"Love Boat" on DVD, Charles Fox Interview Online

The Love Boat has finally made it to DVD and just hearing the theme song brings back memories of Saturday nights and the Love Boat/Fantasy Island pairing.

The Archive has interviewed several of the creative team behind the series, including composer Charles Fox, who was responsible for many of TV's most memorable theme songs.




Click here to watch the entire 7-part interview with Charles Fox.

Interview description:

Fox talked about his musical education, which included studying with Nadia Boulanger in Paris from 1959-61. He spoke about breaking into composing for television, writing transition material for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson as well as the bold and energetic theme song for ABC’s Wide World of Sports. He spoke in great detail about Love American Style, a series for which he wrote the theme song and scored music for the entire series run. He described other series for which he both scored the theme song and created libraries for track music. He described his work on Laverne & Shirley, including details about the pilot presentation and the creation of the theme song and main title. Additionally he talked about his work on the series: Happy Days, Wonder Woman, The Love Boat, and The Paper Chase. He also discussed his work in television movies (including Victory at Entebbe) and feature films (including The Other Side of the Mountain and Foul Play), as well as composing other popular songs. B-roll consisted of Fox performing a medley of his television theme songs as well as “Killing Me Softly With His Song.” The interview was conducted by Karen Herman on June 29, 2004.

30 Years Ago Today: Fonzie and "Happy Days" Jumped the Shark

On September 20, 1977, in part three of the "Hollywood" episode, Fonzie, in bathing suit and leather jacket, faced jumping a caged shark on water skis. This moment in television history prompted the phrase "jump the shark" inaugurated by the website jumptheshark.com to describe "a defining moment when you know that your favorite television program has reached its peak. That instant that you know from now on...it's all downhill."

In their Archive interviews, series stars Ron Howard and Henry Winkler were asked about the phrase "jump the shark":

Ron Howard ("Richie Cunningham"):
"[The "Hollywood" episode] was really a jumbled mess from a writing standpoint. I remember Donny Most [who played Ralph] and I sitting there looking at the script. Donny was really -- he was really upset. He just said, oh, man, look at what our show has kind of devolved into here. I mean, you know, it’s not -- none of this is very funny, and, you know, and Fonzie’s jumping over a shark, and we all thought it was a little ludicrous. I kept saying, hey man, Donny, we’re a hit show, relax, you know, it’s hard to have great episodes one after another. Fonzie jumping over a shark is gonna be funny and -- and great, you know, and it’s -- you know, “Jaws” had just been out a couple years before, and, you know, and relax. Donny had a -- a clearer sense, I suppose, of sort of the direction that the -- sort of the quality of the show or the tone of the show was taking after that episode. I remember thinking -- creatively this was not our greatest episode, but I thought it was a pretty good stunt, and I understood why they wanted to do it. And what I remember [what was the] most fun [was] actually driving the speedboat, which I did a bit of, noticing that Henry was really a pretty good water skier.... but the thing that has to be remembered about the "jumping the shark idea" is that the show went on to be such a massive success for years after that. So it’s a kind of a fun expression, and I get a kick out of the fact that they identified that episode, ‘cause, granted, you know, maybe it was pushing things a little too far. But I think a lot of good work was still done after that show and audiences seemed to really respond to it forever."

Henry Winkler ("Fonzie")
"My father suggested a storyline...he said why don’t you water ski? You’re a good water skier. So I water skied and jumped the shark, and then came “Jump the Shark”... Now you have to understand we were number one for like six years after that, so nobody else thought we jumped the shark. I don’t [think the show "jumped the shark"]. This is what I know about doing series. It is a miracle that you stay on. It is a miracle that there is a script on the table every week. To do a show, and to have it be successful for ten years, or even to be an actor, it is like climbing Mount Everest with no clothes on."

Interview Descriptions:


Ron Howard was interviewed for three hours at the Imagine Entertainment offices in Beverly Hills, CA. Howard recalled his early years growing up in Burbank, the son of actor parents, and his own start at age 3, using a dialogue scene from “Mr. Roberts” as his audition piece. He reminisced about some of his earliest acting on television including the “live” anthology drama Playhouse 90 and his recurring role as part of the gang on Dennis the Menace. He then talked about his appearance with Bert Lahr on an episode of G. E. Theatre, in which host Ronald Reagan made special note of Howard’s performance, which also caught the eye of producer Sheldon Leonard, who cast him on the pilot for The Andy Griffith Show. He spoke in great detail about playing “Opie Taylor” on The Andy Griffith Show, describing his work with Andy Griffith and the show’s ensemble and discussing moments from the series’ production. He talked about learning how to write from signing autographs, using memories of his dog’s death to create the emotions necessary for the classic “Opie the Birdman” episode, and truly having to “act” when eating “ice cream” (actually cold mashed potatoes). He briefly described some television roles he appeared in in the early ‘70s before taking on the role of “Richie Cunningham” on Happy Days. He spoke candidly about the shift in the series focus onto the break-out “Fonzie” character, recited some of the series numerous catchphrases, and discussed memorable series episodes (including “The Howdy Doody Show” and the now infamous jump-the-shark episode “Hollywood”). He detailed his transition to behind-the-cameras as a director of low-budget features and television movies (including Cotton Candy and Skyward), before becoming one of Hollywood’s A-list producer-directors. He lastly discussed his work as executive-producer and voice-over narrator on the Emmy-Award-winning sitcom Arrested Development. The interview was conducted by Gary Rutkowski on October 18, 2006.


Henry Winkler was interviewed for two-and-a-half hours in Los Angeles, CA. Winkler discussed his early years, as the child of Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany, his early passion for acting, and his struggles with then-undiagnosed dyslexia. He chronicled his early career in New York, where he acted on stage and in numerous commercials and his subsequent decision to move to Los Angeles, where he was quickly cast as a guest actor on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. He detailed all aspects of the role for which he became most known, Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli on the hit sitcom, Happy Days. He discussed his casting, Fonzie character, working with the cast (particularly Ron Howard), and the iconic status (and occasional mayhem it generated) of Fonzie. He spoke about his transition to directing and producing, which included being executive producer of MacGyver, and his later acting projects including Arrested Development and The Practice. The interview was conducted by Karen Herman on November 10, 2006.

Radio Play Podcast Features A Look at TV's Early Days

HENRY WINKLER AND JASON RITTER STAR IN RADIO PLAY ABOUT TELEVISION'S EARLY DAYS –-- TUNE IN OR DOWNLOAD THE FULL PODCAST (FREE)

On Saturday evening, July 7, Southern California residents can tune in KPCC 89.3 FM to hear the L.A. Theatre Works' radio theatre production of The Ruby Sunrise by Rinne Groff, starring (Archive interviewee) Henry Winkler, Jason Ritter, Elisabeth Moss and Asher Book. The most recent offering in L.A. Theatre Works' award-winning radio drama series, "The Play's the Thing," The Ruby Sunrise is directly inspired by the story of Philo Farnsworth and the early days of "live" television. In it, a spirited 1920s girl works independently to develop electronic television. Twenty-five years later, her daughter, now working at a television network. vows to bring her mother’s story to the small screen during "TV’s Golden Age". Winkler stars as a 1950s television producer with Jason Ritter as his underling writer. Other regional and nationwide radio stations presenting The Ruby Sunrise are listed below, as well as podcast information*.

The program also features a discussion about early television with Karen Herman, director of the Archive of American Television, and writer-producer Phil Savenick, an expert on the history of television. Excerpts from the Archive's collection include insights from the late Elma Farnsworth, widow of television inventor Philo Farnsworth. NEW: Click here to read a transcript of the entire interview with Phil and Karen and to find out how to save on tickets to upcoming L.A. Theatre Works performances.

*Tune in!
Nationwide radio broadcasts include:
89.3 FM KPCC Southern California, Saturdays 10:00 p.m
94.1 FM KPFA Northern California, Sundays 7:00 p.m.
94.9 FM KUOW Seattle, WA Fridays 10:00 p.m.
89.7 FM WGBH Boston, MA, first Sunday of month 10:00 p.m.
91.1 FM KRCB Sonoma County, CA Saturdays 6:00 p.m.
89.9 FM KUNM Albuquerque, NM bimonthly, Sundays 6:00 p.m.
XM Satellite Radio Nationwide (Sonic Theatre Channel), Saturdays 9:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. (EST)

How to Podcast "The Play's the Thing"
As of July 7, free podcasts of The Ruby Sunrise are available here. Copy and paste http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast.php?id=510190 into your preferred podcasting software to automatically receive all monthly episodes of "The Play's the Thing" broadcasts.

Also, we've just posted Henry Winkler's full Archive interview online!


Interview Description:
Henry Winkler was interviewed for two-and-a-half hours in Los Angeles, CA. Winkler discussed his early years, his early passion for acting, and his struggles with then-undiagnosed dyslexia. He chronicled his early career in New York, where he acted on stage and in numerous commercials and his subsequent decision to move to Los Angeles, where he was quickly cast as a guest actor on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. He detailed all aspects of the role for which he became most known, Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli on the hit sitcom, Happy Days. He discussed his casting, Fonzie character, working with the cast (particularly Ron Howard), and the iconic status (and occasional mayhem it generated) of Fonzie. He spoke about his transition to directing and producing, which included being executive producer of MacGyver, and his later acting projects including Arrested Development and The Practice. The interview was conducted on November 10, 2006. Click here to access Henry Winkler's 5-part interview.

Ron Howard's Archive of American Television Interview Is Now Online

Ron Howard's interview, the Archive's 500th, is now available for viewing online. Fittingly, Howard's career spans a fifty-year history of television from his first roles as a child actor in such '50s shows as Playhouse 90 and The Red Skelton Show to his role as narrator and executive producer of Arrested Development.

To many, Howard will forever be known to television audiences as "Opie Taylor" on The Andy Griffith Show and "Richie Cunningham" on Happy Days. His discussion of these series is a significant part of his three-hour interview.

Here are the links to the interview segments:

Ron Howard Interview Part 1
Ron Howard Interview Part 2
Ron Howard Interview Part 3
Ron Howard Interview Part 4
Ron Howard Interview Part 5
Ron Howard Interview Part 6

Interview description:
Howard recalled his early years growing up in Burbank, the son of actor parents, and his own start at age 3, using a dialogue scene from “Mr. Roberts” as his audition piece. He reminisced about some of his earliest acting on television including the “live” anthology drama Playhouse 90 and his recurring role as part of the gang on Dennis the Menace. He then talked about his appearance with Bert Lahr on an episode of G. E. Theatre, in which host Ronald Reagan made special note of Howard’s performance, which also caught the eye of producer Sheldon Leonard, who cast him on the pilot for The Andy Griffith Show. He spoke in great detail about playing “Opie Taylor” on The Andy Griffith Show, describing his work with Andy Griffith and the show’s ensemble and discussing moments from the series’ production. He talked about learning how to write from signing autographs, using memories of his dog’s death to create the emotions necessary for the classic “Opie the Birdman” episode, and truly having to “act” when eating “ice cream” (actually cold mashed potatoes). He briefly described some television roles he appeared in in the early ‘70s before taking on the role of “Richie Cunningham” on Happy Days. He spoke candidly about the shift in the series focus onto the break-out “Fonzie” character, recited some of the series numerous catchphrases, and discussed memorable series episodes (including “The Howdy Doody Show” and the now infamous jump-the-shark episode “Hollywood”). He detailed his transition to behind-the-cameras as a director of low-budget features and television movies (including Cotton Candy and Skyward), before becoming one of Hollywood’s A-list producer-directors. He lastly discussed his work as executive-producer and voice-over narrator on the Emmy-Award-winning sitcom Arrested Development. The interview was conducted by Gary Rutkowski on October 18, 2006.

Garry Marshall's Archive of American Television Interview Is Now Online

'70s/'80s hit-maker Garry Marshall's 6-part Archive interview is now available online. Click here to access the entire interview.

Excerpt: Marshall on the initial concept of "Fonzie" on Happy Days from Part 4

"We created this character Fonzie who was originally called Arthur Masharelli, but M*A*S*H was the name of a show so the nickname Mash wouldn’t work so Bob Brunner, who was one of the writers came up with the name, Fonzarelli. We needed something we could have short[ened]. And that was "Fonzarelli" and we put him in and I had done, see a lot of times people don’t understand, you try something here it doesn’t work; you try it again over here. I played a character in Blansky’s Beauties. I acted. I played a guy who worked in the casino in Vegas, never spoke. Just wore dark glasses and walked around scaring everybody. So I said let’s do that again. We get a guy who don’t talk. It’s always scary when a guy doesn’t talk. So Arthur Fonzarelli was really written just to point, to do gestures and say very little. And I always remember, one of my favorite actors was Gary Cooper, who said mostly "yup" and became a gigantic star, which amazed me. So I said, he’ll say little."

Interview description:
Marshall’s lively interview consists of many entertaining anecdotes about his over forty years in the television business. He describes his early years as a journalist and his eventual entry into comedy writing for The Tonight Show with Jack Paar. He talks about his work honing his craft as a writer on such ‘60s sitcoms as The Joey Bishop Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Love American Style (which served as a pilot for Happy Days) and The Lucy Show. He speaks in detail about developing The Odd Couple for television with his partner Jerry Belson. He then discusses helming some of the most popular sitcoms of the 1970s, including Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, and Mork & Mindy. For these shows he details the casting, development, and production as well as discussed the impact these series had on ABC. Finally, he briefly talks about his entry into feature filmmaking. The interview was conducted by Karen Herman on August 28, 2000.

Fred Silverman's Interview is Now Online

We're happy to report that legendary television executive Fred Silverman's interview is now online. At almost 6-1/2 hours, this amazing interview encompasses over three decades of television history and gives a fascinating inside look at the networks and programming so many of us grew up with (just take a look at the brief interview description below and you'll see what we mean!). Not one to rest on his many laurels, Silverman is currently ramping up his Fred Silverman Co. to develop scripted and unscripted comedies.



Here's part 7 of the interview where he describes the programming of the hit miniseries Roots.
PRESS THE PLAY ARROW IN THE PLAYER ABOVE TO WATCH THE SEGMENT NOW.

Click here to access Fred Silverman's entire interview.

Interview description:
Network television executive Fred Silverman speaks about his first job in TV, at WGN in Chicago, where he created such programs as Zim-Bomba, Bozo’s Circus and Family Classics. He then explains his move to CBS in New York, where he quickly worked his way up the corporate ladder, first as head of daytime programming, (where he revitalized the Saturday morning lineup, Scooby-Doo being among them), and later as the Vice President of Programming. During this time, he oversaw such programs as All in the Family, The Bob Newhart Show, Kojak, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, M*A*S*H, The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour and The Waltons. Next, he talks his appointment as President of ABC Entertainment, where he oversaw such programs as Charlie’s Angels, Donny and Marie, Eight is Enough, Laverne & Shirley, The Love Boat and Three’s Company. He also touches on the development and scheduling of the miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man and Roots. Mr. Silverman talks about his next move, to NBC as President and CEO in 1978. There, he oversaw the development of programs including and Diff’rent Strokes, The Facts of Life, Hill Street Blues. Mr. Silverman also explains the basic tenets of working as a network television executive, and discusses his methods for development, scheduling and promotions. Finally, he talks about his work as an independent producer for such programs as the Perry Mason television movies, Matlock, In the Heat of the Night and Diagnosis Murder. The interview was conducted in two sessions in 2001 by Dan Pasternack.

Pat Morita's Interview is Now Online

Noriyuke "Pat" Morita's interview is now online. Best known on television for his role of "Arnold" on Happy Days, this interview provides a fascinating account of his life and career. Click here to access all 7 segments.

Interview Description:
Pat Morita (1932-2005) talks about his early years, including his childhood internment in a camp in California for Japanese-Americans during World War II. He discusses turning to comedy performance at the age of 30, and his quick rise to his television debut on Hollywood Palace. He reminisces about landing a regular role on Happy Days as Arnold and working with the cast. He also discusses appearing on Sanford and Son and speaks fondly of his mentor, the late Redd Foxx. He also speaks of his work on the “Karate Kid” feature films. The interview was conducted by Karen Herman on October 13, 2000.