Nathan Hiken (June 23, 1914 – December 7, 1968) was an American radio and television writer, producer, and songwriter who rose to prominence in the 1950s.
Early years
Hiken was born on June 23, 1914, in Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, Illinois, the son of Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
parents. At some point, the family moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee i ...
; a 1939 article in a Milwaukee newspaper referred to him as "a well known Milwaukee boy."[ He worked on the student newspapers at both Washington High School and the ]University of Wisconsin
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...
. After finishing college, he had a brief stint as a writer for United Press International
United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 2 ...
.[
Hiken worked for Warner Bros. as a screenwriter beginning in 1940 for the studio's short-subject films. During ]World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, Hiken joined the Army Air Force
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War ...
, and although he had a private pilot's license and wanted to be an aviator
An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...
, the military asked him to produce morale boosting fund-raisers on Broadway. At the end of the war, Hiken left the military to return to being a scriptwriter for Fred Allen
John Florence Sullivan (May 31, 1894 – March 17, 1956), known professionally as Fred Allen, was an American comedian. His absurdist, topically pointed radio program ''The Fred Allen Show'' (1932–1949) made him one of the most popular and for ...
, but just as quickly, he was ready to try new things in the new media format of television. He began in television writing scripts for comedian Milton Berle
Milton Berle (born Mendel Berlinger; ; July 12, 1908 – March 27, 2002) was an American actor and comedian. His career as an entertainer spanned over 80 years, first in silent films and on stage as a child actor, then in radio, movies and tel ...
.
Radio
Hiken created and wrote for '' The Grouch Club''[ ] and wrote for Fred Allen
John Florence Sullivan (May 31, 1894 – March 17, 1956), known professionally as Fred Allen, was an American comedian. His absurdist, topically pointed radio program ''The Fred Allen Show'' (1932–1949) made him one of the most popular and for ...
's hit radio show. Hiken also created, wrote, and directed the NBC radio program "The Magnificent Montague" which aired Friday nights from November 1950 through November 1951.
Television
Hiken moved from radio to become head writer of the early television variety show '' Four Star Revue.'' However, in 1950, he was named as a Communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...
sympathizer in the publication '' Red Channels,'' probably because of his mother's outspoken political views. Historian Marc Saul writes that "Hiken had to take out an advertisement in '' Variety'' denouncing any communist beliefs. Fortunately, it did the trick."
Hiken is best known for a number of popular TV series during the 1950s and 1960s, including '' Car 54, Where Are You?''[ and '']The Phil Silvers Show
''The Phil Silvers Show'', originally titled ''You'll Never Get Rich'', is a sitcom which ran on CBS from 1955 to 1959. A pilot titled "Audition Show" was made in 1955, but it was never broadcast. 143 other episodes were broadcast – all half-a ...
,'' a situation comedy
A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use new ...
set on a US Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
post in which Silvers played Sergeant Ernest G. "Ernie" Bilko; the show was also often referred to as ''Sgt. Bilko'' (Hiken had originally titled it ''You'll Never Get Rich'').
Hiken was one of TV's first writer-producers and was the head writer for NBC's '' Four Star Revue''. He moved from radio to TV as a writer for Milton Berle
Milton Berle (born Mendel Berlinger; ; July 12, 1908 – March 27, 2002) was an American actor and comedian. His career as an entertainer spanned over 80 years, first in silent films and on stage as a child actor, then in radio, movies and tel ...
's radio show, which preceded his legendary TV variety show ''Texaco Star Theater
''Texaco Star Theater'' was an American comedy-variety show, broadcast on radio from 1938 to 1949 and telecast from 1948 to 1956. It was one of the first successful examples of American television broadcasting, remembered as the show that gave M ...
''. As a writer for ''Car 54, Where Are You?'' and ''The Phil Silvers Show'', he exhibited a comic flair, and his capacity for spoofing such entities as the United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...
, the U.S. government, and police forces was exceptional. TV historians attest to Hiken's talent to create zany but lovable characters and also to his ability to draw strong comedic performances from such unlikely celebrities as boxer Rocky Graziano on NBC's sitcom ''The Martha Raye Show''.
As a producer, Hiken also had an eye for spotting new talent. He is credited with discovering, and advancing the TV careers of, such future stars as Fred Gwynne (1955), Alan Alda
Alan Alda (; born Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo; January 28, 1936) is an American actor, screenwriter, and director. A six-time Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award winner, he is best known for playing Captain Benjamin "Hawkeye" Pierce in the war come ...
(1958)—both made their TV debuts on ''The Phil Silvers Show''—and Dick Van Dyke
Richard Wayne Van Dyke (born December 13, 1925) is an American actor, entertainer and comedian. His award-winning career has spanned seven decades in film, television, and stage.
Van Dyke began his career as an entertainer on radio and telev ...
(1958). A television pioneer, Hiken worked with Mel Brooks
Mel Brooks (born Melvin James Kaminsky; June 28, 1926) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. With a career spanning over seven decades, he is known as a writer and director of a variety of successful broad farces and parodies. He began ...
and Woody Allen
Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...
throughout the 1950s and early 1960s. Hiken won eight Emmy Awards
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
and wrote material for Milton Berle
Milton Berle (born Mendel Berlinger; ; July 12, 1908 – March 27, 2002) was an American actor and comedian. His career as an entertainer spanned over 80 years, first in silent films and on stage as a child actor, then in radio, movies and tel ...
, Bette Davis
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress with a career spanning more than 50 years and 100 acting credits. She was noted for playing unsympathetic, sardonic characters, and was famous for her p ...
, Carol Burnett, and Lucille Ball
Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedienne and producer. She was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning five times, and was the recipient of several other accolades, such as the Gold ...
. Larry David, in DVD extras to season 1 of ''Curb Your Enthusiasm
''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' is an American television sitcom produced and broadcast by HBO since October 15, 2000, and created by Larry David, who stars as a semi-fictionalized version of himself. It follows David's life as a semi-retired televi ...
,'' has spoken about his love of the Bilko series.
Hiken also displayed his musical talent by working with composers George Bassman
George Bassman (February 7, 1914 – June 26, 1997) was an American composer and arranger.
Biography
Born in New York City to a Ukrainian- and Lithuanian- Jewish émigré couple, Bassman was later raised in Boston and began studying music at t ...
and Gordon Jenkins
Gordon Hill Jenkins (May 12, 1910 – May 1, 1984) was an American arranger, composer, and pianist who was influential in popular music in the 1940s and 1950s. Jenkins worked with The Andrews Sisters, Johnny Cash, The Weavers, Frank Sinatra, Lo ...
on music and theme songs for TV series, and among the songs Hiken himself wrote and composed are "Close to Me", "Irving", and "Fugitive from Fifth Avenue". He also wrote and composed the theme song and music for the TV series, ''Car 54, Where Are You?''
Hiken's career, talents, and contributions to the early years of commercial radio and TV are documented in the book ''King of the Half Hour: Nat Hiken and the Golden Age of TV Comedy'', written by David Everitt and published by Syracuse University
Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...
Press in 2001.
Death
Throughout Hiken's career, he was known for relentless hard work and perfectionism on his shows and his unwillingness to cede control. He handled most aspects of ''Bilko'' and ''Car 54'' himself. The stress of his schedule, writing, production and dealing with the foibles of certain actors on each show, combined with a poor diet and heavy smoking, ultimately undermined his physical health. Hiken died of a heart attack on December 7, 1968, in Brentwood, California, at the age of 54. His last project was the Don Knotts
Jesse Donald Knotts (July 21, 1924February 24, 2006) was an American actor and comedian. He is widely known for his role as Deputy Sheriff Barney Fife on '' The Andy Griffith Show'', a 1960s sitcom for which he earned five Emmy Awards. He als ...
comedy '' The Love God?'', released the year following Hiken's death.
Family
Nat Hiken was the cousin of film and stage actor Gerald Hiken
Gerald Hiken (May 27, 1927 – January 6, 2021) was an American actor.
Career
A native of Milwaukee, he studied acting at HB Studio in New York City. Hiken was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play in 1980 for his performance i ...
.
References
External links
*
*
*
Nat Hiken Papers
at the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hiken, Nat
1914 births
1968 deaths
American television producers
American television writers
Emmy Award winners
Songwriters from Illinois
American film directors
English-language film directors
American male screenwriters
Burials at Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery
20th-century American musicians
American male television writers
20th-century American businesspeople
Jewish American screenwriters
Jewish American songwriters
Screenwriters from Illinois
20th-century American male writers
20th-century American screenwriters
20th-century American Jews