Latest News from The Interviews

Producer/Director Alan Neuman Has Died -- Archive Interview Online

 Wed, 12/17/2008 We're sorry to report that Archive interviewee, producer-director Alan Neuman passed away on November 23rd, at the age of 84. Alan directed innumerable “live” on-location dramatic, variety, and documentary productions, including NBC’s first televised presidential election coverage and the first show that ever linked four countries together. Click here to access the entire six-part videotaped interview. Some interview excerpts are as follows: On Kate Smith (from part 3): Kate Smith was a...

Archive Interviewee Steve Binder honored!

 Mon, 12/15/2008 Steve Binder has been honored by the Caucus for Television Producers, Writers, and Directors for his 26-year long career in variety television directing. You can watch the Archive's two-part "Living Television" interview with acclaimed producer/director Steve Binder here. He discusses his work on many notable productions including: "The T.A.M.I Show", "Petula", "Elvis: The '68 Comeback Special", "Liza", "Shields & Yarnell", "Diana Ross in Central Park", and many other specials including...

Tonight on ABC: A Perennial Favorite: "A Charlie Brown Christmas"

 Mon, 12/08/2008 "A Charlie Brown Christmas" airs tonight, celebrating its 43rd anniversary. The timeless classic was the very first Charlie Brown special and Variety noted in its 1965 review that "author [Charles M.] Schulz is in such strong command of his charismatic characters that it would be successful in any medium." Variety also noted that "Snoopy, the wildly hedonistic dog was particularly well-conceived and stole every scene that he was in." The review spoke of the religious nature of the show: "......

Hall of Fame 2008 Inductees

 Thu, 12/04/2008 This year the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences will honor Bea Arthur , Dan Burke, Lar ry Gelbart , Merv Griffin, Tom Murphy , and Sherwood Schwartz as the latest inductees to the Hall of Fame . You can view many of our Archive Interviews online at youtube.com/tvlegends . In this excerpt from her 2001 interview, Bea Arthur discusses how she got the role of "Maude", working with Norman Lear, becoming a symbol of the women's lib movement, and her feelings on the craft of comedy.

TV Art Director and Sculptor Dick Stiles Passes

 Tue, 11/25/2008 (Above) Dick Stiles (pictured 2nd from left) participates in the unveiling of the Jim Henson wall sculpture on the Television Academy's Hall of Fame Plaza in 2005. L to R: Phil Wayne, Sculpture Committee chairman; Dick Stiles, Hall of Fame Sculptor; Lisa Henson and Dick Askin, former chairman of the Television Academy. We were truly saddened to learn that Emmy-nominated television art director and sculptor Dick Stiles died Monday of pneumonia and heart failure. Stiles worked tirelessly on the...

50 Years Ago Today "Playhouse 90" Presented "Old Man"

 Thu, 11/20/2008 On November 20, 1958, Playhouse 90 , the preeminent dramatic television anthology of the day, presented William Faulkner's "Old Man," a program for which Variety wrote, "such a word as incomparable must be applied." Archive interviewee Del Reisman, the series story editor, explained, "there were all kinds of stunt shows that were done. In the third or fourth season, John Frankenheimer directed 'Old Man,' it’s a wonderful show, but he virtually flooded the CBS studio." The show was about a...

"Studio One" Celebrates Its 60th Anniversary

 Fri, 11/07/2008 Studio One , one of the first and most successful of the live dramatic anthologies of early television, celebrates its 60th anniversary today. The first Studio One was a presentation of the McKnight Malmar suspenser "The Storm," starring Margaret Sullavan and Dean Jagger (airing November 7, 1948). The show was produced and directed by Worthington C. Miner, who is credited as one of the most significant creative forces in American television's early years. During the Archive of American...

"Twelve Angry Men" Screening Event This Thursday with guests Jack Klugman, Jayne Meadows, Gloria Stroock, Dick Van Patten, and Barbara Rush

 Mon, 11/03/2008 Written especially for Studio One by Reginald Rose and starring Robert Cummings, Studio One's "Twelve Angry Men" (original air date: September 26, 1954) was a classic, Emmy-award winning episode in this anthology series and the inspiration for the Oscar-nominated film. Join us this Thursday, November 6 at 7:30 PM (at the Leonard Goldenson Theatre, 5220 Lankershim Blvd., N. Hollywood) for a special screening of the newly-remastered episode followed by a panel event on live television moderated...