Lucy Jarvis on her duties as producer of The Nation's Future
Lucy Jarvis on working with Edwin Newman
Martha Rountree
Lucy Jarvis on Martha Rountree being aced out of Meet the Press
Lucy Jarvis on creating Capitol Close-Up with Martha Rountree
Pierre Salinger
Lucy Jarvis on producing a landmark series about the United States and the Soviet Union in the early '60s for The Nation's Future featuring John Glenn and Soviet cosmonaut Gherman Titov
David Sarnoff
Lucy Jarvis on her crew for The Kremlin and it being NBC first major color broadcast
Lawrence E. Spivak
Lucy Jarvis on creating Capitol Close-Up with Martha Rountree
David Susskind
Lucy Jarvis on her first idea for a television show
Lucy Jarvis on working with producer David Susskind
Barbara Walters
Lucy Jarvis on producing four specials for Barbara Walters at ABC in 1976
Lucy Jarvis on producing four specials for Barbara Walters at ABC in 1976
Lucy Jarvis on her working relationship with Barbara Walters
Lucy Jarvis on her working relationship with Barbara Walters