Ira Skutch

In his nearly three-hour interview, Ira Skutch (1921-2010) talks about his early years as a page and later as a manager of guided tours at NBC in the mid-1940s. He describes the layout of the NBC building, listing the various studios and radio series that were produced in each, as well as which studios were modified for television production. Skutch talks about his work as a stage manager on some of NBC's earliest television series, including NBC Television Theatre, You Are an Artist, Face to Face, Kraft Television Theatre, and the big-budget variety series, Hour Glass. Skutch discusses his work as a director of live television commercials for TV series, as well as for the 1952 political conventions. He chronicles his work as a director of Disc Magic (a 1946 precursor to music videos), The Swift Home Service Club (one of network television's first daytime series), and Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse. Lastly, Skutch talks in detail about his 26-year tenure as a director, then producer, at Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions, where he worked on Beat the Clock, Play Your Hunch, and Match Game. Gary Rutkowski conducted the interview on January 29, 2004 in Los Angeles, CA.