The Interviews: An Oral History of Television (formerly titled the Archive of American Television) is a project of the nonprofit

Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation is the charitable arm of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The Foundation’s educational and preservation programs include the Summer Internship program, the College Television Awards ...

North Hollywood, Los Angeles North Hollywood is a neighborhood and district in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, California. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, El Portal Theater, several art galleries, and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The ...

, that records interviews with notable people from all aspects of the

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

industry.New York Time
"Interviews With Legends of Television Hit Web"
September 13, 2009 The project has interviewed over 950 television pioneers and has posted over 900 videotaped interviews online. It is their ultimate goal to be the world's largest and most advanced oral history collection on the

history of television The concept of television is the work of many individuals in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Constantin Perskyi had coined the word ''television'' in a paper read to the International Electricity Congress at the Exposition Universelle ...

and make these primary resources freely available and searchable to the public. The archive's subjects include all professions within the television industry that are recognized by the Emmy Awards. Examples include: actors

Tony Randall Anthony Leonard Randall (born Aryeh Leonard Rosenberg; February 26, 1920 – May 17, 2004) was an American actor of film, television and stage. He is best known for portraying the role of Felix Unger in the 1970–1975 television adaptation of ...

Fess Parker Fess Elisha Parker Jr. (born F. E. Parker Jr.;Weaver, Tom.Sci-Fi Swarm and Horror Horde: Interviews with 62 Filmmakers p. 148 (McFarland 2012). August 16, 1924 – March 18, 2010)(March 18, 2010Daniel Boone Actor Fess Parker Dies at 85" '' CBS ...

William Shatner William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1966 debut as the captain of the starship USS Enterpri ...

Betty White Betty Marion Ludden ( White; January 17, 1922December 31, 2021), known professionally as Betty White, was an American actress and comedian. A pioneer of early television with a career spanning almost seven decades, she was noted for her vas ...

Alan Alda Alan Alda (; born Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo; January 28, 1936) is an American actor. A six-time Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award winner and a three-time Tony Award nominee, he is best known for playing Captain Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pier ...

James Garner James Scott Garner (né Bumgarner; April 7, 1928 – July 19, 2014) was an American actor. He played leading roles in more than 50 theatrical films, which included ''The Great Escape (film), The Great Escape'' (1963) with Steve McQueen; Paddy Ch ...

Mary Tyler Moore Mary Tyler Moore (December 29, 1936 – January 25, 2017) was an American actress, producer, and social advocate. She is best known for her roles on '' The Dick Van Dyke Show'' (1961–1966) and ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (1970–1977), whic ...

Dick Van Dyke Richard Wayne Van Dyke (born December 13, 1925) is an American actor, entertainer and comedian. Dick Van Dyke on screen and stage, His work spans screen and stage, and List of awards and nominations received by Dick Van Dyke, his awards includ ...

Ossie Davis Ossie Davis (born Raiford Chatman Davis; December 18, 1917 – February 4, 2005) was an American actor, Film director, director, writer, and activist. He was married to Ruby Dee, with whom he frequently performed, until his death. He received num ...

Carol Burnett Carol Creighton Burnett (born April 26, 1933) is an American comedian, actress, singer and writer. Burnett has played dramatic and comedic roles on stage and screen. She has received List of awards and nominations received by Carol Burnett, nu ...

and

Michael J. Fox Michael Andrew Fox (born June 9, 1961), known professionally as Michael J. Fox, is a Canadian and American actor and activist. Beginning his career as a child actor in the 1970s, he rose to prominence portraying Alex P. Keaton on the NBC sitcom ...

; and producers

Norman Lear Norman Milton Lear (July 27, 1922December 5, 2023) was an American screenwriter and producer who produced, wrote, created, or developed over 100 shows. Lear created and produced numerous popular 1970s sitcoms, including ''All in the Family'' (1 ...

Carl Reiner Carl Reiner (March 20, 1922 – June 29, 2020) was an American actor, author, comedian, director and screenwriter whose career spanned seven decades. He was the List of awards and nominations received by Carl Reiner, recipient of many awards and ...

, Chris Carter,

Steven Bochco Steven Ronald Bochco (December 16, 1943 – April 1, 2018) was an American television writer and producer. He developed a number of television series, mostly crime dramas, including '' Hill Street Blues''; ''L.A. Law''; '' Doogie Howser, M.D.''; ...

Phil Rosenthal Philip Rosenthal (born January 27, 1960) is an American television writer and producer who is the creator, writer, and executive producer of the CBS sitcom ''Everybody Loves Raymond'' (1996–2005). In recent years, he has presented food and t ...

Chuck Barris Charles Hirsch Barris (June 3, 1929 – March 21, 2017) was an American game show creator, producer, and host, author, and songwriter. A key crew member of several hugely successful game shows, he was the creator of ''The Dating Game'' (1965– ...

Sherwood Schwartz Sherwood Charles Schwartz ( ; November 14, 1916 – July 12, 2011) was an American television screenwriter and producer. He worked on radio shows in the 1940s, but he now is best known for creating the 1960s television series ''Gilligan's Island ...

Fred Rogers Fred McFeely Rogers (March 20, 1928 – February 27, 2003), better known as Mister Rogers, was an American television host, author, producer, and Presbyterian minister. He was the creator, showrunner, and host of the preschool television s ...

and

Dick Wolf Richard Anthony Wolf (born December 20, 1946) is an American billionaire and television producer, best known for his ''Law & Order'' franchise. Since 1990, the franchise has included six police/courtroom dramas and four international spinoffs. ...

; newscasters

Walter Cronkite Walter Leland Cronkite Jr. (November 4, 1916 – July 17, 2009) was an American broadcast journalist who served as anchorman for the ''CBS Evening News'' from 1962 to 1981. During the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the most trust ...

Ed Bradley Edward Rudolph Bradley Jr. (June 22, 1941 – November 9, 2006) was an American broadcast journalist and news anchor who is best known for reporting with ''60 Minutes'' and CBS News. After graduating from Cheyney State College, Bradley bec ...

Bob Schieffer Bob Lloyd Schieffer (born February 25, 1937) is an American television journalist. He is known for his moderation of presidential debates, where he has been praised for his capability. Schieffer is one of the few journalists to have covered all f ...

and

David Brinkley David McClure Brinkley (July 10, 1920 – June 11, 2003) was an American newscaster for NBC and ABC in a career lasting from 1943 to 1997. From 1956 through 1970, he co-anchored NBC's top-rated nightly news program, '' The Huntley–Brinkle ...

; executives

Fred Silverman Fred Silverman (September 13, 1937 – January 30, 2020) was an American television executive and producer. He worked as an executive at all of the Big Three television networks, and was responsible for bringing to television such programs as '' ...

Sumner Redstone Sumner Murray Redstone ( Rothstein; May 27, 1923 – August 11, 2020) was an American billionaire businessman and media magnate. He was the founder and chairman of the second incarnation of Viacom, chairman of CBS Corporation (both companies m ...

Leslie Moonves Leslie Roy Moonves (; born October 6, 1949) is an American media executive who was the chairman and CEO of CBS Corporation from 2006 until his resignation in September 2018 following numerous allegations of sexual harassment, sexual assault and ...

Robert Johnson Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911August 16, 1938) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His singing, guitar playing and songwriting on his landmark 1936 and 1937 recordings have influenced later generations of musicians. Although his r ...

, Kay Koplovitz, Frank Stanton and

Ted Turner Robert Edward Turner III (born November 19, 1938) is an American entrepreneur, television producer, media proprietor, and Philanthropy, philanthropist. He founded the CNN, Cable News Network (CNN), the first 24-hour United States cable news, ...

; costume designers

Bob Mackie Robert Gordon Mackie (born March 24, 1940) is an American fashion designer and costumier, best known for his dressing of numerous entertainment personalities for television, movies, concerts, and live stage shows. He was the costume designer f ...

and

Nolan Miller Nolan Bertrandoff Miller (January 8, 1933 – June 7, 2012) was an American fashion and jewelry designer on QVC and a television costume designer best known for his work on the long-running 1980s series ''Dynasty'', its spin-off series ''The Co ...

; choreographers Tony Charmoli and

Cyd Charisse Cyd Charisse (born Tula Ellice Finklea; March 8, 1922 – June 17, 2008) was an American dancer and actress. After recovering from polio as a child and studying ballet, Charisse entered films in the 1940s. Her roles usually featured her abilit ...

; writers

Roy Huggins Roy Huggins (July 18, 1914 – April 3, 2002) was an American novelist and an influential writer/creator and producer of character-driven television series, including '' Maverick'', '' The Fugitive'', ''Hunter'', and ''The Rockford Files''. He ...

Tad Mosel Tad Mosel (May 1, 1922 – August 24, 2008) was an American playwright and one of the leading dramatists of hour-long teleplay genre for live television during the 1950s. He received the 1961 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play '' All the Way H ...

Sidney Sheldon Sidney Sheldon (February 11, 1917 – January 30, 2007) was an American writer. He was prominent in the 1930s, first working on Broadway plays, and then in motion pictures, notably writing the successful comedy '' The Bachelor and the Bobby-Sox ...

Abby Mann Abby Mann (December 1, 1927 – March 25, 2008) was an American film writer and producer. Life and career The son of Russian-Jewish immigrants, Mann was born as Abraham Goodman in Philadelphia. He grew up in East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Dou ...

and Ann Marcus, among numerous others.

History

Motivated by

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...

's Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation, which has videotaped testimonies of Holocaust survivors, Dean Valentine (former Disney Television and UPN president) was inspired to create a similar project for television. Valentine developed and presented a proposal to the TV Academy, under then-president Richard H. Frank and Academy Foundation Chairman Thomas W. Sarnoff.

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

executive

Grant Tinker Grant Almerin Tinker (January 11, 1926 – November 28, 2016) was an American television executive who was chairman and CEO of NBC from 1981 to 1986. Additionally, he was a co-founder of MTM Enterprises and a television producer. Early life T ...

, Award-winning producer

David L. Wolper David Lloyd Wolper (January 11, 1928 – August 10, 2010) was an American television and film producer, responsible for shows such as ''Roots'', '' The Thorn Birds'', and '' North and South'', and the theatrically-released films ''Willy Wonka & th ...

are the Archive's founding co-chairs. The creation of the Archive of American Television was co-founded and executive produced by Michael Rosen and overseen by

James Loper James Leaders Loper (September 4, 1931 – July 8, 2013) was an American television executive who co-founded KCET in 1964 and served as Executive Director of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences from 1983 to 1999. Life and career Loper was b ...

, the Executive Director of the

Academy of Television Arts & Sciences The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), also colloquially known as the Television Academy, is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the Television in the United States, television industry in the United S ...

from 1984 until 1999. Beginning in early 1996, the Archive of American Television completed its first six interviews as part of its pilot stage. The initial six interviews were with Elma Farnsworth, widow and lab assistant to the inventor of electronic television

Philo Farnsworth Philo Taylor Farnsworth (August 19, 1906 – March 11, 1971), "The father of television", was the American inventor and pioneer who was granted the first patent for the television by the United States Government. Burns, R. W. (1998), ''Televisi ...

;

Leonard Goldenson Leonard H. Goldenson (December 7, 1905 – December 27, 1999) was the founder and president of the United States–based television network American Broadcasting Company (ABC), from 1953 to 1986. Goldenson, as CEO of United Paramount Theatre ...

, founder of

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

, Dick Smith, television's first make-up artist;

Ethel Winant Ethel Winant ( Wald; August 5, 1922 – November 29, 2003) was the first woman executive in television when she became the vice-president of CBS in 1973. Winant was also a casting director for various shows including ''The Twilight Zone'' and ''Th ...

, casting executive;

Sheldon Leonard Sheldon Leonard Bershad (February 22, 1907 – January 11, 1997) was an American film and television actor, producer, director, and screenwriter. Early life Sheldon Leonard Bershad was born in Manhattan, New York City, the son of middle-class ...

, show creator, actor, and director; and 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 eight decades, first in silent films and on stage as a child actor, then in radio, movies and ...

. The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Foundation officially launched the Archive of American Television in 1997 under the day-to-day leadership of Rosen and Sarnoff. Subsequent directors of the Archive include Karen L. Herman and Jenni Matz. Thousands of hours of historic interviews have been completed with over 950 TV legends. In 2009 a fully-searchable website was launched to make the collection available the public emmytvlegends.org. Long-form, multi-hour video interviews currently online include actors,

Richard Crenna Richard Donald Crenna (November 30, 1926 – January 17, 2003) was an American actor and television director. Crenna starred in such motion pictures as '' Made in Paris'' (1966), '' Marooned'' (1969), '' Breakheart Pass'' (1975), '' The Evil'' ...

Barbara Eden Barbara Eden (born Barbara Jean Morehead; August 23, 1931) is an American actress and singer, who starred as the title character in the sitcom ''I Dream of Jeannie'' (1965–1970). Her other roles included Roslyn Pierce opposite Elvis Presley in ...

Jonathan Winters Jonathan Harshman Winters III (November 11, 1925 – April 11, 2013) was an American comedian, actor, author, television host, and artist. He started performing as a stand up comedian before transitioning his career to acting in film and te ...

Dick Clark Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American television and radio personality and television producer who hosted ''American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 1989. He also hosted five incarnations of the Pyramid (game show), ...

Florence Henderson Florence Agnes Henderson (February 14, 1934 – November 24, 2016) was an American singer and actress. With a career spanning six decades, she is best known for her starring role as Carol Brady on the ABC sitcom ''The Brady Bunch''. Henderson ...

Andy Griffith Andy Samuel Griffith (June 1, 1926 – July 3, 2012) was an American actor, comedian, television producer, singer, and writer whose career spanned seven decades in music and television. Known for his Southern drawl, his characters with a folksy ...

Bob Newhart George Robert Newhart (September 5, 1929 – July 18, 2024) was an American comedian and actor. Newhart was known for his deadpan and stammering delivery style. Beginning his career as a stand-up comedian, he transitioned his career to acting in ...

, and

Mickey Rooney Mickey Rooney (born Ninnian Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nearly nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last survivi ...

, writer and producers, writer

Harlan Ellison Harlan Jay Ellison (May 27, 1934 – June 28, 2018) was an American writer, known for his prolific and influential work in New Wave science fiction, New Wave speculative fiction and for his outspoken, combative personality. His published wo ...

, news legends

Robert MacNeil Robert Breckenridge Ware MacNeil (January 19, 1931 – April 12, 2024), often known as Robin MacNeil, was a Canadian-American journalist, writer and television news anchor. He partnered with Jim Lehrer to create the landmark public televisio ...

Jim McKay James Kenneth McManus (September 24, 1921 – June 7, 2008), better known professionally as Jim McKay, was an American television sports journalist. McKay was best known for hosting ABC's '' Wide World of Sports'' (1961–1998). His intro ...

Mike Wallace Myron Leon Wallace (May 9, 1918 – April 7, 2012) was an American journalist, game show host, actor, and media personality. Known for his investigative journalism, he interviewed a wide range of prominent newsmakers during his seven-decade car ...

and

, and executives

and

. Key players from the

1950s quiz show scandals The 1950s quiz show scandals were a series of scandals involving the producers and contestants of several popular American television quiz shows. These shows' producers secretly gave assistance to certain contestants in order to prearrange the ...

were also interviewed:

Herb Stempel Herbert Milton Stempel (December 19, 1926 – April 7, 2020) was an American television game show contestant and subsequent whistleblower on the fraudulent nature of the industry, in what became known as the 1950s quiz show scandals. His rigged s ...

and Albert Freedman. Television Academy Foundation staff, professors, scholars and journalists from around the country volunteer their time to select candidates for, and conduct these interviews. The Foundation employs a small staff who prepare all of the research and questions in advance. Local video crews record each interview.

References

External links

*
Archive of American Television
on

Google Cultural Institute Google Arts & Culture (formerly Google Art Project) is an online platform of high-resolution images and videos of artworks and cultural artifacts from partner cultural organizations throughout the world, operated by Google. It utilizes high-re ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Interviews An Oral History Of Television Television archives in the United States 1997 establishments in California Oral history

History

See also

References

External links