Talent Associates
Industry | New York City, New York |
---|---|
Key people | David Susskind Ron Gilbert Leonard Stern Daniel Melnick |
Talent Associates, Ltd. (also known as Talent Associates-Paramount, Ltd. and Talent Associates-Norton Simon, Inc.), was a production company headed by David Susskind, later joined by Daniel Melnick, Leonard Stern and Ron Gilbert.
Origins
In the years after World War II, Susskind was a talent agent for
Golden Age television
Talent Associates produced some of the classic series of the Golden Age of Television, such as the Wally Cox comedy Mister Peepers, the anthology teleplay series The Goodyear Television Playhouse/The Philco Television Playhouse and Armstrong Circle Theatre. In 1953-54, Talent Associates produced Jamie starring a young Brandon deWilde, fresh off his success in George Stevens' Shane (1953), for ABC. De Wilde together with veteran character actor Ernest Truex, 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). 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
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, 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
Get Smart
While East Side/West Side was in production, two young writers,
Get Smart spanned 138 episodes over 5 years, and was very popular in
Other
Talent Associates continued with television and motion picture projects, including producing duties on Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, the 1974 film, and McMillan & Wife, the 1971-1977 TV series. The company also ventured into game shows, packaging the original version of Supermarket Sweep, and its successor The Honeymoon Race; as well as The Generation Gap; and an unsold pilot, King of the Hill.
Record division
Talent Associates also had a short-lived record division, known as TA Records, which released a total of only 4 LP titles.
Ownership changes
From 1961 to 1965,
References
- ^ Bowie, Stephen classictvhistory.com Retrieved July 20, 2015
- ^ Bowie, Stephen classictvhistory.com Retrieved July 20, 2015
- ^ TA Records discography
- ^ Battaglio, Stephen. David Susskind: A Televised Life. p. 72.
- ^ Battaglio, Stephen. David Susskind: A Televised Life. p. 181.
- ^ "Help Help From a Big Brother", Time, August 30, 1968.
- ^ "Show Business", The Milwaukee Journal, July 22, 1977.
- ^ "In Brief". Broadcasting. 93 (4): 23. 1977.