Ernest Kinoy

Writer

The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation Presents

02:26

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About

About this interview

In his five-hour interview, Ernest Kinoy (1925-2014) describes his early career writing for NBC radio. He discusses writing for many "live" dramatic television shows, including Studio One, Philco-Goodyear Playhouse, Playhouse 90, DuPont Show of the Week, Naked City, and Dr. Kildare. He talks of his 1964 Emmy win for an episode of The Defenders entitled "Blacklist," and his second Emmy win for the groundbreaking miniseries Roots. Kinoy also speaks of the legacy of television producer Herbert Brodkin. Sunny Parich conducted the interview on October 29, 1998 in Williamsville, VT.

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

"The first thing you have to know is to write. The second thing is finish it. And the third is send it to somebody. And the fourth is when they send it back, send it to somebody else. Essentially...if you're going to do something - do it."

People Talking About ...

Ernest Kinoy

Highlights

Ernest Kinoy on working with Mel Brooks

02:21

Ernest Kinoy on The Defenders episode "The Non-Violent" and the Civil Rights movement

01:24

Ernest Kinoy on Marlon Brando in Roots: The Next Generations

02:18

Ernest Kinoy on the most important element of a successful show

02:36

Full Interview

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Chapter 1

On his early years; on his interest in writing; on starting in radio

On joining NBC radio; on first seeing television; on writing for radio

Chapter 2

On starting to write for early live television; on making the transition from radio to television; on what he was paid for early television scripts and working with producers

On writing for live television; on the Golden Age of Television

Chapter 3

On critical and viewer response to his scripts; on writing for The Imogene Coca Show; on discrimination in Hollywood; on working with Mel Brooks

On writing The Marriage for Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy

Ernest Kinoy on writing for Studio One

Chapter 4

On writing the Studio One episode "Walk Down the Hill"

On The Defenders with Robert Reed and E.G Marshall; on the McCarthy era and the Blacklist episode of The Defenders

Chapter 5

On the Hollywood Blacklist and The Defenders; on the Hollywood Blacklist and Red Channels

On The Defenders episode "The Non-Violent" and the Civil Rights movement; on the end of The Defenders; on writing the Playhouse 90 episode "Shadows Tremble"

Chapter 6

On working on Playhouse 90; on writing for Naked City and Route 66; on writing for Saints and Sinners

On writing The Doctors and The Nurses; on writing the unsold pilot The Happeners; on his adaptations of Pinocchio and Brigadoon; on writing Broadway musicals

Chapter 7

On being head of the WGA East; on directing the feature film "Brother John"; on writing the made-for-television movie Crawlspace

On working with producer Herbert Brodkin; on the production schedule for made-for-television movies; on writing the made-for-television movie Victory at Entebbe

Chapter 8

On the miniseries Roots and how it came about; on the public reaction to Roots and its impact on the Civil Rights movement; on the process of writing an episode of Roots

On writing Roots: The Next Generations; on winning an Emmy for Roots; on the legacy of Roots and Roots: The Next Generations; on the made-for-television movie Skokie

Chapter 9

On writing the made-for-television movie Skokie; on his longevity in television; on advice to aspiring writers

On career highlights and regrets; on television at its best; on the then-future of television; on how he'd like to be remembered

On various people he has worked with in his career; on his wife Barbara; on The Archive of American Television

Shows

Alcoa Hour, The

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Ernest Kinoy on a mishap on the set of The Alcoa Hour

04:06

Defenders, The

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Ernest Kinoy on The Defenders with Robert Reed and E.G Marshall