Arthur Penn
Director
About This Interview
Noted director Arthur Penn (1922-2010) gives a fascinating perspective on directing for television, by highlighting his early jobs with many live shows including Producer's Showcase, Philco Television Playhouse, and Playhouse 90. Penn reminisces about legendary producer Fred Coe and relates how his television experience prepared him for his motion picture career, which include the classics "Miracle Worker," "Bonnie and Clyde," and "Little Big Man." Conducted October 21, 1998 by Henry Colman.
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Highlights
Arthur Penn on directing the finale of Bonnie and Clyde
Arthur Penn on First Person, an NBC dramatic anthology summer replacement, produced by Fred Coe, leading to a job directing Philco Playhousefor Coe
Arthur Penn on the Nixon-Kennedy debates. When asked by a Kennedy friend his advice on shooting the televised debate, he and Fred Coe made the suggestion "close-ups"; on the potency of television (06m 00s)- Arthur Penn on an early job as a floor manager for the Colgate Comedy Hourstarring Bob Hope, Eddie Cantor, Jerry Lewis; on the Colonial Theater where the show was filmed
- Arthur Penn on Fred Coe's producing style; he once stopped a play mid-performance
Chapters
- Chapter 1
- On his childhood, early influences from theater and radio,
- Chapter 2
- On his college years where he met John Cage, Merce Cunningham and R. Buckminster Fuller; his first job in television as a floor manager at NBC and on the Colgate Comedy Hour starring Bob Hope, Martin & Lewis, and Eddie Cantor; on live television; his first job directing on First Person and then the Philco Playhouse for producer Fred Coe
- Chapter 3
- On directing live television from a control room; on Philco Playhouse actors; on the Producer's Showcase ; on "The Battler" episode of Playwrights' 56 which James Dean was to appear on, replaced by Paul Newman
- Chapter 4
- On directing Playhouse 90; on directing Paul Newman in The Left-Handed Gun; on the Nixon-Kennedy Debates
- Chapter 5
- On directing the Broadway play "The Miracle Worker" with Anne Bancroft; on directing "Bonnie & Clyde" with Warren Beatty; on the NBC special Flesh and Blood; directing "Little Big Man" with Dustin Hoffman; on the best television has to offer as a medium; on Fred Coe's legacy;
- Chapter 6
- On actors, directors and producers he's worked with: Rod Serling, Ethel Winant, William Gibson, Marlon Brando, Fred Coe
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