Writing for I LOVE LUCY and Other Funny Stuff: An Interview with Bob Schiller (Past Times Comedy Writing Series) Read Online Free PDF Page A
Author: Jordan Young
“I’ll show those sons of bitches. I’ll read it the way they wrote it.” It went much better than the stuff he would bring in. It was the first time we ever had an example of our work on the air. Naturally, we cut it down. But that was his way of showing us, we didn’t know what the hell we were talking about.
Notes
Saks was interviewed January 29, 1992, in Los Angeles.
Schwartz was interviewed Sept. 26, 1991, Beverly Hills, Calif.
Kanter was interviewed by Randy Skretvedt and the author December 5, 1990, and by the author April 20, 1995, Encino, Calif.
Weiskopf was interviewed February 4, 1992, in Malibu, Calif.
Schiller was interviewed February 4, 1992, and Feb. 23, 1995, in Pacific Palisades, Calif.
There were never any other writers: Eliot Daniel, a Disney composer and one-time pianist for Rudy Vallee, wrote the theme song for I Love Lucy. Eddie Maxwell, who wrote for Spike Jones’ radio and TV shows , also wrote songs for Lucy.
The Lucy Show: Milt Josefsberg replaced Schiller and Weiskopf the third season. “He asked us if we’d stay on and teach him the show,” said Schiller. “Lucy wasn’t too happy that we left; Bob and Madelyn had left, and here she was with a newcomer. So we stayed and helped him.”
Cara Williams: The comedienne had her own sitcom on CBS for one season, 1964-1965.
Danny Thomas: The comedian supported Fanny Brice on Maxwell House Coffee Time before getting his own radio show.
Ed Gardner: The co-creator and star (1901-1963) of Duffy’s Tavern was a theatrical jack-of-all-trades before he joined J. Walter Thompson advertising agency and directed The Rudy Vallee Show, Kraft Music Hall, and Burns and Allen . Radio historian John Dunning called him “one of the great maligners of the King’s English.”
Milton Berle: The comedian had several unsuccessful radio shows between 1936 and 1949. Texaco Star Theatre, which made him a household name, aired on NBC from 1948 to 1953.
Ed Wynn: The Ziegfeld Follies headliner was first lured to radio in 1922, a decade before his Texaco Fire Chief show premiered on NBC. He brought his buffoonery to live TV in 1949.
Graham McNamee : The one-time singer, who became a pioneer in sportscasting, was the most influential radio announcer of the 1920s.
Dick Mack : Directed The Rudy Vallee Show, The Danny Kaye Show and The Martin and Lewis Show for radio. His TV credits include The Red Buttons Show.
The Red Buttons Show: The comedy-variety series premiered Oct. 14, 1952 on CBS, changing time slots three times the first season.
According to Steve Allen: The Funny Men (Simon & Schuster, 1956).
Red Skelton: The comedian’s radio show ( The Raleigh Cigarette Program ) aired from 1941-1953, introducing many of his familiar characterizations; his TV show enjoyed a 20-year run from 1951-1971.
Seymour Berns: Directed Art Linkletter’s House Party on radio and television. Other TV credits include The Jack Benny Show and Gunsmoke.
Recommended Reading
While it relates much that can’t be found elsewhere (outside of my book The Laugh Crafters ), I don’t pretend this modest ebook tells the whole story behind I Love Lucy . Nor does any other. While this is no way intended to be a complete list (which would probably require a book in itself), you might want to check out:
Laughs, Luck and Lucy: How I Came to Create the Most Popular Sitcom of All Time by Jess Oppenheimer with Gregg Oppenheimer. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1999.
Laughing with Lucy: My Life with American's Leading Lady of Comedy
by Madelyn Pugh Davis with Bob Carroll Jr. Covington, KY: Clerisy Press, 2007.
Love, Lucy by Lucille Ball. New York: Berkley, 1997.
A Book by Desi Arnaz. New York: Warner Books, 1977.
The ‘I Love Lucy’ Book by Bart Andrews . New York: Doubleday, 1985. Interviews with Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Davis & Bob Carroll Jr., Bob Weiskopf & Bob
Notes
Saks was interviewed January 29, 1992, in Los Angeles.
Schwartz was interviewed Sept. 26, 1991, Beverly Hills, Calif.
Kanter was interviewed by Randy Skretvedt and the author December 5, 1990, and by the author April 20, 1995, Encino, Calif.
Weiskopf was interviewed February 4, 1992, in Malibu, Calif.
Schiller was interviewed February 4, 1992, and Feb. 23, 1995, in Pacific Palisades, Calif.
There were never any other writers: Eliot Daniel, a Disney composer and one-time pianist for Rudy Vallee, wrote the theme song for I Love Lucy. Eddie Maxwell, who wrote for Spike Jones’ radio and TV shows , also wrote songs for Lucy.
The Lucy Show: Milt Josefsberg replaced Schiller and Weiskopf the third season. “He asked us if we’d stay on and teach him the show,” said Schiller. “Lucy wasn’t too happy that we left; Bob and Madelyn had left, and here she was with a newcomer. So we stayed and helped him.”
Cara Williams: The comedienne had her own sitcom on CBS for one season, 1964-1965.
Danny Thomas: The comedian supported Fanny Brice on Maxwell House Coffee Time before getting his own radio show.
Ed Gardner: The co-creator and star (1901-1963) of Duffy’s Tavern was a theatrical jack-of-all-trades before he joined J. Walter Thompson advertising agency and directed The Rudy Vallee Show, Kraft Music Hall, and Burns and Allen . Radio historian John Dunning called him “one of the great maligners of the King’s English.”
Milton Berle: The comedian had several unsuccessful radio shows between 1936 and 1949. Texaco Star Theatre, which made him a household name, aired on NBC from 1948 to 1953.
Ed Wynn: The Ziegfeld Follies headliner was first lured to radio in 1922, a decade before his Texaco Fire Chief show premiered on NBC. He brought his buffoonery to live TV in 1949.
Graham McNamee : The one-time singer, who became a pioneer in sportscasting, was the most influential radio announcer of the 1920s.
Dick Mack : Directed The Rudy Vallee Show, The Danny Kaye Show and The Martin and Lewis Show for radio. His TV credits include The Red Buttons Show.
The Red Buttons Show: The comedy-variety series premiered Oct. 14, 1952 on CBS, changing time slots three times the first season.
According to Steve Allen: The Funny Men (Simon & Schuster, 1956).
Red Skelton: The comedian’s radio show ( The Raleigh Cigarette Program ) aired from 1941-1953, introducing many of his familiar characterizations; his TV show enjoyed a 20-year run from 1951-1971.
Seymour Berns: Directed Art Linkletter’s House Party on radio and television. Other TV credits include The Jack Benny Show and Gunsmoke.
Recommended Reading
While it relates much that can’t be found elsewhere (outside of my book The Laugh Crafters ), I don’t pretend this modest ebook tells the whole story behind I Love Lucy . Nor does any other. While this is no way intended to be a complete list (which would probably require a book in itself), you might want to check out:
Laughs, Luck and Lucy: How I Came to Create the Most Popular Sitcom of All Time by Jess Oppenheimer with Gregg Oppenheimer. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1999.
Laughing with Lucy: My Life with American's Leading Lady of Comedy
by Madelyn Pugh Davis with Bob Carroll Jr. Covington, KY: Clerisy Press, 2007.
Love, Lucy by Lucille Ball. New York: Berkley, 1997.
A Book by Desi Arnaz. New York: Warner Books, 1977.
The ‘I Love Lucy’ Book by Bart Andrews . New York: Doubleday, 1985. Interviews with Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Davis & Bob Carroll Jr., Bob Weiskopf & Bob
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