Latest News from The Interviews

"Howdy Doody" Writer Eddie Kean Has Died

 Mon, 08/23/2010 Eddie Kean , the sole writer for the first seven years of the classic children's show Howdy Doody , has died at age 85. Kean also wrote the songs for the show. Out of Howdy Doody comes one of Kean's most lasting contributions to pop culture — the creation of the word "cowabunga" (also spelled kowabunga) used by everyone from '60s surfers to Bart Simpson. Eddie Kean's Archive interview was conducted on November 3, 2005. In the excerpt below from his interview he discusses "cowabunga" Interview...

Humphrey Bogart on '50s TV— "Jack Benny," "Person to Person," and "Producers' Showcase"

 Mon, 08/16/2010 Humphrey Bogart was one of the screen's biggest stars in the 1950s, when TV was considered a rival medium. Bogart made relatively few appearances on TV before his death in January 1957. According to sources (such as David M. Inman's Performers' Television Credits ), Bogart made a few appearances on Ed Sullivan's Toast of the Town in the early '50s, but his most notable appearances occurred between 1953-55. Bogart's three most well-known TV appearances can all be glimpsed online, and are as...

EMMYTVLEGENDS.ORG Wins Top Honors at 2010 Interactive Media Awards

 Thu, 08/12/2010 The TV Academy Foundation's Archive of American Television website EMMYTVLEGENDS.ORG has won an Outstanding Achievement in Website Development Award from the Interactive Media Council's 2010 Interactive Media Awards! The honor, granted by the Interactive Media Awards, recognizes that the site met and surpassed the standards of excellence that comprise the web's most professional work. The judging consisted of various criteria, including design, usability, innovation in technical features,...

Producer David Wolper ("Roots") has Died -- Co-Founder of the Archive of American Television

 Wed, 08/11/2010 Legendary producer David Wolper , whose many documentaries and notable TV projects include Roots and The Thorn Birds — has died at the age of 82. Wolper was one of the co-founders of the Archive of American Television and was interviewed about his career on May 12, 1998. His full Archive interview is currently available online . Interview Description: In his Archive interview, David Wolper talked about forming his first company, Flamingo Films, with father and son friends Joe and Jim Harris. He...

John Langley's Interview Is Now Online-- Created "Cops"

 Tue, 08/10/2010 " Cops is an existential variety show, with a criminal accent, and real décor." John Langley was interviewed in North Hollywood, CA on May 22, 2009; Karen Herman conducted the two-hour interview. Interview Description: John Langley says of his background: “I’m a kid of the 60’s. I’m sort of anti-authoritarian by nature. If you told me I was going to do a show about cops, I would have said, what am I going to call it, Pigs ?” John Langley produced a string of documentary specials in the 1980s,...

60th Anniversary of "Crusader Rabbit"— TV's First Animated Series

 Tue, 08/03/2010 TV historians will tell you that "Felix the Cat" was one of the first images ever broadcast on television (when RCA broadcast a Felix doll in 1928 on experimental station W2XBS)— but it wasn't until the late '40s that the first animated character was created expressly for TV. In the late 1940s, Alex Anderson and Rocky and Bullwinkle creator Jay Ward originated Crusader Rabbit , which was test marketed in the late 1940s and appeared for the very first time on KNBH (Los Angeles) on August 1, 1950...

Mitch Miller, TV's "Sing Along" Host, Has Died— Archive Interview Online

 Mon, 08/02/2010 Mitch Miller, who, through his TV show Sing Along with Mitch and a series of LPs, taught the public the lyrics to popular music in the '50s and '60s, has died at the age of 99. With his trademark mustache and goatee, and expressive conducting, Mitch Miller became an unlikely TV star when a one-shot special on Ford Motor Company's Startime led to a 1961-66 TV series. Miller later served as a successful executive in the music industry. The Archive of American Television interviewed Mitch Miller...

Director Walter Grauman gets creative on "Peter Gunn"

 Fri, 07/30/2010 In his Archive interview, director Walter Grauman vividly recalls a story about one of the episodes he directed for the 1950s-60s detective series Peter Gunn . Despite TV’s short production schedules, Grauman, still in the early part of his career, wanted to experiment with the lighting of a particular scene to enhance the drama, to the clear annoyance of the crew. "Russell Metty, who was a famous cinematographer, showed me something that I couldn’t believe. I was directing Peter Gunn and I...

Bid through August 1st: TV experiences, swag, and set-visits highlight auction to benefit the TV Academy Foundation

 Fri, 07/23/2010 The auction's live! Bid on unique television mementos, and support a great cause! The Television Academy Foundation is offering an array of exclusive items and experiences to bidders through a special online charity auction hosted by eBay Giving Works. All proceeds benefit the Television Academy Foundation’s educational outreach programs — from seminars to scholarships — as well as yours truly, the Archive of American Television. Auction items include: Experience a table read for Family Guy Red...