DOI: 10.25549/lipton-c108-268
title: 124. Open end (tv show) "Always leave them laughing", 1960-03-06

description: Tape 124, side 1) Open end (tv show): "Always leave them laughing", on comedy, comedians and programing in general, David Susskind, host, with a group of comedy writers (Charles "Charlie" Andrews, Larry Gelbart, Sheldon "Shelly" Keller, Jack Douglas, Mel Brooks, Mel Tolkin), KTTV (Channel 11, Los Angeles), 1960 March 6, 10:15 p.m. (0:02, 5:41, 15:50, 35:16) [incomplete]: regarding Dorothy Kilgallen (journalist), Fidel Castro (Cuban president), Jack Paar (comedian), Arthur Godfrey (broadcaster), Dody Goodman (actress), Jack Douglas (writer), publicity, exploitation, interviews, Oscar Levant (pianist), Mickey Rooney (actor), adlibs, Richard Nixon (vice president), Adlai Stevenson (presidential condidate), Zsa Zsa Gábor (actress), Mike Wallace (television journalist), Francis X. Bushman (actor), adult or sexy writing, television sponsors, censorship, liberty, lack of engagement with life, Red Skelton (comedian), Jackie Gleason (comedian), Garr[?] Canan[?] (writer), "Blow the trumpets down"[?], Howard Keel (actor), Charlton Heston (actor), Peggy Lee (singer), Patti Page (singer), Polly Bergen (actress), Joan Crawford (actress), Art Carney Special, Art Carney (actor), Sophie Tucker (singer), Debbie Reynolds (actress), guest stars, Fabian (singer), Barbara Stanwyck (actress), Polly Bergan (actress), Frank Sinatra (singer), Eddie Fisher (singer), Bing Crosby (singer), Bobby Darin (singer), Ginger Rogers (singer), John Cohley[?], Hally Barry (actor); Eddie Arnold (singer), Sid Ceasar (comic), Nanette Fabray (actress), George Gobel (humorist), Fred MacMurray (actor), James Stewart (actor), Greer Garson (actress), Jimmy Dean (singer), Dinah Shore (singer), ratings, Roy Rogers (singer), radio vs. television, Carl Reiner (comedian), Holly Morris, Bibi Osterwald, specials vs. sit coms, Burt Shebalon[?] (director), Gregory Peck (actor), Mamie Eisenhower (first lady), businessmen throttle the creative initiative, The Untouchables, I Love Mathilda, Jerry Lewis (comedian), I Love Mother, the laugh machine, Donna Reed (actress), Donna Reed Show, Columbia Pictures; Harry Cohn (Columbia Pictures president), Alfred "Fred" Zinnemann, Freddie Comar[?], Jerry Wall[?], Johnny Toll[?], Nathaniel West (writer), Evelyn Waugh (writer), New York vs. Hollywood comedy writing, Steve Allen (comedian), Steve Allen Show, William "Bill" Harbach (producer), Spencer Tracy (actor), Clark Gable (actor), Bob Hope (comedian), Groucho Marx (comedian), formulaic writing, Sergeant Bilko, Danny Thomas (comedian), Danny Thomas Show, William S. [?] Burroughs (writer), Paddy Chayefsky (playwright), The Price is Right, Paul Rhymer (scriptwriter), Vic and Sade, Rhonda Fleming (actress), Danny Kaye (comedian), Sylvia Fine (lyricist), Harry Belafonte (singer), Aaron Ruben (director), Sid Ceasar (comic), Red Buttons (comedian), Pinky Lee (comic), comedian's resentment of the writer. Commercials: Mary Dean[?] on Al Terrance Carpet Company (50:37) and DuPont carpets (3:00) and Royal Trendex carpets (13:39) and Maizland[?] carpets and James Lee rugs (33:22), Dr. Ross' Pet Food Meaty Mix (5:55). ❧ Tape 124, side 2) (0:02, 18:45): making fun of good things vs. cheap things, pomposity, a sketch, reviews by critics, Arthur Miller (playwright), comedians, Sid Ceasar (comic), Bob Hope (comedian), George Gobel (humorist), Johnny Carson (television host), Art Carney (actor), Jerry Lewis (comedian), Danny, Simon, Mandrake the Magician (comic strip), Paramount Pictures Studio, Georgie Jessel (actor), Carl[?] Reiner (comedian), Bert Lahr (actor), Victor Borge (comedian), puns, the anonymity of the comedy writer, Jackie Gleason (comedian), writers' credit vs perception of comedians' credit, Red Barns[?] (comedian), getting credit for the work one does, difference between the meeting room and what gets on the air, jokes, rehearsing, bad comedy writers, financial return of being a comedian, residuals, there are only seven original jokes, impact on humor of the domination of the teenager, Father Knows Best (television show), Fabian (singer), innately funny words, 'k' words: Kodak film, Cleveland, Brooklyn, Cucamonga, Kooky, comedy specials vs weekly series, credits, Revlon, Jay Bergman, being in debt, radio vs stage vs television comedy writing, Walter Kerr (critic), John Crosby (critic), Jack Gould (critic), John O'Brian (critic), Kenneth Tynan (critic), New York Times, television as the "electronic Jew", Harriet Van Horne (columnist), Ben Gross (columnist), "Accent on love" (1959 television special), Ginger Rogers (actress), Elaine May (actress), Mel Tolkin (writer), Mike Nichols (comedian), Harry Truman (president), true life stories of famous comics, Steve Allen (comedian), Jack Paar (comedian), Look Magazine, psychoanalytic confessional, Tim[?] Silloway[?] (author), Marie[?] Torrey[?] (writer), clowns, Martha Raye (comic), Imogene Coca (comic), Danny Kaye (comedian), Milton Berle (comedian), Red Buttons (comedian), comics are more important and more influential than actors, Charles Van Doren (writer), favorite jokes, Fred Astaire (dancer), Richard Nixon (vice president), Leonard Lyons (columnist), George Kaufman (playwright), Algonquin Roundtable, stenographer, free association, Nanette Fabray (actress), Barbara Stanwyck (actress). Commercials: Dr. Ross' Cat Food (17:24), The Heart Fund (The Heart Association) (18:25). -- TIMES indicate where sections begin.