How I escaped from Gilligan's Island : and other misadventures of a Hollywood writer-producer / William Froug.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Froug, William.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Television writers--United States--Biography.

Television writers.

Television producers and directors--United States--Biography.

Television producers and directors.

Froug, William.

Physical Description:

xii, 345 p. : ill.

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Madison : University of Wisconsin Press/Popular Press, c2005.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In the early 1950s writers were leaving radio en masse to try their hand at another promising medium--television. William Froug was in the thick of that exodus, a young man full of ideas in a Hollywood bursting with opportunities. In his forty-year career Froug would write and/or produce many of the shows that America has grown up with. From the drama of Playhouse 90 and the mind-bending premises of The Twilight Zone to the escapist scenarios of Adventures in Paradise, Gilligan's Island, Bewitched, and Charlie's Angels, Froug played a role in shaping his trade. He crossed paths with some of the memorable personalities in the industry, including Jack Benny, Lucille Ball, Agnes Moorehead, Elizabeth Montgomery, Robert Blake, Rod Serling, Gene Roddenberry, Aaron Spelling, and Sherwood Schwartz. Froug reveals a post-WWII America giddy with the success of its newest medium--yet sobered at moments by strikes and union politics, McCarthyism and anti-Semitism. It was a world of hastily written scripts, sudden firings, thwarted creativity, and fickle tastes. And yet, while clearly exasperated with many aspects of Hollywood, Froug was a man utterly in his element, his frustration with the industry ultimately eclipsed by his dedication to his craft.

Contents:

Intro

Contents

Illustrations

Acknowledgements

Introduction

1. Welcome to Hollywood

2. Hello, I Must Be Going

3. Going, Going, Gone

4. Volcano Man

5. The King of Game Shows or "Shoot Her in the Stomach"

6. Paradise Found, Paradise Lost

7. Skinny Knows

8. Bombs on the Left, Cannon on the Right

9. Chew Vass Hexpectin Mebbe Too Loose Latrek?

10. The Sunset of The Twilight Zone

11. Banished to Gilligan's Island

12. Bewitched . . . Plenty Bothered and Bewildered

13. One Subchaser Missing in Action

14. So You Want to Be in Pictures?

15. One Last Fling

16. Free at Last

17. Hollywood, UCLA

18. Fun and Games in TV Land

19. Only Sometimes a Happy Ending

20. Scenes from the Life of a Teacher

Index.

Notes:

"A Ray and Pat Browne book"--series t.p.

Includes index.

ISBN:

1-282-90464-7

9786612904646

0-299-25063-6

OCLC:

607573685