Vince Calandra

In his over four-hour interview, Vince Calandra talks about working his way up from the mailroom at CBS to working in production and handling the cue cards for The Ed Sullivan Show. He describes his promotion to talent coordinator for the series and mentions some of the guests he booked, including Jim Henson, Jackie Mason, Alan King, Irving Berlin and Bob Dylan. He also speaks in detail about one of the show's historical highlights: the first American television appearance of The Beatles. Calandra discusses his later work as a talent executive on the syndicated Mike Douglas Show, and later, on The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers. He speaks of his current projects, including working as a talent executive for AFI specials and the American Teacher Awards. B-roll consists of photos highlighting his years on The Ed Sullivan Show (including The Beatles' rehearsal where Calandra stood in for George Harrison), favorite guests, including Fred Astaire and Frank Sinatra, and a photo from The Mike Douglas Show. Jeff Abraham conducted the interview on December 4, 2003 in Woodland Hills, CA.