Bob Banner
Encyclopedia
Robert James Banner, Jr. (August 15, 1921 – June 15, 2011) was an American producer
, writer
and director
. From 1967 to 1972 he co-produced The Carol Burnett Show
.
, and credited his hometown with providing him the opportunity to prepare for his career. In high school he accompanied every singer in town, played in the high school band and was part-time organist in the Presbyterian Church. He credited band director Thomas Granger as the mentor who gave the biggest push to send him on his way. While a junior in high school he assisted Mr. Granger in writing and arranging the school Alma Mater “Maroon and White” that has lasted since 1937.
He attended Southern Methodist University
where he arranged for the Mustang Band and the Pigskin Revue, directed Script and Score, and organized his dance band that toured with Interstate Theaters Production of College Capers, where he met his wife, Alice.
After college, he served three years on a destroyer in the United States Navy
.
Bob began his career in television in 1948. While pursuing his Ph.D. and teaching radio courses on campus at Northwestern University
, Banner worked evenings in Chicago at local television station WMAQ
as a production assistant on the children’s show Kukla, Fran and Ollie
. Advancements came quickly in those early days, and he soon became director of Garroway at Large
, a local show that was picked up by NBC
.
Fred Waring
, impressed with his directorial skill, asked Banner to join him at CBS
as producer/director of the new Fred Waring Show. The challenge of working in this new experimental medium proved great enough to lure Bob away from academia. So, with only eleven hours needed to obtain his doctorate degree, he opted to leave Northwestern to pursue a television career in New York City.
While in New York
, Bob also directed Omnibus, hosted by Alistair Cooke
. The weekly series on CBS
is often credited as the forerunner to television's cultural PBS
network. In the early 1950s, he moved to Los Angeles when the once-experimental medium had matured and was heading west.
During the Golden Age of Television
, Bob was one of the prime movers of variety programming. The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
, which he produced and directed, garnered myriad awards including three Emmy Award
s, two Christopher Award
s, and two Peabody Award
s.
In 1958, he formed Bob Banner Associates (BBA). BBA's first production was The Garry Moore Show
with regulars Durward Kirby
, Carol Burnett
, and Marion Lorne
. The program ran for 218 episodes and won several Emmys, including one for Carol Burnett.
In the early 1960s, Carnegie Hall
was targeted for demolition and Bob was asked by Isaac Stern to produce a special to save the cultural landmark. Salute to Jack Benny at Carnegie Hall starred Isaac Stern
, Eugene Ormandy
and the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra, Van Cliburn
, Benny Goodman
, and Roberta Peters
.
This was quickly followed by another special Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall, starring Julie Andrews
and Carol Burnett
which garnered three Emmys and the International Golden Rose Award.
, Banner died June 15, 2011 in Los Angeles at age 89. Family spokeswoman Lauren Cottrell told the Los Angeles Times
that Banner died of Parkinson's disease at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital
retirement community in suburban Woodland Hills. In recent years Bob lived with his wife, Alice in Calabasas, California
. Their three sons, Baird, Robert III, and Chuck live in Los Cerrillos, New Mexico
, Dallas, Texas
, and Los Angeles, California
, respectively.
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
, writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
and director
Television director
A television director directs the activities involved in making a television program and is part of a television crew.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or recorded to video tape or video server .In both types of productions, the...
. From 1967 to 1972 he co-produced The Carol Burnett Show
The Carol Burnett Show
The Carol Burnett Show is a variety / sketch comedy television show starring Carol Burnett, Harvey Korman, Vicki Lawrence, Lyle Waggoner, and Tim Conway. It originally ran on CBS from September 11, 1967, to March 29, 1978, for 278 episodes and originated from CBS Television City's Studio 33...
.
Life and career
Bob was a native of Ennis, TexasEnnis, Texas
Ennis is a city in Ellis County, Texas, United States, and a southeastern suburb of Dallas. The population was 16,045 at the 2000 census.In 1871, the Houston and Texas Central Railroad purchased of land in Ellis County at a price of , establishing the line's northern terminus. On May 8, 1872,...
, and credited his hometown with providing him the opportunity to prepare for his career. In high school he accompanied every singer in town, played in the high school band and was part-time organist in the Presbyterian Church. He credited band director Thomas Granger as the mentor who gave the biggest push to send him on his way. While a junior in high school he assisted Mr. Granger in writing and arranging the school Alma Mater “Maroon and White” that has lasted since 1937.
He attended Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University is a private university in Dallas, Texas, United States. Founded in 1911 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, SMU operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Taos, New Mexico. SMU is owned by the South Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church...
where he arranged for the Mustang Band and the Pigskin Revue, directed Script and Score, and organized his dance band that toured with Interstate Theaters Production of College Capers, where he met his wife, Alice.
After college, he served three years on a destroyer in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
.
Bob began his career in television in 1948. While pursuing his Ph.D. and teaching radio courses on campus at Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
, Banner worked evenings in Chicago at local television station WMAQ
WMAQ-TV
WMAQ-TV, channel 5, is an owned-and-operated television station of the NBC Television Network, located in Chicago, Illinois. WMAQ-TV's main studios and offices are located within the NBC Tower in the Streeterville neighborhood, with an auxiliary street-level studio on the Magnificent Mile at 401...
as a production assistant on the children’s show Kukla, Fran and Ollie
Kukla, Fran and Ollie
Kukla, Fran and Ollie is an early American television show using puppets, originally created for children but soon watched by more adults than children. It did not have a script and was entirely ad-libbed...
. Advancements came quickly in those early days, and he soon became director of Garroway at Large
Garroway at Large
Garroway at Large was an experimental musical variety show program with the host Dave Garroway in the Golden Age of Television. It was telecast at 10pm on Saturday on NBC from April 1949 to 1954. Garroway at Large aired with a full symphony orchestra conducted by Alfredo Antonini...
, a local show that was picked up by NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
.
Fred Waring
Fred Waring
Fredrick Malcolm Waring was a popular musician, bandleader and radio-television personality, sometimes referred to as "America's Singing Master" and "The Man Who Taught America How to Sing." He was also a promoter, financial backer and namesake of the Waring Blendor, the first modern electric...
, impressed with his directorial skill, asked Banner to join him at CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
as producer/director of the new Fred Waring Show. The challenge of working in this new experimental medium proved great enough to lure Bob away from academia. So, with only eleven hours needed to obtain his doctorate degree, he opted to leave Northwestern to pursue a television career in New York City.
While in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Bob also directed Omnibus, hosted by Alistair Cooke
Alistair Cooke
Alfred Alistair Cooke KBE was a British/American journalist, television personality and broadcaster. Outside his journalistic output, which included Letter from America and Alistair Cooke's America, he was well known in the United States as the host of PBS Masterpiece Theater from 1971 to 1992...
. The weekly series on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
is often credited as the forerunner to television's cultural PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
network. In the early 1950s, he moved to Los Angeles when the once-experimental medium had matured and was heading west.
During the Golden Age of Television
Golden Age of Television
The Golden Age of Television in the United States began sometime in the late 1940s and extended to the late 1950s or early 1960s.-Evolutions of drama on television:...
, Bob was one of the prime movers of variety programming. The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show is an American variety series hosted by Dinah Shore, and broadcast on NBC from October 1956 to June 1963. The series was sponsored by the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors and its theme song, sung by Shore, was "See the U.S.A...
, which he produced and directed, garnered myriad awards including three Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
s, two Christopher Award
Christopher Award
The Christopher Award is presented to the producers, directors, and writers of books, motion pictures and television specials that "affirm the highest values of the human spirit"...
s, and two Peabody Award
Peabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards recognize distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals. In 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters formed a committee to recognize outstanding achievement in radio broadcasting...
s.
In 1958, he formed Bob Banner Associates (BBA). BBA's first production was The Garry Moore Show
The Garry Moore Show
The Garry Moore Show is the name for several separate American variety series on the CBS television network in the 1950s and 1960s. Hosted by experienced radio performer, Garry Moore, the series helped launch the careers of many comedic talents, such as Don Adams, George Gobel, Carol Burnett, Don...
with regulars Durward Kirby
Durward Kirby
Homer Durward Kirby , known professionally as Durward Kirby , was an American television host and announcer...
, Carol Burnett
Carol Burnett
Carol Creighton Burnett is an American actress, comedian, singer, dancer and writer. Burnett started her career in New York. After becoming a hit on Broadway, she made her television debut...
, and Marion Lorne
Marion Lorne
Marion Lorne MacDougall was an American actress. After a career in theatre in New York and London, Lorne made her first film in 1951, and for the remainder of her life, played small roles in films and television...
. The program ran for 218 episodes and won several Emmys, including one for Carol Burnett.
In the early 1960s, Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
was targeted for demolition and Bob was asked by Isaac Stern to produce a special to save the cultural landmark. Salute to Jack Benny at Carnegie Hall starred Isaac Stern
Isaac Stern
Isaac Stern was a Ukrainian-born violinist. He was renowned for his recordings and for discovering new musical talent.-Biography:Isaac Stern was born into a Jewish family in Kremenets, Ukraine. He was fourteen months old when his family moved to San Francisco...
, Eugene Ormandy
Eugene Ormandy
Eugene Ormandy was a Hungarian-born conductor and violinist.-Early life:Born Jenő Blau in Budapest, Hungary, Ormandy began studying violin at the Royal National Hungarian Academy of Music at the age of five...
and the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra, Van Cliburn
Van Cliburn
Harvey Lavan "Van" Cliburn Jr. is an American pianist who achieved worldwide recognition in 1958 at age 23, when he won the first quadrennial International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in Moscow, at the height of the Cold War....
, Benny Goodman
Benny Goodman
Benjamin David “Benny” Goodman was an American jazz and swing musician, clarinetist and bandleader; widely known as the "King of Swing".In the mid-1930s, Benny Goodman led one of the most popular musical groups in America...
, and Roberta Peters
Roberta Peters
Roberta Peters is an American coloratura soprano.One of the most prominent American singers to achieve lasting fame and success in opera, Peters is noted for her 35-year association with the Metropolitan Opera Company in New York...
.
This was quickly followed by another special Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall, starring Julie Andrews
Julie Andrews
Dame Julia Elizabeth Andrews, DBE is an English film and stage actress, singer, and author. She is the recipient of Golden Globe, Emmy, Grammy, BAFTA, People's Choice Award, Theatre World Award, Screen Actors Guild and Academy Award honors...
and Carol Burnett
Carol Burnett
Carol Creighton Burnett is an American actress, comedian, singer, dancer and writer. Burnett started her career in New York. After becoming a hit on Broadway, she made her television debut...
which garnered three Emmys and the International Golden Rose Award.
Death
According to the Associated PressAssociated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
, Banner died June 15, 2011 in Los Angeles at age 89. Family spokeswoman Lauren Cottrell told the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
that Banner died of Parkinson's disease at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital
Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital
The Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital is a retirement community, with individual cottages, and a fully licensed, acute-care hospital, located at 23388 Mulholland Drive in Woodland Hills, California...
retirement community in suburban Woodland Hills. In recent years Bob lived with his wife, Alice in Calabasas, California
Calabasas, California
Calabasas is an affluent city in Los Angeles County, California in the western United States. It is located in the hills in the southwestern San Fernando Valley and the Santa Monica Mountains between Woodland Hills, Agoura Hills, West Hills, and Malibu, California. As of the 2010 census, the city...
. Their three sons, Baird, Robert III, and Chuck live in Los Cerrillos, New Mexico
Los Cerrillos, New Mexico
Los Cerrillos is a census-designated place in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States. It is part of the Santa Fe, New Mexico Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 229 at the 2000 census. Accessible from State Highway 14 or The Turquoise Trail, Cerrillos is on the road from Santa Fe...
, Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, and Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, respectively.
Producer credits
| Film/Television | Year | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Real Kids, Real Adventures | 1997 | TV series (unknown episodes) |
| Amazing Music | 1996 | TV |
| Angel Flight Down | TV | |
| Happy Birthday, George Gershwin! | 1995 | TV |
| The Sea-Wolf The Sea-Wolf The Sea-Wolf is a 1904 psychological adventure novel by American novelist Jack London about a literary critic, survivor of an ocean collision who comes under the dominance of Wolf Larsen, the powerful and amoral sea captain who rescues him... |
1993 | TV |
| Uptown Comedy Club | 1992 | TV series |
| Yes Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus | 1991 | TV |
| Showtime at the Apollo Showtime at the Apollo Showtime at the Apollo is a syndicated music television show, first broadcast on September 12, 1987 to May 24, 2008 with 1093 episodes, and is produced by the Apollo Theater... |
1987–1996 | TV series (unknown episodes) |
| Star Search Star Search Star Search is a television show that was produced from 1983-95, hosted by Ed McMahon, and created by Alfred Masini. A relaunch was produced in 2003-04. The show was originally filmed at the old Earl Carroll Theatre at 6230 Sunset Blvd... |
1983–1986 | 3 episodes |
| Andy Williams Andy Williams Howard Andrew "Andy" Williams is an American singer who has recorded 18 Gold- and three Platinum-certified albums. He hosted The Andy Williams Show, a TV variety show, from 1962 to 1971, as well as numerous television specials, and owns his own theater, the Moon River Theatre in Branson, Missouri,... ' Early New England Christmas |
1982 | TV |
| Battle of the Las Vegas Show Girls | 1981 | TV |
| The Way They Were | TV | |
| Solid Gold Solid Gold (TV series) Solid Gold is an American syndicated music television series that debuted on September 13, 1980. Like many other shows of its genre, such as American Bandstand, Solid Gold featured musical performances and various other elements such as music videos... |
1980 | TV series (unknown episodes) |
| If Things Were Different | TV | |
| The Darker Side of Terror | 1979 | TV |
| A Special Sesame Street Sesame Street Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The... Christmas |
1978 | TV |
| My Husband Is Missing | TV | |
| Bud and Lou | TV | |
| A Salute to American Imagination | TV | |
| Easter by the Sea | TV | |
| Perry Como Perry Como Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como was an American singer and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century he recorded exclusively for the RCA Victor label after signing with them in 1943. "Mr... , Las Vegas Style |
1976 | TV |
| The Carol Burnett Show The Carol Burnett Show The Carol Burnett Show is a variety / sketch comedy television show starring Carol Burnett, Harvey Korman, Vicki Lawrence, Lyle Waggoner, and Tim Conway. It originally ran on CBS from September 11, 1967, to March 29, 1978, for 278 episodes and originated from CBS Television City's Studio 33... |
1967–1972 | TV |
| Christmas in Austria | 1976 | TV |
| The Last Survivors | 1975 | TV |
| Journey from Darkness | TV | |
| Lisa, Bright and Dark | 1973 | TV |
| Thicker Than Water | 9 episodes | |
| Mongo's Back in Town | 1971 | TV |
| My Sweet Charlie | 1970 | TV |
| John Davidson at Notre Dame | 1967 | TV |
| Warning Shot | ||
| Carol + 2 | 1966 | TV |
| The Entertainers The Entertainers The Entertainers was a one-hour American variety show that aired on CBS from September 25, 1964 through March 27, 1965 on the 1964–1965 United States network television schedule. The series, produced by Joe Hamilton, featured three stars, Hamilton's wife Carol Burnett, Caterina Valente, and Bob... |
1964–1965 | TV |
| Once Upon a Mattress Once Upon a Mattress Once Upon a Mattress is a musical comedy with music by Mary Rodgers, lyrics by Marshall Barer and book by Jay Thompson, Dean Fuller, and Marshall Barer. It opened off-Broadway in May 1959, and then moved to Broadway... |
1964 | TV |
| An Evening with Carol Burnett | 1963 | TV |
| Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall is an American musical comedy television showcase starring Julie Andrews and Carol Burnett. It was broadcast on CBS on June 11, 1962. Mike Nichols wrote the script and co-wrote "You're So London" with Ken Welch. The show was produced by Bob Banner and directed by... |
1962 | TV |
| Kings of Broadway | TV | |
| Diagnosis: Unknown Diagnosis: Unknown Diagnosis: Unknown is an American medical drama that aired on CBS from July 5 to September 20, 1960. Produced by Bob Banner, the series aired as a summer replacement for The Garry Moore Show, a variety program.-Synopsis:... |
1960 | TV series (unknown episodes) |
| Candid Camera Candid Camera Candid Camera is a hidden camera/practical joke reality television series created and produced by Allen Funt, which initially began on radio as Candid Microphone June 28, 1947... |
1960–1967 | TV series (unknown episodes) |
| The Dinah Shore Chevy Show The Dinah Shore Chevy Show The Dinah Shore Chevy Show is an American variety series hosted by Dinah Shore, and broadcast on NBC from October 1956 to June 1963. The series was sponsored by the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors and its theme song, sung by Shore, was "See the U.S.A... |
1958 | 1 episode |
| The Dave Garroway Show | 1953 | TV series (unknown episodes) |
Director credits
| TV Series | Year | Note |
|---|---|---|
| The Dinah Shore Chevy Show | 1958 | 1 episode |
| Producers' Showcase | 1956 | 1 episode |
| The Dave Garroway Show | 1953 | TV series (unknown episodes) |
Writer
| Film/TV Series | Year | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Amazing Music | 1996 | TV |
| Happy Birthday, George Gershwin! | 1995 | TV |
Awards and honors
Other recognition over the years include:- Doctorate of Fine Arts degree from Northwestern University
- Distinguished Service medal as VP of ATAS.
- Distinguished Alumni Award from Southern Methodist University
- Dallas TACA Award for Excellence in the Performing Arts
- 6 Christopher Awards
- 5 Awards of Excellence
- 1 Emmy AwardEmmy AwardAn Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
External links
- Bob Banner Interview at Archive of American TelevisionArchive of American TelevisionThe Archive of American Television is a division of the non-profit Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation that films interviews with notable people from all aspects of the television industry....