Author: Wesley Hyatt Publisher: McFarland ISBN: 1476605157 Category : Performing Arts Languages : en Pages : 329
Book Description
Do you remember the 1959 game show where ABC cancelled a tape featuring a female impersonator (Across the Board)? Ever heard of Snip, the 1976 sitcom starring David Brenner that NBC canned just before it debuted? Almost everyone who has worked on a successful television series has also been on one that flopped. Even during the first thirty years of broadcasting, when NBC, CBS, and ABC were the only networks and not quite so quick to cancel unsuccessful programs, hundreds of shows lasted less than one year. This work tells the stories of those ill-fated series that were cancelled within one year after their premieres. The entries are arranged chronologically from the 1948-1949 through the 1977-1978 seasons, and provide brief descriptions of the shows along with such facts as the type of program each series was; its times, dates, and network; its competition on other networks; and the names of the cast, producer, director and writer. The book also includes information from more than 100 interviews with actors, writers, directors, and producers who worked on the short-lived television series.
Author: Wesley Hyatt Publisher: McFarland ISBN: 1476608741 Category : Performing Arts Languages : en Pages : 485
Book Description
Since the early days of television, well before most households had a set, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences has been handing out honors for the industry's best efforts. Now fans can read about their favorites--and perhaps rediscover some forgotten pleasures--in this reference to prime time and nighttime Emmy winners. Beginning with the heated charade contest known as Pantomime Quiz, which won Most Popular Program of 1948 in the first Emmy Awards ceremony (held in 1949), each of more than 100 winning shows gets star treatment with an entry that includes the year of award or awards, air times, hosts, guests, casts and a full discussion of the show's history and run. Many of the entries include original interviews with cast or crew members. With such rich information, each show's entry constitutes a chapter in the history of television through the story of the show and the people who made it happen. The best of variety, drama, game shows, comedies, adventures and many more categories are featured. An appendix offers interesting facts and figures and ranks shows according to such statistics as longest run, longest delay from debut to win, and most Emmys won.
Author: Publisher: McFarland ISBN: 0786454377 Category : Performing Arts Languages : en Pages : 545
Book Description
In the early days of television, many of its actors, writers, producers and directors came from radio. This crossover endowed the American Radio Archives with a treasure trove of television documents. The collected scripts span more than 40 years of American television history, from live broadcasts of the 1940s to the late 1980s. They also cover the entire spectrum of television entertainment programming, including comedies, soap operas, dramas, westerns, and crime series. The archives cover nearly 1,200 programs represented by more than 6,000 individual scripts. Includes an index of personal names, program and episode titles and production companies, as well as a glossary of industry terms.
Author: Everett Aaker Publisher: McFarland ISBN: 1476606366 Category : Performing Arts Languages : en Pages : 673
Book Description
Any episode of a crime or mystery series involves some or all of the following: the perpetration of a crime; its investigation; the analytical process which involves the determination of the villain; the arrest and trial of the culprit; and the handing out of the appropriate punishment. Such series involving the exploits of a wide variety of courageous heroes and heroines were very popular during the 1950s, and they featured a host of actors and actresses, including famous television detectives (e.g., Raymond Burr), those famous in other genres (e.g., Boris Karloff, Charles Bronson), and over 250 other players with recurring roles. This reference work lists every player who had a regular role in a crime or mystery series during the early era of television. All covered series offered live or filmed episodes of a crime or mystery nature, and all were shown on American television. All series had either regular stars or a recognizable host. Entries cover the player's real name, family information and education; how the player originally broke into show business; the player's career preceding the series; and his or her marriage, children, death date, and film and television credits. Appendices provide a catalog of American mystery series and a list of regular mystery series players whose roles began after December 31, 1959.
Author: Wesley Hyatt Publisher: McFarland ISBN: 147660875X Category : Performing Arts Languages : en Pages : 201
Book Description
The Red Skelton Show was on the air for 20 years, the longest-running primetime network comedy variety series on television. It was a top 10 series for nine years--an accomplishment surpassed only by Gunsmoke and Home Improvement. The series has a few unimpressive achievements too, such as becoming the first top 10 series to be cancelled by a network. Here is the history of The Red Skelton Show, beginning with its debut in 1951, one of the top five that year. The show then declined in popularity, moved from CBS to NBC in 1953, slowly rose back to the top. In its glory days of the 1960s it became an hour long show and finished at number two in two different years. The cancellation of the show by CBS in 1970 despite its place in the top 10 was a surprise; the last season back with NBC was a failure. Appendices list cast and crew credits and special guests by season, and offer information on the post-Red Skelton lives of many of the principal players.
Author: David Baber Publisher: McFarland ISBN: 1476604800 Category : Performing Arts Languages : en Pages : 297
Book Description
This unique work profiles the private lives and careers of 32 American game show hosts, including the originals (e.g., Bill Cullen, Peter Marshall), the classics (e.g., Bob Barker), and the contemporaries (e.g., Regis Philbin). Organized by host, each chapter includes birth and family information and a complete career history. The most significant developments of each host's early life and career are highlighted--complete with successes, failures, and scandals. Many of the biographies are accompanied by interviews with the host or his family and friends.
Author: Ryan Ellett Publisher: McFarland ISBN: 1476629803 Category : Performing Arts Languages : en Pages : 238
Book Description
More than 700 uncredited scriptwriters who created the memorable characters and thrilling stories of radio's Golden Age receive due recognition in this reference work. For some, radio was a stepping stone on the way to greater achievements in film or television, on the stage or in literature. For others, it was the culmination of a life spent writing newspaper copy. Established authors dabbled in radio as a new medium, while working writers saw it as another opportunity to earn a paycheck. When these men and women came to broadcasting, they crafted a body of work still appreciated by modern listeners.
Author: Mary Beltrán Publisher: NYU Press ISBN: 1479833894 Category : Antiques & Collectibles Languages : en Pages : 262
Book Description
"This book surveys the history of Latina and Latino depictions, narratives, and authorship in U.S. English-language television since the 1950s, with a focus on the navigations and impact of Latina/o series writers and creators as they have been able to enter the industrial landscape in recent decades. Based on archival research, interviews with dozens of media professionals who worked on or performed in these series, textual analysis of available episodes and promotional materials, and analysis of news media coverage, the chapters examine Latina/o representation in children's television Westerns in the 1950s, in Chicana/o and Puerto Rican activist-led public affairs series in the 1970s, in sitcoms from the 1970s through the 2010s, including many considered "failed," and in Latina and Latino-led series in the 2000s and 2010s on broadcast, cable, and streaming outlets, including George Lopez, Ugly Betty, One Day at a Time, and Vida. These series and their creators and writers are explored in relation to the social and political contexts of these junctures in U.S. and Latina/o history and to the evolving industry with respect to whether Latina/o creatives were allowed entrée and to the cultural climate for writers and other creative professionals working in television development and production. As such, it also highlights how television has been key to both the marginalization and to the incremental growth of Latina/o cultural citizenship in the United States, as well as how Latina/o creative professionals are gaining numbers and agency within the television industry and are continuing to push to be able to produce and share their stories"--
Author: David C. Tucker Publisher: McFarland ISBN: 0786487321 Category : Performing Arts Languages : en Pages : 217
Book Description
Most of the bright and talented actresses who made America laugh in the 1950s are off the air today, but their pioneering Hollywood careers irrevocably changed the face of television comedy. These smart and sassy women successfully negotiated the hazards of the male-dominated workplace with class and humor, and the work they did in the 1950s is inventive still by today's standards. Unable to fall back on strong language, shock value, or racial and sexual epithets, the female sitcom stars of the 1950s entertained with pure talent and screen savvy. As they did so, they helped to lay the foundation for the development of television comedy. This book pays tribute to 10 prominent television actresses who played lead roles in popular comedy shows of the 1950s. Each chapter covers the works and personalities of one actress: Lucille Ball (I Love Lucy), Gracie Allen (The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show), Eve Arden (Our Miss Brooks), Spring Byington (December Bride), Joan Davis (I Married Joan), Anne Jeffreys (Topper), Donna Reed (The Donna Reed Show), Ann Sothern (Private Secretary and The Ann Sothern Show), Gale Storm (My Little Margie and The Gale Storm Show: Oh! Susanna), and Betty White (Life with Elizabeth). For each star, a career sketch is provided, concentrating primarily on her television work but also noting achievements in other areas. Appendices offer cast and crew lists, a chronology, and an additional biographical sketch of 10 less familiar actresses who deserve recognition.
Author: David C. Tucker Publisher: McFarland ISBN: 1476647992 Category : Biography & Autobiography Languages : en Pages : 219
Book Description
Rochelle Hudson's career as an actress was planned from the start (born in 1916) by her ambitious stage mother. Given rigorous dance and musical training as a child, Hudson won her first film contract at the age of 14. A WAMPAS Baby Star in 1931, she co-starred with actors such as W.C. Fields, Henry Fonda, Claudette Colbert, Will Rogers and Fredric March in classic films like Imitation of Life (1934) and Les Miserables (1935). But within a few years, she was stuck in B movies and frustrated. Stepping away from Hollywood, Hudson worked as a realtor and a rancher, and even did wartime espionage work for the Navy. She continued acting occasionally, in Rebel Without a Cause (1955), the TV sitcom That's My Boy (1954-55), and the campy horror film Strait-Jacket (1964). A timeless beauty, she was married (and divorced) four times before her untimely death in 1972 at age 55. Drawing on personal papers, interviews with family and friends and genealogical research, this first account of Rochelle Hudson's life and work depicts a talented and outspoken woman who built a successful career on her own terms. The annotated filmography provides synopses, critical commentary and reviews for nearly 60 feature films.
Author: Wesley Hyatt
Author: Wesley Hyatt
Author: 
Author: Everett Aaker
Author: Wesley Hyatt
Author: David Baber
Author: Ryan Ellett
Author: Mary Beltrán
Author: David C. Tucker
Author: David C. Tucker