Latest News from The Interviews

Archive Celebrates Fran Allison's Centennial

 Mon, 11/19/2007 The Archive celebrates the centennial of Fran Allison (1907-89), born on November 20. Fran Allison was the host of the classic television series Kukla, Fran, and Ollie (in photo with puppeteer Burr Tillstrom). The series is called by the Museum of Broadcast Communications Encyclopedia of Television as, "the first children's show to be equally popular with children and adults." The series was done live and the dialogue was unscripted. The series began locally in Chicago in 1947 and went on NBC's...

"Mary Kay and Johnny," American Network TV's First Sitcom, Celebrates its 60th Anniversary! Archive Interviews Now Online

 Thu, 11/15/2007 Mary Kay and Johnny was a live domestic comedy that centered around a young couple that lived in Greenwich Village: he worked at a bank and she was a homemaker. It debuted on November 18, 1947. Mary Kay and Johnny (1947-50) originally ran on the Du Mont network (for nearly a year), then (except for a brief stint on CBS) spent the rest of its run on NBC. Among the true-to-life storylines used on the show: Mary Kay got stuck in an elevator; Mary Kay left the apartment with a cake in the oven,...

Director Delbert Mann Dies at the Age of 87 -- Archive Interview Online

 Mon, 11/12/2007 Delbert Mann who helmed "Marty" for television and film died on Sunday. Mann won an Academy Award for the feature film adaptation of Marty (1955) that originated as a "live" television presentation in 1953. Click here to access Delbert Mann's entire nine-part interview. Interview Description: Delbert Mann talked about studying at Yale Drama School and his transition to television following his service in the Air Force during World War II. He spoke of his days during the war, and his further...

"Meet the Press" Celebrates 60 Years on Television

 Tue, 11/06/2007 Network television's oldest show, Meet the Press , debuted on NBC on November 6, 1947. The guest on this first show was James A. Farley, former postmaster general under Franklin D. Roosevelt and former chairman of the Democratic National Committee; the show was created by Laurence E. Spivak and Martha Roundtree (who served as moderator). Meet the Press made its radio debut in 1945. The series moved around the week in its first few years but since 1950 has been a Sunday staple, as Tim Russert's...

Sidney Lumet's Interview Is Now Online

 Fri, 11/02/2007 With Sidney Lumet's critically praised film "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead" now in theaters, the Archive of American Television has posted his three-hour interview online in which he discusses his career that started in the theater and in the "Golden Age of Television." Soundbites from Sidney Lumet's six-part interview . On “live” television: The pressure was wonderful. And because it wasn’t insane, the pressure was, can we do it? Because nobody knew what we could do and what we couldn’t...

60 Years Ago — October 20, 1947 — The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) Began Its Probe That Resulted in The Hollywood Blacklist

 Fri, 10/19/2007 “Television Responds to the Red Scare” By Gary Rutkowski American television production, halted in its infancy before World War II, continued full-force with the four networks— ABC, CBS, NBC, and DuMont— scheduling programs regularly. Soon after, in 1950, they also began consulting an independently published booklet entitled “Red Channels,” which listed alleged Communists or sympathizers who were not to be employed on television: a blacklist. With the beginning of the Cold War a strong Anti-...

Composer Mike Post's Archive of American Television Interview is Online!

 Fri, 10/12/2007 Mike Post, who composed the theme songs for Hill Street Blues , The Greatest American Hero , and L. A. Law , and many others spoke about his long and distinguished career in music composition. Post was one of the featured composer's last night at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences evening "Another Opening Another Show" which celebrated TV Theme Music. Among the other composers in attendance were Archive interviewees Earle Hagen and Vic Mizzy (to be posted online soon). Click here to...

"Leave it to Beaver" Celebrates 50 Years

 Wed, 10/03/2007 Here's a note we received from Archive interviewee Jerry Mathers regarding Leave it to Beaver's 50th Anniversary -- which is October 4th! From Jerry Mathers: Leave it to Beaver is celebrating it's 50th anniversary on October 4th! Please join me in watching Tom Bergeron interview my tv family and friends, Barbara Billingsley, Tony Dow, Ken Osmond, Frank Bank and of course me, on Good Morning America (Ch. 7) on Thursday, October 4th at 7:00 am. And, we are also scheduled to be on the KTLA Morning...