Alan A. Armer

In his three-hour interview, Alan A. Armer (1922-2010) talks about his early years growing up during the Great Depression. He acknowledges winning a World's Fastest Talker contest, while a teenager, speaking 617 words in 57 seconds. He speaks about his studies in speech and drama and his practical experience as an announcer in radio. He describes his years in local television in Los Angeles at KNBH (now KNBC) where he worked in many capacities and developed the series Lights, Camera, Action, a showcase for new young acting talent. He chronicles his work as a producer at 20th Century Fox in series television, where he produced My Friend Flicka and Broken Arrow. With Broken Arrow's production falling during the era of the Hollywood Blacklist, Armer reveals that the series' original writers could not be hired, rejected by the sponsor (but that he later employed them on The Fugitive). He speaks in great detail about his association as executive producer with the classic crime series The Untouchables. For this series, he comments on the controversy that arose due to the show's portrayal of Italian Americans, the necessity to tone down the show's depiction of violence, and Robert Stack's performance as Eliot Ness. He then talks about his work with Quinn Martin on the series The Fugitive. For The Fugitive, he gives his impressions of the cast, comments on the series highly-rated finale, and notes the series' Emmy win for Best Drama Series. He also touches on the later Quinn Martin-produced series The Invaders and Cannon. Finally, he talks about serving as Chairman of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in the early 1970s, and the increase in membership and creation of the Film Group screenings during his tenure. Stephen J. Abramson conducted the interview on July 15, 2008 in Los Angeles, CA.