Neuwirth - Theyll never put that on the air: an oral history of taboo-breaking TV comedy

AN ORAL HISTORY OF TABOO-BREAKING TV COMEDY

ALLAN NEUWIRTH

Illustrations by Glen Hanson

2006 Allan Neuwirth

All rights reserved. Copyright under Berne Copyright Convention, Universal Copyright Convention, and Pan-American Copyright Convention. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior permission of the publisher.

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Published by Allworth Press
An imprint of Allworth Communications
10 East 23rd Street, New York, NY 10010

Cover design by Allan Neuwirth
Cover illustration by Chris Boyd
Interior design by Mary Belibasakis
Interior Illustrations by Glen Hanson
Typography by Integra Software Services

ISBN: 1-58115-417-8

ISBN: 9781581158489

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Neuwirth, Allan.

Theyll never put that on the air: an oral history of taboo-breaking TV

comedy/Allan Neuwirth; interior illustrations by Glen Hanson.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. Television comediesUnited States. I. Title.

PN1992.8.C66N48 2006

791.45617dc22 2005035239

Printed in Canada

What an adventure this book has been! As you read it, youll understandas I dothat I could never have created it without the brilliant legendary television and comedy talents who so generously agreed to share their experiences and thoughts with me. They are as much the authors of Theyll Never Put That on the Air as I am.

Our credit roll includes interviewees Chris Bearde, Allan Blye, Allan Burns, Pat Carroll, Ernie Chambers, Larry Charles, Tom Cherones, Stephen Cox, Mike Dann, Sam Denoff, Larry Gelbart, Leonard Goldberg, Barry Harman, Valerie Harper, Susan Harris, Charlie Hauck, Arte Johnson, Coslough Johnson, Ken Kragen, Perry Lafferty, Norman Lear, Rick Ludwin, Dick Martin, Peter Mehlman, Burt Metcalfe, Gary Owens, Glenn Padnick, Rod Parker, Bill Persky, Joyce Randolph, Carl Reiner, Gene Reynolds, Mickey Ross, Jay Sandrich, Bob Schiller, George Schlatter, Alfred Schneider, George Shapiro, Elliot Shoenman, Fred Silverman, Treva Silverman, Tommy Smothers, Martin Starger, David Steinberg, Leonard Stern, Don Taffner, Bill Tankersley, Grant Tinker, Alan Wagner, Mason Williams, Paul Junger Witt, and Bud Yorkin.

Deepest appreciation to my good friend Peter Winter, for egging me on to write this book when it was still a mere whim. Very special thanks to Glen Hanson for his gorgeous and distinctive illustrations, which appear at the head of each chapter, to TV historian and author Stephen Cox, who graciously provided many vintage photographs from his own personal collection, and to Karen L. Herman, a director of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Archive of American Television, for sharing the great Carroll OConnor, Jean Stapleton, and Beatrice Arthur testimonies. Without her help, their voices could not have been part of this.

And before I run out of ways to say thank you, heartfelt huzzahs to the many delightful production people, colleagues, friends, and family members who encouraged, aided, and abetted me (including one or two who probably abetted Id never finish this book): Cherie Simon, Marilyn Pessin, and Jean Anderson at Act III Communications, Aimee Hyatt at Shapiro/West and Associates, Ed Zimmerman at Columbia Tri-Star, Bess Scher at Clear Productions, and Ellen Benjamin, Wendy Blair, Tony Cacciotti, Jim Colucci, Steve Daly, Angelo DeCesare, Glen Hanson, Linsey Hubbard, Duncan McInnes, Rowan McInnes, Risa Neuwirth, John Olson, Tanya Oskanian, Kathy Reese, Jaime Toporovich, Robyn Steinberg, and Elliot Wax. On a sad note, talented director/producer and longtime TV exec Perry Lafferty passed away at 88, some months after our conversations. He was a true gentleman and a television pioneer, already missed by many.

Finally, my deepest gratitude and respects to publisher Tad Crawford and senior editor Nicole Potter-Talling at Allworth Press, who gave the greenlight to this project almost immediately and then creatively challenged me, offering their guidance and wisdom; to my savvy assistant editor, Monica Lugo, who patiently helped me whip the book into shape; and to artist Chris Boyd for his wonderful 3-D cover illustration. I honestly couldnt have done this without all of you!

Over the last few decades, weve watched television grow up.

Back in the 1960s, gimmicky programming ruled the airwaves. Series like Bewitched, The Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres, The Munsters, I Dream of Jeannie, My Favorite Martian, Mr. Ed, The Flying Nun, and Gilligans Island happened to be some of the most popular shows on TV. Were they funny? Sometimes they were hilarious... other times downright stupid. Of course, most of them were not exactly what youd call highbrow entertainment. By then, TV sets had become pretty much affordable to everyone, so the networks homogenized their creative output until it appealed (presumably) to all. Shows about nose-twitching witches, country bumpkins, goofy monsters, genial genies, avuncular aliens, talking horses, airborne nuns, and moronic castaways were perfect fodder for children. But it wasnt just kids watchingthe whole country seemed to be.

Later that same decade, television finally entered puberty, and its voice grew deeper... more politically aware, more concerned with the social issues of the day. And though viewers werent privy to it at the time, some of the same conflicts and rebellions that so many of us were living through were being played out behind the scenes in the TV industry.

Since the very beginnings of the medium, commercial sponsors have determined what programs audiences will get to choose from on network TV. And lets face it, if youre a salesman and your goal is to sell as many cans of dog food or tubes of toothpaste as you possibly can, the last thing you want to do is offend any potential customers. All language or content deemed remotely offensiveno matter how triflingwas expunged from television. Cant show this, cant say that. No jokes about God or religion. Swearing was out, of course. But so were words like sex, pregnant, damn, and hell. No married couples shown sleeping in the same bed together (they might be touching each others naughty bits), or people with different colored skin (gasp!) showing affection to one another. Skin? You couldnt even show a belly button. Political humor was verboten: no jokes about government policy, the president of the United States, or the atom bomb. Interestingly, violence was okayat acceptable levels, whatever those are.

Cartoonish sitcoms like The Beverly Hillbillies ruled the ratings roost throughout much of the 1960s. Pictured (l-r):Jed (Buddy Ebsen), Granny (Irene Ryan),Jethro (Max Boer, Jr.), and Elly May (Donna Douglas).CBS Television Network

America was still immersed in an irrationally overheated red scare: There might be Commies lurking behind every corner, hatching their devious plans to bring down our society. Too many talented men and womenCommunist sympathizers or notfound themselves blacklisted and unable to work, their names popping up in Red Channels, an insidious publication widely distributed to film studios and TV networks.