George Faber

Publicist George Faber (1921- 2011) talked about his early years breaking into the business in local television in Chicago, where he notably worked at the NBC and later CBS affiliates as a news writer.  Faber described in detail one of his most dramatic news stories, a fire at Our Lady of Angeles School, a tragedy that took the lives of over a hundred, for which a ten-minute remote was featured on the national Evening News with Douglas Edwards   on CBS. Faber also talked about some of the interviews he did including an exclusive with President Truman. Faber spoke in great detail about the next phase of his career in publicity, as the Director of Client Relations at CBS in Los Angeles.  Faber discussed his work in this position that entailed selling American shows to foreign markets, with an emphasis on the lucrative Japanese market. Faber described the techniques (as well as the contribution of the series stars) in selling such shows as Perry Mason, Rawhide, The Beverly Hillbillies, and Hogan’s Heroes.  Faber also talked about his transition to Viacom, and its creation due to the government rulings. B-roll consisted of photos from such series as Perry Mason, and Rawhide, as well as individual photos from other shows Faber has represented. The interview was conducted by Reba Merrill, as part of a joint venture with the Publicists’ Guild of America, on February 21, 2001.