William Asher

William Asher was interviewed for four-and-a-half-hours (in two sessions) in Palm Springs, CA.  Asher described starting out in the industry working in the mailroom at Universal Studios while writing short fiction.  He described his first job in television adapting his short stories for a filmed anthology series called Invitation Playhouse, which he also directed.  He described his work in television at Desilu Studios, beginning with directing the pilot of Our Miss Brooks, a job that led directly to his employment on I Love Lucy.  Asher spoke in detail about working with Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz on this landmark sitcom in which he directed at least 100 episodes, starting in the series second season.  Among the classic episodes that Asher directed was “Job Switching,” which memorably featured Lucy and Ethel working in a candy factory.  Asher briefly described directing for other series such as The Thin Man, Willy, and The Danny Thomas Show.   Asher described the television series The Patty Duke Show, which he co-created with writer Sidney Sheldon.  He spoke about the creation and production of the popular television series Bewitched that he produced and directed and which starred his then-wife Elizabeth Montgomery.  He also discussed his later work as a director on such series as Alice, Crazy and Kay O’Brien, the later of which he also created. B-roll conststed of photos from: Gidget, The Dinah Shore Show, The Jimmy Durante Show, Bewitched, The Danny Thomas Show, I Love Lucy, among others.  The two-part interview was conducted by Karen Herman on March 31 and April 26, 2000.