Talent Associates, Ltd. (also known as Talent Associates-Paramount, Ltd. and Talent Associates-Norton Simon, Inc.), was a production company headed by

David Susskind David Howard Susskind (December 19, 1920 – February 22, 1987) was an American producer of TV, movies, and stage plays and also a TV talk show host. His talk shows were innovative in the genre and addressed timely, controversial topics beyond th ...

, later joined by

Daniel Melnick Daniel Melnick (April 21, 1932 – October 13, 2009) was an American film producer and movie studio executive who started working in Hollywood as a teenager in television and then became the producer of such films as '' All That Jazz'', '' Alte ...

, Leonard Stern and Ron Gilbert.

Origins

In the years after World War II, Susskind was a talent agent for Century Artists, ultimately ending up in the powerhouse

Music Corporation of America MCA Inc. (originally an initialism for Music Corporation of America) was an American media conglomerate founded in 1924. Originally a talent agency with artists in the music business as clients, the company became a major force in the film ind ...

's fairly newly minted television program department, managing

Dinah Shore Dinah Shore (born Frances Rose Shore; February 29, 1916 – February 24, 1994) was an American singer, actress, and television personality, and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1940s. She rose to prominence as a recording artist during ...

Jerry Lewis Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian. As his contributions to comedy and charity made him a global figure in popular culture, pop culture ...

, and others. He then went to New York and formed Talent Associates, representing creators of material rather than performers. Susskind converted Talent Associates into a packaging company for new programs in 1952.

Golden Age television

Talent Associates produced some of the classic series of the

Golden Age of Television The first Golden Age of Television is an era of television in the United States marked by its large number of live productions. The period is generally recognized as beginning in 1947 with the first episode of the drama anthology '' Kraft Televi ...

, such as the

Wally Cox Wallace Maynard Cox (December 6, 1924 – February 15, 1973) was an American actor. He began his career as a standup comedian and then became the title character of the popular early U.S. television series ''Mister Peepers'' from 1952 to 19 ...

comedy ''

Mister Peepers ''Mister Peepers'' is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from July 3, 1952, to June 12, 1955. Overview Wally Cox starred as Robinson J. Peepers, Jefferson City's junior high school science teacher. Others in the cast included Tony Randall a ...

'', the anthology

teleplay A teleplay is a screenplay or script used in the production of a scripted television program or series. In general usage, the term is most commonly seen in reference to a standalone production, such as a television film, a television play, or a ...

series '' The Goodyear Television Playhouse''/''

The Philco Television Playhouse ''The Philco Television Playhouse'' is an American television anthology series that was broadcast live on NBC from 1948 to 1955. Produced by Fred Coe, the series was sponsored by Philco. It was one of the most respected dramatic shows of the Golde ...

'' and ''

Armstrong Circle Theatre ''Armstrong Circle Theatre'' is an American anthology drama television series which ran from June 6, 1950, to June 25, 1957, on NBC, and from October 2, 1957, to August 28, 1963, on CBS. It alternated weekly with '' The U.S. Steel Hour''. It fi ...

''. In 1953-54, Talent Associates produced ''

Jamie Jamie is a unisex name. It is a diminutive form of James or, more rarely, other names. It is also given as a name in its own right. People Female * Jamie Anne Allman (born 1977), American actress * Jamie Babbit (born 1970), American film and t ...

'' starring a young

Brandon deWilde Andre Brandon deWilde (April 9, 1942 – July 6, 1972) was an American theater, film, and television actor. Born into a theatrical family in Brooklyn, he debuted on Broadway at the age of seven and became a national phenomenon by the time he com ...

, fresh off his success in

George Stevens George Cooper Stevens (December 18, 1904 – March 8, 1975) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter and cinematographer.Obituary '' Variety'', March 12, 1975, page 79. Films he produced were nominated for the Academy Award for ...

' ''

Shane Shane may refer to: People * Shane (actress) (born 1969), American pornographic actress * Shane (New Zealand singer) (born 1946) * iamnotshane (born 1995), formerly known as Shane, American singer * Shane (name), a masculine given name and a su ...

'' (1953), for ABC. De Wilde together with veteran

character actor A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to b ...

Ernest Truex Ernest Truex (September 19, 1889 – June 26, 1973) was an American actor of stage, film, and television. Career Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Truex learned acting at an early age after his father, a doctor, treated actor Edwin Melvin, who ...

, told the story of aging Grandpa McHummer striking a bond with young Jamie, his recently orphaned grandson. Talent Associates was structured like a small, family-run firm; Susskind deliberately chose young and inexperienced associates, many of them women, who would learn on the job.

Expansion

Susskind began to branch out, putting together Broadway shows (“Mr. Lincoln”) and feature films (''

A Raisin in the Sun ''A Raisin in the Sun'' is a play by Lorraine Hansberry that debuted on Broadway in 1959. The title comes from the poem "Harlem" (also known as "A Dream Deferred") by Langston Hughes. The story tells of a black family's experiences in south Chi ...

''). Talent Associates won more than 20 Emmy awards in the 1960s and 1970s. A few key projects to note:

''Open End''/''The David Susskind Show''

In 1958, Susskind became the host of '' Open End'', one of the first major TV talk shows. The title refers to the irregular run time - guests would talk until they had nothing left to say. ''Open End'' ended in 1966, but was replaced by the fixed length ''

The David Susskind Show ''The David Susskind Show'' is an American television talk show hosted by David Susskind which was broadcast from 1958 to 1986. The program began locally in New York City in 1958 as ''Open End,'' which referred to the fact that the program was open ...

.''

''East Side/West Side''

By 1963, Susskind had a reputation as a maverick, one of the last producers willing to stand up to the ever more powerful TV networks; his ''

East Side/West Side ''East Side/West Side'' is an American drama series starring George C. Scott, Elizabeth Wilson, Cicely Tyson, and, later on, Linden Chiles. The series aired for one season (1963–1964), and was shown Monday nights on CBS. Set in New York City ...

'', a hard-hitting dramatic series starring George C. Scott, began on CBS in 1963 and won fairly high critical praise. In an era when race relations was a volatile subject in the United States, ''East Side/West Side'' featured

Cicely Tyson Cicely Louise Tyson (December 19, 1924January 28, 2021) was an American actress. In a career which spanned more than seven decades in film, television and theatre, she became known for her portrayal of strong African-American women. Tyson recei ...

in one of the first major regular roles for an

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

actress in a primetime drama, and the series dealt a few times with issues facing African-Americans, as well as other urban issues such as

drug addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to engage in certain behaviors, one of which is the usage of a drug, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use oft ...

and

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...

, leading to some affiliates in Southern states not clearing the program. ''East Side/West Side'' also had trouble attracting advertisers. The drama was canceled by CBS after only one season, due also in large part with CBS programming head James Aubrey's discomfort with the socially conscious subject matter, as well as Aubrey's conflicts with Scott and Susskind over the direction of the series.

appears as himself in one episode, hosting a television discussion.

''Get Smart''

While ''East Side/West Side'' was in production, two young writers,

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

Buck Henry Buck Henry (born Henry Zuckerman; December 9, 1930 – January 8, 2020) was an American actor, screenwriter, and director. Henry's contributions to film included his work as a co-writer for Mike Nichols's ''The Graduate'' (1967) for which he r ...

, were working at Talent Associates in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

on the

script Script may refer to: Writing systems * Script, a distinctive writing system, based on a repertoire of specific elements or symbols, or that repertoire * Script (styles of handwriting) ** Script typeface, a typeface with characteristics of ha ...

for a new pilot, which became an enduring legacy of Talent Associates. This was the sitcom ''

Get Smart ''Get Smart'' is an American comedy television series parodying the secret agent genre that had become widely popular in the first half of the 1960s, with the release of the ''James Bond'' films. It was created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, an ...

'', a spoof of the then-popular

secret agent Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangib ...

genre, which premiered in 1965 on NBC and starred

Don Adams Donald James Yarmy (April 13, 1923 – September 25, 2005), known professionally as Don Adams, was an American actor. In his five decades on television, he was best known as Maxwell Smart (Agent 86) in the television situation comedy '' G ...

and

Barbara Feldon Barbara Feldon (born Barbara Anne Hall; March 12, 1933) is an American actress primarily known for her roles on television. Her most prominent role was that of Agent 99 in the 1965–1970 sitcom ''Get Smart''. Early life Feldon was born Barbara ...

. Production took place at Sunset Bronson Studios in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

, so Talent Associates had to establish a West Coast presence. ''Get Smart'' spanned 138 episodes over 5 years, and was very popular in

broadcast syndication Broadcast syndication is the practice of leasing the right to broadcasting television shows and radio programs to multiple television stations and radio stations, without going through a broadcast network. It is common in the United States wher ...

. It spawned sequels, reunion shows and even major

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

s decades after its premiere.

Other

Talent Associates continued with television and motion picture projects, including producing duties on ''

Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore ''Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore'' is a 1974 American comedy drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Robert Getchell. It stars Ellen Burstyn as a widow who travels with her preteen son across the Southwestern United States i ...

'', the 1974 film, and ''

McMillan & Wife ''McMillan & Wife'' (known simply as ''McMillan'' from 1976–77) is an American police procedural television series that aired on NBC from September 17, 1971, to April 24, 1977. Starring Rock Hudson and Susan Saint James in the title roles, the ...

'', the 1971-1977 TV series. The company also ventured into game shows, packaging the original version of ''

Supermarket Sweep ''Supermarket Sweep'' is an American television game show. The format combines an ordinary team-based quiz show with the novel concept of a live, timed race through a supermarket. In the timed race, cameras follow the teams with shopping carts t ...

'', and its successor '' The Honeymoon Race''; as well as '' The Generation Gap''; and an unsold pilot, ''

King of the Hill ''King of the Hill'' is an American animated sitcom created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It aired its original non-syndicated run from January 12, 1997, to September 13, 2009, and centers on the Hills, an Am ...

''.

Record division

Talent Associates also had a short lived record division, known as TA Records, which released a total of only 4 LP titles. The label's product was distributed through

Bell Records Bell Records was an American record label founded in 1952 in New York City by Arthur Shimkin, the owner of the children's record label Golden Records, and initially a unit of Pocket Books, after the rights to the name were acquired from Benny ...

. The

soft rock Soft rock is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in Southern California and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, melodic songs with big, lush productions. S ...

duo

Seals and Crofts Seals and Crofts was an American soft rock duo made up of James Eugene Seals (October 17, 1942 – June 6, 2022) and Darrell George "Dash" Crofts (born August 14, 1938) They are best known for their hits " Summer Breeze" (1972), " Diamond Girl ...

were signed to the label in 1969. After releasing two albums which received little attention the group moved to Warner Bros. Records in 1971 where they recorded a string of hit albums and singles during the mid-1970s. Another TA Records group,

The Original Caste The Original Caste is a Canadian folk group. The band formed in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, in 1966 under the name The North Country Singers. Because the name sounded too much like a folk group, it was changed in 1968. Instrumentally, the group c ...

, reached #34 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart with the original recording of "

One Tin Soldier "One Tin Soldier" is a 1960s counterculture era anti-war song written by Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter. Canadian pop group The Original Caste (consisting of Dixie Lee Innes, Bruce Innes, Graham Bruce, Joseph Cavender and Bliss Mackie) first ...

" in 1970. One other TA Records group, R&B group Five Flights Up, had a Billboard Top 40 single with "Do What You Wanna Do" which peaked at #36 in the fall of 1970, along with two non-charting singles.

Ownership changes

From 1961 to 1965,

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

owned a 50% stake in Talent Associates. In August 1968, the company was acquired by industrialist

Norton Simon Norton Winfred Simon (February 5, 1907 – June 2, 1993) was an American industrialist and philanthropist. He was at one time one of the wealthiest men in America. At the time of his death, he had amassed a net worth of nearly US$10 billion. S ...

, becoming known as Talent Associates-Norton Simon, Inc. until 1974, when Susskind and Gilbert bought it back. In 1977, the company was sold to Time-Life Films. Warner Bros. Discovery's

HBO Entertainment Home Box Office, Inc. (HBO) is an American multinational media and entertainment company operating as a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery. Founded by Charles Dolan and based out of WarnerMedia's former corporate headquarters at the 30 Hudson Yard ...

and

Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution Warner Bros. Pictures is an American film production and distribution company of the Warner Bros. Pictures Group division of Warner Bros. Entertainment (both ultimately owned by Warner Bros. Discovery). The studio is the flagship producer of li ...

currently owns the copyrights to the Talent Associates library. There are a few exceptions—for instance, ''

'' is owned by

Universal Television Universal Television LLC (abbreviated as UTV) is an American television production company that is a subsidiary of Universal Studio Group, a division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It serves as the network television production arm of NBC; a prede ...

, who co-produced the show with Talent Associates, and ''East Side/West Side'', owned by MGM as the successor-in-interest to United Artists.

References

{{Authority control Television production companies of the United States HBO