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Henry Colman

Producer

"Learn the basics of how to put a show together and establish a level of taste for the kind of material you want to do. Meet as many other producers that you can because so they can help you, too. A lot of it has to do with the people you worked with before. That's the way I've gotten a lot of my jobs: having done a good job for these people, they wanted to hire me for something else."

About This Interview

Producer Henry Colman began his career in television as an assistant to the director on Kraft Television Theater.   He continued on other programs including Robert Montgomery Presents and Colgate Comedy Hour. He became a television executive, overseeing the pilot of The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. He then joined the CBS development department, working on programs such as Green Acres and Hawaii Five-0. He then worked on the development of The Love Boat, where he became line producer. He went on to produce the series Hotel. Mr. Colman also talked about his work as an interviewer himself for the Archive of American Television. The interview was conducted by Karen Herman on March 16, 2001.

Related To This Video

  • Shows
  • People
  • Topics
  • Genres

Shows

  • Amahl and the Night Visitors
  • Arthur Godfrey and His Friends
  • Bewitched
  • Brady Bunch, The
  • Bridget Loves Bernie
  • Colgate Comedy Hour, The
  • Dr. Kildare
  • Hawaii Five-O
  • He & She
  • Hotel
  • Kraft Television Theatre
  • Love Boat, The
  • Love of Life
  • Love, American Style
  • Lucy Show, The aka Here's Lucy
  • Mannix
  • Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
  • Mary Tyler Moore Show, The
  • Medical Center
  • Mission: Impossible
  • Navy Log
  • Partridge Family, The
  • Peyton Place
  • Prisoner, The
  • Robert Montgomery Presents
  • Smothers Brothers' Comedy Hour, The
  • Top of the Hill
  • Who Is the Black Dahlia?

People

  • William Asher
  • Lucille Ball
  • Tom Smothers

Topics

  • Bloopers
  • Historic Events and Social Change
  • Television Industry

Genres

  • Commercials
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  • Highlights
  • Chapters
  • Shows
  • People
  • Topics
  • Genres

Highlights

  • Henry Colman on working in live television, where an actor thought the dress rehearsal was the aired show (00m 56s)Henry Colman on working in live television, where an actor thought the dress rehearsal was the aired show (00m 56s)
  • Henry Colman on covering <i>The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour </i>for the network when Tom Smothers wouldn't relinquish a tape to CBS (02m 53s)Henry Colman on covering The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour for the network when Tom Smothers wouldn't relinquish a tape to CBS (02m 53s)
  • Henry Colman on producing the first <i>Love Boat </i>pilot; on the development and casting of <i>The Love Boat</i> series (07m 58s)Henry Colman on producing the first Love Boat pilot; on the development and casting of The Love Boat series (07m 58s)
  • <DIV contenteditable="true" class="gx_free">Henry Colman on producing <i>Hotel</i></DIV> (07m 44s)
    Henry Colman on producing Hotel
    (07m 44s)

Chapters

  • Chapter 1
  • On his early years and education; on his early theater work; on his transition to television at NBC 
  • Chapter 2
  • On working on early NBC shows including Kraft Television Theatre, Navy Log, and Robert Montgomery Presents
  • Chapter 3
  • On leaving Robert Montgomery Presents; on doing program development at The Theatre Guild and pitching shows to ABC; on turning down the chance to produce The U.S. Steel Hour
  • On working in as a commercial producer at an Emil Mogul Advertising agency; on producing Pillsbury commercials for Arthur Godfrey and His Friends
  • On producing the soap opera Love of Life;  on joining General Artists Corporation to head up program development; on developing The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis;  on the Blacklist
  • On moving to Los Angeles and working for a video production company; on becoming associate producer on Dr. Kildare
  • Chapter 4
  • On working as associate producer on Dr. Kildare
  • On working as an associate producer on Peyton Place
  • On joining the CBS-TV Program Department; on working with Filmways; on being a program executive for The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Hawaii Five-0, The Prisoner, and The Lucy Show
  • On covering The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour for the network when Tom Smothers wouldn't relinquish a tape to CBS for approval
  • On being an executive on Medical Center; on approving O.J. Simpson on his first TV acting role
  • On becoming VP of Current Programs at Paramount Television in 1970 and working on such series as Mission: Impossible  and Mannix
  • Chapter 5
  • On working as a Paramount production executive on Love, American Style  and The Brady Bunch
  • On working as VP of Current Programs at Screen Gems  on such shows as He & She, The Partridge Family, Bewitched, and Bridget Loves Bernie
  • On freelancing and producing the TV movies The Dead Don't Die and Who is the Black Dahlia?
  • On producing the first Love Boat pilot; on the development and casting of The Love Boat series
  • Chapter 6
  • On producing The Love Boat
  • On producing Hotel (starting in the second season)
  • Chapter 7
  • On escorting Elizabeth Taylor to a party while he was a producer on Hotel  (continued)
  • On producing Top of the Hill
  • On producing TV movies including The Rape of Dr. Willis and Body of Evidence; on his then-current projects; on being an interviewer for the Archive of American Television
  • On his advice to aspiring producers; on how he would like to be remembered
  • On some photos from his collection

Shows

  • Amahl and the Night Visitors
    • Henry Colman briefly on watching the rehearsals for Amahl and the Night Visitors (00m 47s)
  • Arthur Godfrey and His Friends
    • Henry Colman on producing Pillsbury commercials for Arthur Godfrey and His Friends (04m 11s)
  • Bewitched
    • Henry Colman on working as a Screen Gems production executive on  Bewitched (and his run-in with William Asher)
      (03m 07s)
  • Brady Bunch, The
    • Henry Colman on working as a Paramount production executive on The Brady Bunch (01m 42s)
  • Bridget Loves Bernie
    • Henry Colman on working as a Screen Gems production executive on  Bridget Loves Bernie
      (01m 39s)
  • Colgate Comedy Hour, The
    • Henry Colman on an incident early in his career when he was working on The Colgate Comedy Hour (01m 06s)
  • Dr. Kildare
    • Henry Colman on becoming associate producer on Dr. Kildare (00m 51s)
    • Henry Colman on working as associate producer on Dr. Kildare (05m 39s)
  • Hawaii Five-O
    • Henry Colman on working as a CBS program executive on Hawaii Five-0 and The Prisoner
      (02m 37s)
  • He & She
    • Henry Colman on working as a Paramount production executive on  He & She
      (01m 15s)
  • Hotel
    • Henry Colman on producing  Hotel
      (07m 44s)
    • Henry Colman on escorting Elizabeth Taylor to a party while he was a producer on Hotel  (continued)
      (01m 01s)
  • Kraft Television Theatre
    • Henry Colman details being production coordinator on Kraft Television Theatre (07m 00s)
  • Love Boat, The
    • Henry Colman on working as a Paramount production executive on Love, American Style  and its influence on The Love Boat
      (01m 55s)
    • Henry Colman on producing the first Love Boat pilot; on the development and casting of The Love Boat series (07m 58s)
    • Henry Colman on producing The Love Boat (21m 48s)
  • Love of Life
    • Henry Colman on producing  Love of Life
      (01m 16s)
  • Love, American Style
    • Henry Colman on working as a Paramount production executive on Love, American Style  and its influence on The Love Boat (01m 55s)
  • Lucy Show, The aka Here's Lucy
    • Henry Colman on working as a CBS program executive on The Lucy Show
      (01m 09s)
  • Mannix
    • Henry Colman on working as a Paramount executive on Mannix (01m 06s)
  • Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
    • Henry Colman on developing The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (04m 11s)
  • Mary Tyler Moore Show, The
    • Henry Colman on working as a CBS program executive during the development of The Mary Tyler Moore Show (00m 48s)
  • Medical Center
    • Henry Colman on being an executive on Medical Center; on approving O.J. Simpson on his first TV acting role (02m 41s)
  • Mission: Impossible
    • Henry Colman being an executive on Mission: Impossible  when producer Bruce Geller died in a plane crash
      (02m 13s)
  • Navy Log
    • Henry Colman on working in production on Navy Log (04m 03s)
  • Partridge Family, The
    • Henry Colman on working as a Screen Gems production executive on The Partridge Family (00m 44s)
  • Peyton Place
    • Henry Colman on working as an associate producer on Peyton Place (05m 00s)
  • Prisoner, The
    • Henry Colman on working as a CBS program executive on Hawaii Five-0 and The Prisoner
      (02m 37s)
  • Robert Montgomery Presents
    • Henry Colman on working in live television, where an actor thought the dress rehearsal was the aired show (00m 56s)
    • Henry Colman on being assistant to the production supervisor on Robert Montgomery Presents (16m 30s)
    • Henry Colman on his encounter with the Blacklist during his tenure at Robert Montgomery Presents
      (03m 32s)
  • Smothers Brothers' Comedy Hour, The
    • Henry Colman on covering The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour for the network when Tom Smothers wouldn't relinquish a tape to CBS (02m 53s)
  • Top of the Hill
    • On producing T op of the Hill (03m 31s)
  • Who Is the Black Dahlia?
    • Henry Colman on producing the NBC TV movie Who is the Black Dahlia? (01m 17s)

People

  • William Asher
    • Henry Colman on working as a Screen Gems production executive on  Bewitched
      (03m 07s)
  • Lucille Ball
    • Henry Colman on working as a CBS program executive on The Lucy Show
      (01m 09s)
  • Arthur Godfrey
    • Henry Colman on producing Pillsbury commercials for Arthur Godfrey and His Friends
      (04m 11s)
  • O. J. Simpson
    • Henry Colman on being an executive on Medical Center; on approving O.J. Simpson on his first TV acting role
      (02m 41s)
  • Paul Monash
    • Henry Colman on working as an associate producer on Peyton Place
      (05m 00s)
  • Robert Montgomery
    • Henry Colman on being assistant to the production supervisor on Robert Montgomery Presents
      (16m 30s)
  • Stanley Quinn
    • Henry Colman details being production coordinator on Kraft Television Theatre
      (07m 00s)
  • Matthew Rapf
    • Henry Colman on a scene of a black man dancing with a white woman on one of Matthew Rapf's shows and the network's decision to cut the scene (02m 30s)
  • Tom Smothers
    • Henry Colman on covering The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour for the network when Tom Smothers wouldn't relinquish a tape to CBS
      (02m 53s)
  • Barbra Streisand
    • Henry Colman on working as a Paramount production executive on  He & She
      (01m 15s)
  • Elizabeth Taylor
    • Henry Colman on escorting Elizabeth Taylor to a party while he was a producer on Hotel  (continued)
      (01m 01s)

Topics

  • Bloopers
    • Henry Colman on working in live television, where an actor thought the dress rehearsal was the aired show (00m 56s)
  • Choose ..

  • Historic Events and Social Change > Diversity in Television > Minorities
    • Henry Colman on a scene of a black man dancing with a white woman on one of Matthew Rapf's shows and the network's decision to cut the scene
      (03m 35s)
  • Television Industry > Censorship / Standards & Practices
    • Henry Colman on an incident early in his career when he was working on The Colgate Comedy Hour (Jimmy Durante)
      (01m 06s)
  • Television Industry > Industry Crossroads > Hollywood Blacklist (ca. 1950s)
    • Henry Colman on his encounter with the Blacklist during his tenure at Robert Montgomery Presents (03m 32s)
  • Television Industry > Studio Management
    • Henry Colman on covering The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour for the network when Tom Smothers wouldn't relinquish a tape to CBS
      (02m 53s)

Genres

  • Commercials
    • Henry Colman details being production coordinator on Kraft Television Theatre
      (07m 00s)
    • Henry Colman on working in as a commercial producer at an Emil Mogul Advertising agency in 1956; on working on Pillsbury commercials for Arthur Godfrey and His Friends
      (08m 26s)
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